lee Powder measures?

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jareed58
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lee Powder measures?

Post by jareed58 »

OK, Infant Newbie here. Lee Loading equipment. I have been reading and watching videos, and I'm pretty sure I have done right so far. But I would like verification on the charging step, as this is the step that things can get ugly if done wrong( I would really not want to learn by trial and error, Here). I need a charge of 18.2 grains of H110. Calculations say the Lee Powder measure should be set to 1.9. The Lee Scale says this is low. When the Lee Scale says I am at 18.2 grains the Lee Powder measure is at 1.34. Is this a normal difference between the 2 measures? I assume I should trust the scale, as the final weight? Was everyone this OCD, before the first bullet was Handloaded? I bet I have several days of reading and prep so far.
Sig220
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Re: lee Powder measures?

Post by Sig220 »

I don't know anything about Lee Powder Measures....or what they even are. In general, I trust a scale....that I zero before the first powder charge and continuously monitor it for accuracy throughout my session of putting powder to cases. I have one of those automatic powder dispensers, but I use a accurate electronic scale and measure each charge dropped by hand.

So my short answer is to trust the scale. If a Lee powder measure is a dial on a powder dispenser/drop, I would still weigh each charge on a scale.

Okay, I went to google and looked it is a powder dispenser/drop with graduated numbers on the chamber/drum adjustment.

Several things can cause the charge to be off using it even if you weighed the first charge. One is without a baffle the weight of the powder in the reservoir column bears down on the powder chamber and packs it......as you go through powder the weight of the powder column is less and does not pack to the density of the first load. The second issue is that some powder meters great through a powder drop and some doesn't (like stick powder). So your charges are always off. When using a powder drop/dispenser/measure, you should set it for a powder charge that is close to what you want, but still a little light or under the desired charge. Then drop each charge on a scale and weigh it and bring it up to the exact charge using a powder trickler.

For plinking ammo, I can tolerate a tenth of a grain either way of my ideal charge. On hunting ammo, I go with no tolerance...for example it is 17.8 for every case.

Hope that helps!
Last edited by Sig220 on Wed Apr 08, 2020 7:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Br549
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Re: lee Powder measures?

Post by Br549 »

Sig220 wrote: Wed Apr 08, 2020 6:54 pm I don't know anything about Lee Powder Measures....or what they even are. In general, I trust a scale....that I zero before the first powder charge and continuously monitor it for accuracy throughout my session of putting powder to cases. I have one of those automatic powder dispensers, but I use a accurate electronic scale and measure each charge dropped by hand.

So my short answer is to trust the scale. If a Lee powder measure is a dial on a powder dispenser/drop, I would still weigh each charge on a scale.
Right On
dpete
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Re: lee Powder measures?

Post by dpete »

The first thing I did when I was in your position with Lee powder measures was completely ignore their weight to volume conversions. If you need 18.2 grains of H110, weigh out the charges in grains and be done with it. The next thing I did was to get an electronic digital scale but that is based on my preference of them over a balance beam scale.
Where did the 18.2 grain number come from?
jareed58
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Re: lee Powder measures?

Post by jareed58 »

18.2 is the minimum charge for Barnes 110g blacktips. I'm starting there and go up to 20.2 to see where the sweet spot is for stabilization accuracy and speed is. 20.2 being the max, Barnes recommends.
bearcatrp
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Re: lee Powder measures?

Post by bearcatrp »

I got to 19.8 gr of H110 before seeing pressure signs. H110 can be unforgiving. Do .02 grains at a time. Oh, always go by the scale!
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plant.one
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Re: lee Powder measures?

Post by plant.one »

jareed58 wrote: Wed Apr 08, 2020 7:10 pm 18.2 is the minimum charge for Barnes 110g blacktips. I'm starting there and go up to 20.2 to see where the sweet spot is for stabilization accuracy and speed is. 20.2 being the max, Barnes recommends.
if you're doing load development - its usually much easier to just weight all charges for your ladder vs trying to throw them by volume and adjusting your thrower for each load. just not practical.


once you determine a load, adjust your volumetric charge to throw that weight, and proceed loading. the charts are just a rough guide, and only applied to the lot # of powder it was tested with. its advisable to perform a check every few rounds on the scale to ensure consistency. once you're comfortable that your thrower is measuring accurately, you can extend the test interval. ie: start with every 4-5 rounds, then go 10-15, and they maybe every 20-30 once you're seeing consistency over and over.

HTH
Reloading info shared is based on experiences w/ my guns. Be safe and work up your loads from published data. Web data may not be accurate/safe.
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Saxon
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Re: lee Powder measures?

Post by Saxon »

Lee Powder measure i have that style,,, that being said have a scale.
adjust the drop till the scale says your are on your target load, then start loading,
i check every 10 for variance/
Hamish2
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Re: lee Powder measures?

Post by Hamish2 »

Screw whatever is "supposed" to be the setting. Keep dropping until the scale says its where you want it, and then drop two or three more to confirm it. It's too important not to.
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GunFunZS
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Re: lee Powder measures?

Post by GunFunZS »

Agree with all that was said. Lee powder measures are great. Their volume charts all err on the safe side. I usually find my actual weight an increment or two above what the chart says.

Your scale has a reputation for two things : 1 being accurate 2 being easy to read incorrectly. If you get a digital scale later, get one you trust. Cheap scales from China might display incredible precision that they don't actually have...
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