Shot my first reloads today, 38 Spcl (158 gr SWC) out of my Model 10, off my Lee turret. Shot OK, not totally satisfied with the load yet. I had 2 different loads that I was testing.

I have a couple of questions though, for those using a Lee. I'm not happy with the Auto Disk powder measure. I have yet to get the proper measurement out of it, it's not even close to what the Lee says it will dispense. I got a better measurement from the dipper that came with my die set.

So what's the trick to getting it to work? I was going for a 4.0 grain with Unique and just couldn't seem to get the .43 or .46 to give me 4.0 grains. The dipper did though, that's what I ended up shooting today. I tried wiping the hopper down with a dryer sheet, coating the inside of the disk with pencil lead. I've tapped it while loading, making sure all the powder drops. all the same, seems about anywhere from .2 or .3 to nearly 1 grain less that expected.

Is the Pro Auto Disk better? or forget it and go with the Perfect Powder measure?

The autodisk throws light charges with quite a few powders. Best way to deal with a light charge is up it to the next hole size. It varies from powder to powder. No big deal. Just use your scale to check it. However you don't say what powder this was with, but I don't think you should be a full grain off. I wouldn't be too concerned with a couple tenths, even with full power loads a couple tenths probably isn't going to be a problem. Shooting 38's in a 357 frame gun gives you quite a bit of leeway if loading to 38 specs. I always load the hopper at least half full and I tap it a little before starting to settle it some, seems the hopper rotating around as you load settles some powders after awhile and charges may increase slightly by the time your on the 100th load. I would work out whatever issues I was having if your finding loads a full grain off, 25% is a lot.

I'm using Unique. thinking about switching to Bullseye.

Don't give up on the disc gismo just yet. I've been using one for 20+ years and it works great, is very consistant, but realize that you can't fine tune it. I load 158 grain SWcs in .38 with both bullseye and Unique. I'd like to have a disc that throws exactly 3.5 grains of Bullseye...the closest I can get is 3.3 and they shoot great. I'd like to throw 5.0 grains of Unique but settle for 4.7 and they shoot great. And Titegroups is right: the data sheet supplied with the measure reads high with most (all?) powders. Maybe that's to introduce an added measure of safety. You might try the adjustable disc that's available also but I've found it didn't work as well as I'd like on small volumes of powder.

OK, thanks guys. I'll keep at it. I was about ready to ditch it and buy a set of dippers.

You'll work it out. I think the Lee turret press with the disc measure is a great set-up. When I have it ready to go a box of 50 rounds takes me less then 15 minutes without rushing. And caliber switching is a 5 minute operation. I did buy the upgrade kit for the powder measure, and the feature I like the best is the ability to shut off the powder flow by rotating the powder hopper. That makes it really easy to change discs or powders without taking the dyes off the press or the powder measure off the dyes. I think that trick alone is worth the price of the upgrade. And did I mention consistant? Titegroup said he taps the hopper. I do that and also run the turret around a few times and throw 5 or 6 charges before I settle in.

The spreadsheet you get with the Auto Disc is a guidline to get you in the ballbark. You still need to weigh your charges. Several things can affect the weight/volume. IIRC there is even an allowable variation of 10% from the factory. So you'll want to recheck charge weight when you switch powder lots.

I wound up buying the adjustable charge bar. When you start getting into 2400 charges for .357 the spread from one cavity to the next is quite large.

I agree with all that, and it was a need to dial in charges of 2400 that prompted me buy the adjustable charge bar.

Plainshunter, I've used Unique for a long time and like it, however it doesn't meter well in any device I have used. I've resigned myself to pretty much weighing charges when I use it.
When I volume reload I switch to a powder that does meter well, 231 or HP38 are the same and are easy to use. My model 10's and the 14 love the stuff, Me and my Boys go through .38s and .357's rather quickly so it's nice to use a powder that helps speed up the process.
Might try a pound and see how the auto disk likes it.

Best, Rick

I ran a few hundred .38 Special, 125 gr lrnfp from a local guy over 2.9 Bullseye. Very light and all my pistols like the load. I had three teens with me Thursday and a couple old timers today. I have some brass to reload!

Thanks for all tips guys, I truly appreciate it. I guess I have a bit more work to do.

Any flake powder will meter worse than any ball powder. The Pro Auto Disk will amplify this since the powder is supposed to gravity drop. You might invest in a Charge Master or similar if you demand to use Unique. My Pro Auto Disk is spot on with Bullseye, HP-38, and Win 231. If I use Unique or Trail Boss it will be squib city.