Lyman #55 Powder Measure Question
- Thread starter AJ
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TripleLock
Member
I can only guess... perhaps due to dispensing large charges for some magnum cartridge... a previous owner got tired of having to frequently refill the standard factory hopper and replaced it with a ridiculously long piece of clear PVC tubing.
There was, of course, a version of the No.55 available from the factory with such a large hopper (the No.55 Classic), but those hoppers were made of aluminum, for use with Black Powder.
Jim
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Ivan the Butcher
Member
Sinclair International sold replacement "Hoppers" in lengths up to 10 or 12 inches. The only Lyman hopper that was anywhere that tall was the Black Powder variation and it is not clear but is made from aluminum.
The taller the hopper the more it holds. A regular 4" won't hold enough to do 200 338 Lapua at 104.0 grains of US869 or other Elephant cartridges.
The long Range Black Powder cartridges like the Matthew Quigley Sharpe's 45-110 only get 63 rounds to a pound of powder. My 338 Lapua Mag uses 104.0 grains of Hodgdon US869, that's about 65 to the pound. The long aluminum hopper holds a full pound of FFg BP. The short hopper holds about 2/3 pound US 869.
Obviously these are huge cartridges, but when loading large capacity cases it uses powder very fast. If they used the powder measure for shotgun loading, that uses large volumes of powder too.
If you look at the powder measurers for progressive presses, they have hoppers like this or even larger.
Ivan
The taller the hopper the more it holds. A regular 4" won't hold enough to do 200 338 Lapua at 104.0 grains of US869 or other Elephant cartridges.
The long Range Black Powder cartridges like the Matthew Quigley Sharpe's 45-110 only get 63 rounds to a pound of powder. My 338 Lapua Mag uses 104.0 grains of Hodgdon US869, that's about 65 to the pound. The long aluminum hopper holds a full pound of FFg BP. The short hopper holds about 2/3 pound US 869.
Obviously these are huge cartridges, but when loading large capacity cases it uses powder very fast. If they used the powder measure for shotgun loading, that uses large volumes of powder too.
If you look at the powder measurers for progressive presses, they have hoppers like this or even larger.
Ivan
Last edited:
rockquarry
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Hard to figure why it is that tall; maybe for effect or maybe for charging .50 machine gun brass.
However, if you're throwing big charges for magnum rifle cartridges, say more than 70 grs., a regular powder hopper is depleted pretty quickly. But it requires little time and effort to refill.
Ivan the Butcher
Member
OP
AJ
US Veteran
May give it to a friend of mine. He loads for rifle for me. I only do hand gun. He has a Quigley Sharps in .45-90.
Originaal Lyman BP measure...before Aluminum? I do have a recollection Lyman made a 55 for mag rounds. I have a 55 Aluminum. I used the 55s almost exclusively for many years. One of the best adjustable measures ever made
OP
AJ
US Veteran
Ivan the Butcher
Member
A normal #55 is not recommended for Black Powder! It is a relatively new product. Mine is from 2010. More internal parts are brass so no ferrous parts rub together. The plastic hoppers hold static electricity too, which is why they are aluminum on the BP variant.
Ivan
I use mine for smokeless powders like a normal #55. For BP, I load 45-70, 45-90, 44-40, 45 Colt, Along with all brass hulls in 12 (95 to 110 grains) and 20 (85 grains) gauge. Black Powder is loud, messy to clean, a whole lot of excitement, and in shotgun (skeet or sporting clays) always draws a crowd. I'm a proud member of the "Cloud Croud" and have shot with the "Steel City Soot Shooters" outside Pittsburg.
ITB
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Green Frog
Member
Those old Model 55s with plastic reservoirs got used with BP for a few decades until some lawyer at Lyman got a bee in their bonnet about BP and static electricity and suddenly their use was verboten. Later research has shown that fears were vastly overblown but the rule remains. Don't use them with black powder or Lyman will get mad at you! (In the unlikely event the find out! 
)
Froggie
)Froggie
StrawHat
SWCA Member
I have not seen black powder sold in anything BUT plastic containers for decades. Not sure I believe the plastic+black powder=explosion theory.
Kevin
Kevin
