Powder Measure

[jimmyj]

Hi:
Does anyone use a Lee Powder Measure for reloading handgun cartridges ?
Considering one as a second one to my Lyman #55 Powder Measure.
he ones I have seen are for reloading rifle cartridges.

Thanks,
Jimmy

 

[msauter]

I have two of the "Lee Perfect Powder Measures" and have used them for many years with no issues. Other folks complain about the small amount of "leakage" you may see under it after a loading session. There are a lot of Lee haters that you will hear from shortly, I'm sure. As for me, I don't think you can beat them for the money.

 

[Engineer1911]

I used a Lee Auto Disk as a powder measure on my Dillon 450 before Dillon had 'auto-powder'. It was used to load thousands of 38 spl, 357 mag, 44 mag, and 45 acp without a problem. (GASP, CHOKE, GAG, get over it.) The Lee didn't work well with Accurate #9 but was smooth and accurate with all other powders.

I replaced the powder hopper and powder disks after about 4 years. I did the auto prime and auto powder upgrade to the 450 and carried happily.

 

[Eddietruett]

I have an Auto Drum mounted on a Lee Progressive press and a Perfect Powder Measure on a stand for single loads. Both have performed flawlessly for a long time and many thousands of rounds. Both stay adjusted and don't vary on charge dropped. I've heard some powders don't meter well with Lee measures but I have used Bullseye, Titegroup, Universal, 2400, HS-6 and Unique in mine with no problems

 

[rockquarry]

I bought a Lee powder measure not long after they had been on the market. I only used it for a while and ended up selling or trading it off at a gun show. However, I was amazed at how well it worked. It seemed to be a very good buy. Just couldn't get over the "cheap" look and feel.

 

[Tex1001]

I have an Auto Drum mounted on a Lee Progressive press

^ This
For years I used a Lee disk measure for handguns and the actuated RCBS measure on my Lee progressive with very good results. I recently went to the auto drum, also with very good results.

The key is to make or buy a good powder baffle and always use it.
_______________________
I don't have Alzheimer's- My wife had me tested.

 

[Spokes]

Tex1001 is absolutely correct in suggesting a good baffle is essential to use in any powder measure..

 

[TomkinsSP]

I have used a couple of Lee Perfect measures. They work as well as the much more expensive Hornady model which replaced them, and last I heard they were still working for thier new masters. I know some folks just don't like Lee equipment, I have never had an issue with any piece of Lee equipment (but have never used either the disc loader or auto primer.)

 

[Beauetienne]

I use the RCBS and the Lee.
The Lee feels and looks less substantial , but does the job just fine.

 

[marine 61]

Lee Powder Measures

I have used Lee Powder Measures on a Lee single stage press for both 9mm and .40 cal rounds. Never any problems and consistently throw charges at the proper grains within 1/10th of a grain plus or minus.

 

[Skeet 028]

Not a Lee hater. Have used some Lee equipment and they work. I do like the little powder scoops and use them quite often with my Dillon AT-500 for rifle cartridges. I also have one of the disc meaures on my Lee CC turret press. Works ok...but not any better than the Lyman 55s and RCBS measures I have had for years. I also like the comment about "for the money". I use that too..I have at least 10 Lyman and RCBS measures and the most expensive was 20 bucks most were less. . I must say the Lee scale is the most useless thing they make(I hope anyway)

 

[Electraclyde]

I have 2 Lee Auto disc powder measures and a newer Lee Auto drum measure. I use all of these on a pair of Dillon 550 presses. I use the Lee powder thru belling dies also. All work very well on the Dillon presses. I load .380, 9mm, .38 special, .357 magnum, .45 ACP, .44 special, .44 magnum, .30 caliber carbine, .223, and 30.06

 

[Wise_A]

I have a Lee Auto-Disk Pro. It was a worthwhile upgrade from the base Auto-Disk, but I'd get the Auto-Drum if I was doing it again. Works fine with AA #2 and 5, Bullseye, Unique, 2400, 700X, Universal, Titegroup, WST, and HP-38/WW-231.

The most annoying thing is the fixed-cavity disks, which never seem to be quite the size I want, but I'm usually making mountains out of molehills with it. The adjustable charge bar is pretty good for the money, so long as you're throwing more than ~4 grains or .40cc with it. Hence I say, get the Auto-Drum.

 

[dr. mordo]

Note that I don't have a Lee powder dispenser, but actually just ordered a Auto Drum last week! I currently use a Hornady LnL.

I think the big change in going from a Lyman 55 to a Lee is that the Lyman is widely considered one of the best, if not the best powder dispenser yet designed. The adjustable chamber size makes it capable of consistently dispensing even flake powders with no issues.

Lees do not have the same flexibility. So while they may work perfectly with ball powders, they may feed inconsistently with flake powders like 700-x, 800-x, or Trail Boss.

 

[Shoo2tr]

I started out with the Pro Auto Disk and upgraded to the Auto Drum. I don't run a fancy progressive set-up but the Auto Drum works great on my Lee Classic Turret press. Just like the turrets, with the drums I like being able to set it and forget it whether it be rifle or pistol calibers. Swap the drum, swap the turret, and I'm back cranking out rounds. The drums have metered well and produced consistent drops for me with H110, CFE Pistol, AutoComp, HP-38, and W296.

 

[Skeet 028]

Not disputing the statement but most measures work well with ball powders. The Lee works ok with most powders but 800X and Unique not so well...and the thing I load the most on the Lee CC Turret is 44 sp with Unique. It's usually within a couple of 10ths and I don't load at the top end on it anyway. 800X doesn't go so good in my Lymans either. Meters terrible but a good powder for certain uses

 

[rwsmith]

I wasn't happy.....

I wasn't happy with the Lee Perfect powder measure. The handle was hard and rough to operate and I never knew what charge was going to come out. MAYBE a baffle would have helped, but I was so disappointed that I got a RCBS Uniflow. With a baffle, it's smooth and accurate.

 

[daboone]

I have a Harrells, Lyman 55, Quick Measure, B&M, Lee's PPM, Auto Disk, Auto Drum, and their Classic (now called the Deluxe) and a Dillon. My go to measures are the Auto Drum for progressive and the Classic for single stage. The only reason I like the Classic better than the PPM is it's ease of setup and use. The Quick Measure is only used for the larger stick/extruded powders like IMR or H 4350.

 

[Nevada Ed]

You guys all worry too much about your new fancy powder throwers.
I have been loading for a few years and am happy with my old power thrower, that has a few years on it.

The lid states that is was made by.......
Pacific.

 

[StakeOut]

Make your own powder measure baffles out of empty soda or beer cans.

http://www.shootersforum.com/attach...-powder_baffle_instructions_and_templates.pdf

I have 5 Lee Auto Disk Pro in 4 hole turrets,one Auto Drum in a 4 hole turret and a Lee Perfect in a stand.

The Autos work very well in a Lee Classic Turret press while the Perfect is for a few rounds loaded individually while developing loads.

 

[mikld]

Back to the OP, the Lee PPM. My first powder measure in 1970 was a PPM. I used it for several years and yes, with some fine ball powders (WC 820) it will leak, but it was very accurate and repeatable. I sold my first one with all my other reloading equipment due to a messy divorce. About 8 years later I got back into reloading and thought I needed a more "sophisticated" powder measure, and I got a C-H 592. A couple years later I got a good deal on a Lee PPM, I beefed up the stand and it is as accurate as the C-H powder for powder. But, no powder measure I've ever used is 100% accurate with all powders, my Lee will often hold less than 0.1 gr W231, but larger variations with IMR 4064, the same as my $$ C-H.

 

[cuda2045]

My lee powder measure lasted for 10000 rounds. I upgraded to Redding. There is nothing bad to say about Lee products.

 

[cowboy4evr]

I have used the Lee PPM for yrs . I always give the drum a couple of taps with my finger when it is loading up and again when dumping into a case . It has always been very reliable and accurate for me with flake powders .

 

[scooter123]

I have 3 of the Lee PPM's and don't use any of them since I purchased an RCBS Competition Powder Measure.

While the Lee worked well with certain powders they are a real PITA to get adjusted (thus the reason I have 3, one for each specific load). What finally did the Lee in for me was when trying to use one for Accurate #5, that powder had so much leakage in the Lee measure it would actually JAM the drum, so I had to stop, take it apart, clean it up, then start all over for perhaps 30 or 40 charges before it jammed again.

Threw it into the trash and got in my car and drove to Cabelas and got the RCBS powder measure. BTW, the RCBS measure DOES NOT LEAK, even with H110. It's also vastly easier to set up because I keep a record of the micrometer setting for every charge weight and powder combination I use. Weak points for the RCBS is the same as those for the Lee, that is that with Stick or large flake powders they just aren't as repeatable as I want to see. Some may not be bothered by an occasional charge being thrown 1/2 grain light or heavy but I am not one of those folks.

BTW, I do a 50 piece capability study and use Statistics to determine what powders are truly Capable in my powder measure and which powders need to have every single charge trickled to a specific weight.

Capable of +/- 0.1 grain repeat-ability to 6 Sigma. All of the Accurate Ball Handgun powders (2, 5, 7, and 9), 2400, IMR SR7625, Vihtavouri 3N37, H110/Win296, CFE Pistol, CFE 223.

Not capable of +/- 0.1 grain repeat-ability to 6 sigma. All of the rifle "stick" powders I have on hand, IMR 4064, 4895 and Varget. In handgun Powders that would be Unique and Longshot. Started with Unique about 10 years ago and still have probably 4/5 of that first bottle because not long after starting I discovered SR7625 and it's wonderful metering qualities. As for Longshot, in the 40 S&W it's the best choice if you want to build ballistic equivalents to the 165 grain Speer Gold Dot high energy 40 S&W (1150 fps).

 

[rwsmith]

The Lee Deluxe...

I have a Harrells, Lyman 55, Quick Measure, B&M, Lee's PPM, Auto Disk, Auto Drum, and their Classic (now called the Deluxe) and a Dillon. My go to measures are the Auto Drum for progressive and the Classic for single stage. The only reason I like the Classic better than the PPM is it's ease of setup and use. The Quick Measure is only used for the larger stick/extruded powders like IMR or H 4350.

Midway has the Lee PPM on clearance for $20. Maybe they are doing away with it.

 

[rwsmith]

^^^That's my problem with the PPM

All the powders I use make for VERY rough operation, which was getting to my delicate shoulder. When I couldn't get the wild variation out of it, rather than try to make it work better, I just got the Uniflow.

 

[Hasbeen1945]

I have 2 powder measures. I have a lyman 55 I bought in the 1980's. Also have a Harrell's pistol measure. They are both very accurate for my needs.
The advantage of the Harrell's is set up time. With the micro adjustment system, I can set up for a charge weight in about 10 seconds. Drop about 10 drops to settle everything down and I'm in business.
I have the measure on a stand over a digital scale. I weigh each charge.

 

[Skeet 028]

Biggest problem for me was inconsistency in charges and the thing that was annoying was feel. Not being as smooth operation I ended up weighing too many charges. If the Lyman or RCBS felt wrong I weighed that charge. Not that it happened that often.. With the Lee it was at least every 3rd round or more. Disconcerting to me. Glad I "dumped" the Lee. The disc measure on the CC turret I just had to "trust"?...but I did weigh more charges than normal. My last batch of 44 Sp on the CC turret I loaded with Universal. It did better than Unique...but Unique is my go to powder..

 

[colt_saa]

My Lee AutoDisk powder measures have to be 25+ years old by now. That is all I have ever used on my 5 progressive presses (Pro1000 & LoadMaster)

Like others I also have a Perfect Powder Measure for use when developing loads.

I also have a Lyman 55 (my first powder measure) and a couple of Little Dandy powder measures for working small batches as well as a Lyman 1200 II for use when loading the BIG cartridges

I love the AutoDisk. I have bought several extra disk sets and adjusted some of the openings to be exactly what I want to throw, instead of just close.

Many, many tens of thousands of rounds of 45ACP, 357 Magnum. 357SIG and 10MM Auto have been loaded with the Lee Powder throws over the decades,

 

[carpriver]

I Have used the Lee disk system, It leaked with the fine powders. I got the newer Lee auto drum system once it's set it's on the money. I got the baffle from Titian reloading it helps with the metering. I use 700X and 800x there is no leaking. the drops remain consistent. I am a Lee fan. I use the PPM for reloading 5.56 with 4166. I wish I had known the side of the powder sticks and how difficult it is to get in the brass. Loads fine in the larger 308 brass.