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Posted: 12/27/2016 12:30:54 PM EDT
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New to reloading, still reading a lot.
Can someone offer advice on a couple of powder dispensers that will be used as a stand alone process for reloading 556 & 300Blk on a RCBS RockChucker? |
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whats your price limit?
i've been using 20 year old RCBS power dispensers they work just fine for 223, 308, 260, 300WM |
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I rate powder measures as follows, RCBS=good, Hornady=better, Redding=best. Get the best you can afford. I have not used the Redding. I have an older RCBS uniflow and a newer Hornady. I prefer the Hornady for it's quick change inserts. The downside to the Hornady is the rotors are not optimal for the .223 / 5.56. The pistol rotor does not have the capacity, and the rifle rotor has too much capacity, I had trouble getting consistent drops with the rifle rotor using CFE223. Very minute changes in the insert translate to big variations in drop making it difficult to dial in. I think this is due to the large rotor having very wide and shallow cavity at small charge levels. What I ended up doing is making my own intermediate rotor and insert for the Hornady. It isn't difficult to do, but you do need a lathe. |
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I have not used the Redding. I have an older RCBS uniflow and a newer Hornady. I prefer the Hornady for it's quick change inserts. The downside to the Hornady is the rotors are not optimal for the .223 / 5.56. The pistol rotor does not have the capacity, and the rifle rotor has too much capacity, I had trouble getting consistent drops with the rifle rotor using CFE223. Very minute changes in the insert translate to big variations in drop making it difficult to dial in. I think this is due to the large rotor having very wide and shallow cavity at small charge levels. What I ended up doing is making my own intermediate rotor and insert for the Hornady. It isn't difficult to do, but you do need a lathe. My plain old RCBS Uniflow has served me very well for a variety of rifle and handgun loads and is pretty darn consistent with the powders I use and me getting my technique down. |
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Harrell. A bit more expensive than others, but in the ballpark of "match grade" measures from Redding and others. You'll use them for the rest of your life and never worry about accuracy. Harrell's "90" measure is very good and costs around $200 the last time I checked. I have their premium measure and it throws fine to medium kernel extruded powders well enough so I don't have to weigh each charge. I loaded some .308 this week using 168 grain Sierra Match Kings, Lake City brass and 42.0 grains of VihtaVouri N150. Every thrown charge was within .1 grain of my target weight. The Harrell powder measures are the buy once cry once top of the line measures. You'll never need or want any other for the rest of your life. |
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Can you place the Lyman powder measures in your good thu best scale? The Lyman #55 is the superior measure for accurate metering of very small charges for loading pistol ammunition. I use a bottle adapter with an integral baffle on one of my Uniflows. Worth the cost. |
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Quoted:
Harrell's "90" measure is very good and costs around $200 the last time I checked. I have their premium measure and it throws fine to medium kernel extruded powders well enough so I don't have to weigh each charge. I loaded some .308 this week using 168 grain Sierra Match Kings, Lake City brass and 42.0 grains of VihtaVouri N150. Every thrown charge was within .1 grain of my target weight. The Harrell powder measures are the buy once cry once top of the line measures. You'll never need or want any other for the rest of your life. Â My Harrell's 90 won't measure anything under about 10 or 12 grains with anything resembling accuracy. Above that it does pretty well. |
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Do you guys throw charges into the cases one after another and then seat bullets after all the cases are charged?
Just wondering if you are throwing charges through a die, if you leave the rotor up or down between throws. I had been using cheaper Lee measures and a Lyman 55. They all can hold the rotor in the down or drop position between throws. Then I got my Uniflow and it did not always want to stay in the drop position no matter if the handle was mounted above or below the centerline of the rotor. I added a thumb wheel to the adjustment screw to make easier fine adjustments and had to add a counterbalance to keep the rotor in the drop position while I seat and crimp (turret press.) I have often wondered if I could maybe improve my techniques with the powder throw when loading large batches where I am not trickling each charge? The Uniflow with knob and handle position with counterweight for reference. Attached File Attached File |
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Thanks. I had been wondering about that. One last question, do you handle each case individually from the block to the PM and back to the block, or do you just hold the block and go from case to case under the drop tube? I'll second dry flash, the Redding pms are very nice. I have the 3BR and its definitely the best I own (compared with Lee and Hornady). I load them all while in the block (do not handle any cases) then do a visual inspection to make sure I didn't miss one. I posted a thread on here a while back where I did a calibration curve with the Redding and it had an R2 value of essentially 1. So once you do the calibration curve just write down the equation on the powder jug and anytime you need a specific weight just put the weight in to the equation and it will tell you the exact setting on the micrometer for the 3BR. Great setup! |
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Thanks. I had been wondering about that. One last question, do you handle each case individually from the block to the PM and back to the block, or do you just hold the block and go from case to case under the drop tube? 
Notice the open space below the PM. Cases are filled in the loading block, you just have to have room under the PM for the loading block clearance. 
Also notice my PM is mounted in LNL bushings. So time to dump the PM, simple twist and it's off my custom stand. Do you know I have a tacked thread on how to make loading blocks? It's in Reloading Tools and Equipment, How to make Reloading Blocks |
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Here is a thread I did a while ago showing single stage batch loading.
357 project I explained why I didn't load these on a progressive press in the thread. Besides I've found I enjoy loading single stage. |
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Notice the RCBS measures don't have a nice micrometer adjustment like the Hornady and Redding. Why I put them on the bottom. RCBS has an add on micrometer. I have one on mine and find it works very well. RCBS micrometer |
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Quoted:
I have not used the Redding. I have an older RCBS uniflow and a newer Hornady. I prefer the Hornady for it's quick change inserts. The downside to the Hornady is the rotors are not optimal for the .223 / 5.56. The pistol rotor does not have the capacity, and the rifle rotor has too much capacity, I had trouble getting consistent drops with the rifle rotor using CFE223. Very minute changes in the insert translate to big variations in drop making it difficult to dial in. I think this is due to the large rotor having very wide and shallow cavity at small charge levels. What I ended up doing is making my own intermediate rotor and insert for the Hornady. It isn't difficult to do, but you do need a lathe. Get a micro meter adjust for the rife rotor and that will change. Probably the best $30 I spent. |
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RCBS has an add on micrometer. I have one on mine and find it works very well. RCBS micrometer Quoted:
Quoted:
Notice the RCBS measures don't have a nice micrometer adjustment like the Hornady and Redding. Why I put them on the bottom. RCBS has an add on micrometer. I have one on mine and find it works very well. RCBS micrometer |
| The micrometer stem is mandatory on the Uniflow in my opinion, although I don't use the vernier marks for more than a rough indication. The measure with my Pro 2000 included the micrometer and both rotors, the single stage kit included only the rotor for large charge weights. |
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Quoted:
New to reloading, still reading a lot. Can someone offer advice on a couple of powder dispensers that will be used as a stand alone process for reloading 556 & 300Blk on a RCBS RockChucker? I have the Hornady measure and the RCBS Uniflow. I consider them near equal. The Hornady is easier when it comes to changing out the rotor insert, but it's not especially hard with either. I find that my Hornady measure suffers from static cling a little worse than the RCBS Uniflow. They both have case activated powder drop systems that are almost identical to one another. Neither measure will handle long grained extruded powders very well. IMR 4831 comes to mind. Both do well with short grained extruded powders, ball powders, and small to medium sized flake powders. The Hornady has a higher powder capacity. |
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