Which powder measure and scale for pistols?

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I'm going to order gear for low-volume reloading. No plans for rifle work at this time. From the load data I've seen, I'm probably most interested in Unique, WST, and maybe Power Pistol, AA#7 and AA#9 powders. Any advice for a modestly priced set-up that will work well with these?
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Re: Which powder measure and scale for pistols?

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If I were ONLY doing pistol, I've always thought that these were nice.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/545386 ... er-measure

Different charges require different rotors, but it's such a nice simple little unit. Bonus: you can use it hand-held. I also like the Lyman 55.

If you are only using the scale to check the setting of your measure, the Lee scale is just fine. I prefer the RCBS scales for actually measuring every charge when loading for rifle cartridges.

Re: Which powder measure and scale for pistols?

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What simmer is alluding to is that you will be reloading all of your ammo eventually, like within a few months of starting. You should research it based on that. I use and like an RCBS Uniflo that I bought 28 yrs ago. Buy the best magnetically balanced beam scale you can afford.
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Re: Which powder measure and scale for pistols?

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eelj wrote:What simmer is alluding to is that you will be reloading all of your ammo eventually, like within a few months of starting.
That was my interpretation. I don't currently *have* any rifles. Used to have a Marlin 39A and a Remington 788 in .243 from when I was a kid, but let my dad sell those 6 or 7 years ago at a time I wasn't interested in doing any shooting. I wouldn't mind doing a little rifle shooting, but the ranges I frequent either don't allow most calibers or have a separate rifle range with its own fee, so it's not convenient, and I have too many hobbies already!

I'll probably buy one or two auto pistols (either 9 mm or 10 mm), then I should be done. And maybe a .45 LC some day...
IMR4227: Zero to 900 in 0.001 seconds

I'm only killing paper and my self-esteem.

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Re: Which powder measure and scale for pistols?

6
For pistol rounds, I like using my Lee Dippers with a scale to occasionally check my technique. Lee's data is conservative and I find the dippers don't measure as much as Lee claims. But I do find that I can use them to make consistent loads. Not good for hot rod loads, but that's not really my style so they work fine for me and my .45 Colt or .38 Special loads.
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Re: Which powder measure and scale for pistols?

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Just as a data point - I have a Lyman 55 powder measure. It's dead on metering Win 231. It's not so great (+/- .3 grains) metering Unique.

I just bought a Lee Perfect Powder measure and plan on testing it with Unique.
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Re: Which powder measure and scale for pistols?

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I now have two Lyman 55 measures. Didn't pay much for either of them, one on ebay and the other gathering dust at a LGS.

Similar to Ultravox's experience, mine are great with most powders. Reasonable with Unique, good with HP-38/231, great with 2400, and not so good with H110. The H110 is so fine-grained that it gums up the works in every measure I've tried - even powder tricklers.

I like the 55 because it's all metal except for the hopper (and for black powder you can get a metal hopper). They'll certainly last a lifetime.
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