Bench Top Powder Measure - Pistol

Hi All,

I was wondering if you can recommend a bench top powder measure for pistol.  Is there one that is accurate that wont break the bank.  I like the Redding 10X pistol small rifle but it is $250 with stand.

Joe

How much will break the bank?

$200.  I could do the Redding 10X Pistol Measure, but if there is something else out there which is just as good for less I would obviously go for that.

Well for that price range I’d go with a Hornady or an RCBS with the small pistol drum.  Then I’d get “micrometer” adjustments.  The Hornady has separate metering stems you can purchase so you can set  a few to favorite loads.  Perhaps that is the way to go.

A Redding 3BR at Brownells, it's even in stock. At some later date you can add a rifle rotor to cover larger loads. I use one and it just plain works nice. Way more accurate and repeatable than the RCBS I sold off. Record the micrometer setting for powder and grains, come back later with the same setting and powder and it is on the dot with minimal if any adjustment.

TAB


REDDING POWDER MEASURE 3BR/PISTOL
749-008-012WB
3BR Powder Measure w/Pistol Insert

Mfr Part: 03600

$199.99

lanjo wrote:Hi All,

I was wondering if you can recommend a bench top powder measure for pistol.  Is there one that is accurate that wont break the bank.  I like the Redding 10X pistol small rifle but it is $250 with stand.

Joe

You see it regularly posted on here: "buy once, cry once." For decades, I was an RCBS devoted user and I purchased the RCBS pistol rotor for my rifle powder measure and found that trying to get consistency with small powder charges was futile. It was all over the map, got under throws and over throws of powder charges. Purchased a Hornady Lock N Load powder measure with pistol metering powder charger---same result. Sold both and bought the Redding pistol measure and my powder charging issues were over. Checked every fifth throw on two electronic powder measures and powder throws were on the money. Consistent whether on the bench loading "match loads" or on my progressive loader. To echo another poster, set the Redding micrometer readings for your pet load or whatever small charge, record them, change the settings for another load or powder choice, go back to the pet load, set the micrometer meter to those settings and start throwing consistent charges! I've had my Redding for 10 years+/-, absolutely no issues. Bite the proverbial bullet and buy the Redding, you will not regret it.

I'd go electronic, actually I already did, many years ago. I got the predecessor of the Lyman Gen6 Digital Powder Measure and it is still going strong. You get a powder measure and scale all in one.

I love my RCBS chargemaster but its more geared to feeding extruded rifle powders than ball powders. I tried using to to load some test loads for a pistol and had to go back to using a manual powder measure since it wasn't feeding well through the chargemaster.

Although they are expensive, I would choose the Harrels measure.  I have a couple that I use with benchrest rifles that I load on the line without a scale.  I think if you attend a benchrest match, this brand measure will be the predominant measure in use.  If you told me I couldn't use a Harrels, I would grab a Belding Mull.

Schuetzen / Pistol Measure (harrellsprec.com)

Phil

BE Mike wrote:I'd go electronic, actually I already did, many years ago. I got the predecessor of the Lyman Gen6 Digital Powder Measure and it is still going strong. You get a powder measure and scale all in one.

I agree with BEMike, I already had the Redding pistol powder measure when I purchased a Hornady electronic powder measure and I got two in one: a very accurate powder measure and an electronic scale for about the same price as a Redding bench measure when you can catch them on sale at Midway or some other vendor. With the Hornady electronic powder measure you can consistently throw 3.8 grains of Bullseye powder or throw enough rifle powder to load a .458 Winchester. I see no negatives with the Hornady electronic powder measure, just positives. A buddy has a Lyman and he swears by it too. Also, it's worth listening to Zane as he is a very experienced individual. One day after going through the calibration protocols for the Hornady electronic powder measure, it would not calibrate. I boxed it up and shipped it off to Hornady asking them to recalibrate it. About ten days later UPS delivered what I believed to be my recalibrated powder measure. To my surprise it was a brand new Hornady electronic powder measure. Apparently, the corporate mindset is that it's cost effective to replace the item vs. a technician spending  time repairing it.

I've been pretty happy with the Frankford Arsenal IntelliDropper. I've used it for both rifle and pistol loads. Natchez just had it on sale; not sure if it's still going on.

Another vote for the Frankford Arsenal IntelliDropper - very consistent and easy to use.

well hello neighbor (I'm in Chesterfield Va)



you can make a stand  if you are handy with tools,  if that will save you a few bucks

PMcfall wrote:Although they are expensive, I would choose the Harrels measure.  I have a couple that I use with benchrest rifles that I load on the line without a scale.  I think if you attend a benchrest match, this brand measure will be the predominant measure in use.

Hello,

I have two Harrell's.  They are superb....accurate and repeatable.  It's easy for me to say but the extra money will be well worth it.  If not, buy a Redding.

Jim

According to their website they are only for 2g+. For .32 we really need around 1.6g. Of course that's a niche market :-)

I have a Harrell's Schuetzen measure as well. It works pretty well with larger charges, but small ones not so great. When you close it way down you get a very deep narrow cavity that doesn't fill consistantly.

I went back to my Little Dandy, and modified some of the 00 drums to get what I wanted. The Hornady would be a good option as well.

I have a couple of the larger Redding BR measures, and like them a lot. But I've never used one of the pistol size units.

I like to use the Lyman 55 powder measure when I am not loading with a progressive press.
Don't leave Bullseye powder in the hopper though. Ask me how I know this.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/224603728935?hash=item344b6cec27:g:UHYAAOSwDl5hOo0h

Greetings,

A friend gifted me a Redding 10X Pistol Measure.

10X Measure

It has a rather small diameter powder cavity and dispenses "light" loads quite well. I mean in the range of 1.2-2.0 grains of Bullseye, N310, WST, TiteWAD, etc.

It has a micrometer adjustment so you can write down the final setting for future use.

I do not trust the electronic scales for small charges.

Cheers,

David

That 10X looks interesting - does anyone know of an adapter/frame that would allow it to be fitted to progressive press?

I'm not sure what powder you are planning on using, but if it is an older, flake type I'd suggest a Lyman 55. Many of the older flake powders are very irregular in shape, Unique, Red Dot and Bullseye come to mind. For those I've had more uniform throws with the odd rectangular cavity on the Lyman drum. If you are using one of the newer, fine grained powders like Tightgroup, AA#2, or even WST then buy a Redding. The Redding micrometer adjustment is repeatable, something the slides on the Lyman aren't. Keep an eye on eBay, I bought a Lyman 55 for under $50 and a Redding for under $100 over the last year and a half.

I have an RCBS Little dandy, since I use a single stage press I am not rushing so I set all the cartridges in blocks and charge them one after the other holding the charger in my hand.  I can then go and run a flash light over the block and make sure I got them all and did not double charge any cases.  The Little dandy is consistent but less flexible since it uses interchangeable rotors to determine the amount of powder dispensed. They work well.

I use a Redding measure for 32s; l stuffed it into the top of a Lee powder through die. Works perfect but I have to remember to throw the lever

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101273579/

Measure and pistol rotor  72.22  43.99
I just got this and the case activating linkage to use on top of the Dillon.

I use a Lee PPM with an aquarium pump zip-tied to the powder hopper. It's cheap, and from an actual test data standpoint, did just as well as a Redding, Hornady, and Harrels (the other three I tested and returned), on small charges of flake powder. I also run two Chargemasters with a choker tube installed (that you can get on eBay), and have reprogrammed them both (basically slowing them down). They don't over-throw small charges any more (up to 25 gr for .223 rifle), which was a big problem with that system. Their limitation is that the tare weight tends to drift +/- 0.1 gr over time while you are loading, even after warming up. I'm not sure what causes this. I might try a power conditioner, but they can be expensive.

So - disappearing down the youtube rabbit hole I found this ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arz_AM8K8B8

Where there's a comparison between the Dillon Extra Small powder bar, the Arredondo powder bar and an RCBS rotary

There's a couple of 'follow-on' videos as well. I can say this guy takes his press prep seriously. I have no idea how effective it is - but he's certainly very focused.