Montelores said:
May I ask why not a Lee powder measure?
Thanks from a non-reloader hoping to learn -
Hi,
I'll try to get the ball rolling, Monty, and I'm sure there will be plenty more comments!
Lee makes three major types of measures I'm familiar with: the dippers, their "Perfect" measure that works like most of the measures that have been around forever (eg RCBS Uniflow, Hornady Lock-N-Load, Lyman 55 and many others), and their Auto Disk.
Each has its good points, each bad ones, which means they're just like every other piece of loading equipment on the market! And to add to that, everybody tends to develop preferences for brands, types of equipment, etc. Most of us have to live within budgets, too!
The dippers are just little measuring cup devices. They're "fixed" measures which means there are a series of them in different sizes to give different charge weights. They're easy to use, and, in the right hands w/ the right powders, CAN be quite accurate. However, they take a bit of practice to develop a good technique, and being non-adjustable, may not give you the exact charge you want. I keep a set, as do many loaders, to "work up" loads on the scale instead of dinking around resetting my other measures.
The "Perfect" measure is infinitely adjustable as there's a micrometer type device to change the volume of a cavity inside a rotating drum. Push the handle up, the cavity opens under a hopper and powder flows in, pull the handle down, the drum rotates until the cavity drops the powder out the drop tube. The adjustability is a plus, but the type of powder being used, and the size of the charge, together w/ technique, can and do affect the final charge weights. I have one of these, also, and it's dead nuts on and boring w/ ball powders, pretty good w/ medium to larger charges of stick powders, but all over the chart w/ SOME flake powders, at least smaller charges. Before blaming Lee for a bad product, there's an RCBS Uniflow sitting right next to it, and it, too, has its preferences!
The Auto Disk measure is another hopper fed device, but instead of the micrometer style adjustable cavity, it uses "disks" that are "fixed" volume cavities like the dippers. RCBS uses the same approach w/ their Little Dandy, and most shotshell loaders use charge bushings that work the same way. The same "problem" occurs of sometimes not being able to get the "exact" charge one wants w/ those types of systems. Lee also has a micrometer style adjustable device one can purchase as an option to counter this problem. It seems to be a "love-hate" solution: as many people seem to love 'em as hate 'em in my limited experience!
There's nothing wrong w/ the Lee equipment as long as one recognizes its limitations. Lee started out decades ago introducing people to reloading "on the cheap" as opposed to the somewhat costly approach using equipment from other mfrs. Some of their equipment is still built to do the same thing: get people loading, don't empty their wallets, and last "long enough" before needing to be replaced or upgraded. So a lot of this stuff is fine for the beginner or the fellow who's not going to load much.
For the fellow who's going to be loading a "lot," there are more durable, and, of course costly, alternatives. For example, a Lee "Perfect" measure may cost one $30, and, from personal experience, I know mine's still doing fine after 12k or so rounds though it does feel a bit flimsy. Will it still be doing so when it's closer to 40 yrs old like its rock solid, heavy neighbor on the bench, the Uniflow? I dunno. I do know a new Uniflow will run you another $50 to find out!
The "good" thing about Lee equipment, particularly for the beginner/casual loader, is when you put the bullet on paper, it seldom knows if the round was loaded on Lee, RCBS, Hornady, Lyman or whatever kind of equipment.
The "bad" thing about it is if you start off w/ Lee, then "graduate" to more expensive equipment if you turn into a "high volume" shooter, or start doing more heavy duty loading tasks--which WILL stress SOME of the Lee products, though not all--perhaps you'll think your initial "investment" was wasted. I don't think so, but many do.
Of course, a lot of these same guys who complain they "wasted" $30 on a powder measure won't think anything of putting $100 worth of gas in their $45k pickup just to "haul" a couple of guns to the range, which is easily accessible in a Honda Civic for $25 worth of fuel... or dropping another $100 when they get back home to keep Mama happy so she'll give 'em a kitchen pass to go shooting again next weekend!
One's priorities can play a big role!
Rick C
