The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Dannywayoflife wrote:With fine ball powders that I use my lee throwers are very very accurate!!

See....I knew you would have one...cheap wad!! clapclap

Joking aside (and I am) I am pretty sure that a certain world champ FTR shot used to use one (might still do).

I have a redding micrometer one that cost me £20 SH (I had to replace the tube so lets say £40)....its just as good (or bad) as the lee.

Stick with it mate. Some powders meter well, some clip and result in an extra grain or so being settled into the chamber.

If you are using a trickler to finish off you may as well use a mustard ot tea spoon with lines on it to start with!!

Nothing wrong with Lee, just sometimes it needs a certain technique.

Here's an interesting review of several different measures - The Lee compares very well with even the most expensive ones.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/49879348/Targ ... 011#scribd

I load for 16 calibres using a Lee `Perfect Powder Measure` and find it does the job just fine.

As previously stated certain powders meter better than others, but this is the case with pretty much all powder measures of this type.

It seems to be fashionable on certain forums, to knock Lee products because they use a lot of plastic components and are normally the cheapest in the range.

So that means they must be rubbish right?

In my 45 years of reloading experience, I have used products made by Lyman, RCBS, Redding etc. as well as Lee.

I have found all brands work well if used correctly, Lee products perform just as well as other brands normally for a much lower cost, the Lee measure being a case in point.

I would say that if you want absolute consistency in powder charges whatever powder measure you use, the only way to guarantee this is check weigh each measured charge with a scale before charging the case.

ukrifleman.

Another +1 for the Lee. I have the perfect Powder measure and dippers and actually find the dippers quicker, then trickle up with a Redding trickler. I weigh every load being new to this and do about 50 at a time, just 303 and 308.

Thank you for the sage advice, I shall continue campaigning my Lee thrower and save my money for more powder and primers.

martin2sheds wrote:Thank you for the sage advice, I shall continue campaigning my Lee thrower and save my money for more powder and primers.

IF you have to spend money, do it wisely and buy a decent caliper and COL gauges, these will set you well on the way to really consistent ammo.

Mitutoyo and...well....I can recommend a gauge but if I carry on he wont have any customers left, folk will think I am on commission!!!

And for gord sakes keep good records, saves time and effort later if you need to ressurrect a load (god knows it happens with the messing about with powder, bullets etc).

I too give a vote to the Lee measure.

I use it raw for shooting loads and under throw and trickle for those special days. Hard to see any difference on the range. I am not sure it is worth the effort to trickle.

I use the Lee, throw a load just under and top up with a Target Master trickler, exactly the same load every time,

The Lee measure is absolutely fine if you trickle up after throwing as the inconsistent amounts it dispenses are of no consequence then. In fact a teaspoon is as equally effective.

There are two main problems with the Lee.

Firstly the dispensing drum is a friction fit cone in the measure body, these two mating surfaces are uneven and getting the right tightness for the whole of the measures throw is almost impossible. This can be rectified by lapping the two part together, toothpaste or an abrasive kitchen cleaner like Jiff cleaner will do the job. lapping these two parts together also seals the unit better so that is works with fine ball powders which it notoriously leaks when used as is.

The second problem with the Lee is it is difficult to get a consistent throw with it, then uneven mating of the drum and body previously discussed is part of the inconsistent throw but the main drawback is the flimsy springy metal mount that Lee use, cutting this off a few inches from the measure and bending it up so that it can be screwed onto a bit of wood to be clamped to the table greatly firms up the measures mounting and helps with a consistent throw.

Personally I like volume dispensers that work as advertised from opening the box and have and use measures by Redding, RCBS, Hornady, CH-4D, Bonanza, Lyman, Belding and Mull, Harrel, and a few others that I can't recall at present. They will all give +- 1/10th of a grain of powder if I do my bit. You need to "listen to" and "feel" the measure when using it, especially with stick powders, any interruption to the throw or crunching and that load goes back into the hopper. That is more than accurate enough for the vast majority of my shooting needs, the Lee can do the same but it does need fettling. If I am looking for greater accuracy then the Target Master comes out with a tuned and calibrated RCBS 5-0-2 scale and sets of Lee dippers, black, red and yellow.

The Belding and Mull has to be the most accurate of them all as it has a unique dispensing system that handles any powder well.

Talking about Lee powder dispensers I think the Pro Auto Disk is a far better piece of kit altogether and I currently have three mounted on presses, I am a big fan of fixed cavity powder measures and along with the Auto Disks I use RCBS Little Dandy's and Lyman Accumeasures.

You pays your money and you takes your choice.

I agree with all of that Adam. I would also add that the hopper on the Lee measure is a little small. A steady head of pressure gives the best accuracy but if you're loading cases with 50 grains or so of powder at every throw you need to keep an eye on the powder level. If you're going to trickle anyway that it doesn't matter a jot.

I use the auto disc measures on my turret press for gallery rifle rounds - They work perfectly in that roll, I even have a special disc that I sleeved down for very light loads for my .32 rounds.

I also have a Chinese copy of a Lee measure (how tight can you get :))