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

So having preped & primed 800 RWS cases ready to 'do' with N140 & SMK 155grn heads. I thought a little test of the Lee Powder measure gismo was in order - its one of those hopper on the top, calibrated cc measures & a flip mechanism.

I calibrated my digital scales & they seem to read 0.1grain accuracy & with good repeatability so i made a cooking foil measure & Tared it & set the measure to feed out 45 grains of N140.

Repeating this & emptying the measured powder back into the hopper I get a total variation of ~0.4 grains between 44.7 & 45.1.Generally it gives 44.9 to 45.1 but occasionally throws a light charge at 44.7 – 44.8

So question - what sort of effect will that have on the accuracy of my hand loads?

Its for TR practice not MR or competition………..

If its only for short range ie out to 600yds not a blind bit of difference. For short range I do not weigh each load. Last year I did a test at 300/600 yds with ammunition that had loads from 44 to 46.5 grn in .5 grn increments, 20rnds to a batch. The ammunition all grouped to .5MOA and I did not need to alter my elevation to remain in the V bull. My RCBS powder measure throws loads to +/- 0.1 grn and that is good enough for me. If its for long range I'd be weighing each load though.

I read a test of several powder measures and the Lee Perfect Powder Measure came out as the most consistent, but, it depends on the type of powder.

It's slightly less consistent with tubular powders like N140/TR140/Varget etc. but before I bought my Hornady L&L electronic dispenser I used one very effectively with a Target Master Trickler, the thrown weights were always spot on.

I've found the Lee measure will only work with accuracy, using ball powders.

We have the Harrell Precision here and for throwing spherical powder it is second to none and comfortably throws SP9 within a tenth however it is not for everyone and in fact I was offered on just today for GBP125 plus postage which is an indication of how little some people throw the finer powders.

I use the Lee perfect powder measure, and after I have charged a tray of 50 I random test 8-9, and to be honest have never found much variation, certainly not enough to refuse them, so for general plinking I find it a great piece of kit.