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I'm a handloading virgin but looking at loading .303 and perhaps TR-oriented 7.62x51, mainly for reduced cost over factory ammo. Portability, low cost and simplicity are the priorities so I've been intrigued by the Lee dippers but have heard mixed results, with some people claiming +/- 0.3gr variation between dips.

Is this your collective experience, and considering I'm not trying to build benchrest-quality rounds to reach 1,200 yards is this variation acceptable? Is there a product more suited to my needs?

A set of scales and a trickler would see you as accurate as you need.

RCBS 505 scales are often recommend and can be found for about 50-60 pound second hand if you keep your eyes open but they will be snapped up quickly at that price. Powder tricklers are around 20 pound new and can be 10-15 second hand.

Depends on how tight your budget is.

I've used lee dippers since I started reloading and have found them surprisingly accurate - certain powders are better than others.

The choice is yours, but I won't be throwing mine out any time soon.

If you are just starting out in reloading and don't want to spend a lot of money - until you are sure you want to continue, Lee dippers are perfectly functional. As Sandgroper points out though, they are more accurate with some powders than others. I still have a set someplace I think.

The Lee dippers work by volume just the same as any other volumes powder dispensers. The only issue with the Lee is that they are fixed volume and there might not be a dipper to suit the weight of powder you want, I have sometimes used a combination of more than one dipper to get the charge weight I want, I don't like doing this as it complicates the process and increases the risk of mistakes but sometimes needs must. Usually I use the dippers and and trickle up to weight. As to consistency they are just like any other volume dispenser, they work better with some powders than others and consistency of operation is the key.

As with all dispensers they have to be used with a good set of reloading scales like the RCBS, Lyman and Redding offerings. So that you know what charge weight each dipper is throwing with that lot of powder and you can check on your consistency.

For me a good set of scales and a set of check weights is the first piece of reloading equipment that a tyro should acquire as these are the best way of checking the consistency and accuracy of the powder load.

I would not use the Lee dippers on their own, the volume/weight slide calculator supplied with the Lee dipper set is fine enough but is only and indicator of weights with any given powder, because of this all the Lee loads tend to be on the light side to ensure that there is a reduced danger of high pressure due to the variations in powder lots and storage.

The thing to remember with lee kit is that it primarily made for loading pistols rounds as their market is the US where far more pistol rounds are reloaded than rifle.

So from my point of view the dippers are fine so long as they are used with a good scale and check weights.

I use them for those same calibres, dump the load onto the Lyman Pro 500 scales and then trickle up to weight with a Redding trickler. I am also new to this so weigh each load. I only use Sierra Match Kings so cost savings are minimal per round over PPU 303 or their 308 match ammo which my rifle likes, but accuracy improves when reusing your own brass. Plus it is very satisfying to work up loads, experiment with weights, seating depth etc to see what works best.

Coupled with a decent scale and a trickler, a fantastically simple and very accurate way to dispense powder. But as mentioned, I would not use them on their own.

Plus one on previous views that they're fine if used alongside scales to check and if necessary adjust each load before charging the case. Think of the dippers or 'charge cups' as a poor man's powder measure. (You can make and tailor your own quite cheaply - rifle or pistol cases shortened to exactly the volume wanted with a simple bent wire handle soldered on used to be quite common.)

The other thing to note is how they're employed - most people do it wrongly. To get at all consistent results, the plunge method must be used. That is pour a fair quantity of powder into a small Tupperware type bowl and plunge the cup body in base first until its mouth is submerged letting the powder kernels run in naturally and raise it out again vertically with powder heaped on top. Level the heaped grains off the top of the cup back into the bowl with one edge of a piece of flat plastic or card. This gravity filling can provide very consistent results, better than most mechanical powder measures produce.

Most people naturally use a curved swipe through the powder method of filling the cup where the angle it's held at and the speed of the sweep determine the degree of kernel packing and hence how much is held inside, the operator rarely getting these variables consistent from charge to charge.