Armory Sponsor
Posted: 7/27/2009 8:17:57 PM EDT
| I am looking at getting powder measure to start out with. I want a good measure and plan to reload 9mm, .40 cal, .357 mag, .223 rem, and .308. I have been looking at the redding 3BR. Is it worth what they want for it (and trying to find one in stock) or are there better ones for the $$. |
|
In my opinion, if you want match grade accuracy you'll probably want to trickle your charges anyway... FWIW (I've never owned a 3BR) the basic design is the same as hornady, lyman, and RCBS with varying extra features.
I started off on a used RCBS uniflow and I still use it for pistol. I use a hornady LNL measure for rifle. This setup is nice because it saves me the time of switching drums. The quality of manufacture on the Hornady is very good.. it also has a very nice quick change metering insert. The uniflow is definately not as nice.. but it's also ancient (off ebay) and probably before the era of CNC machine (i haven't really looked at a newer one, might be just as good as hornady). You could buy two LNL's or RCBS's, one with a pistol and one with a rifle insert for the same price as a 3BR. The logic is.. as hinted at before.. if you want benchrest accuracy you are going to want to trickle individual charges anyway. What I do is throw a charge 0.3 grains light (the max error of my measure with H322, ball powders would meter better) and trickle up to the desired charge. Say the 3BR is accurate to 0.2 grains instead... it takes negligibly longer to trickle the extra 0.1 gr... However, switching drums gets irritating if you have to do it constantly like I did... so I would rather spend the extra money on a second measure. For pistol I just throw the charges and run with it.. the ammo shoots just as well as WWB.. which is what I would buy if I didn't load. |
|
The accuracy of a powder throw is more dependent upon user technique than upon the throw itself.
Powder type is also important to a powder throw - use fine-grained ball powders whenever possible. All that being true, I am still a fan of a fine powder throw and recommend one of the Harrell throws. For use on a progressive, get Dillon and use their throw - it works well. |
| You will be very happy with the Redding powder measure, I consider them to be the best mass produced measure on the market. I have the BR-30 for rifle loads mounted on my Dillon AT-500. I use a Harrell's for single stage loading. I gave my RCBS away. I use Dillon's standard measure on my 550B for handgun loads. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Get the powder measure that comes attached to the Dillon 550B. You'll be miles ahead. I agree. i am not using a progressive press anytime soon Then, honestly, in my opinion, it does not really matter which measure you get. It matters not whether you spend less than $100 or more than $300. They all throw charges with approximately the same (in)consistency. After you learn to throw, you will get a standard deviation of about 0.1 gr with extruded powder. Ball powder will throw much more consistently with good technique. There is one to be avoided if you plan to use ball powder - the Lee Perfect Powder Measure (it leaks ball powder). There are some that are inexpensive to start with (Redding BR-3) for which you can buy a zillion accesories to upgrade it (drop tubes, stands, containers, micrometers, etc) such that you end up with a $300 measure. There are others, (Harrel's) that you spend $300 on right up front. |
I have a Hornady powder measure, it's a good one.
You have to practice with any powder measure to get consistent results. Use the same even stroke every time, start and stop the throw the same every time. Mount the measure very solid, if it moves during a throw, it won't be accurate. Redding make good equipment, if you like it buy it. |
|
Once you learn how to use it, most any of the popular powder measures will drop consistent charges. Only you can judge whether they are consistent enough for your purposes. Possibly the difference in price is due to more precision in the threads of the adjustment device and more wear resistant materials. Better threads give you repeatability in adjusting the measure from one load to another and back again. With a less expensive measure you may have to do more "tweaking" when returning to a setting on the adjustment dial.
Buy the one that meets your requirements. That's why I bought a Murry riding lawnmower instead of a John Deere. The Murry did just as good a job. If it fell apart in 7 or 8 years and I had to buy another, I was still money ahead. However, the only measure I own or use is a Redding BR3 I bought 25 years ago. |
|
Quoted:
I have a Hornady powder measure, it's a good one. http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg272/dryflash3/PC300039.jpg You have to practice with any powder measure to get consistent results. Use the same even stroke every time, start and stop the throw the same every time. Mount the measure very solid, if it moves during a throw, it won't be accurate. Redding make good equipment, if you like it buy it. On the subject of Hornady's powder measure that if you're loading everything from 9mm through .308s, you should get both the rifle rotor and the pistol rotor. Getting the micrometer insert for both should be on your "soon to get" list too. The rotors cost about $30 last time I looked, and you can get the micrometer inserts for less than that. It is VERY important to consistent powder charges to use the pistol rotor for pistol rounds; that rifle rotor can throw a LOT of powder, and getting a consistent "4.5gr of Unique" out of it is an exercise in frustration. |
Armory Sponsor