Powder Throwers

[Pappy Myles]

Whats everyones favorite and Why?

I've used several,  RCBS uniflow, RCBS Little Dandy, Lyman #55, Reading BR-30, Belding and Mull, Pact all electric. 

My RCBS uniflow is on my Piggy Back 2.  I've put the precision adjustment on it. Plus I had a part made, measuring screw, the head is a tad longer and dished like the bottom of a test tube so the flakes fall a little more uniformly in the chamber.  I do a lot of traveling in my work, so when I get to a place I'm going to be at for a while, I take some reloading equipment with me.  My Little dandy is the thrower I take.  Just change the rotors for my different loads and not worry about it.  I have a Lyman #55 that I 1st started using about 35 years ago.  Works great for rifle and pistol, but not as friendly in the adjustment part.  I had a reading BR-30 that I bought for high power reloading.  Its was good, but in my opinion a tad over rated for what I was using it for and over priced.  A guy gave me a belding an Mull that I think is unique, very accurate, but labor intensive.  I have an older model Pact Dispensor and scale.  I sent the dispensor in a couple of years ago to upgrade the gearing for faster throws.  Its work great.

[PJ Hardtack]

If you're talkin' mechanical powder throwers ....

I used to use an RCBS 'Little Dandy' when I was top loading .357 rds with Unique and bottom loading with Bulls Eye. Always spot on, but doesn't like anything but flake or fine grain pistol powders.
Now I'm enamoured of my Dillon auto dispensers. They don't vary. I don't use my Lyman 55 or Ohaus 'Duo-Measure' at all any more.

But - right now I find that my Lyman DPS III 'lectronic is my Huckleberry for all my rifle loading. Can't imagine dispensing rifle loads any other way. While it's spitting out a charge, I'm either drop tubing the last charge or seating a bullet, depending on the calibre and powder.

[sharps4065]

But - right now I find that my Lyman DPS III 'lectronic is my Huckleberry for all my rifle loading. Can't imagine dispensing rifle loads any other way. While it's spitting out a charge, I'm either drop tubing the last charge or seating a bullet, depending on the calibre and powder.

Amen to that, speeds things up no end and is trustworthy. I have the RCBS ChargeMaster but lets' face it, same meat different gravy 

Hold centre (and read the wind)
Clive

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[cpt dan blodgett]

My orange lyman for smokeless and the Grey lyman for black.
With the powders I use the orange lyman is very consistent.

[buckshot dan]

i've been using a lee auto disc since about 1980 that mounts on the expander die i mainly load pistol calibers the auto disc has been very user freindly has always thrown consicent weights with the powders i use [mainly ball and flake powders] just got done loading up a bunch  using trail boss and was woried about how it was going to work with those little donuts of powder and every charge that i weighed was the exact same now i see that lee makes a adj powder disc for it which was my only complaint was that you were not able to fine tune the charge .you had to pick 1 of the preset holes in a disc  for rifle i always measured each charge i've had other powder throwers but the lee has been my favorite for the last 32 years

[Ranch 13]

My Lyman DPS took a sabatical and had to be sent back to Lyman for repairs (which they did free of charge), and while it was gone I was forced to use one of my mechanical measures.  :-\my gosh what torture that was, 50 years of using those  things and thinking how good they were and then just a bit over a year of the electric gizzmo and my how much drudgery we tolerated all those year.

[Drydock]

No . . .  please no . . . not the Lee Dippers . . . anything but that . . . oh the torture!   

(What likes my Lee Dippers!)

[HolliferADollar]

Best manually-operated powder measure I ever used was an RCBS that belonged to someone else & I had to give back.  The one on my Dillon is just as good & all I have to do is pull the press handle.

Worst was a Lyman that is a PITA to set & won't throw a charge consistently within half a grain.  I used it for rifle rounds, along with a powder trickler.

Right now I am using a Lee Perfect Powder Measure for black powder shotgun loads that really works well.  Consistent, no static to worry about & dirt cheap ($19.95 from Midway USA).  I use Lee dippers for BP rifle & pistol loads.

HAD

[Trailrider]

Back when I was loading a lot of .30-06 with surplus 4831 and IMR4350, I had a lot of trouble with the older RCBS rotary-type thrower.  I acquired a Belding & Mull, and made up several different adjustable charge tubes, which I set to certain loads I was commonly using. Seemed to throw a lot more consistant charges with those big stick powders.  Still use it, though the RCBS works fine with the pistol powders I use in CAS.

[rickk]

Dillon measures on my RL550's.
RCBS rotary for everything else smokeless.
Lyman 55 Black Powder rated rotary for BP.

[Fairshake]

I use four different measures. I shoot 100% BP for SASS with the 44WCF and use my RCBS BP measure for that station on my Dillon 550B. I use my Lyman 55 BP measure for all my shotgun loading and find it very accurate to use and set. Some folks never understand that the Lyman has three different settings to adjust.
Finally for my times when I load that other powder that is fairly new and only came about around 1900, I use my regular RCBS with the two powder drums so more accurate charges may be thrown.
The RCBS BP measure works like a dream on the Dillon, you do have to manual drop but it becomes second nature and is not a problem. This is when I'm loading the BP.  I also use the Dillon measure which makes everything go into a much faster mode when I'm loading the 45 ACP for my Glock shooting. Four different measures that all do the same job but in their own way.Later Fairshake

[Pappy Myles]

Howdy Fairshake,
On your Dillon with the RCBS Thrower,  have you tried the case activated link?
Mine is an older RCBS Piggy Pack 2 that took me nearly 2 years and some metal rework to get it to run like is suspose to....Anyway, I have the case activated link on mine with a lock out die.  Works great.  ALl I got to do is put cases in the holder and boolets on top of the shell.

[Cumberland Mtn John]

60,000+ rounds with a set of Lee Dippers.
Cumberland Mtn John

[reno]

Loaded all smokeless and Trail Boss with my RCBS Little Dandy no trouble at all . Lyman #55 for my BP.
Reno NCOWS #810