Suggestions for accurate for really small powder charges.  Is there a modern powder measure?  I have a Belding and Mull, wondering if there was anything newer.

Maybe define small?

Harrells pistol/Schuetzen measure works very well. As with most measures it’s best in mid range 8-15 grains. Book says 2-25 grains. Their other measures are for different weights 

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a few responses while I was still typing. The Harrel's has increased considerably since I purchased mine 30 years ago, like about $100 increase. Thanks "at least in part" Biden!!

Dellet wrote on Mar 1^st, 2025 at 1:48pm:


It is the Harrells pistol/Schuetzen that I find is NOT consistent in the 2-3 gr range.  Absolutely not with Unique and occasionally not using Bullseye.   
It is not bridging.  But occasionally I'm getting a smaller charge than the previous six or ten.
  It IS an extremely well built device (I have two).

For breech seating my 22rf, I made a powder measure out of the large chamber Redding. I just pressed a bushing, 3/4 x 1/4 into the rotor and turned down the spindle to fit, inside of it. I tested it for accuracy and it was VERY accurate. It had to be. My charges ran between 1.5 & 2.2 gr of mostly B'eye so, it had to do no worse than +/- .05 gr. It had a capacity of about 1cc.

It's not hard to do but, you need a lathe to turn the bushing to the outside diameter of the rotor.

I would show a picture but, I gave the rifle and powder measure to my son, in AZ.

You could also try the Redding Pistol measure. It has a ID of 5/16 and see how that does.  That's what I used on all my other SS loads and it's very accurate in the 10 -25 gr range.

Cat_Whisperer wrote on Mar 1^st, 2025 at 3:27pm:

My choice under 4-5 grains is actually an old RCBS with a pistol drum and micrometer thimble. It seem to be much better with stick and flake powders and using a baffle.

What does Biden have to do with a price increase of an item purchased 30 years ago?

RCBS Little Dandy is my small charge measure.if you want to get into 1/10g charge changes  you can easily modify the rotors.

I rely on a couple Belding&Mull's for the bulk of my loading. I find that one is a little better for measuring small pistol powder charges than the other one - sharper cutting surfaces, some small difference in the geometry, voodoo maybe? It's the one that I gravitate to. Small charges of flake powder are very uniform, but I'll admit to double checking with a scale if said charges are going into small case target loads (ie: .22WCF), otherwise it's uniformity is plenty sufficient for my handgun shooting.

My Harrell's Schuetzen is relegated to matches/experimentation at the shooting bench with "our" powders, and it's marvelous. I tried it with Unique for .45ACP loads and it was A-ok.

I made a measure out of brass and teak wood for measuring pistol powders, based loosely on the design of the old Pacific measure. I'll brag that it is very accurate/uniform. Downside is separate rotors must be made for each charge and so far I've only made three.

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What is this “modern” of which you speak?  I think a B&M is the most modern measure I use.  My Little Dandy may be a little newer.
There are (or were) several rotor type powder measures designed for use with pistol loads. I like the old Lyman Accu-Measure as well as the older Pacific Pistol measure in addition to the newer Little Dandy.  When you decide on a charge that works, find (or modify) a rotor to throw that charge over and over and over with boring accuracy.
Froggie

boats wrote on Mar 15^th, 2025 at 5:57am:


So, I'm setting up several powder measures on the bench.

I'm also setting up several powder scales.  Not concerned so much with "precise accuracy" but for "repeatability".

The test will be ONE flavor of powder, multiple repetitions, different times of day.

frnkeore wrote on Mar 15^th, 2025 at 1:01pm:


22Hornet, 22K-Hornet, 221 (rifle), .223 and .219 Zipper.  Powders to be determined by accuracy competition. 

Issues developed using flake powders (Unique et al.).  Going through the process of load development  by ensuring EACH stage of reloading is consistent.  I'm assuming that powder weight is right much critical.

Unless you want to make a small cavity measure like I did or drill the single cavity measures like are illustrated. I would get a Little Dandy with a 1,2,3 and 4 rotor (2.3 - 3.0 gr Unique). They are harden steel and won't wear.

The only other option is to use a pistol measure insert, like the Redding that I used before I made mine. They have a 5/16 cavity. The Ohaus Dou measure, also has a 5/16 cavity but, it's at a angle, with a larger shear area and no micrometer adjustment.

My Redding mic settings for Unique are .050 = 1.0 gr & .250 = 3.0. B'eye is almost identical. I used my Redding for a few years, untill I built the small cavity one. It worked well enough to get 1" groups, at 100, with 4.5 gr of Unique, in a 25/20R single shot.

So I've dug out several scales.  One electronic one varied +0.1 to -0.1 gr weighing a 53 grain bullet some 25+ times.

So that identifies (for that scale) a +/- 0.10 variability that will occur. 

Yes, the scale read-out went to 0.01 increments.

That's variability.  Accuracy?  I'll dig out some CALIBRATED weights and adjust as needed.

I find precise measures to be better than accurate measures.  What is the difference?

Precise means all the replicates are close to each other

Accurate means all the replicates are close to the target or true measurement.

I can move a precise, but inaccurate measurement to be more accurate.  I can’t move an accurate but imprecise measurement.

Ufff Da!  Numbers don't lie.

I weighed 10 charges each from the two measures.

First one, then the other, alternating.  This was to negate any difference in 'warm up' or other variation due to first vs. second series of measurements.

Each was set to ABOUT 2.0 grains of W296.  (Experiment will be repeated with a flake and/or stick powder.)

Variation?  Ideal was +/- 0.09gr.
                Harrell was ZERO variation.

Scale readout was to 0.01 gr.

Technique was the same, lever up, pause, lever down, measure, empty back into the reservoir, and check for zero on the scales.

loaded 50 rounds, groups of 10ea.  Adding 0.1 gr each time.  (I'll use 5 each in 2 rifles to get a feeling of grouping; and refine from there.

Measured runout of the bullets (just a two or three of them)  - 0.002 TIR as measured on the widest part of the ogive.

SBoomer wrote on Mar 19^th, 2025 at 9:23am:


Thanks for the reminder.  I'll dig out the dryer fabric softener sheets....  (they leave a conductive coating).

I have used RCBS Uniflows for a while. With the small pistol meter drum it is as accurate as I think possible, last time using I was charging cases with Universal a flake powder. It was dumping the charge of 9.0 grains almost every drop. And when it was off it was only off a tenth. I dont think any drum style could do much better than that. A lot of it is consistent technique when operating the handle. Ive also tried different positions of my baffle. and find that if I put about a little less than a inch of powder in then the baffle, then fill the bottle I have a bit better results.  I also have a newer Uniflow 3 and its also accurate. Just not as good as the Uniflow with different meter drums. However when first getting it I was testing it and dropped 19 charges in a row of a ball powder I use for .44mag. Then it varied by 1 tenth. So Im fairly happy with it. The powder measure has to fit my needs. Ive always wanted a Harrel, But for my purpose I will spend the money on primers and propellant instead.

I have a couple of measures, but one old Lyman 55 is dedicated to the loads I use in a .32-40. For eons, without change (just a check of a few each time I use it) it threw 14.1 grains of IMR 4227. Then when we went to the "new" IMR 4227, the weight of the setting changed to 14.0 grains. Seemed to shoot the same, so no change was made. If I toss a hundred charges and weigh them the the total would be 1,400 grains plus or minus a grain or two. The individual variation is nearly nothing. I keep the thing about half full, and when it drops, refill it and dump a few to settle stuff. My technique is as consistend as I can be with crisp, moves of the handle to each stop, but not heavy-handed. When the mood strikes I take it apart and wipe the innards with graphite and reassemble. Inside the plastic gets wiped with a dryer sheet pretty often. And, never put another powder into it. Works for me, leaving the expeiments and other powders, mostly stick, for the RCBS that does fairly well there. I had a
Redding measure but a buddy borrowed it and moved to somewhere Wyoming- I think. Some pal.That was a good measure.

Similar experience to Randy, except I used a Redding still do, low charges 1.5 to 2 gns . 452AA bullseye,PB, 700X, I just check after every 10 on the scale. Works for me. Cheers Mal in au.