Powder measure

[ARK]

Good evening fellow gunners

I am about to start my journey of reloading and have acquired the following pieces of equipment thus far:

Lee challenger press
Lee Carbide dies
Lee beam scale
Lee auto prime

In order for me to get started and eliminate any form of human error I want to get a Lee Auto drum

I am keen to get your thoughts in terms of acquiring a powder measure, what should I be looking for and what's the pro's and cons of getting the auto drum or ay other powder measure(please suggest a decently priced option)

[big5ifty]

What are you reloading for ?

[ARK]

What are you reloading for ?

Sorry for not mentioning its 9mm

[Treeman]

I am very happy to use every other Lee product, the Lee Powder measures being the exception, only Lee offering I do not like. That said I can not list a fault with proof, so I guess it's just opinion, and that I reload for rifles needing more precise measurements. Works well for me on the larger handguns .44 and 357.
If you reloading for handguns, the Lee will serve you very well, more than accurate enough,  especially in regard to ease of use.
I must add my Lee Powder Measures are all 10, 15 years old  - perhaps I would like the latest model more.
 
Can not beat Lee in regard to what you pay and what you get.

Put the Lee Bench Primer on your next "to get list" really a great tool to me, I have a few other makes and the Lee Bench Primer is my first choice.

If you look on the site you will find Duane Wessel - 480 BC, he is the LEE Man in South Africa, if you need to fix, "how too" or any Lee need, he can and will give you personal attention and advice + supply the parts.

[ARK]

I am very happy to use every other Lee product, the Lee Powder measures being the exception, only Lee offering I do not like. That said I can not list a fault with proof, so I guess it's just opinion, and that I reload for rifles needing more precise measurements. Works well for me on the larger handguns .44 and 357.
If you reloading for handguns, the Lee will serve you very well, more than accurate enough,  especially in regard to ease of use.
I must add my Lee Powder Measures are all 10, 15 years old  - perhaps I would like the latest model more.
 
Can not beat Lee in regard to what you pay and what you get.

Put the Lee Bench Primer on your next "to get list" really a great tool to me, I have a few other makes and the Lee Bench Primer is my first choice.

If you look on the site you will find Duane Wessel - 480 BC, he is the LEE Man in South Africa, if you need to fix, "how too" or any Lee need, he can and will give you personal attention and advice + supply the parts.

Thank you very much for the advise and insight, strangely enough spoke to Duane yesterday about making a purchase, but am still undecided. As much as Lee will serve me good, what will be the differentiating factor between say the Lee Auto drum and the Rcbs uniflow or one of the Lyman options on the market

[Treeman]

https://youtu.be/ojTC6gyNH_A

[Treeman]

 As much as Lee will serve me good, what will be the differentiating factor between say the Lee Auto drum and the Rcbs uniflow or one of the Lyman options on the market
[/quote]
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Considerably more cost for not as much gain, I guess there will be those that shoot handguns on a different level and may need that last 5 % betterment, but in my limited experience opinion, you and I will do just fine with a Lee Measure for handguns.
I may just learn something here now, perhaps there are different findings in regard to use for rifles.
I have found that Lee really makes affordable reloading equipment that have very few and if any faults. 

[big5ifty]

 

... what will be the differentiating factor between say the Lee Auto drum and the Rcbs uniflow or one of the Lyman options on the market

For pistol, no difference.

All powder measures work exactly the same - they contain a cavity that fills with powder, which gets dispensed.

The difference between measures is the amount of powder they can dispense, and the mechanism they employ to dispense.

Some are case activated, others are manual.

Going back to your question, there are pistol powder measures and rifle powder measures.

The Lyman measure is a rifle measure, It is very difficult to adjust it down for pistol powder volumes, and make incremental changes.

The RCBS uniflow is one I've never owned, just make sure the rotor is for pistol, not rifle.

The old Lee auto disk is all you need for pistol reloading. Get an adjustable charge bar for it, and it's as good as anything on the market, with the added benefit of it being case activated.

Either that, or the newer model.

If you want to spend more money on it, the Hornady powder measure with pistol rotor and case activated linkage is excellent.

[DuaneWessels]

Buy the Auto Drum.
Been using one for 9mmp since they came out. Very consistent, easy to set up.

Lee has been only selling them with the Pro4000 and the new Pro6000 will only come with the Auto Drum. Should tell you something.

[ARK]

Thanks very much, considering that for a while I will only being doing pistol loads I am almost convinced the Lee will be great, will it be just as good to load. 357 Mangum and. 22LR loads also?

[DuaneWessels]

357 Magnum won't be a problem...22LR?

[Treeman]

357 Magnum won't be a problem...22LR?

That 22 LR may present some challenges.

[ARK]

Do you think that. 22 charges are too small to be thrown successfully?

[Treeman]

Do you think that. 22 charges are too small to be thrown successfully?

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The .22 is a rimfire cartridge, as it has no removable primer. Reloadable cases are known as center fire cases and the have a primer that can be punched out and replaced for reloading. We play with these center fire cases in our hobby and sport.
The rimfire case has a hollow belt around the rim or shoulder inside the case. A wet priming agent is put in the case and the case is spun at a high rpm to throw the priming agent out and into the hollow in the rim where it dries. The rim is crushed when the off center firing pin or hammer hits it. Bang.
The process is neither simple or cheap and involve complexities on another level above DIY.
The bullet seating process is also another whole different story.
We as reloaders only entertain ourselves with the centrefire aspects of reloading.

[ARK]

Oh wow! Thank you so much for that certainly a great learning and want to express my gratitude for this forum, I have learnt more here from you guys in a few posts than I have from reading loads of websites and watching videos, nothing can discount good old experience