I don't care for my Lee powder scale and measure. Just too flimsy/cheap and cause me problems I never had with other brands.

The measure leaks with fine powders and Lee's literature tells you it will. That's B.S. and should never be.

The little cheap and cheaply made scale has to have the beam located just so or it does not work right. Also I don't like the 1/10 grain adjustment on this scale.

Now have an electronic scale. Ah, so nice. I've watched the beams swing up and down too long on typical scales. Also have an electronic powder dribbler. Real nice also.

I would like to be able to afford an electronic scale, I will buy one one day. Do they hold their accuracy allright?

I have a Lyman scale and measure, the scale is ok the measure is good, a bit slow to set but will go from nothing to over 100 gn with out changing any thing

I would like to be able to afford an electronic scale, I will buy one one day. Do they hold their accuracy allright?

I have a Lyman scale and measure, the scale is ok the measure is good, a bit slow to set but will go from nothing to over 100 gn with out changing any thing

Aussie,

Yes, my Pact electronic scale "holds" it's accuracy. Thing is, if it gets a little off you can re-zero it. I like to check it's accuracy with the calibrating weights that come with it--or--more commonly use a bullet that's been tested before.

This model of electronic scale goes for about 90 bucks. RCBS "skins" the public with an identical model for much more.

Got to agree about the Lee measure...it does tend to do poorly with fine grained powders but it actually does measure the "medium chunky" powders pretty well.

The scale does feel cheap...probably becasue it was cheap..and it isn't the most convientient to use, but it does weight powder charges accurately.

Guess the advantage to a good beam scale is that unless you beat on it, it will last 20-30years...perhaps more if you bother to keep the knife edges and bearings clean and dust free. It's just to simple to break by itself.

Even though you don't care for it, keep the Lee scape in a box on a shelf...will come a time when the electronic scale craps out in the middle of a reloading job.

Gotta agree bout keeping the Lee scale...if its electronic...the battery will go at the worst possible time.

I used a Lee powder measure for a lot of years...plumb wore it out in fact. But, I was using primarily IMR powders which do not present problems in a Lee scale. The scale was off and I sent it back to get checked...Lee Precision sent me a new one. Gotta give them credit for that. Couple Christmas's ago the wife bought me an RCBS powder measure...all metal..cuts right thorough the stick powders no problem...personally I agree that RCBS tends to overprice their products...but their powder measure is worth every penney I paid for it.

I have two scales...a Lee and a Lyman...both do a pretty fair job for my purposes.

swede

My only real complaint with the Lee safty scale is it only weigh stuff up to 101 grains.

I got me a low cost electronic scale off of Ebay, its real nice for weighing bullets, brass, etc, but it only weighs in full grains, no 1/10th grain, but the Lee works great for setting my powder measure as I have never loaded anything that takes a charge of over 101 grains, LOL, don't think I have ever needed to go over about 65 grains or so.

I like and use both the Lee Safety Scale and Perfect Powder Measure. I also use the Auto-Disk and Pro-Auto Disk on my turret press for pistol and small case rifle calibers.

As a true powder scale, I like the weight range of the Safety Scale (0-110) vs. the larger range of the other manufacturers. That scale simply defines the resolution of the instrument. I like the movement of the poise and the poise lock. The poise slides precisely, with grain weight divisions of .05 (1/20th grain), and locks in place with no chance of being changed until the lock is released.

If the Perfect Powder Measure is leaking, you haven’t adjusted it correctly according to the instructions. The drum operates with a working pressure of 1 to 4 pounds of force depending on the demands of the propellant. I use a very wide range of powder styles with mine and find that it takes very little effort to adjust the drum to perform perfectly. The reason it is adjustable is because you don’t want the drum grinding or chopping off the kernels or flakes of powder. The elastomer wiper of the PPM lifts and levels the powder in the hopper as it rotates to deliver the charge. The pressure of any drum has to be adjustable to accommodate a wide range of powders.

The micrometer settings on the metering rod work great. It is very unusual for me to use the VMD of a powder and not have the setting exactly on the correct grain weight of the load. The repeatability for a given lot of powder is perfect. If the VMD formula of a powder exceeds a result by 16% (the powder manufactures standard between lots), Lee wants to know about it so they can re-evaluate the formula as a change in the manufacture of the powder has taken place. Additionally, the fact that you can pull the hopper off and dump it was a real winner for me.

That brings us down to what it’s made of… plastic (actually nylon). I think the reloading crowd has a big problem with using that material with anything other than steel, I don’t. The PPM was designed with weight and drum operation in mind for progressive loading. It’s light enough to have no influence on a progressive press.

When Lee started marketing the measurer, Midway knew there would be a sales objection to the material it’s made of and wouldn’t offer it until they tested it against all the other drum type measures. What they found was that it outperformed them in all aspects of operation. At one time they had the report available but I couldn’t find it on their website. I’m sure Lee has copies available. Personally, I ended up liking the PPM better than my Hornady and RCBS units so I gave them away.

The only improvement I can see that would be nice would be to add a thumbscrew for adjusting rotor tension and a scale on the drum that relates to rotor tension. I have made some marks on my unit and note that the tension and performance of the rotor is very predictable for a given powder when set to the known reference marks.

It’s varmint-thinning season on my place, time for me to thin out the bobcats, coyotes, raccoons, and skunks before they get to the turkey eggs. Yesterday evening, I shot a nice raccoon right between the eyes, at 75-yards, with a bullet that was propelled by a drop of powder from the PPM. The bullet struck, not slightly above or below, but right between his eyes. This wasn’t accomplished with a flat shooting varmint rifle but my 444P throwing a 318-grain slug out the barrel at only 1450-FPS. I will repeat this shot 99 times in the next three weeks (I kill 100 egg eaters every spring). To do it with a bullet trajectory that could clear my Jeep but is easy on the ears, it takes know distances (a range finder), known performance (a trajectory table that has been proven on the range), and consistent bullet and powder weights. I’m using BL-C(2) in this load and it will literally pour through the drum of the measurer at the factory 16-oz. setting. At approximately 3 pounds (the trigger pull of my 444P is 4 ½ pounds), not one grain of powder is lost outside the drum. The Lee Safety Scale and Perfect Powder Measure deliver for me and I just don’t see the need for a digital scale in my operation.

Michael

No scale should be trusted without a set of check weights. If you don't have any get a pharmacist to weigh a few coins and carefully mark them. If you can't afford check weights, decide how much your fingers and eyes are worth to you.

The electronic ones are great, but can 'wander' and get you in trouble. Once kept trickling in powder to get a charge up, when the scale finally read correctly, the powder level in the case was noticably higher and it was two full grains above where it should be. Don't think my Swede would have cared for that at all!!!

Check weights go on the scale before and after every loading session.

Check weights go on the scale before and after every loading session.

Amen Bro! Actually I've been quite disappointed in my digital calipers and their repeatablility. I've owned two different units and always find the readings a bit "jumpy" despite the claims on the spec sheet.

Michael