Lee Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure - your thoughts, etc.

[Wilsknife]

I tried to find a thread about this measure. I'm looking for techniques for using it effectively, and your comments, criticisms, or questions about it.
Thanks for your replies.

[mellonhead]

I have 4 of these and use them for all my pistol calibers. Which is 95% of my shooting. I use them in a single stage RCBS press and in a RCBS progressive press. I have put the adjustable charge bar in all of mine. Its just so simple to use.

Toby

[Wilsknife]

Thanks Toby. I'm still trying to figure it out. I'm going to go listen to 'Gun Talk' and maybe I'll have an epiphany.

[Wilsknife]

Any way to get consistent consistent powder drops? I'm having a .2 grain variation between 4.8 and 5.0.

[Longwood]

Any way to get consistent consistent powder drops? I'm having a .2 grain variation between 4.8 and 5.0.

That is better than I ever could expect with my Lee measure that I quickly got rid of.

[Mike Kerr]

They work very well in a number of applications. Most useful for specific pistol caliber work with Lee's Powder Thru Expander Die. I used two of them for over 100K rounds of pistol ammo back in the 90's.

When I switched to Dillon presses for most of my reloading I kept them for back up and general utility work on an old Lee Turret and a Dillon 450 I wanted to have cheap auto powder capability on. I still have one of mine. IMO they work best with the fixed Disk rather than the adjustable powder bar. The adjustable micrometer powder bar does work but can leak with some powders and is less than relaible for small powder throws. You can work them with a return spring or a pull back chain depending on what press you have them on.

Go to Lee's Web Site/ + You Tube for Lee Precision. Scratch around and you can see one on a Loadmaster or a Pro 1000 (or a newer Lee Turret with Auto Index) THey are good value for the money if you operate them per the instructions and have some mechanical aptitude and inclination for using them on presses other than Lee.

regards,

[Longwood]

I tried to find a thread about this measure. I'm looking for techniques for using it effectively, and your comments, criticisms, or questions about it.
Thanks for your replies.

It would be a big help if you told us what sort of accuracy you are wanting.
For point and blast away, close in shooting they work very well.
If you are looking for long range accuracy, don't bother with them.

[Mike Kerr]

First, I assume you are speaking of pistol powder measurement. I truly don't understand ditching an AUTOMATIC powder measure for LESS than .2 of a grain variation when you may be using a powder less than ideal for that measure (Varies greatly with specific measure and powder). Especially when the equipment is new & not broken in.

I currently use Dillon automatic measures and a .1 grain variation can happen with no measureable impact on anything except it might be close on a power factor for competition rounds.

Now OVER .2 grain variation can throw you off but at .2 or under I would check to see if the mating surfaces between the Disk and the powder measure are free of burrs - rubbing smoothly on each other - mating evenly all across the disk etc. You don't want the brass screws to tight but a snug, smooth fit is needed for very fine powders.

Also keep in mind the powder funnel within the die is activating the measure and the flare or belling of the case mouth should not be allowed to become a factor.
If you are reloading pistol range brass which has not had the overall length checked like you would do on a rifle or target round then slight variations in case length can be a very small factor.

regards,

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

+1 on what Mike Kerr said. I have used them with great success in several pistol calibers and some small rifle calibers, like .223 and .30 carbine. Like any other brand powder measure on the market, you can tune them to reduce any leakage (If they have any with the powder you happen to be using, most of mine never did.) and to increase over all charge to charge accuracy.

The methods to tune them are known and can be googled. They are a great value and if you take the time to find out via internet research what powders they like, then tune them for peak performance, then use the powders suggested, you will be rewarded with a great powder measure for a low price.

BTW, I also own or have owned Dillon, Hornady, Redding, RCBS and Lee powder measures. I have had a couple of brands besides Lee leak and I've tuned all my powder measures for improved performance. Well worth doing. Those who just say "it leaks and it's cheap junk, toss it" are missing out on a really nice powder measure for very little money.

Hope this helps.

[Jailer]

That is better than I ever could expect with my Lee measure that I quickly got rid of.

I found this with one of mine as well (I have one for each caliber I load) and discovered that the disk wasn't traveling all the way out and it would leave a small amount of powder in the disk cavity upon return. The fix is to remove the insert from your powder through expander and file a small amount from the top of the insert until the disk travels all the way over the drop hole and drops all the powder every time.

[Longwood]

The people that use them on a progressive have no idea if they are working correctly or not.
I hate having to FIX new junk to get it to do OK, instead of perfect, like it should from the Gitgo.

[Norbrat]

The Autodisk has worked just fine for me, except when I tried to use a very light load using the adjustable charge bar. That resulted in a number of loads being very undercharged, to the point I had a boolit stick in the bore.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=139522

I wasn't the first to have this issue.

http://forums.loadmastervideos.com/f...opic.php?t=582

The only other issue is that I just didn't get on with the dinky chain to reset the measure. I went back to the spring which works perfectly well as long as you ensure that you don't lower the case then push it back up and get a double charge. Make sure you full stroke the handle of the press each time and you will be OK.

[evan price]

I've got a dedicated Auto Disk on each die turret. I set them to my basic load and forget it.
With powder such as Titegroup (ball or flattened ball) they are +0/-.1 grains from load to load. The Lee charts are usually optomistic, they are including a safety factor. If a selected hole says it drops 6.2 grains, it usually drops a bit less, maybe 5.8 grains. The important thing is to find the hole that drops closest to what you want and use that, ignore Lee's drop charts except as a rough guide.
I take extra disks and file them to get exactly what I want.

I never had good luck with the adjustable charge bar. I prefer to use the micro disk for small charges.

I use my Pro-1000 for any pistol and 30 carbine and 223 rifle. No problems. I use Titegroup for basic pistol ammo, #9 for the carbine and my Magnums, and H335 for the 223. All ball powders. All measure very well.

Even a flake like PROMO does better than I thought it would.

I don't like the chain, and use the spring return model. You have to be careful about double charging if there;s a problem on the press. But that's what careful work is about.

[Big brass ones]

I agree with Evan price. The secret to the lee auto disc is that it makes a good "set it and forget it" for the lee turret system, and it is not for all powders. I use titegroup allot and get good results with pistol loads. I've even used a double disc and loaded 50 Beowulf which is nearly 40 grains of Lilgun. A good system with limitations

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have about four or five at the moment. The only trouble I ever had was the first one I bought many years ago developed a burr and was catching (Lord knows how it developed a burr, I must have dropped it or something. I sanded then polished it out and that unit is still working and has been in pretty much regular use for 31 years! The others are newer, but a couple of them would be 15 years old, the youngest was bought in 2005. Not a problem with any of them.

I'm not overly sold on the new one that needs the return chain. I prefer the older ones with the big a$$ed spring. The old ones go well with the upgrade kit. I got horribly ball$ed up with the twist shut of reserviors at first, but after loading 50 odd rounds with no powder I am right on the ball with it now!

I have never measured one of the dropped charges in 30+years, apart from some of the Aussie powders and Trailboss as there were not lissted on the charts. I loaded a lot of very accurate 38Special target ammo and 44Mag ammo in that time as well.

I used to say, if it don't go in the Lee AutoDisk, it don't go! If you end up not liking it, send it to me I'll give it a good home.

The risers (for using the measure on a progressive press) and swivel adaptors make them a lot more user friendly.

[Wilsknife]

I fired some of what I loaded with the .2 grain variation. They work great. Using Bullseye and a 90 gn lrn.
Thanks for all your thoughts and insights. Keep 'em coming.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

The people that use them on a progressive have no idea if they are working correctly or not.
I hate having to FIX new junk to get it to do OK, instead of perfect, like it should from the Gitgo.

Actually they do. It's called taking a freshly filled with powder case off the press and weighing the powder. Can be done at any time. Additionally, there is the RCBS lockout die, the Hornady powder cop die and the Dillon powder check system.

As far as having to fix new "junk," I've done it with every single brand out there, including Dillon, Hornady, Redding, RCBS, Lyman, Star, Magma Engineering, C&H and Lee. If you can point to a manufacturer of reloading products whose product you don't have to tune once in a while, please do so. But based on my list, I'm pretty sure if you can, most folks can't afford to buy their product. And I'm betting even if they buy it, they'll have to tune some of them and all of them will benefit from tuning.

[Moonie]

The people that use them on a progressive have no idea if they are working correctly or not.
I hate having to FIX new junk to get it to do OK, instead of perfect, like it should from the Gitgo.

I use them on progressives all the time, only a fool doesn't check the charges regularly. That is certainly asking for trouble. In fact I've been using them on progressives for 20 years with no issues, but again, you MUST do regular checks to ensure the charge is correct. I also calibrate each lot of powder I get to ensure I am using the proper size cavity, I do not go by the chart provided by lee, it is usually close but not exact.

You have to get to know your equipment and each of their idiosyncrasies. Safer that way.

[kostner]

I agree with Evan price. The secret to the lee auto disc is that it makes a good "set it and forget it" for the lee turret system, and it is not for all powders. I use titegroup allot and get good results with pistol loads. I've even used a double disc and loaded 50 Beowulf which is nearly 40 grains of Lilgun. A good system with limitations

Have used mine for twenty years and once you have the right disk is set. Yes I'm aware of the .02+/- doesn't make any difference using W231 BE or Unique. Have fun and safe shooting

[Cowboy T]

I have three of them, and the worst I've ever seen is a 0.2gr difference. Typically, it's within 0.1gr. This is with Bullseye, Titegroup, 2400, and H322. Haven't tried it with Unique yet. For me, they just work very well.

BTW, I'm one of those who does regularly change the cavity size depending on what I'm loading. It's a good thing to "prime the pump" by doing at least five powder drops through it first, using any ol' spare case, before you start checking measurements. My method is 5 drops w/o bothering to measure yet, then measuring the next 5, adjusting if necessary, and then repeating. Once it's set and "primed" like this, it drops consistently from that point forward.