Accuracy of Harrell Powder measure - PREMIUM version

I did not intend to exchange any flammables with you or anyone else.

The guy peddling Lynwood's stuff across the pond should be able to demonstrate the technique required to throw consistent charges.

If he says he can or that his customer should be able to, he should be willing to help this guy out.

If he can't then he's just repeating what he's heard or read on the interweb.

You on the other hand have mastered the technique needed to get consistent charges.

Your description of your technique is just about the same as Lynwood's.

I frequent Lynwood's shop on a regular basis and I see his products in various stages

in the manufacturing process.

I'm sorry if the were any mis-comprehensions.

What kind of demo are you putting on?
 
I just had to bring this thread back to the top.

This morning I spent a about 4 hours in Dad's basement throwing powder with my "Harrell’s Premium BR Powder Measure" (read Hummer measure) which is set up for 6 divisions between numbered values.

I concentrated my throwing with 3 powders, V V 133 (for my PPC's), H 4198 (for my .30 BR's), and IMR 8208 xbr (which I use in my 6.5mm BR)

Scales: I have an old O’hause (made for RCBS) Balance beem scale, And I have a Pact digital. A number of Years ago, before Greg Walley was working for Kelblys, he made me a set of weights on a Laboratory scale the weights are accurate to .001 grains. One weight is 27.903 grains, and the other is 28.003 grains. When I test either one of these scales with these weights the scales are right on. Neither have ever varied. I know you guys talk about the digital readout or resolution of the digital scales as being accurate to + or - .1 grains, I fully understand that, but if the scale, or scale DRO (digital readout) were to vary, wouldn't it vary while using the test weights as well as a charge? Think about that. The reason Greg made these weights at that range was that at the time we were shooting mostly 6 ppc and .220 Russian, to test the scale at 50 or 20 Grams makes no sense, if what you are weighing is only 28 grains.

Now to the powder throwing: I already said I tested three powders. I tested each of them the same way. I start by setting up the measure with the powder in it and running about ten charges through the measure. This clears the tightly compacted charge from the bottom of the measure from the initial filling. Those ten charges I just dump back into the hole at the top of the bottle. I throw my charges into a small prescription bottle so I don't lose granules out the side. Once the initial dumping is done I am ready to test some charges. I begin by looking at my book and see the range of loads I use. For Instance with the H 4198 I use from 34.0 to 34.5 grains regularly, depending on conditions at the range. With my measure, a setting of 63-2 is as close as I get to 34.0, 63-3 would be heavy by a tad. So I throw 10 charges in the pill bottle and weigh it. Result was 339.4 grains an average of 33.94 grains per throw. Hold On now I know you guys are going to say my heavy charges and light charges balance out and I get to that figure basically by a guess at best. And I can see where you come from there. So I do the same thing 4 more times, lets see how repetitive that guess is. The next for 10 charges averages were 339.3 (33.93), 339.7 (33.97) 339.2 (33.92), and 339.5 (33.95). Still averaging 33.94 after 50 throws. I do this for each click up until I get to the 34.5 grain charge that my max load is set at. 63-3 averaged 34.06, 63-4 averaged 34.20, 63-5 averaged 34.35, and the top load 64-0 averaged 34.48. Just averages so far though.

Let's see what we get when we weight every charge. Of the three Powders, H4198 was the worst one with charge to charge variation. The best was IMR 8208 xbr. And Vhit 133 was in the middle of the road. When I weighed individual charges of H 4198 I weighed 20 charges at the top load (64-0) and 20 at my bottom load (63-2). The top load produced 13 charges at 34.5 (the scale rounds my average 34.48 to 34.5), and 5 charges at 34.4, with the other 2 charges 34.6. That's + or - 0.1 grains, with the vast majority being at the charge I was set for. That was the worst powder I measured and it is used in my .30 BR for Score (Ron Hoehn claims score is entry level BR) + or - 0.1 grain is good enough for entry level, I guess! I had very similar results at my low setting of 63-2, 14 charges were at 33.9 (remember the scale will round down for 33.94), I had 4 charges at 34.0, and 2 charges at 33.8. Again + or - 0.1 grains from the amount I had set for.

The Best Powder was IMR 8208 xbr. My higher setting of 62-3 produces averages at 35.32 grains 8208 (which is used in my 6.5mm BR). That setting had 20 thrown charges 17 of which were at 35.3. And 3 of which were at 35.4, no charges were light. + 0.1 grain - 0.0 grain pretty tight. You can feel a heavy charge, because you get a harder cut on the powder, with that in mind, in the competitive arena, you could take a hard cut charge and put it back in the bottle, 3 times out of 20 isn’t bad. The lower charge of 61-5 produced charge weights that averaged 34.8 grains. Of the 20 loads thrown, 16 were on the money at 34.8, 3 were over at 34.9, and 1 was light at 34.7. Again the heavy charges you could feel the heavier cut.

I won’t go into the drama with the Vhit 133, it was better than H4198, but not as good as the 8208 xbr.

If I had a better scale you would probably still see the same results just to one more decimal point. Accuracy of + or - 0.1 grains at a 34 grain charge represents a difference in volume of 3/340ths volume required or just less than one tenth of one percent total volume variation. "Good enough" to shoot short range BR and be competitive. There are many better things to do with four hours time on a Saturday than to worry about how accurate you can throw charges, unless you need the practice. If I had the 4 hours back, I would have liked to turn necks on more brass, or better yet, practice reading the wind.

Paul
 
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Paul,
I have thrown a lot of 20 charge runs that were +- .1 with 133, and you could argue that since I never load more than that at one time, that that is good enough. It is when I go for larger number of charges that it seems that the outliers crop up. I should add that I am still throwing 133 at the range, which is where I do all of my PPC loading. In the past, I thought that I was a better thrower than I am, for two reasons. It turns out that my 10-10 was in bad need of a tuneup (as diagnosed with a pretty good electronic scale, carefully used) and I was stopping at 20 throws when testing. This is not to say that I have any doubt about your equipment or results. Thanks for the data. if it is not too much trouble, could you share your measure technique?
Boyd
 
Boyd,

As I said, when I was getting the tables figured out I would throw 10 charges in a bottle and weigh them, divide by ten for average, easy cheesy just move the decimal, then throw the powder back in the measure. I would do these five times… 50 charges in a row at one setting. My averages over those 50 charges in 10 charge lots were extremely close. I did not however throw and weigh singly more than 20 in a row, like you said it’s not needed at match level, I guess unless you preload with more than 20 cases, which I do not.

Now, about my throwing technique, I’ll try to make this easy. It really is easy. First let’s set up the Harrell’s measure. With a new one, you should wipe it down with a dryer static cloth, to remove any static that likes to cause kernels to stick in weird places, wipe down the drop tube as well, I use a 4” drop, for 30 BR, I use the big hole, for 6mm, I use the small hole. I also wipe down the pill bottle with a static cloth, and the Nalgene pill bottle I use has the removable bottom plug. Once it’s all wiped down pour powder in the pill bottle and mark the pill bottle so you don’t forget what’s in there (very important, a lot of our powders look alike). I use masking tape and a sharpie. With the powder in the bottle I assemble the bottle to the measure and the drop tube to the measure. Now turn it upside down and put it on the measure stand you have, on a table that is steady. If new run about ¼ pound of powder through measure and redistribute back into the hopper bottle. At home I have the press on one table and the measure on another table. I have a swivel chair so I can go from one table to the other easy. At matches I don’t do both at the same time. I have to break concentration here.

Go through all the steps of loading ammo, (cleaning, sizing, wiping off die wax, primer pocket cleaning, priming, etc.) right up to the point that you are ready to load powder into cartridges. Once you are that far, you are ready to get the measure ready to throw charges.

Now you have 20 pieces of brass ready and primed. Keep a small prescription bottle handy (3” high x 1” diameter) always have this near your measure. Now take a good feel on the handle of the measure, notice there is some end slop, side to side because of the ring clips and the way the tumbler is built. I have noticed cutting powder is less troublesome when you pull the end play out of the handle by pulling the handle away from the measure, it is worse if you push the handle in to the measure. This end play is only about .010”, (I have not measured it), but it matters. The powder in your measure has settled near the bottom since you were operating your press sizing brass and banging your table cleaning primer pockets and such. You need to get all that settled powder out of the bottom of the measure. Keep the end play tight, and you’ll notice how the powder cuts easy. Drop about 15 charges into the pill bottle, until ¾ full or so and pour it back into the top of the hopper bottle. This gets the tight compacted powder out of there.

Now your measure is ready to throw a charge I simple lift the handle smooth and gently (no bang or tap at the top) just pause an instant (1/2 second maybe) to allow the tumbler to fill and smoothly and slowly with end play removed pull the handle down, (a slow drop will allow you to stack more powder in the case, twisting the case back and forth in your fingers will also get more powder stacked into the case, I can get up to 31.7 grains of 133 in a PPC, it’s not pretty but for one barrel I needed it.). At the bottom of stroke, not a hard stop or bang, but a noticeable single tap or click (which drops any hanging chads, no that’s Florida voters, hanging kernels is what I mean). You’re done! Drop all 20, seat 20 bullets (don’t spill any), and go to the line, hopefully you remembered the primers. The reason for dropping 20 and then seating 20 is so your press doesn’t bang seating bullets and cause settling in the Harrell’s while you’re measuring powder. Bangs at top and bottom of stroke will do the same thing. Bangs are bad unless you’re on the line. If you load with someone use separate tables or you’ll forever be fighting the settling. Also every time you load cases get rid of the settled powder by dropping 15 or so and reloading the hopper bottle. Towards the end of the day keep an eye on the hopper you don’t want to be dangerously close to “E”. Keep the bottle near full. 3 key points are; no static, no end play, no bangs. That’s about as easy as I can put it. It really is harder to write than it is to do. I hope it works for you. I don’t profess to be the best at this, but I’m “good enough”. People hate to see that phrase in BR so I love to use it.

Paul
 
Harrels powder dispenser HORROR story

londonhunter said:
Again thank you for the advice

I think the Harrell dealer in UK should inform customer that technique is important and that 0.3 variation is to be expected

However before we were offered this product we were told that I will thrown accurate charges like a RCBS chargemanster

once the customer expectation is raised you will fall harder. Thats exactly what happened here.

Even when I return to the same and only dealer in the UK I am told it should throw 0.1 accuracy and there is something wrong with my technique

At least I know now what its capability is and as i said before go and enjoy my shooting

Merry christmas everybody here
Click to expand...

I have spent about an hour talking to the owner about this powder measure/thrower. He assured me that you can easily get at least 0.2, or even 0.1. I have purchased the unit directly from the company. I DO understand that this is a volume dependent thrower, and also understand that smaller ball powders will always be easier to throw by this technology, and that the bigger extruded powders (IMR 3031 and larger) will not be as precise. I have been reloading for about 3 years now, and let me tell you folks, it is a LOT quicker to use Lee scoops and trickle by hand the rest of it than to use this unit. About a week after purchasing this unit I called the company again and asked to speak to the owner - he was not available and I ended up talking with another senior associate. I told him that I have had tried pretty much anything.. stopping the charging handle half-way, changing speeds or bringing the handle up and down, changed the angle at which the unit was installed BTW on the appropriate SINCLAIR stand which I had to purchase in addition to the unit. The guy was flat out RUDE to me, clearly implying that I am a some king of moron and do not know what to do. THE UNIT DOES NOT TRACK!!! As you decreasing the volume it may be increasing the charge and visa versa. Ant it is doing this on a Winchester 748 vey fine ball powder. C'mon folks. If your rifle scope is not tracking you can shoot but you will NOT hit anything. This thing has a "TORETT LIKE KNOB" that supposed to control the entire operation of this devise. It does to some extent but ABSOLUTELY ERRATICALLY, practically without any logic to it.. I needed to charge .308 with 175 SMK with 42.5 grains. First it took me 40 minutes until I got this charge right, having had verified the charge with a digital scale. Next charge after that one was 43.7, next 40.4.., and then it was sort of "settling down" at about 40.1.., and after several charges (trial of course..) all over sudden it went to 44.6. I started adjusting this torett again hoping still to get what I needed from the beginning, 42.5. I am decreasing the chamber size, and unit INCREASING the weight!! Once I would get for unit to produce somewhat (+/- 3-4 tenths !!!) at some point, it would throw 4 maybe 5 charges in that"range", and totally would go out of what again throwing something totally ridiculous. FOLKS, ALL THIS FANCY LOOKING MACHINERY DOE NOT WORK, and you are on your own, as people at this company are RUDE and do NOT stand behind their products. Also, the unit I have received looked like used (probably a Sinclair or Brownells return.When I got it I asked whether it was a return. They got offended and stated to me that ..".. we don't do that kind of crap..", or something very similar. So here I am, having had spent like $340 for this system, which is sitting mounted on the bench and doing absolutely nothing. And you know why? Because it IS absolutely worthless piece of fancy looking JUNK!! And I am back to my weight based Lyman Digital Dispenser (Great unit BTW), and yellow Lee scoops with the hand trickling for a remainder of the charge needed. Judging from all this I very strongly suggest anyone interested in this unit to look elsewhere, for it looks good but TOTALLY useless according to my experience. You'd be the judge, afterall it is your money.
Respectfully submitted,

bb
 
bbell116 said:
I have spent about an hour talking to the owner about this powder measure/thrower. He assured me that you can easily get at least 0.2, or even 0.1. I have purchased the unit directly from the company. I DO understand that this is a volume dependent thrower, and also understand that smaller ball powders will always be easier to throw by this technology, and that the bigger extruded powders (IMR 3031 and larger) will not be as precise. I have been reloading for about 3 years now, and let me tell you folks, it is a LOT quicker to use Lee scoops and trickle by hand the rest of it than to use this unit. About a week after purchasing this unit I called the company again and asked to speak to the owner - he was not available and I ended up talking with another senior associate. I told him that I have had tried pretty much anything.. stopping the charging handle half-way, changing speeds or bringing the handle up and down, changed the angle at which the unit was installed BTW on the appropriate SINCLAIR stand which I had to purchase in addition to the unit. The guy was flat out RUDE to me, clearly implying that I am a some king of moron and do not know what to do. THE UNIT DOES NOT TRACK!!! As you decreasing the volume it may be increasing the charge and visa versa. Ant it is doing this on a Winchester 748 vey fine ball powder. C'mon folks. If your rifle scope is not tracking you can shoot but you will NOT hit anything. This thing has a "TORETT LIKE KNOB" that supposed to control the entire operation of this devise. It does to some extent but ABSOLUTELY ERRATICALLY, practically without any logic to it.. I needed to charge .308 with 175 SMK with 42.5 grains. First it took me 40 minutes until I got this charge right, having had verified the charge with a digital scale. Next charge after that one was 43.7, next 40.4.., and then it was sort of "settling down" at about 40.1.., and after several charges (trial of course..) all over sudden it went to 44.6. I started adjusting this torett again hoping still to get what I needed from the beginning, 42.5. I am decreasing the chamber size, and unit INCREASING the weight!! Once I would get for unit to produce somewhat (+/- 3-4 tenths !!!) at some point, it would throw 4 maybe 5 charges in that"range", and totally would go out of what again throwing something totally ridiculous. FOLKS, ALL THIS FANCY LOOKING MACHINERY DOE NOT WORK, and you are on your own, as people at this company are RUDE and do NOT stand behind their products. Also, the unit I have received looked like used (probably a Sinclair or Brownells return.When I got it I asked whether it was a return. They got offended and stated to me that ..".. we don't do that kind of crap..", or something very similar. So here I am, having had spent like $340 for this system, which is sitting mounted on the bench and doing absolutely nothing. And you know why? Because it IS absolutely worthless piece of fancy looking JUNK!! And I am back to my weight based Lyman Digital Dispenser (Great unit BTW), and yellow Lee scoops with the hand trickling for a remainder of the charge needed. Judging from all this I very strongly suggest anyone interested in this unit to look elsewhere, for it looks good but TOTALLY useless according to my experience. You'd be the judge, afterall it is your money.
Respectfully submitted,

bb
Click to expand...


Some things....

First of all, the assumption that ball powder will throw more accurately is FALSE IMO. I've tested it. One of the reason I've tested it is because BEFORE I tested it I assumed it would be "better." I reload for people, I reload for guns I've spec'd or built. Some of these setups I've purposely tuned using ball powder because they're <350yd hunting rigs and I've wanted to save time (money) for my client. After all, ALL factory rounds are volume-loaded.....But this one time the client was going into a "Sniper Competition" with his deer rifle. Figured I'd best be exter careful. Sooooo, with 300rds loaded up and setting I went through and did my random sampling test just to make sure....

WhaBAMMM!

I ended up going through 300rds and individually dumping/fixing them. For Free. HOURS later I decided to test my hypothesis about ball powder. 7 different ball powders DID NOT throw consistently.

So we're back where we were 15yrs ago in this discussion, and 10yrs ago, with one difference.... I MYSELF NOW KNOW THAT BALL IS NO BETTER! :) .... IMO the best metering powders are those small kernel, short-cut stick powders which are nearly square in profile. And they, THE BEST METERING powders are hard-pressed to stay 1/4gr variance.

Now, in some games this is entirely adequate, in others, it's not.




Now, per Mr bbell116.......

The absolute SECRET to using a powder thrower is consistency. I mean CON..SIS..TEN..CY like you set out ALL the rounds in blocks and you breathe deeply, take 5-10-15 practice throws and go _ after _ it _ without _ stopping _ or _ changing _ anything.

The pros are remarkably good at this and can actually make runs that only vary about .15 gr in a run of 20 cases. I could name 10 people here on this shooting board who do or have practiced throwing technique...... for HOURS....... And with practice you can absolutely achieve a consistency equaling factory loading, consistency adequate for individual runs of reloading when shooting out to 350-400yds. Beyond that you'd better just plan on weighing charges!

IMO

but be aware, you get up and walk away, come back and throw another run and you may be off by 2 tenths...... come back the next day, SAME SETTING, and you may be off 1/2 grain!

Anyway, these are some of my thoughts. A search of this board will turn up a lot of discussion on the subject :)

al
 
Here are some suggestions as to technique, and a bit more.

Don't expect to arrive at a workable consistent technique in one or two sessions. It takes more time than that, weighing charges that are each checked with a very good scale.

Back when I first got my Harrell measure, I tested with and without the baffle, and have left it out since then.

Having played with all sorts of measures and baffles, I now have two pieces of masking tape on the side of my powder bottles that delineate the fill range within which the measure works most consistently, I add powder as needed to stay within that range. This has worked better than any baffle.

Although I have come up with more than one workable technique for 133, I have continued to explore with the goal of finding the simplest one that works for me.

As others have mentioned, I start by throwing 15-20 charges. My latest take is not to return them, or any charge that does not go into a case to the measure.

The newest (for me) technique is based on a six count at a steady pace that takes about four seconds to complete, or a shade more.

On one I snap the handle up to a position just short of the stop.

On two I touch the stop, not tap, quietly touch.

Three is a pause in that position.

Four five and six are the time that it takes to take the handle to the position where I can feel the cavity close.

How you drop the charge from that point, does not influence its weight.

I should mention that I reject any charge that I cannot feel a slight crunch when I close the cavity. I know that this is the opposite of what many have been taught. So be it. I have come to the conclusion that if I cannot feel anything as I close the cavity, that it may be less than full, by some small amount.

By way of further explanation, the reason that I snap the handle up abruptly on one, is that it increases the velocity of the powder dropping into the cavity and this does a better job of filling it.

The reason that I only touch and do not tap the stop is that the weight of powder thrown varies with the force of a tap, and it is hard for me to be consistent tapping.

The pause, is because I have found that it takes some time for things to settle into the cavity.

The slow close (4,5,&6) is because I have observed that it is possible to sling some powder out of the cavity when closing fast.

Depending on the situation, one's impatience can speed up the count, and have me hitting the stop when I do not want to, so I usually start a run with a couple of charges that are discarded, to get back in the groove.

My latest experiment is to keep the bottle sealed except when adding powder, and to slide an insulating sleeve around it that keeps the light off of it as well. Years ago when I dumped the contents of a inertial bullet puller back into my measure (regular powder hopper, not bottle) and fished out the bullet, I noticed that the powder was warmer than I expected. This led me to conclude that dark powder inside of a transparent, or translucent bottle acts like a solar collector. Recently, when a friend was testing loads at the range, he started out with cold brass and components from storage in his unheated shed. He was set up to load in the sun. The load that worked initially, did not work on the next time around, when slightly less powder was the ticket. During the ensuing time, although the outside temperature had not changed, the powder in the measure, and the brass had become appreciably warmer in the sun. IMO we have enough variables without letting our powder change more than we have to, while we are using it.

I have a number of powder measures, Harrell, Hollywood, Lyman, and SAECO. The only ones that I can do as well with, and perhaps a little easier, as the Harrel, are my SAECO Micro-measures. The Lyman does well too, but the shearing edges have become blunted over time, which makes smooth operation more difficult.

Different powders, and different measures may require variations in measure technique in order to produce best results.

I am not saying that what I do is better than what someone else does, just that this is what I do.

To the fellow that is unhappy because the person that sold him his measure misrepresented what it can do. IMO your quarrel should be with him alone. Most of us would have known that he was grossly exaggerating. The Harrell's advantages do not make it immune from the limitations inherent in any volume measure.
 
I don't have anything to add..much...

There's nothing wrong with accuracy - period - the end.

However, there is something that needs to be said about worrying with powder accuracy. Unless you're coming in second or third right regularly, there's no need to concern yourself with powder weight.
 
Boyd, this is for you only......in the interest (shared) of sharing info

While I appreciate your "velocity" conjecture, I've had better luck with a slower zen-like "sand pouring into a vase" (pronounced va'hz, with the umlaut)
motion....'tic'....

'm just sayin'

al
 
I tried it more than one way. This is not my first go round. Also, I have had different results than you report for ball powder. For me is follows the pattern of finer granulations having less variation in weight, but I am always aware that different powders like different techniques, so I vary mine both with the measure and the powder shape. The one that I described was what I use for my Harrell measure with 133. I have found that there are subtle differences in technique that are difficult to describe in print that result in different people getting different results from the same set of instructions. A while back, I was using a more complicated operating technique with 133 and when I first measured the new LT32 and Accurate 2015 I used the same one and did not get the result that I expected, given the finer granulation, so I made a change and that gave me the results that I expected. The same thing has been true when using the same powder in different measures.
 
Harrell measure

+one for Wilbur + One for Nader on that upgrade.
But if your going to use powder the size of Lincoln logs then use the charge master
 
Harrels issue continued

Alleluia. Thank you all for some input on this issue. As I feel now,one needs to be a Houdini and perform some serious hand, arm and breathing trickery to operate this device, and once you master some technique for one kind of powder, for another you have to straggle all over again. With all due respect it does NOT sound very appetizing in any way, shape or form to me. Especially considering that it takes me 1/2 an hour to throw 100 charges with the Digital Lyman weight based dispenser, with an accuracy of plus/minus 0.1 grain. With the hand trickle, using Lee scoop and Jennings / J-Scale JSVG 20 Digital ( accurate to 0.01 grain!!), (yes, you R right, ONE HUNDREDTH OF A GRAIN!!), and the Redding green trickler, I timed myself to have had loaded/charged 100 .308/ 7.62 Lake City cases in about 50 minutes. So, my question is: ..is the JUICE WORTH THE SQUEEZE ???. For,an entire idea behind spending the money for this device was indeed to cut the time. Anyone wants to buy this unit from me???? I'll ship it to UK, as I bet that it costs more in UK than in NJ. It is brand new with the SiNCLAIR proper mount for it. If you are willing to do what is suggested on this blog to get the consistent and accurate throws, buy it from me, same some dough and "have a ball". After all it is said to be the best in the World. Maybe it is, but I guess I am not intelligent enough to operate it properly, so from now on I will continue to rely on my digital Lyman, or, if even greater precision throws are needed, on the Lee scoop, my hands, Redding green trickler and a very good and precise digital scale, where with any of these techniques it takes a LOT less time than with this unit, which I can spend more productively getting as little as possible of a runout from my head sitting technique (Redding Micrometer Die, at time RCBS micrometer Die. (BTW, I have a HORNADY Micrometer Die for sale too, in 7.62/308 - it is lesser of three, yet is also very good and prices very reasonably). That being a very important factor in LR groups (300 to 900 yards). So, please let me know if you want it for I'm sure we can get to consensus on the price and logistics. PayPal would be the safest and the easiest. Please let me know. We can do a "package deal" for all three items. the thrower, the SINCLAIR stand and HORNANY micrometer sitting die.

Sincerely and respectfully
Peace to all and be always safe

bb

PS. Thank you Mr. Boyd Allan for the best posting. I copied it into Word and will give it a try. The suggestions were indeed "down-to-business", without a usual bla-bla-bla. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, from a bottom of my heart. Keep at it..
 
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I think that it is fair to say that the Culver conversion and all of the various versions that have been produced, in including those made by Harrell Precision, were made for benchrest shooters who were loading at the range, between matches, and who found the repeatable settings, built-in clamp, and what started out as a pill bottle adapter, advantageous, FOR THAT SPECIFIC APPLICATION. The amount of charge variation that the typical 1-200 yd group competition will tolerate, and the particle sizes of the powders that were commonly used, allowed shooters to forgo their scales, which would have been unsuitable for outdoor use, and simply throw charges. Roll forward a number of years, and we have shooters loading for types of competition where loading at the range between matches is not feasible, the powders commonly used and the ES requirements of the yardages being shot are not compatible with thrown charges.....but they have been bombarded with a lot of advertising that touts the virtues of premium measures, and so wanting to spare no expense, the buy one, only to find out that the physics that dictate the limits of any volume measure are still in place. Nevertheless, for those applications where thrown charges work, I like my Harrell measure very much. It is a good fit for my needs, and I find that its unique combination of features contribute significantly to my enjoyment of the kind of reloading that I most commonly do, at the range, with suitable powders, loading for relatively short range group shooting.
 
I find that I must agree with Boyd here FWIW.... Boyd is being painfully clear and he deserves credit for it. I side with Boyd.

In fact, not only side with him but add some alrant of my own!

Lest I be misunderstood, THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE for the powder thrower, and HARRELL'S IS A GOOD ONE. In fact, for 99.99% of all loading done in the world it's more than sufficient. For short-range Bench Rest, the absolute PINNACLE of intrinsic accuracy in the world....IT IS SUFFICIENT!

It is more than sufficient, it is EFFICIENT and efficacious, it's THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB.

It is entirely possible, right and proper to compete on the world stage with the most accurate rifles ever conceived, shooting against the best shooters who ever walked, USING THROWN CHARGES, charges thrown by a HARRELL'S powder measure.

rantoff

al
 
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