RCBS Little Dandy Pistol Powder Measure

[PaprPuncr]

Anyone out there in the reloading world happen to have any experience in using this type of powder measure ? I plan on using it to charge 9MM cases.
Is it worth it money wise ? I plan on using one brand of powder and loads from Hornady's # 7 manual. I have picked on 4 rotors that will meet my needs. FIRE AWAY !

[hornady]

They have a large following. And some guy love them. I know guys that set up a couple of the Lees. So they are not changing powder settings a lot. But I hear there is not a lot to the change over on the RCBS. But like everything else in reloading. Guys will either hate or love it. I have two Hornadys One on the LNL and one standing independent for rifle and a Lyman 55 I use for pistol I don’t load on the LNL. That’s the set up that works best for my needs But everyone is different. And before anyone ask why I have two Hornadys. The one is set up with the pistol rotor in the LNL.

[Philadelphia]

Anyone out there in the reloading world happen to have any experience in using this type of powder measure ? I plan on using it to charge 9MM cases.
Is it worth it money wise ? I plan on using one brand of powder and loads from Hornady's # 7 manual. I have picked on 4 rotors that will meet my needs. FIRE AWAY !

As another option to consider: the Hornady measure with the pistol rotor and pistol micrometer insert. Instead of having to buy a bunch of different Little Dandy fixed rotors that won't give you every possible charge you might want (they jump at least about 0.2 grains each and you can't do in between), the Hornady measure with the pistol micrometer is very repeatable and you can just dial your favorite load and verify with a scale.

I have made a chart of micrometer settings for my favorite pistol powders in 0.1 grain increments accurate to within 0.02 grain or better (spent some time with a scale one afternoon). Of course I always check with a scale when setting it but the settings are extremely repeatable.

[max384]

As another option to consider: the Hornady measure with the pistol rotor and pistol micrometer insert. Instead of having to buy a bunch of different Little Dandy fixed rotors that won't give you every possible charge you might want (they jump at least about 0.2 grains each and you can't do in between), the Hornady measure with the pistol micrometer is very repeatable and you can just dial your favorite load and verify with a scale.

I have made a chart of micrometer settings for my favorite pistol powders in 0.1 grain increments accurate to within 0.02 grain or better (spent some time with a scale one afternoon). Of course I always check with a scale when setting it but the settings are extremely repeatable.

What scale are you using that records to hundredths of grains?

[Philadelphia]

What scale are you using that records to hundredths of grains?

I average ten out of the measure. Several times. The Hornady measure is very accurate. The only "secrets" I have discovered is anything that touches powder has to be "surgically" clean -- not even a fingerprint or molecule of any lubricant, and I have found some external spots that benefit from lube (most recently the sides of the metering insert where they touch the cast parts of the frame -- but be careful not to get any lubricant, at all, on the external face of the rotor). If it is perfectly clean inside and it moves up and down smoothly, it does its thing without any fussing or tapping or need of full moon like some other measures do.

If it is not perfectly clean, a few granules of powder will stick to any dirt or lube and inevitably fall into another load, giving varying results (a couple 100ths of a grain isn't many granules of powder -- it has to be CLEAN). If it isn't moving up and down reasonably smoothly, the powder can "pack" slightly differently in the rotor cavity and give slightly different charges (it takes a lot of inconsistentcy in moving the rotor but if it's sticking and jerking, especially when it comes down, it will happen slightly).

There is a scale that will measure 100ths but I don't have one. Yet.

[Xringshooter]

I have the Lil Dandy and love it. If you're reloading handgun ammo and don't have a progressive, it makes it really fast.

The first thing I did when I got it was to throw and weigh a whole bunch of different powders/loads to see how close it was to the table that they give you. I found some differences and noted them. Before I use it I will throw 10 loads and weigh them just to see if the conditions are the same and I am getting the same throws.

For me, I like it, if I'm only doing a 100 rounds or so and don't want to change my progressive over to the round I'm loading I use this with my single stage. I do it in stages.
Resize and deprime all brass
Bell all the case mouths
Reprime all the brass (with a hand primer)
Drop the powder in all
Check for high or low levels of powder in all (redo as necessary)
Start bullets in all
Seat and crimp all
Done

[Flash]

The RCBS Lil' Dandy is a next generation of the Pacific "Bullseye" measure. I have used one for years for competition and everything else pistol, except really big loads in big cases like 44MAG. The Pacific Bullseye was made with BRASS rotors, but in this age of high-cost brass, the RCBS uses a good grade of steel, or so it would seem. It is nearly as easy to use or modify as brass. You CAN ream out the cavities to fit your own purposes, you know.

I made a bunch of spare rotors of brass (.075" brass rod is perfect, saw-cut or machine a slit in it, and drill a cavity to exact size for each application) however, before I made the spares, I did use a "double-charge" from a small cavity for a number of different loads. That works OK, if you are consistently careful.

This sort of measure works best with a loading block, where you can set 50 cases in rows, and charge them all at the same time. That makes it a very straightforward thing to look at each charge and determine if it is "normal" - neither too much nor too little powder.

Do your loads in batches, and like X-ringshooter said, do one whole operation on all the cases in the batch before moving on to the next operation.

When I was batching 500 at a time, I would only charge powder with one loading block holding 50, and for me it was easier to pick up a bullet and a charged case separately with my left hand, and insert the bullet in the case while it was on the shell-holder on the ram. YMMV

These powder measures are dead-on reliable, repeatable and accurate.

Or. like the rigger told me when I was issued my first parachute,
" This thing is Foolproof. But remember, it is not DAMN-FOOL proof !"

I have entertained the idea of making an adjustable cavity, with a 3/8" ID cavity and a 1/4x20 setscrew in from the bottom to vary the internal volume, but my lathe and mill are still in the back of the garage, and it will be spring before they come to the fore.

Flash

[Xringshooter]

I made a bunch of spare rotors of brass (.075" brass rod is perfect, saw-cut or machine a slit in it,

OOPS, I believe you meant a 0.75" brass rod (0.075" would be a tad bit small)

[Flash]

OOPS, I believe you meant a 0.75" brass rod (0.075" would be a tad bit small)

You are so right, the dimension is .750". Damn, it is hard to nail that pesky little "0", even if it has that big hole in the middle.

Like the rigger said, it "....is not damn-fool proof".

Flash

[Pete D.]

I have a little Dandy mounted on a press downstairs. Nice.
The downside is that the individual rotors are expensive. I also have the Lyman version of that type of measure. A complete set of brass rotors is substantially less $ than the RCBS.
Pete