Dedicated powder measure

[greyhunter]

Never trust an adjustable powder measure. That being said, next year I will have a 40gr powder measure to load the short rifle for the Youth Field Day. At the end of the day, with the last group of youth shooters watching, I overcharged the rifle they were to shoot. As soon as I saw my reference marks on the ram rod I knew that the rifle was overcharged. Sooo I turned to the group and said I will shoot this load, not telling them what had happened. The subsequent roar of the half stock fifty and recoil number it did on me made a big impression . When I checked my brass powder measure, the lock nut had loosened and allowed the piston to fall to some'eres around 120 grs. When I poured the charge in I got my first clue and seating the ball confirmed it. This was after a long day and charging the little rifle over 100 times for the youth to shoot my buffalo target. Thankfully I religiously checked the ram rod witness marks all day, each time, every time I loaded. Old habits saved a young shooter from a nasty recoil, and made me wake up! I tried to concentrate while loading all day, and thankfully, I caught my one slip up. We had a good turn out and many compliments on our demonstration and conduct of the muzzle loader station. And I give a special thanks to "Man Above" for keeping everyone safe.

[sse]

Those things are hard to use sometimes.  Mine has some tarnish on it, so it's hard to see the measuring marks...

[RobD]

an adjustable "dynamic" brass measure is almost mandatory for working up a long gun's load.  when figured out, i make cow horn tip "static" charger of the appropriate powder throw.

[Fletcher]

I do use an adjustable brass measure because I change loads for distance on trail walks.  I did buy
'good ones' that I can adjust quickly and clearly see the volume level.  I also clean and polish the
measure at least 2 times per year so it works smooth and I can clearly read the markings.  All the
powder, oil/acid from my hands and just plain dirt can get them grimy pretty quickly.  A fixed measure
made from horn will not do that so bad - they a great if you don't change charge that much.

[RobD]

i've got at least 5 horn measures made and used, with more to come.  

imo, a fixed measure is just more reliable - particularly as we, ahem, gain wisdom through age.  

[sse]

I also clean and polish the measure at least 2 times per year so it works smooth and I can clearly read the markings.

Good idea...!

[greyhunter]

I have various measures for my different rifles, some cow horn tips some deer antler, some reworked centerfire cases. I will make one for the youth shoot next year of 40grs! The graduated measure was handy as it has an attached funnel. I guess simply put, never trust anything mechanical. The one time I didn't check the setting of the measure it tried to bite me in the butt. But scribe marks on ramrods don't lie!

[Uncle Russ]

.............. particularly as we, ahem, gain wisdom through age.  :oops:

Anyway, out of boredom, I once compared actual scale weight against each of the adjustable measures by different manufacturers, and I was surprised at the variance in the adjustable measures...75.0 grain on one measure may lack a full 1/8" on the other measure just to fill it to the top, while it may spill over at the top on another measure.
Actual scale weight made it appear even more pronounced, which doesn't amount to a hill of beans.
I suddenly had this very bright idea that I had stumbled onto something, and I was going to capitalize on it!
I was going to find that sweet spot on a certain brand /manufacturer and I was going to dominate the firing line!

.......months later, after several pounds of powder and hundreds of rounds down range, my sudden inspiration had turned into a true exercise in futility!
I broke my own bubble, without saying a word to anyone else.
No embarrassment, no public humiliation, and no fleas on my dog.  

All this "playing around" had proved absolutely nothing!
We are dealing with measurements by volume, ever gun has it's own sweet spot for a powder load, and if 75, 80, 77.5, or whatever grain on your measure is what you like, then stick with it.....it will serve ya well in the end!

Uncle Russ...

[RobD]

well put, uncle russ - you da man!

i have one longlock that uses two horn measures, one for "normal" distances and one heftier charge for really loooong distances.