A very delayed test report: Quick Measure powder measure

Three years ago these folks were at the Tulsa gun show and I got a good look at their measure;

looked pretty good. And I decided to get one, but didn't want to carry it around through the show. Then, in the rush at the end of the day I forgot about them(shut up, Og).

Happily, they usually have an ad in Handloader magazine and I ran across it, and ordered one. That was more than a year ago; I decided to give it a good try(thinking "Dammit, this better work as well as I hope!") before I said anything about it. And then tried it out, and did other things, and I kind of forgot to write about it...

Ahem. Where this thing really comes in is loading rifle cartridges using stick powders like IMR4895; these powders don't go through a standard-type measure very well, they tend to cut granules among other things. So the usual method is to dump a load that's a bit light into the powder scale pan, then trickle in a bit more to bring it up to weight. Which is about as delightful and engrossing a task as you imagine*, especially if you're loading a bunch of cartridges. Instead of a rotating drum this thing has a powder chamber that slides up into the body, and a set of tubes of different lengths that fit into the bottom. Look at the chart, figure which tube you want for the powder/charge you're after, stick it in(held by friction from an o-ring), add powder. It comes with a funnel that has a brass dome in the center:
put the funnel end in the pan, place the dome under the mouth of the tube and push up; the chamber opens, the chamber and tube fill, you lower the funnel to close the chamber and then lift the funnel from the pan to drop the charge in. Weigh, and use the adjusting screw on the tube to adjust. When you've got the charge set, you can take a loading block of cases, stick the funnel over the first, up/down, then move the funnel to the next case and repeat.

The standard set comes with the measure, five charge tubes and the funnel, which also comes with several ends to fit different cartridges.

I've loaded a few hundred rounds so far with it, and here's the one thing you really have to do: be consistent in how you use it. Very consistent. If you move it up and down slowly, that's fine; if you move it quickly, that's fine too. BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT THE SAME WAY EACH TIME, or you WILL get variance in the charge. Not a lot, but enough to be a problem for accuracy.

I've been using it for 8x57, .30-06 and .303, more for the -06 as I shoot it more. And so far, it's done pretty well; as long as I use the same motions/speed each time, I get very consistent charges. As to construction, the only gripe I have is that sometimes the o-ring doesn't put enough pressure on the tube and it can slip down; I'm thinking use a small round file to open the slot just a touch so more of the ring fits in. So far, when it's seemed loose I've just pushed on the ring over the slot with a fingernail. I'd think some kind of setscrew would be best, but they may have worried about someone getting heavy-handed and bending the tube.

Overall, I like it. It very much speeds up charging cases while still giving consistent weights. You'll note the clamp I've got holding it to the bracket for my Hornady measure, the 1/4" bolt, nut and big washers I usually use picked a fine time to go walkabout(the do sell a stand that's made for it). What I've had best results with is to make sure it's FIRMLY clamped to the stand, and when I lift do it quickly enough that I feel a sharp stop when it hits end of travel, then pull it down at the same speed; I find it easier(for me) to use that motion and speed consistently.


*worth it for match loads or hunting loads you want just perfect, but you still have the problem of most measures cutting granules; probably not enough to be a velocity/pressure problem, but not something I like.