Thread: Powder throwers

Hi all,

I’ve used beam scales my whole life but nowadays I’m also loading for my wife and two kids centerfire rifles and find it quite time consuming.

I’m after some advise on powder throwers and the pros and cons vs traditional scales.
What are some recommended options to look at?

Many thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Jamie

if Im loading more than 30 rounds I will set up and use powder thrower.......but normally use the LEE spoon of correct size minus a little bit which I trickle up to weight.... if throwing powder I always shine torch down over the whole batch,you will spot a wrongun really easily,a grain of rice inside a case will lift powder height enough to notice even if in a large case. I will check weight every 10-15th thrown load,but to be honest they are all spot on,if stick powder gives a sticky throw when cutting stick in ball valve..will check weight too..again its usually still spot on.

I've been using a Hornady thrower for the past 25 years It works awesome it's all about being consistent in your actions.
It works perfectly with ball powder and Finner grained stick powder, if using slow burning big chunky stick powder like 2225 and RL 26 I usually under full and top it up with my 25 year old teaspoon.
When loading .223 etc I only use the thrower and check every 20 or so.

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been using a pacific aca hornady for 40 yrs all std cals and been great ball powders and 2205 6 7 and 8 all good but I throw and tap lever twice at end of throw for consistentl loads , also mount it solidly

I used an RCBS thrower for years. It's all about repeating your technique charge to charge.

Mine makes a certain clack sound as the handle hits its travel limit. As long as I do the same motion with the same force each time with the handle and get the same sound, all good, very repeatable drops.

Biggish stick powder (like 3031 which I no longer use) gives problems with the drum chopping granules sometimes. I have learnt if that happens just tip the charge back in the hopper and redo it.

Ball powders - as others have posted, really excellent through a thrower.

I also made a hopper baffle for mine out of an eliptical shaped piece of thin alloy folded 90 degrees through the middle. Two vees cut in the tips of the elipse. It exactly fits into the hopper and the powder can only flow through the vees. This regulates the fall of the powder into the drum and gives consistancy whether the hopper is full or almost empty.

Originally Posted by m101a1

been using a pacific aca hornady for 40 yrs all std cals and been great ball powders and 2205 6 7 and 8 all good but I throw and tap lever twice at end of throw for consistentl loads , also mount it solidly

Exactly what I do

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Chargemaster Lite.

My only comment id I find it pays to keep it half full, near the bottom it can start to get a little light.
As others have said I only use mine if l'm doing >20-30 round at a time.
Z

Originally Posted by 8pt Sika

Hi all,

I’ve used beam scales my whole life but nowadays I’m also loading for my wife and two kids centerfire rifles and find it quite time consuming.

I’m after some advise on powder throwers and the pros and cons vs traditional scales.
What are some recommended options to look at?

Many thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Jamie

Hi Jamie,

If you want to try out one, I’ve got a Lee Power Thrower that I am not using that you can have, if you just pay for the postage from Wellington.

Just pm me your address.




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I have a Lee powder thrower. Don't use it a lot, but very good if you keep it topped up with powder.

It depends how deep your pockets are and what your acceptable results are.
I was a dedicated beam and thrower user for years as well.
As said a thrower of the traditional kind is useful, but you may be thinking of electronic powder throwers.
I went to the electronic side and got a Frankford Arsenal Intellidroper. The Electronic droppers speed things up simply because you can seat bullets in between throws. You can get one of them at NZ retail or Amazon. Their definition is about the same as a typical beam scale or manual powder thrower.
I have moved on from the Intellidropper now but not because it didnt work well I just shifted goals.

I just use a lee thrower and set it to the lower end of spot on. I then weigh every load and occasionally have to trickle up a little bit. I only do this for long range loads to get spot on. Rest of the time for goat/culling loads I just use the thrower

If you can afford it a Harrell's precision powder thrower, is the best you can get, is unaffected, by drafts, battery's, vibration etc. and is easy to adjust and repeatable,
This is what Most bench rest shooters use, I've got three, 0-25gr, 10-60gr, 10-90gr
The All 3 (difference sizes) measure's will throw within a tenth of a grain, I have never seen variance with ball powder, longer drop tubes allow, for more powder compaction and thus higher charges. useful with BR, PPC cases.
Another big advantage is they are compact on the bench, I've sold of my charge master due to space required, and much slower than a high end powder thrower.
I use the Pistol powder measure lots(0-25) so quick to load a couple hundred, small cal, 22 hornet, 25-20, 32-20 etc.
I use the RCBS powder thrower for shot gun and have the layman 55, its accurate but does not have repeatable setting, and each time must readjusted by weight, once set you are good until you need another charge weight,
I have had mine a good few years,
if i had to down size to one i would keep the Premium BR model, this does to 60gr, about $300us now.

Originally Posted by ZQLewis

My only comment id I find it pays to keep it half full, near the bottom it can start to get a little light.
As others have said I only use mine if l'm doing >20-30 round at a time.
Z

Thats a really good tip, and what Ive seen over the years
The loads are a lot more consistent if the powder volume (and weight in the hopper) is kept about the same

Originally Posted by 25/08 IMP

I've been using a Hornady thrower for the past 25 years It works awesome it's all about being consistent in your actions.
It works perfectly with ball powder and Finner grained stick powder, if using slow burning big chunky stick powder like 2225 and RL 26 I usually under full and top it up with my 25 year old teaspoon.
When loading .223 etc I only use the thrower and check every 20 or so.

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Me too - 2213sc gets caught up a bit, so I always throw a tad light into the pan of my scales and trickle up from there. I added a short section of nylon tube to the bottom of my thrower so the powder doesn't bounce out everywhere. Every so often I get an empty throw and the next one comes out as a double charge, so I'd never throw straight into the funnel.