RCBS 'Little Dandy" Pistol Powder Measure??

[1sourdough]

 I've been looking over this RCBS 'Little Dandy' pistol powder measure & was looking for feedback. I've been loading some 9mm lately & do a fair amount of other handgun & it seems like a good way to throw accurate small charges of powder. When dealing with some of the small charges in the 3.7 to 5 & 6 grns(9mm to 45acp) it can be hard to always keep things exact. I do have the regular RCBS powder throw/measure but have not used it in a while. I could take it out but I'm not sure if it's that accurate with the small charges? I think with the 'little dandy' I could get by with 4 or 5 'bushings' to throw the charges I wanted. I did a search & just saw a few older threads, mostly positive though.

[Steve P]

I have the Lyman version of this little measure.  Mine saw lots of use until I got my Dillon press.  What was really nice was being able to move the measure itself over 50 cases in a load block in just a couple of minutes.  Tap Tap, move to next case, Tap Tap, move to next case, etc etc. Get the rythem down and it worked slick and was very accurate.  You are at the mercy of the bushing volume, but they are inexpensive and can be modified (read as bored out) to dump a little more powder to match a tailored load as necessary.

If you are loading on a single stage press, this is a slick way to speed up part of the process.

Steve

[huntducks]

I have the Lyman version of this little measure.  Mine saw lots of use until I got my Dillon press.  What was really nice was being able to move the measure itself over 50 cases in a load block in just a couple of minutes.  Tap Tap, move to next case, Tap Tap, move to next case, etc etc. Get the rythem down and it worked slick and was very accurate.  You are at the mercy of the bushing volume, but they are inexpensive and can be modified (read as bored out) to dump a little more powder to match a tailored load as necessary.

If you are loading on a single stage press, this is a slick way to speed up part of the process.

Steve

I'll 2nd that the little dandy works well easy to use and fast.

[1sourdough]

 Just a little followup. I broke out the RCBS 'Uniform Powder Measure' I have & tried it with the lower charges. I used some win 231 around the 4.0 grain level for testing. It was actually working pretty good. It may of varied 0.1 grain, which is workable & as accurate as my electronic scale. So with that I may just hold off on thinking I need the 'little dandy' powder measure & rotors to throw the powder amounts. I feel like I just saved some $.

[Dand]

I have had good luck with my RCBS uniflow with the smaller pistol measure. What made it even better was using a Lyman thru the die powder system. Run the case up to bell, throw the charge set the case back in the blocks. I think you can do the same with Lee dies. Especially good for small cases like the 9mm.

Then I went even better and got the Lee ProAuto disk and their thru powder die that automatically bells the case and dumps the powder. I try to use powder that meters well in that unit as some really fine powders tend to escape a little.  And its been a long time since I did 9mm on it. But anything that reduces my handling of little cases was good for me. Have it on a Lyman turret so after the powder is dumped I rotate the turret to the seat die, set a bullet on the case and then seat, rotate to factory crimp and complete the round.  9mm is what motivated me to go to the expense - but cheaper than a true progressive. If I started over now I'd look at the Lee classic cast turret unit with its auto rotate option.

[cwlongshot]

I have had many different measures. Currently and for many years now I use the RCBS units, BOTH the Uni-flo and the Lil Dandy. Different uses for each, pistol/plinking/small charges the Lil Dandy gets the nod. All others go to the Uni-Flo.

Give a wide berth to the LEE powder measures...

CW

[Darrell Davis]

Morn'n CW,

I know, this will sturrrr up the hate mail, but personally the "wide berth" applys to most of the Lee stuff at this house.

I do have some of their products, but am very selective.

I do however, own and use a Little Dandy, but probably a lot less since a Hornady LNL press came to live here.

Keep em coming!

CDOC

[Steve P]

Oh come on!!  Lee makes good stuff.  Just off the top of my head I can think of 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 things.  Priming tool and cutter/trim pilots.

Steve

[Darrell Davis]

Sorry Steve,  I had one of their "trimmers" once and your now down to 1.

Keep em coming!

CDOC

[cwlongshot]

My opinions on LEE stuff are well known. I didn't mention it to hijack this thread...

I like my Lil'Dandy allot!!

CW

[Dand]

I'm not going to get into a Peeing contest pro / con Lee.  But I have used the pro auto disk for quite a few years with satisfaction. NOT for stick powders but for fine flake and spherical powder in handgun loads - Bulls eye, Unique, H110, 2400 and such. I check every 10th  to 15th round and charges are pretty darned consistent.  What I have found is that the disks may not throw the charge weight specified in the Lee charts. I always throw a few charges to settle the powder, throw some more for weight check then load. Its common for me to be one sometimes 2 cavities larger than indicated to get the charge I want - but not always. I may have less humidity here that makes the difference. I don't load the quantities others on here do and that may make a difference. But I have done a few runs of 300 to 400 rounds at a time with good service.

[helotaxi]

Other than larger charges of H110 or 2400 for .45 Colt or .357, I use a Lil Dandy for all my handgun reloading.  I've found it much more consistent than my Uni-flow with the flake powders in small charge weights and as mentioned above, the ease with which it can be lifted off the stand and handheld to drop charges for an entire block of cases makes my life much easier.  Another little bit of advice that I'll pass along is that a 12ga shell box works perfectly for storing any extra rotors that you may accumulate.  Also with a decent selection of rotors, you can get consistent "in between" charge weights by either double dropping with a single rotor or charging all cases with one rotor and then changing rotors and charging the cases again.  Find both of those methods are still quicker and more consistent than trying to use the Uniflow.

[1sourdough]

 Some good info, still one the fence if I 'need' the little dandy. But for any interested there is a guy on  thefiringline who makes & sells an adjustable rotor for the little dandy powder measure. If you do a search he comes up. He says he is still making & selling them. It seems handy compared to the fixed rotors or to adjust the capacities of the fixed rotors, with glue & such.

[1sourdough]

 I ended up ordering a 'little dandy' from a guy who also has the 'adjustable rotor'. Once I get it & test it out I'll report. It seems like the L.D. is a little 'old school' with some of the options available but it seems suited to me. I'll be interested to see how far the adjustable rotor adjusts. He says the stand will come with it.

[wncchester]

I got a Lyman pistol measure and full set of rotors when they were available in a kit.  It works good if you can live with the fixed charges; I can. 

The Lil' Dandy is virtually identical but the rotors cost a lot more from RCBS - of course!   If I had that one I'd also get the adjustable chamber device right off instead of a pile of individual fixed rotors.

Fastest way to use it is to put the measure on a stand and pass a full case block sequentually under the measure.  Takes me about a minute to charge a 50 case block, without hurrying.

[Lloyd Smale]

back before  i did most of my loading on progressive presses i had a couple little dandys and a whole set of bushings. there a good little measure and throw very consistant charges. Only downfall is your about stuck with what the measure dumps. they can be tweaked to dump a bit more but its a pain in the but and by the time you buy one and buy all the drums your better off buying a good ajustable measure.

[wncchester]

Lloyd, I wanted to say that but held my tongue.  Actually, a Lyman 55 or Redding measure with the pistol chamber would be a much better choice, IMHO.