Home Made Adjustable Powder Measure

Any yall have a favorite way of constructing a home made adjustable measure?

A segment of deer antler.... hollowed out to accept the desired charge.

Cheers; what i've done a few times in the past is drill an antler tip to different depths with different size bits. This works well with heavier caliber guns. My 54cal measure, for example, is a 3 tier antler tine. The first level is 35gr, small drill bit, the next is 70gr, larger bit, and then 90gr leading into the spout for pouring. It's not nearly as hard to make as it sounds and the different size bit ledge's make it easy to see/gauge the charge. Works for me anyway. respectfully, Buzzard

Good on you for thinking up a simple way to do things. It would have never occurred to me to do it that way, and I would have spent forty bucks in parts trying to make one that cost less than half that. Thanks for sharing.

Wow. That's a good idea. Thanks.

Get a straight walled cartridge case and a machine screw that has a head just a little bigger than the inside diameter of the case. Put the machine screw in a drill and use a file to reduce the diameter down to where it just fits inside the case. Punch the primer out and drill and tap the primer pocket for the threading of the machine screw. Run the machine screw into the case via the case mouth and you have an adjustable measure. Add a wingnut to it and you can lock the measure at your setting.

You will still need a calibrated measure of some type to set this measure at the desired charge.

I use the larger of the three main bones in a turkey wing..., carve a wood plug to fit one end, then attach it. After that I take a brass adjustable measure, and using kosher salt as a substitute for real powder, pour the desired amount from the measure into the turkey wingbone measure. Light will pass through the bone, so holding it up to a light, I mark the outside of the measure with a pencil, dump the salt, and use a file to remove the excess bone down to the mark. Voila, a fixed measure. Then I pour salt into the new measure, and carefully pour this back into the adjustable one, to double check. Finally I do a test with actual powder to be sure. I have one for my .54 with its hunting load of 70 grains, and two for my .40; a 60 grain measure for deer (legal minimum in Maryland), and a 30 grain measure for targets and small game.

LD

Here is one I made out of brass to load the "Big Stuff"

It's calibrated from 100 to 350 grains in 50 grain increments!





You need a lathe to make it.

SC45-70

I'm a subscriber to the "KISS" principal. I have made measures to throw one-half of a hunting charge. So, for target work. Especially up-close novelty targets at ronny and such, the half charge is just fine.
If hunting, I just throw two measures.
If griz or injun is coming at me :shocked2: , I just ask them to hold up while I throw a triple charge. :haha:

Now was that one down or was that two?.. :idunno: I heck, I'll put in another to be sure! .. :shocked2:

Rick :rotf:

I drill out a piece of deer antler for the maximum powder charge I want. Then I drill a couple 1/16" holes through the sides of the antler where the lesser charges come up to, I then insert 1/16" brass pins through the holes and flatten the ends so that they stay in place. Then I scrimshaw beside the pins on the outside to what grain load that pin is.

sc45-70 said:

Here is one I made out of brass to load the "Big Stuff"

It's calibrated from 100 to 350 grains in 50 grain increments!

Click to expand...

Good God, man, what in the world that can be manually fired takes 350 grains?? :idunno:

Rifles with an 8 gauge or larger bore!
:grin:

SC45-70

This is a repeat from a post I put up while back. There are uses for large powder measures!!!

Someone asked me to make a larger than usual adjustable powder measure.  It has two different barrels and is made to charge a small cannon.  The short barrel throws 220 grains to 420 grains of cannon powder.  The larger barrel throws 370 to 580 grains.