I've read Mic's book, and I've also met him on a couple different occasions over the years. Great guy and always a pleasure to talk to.

The comment made here however was in regard to measuring charges by weight v. volume and that measuring extruded powders by weight is inherently dangerous. I think we can all agree that statement is untrue for the reasons I outlined above. If it weren't everyone who reloads would likely have blown themselves up already. That's the only reason I responded to this as that statement goes against everything the industry has said and published for the last 100+ years regarding all smokeless powders. The last thing we want is someone new to reloading to come on here and read that, take it as the gospel and then go out and blow himself up as a result. That's my only stake in this discussion.

Personally I'm not a "weight every charge" kind of guy. When I'm reloading I set my Lyman #55 up, weight a couple test throws to make sure it's where I want it and throwing consistently (within a tenth either way), then I commence to dispensing my charges without weighing any more. Typically I use a powder that fills the case up into the shoulder area so it's easy to eyeball and verify they're all the same and one didn't significantly short or over charge. If I'm doing load development via ladder tests I'll take the extra step to weight each charge, then dump it into the case via funnel using the spiral technique (mostly just to make sure stick powders don't log jam in the funnel). I stagger my ladders in 0.3 grain increments which covers my usual +/-0.1gr tolerance when loading.

As for density, yes drop tubes will help you cram more powder into a case by using gravity and velocity to pack it more tightly. That's nothing new. However, unless it's a compressed load it's a moot point because as soon as you lay the case on it's side in your action or magazine the powder shifts and won't be as condensed anymore and any potential benefit will have been mitigated. Now an argument can be made in that regard as to which is better - a fuller case of a slower powder or a less than full case of a faster powder, but I have neither the desire nor the inclination to open that can of worms.

BTW, if you ever have the pleasure of talking to Mic, ask him about the time he and By Smalley went on a prairie dog safari with a cannon full of bird shot. It's a hum-dinger of a tale!