I’m starting to get into reloading and have been acquiring equipment for the last few months. I have an old RCBS RS2 that I collected 20+ yrs ago with 38/357 dies. I used a Lee decapper die to decap several hundred 38sp casing that I had laying around. So far besides this old press, I have several manauls, a primer press, trickler, GemPro 250 scale, digital mic, tumbler & some One Shot. I cleaned all the brass, lubed, resized, & primed. Oh yeah, they’re bell’d too. I’m ready to add the powder and I need to buy a powder measure. And I know this could be debatable and they’ll be different preferences. But I’ve read so many reviews on several major brands good & bad, that my head is spinning. There always can be one bad egg out of dozen that will give a bad reputation to the rest. I might end up later with a Lee turrett press, so the Pro Powder is a consideration. But for single stage loading now; what do you like & why? I’m more interested in pistol loading (38, 9mm) at this time. That’s another thing I noticed, most PM’s are set up with rifle drops (if that’s a correct term?).
Most of the measures out there will do a good job. I still use my RCBS Uniflow with micrometer stem and it is just as reliable today as it was 25 yrs ago. My SIL has a Hornady and likes it.
I started with a Lee single stage and then several years ago added a Lee turret press.I have both the Perfect Powder measure and the Pro Auto Disk measure. I really like the Pro Auto Disk measure and if you get Lee pistol dies then it is my preferred measure. But the Lee measure is so inexpensive you can add them later.
The Perfect measure has been a it of a problem. At first it was very consistent but leaked a lot. I fixed the leak and now for some reason it is not consistent with Varget. I have not given up on it because it throws the stick powders ultra smooth, unlike my Uniflow that chops and crunhes through them.
If I had to get just one measure for now it would be something like the RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, or really nice Redding. If you get the RCBS Uniflow, I recommend the optional micrometer stem as it makes fine adjustments super easy and fine. If you get a Lee turret press later then definitely try the Pro Auto Disk too.
Does the Hornady come pretty much complete for pistol loading needs, or do you need to add or buy something else for it to work for this application? The Pro Auto Disk has my attention too just for the reason I will eventually update to a turrett. And will the PAD work with my old RCBS press for the time being in a single stage? I didn’t realize the difference in powders would affect the powder measures. I thought about starting out with Unique (which I already have), and adding some Win231 in the near future. Powder selection is another variance that causes alot of confusions; there’s just so many to choose from. Some manuals list certain ones, whereas the others might not include specific powders. What would be a good starting powder/powders for 38/9mm with these powder drops? I could then single out the specific loads from the manuals I have.
RCBS Uniflow. Been using it for 20+ years. Keep trying others, but keep coming back to the Uniflow. The absolute cream of the crop are the ones made by Harrell’s.
The PAD measure is dependent on the Lee Powder Through/Expander die, not the press. The PAD screws into the expander die and a sleeve inside will be pushed up by the case and actuate the PAD to slide the disk over the drop tube and discharge the powder. If used on a single stage press you don’t need anything else. If used on a turret press it will need to swing around over the top of other dies so you would then need the riser extension to elevate it above the top of the other dies.
The PAD is limited to being mounted on the powder through die, it cannot be used alone on a separate stand. Also, It is specifically warned that it can be irregular when trying to measure large flake powders such as Unique in narrow cavities, I think around 0.30 cc or less. Medium- to top end loads of Unique for .38, and most pistol cartridges should be fine. It would only be the light target loads for .38 and smaller auto cases such as .380, 9x18 Mak that might edge down to those narrow disk cavities with Unique. If you use a finer powder such as W231, Bullseye, Universal, or Power Pistol then there should be no problem with any of the cavities.
The disk doubler kit allows you to combine cavities of two disks to get finer volume intervals than with just the single disk. I try to find combos in which the cavities are near the same size and the smaller one on top.
The Hornady and RCBS measures will measure any powder but might feel crunchy on extruded rifle powders such as Varget and IMR4064, and dot powders such as Blue Dot. Can’t say how well the Hornady measure does with handgun weights. My SIL uses one for rifle and handgun and has not mentioned any issues with it. I did not like the standard stem on my Uniflow and upgraded to the large micrometer stem and it works well for both handgun and rifle volumes.
Thanks for the info. I went ahead & ordered a PAD yesterday plus the powder thru expander die for the 38 to go along with my RCBS 38dies. I have the 4die Lee 9mm set already. I’m glad to hear the Unique will work. I bought a pound of it a few weeks ago after seeing alot of loads have slightly higher velocities. I should have researched it a little more first. I picked up another manual today (Lyman 48 [cheap!]) and seen the differences in the powders. Maybe next time I get to town I’ll buy a pound of 231 and Bullseye both. I’ll use the PAD the rest of this year with my old RCBS RS2 press. I got a sneaky suspicion I’m getting a Lee Classic Turret press for Christmas. 
The Hornady will work, but if you buy the pistol rotor & stem it’s much more accurate.
I have a Hornady Lock-N-Load powder dispenser and have adjusted the speed settings and have loaded Blue Dot to H335.