A&D FX120i

[mvrk28]

Anybody here using the 120i? Not necessarily with the Auto Throw setup just curious who has one and what do you think? They're going for around $600 right now and I'm tempted. If anybody has any insights on this unit and the accuracy of it, I'd love to hear.

 

[briscoetab]

I use it but it’s with the auto throw/auto trickler. I’m not sure how valuable it would be to me without the auto throw/trickler. It is accurate and fast but without the auto throw I’m not sure how much time it would save me or how much more consistent my loads would be

The A&D scale does not drift (at least not for me and I have used it in a couple different places) so that in itself helped me a lot. Prior to this setup I had an electronic rcbs scale and a 10-10 rcbs beam scale. I would weight on the electronic and then double check every 5-6 loads on the beam scale because the rcbs scale drifted so bad. It worked and my loads were consistent but it was slow and quite annoying.

Although the A&D scale by itself would have sped up the process some, the auto throw/auto trickler sped up the process a bunch. I probably spend a 1/4 of the time throwing charges. I had the auto trickler by itself at first and it alone sped up the process by almost as much as the auto throw/auto trickler combination does.

It is a good scale but if you are just going to get the scale there may be some better/cheaper options (I don’t know what they are first hand) but you can always upgrade to the auto throw/trickler later if you go with the A&D.

I have a few pieces of high dollar equipment for reloading but the scale with the auto throw/trickler is probably what saves me the most time and would be the piece of equipment I would pick to keep out of the upgraded equipment.

 

[mvrk28]

I use it but it’s with the auto throw/auto trickler. I’m not sure how valuable it would be to me without the auto throw/trickler. It is accurate and fast but without the auto throw I’m not sure how much time it would save me or how much more consistent my loads would be

The A&D scale does not drift (at least not for me and I have used it in a couple different places) so that in itself helped me a lot. Prior to this setup I had an electronic rcbs scale and a 10-10 rcbs beam scale. I would weight on the electronic and then double check every 5-6 loads on the beam scale because the rcbs scale drifted so bad. It worked and my loads were consistent but it was slow and quite annoying.

Although the A&D scale by itself would have sped up the process some, the auto throw/auto trickler sped up the process a bunch. I probably spend a 1/4 of the time throwing charges. I had the auto trickler by itself at first and it alone sped up the process by almost as much as the auto throw/auto trickler combination does.

It is a good scale but if you are just going to get the scale there may be some better/cheaper options (I don’t know what they are first hand) but you can always upgrade to the auto throw/trickler later if you go with the A&D.

I have a few pieces of high dollar equipment for reloading but the scale with the auto throw/trickler is probably what saves me the most time and would be the piece of equipment I would pick to keep out of the upgraded equipment.

Thanks for the reply, I have every intention of getting the Auto Throw/Trickler, I'm just considering buying the scale at first and then the auto throw.

 

[briscoetab]

Thanks for the reply, I have every intention of getting the Auto Throw/Trickler, I'm just considering buying the scale at first and then the auto throw.

It’s well worth it. I have nothing negative to say about the scale or the rest of the set up. I have not had any drift problems. I checked some weights on it when I first got it and compared it to my beam scale and everything looked good. Of course I don’t trust that beam scale.

I check with calibration weights every time I start it up and I have the weight of my pan wrote down on the pad the scale sits on and it always matches; I keep an eye on the -weight when I remove the pan to load a case and I don’t think it’s ever fluctuated more that +/- 02gn. I definitely have a lot more confidence that my charges are all correct and I’m pretty sure my ES and SD’s shrunk after getting the scale/trickler but primary reason was to reduce time spent loading.

 

[mvrk28]

It’s well worth it. I have nothing negative to say about the scale or the rest of the set up. I have not had any drift problems. I checked some weights on it when I first got it and compared it to my beam scale and everything looked good. Of course I don’t trust that beam scale.

I check with calibration weights every time I start it up and I have the weight of my pan wrote down on the pad the scale sits on and it always matches; I keep an eye on the -weight when I remove the pan to load a case and I don’t think it’s ever fluctuated more that +/- 02gn. I definitely have a lot more confidence that my charges are all correct and I’m pretty sure my ES and SD’s shrunk after getting the scale/trickler but primary reason was to reduce time spent loading.

Awesome. I have a chargemaster 1500 now and I'm not sold that I am getting accurate charges.

 

[tdot]

I did exactly what you are thinking about with my chargemaster lite. I throw a charge, double check it on my FX120i, then add/remove powder as required with tweezers. It goes pretty quick and I had a noticeable improvement in the consistency of the velocity of my loads. I'm waiting for the Auto throw, but atleast this way I gain the accuracy benefits immediately.

 

[CLP]

It was a game changer for me. Like most some have mentioned, I throw powder using a charge master to within .1 of my intended load and then use a dandy trickler to drop the last few kernels.

I have also seen a reduction in my ES with the same loads developed prior to using the 120 versus using it now. For reloading it was one of the best investments I’ve made.

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

It was a game changer for me. Like most some have mentioned, I throw powder using a charge master to within .1 of my intended load and then use a dandy trickler to drop the last few kernels.

I have also seen a reduction in my ES with the same loads developed prior to using the 120 versus using it now. For reloading it was one of the best investments I’ve made.

This is exactly the same procedure I use as well. The auto thrower get up is kind of gimmicky for me. When you are measuring the nearest kernel of powder, why let it go to chance with an automated system.

Moving to this system of measuring improved my loads. I was already getting decent accuracy while shooting long range competitions, but this process really improved the accuracy even more. Think head shots on steel coyotes at 650 yards.. again.. and again... and again. Get's kinda boring really.

Jump on the deal because they must have gone up in price. I bought mine 5 years ago for $640, and that was in Canadien dollars. When I checked the place I purchased it from, they were going for $825 US!! Dang.

 

[briscoetab]

This is exactly the same procedure I use as well. The auto thrower get up is kind of gimmicky for me. When you are measuring the nearest kernel of powder, why let it go to chance with an automated system.

Moving to this system of measuring improved my loads. I was already getting decent accuracy while shooting long range competitions, but this process really improved the accuracy even more. Think head shots on steel coyotes at 650 yards.. again.. and again... and again. Get's kinda boring really.

Jump on the deal because they must have gone up in price. I bought mine 5 years ago for $640, and that was in Canadien dollars. When I checked the place I purchased it from, they were going for $825 US!! Dang.

?? Not sure exactly what you mean by gimmicky? The autothrow trickles to 1 kernel on its own its not any more chance than doing it by hand. If it throws over, which if you have it set up correctly only happens maybe 1 out of 20 throws maybe, you just pull a kernel or add if you want to be that precise or dump the throw but typically you don’t have to do that because it gets it right almost every time.

With the autothrow/trickler I set up I put the pan under, autothrow/trickler throws charge, dump powder in case, set pan down, seat bullet and when I’m done seating the bullet next charge is ready to the kernel. Don’t know exactly how that is gimmicky, it make the process effortless and efficient.

 

[DangerRanger]

I bought one for 500 from Cambridge Monday night and it shipped next day. It’s been that price for at least 6 months every time I checked on it

 

[mvrk28]

I bought one for 500 from Cambridge Monday night and it shipped next day. It’s been that price for at least 6 months every time I checked on it

They won’t ship to California, one more reason to move.

 

[StopMakingSense]

Good article on the A&D Autotrickler and why you aren't letting it go to chance, all about the statistics.

Accuracy

I am often asked which scale I recommend, and whether the A&D FX is precise enough for long range shooting. This article aims to answer these questions: Is it really worth my time to perfect every...

www.autotrickler.com

 

[DangerRanger]

They won’t ship to California, one more reason to move.

Pretty interesting, mine shipped from California

 

[HUNTER100]

I have one with the autotrickler and autothrow - my recommendation is get one and don't look back. I upgraded after running a chargemaster for years. The Fx120i reduces one more variable out of the equation if your after precision. As the article sited above mentions, ever kernal of powder is worth 1-2 fps of energy. A chargemaster does well to get you within + or - 7 kernals (almost 15 fps), so obviously this helps your ES and SD. Other items I feel worth mentioning are A) Its well built and well designed and B) their customer service is pretty top notch. Adam, the guy that made the autothrow/autotrickler has a crazy fast response time if you have any questions.

 

[mvrk28]

I went ahead and placed an order, having it sent to Utah first then to me. Still way cheaper than the closest competitors price.

 

[briscoetab]

It’s worth it, hope it works well for you.

 

[mvrk28]

Finally got the scale in today, I cannot believe the weight of this thing. It is a tank! I'm currently throwing charges with a standard powder measure and then trickling up with the Hornady Vibratory Trickler. I swapped out the included plastic tube with the trickler for a brass one that I fabbed up to fit. Honestly it is a fairly quick process, I'm sure the Auto Trickler is faster and definitely looks cooler but for now I'm going to stick with this setup. I think next year I will add the Auto Throw/Trickler to it. Also, I can't believe how sensitive the scale is.

 

[dskav]

I ordered from Cambridge as well recently and they wouldn't ship to Cali. had it sent to some family in Illinois and then they sent it on to me. no idea why they won't ship here, but they were at least nice about it and refunded my shipping cost because of it.

 

[dskav]

I'll also add that if you're trying to save a few bucks like I was, just get the auto-trickler. I already had a redding 3br powder measure so didn't see a need to spend the extra ~$300 for the auto-throw, and the primary time savings comes from the trickling

 

[DangerRanger]

I just have my trickier sitting on a “stand” made of a 2x4 piece beside my scale.

I’ll upgrade eventually to a full auto setup but right now I’m simply enjoying the fantastic scale and not getting in a hurry.

Love it so far