Reloading scale that doesn’t suck?

[JFK]

Is the fx 120i the only one that doesn’t? Trying to upgrade my reloading bench a bit. The scale I have now occasionally drifts, and when trickling up can be unresponsive, then make a significant jump and overshoot the target weight. It’s not the end of the world and I’ve been producing accurate ammo, but I’m wondering if there is an in between the $100 scales and the fx. I’m not chasing benchrest accuracy and crazy low es/sd. It’s more that I like shit that works, will make things faster and less headaches.

Are any of the $300-450 dollar units better? I am looking for something that quickly resolves when trickling up and settles quickly. I can afford an fx, but it just seems like massive overkill for what I’m trying to do and they take a lot of bench space up. My process is to dump a few tenths short then trickle up.

Couple scales that I’ve looked at.

Ohaus Scout 123
A&D EJ 123
Creedmoor TRX

 

[seand]

Beam scale?

Why are you weighing/trickling each charge, does it improve your hit rate in the field?

 

[4cMuley]

Currently using a beam and it’s a drag imo. Would love to find a digital I trust that isn’t an arm and a leg. We landed on the moon for cryin out loud

 

[JFK]

No beam scale.

Why? Just the way I learned and honestly don’t find it too bad. Can’t say it’s improved accuracy because that’s the only way I’ve ever done it. My loads are mostly at max, so I guess the biggest motivating factor is safety. Have thought about a charge master but for every guy that loves them there is one saying they are horrible. I’m open to suggestions though.

 

[Slick8]

I've been using a charge master for several years and they're a bit slow plus I under charge and trickle up with an Omega trickle.

Are they the best or even great, no. But I think they work well and are priced well for what they do. I use anti-static sheets under mine, run it through a surge protector and calibrate every use. I rarely turn if off and use a check weight to double check from time to time.

The A&D is obviously the pinnacle but not where I want to spend my money right now. As stated in another thread, I try to balance my spend across loading, optics, rifles and hunting gear. Sometimes one takes a back seat to another.

 

[WKR]

Rcbs charge master is good enough for most applications and speeds up the process.

Rcbs matchmaster is one step above the chargemaster but not worth full price, you can get a used one on the classifieds for around $500-$600

If you have money to spend, AutoTrickler v4 with the FX is definitely the way to go.

I've had all 3 and the V4 is levels above the rest. Only thing that could possibly rival it would be a super trickler.

If you aren't looking to spend a whole bunch, the chargemaster link with a 25 percent discount is a solid choice.

 

[Tahoe1305]

Creedmoor sports variant has worked ok for me.

I’ve actually stopped checking on a balance finally. It does drift a bit but is very obvious and easy to fix.

Mine tares at -80.30 with my pan. When the pan is off you’ll see it float a bit. If it ever gets more than 0.02 off I just hit tare again and it’s good. My goal is +/- .03 accuracy and I’m confident when paying attention I can get it. Obviously better than most dispensers in shown precision (outside of auto trickler variants). About twice as fast as a beam IMO.

I dispense using two chargemaster lites. Time it takes I can QC on creedmoor and dump. Sometimes a small trickle is in order to get on my target (I aim for +\- .01gr)

 

[MCS]

I improved my ES when I switched from the charge master to the lyman gen 6. The charge master is junk. If I had it to do over I'd get the fx120

 

[seand]

No beam scale.

Why? Just the way I learned and honestly don’t find it too bad. Can’t say it’s improved accuracy because that’s the only way I’ve ever done it. My loads are mostly at max, so I guess the biggest motivating factor is safety. Have thought about a charge master but for every guy that loves them there is one saying they are horrible. I’m open to suggestions though.

I suggest a $30 lee perfect, use the beam scale to set it to dump the correct charge weight. Then forget about the scale. Pick up loading block with 50 empty cases and charge all 50 direct into the loading block. Seat bullets. Spend all your time and $$ saved and shoot more.

Guys win in PRS with factory Hornady ammo. Hornady isn’t weighing charges.

 

[Shortschaf]

Chargemaster lite has been great for me and I won't upgrade probably ever. An upgrade isn't worth it for my volume of only ~1000 rounds a year

But the chargemaster was well worth it even at 200 rounds a year. Manual scales suck

 

[Tahoe1305]

Chargemaster lite has been great for me and I won't upgrade probably ever. An upgrade isn't worth it for my volume of only ~1000 rounds a year

But the chargemaster was well worth it even at 200 rounds a year. Manual scales suck

I’ve had really good luck with my CM lites. A few buddies as well. Agree works for my purposes.

 

[Fujicon]

Just did another 100 of .308 W last night and can't complain about the Frankford Arsenal Intellidropper. The app works fine, the interface is easy and intuitive, and about as fast as I can load, so no issues with it from a system perpsective. Best of all, it is accurate. Out of 100, only one was an overcharge, by one-tenth of a grain. Checked periodically using a balance scale (my OCD side), and it was spot on each time. Easily one of the best reloading gamechanger purchases I've made, expecially for less than $150 on sale.

 

[Mike D Texas]

How accurate do you want your loads to be? A Chargemaster works, but it will overcharge probably 20% of the time. And it can be slow to respond.

The best accuracy you are going to get from a Chargemaster is a claimed .10 but I’ve seen as high at .3 grains when comparing against my Fx120i scale.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[JFK]

I guess I’m just not really into a piece of equipment that over charges a fifth of the time. I load with H4350 and it seems tougher than say H100v due to the larger kernel size. Accuracy, es/as have all been acceptable so far. I have a bench top manual powder dispenser and it’s good to about +\- .2 with H4350. Much better with H100v. I dump a charge at say 55gr of H4340, weigh it and trickle the remaining .3gr up to max. Being at max, and hunting in some pretty hot weather parts of the year make me take my charge weights seriously.

It’s not a horrible system, but would be improved if I had a scale that resolved faster. The fx120’s basically weigh in real time and you don’t over shoot your target weight when trickling.

 

[Runwilderness]

I use a beam scale (old OHaus off EBay) plus a Dandy trickler. I drop an underweight charge with a cheap Lee powder measure. While the scale is settling, I seat the bullet from my previous charge, then trickle a few grains using the Dandy, fill case, repeat. The Dandy is great when the Lee throws a light load and I need to trickle a bunch. Once I’m in a rhythm things flow quickly.

 

[Dead eye BT]

Trickling powder for every charge? No thanks. I played around with that when I started reloading 20 years ago.

Now, I weigh charges thrown from my Redding Model 3BR powder measure until I find the micrometer setting for the weight of that powder I want. I double check the weight of a second charge on my balance beam scale, lock the micrometer setting with the thumb screw and I’m set for that charge weight.

Once I find a load I’m happy with, I’ll set the 3BR’s micrometer and load a batch of ammo- usually 50 rounds. Micrometer settings are recorded on ammo box labels, along with all other pertinent load data. When it’s time to make more, I double check the micrometer setting with the balance beam scale and load 50 more.

My powder tricklers are really lonely these days.

 

[Dead eye BT]

I forgot to add, my opinion of a scale that doesn’t suck: A quality balance beam scale. I’m running a Hornady/Pacific cast metal scale that I bought new about 18 years ago (which appears to be no longer in production). The thing is a beast and has been ultra reliable/repeatable for me.

 

[35WhelenAI]

I use a beam scale (old OHaus off EBay) plus a Dandy trickler. I drop an underweight charge with a cheap Lee powder measure. While the scale is settling, I seat the bullet from my previous charge, then trickle a few grains using the Dandy, fill case, repeat. The Dandy is great when the Lee throws a light load and I need to trickle a bunch. Once I’m in a rhythm things flow quickly.

View attachment 685984

Yep, my O'Haus is handed down from my father and has weighed many, many thousands of charges. Chasing +/- .02(!) grain variance is, well, not my cup of tea.

 

[Johnc427]

I have a Autotrickler V4 and it absolutely kicks ass. That being said, I really liked the chargemaster lite for the $$$ that the V4 replaced

 

[DakotaBPNW]

Chargemaster lite with an old Redding balance beam to keep it honest has been great to me. A higher end powder thrower would speed up my process but I’m not really in a rush