Scale Suggestion?

[sram9102]

So my current setup is a Hornady auto charge. Looking at upgrading. I don't really feel like I am getting accurate loads with this setup and it consistently goes over if measuring smaller loads. I'm thinking about going to a manual scale/trickler. The number of shells I reload annually doesn't really call for an auto loader. Prices seem to be all over the place from 30 to 700. I don't need an fx120i, but would like something I can rely to give out accurate measurements.

 

[MThuntr]

Those FX120i systems are so sweet but dang.

There may be some interference from fluorescent lights, your cell phone, or in line resistance. Maybe try putting a ferrite choke on your power cord to keep the wandering down. I've been using the RCBS chargemaster but I do get a bit of wandering and have been meaning to give the ferritte choke a try.

The gold standard of balance scales is the RCBS 505. Tricklers are all about the same.

 

[VernAK]

WTB Ohaus 10-10........should get you what you want. Ohaus also made em for RCBS.

 

[nhyrum]

If you want a "push a button and it goes" dispenser, the rcbs chargemaster is really the minimum for getting accurate"ish" charges from an automated dispenser. I can go into why the rcbs isn't THAT great if you want.

A beam scale and hand tricker is the other way. The ohaus/rcbs scales are good. Ohaus makes precision weighing instruments. Rcbs slaps their name on it. Good stuff. There's a few other beam scales out there I believe it's Forster that used to make a really cool oil dampened one. While I'm not a "older is better guy" when it comes to beam reloading scales, I just think the older ones are way cool. I had an rcbs hand tricker, I don't see how any of the many hand tricklers are any different from one another other than really their base. Pick your favorite color, let your wallet pick, I think they're all the same.

It's actually pretty easy to mess up a scale at the resolution we, as to reloaders need (from a manufacturing standpoint, ESPECIALLY electronic ones) if you really want an accurate, every timescale, the a&d setup is the minimum. I can get a 99 grain charge, every time, between 99.00 and 99.02 with mine, in about three or four seconds. Faster than I can get the charge in the case and case in the press. It's nice, but I agree, not everyone needs that kind of precision and accuracy.

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[mvrk28]

Here's my 2 cents, get your grain of salt ready:

I started with a Hornady Powder measure, trickler and scale from my LNL kit, I quickly learned there was no way in hell that was going to work.

I upgraded to a Chargemaster 1500 thinking I had found the magic formula for accurate powder charges, wrong. Even with consistent neck tension, seating depths, it was very hard to get a load in to single digit SD's. I was using good equipment, annealing my brass (not over annealing), using good brass, you name it I was doing it. I still couldn't get the results that made all the time and money seem worth it.

Not too long ago, I sold the chargemaster and picked up an FX120i. I remember looking at these thing however many years ago it was when I got into this hobby/addiction/illness/etc. and thought who the f*** pays that much money for a scale. Now I know why people do it.

The first load I put together with the FX-120i had an SD of like 3.4 on a 5 shot group, I was/am extremely happy. It also showed me how inaccurate the chargemaster was. In my 6.5 CM I was shooting 41.5 gr of H4350 behind a 140 gr Berger VLD, my Labradar said it was doing about 2750.

I put the EXACT same load together with the FX-120i and the speed jumped over 100 fps. Same bottle of powder, same brass, primers from the same box. The only thing I changed was the scale.

IMO, buy once cry once and get the 120i.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I will never load with a beam scale again. I moved to a RCBS Chargemaster and love it. Much faster and more repeatable than the beam scale for me.

 

[wind gypsy]

Here's my 2 cents, get your grain of salt ready:

I started with a Hornady Powder measure, trickler and scale from my LNL kit, I quickly learned there was no way in hell that was going to work.

I upgraded to a Chargemaster 1500 thinking I had found the magic formula for accurate powder charges, wrong. Even with consistent neck tension, seating depths, it was very hard to get a load in to single digit SD's. I was using good equipment, annealing my brass (not over annealing), using good brass, you name it I was doing it. I still couldn't get the results that made all the time and money seem worth it.

Not too long ago, I sold the chargemaster and picked up an FX120i. I remember looking at these thing however many years ago it was when I got into this hobby/addiction/illness/etc. and thought who the f*** pays that much money for a scale. Now I know why people do it.

The first load I put together with the FX-120i had an SD of like 3.4 on a 5 shot group, I was/am extremely happy. It also showed me how inaccurate the chargemaster was. In my 6.5 CM I was shooting 41.5 gr of H4350 behind a 140 gr Berger VLD, my Labradar said it was doing about 2750.

I put the EXACT same load together with the FX-120i and the speed jumped over 100 fps. Same bottle of powder, same brass, primers from the same box. The only thing I changed was the scale.

IMO, buy once cry once and get the 120i.

You'd have to be off by like 1.5+ grains to get 100 FPS in an apples to apples comparison. Do you think your chargemaster was off by that much or was there other contributing factors?

 

[Mtop2007]

A beam scale, RCBS/Ohaus, is a great option. Your dispenser should be able to put out nearly the identical charge, and then trickle the last bit. I thought I needed all of the bells to reload for hunting and find that I can dump 10 charges, with trickling in less than a few minutes.

 

[nhyrum]

You'd have to be off by like 1.5+ grains to get 100 FPS in an apples to apples comparison. Do you think your chargemaster was off by that much or was there other contributing factors?

I'm not going to try to speak for that particular issue (not me) but I've used/had both. I've also spent a good deal in an analytical lab. The a&d balances are analytical balances. Regulated and certified (need to be certified annually I believe to remain certified) but you will see those scales in labs where that .0001 gram matters. A lot. The strain guage system, used in the rcbs, isn't even capable of that, inherently because of flaws in strain guages. It's literally not possible. The system is extremely prone to drift, and the makers know it, so they'll set limits (basically a certain mass increase over a given amount of time) so, if you trickle slower than your scale likes, or are using anything other than a stick powder, and getting whole sticks, there are kernels of powder hitting the scale, the scale sees it, knows it, but says "oh no, that's not a half stick of 4350, that's drift" literally designed that way.

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[mvrk28]

You'd have to be off by like 1.5+ grains to get 100 FPS in an apples to apples comparison. Do you think your chargemaster was off by that much or was there other contributing factors?

I'm not sure what other contributing factors there could have been. I follow the same procedures every time and use the same components, seat bullets to the same CBTO, etc. If I were using my old Pro Chrono I'd say there was possibly a chrono issue but not with the Labradar.

I was surprised at the numbers myself. But seeing the ES and SD drop significantly upon the change in scale is leading me to believe that it was actually the chargemaster causing it.

 

[HighUintas]

I bought an rcbs 505 this year and they will definitely work. It is possible to get single kernal accuracy with them, but you have to know how to get them to do it. My job is about 50% making measurements. So believe me when I say that I don't think the average person will consistently get 0.5 grain accuracy with this balance and possibly not even 1.0 grain consistently.

Some of them won't hold zero out if the box, but they are serviceable. If you look up "tuning balance beam scale" on Google you'll find good info. They're worth the money

 

[snuzzo29]

If you want a beam scale the Dillon Eliminator is a great scale. Made by Ohaus and is essentially the same scale as the RCBS 505.

 

[HighUintas]

If you want a beam scale the Dillon Eliminator is a great scale. Made by Ohaus and is essentially the same scale as the RCBS 505.

Those look like a slightly different design than the new manufacture rcbs balances. I wonder if the quality is any better and would prevent having to fiddle with it as much to maintain zero.

That's the only thing I dislike about the rcbs I'm using. I have done any modifications to it other than sharpen the beam blade, put a bit if graphite on it, and clean the balance point well. But I have to make sure the pan hooks sit in the same spot on their blade and that the beam blade sits in the same spot on it's balance point every 4 or 5 charges. It's not a big deal, but it slows me down a little.

 

[nhyrum]

My rcbs 505 was rock solid. I never had to fiddle with it. If you're picky about it getting dead on, people would mount a webcam super close to the pointer and hook it up to a tv

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