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My current RCBS Range Master 750 digital scale took a dive, wont hold tare any longer. Ive had it about 8 years I guess. Cant rely on it any longer. Was hoping to get some input from you guys regarding scales you use and have had success and longevity with. Reading through the reviews on Midway for several scales earlier this evening, seems like there is a lot to be desired for most of them.
I have a beam scale but i weigh a lot of cast bullets and brass along with each powder charge when loading, its just not optimal.
1892takedown @sbcglobal.net ......NRA Endowment Life Member.....WACA Member
"God is great.....beer is good.....and people are crazy"... Billy Currington
https://us.ohaus.com/en-us/dial-o-gramandcent-o-gram300series
Mine (the RCBS iteration) must be about 50 yrs old. They don’t “go bad” unless badly abused. I’d as soon use an electronic scale as talk over a cell phone.
Whatever you decide to get make sure it measures in grains not grams. I have 5 scales. The RCBS Chargemaster lite is an inexpensive auto scale and is relatively fast. The RCBS Chargemaster is more $$ but is supposed to be better. The beam scales can be accurate but are slow. I mainly use a Veritas S63 that is accurate to .02 grains. It is time consuming but very accurate as most scales are only accurate to .1 grain.
I had a Pact dispenser and scale that lasted for over 30 years until recently when the scale went bonkers. I believe Pact was bought out by whoever owns RCBS since it is very similar to the early RCBS’.
November 7, 2015
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I really like my RCBS Chargemaster 1500, have a couple of the early PACT scales somewhere but they were entirely too fussy.
Mike
TXGunNut said
I really like my RCBS Chargemaster 1500, have a couple of the early PACT scales somewhere but they were entirely too fussy.
Mike
Fussy, yes. I did like the fact that it ran a calibration on the powder too. RCBS has a Matchmaster scale that will do this now for a lot more money. I did not throw mine away but maybe I should. I doubt anyone will fix the scale and if I found a used one I couldn’t be sure it was in workable condition.
Chuck said
Clarence here are a couple for you.
What’s the advantage of these unless you’re weighing every charge? ARE YOU KIDDING? I use my scale to adjust my powder measures, but from then on, the measure does the weighing. In fact, though I have a Redding bench-rest measure, & a B&M, what I usually use is my antique Ideal #5, mainly because I like the looks of it.
November 7, 2015
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clarence said
Chuck said
Clarence here are a couple for you.What’s the advantage of these unless you’re weighing every charge? ARE YOU KIDDING? I use my scale to adjust my powder measures, but from then on, the measure does the weighing. In fact, though I have a Redding bench-rest measure, & a B&M, what I usually use is my antique Ideal #5, mainly because I like the looks of it.
Clarence-
A good measure used properly will dispense a powder charge very accurately. A machine like the RCBS Chargemaster weighs every charge and in my experience dispenses a weighed charge in less time than it takes to seat the bullet in the case the previous charge was placed into. Weighing every charge isn’t absolutely necessary for my reloading activities but with small batches I find it sometimes takes more time to get the powder measure adjusted where I want it than to simply punch in the desired weight. I use both, I even have a dedicated BP measure.
Mike
TXGunNut said
I use both, I even have a dedicated BP measure.
The measure I most enjoyed using (formerly, because I don’t shoot BP anymore) was an Ideal #6, that with one throw of the lever dispensed a smokeless priming charge (5-10 g.) first, followed by the main BP charge. These, & similar measures, became popular with Schuetzen match shooters after smokeless became available, but they are not easily found today.
I don’t doubt the accuracy & convenience of the measure you’re talking about, but I’m not partial to “new stuff,” esp. if it uses batteries or runs on electricity. (But I’m not blind to real improvements–I LOVE my new cordless chain saw, & wish I could afford a cordless lawn mower!)
I appreciate all your input. Im one of those of folks that measures every powder charge on the dot or 0.01grn over. And I weigh all my cast bullets and sort to fall within a 0.5 grn threshold, and oftentimes weigh my brass sometimes to sort (also a good way of figuring out who has the better brass). Then after loading a batch of cartridges, weigh all my loaded cartridges to make sure they fall within a certain range as well. It might be considered by some to be overkill, and it is a lot of work and time, but I like consistency and knowing that if the bullets going down range arent hitting where they should, then Im likely the one doing something wrong or at least it one variable to eliminate as the problem.
Many many years ago I was shooting some rounds I loaded for a 38-40. One round didnt sound right when I touched it off. I ejected the cartridge, found that it fired, but the bullet was lodged in the bore. I figured I didnt dump a powder charge and only the primer fired off. Ever since then I weigh each loaded cartridge. Had another instance where a small bolt end up in a piece of 270 brass. I found it when I dumped my powder out onto the scale to weigh the charge finding it was 70 grains over what I had been dumping. I thought it may have got dumped out of my can of powder but later found that it likely got thrown into or fell into my brass bin and found its way into a piece of 270 brass when cleaning a batch of brass in the tumbler. Could have resulted in a major malfunction, lessons learned.
Thanks again for all your input on the scales. Will figure out what Im going to do in the next day or so.
Chris
1892takedown @sbcglobal.net ......NRA Endowment Life Member.....WACA Member
"God is great.....beer is good.....and people are crazy"... Billy Currington
1892takedown said
I appreciate all your input. Im one of those of folks that measures every powder charge on the dot or 0.01grn over. And I weigh all my cast bullets and sort to fall within a 0.5 grn threshold, and oftentimes weigh my brass sometimes to sort (also a good way of figuring out who has the better brass). Then after loading a batch of cartridges, weigh all my loaded cartridges to make sure they fall within a certain range as well. It might be considered by some to be overkill, and it is a lot of work and time, but I like consistency and knowing that if the bullets going down range arent hitting where they should, then Im likely the one doing something wrong or at least it one variable to eliminate as the problem.
Well said Chris!
When shooting smokeless in these black powder cartridges weighing everything is mandatory. I like the idea of weighing the loaded round! T/R
Chris, I agree with you. I load to +/- .01 grain. In addition to the large and small scoops, I use a set of tweezers to get down to the last kernal. An average kernal weighs around .002/.003 grains. Now saying that, I started doing this for my target loads. I’m so used to doing this I now do it for the Winchesters too. All my rounds go through a chronograph these days. I want my target loads to produce extreme spreads of less than 20 FPS. Getting good numbers is just part of it. Perfect numbers don’t always produce the best groups but they show your consistency. The barrel will tell you if it likes the load by shooting the best groups. If I want I can fire up my RCBS chargemaster lite but have to live with the +/- of .1 grains or more. Hunting loads at a reasonable range do not require target accuracy but it’s nice. I will not spend the money for the 2 powder measures and scales I posted but these will produce .01 grain accuracy at a reasonable speed automatically. Many competitive shoots use these.
Clarence, this is as much as a shooting exercise as it is a mind exercise. It keeps me busy several days a week every week.
Tom, weighing cases for sorting is just the first step. This does not show where the difference in the weight is located. Once sorted brass now needs to go through a volume check and sort. There are primer pocket plugs. Now fill them with water and re weigh. Weighing a loaded round is OK only if all your bullets are sorted too. If you want you can get into case concentricity and neck thickness. Everything in the loading process can be carried to the extreme if you wish. I don’t sort brass especially brass for the Winchesters because I am not that concerned and I could not get my self to throw any out. Fortunately target brass is so much more consistent I just don’t have to.
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