MagMan
Well-Known Member
I use three and can barely keep up. Four would be excessive.
How accurate is RCBS Chargemaster 1500?
- Thread starter new2mud
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
BillLarson
Well-Known Member
VERY CORRECT.....a line conditioner is beneficial.....
I have no problems with cell phones or floresant lites...
Last edited:
I dump mine directly from the CM into my brass. Every rifle I load for shoots 1/4-1/2 MOA at 500 with an ES <20fps, most are 10-15fps, some less than 10fps…so doing it that way can't be that bad. Like I said, calibrate them before each use (takes 30-45 seconds) and just watch them as you use them. If you notice one starts to drift (which is obvious if it occurs) then just recalibrate it and keep on going.
I use 3 also but will be adding a 4th. At that point there will be zero waiting on charges to dispense. There's only so many hours in the day and with 2 little kids I'm all about anything that maintains quality but improves efficiency and speed.
milo-2
Well-Known Member
I don't want a lengthy post, but I used 3 CM's at one point, usually just used 2. But I bought one of the first auto trickler systems, so I had the scale. After getting the new system, 2 afternoons in a row I ran weight tests with the fx120i being the gold standard.
The powders I used were RL 16 and VV N 550, both easily metered powders, so take that into consideration. I did not keep the findings, as it was enough to sell the new system and stay the course.
Over the 2 sessions, I was around 84% of the charges coming from the CM's were spot on, and no unit stood out as being better or worse than the other. 5% were overthrows, which was easily remedied by pulling kernels with a tweezer before weighing them on the expensive scale.
The baffling part was the under throws, sometimes exceeding the -.1, and around 10% of all CM charges were under. All 3 CM's were fitted with SS inserts to keep powder from clumping, but they were not perfect.
Not one of these CM's ever did well with Varget, no matter how I tweaked the feed rate numbers, but all seemed to do fine with larger kernel powders(N570), but these were not tested here.
Today, I use a V3, and have a V4 in a box downstairs, just need to set it up. Looking back, if I were to pick my 3 most accurate rifles I have owned, all 3 in chargemaster days, not V3.
The powders I used were RL 16 and VV N 550, both easily metered powders, so take that into consideration. I did not keep the findings, as it was enough to sell the new system and stay the course.
Over the 2 sessions, I was around 84% of the charges coming from the CM's were spot on, and no unit stood out as being better or worse than the other. 5% were overthrows, which was easily remedied by pulling kernels with a tweezer before weighing them on the expensive scale.
The baffling part was the under throws, sometimes exceeding the -.1, and around 10% of all CM charges were under. All 3 CM's were fitted with SS inserts to keep powder from clumping, but they were not perfect.
Not one of these CM's ever did well with Varget, no matter how I tweaked the feed rate numbers, but all seemed to do fine with larger kernel powders(N570), but these were not tested here.
Today, I use a V3, and have a V4 in a box downstairs, just need to set it up. Looking back, if I were to pick my 3 most accurate rifles I have owned, all 3 in chargemaster days, not V3.
Col Mark
New Member
I have two and they both are within the advertised spec, and sometimes better with finer powders. But even large extruded powders are yielding weights +/- .1 gr. A benchrest shooter friend of mine throws the loads with his 1500 and checks the weights and refines when necessary with a digital pharmacy scale for that last little tweak. But then again, you know how the F-Class guys are, right?
If a Cell phone is within 2-3 feet of my CM it will NOT measure accurately.
Sportshooter5
Well-Known Member
I don't understand the straw……you put it in the dispenser tube ?
QuietTexan
Well-Known Member
Have you tried adding ferrite beads? It cut down on some issues I was having, helped but didn't prevent.
Yes, it's that simple, some people cut the ends with little Vs. 7:50:
Unfamiliar. Do tell……
i have used a chargemaster for years to produce very accurate loads. the one thing that was not talked about was that the chargemaster should be turned on for 1/2 hours before use and will make for more accurate loads.
RUFFIAN R - NY
Well-Known Member
I stopped using mine and went back to my old reliable ones 0-5-0 and there M1000 and the old beam scale.
QuietTexan
Well-Known Member
They're basically little magnets that by some form of electrical black magic suppress line noise (high frequency signals on low frequency wires), I used them a lot on sound equipment. They come slipped on to a lot of power supplies that you buy, I can almost guarantee you've seen them but there's no blame in that you've probably never spared a second to think what they are. They aren't magic fixes but they can help.
I lived by the 50,000 watt 850 KOA tower in Colorado once upon a time, I got AM radio over every corded phone, speaker, and on half the AM band for years.
Ferrite bead - Wikipedia
Amazon product ASIN B07CWCSNW9
I have been using the RCBS ChargeMaster for several years and my experience seems to be mostly in line with previous comments. The MacDonald's straw trick to reduce the size of the dispensing tube is a definite must. I think RCBS is honest with their marketing claims of +/- 0.1 grain accuracy. I set it to .1 grain below desired weight and then trickled up on a beam scale. Just never trusted it when loading right at max or slightly compressed loads to go directly to from pan to case.
Received my AutoTrickler v4 a couple weeks ago and very impressed. With the Fx-120i scale it will consistently throw charges in their advertised +/- 0.02 range which is down to the single kernel with IMR4350 and Varget, which are the only two I have tested so far. I'm to the point of not seeing the need to manually weigh each charge which will speed thing up by about 2X.
I think both are good products. It just depends on your needs and expectations. Probably going to sell the ChargeMaster since I don't need it anymore and space on my reloading bench is at a premium.
Received my AutoTrickler v4 a couple weeks ago and very impressed. With the Fx-120i scale it will consistently throw charges in their advertised +/- 0.02 range which is down to the single kernel with IMR4350 and Varget, which are the only two I have tested so far. I'm to the point of not seeing the need to manually weigh each charge which will speed thing up by about 2X.
I think both are good products. It just depends on your needs and expectations. Probably going to sell the ChargeMaster since I don't need it anymore and space on my reloading bench is at a premium.
