What brand reloading scale, digital or beam ballance accuracy

[wasgas]

I would assume all reloading scales are not the same, I currently have a cheapie and am really questioning the accuracy of it as I seem to get a few fliers when all else should be the same.

What good or bad experiences are you guys seeing with scales, is it typical for some of them to be inconsistent?

 

[rcoody]

I would assume all reloading scales are not the same, I currently have a cheapie and am really questioning the accuracy of it as I seem to get a few fliers when all else should be the same.

What good or bad experiences are you guys seeing with scales, is it typical for some of them to be inconsistent?

depends on what you are wanting to do. You have to make that decision and do your research.

The classic beam scale is hard to beat. A good one is very repeatable. A little slow but fine especially if you are just setting up a powder measure to throw charges. With good technique you can throw charges to +/- 0.10. Some powders even better.

Many like the chargemaster. Great for short range benchrest and most recreational ammo. Accuracy is about 0.15grains. probably the simplest method to charge cases

Most of the long range guys weigh every charge. A very popular digital scale accurate to 0.02 grains is the gempro 250. Weigh and trickle is a very accurate way to measure your charge weight. Do you need to do this for your kind of shooting? Only you can answer that question.

If you want to know what you are getting now, I did, buy the gempro and check the method you are using now.

 

[FearNoWind]

Used a lot of 'em. Beam scales offer best accuracy but if you want faster consistent output that requires only an occasional picking at a few grains from a .01 error, this is what you want:

RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale Dispenser Combo 110 Volt

And that's a VERY good price.

 

[MagnumManiac]

I have the Charge Master 1500 scale, not the dispenser. This is the latest electronic scale I have bought, have had 3 other RCBS electronic scales in the past.
I like it very much, is fast, easy to calibrate and as long as you don't have breezes or AC on, it is very repeatable. I have not had any problems with mine at all.

Cheers.
gun)

 

[wbyfireman]

I can throw a charge of powder measured just below what my final weight is then finalize it with a trickler on my beam scale with precise accuracy just about as fast as the chargemaster can and with absolute precision.
I use the new RCBS 505 beam scale...... So far it works to perfection.

Just a thought
Good luck

 

[rsnell]

A good beam balance is accurate to plus or minus 0.1 grain. This is all that is needed for short range accuracy. Keep the balance clean and do not let the beam rest on the knife edge when not in use. If you are interested in long range accuracy, 500 + yards, and good electronic balance is a good choice. Prices start at approximately $150 and escalate very quickly. Accuracy will be at least plus or minus 0.02 grains.

You get what you pay for. If you do not understand analytical balances, the learning curve can be a little steep to obtain the ultimate accuracy.

 

[Str8shooterTX]

Used a lot of 'em. Beam scales offer best accuracy but if you want faster consistent output that requires only an occasional picking at a few grains from a .01 error, this is what you want:

RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale Dispenser Combo 110 Volt

And that's a VERY good price.

You are saying 0.01 which is incorrect. It is 0.1 which is still less accurate then the Gem pro. 0.01 is a hundredth.
I do not know of any scale in that price range that is accurate to 0.01
That being said I would look at the Gempro 250.
The nice thing of the RCBS is it is a dispenser also.

 

[engineer40]

I can throw a charge of powder measured just below what my final weight is then finalize it with a trickler on my beam scale with precise accuracy just about as fast as the chargemaster can and with absolute precision.
I use the new RCBS 505 beam scale...... So far it works to perfection.

Just a thought
Good luck

I have a 505 and like it very much. I actually went to pick up a 2nd one a few months ago and Im fairly sure they are discontinued now.


To the OP; if you are seeing flyers chances are its not your powder charge. I sincerely do not believe 0.10 difference in charges will create a flyer.

People put too much emphasis on powder charge weight for one reason... because its one of the easiest things to measure. Some of the more important things with reloading accurate ammo are harder to measure and track.

Im not saying to stop your quest for an accurate scale. Just dont be surprised if after spending a bunch more money on a scale, that you may still have flyers.

 

[engineer40]

I typed my last post on my phone so it was short and to the point. I did want to add some clarification to it though.

0.10 charge weight difference may make a small but measurable change in group size at extended ranges enough that some reloaders will try to get more consistent than that. That's understandable and I would never knock anyone for trying to produce the most consistent ammo possible.

I just haven't been able to prove with my own testing that 0.10 charge weight difference would create "flyers" in the way most of us think about them. That's why my opinion to the original poster is that his time may be better spent barking up a different tree.

Hope that helps.

 

[Wedgy]

Fliers are there because something in the load or you're shooting was different. Having a good scale can eliminate that variable so you can move on to the next one. If someone told long ago that for $450 I could have done away with a ton of wasted trips to the range, wasted bullets, wasted powder, wasted time, etc. I would have said no way. After all the beams, Chargemaster, Gempro, Accu-touch, etc I bought an FX-120i and it never drifts like a Gempro 250 and you don't have to pick up the pan and set it down again. The Gempro won't register a kernel being placed in the pan unless you pick it up and set it back down or touch it with tweezers. Then 10 cartridges later when you put the empty pan back it reads 0.08 or -0.06. You really have to stay on top of it.
With a good scale you can weigh powder, bullets, brass, etc. accurately, reliably, and FAST eliminating those variables from your equation.
My life is simpler now and I would have paid twice that. Ask anyone if they regret upgrading their scale. Maybe I'm wrong but I certainly consider mine well worth the investment.

 

[alcesgigas]

I use the Sartorious MProve AY123. I always used the RCBS 505 scale--since the 60s'--and I wanted something faster and more accurate. At first I went the cheap route and was disappointed and then had little faith in my charge weights. Then I got the MProve and all that went away. However, I learned quickly to read--and understand--the instruction manual that comes with the unit. My unit is extremely sensitive; just breathing across the table will make the readout hop all over the place. I'm real happy with my MProve.

 

[gpo1956]

I've used the small Redding balance scale since 1973. The thing continues to amaze me with its consistancy.

 

[FearNoWind]

You are saying 0.01 which is incorrect. It is 0.1 .

You are absolutely correct, Str8shooter. Got my decimal in he wrong place there.

 

[JeffVN]

My Scott Parker tuned Ohaus 10-10 is accurate and repeatable to a single kernal of H4350.

Part of the accuracy issue for electronic balances and scales is the physical location where you are going to use it. My garage, for example, has florescent lights, and the fuse box and control box forthe sprinkler system located w/in 8 feet of the reloading bench (not to mentions drafts and breezes that flow through the garage to ventilate the place). An electronic scale isn't feasible in that location absent some kind of Faraday cage.

JeffVN