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Posted: 3/27/2016 1:43:08 PM EDT
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I really need something good I've used two cheap little digital scales that broke now I'm willing to spend more on something good but don't know what to buy.
Here are a few I found at midway not sure what else is out there hopefully you guys can point me in the right direction. RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Hornady Lock-N-Load Auto Charge Powder Scale and Dispenser PACT High Speed Digital Precision Powder Dispenser Lyman Gen 5 Touch Screen Powder Scale and Dispenser |
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Quoted:
I really need something good I've used two cheap little digital scales that broke now I'm willing to spend more on something good but don't know what to buy. Here are a few I found at midway not sure what else is out there hopefully you guys can point me in the right direction. RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Hornady Lock-N-Load Auto Charge Powder Scale and Dispenser PACT High Speed Digital Precision Powder Dispenser Lyman Gen 5 Touch Screen Powder Scale and Dispenser Sir, my experience with powder measures tells me there are a few different criteria that might influence the choice of PM I want to use. Since I load mostly for rifle my choice for the powders I use such as IMR 4895, and VV N540 is the Redding 3BR which works quite well providing very consistent charges that I can seldom tell a difference in charge weight when doing QA checks. OTOH, IMR 4064 does not measure well with this PM. For that powder and others I use my PACT digital scale and dispenser combo. I also have a Harrells Culver PM that I use with VV N135 and N140. For most pistol cartridges that I load I use either my Dillon 650 or 550 and the powder measures incidental to those presses. I use AA7, Bullseye, 2400, Unique, WW 231, as well as a few others. I also have a lyman PM with aluminum hopper tube for BPCRs. Therefore my answer to your question is that it depends on your choice of powder and the degree of precision you desire with charge weight consistency You won't go wrong with the Pact digital scale/ dispenser but a little slow for my purposes most of the time. HTH, 7zero1.. |
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How large are your batches?
Are we discussing stick powders like H4350 or finer grains? How "tight" do you intend to hold the charge tolerance? How would you be inclined to balance your time against budget? These are all questions only you can answer and they affect how you should look at PM versus scales and tricklers, etc. For example, more than one ChargeMaster owned by an individual isn't rare. It means you don't wait for one machine and can go faster. An Omega trickler is also getting fairly common. The tricklers have been run over the charge pans of electronic scales as well as beam scales, but would be required to hold the type of tolerance for serious distance accuracy work. The tolerance is often measured in a few powder granules when we are discussing Long Range or F-Class work. On the other hand, unless all the other elements of your game are not balanced, there is no point to over spending on this if the rest of your interests are not aligned to that level. A single machine like a Pact or ChargeMaster will do for many folks. |
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I recently bought a Hornady Lock-n-load. It was much cheaper then the RCBS product. I am pleased with it so far. It meters stick powder extremely well. I loaded some .308 Win. using IMR 4895, and it didn't run over the desired load once.
I have also loaded a good amount of 300 BLK on it using W296. The ball powder is somewhat more problematic. On normal speed it would go over the desired charge about 1 in 10 times, but when I set it to slow speed, that solved the problem. I would buy it again. |
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Sounds good.
I am a little surprised the 296 gave you issues, but this is why we must keep searching. If you are not into those tight tolerance requirements, there are lots of good options. It is only when you start trying to hold a few powder granules and want to get 500 rounds done quickly that you start having to turn rocks over for the right set ups. |
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