What powder measure do you use?

I have an old RCBS Chargemaster that was manufactured by PACT. The scale finally quit after 12 years of use, I sent it into PACT last week to see if they could repair it. In the mean time I have an old RCBS 505 scale and my Uniflow powder measure. Using the old 505 and Uniflow made me realize why I went to the Chargemaster all those years ago! I've already ordered a Micrometer adjustment screw for the Uniflow, just trying to get better control over the powder change adjustments.

I mainly use the Chargemaster during load development of all cartridges and when reloading larger rifle cartridges that I mainly use stick powder on. If it's a short cut stick powder I'll use the Uniflow and trickle to weight using the digital scale, as my old Chargemaster is extremely slow. If I'm reloading ball powders in bulk I throw those charges either with my Uniflow or my Lee Auto Drum weighing ever 10-15 rounds to make sure the weights are still consistent.

I'm looking at a new powder measures and I'm leaning towards a new Chargemaster 1500 since they are $319 at Midway and have a $100 manufacture rebate. This makes it pretty affordable when compared to other dispensers of this type. I'm also looking at the Chargemaster lite, Lyman Gen 5 or 6, and the Hornady Lock-n-Load, just wanted to get some input from everyone on what they use?

I use the cheap Lee one. I've tried a couple of more expensive measures borrowed from friends on to try out, and they don't meter extruded consistently enough to skip the scale in even practice rifle loads. For HG loads where I use metered charges with spherical powder, they weren't significantly more accurate than the Lee.

I do not trust electronic scales. I've tried 2, followed the protocol exactly, and still get wandering charges. Not so with my Dillon avoirdupois scale. Maybe my house is haunted, in fact I strongly suspect this, but will never trust a digital scale again.

The only time I ever had an issue with my digital scale was when I used it under fluorescent light sources. Once I switched to incandescent and then LED my issues with the digital scale disappeared. I also had a good friend who recently toured the Sierra facility and he said they had a wall of RCBS Chargemasters that they used.

My kids got me the Lyman Gen 6 for Christmas 2016, and I really like it..It was kind of intimidating to clean the first few times, but doing it a few times, and its a simple process. I actually mounted a cheap kitchen funnel to the side of the bench where it sits, and just hold the powder bottle under the funnel and open the door on the scale and it flows right in the bottle. I still verify about every 5th charge on a beam scale and it's usually spot on..Although sometimes it'l read 1/10th low, but putting those charges on the beam scale I figured out, because it only carries 1 place past the decimal, it displays the first place past the decimal although the charge is much closer to what I entered...i.e. the desired charge is 45.5, it might read 45.4, but putting it on the beam scale its actually closer to 45.49. So in reality its an insignificant difference. The small footprint of it is nice. And the auto dispense is handy. With extruded powders it has a bushing for the nozzle that reduces the flow, and it usually lands where I want it. Although the bushing slows the entire dispensing process a little, so sometimes I find myself looking at it for a few seconds to finish up. In all fairness, its the only dispenser/scale that I've tried, other than a beam scale and a hornady digital scale (scale only doesn't dispense), so my experience with them is limited.

taylorce1":3oj0zxwq said:

The only time I ever had an issue with my digital scale was when I used it under fluorescent light sources. Once I switched to incandescent and then LED my issues with the digital scale disappeared. I also had a good friend who recently toured the Sierra facility and he said they had a wall of RCBS Chargemasters that they used.

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I think there's some weird electrical thing going on in my house. Old house, the original Tesla lightning arresting system is still in place and grounded. Also knob and tube wiring was abandoned in-place in the walls. Have tried eliminating all fluorescent ballasts, never had a CFL on the property, and still no-go. The electronic scale works fine outside in the garage where my shotgun loader is set up. I'd hate to invest in something like a chargemaster and have it wander also.

I am now using an RCBS Chargemaster Lite and a GemPro 250 (recently replaced under warranty) to check the RCBS Chargemaster throws. The RCBS Chargemaster Lite has proven to be VERY accurate as verified by my GemPro 250. For backup, I have an RCBS Rangemaster 2000 and a Dandy Omega auto trickier. If I'm without power, I have my older and always accurate RCBS (Ohaus) 10-10 scale and a manual RCBS trickier along with a set of Lee Powder measure dipper's. I'm think I'm set for measuring powder, with or without electrical power.

Mine is probably over 50 yrs old. It's a RCBS beam scale and I can still weigh down to the granule of powder. It's extremely sensitive, which can be frustrating at times, but once I have the powder thrower dialed in, it's crank 'em out time.

Redding 3BR for throwing charges and a Ohaus beam scale. With extruded powder I throw them light and use a RCBS trickler at the scale to finish. For ball powder I set the weight with the scale and throw every load. This system is cheap and easy and will out-produce any Chargemaster style system.

gbflyer":1jrbyrkd said:

Redding 3BR for throwing charges and a Ohaus beam scale. With extruded powder I throw them light and use a RCBS trickler at the scale to finish. For ball powder I set the weight with the scale and throw every load. This system is cheap and easy and will out-produce any Chargemaster style system.

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Same setup for me except I use an electronic vibrating trickler. Works well and fast.
I recently purchased a Redding pistol powder measure but I don't see any improvement over what the 3BR can do.


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A long time ago I read an article on using electronic scales in an area where fluorescent lights are located. If I remember correctly six feet was the minimum distance from the lighting. I have Fluorescent lighting in my garage about 8 feet from my reloading bench. I've checked and re-checked my electronic scale and the distance is satisfactory.

I use a little Lyman #55 powder measure for loading handgun ammo.

And the good old RCBS powder measure for my rifle ammo.

Still using a little RCBS beam scale.

Guy

For the past 42yrs I have using a RCBS Uniflow powder measure and a RCBS 5-10 powder scale. I have as yet found anything to complain about with either one.

I use the regular RCBS Chargemaster 1500 with a reducer on the dispenser tube, plugged into an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) and a line conditioner. Like Polaris I have some funky electrical issues in my house, hence the UPS and line conditioner. I use a Laymen M5 which I use for checking the Chargemaster 1500 and trickling when the 1500 gets finicky, such as when my basement gets below 63-65 degrees F.

A good friend uses a Chargemaster 1500 and I have no experience with the Hornady or Lyman dispensers.

Last year I talked to an RCBS rep, he said that the Chargemaster 1500 has a more sensitive load cell than the Lite and that the 1500 was still the flagship / Alpha model in regards to electronics and mechanical parts (typical dispense time, lifespan of parts, etc.) and it can be programmed to better suit powders or weight ranges. He also mentioned that he thought that the lite would effectively kill the 1500 do to price and footprint on benches, as most people wouldn't see any accuracy difference between them.

Some reports I've read note that the dispense times between the lite and the 1500 are about the same - http://panhandleprecision.com/rcbs-char ... te-review/. The last post at - http://forum.snipershide.com/threads/rc ... e.6374259/ - notes difference in load cells, that they have the same +/- 0.1 grain accuracy within their ideal weight range; which is 3-700 grains in the 1500 and 3-300 grains for the lite.

In short, if I were to buy today I would grab the Chargemaster lite.

I bought the Chargemaster 1500, the $100 rebate made it too good to pass up. At Midway USA it was $219 after rebate, the CM lite was $185 after rebate.

I’ve ran an ISD SMART Reloader for about 5-6 years now. I check it with weights pretty often, never turn it off and also use a couple of Bullets that I’ve checked on a beam scale for a quick spot check.

If it dies tomorrow I’ll get the 1500 RCBS but hopefully mine won’t. It’s very adjustable and seems to work well for me.

I looked for the Smart Reloader brand, but I didn't have much luck finding it. Frankford Arsenal is supposed to have a unit as well coming out this year. I check mine all the time as well with weights, so far it has been dead nuts accurate.

I mainly use the scale more than anything, but the dispenser comes in handy when you're doing load development. Punch a couple of buttons and you can change charge weights quickly and easily. Since PACT is no longer in the scale/powder measure business, it's hard to find a scale to replace my old one that works with my dispenser.

I use a couple of RCBS Uniflows I’ve had for many years, together with 5-0-5 beam scales & Redding trickler.
Works for me.