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Posted: 9/29/2014 3:07:38 PM EDT
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After putting off buying an electronic scale, I have finally broken down and come to the realization that I do in fact require one for my bench. I am strictly a pistol caliber reloader right now, and not really interested in reloading for my rifle at all. I reload 9mm and .40 S&W, and starting .38 special. I do not have electricity in my shed where my bench is, so I need a scale that is battery powered.
ARFCOM, educate me and recommend a scale that won't break the bank. ETA: First look is at the RCBS RangeMaster 750 on Midway http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1458562485/rcbs-rangemaster-750-electronic-powder-scale-750-grain-capacity?cm_vc=ProductFinding |
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I reloaded for years with my Dillon balance scale with zero problems. I recently bought a pocket jewelers digital scale just for grins and I was flabbergasted at how accurate it is. I compared the weights to my balance scale for a month or more and it is always dead on. It is accurate to .1gr and that is all I need. Do not scoff at the price, it is worth every penney of it. I continue to check it occasionally against my beam scale and it is always accurate.
Insten scale Vince |
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Thanks, Vinny, that's the kind of information im looking for. I would have never guessed that a $17 Wal-Mart scale would have been reliable in any way, shape or form. Shocked me too, as I said I bought it on a whim but was pleasantly surprised. Hey for $17 what do you have to loose. Now I would be very steamed if I had dropped upwards of $400 on a name brand reloading scale to find out it was not accurate  I see posts all the time about these high dollar scales that cant cut it.
Vince |
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Shocked me too, as I said I bought it on a whim but was pleasantly surprised. Hey for $17 what do you have to loose. Now I would be very steamed if I had dropped upwards of $400 on a name brand reloading scale to find out it was not accurate I see posts all the time about these high dollar scales that cant cut it.
Vince Quoted:
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Thanks, Vinny, that's the kind of information im looking for. I would have never guessed that a $17 Wal-Mart scale would have been reliable in any way, shape or form. Shocked me too, as I said I bought it on a whim but was pleasantly surprised. Hey for $17 what do you have to loose. Now I would be very steamed if I had dropped upwards of $400 on a name brand reloading scale to find out it was not accurate I see posts all the time about these high dollar scales that cant cut it.
Vince To answer the bolded part, pretty simple. Load anywhere near max, wait for inevitable scale drift, and you may have an answer next time you go to shoot. It's just not, IMO, worth using cheapie digital scales as a primary means of measure. Spend over $100 for something like a Gempro, or buy a new or used mechanical like the RCBS 505 or similar. |
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] To answer the bolded part, pretty simple. Load anywhere near max, wait for inevitable scale drift, and you may have an answer next time you go to shoot. It's just not, IMO, worth using cheapie digital scales as a primary means of measure. Did you miss the part where I said I continually check it against my Dillon balance beam scale? I do not rely on it for the only means of measurement. Vince |
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Did you miss the part where I said I continually check it against my Dillon balance beam scale? I do not rely on it for the only means of measurement. Vince Quoted:
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To answer the bolded part, pretty simple. Load anywhere near max, wait for inevitable scale drift, and you may have an answer next time you go to shoot. It's just not, IMO, worth using cheapie digital scales as a primary means of measure. Did you miss the part where I said I continually check it against my Dillon balance beam scale? I do not rely on it for the only means of measurement. Vince I did, as it wasn't quoted in the post I replied to. I'd still call it lucky vs 'a good practice.' I was 'fine' with my MTM 1500 (think Hornady's cheapie is the same one?) for a bit, but then caught it drifting +/- .2gr, had me cleaning my PM a million times, then finally checked it on a RCBS...RCBS dead-on, Hornady semi-random. Never again on the cheapie scales, for me. |
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Quoted: Why not consider a good quality balance beam scale? Yeah, the Lee ain't it, but Hornady, Lyman, Dillon, and RCBS all sell very good beam scales. I'd wager that all of them are made by Ohaus. I have a 70's vintage Ohaus 5-10 scale that still does the job. I have two beam scales----one lyman and one hornady. While the lyman isn't bad, I would have no problem recommending the hornady to a new reloader. In fact, I pretty much consider myself a fan of hornady products across the board and that includes their loaded ammunition, as well. |
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The little pocket scale is accurate to .1gr. I use it to set my powder measure on my Dillon RL550B whose powder measure is no more accurate than .1gr. I compare the powder charge from my RL550B powder measure with my balance beam scale and on my pocket scale and to date they both agree.
Vince |
| I've had my eye on this one for a while now. http://brianenos.com/store/be.scale_pd.html |
| That Gem Pro looks exactly like the one Brian Enos is peddling. Im excited about the AC power almost more than the resolution. If you've ever run the batteries down on a pocket scale without realizing it you'll know what I mean. Suddenly my 2650 fps loads were chronographing 400 fps slower! |
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I reloaded for years with my Dillon balance scale with zero problems. I recently bought a pocket jewelers digital scale just for grins and I was flabbergasted at how accurate it is. I compared the weights to my balance scale for a month or more and it is always dead on. It is accurate to .1gr and that is all I need. Do not scoff at the price, it is worth every penney of it. I continue to check it occasionally against my beam scale and it is always accurate. Insten scale Vince This report doesn't square with the experience most of us have. For your own security, I'd suggest a little test. Take 25 to 50 cases and line them up. Weigh each case and record the weight. Then weigh them again and record the weights. Then compare the list, case by case. I suspect you will find that a case's weight will too often (for me) vary 0.1 to 0.3gr from first weighing to second. But if you are happy with and allow for that kind of result in your reloading, you'll be fine. If you get 99% repeatability, I'll buy a couple of those scales myslef lol. |
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GemPro 250 plus a $30 set of reloading check weights from Brownells (think the weights are .5, 1, 1, 5, 10, 20, and 20 grains).
With any digital scale you NEED a set of grain-denominated check weights. Put a $3 ferrite core on the power cord to limit electrical interference. Don't put electrically noisy stuff near it. Let it warm up for 15 minutes before using. No drift. Accurate to about .04 gr (whenever I put a 20 gr check weight on it, it will read 20.00 to 20.02). The only weakness is it is kind of slow to respond when trickling. But dump a load of powder on it and you'll get a very accurate weight. |
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This report doesn't square with the experience most of us have. For your own security, I'd suggest a little test. Take 25 to 50 cases and line them up. Weigh each case and record the weight. Then weigh them again and record the weights. Then compare the list, case by case. I suspect you will find that a case's weight will too often (for me) vary 0.1 to 0.3gr from first weighing to second. But if you are happy with and allow for that kind of result in your reloading, you'll be fine. If you get 99% repeatability, I'll buy a couple of those scales myslef lol. Listen up folks! I am not using this pocket scale to weigh each and every charge. I use the scale to setup the powder drop on my Dillon RL550B same as I do with my balance beam scale. I recheck the weight occasionally as I am progressing with reloading to make sure my powder drop on my Dillon is holding a setting, same as I would do with my balance beam scale. I do not use the pocket scale to the exclusion of my balance beam scale. It is just another method of confirmation of powder drop weight. Vince |
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There is very few electronic scales worth a flip. I am quite sure most if not all of the scales offered from reloading places are just rebranded and marked up$$. Quoted:
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That Gem Pro looks exactly like the one Brian Enos is peddling. ! There is very few electronic scales worth a flip. I am quite sure most if not all of the scales offered from reloading places are just rebranded and marked up$$. Exactly - the BE scale is in fact the GemPro. In BE's case, he doesn't mark it up much, but it is higher than elsewhere. Have seen the same thing a few other places as well. |
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GemPro 250 plus a $30 set of reloading check weights from Brownells (think the weights are .5, 1, 1, 5, 10, 20, and 20 grains). With any digital scale you NEED a set of grain-denominated check weights. Put a $3 ferrite core on the power cord to limit electrical interference. Don't put electrically noisy stuff near it. Let it warm up for 15 minutes before using. No drift. Accurate to about .04 gr (whenever I put a 20 gr check weight on it, it will read 20.00 to 20.02). The only weakness is it is kind of slow to respond when trickling. But dump a load of powder on it and you'll get a very accurate weight. I use an RCBS 750. The trick to trickling, for me, is to trickle some powder then lift and reset the pan. Sometimes the scale won't recognize a very small amount - or it takes a few seconds. Lifting it off and resetting the pan seems to work well. |
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I've been using a Pact electronic scale for 10+ years with zero problems. Doesn't drift. Calibrates easily. I think I paid $60 or so. I keep a balance around, for the end of the world. 
Earlier this year I picked up a used Pact scale and digital powder measure combo for $100. So far it's been staying consistent, however it occasionally asks to be calibrated during use (which I think is a good safety precaution.) It's faster for me to use my Hornady beam scale with a standard powder measure, so the Pact only runs with the slower running digital measure. The only advantage of the digital measure is changing charge weights on the fly during load development. |
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I've been using a Pact electronic scale for 10+ years with zero problems. Doesn't drift. Calibrates easily. I think I paid $60 or so. I keep a balance around, for the end of the world.
QFT. My pact is pretty old. Just let it warm up and no drift. Do have a rcbs balance scale, but have never used it. |
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