Digital Scale?

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I currently use the RCBS 10-10 in conjunction with the hornady LNL auto charge powder dispenser. I feel this gives me the assurance that the digital scale is dead on. It does throw a little light by .2/.1 grains and I typically take what it dispenses and dump that into the 10-10 scale to make sure it agrees and if it does not agree the and I will trickle up the charge until the 10-10 shows to be dead on the desired target. While doing this checking process the auto charge is dispensing another load.
just to make sure everything is in agreement I then take the measured charge from the 10-10 and remeasure it ( after pressing the zeroing function with an empty pan) back on the auto charge just for my own good feelings and confirmation. With one exception it has always measured exactly the desired target after correcting the charge on the 10-10.
I do want to purchase a scale with a higher resolution just to see how close this really is getting me.
I hope this helps in your decision.
 
The digital requires more care, you need a vibration free with no air movement room,fan air conditioner, can really screw it up, I've found the RCBs with it's plug adapter is much better then battery, I calibrate after allowing it to warm 4-5 mins, I go through a complete reloading session without problems,after I finish I make sure it's clean and turned off, I then store it in a plastic container. No doubt they are a delicate instrument but working correctly and taken care of they are a great asset in reloading.
 
wingman said:
The digital requires more care, you need a vibration free with no air movement room,fan air conditioner, can really screw it up, I've found the RCBs with it's plug adapter is much better then battery, I calibrate after allowing it to warm 4-5 mins, I go through a complete reloading session without problems,after I finish I make sure it's clean and turned off, I then store it in a plastic container. No doubt they are a delicate instrument but working correctly and taken care of they are a great asset in reloading.
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No vibration or air movement is the same with any sensitive scale & more so with a beam & the pan. I cut down on the air movement problem by measuring in the case when I can.

I agree 100% a adapter is better then a battery. I just bit the bullet & dropped $200 on a scale/dispenser because of the battery/power saver of my cheap crack scale. No complaints about the cheap on & my crack was chapped a little less spending $5 then $200.

"they are a great asset in reloading" Nothing to add to this just thought it was worth repeating.
 
A 10 power drop average was 5.5 - 5.8 grains of Titegroup and the measured spread was always within +/-1 grain total weight of the average assembled components total of 231.1gr (min) and 233.6 (max)
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Only works if you run one type of brass. I did this with 45 last week and there were as much as 10 to 15 grains in cases between MFG's
 
Breeze1221 said:
Thanks for the welcome jcwit. Read "ABC's" already and about halfway thru Richard Lee's manual. I didn't really state my question all that well. I was more curious if weighing the finished round would be an added safety measure and you answered that for me already. Thanks for recommending the other manual. Remington new brass, Universal powder, Winchester 115gr. FMJ (flat bottom) and haven't decided on primer yet but leaning toward CCI's. Any opinions on this combo would be very welcomed.
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Yeah, too much variation in case and bullet weight to detect a double charge.
 
I too have a Pact BBK II scale - sort of.

I had it for about 8 months & it died.
I sent it back to Pact for warrantee work - they had it for 6 months before I got it back.
I used it for another 2 months & it died again.
Pact has it again.
Based on my experience, I won't buy another Pact scale.
YMMV

As far as weighing finished rounds - I've tried that & found some were as much as 4 grains different
when the charge calls for 4 grains of powder, weighing each one doesn't help.
And this was using only one headstamp (winchester)
 
I also have a chargemaster and its really working great for me. I had to do the straw trick and tape 1/3rd of the trickle tube off inside the hopper to meter Varget on a consistent basis. I still have my 20 year old balance been, but haven't used it in several years. Depending what I load, I use the chargemaster or Harrells culver.
 
I used an MTM, but not the same one that PowderMonkey posted in #13. I didn't have very much luck with it. I replaced it with a Lyman 1200 DPS 3 scale/dispenser combo. It was a big jump in price, but, I check it with a set of check weights and I've never found it to be inaccurate. IMHO it's worth it to get a quality scale, not necessarily expensive, but quality.

Looking at PowderMonkey's work it looks like it can indeed be quantified, but I don't weigh the ammo after it is assembled. I feel like it is safer for me to put the safety standards further up in the process to completely eliminate any doubt by the time I've seated them.

The downside to the Lyman is that it doesn't meter crack very well.
 
Some of us choose to sort our bullets and cases before we charge them.

With that math in mind, it would be very easy to weigh out individual assembled rounds on a "heaviest to lightest" gradient looking for unexplained spikes in weight.

In my experience, of a hundred round run, you will have about 5 weight categories by grain if you weigh your components before assembly and charging.

Granted, this is not an acceptable reason to fluff your way through any portion of quality control during the process- it is the last step in a series of steps.

Some minor variation in fractions of grains is unavoidable, but checking for double charges as a safety step in this manner is perfectly doable with the right procedure.
 
I have the same MTM as Powder Monkey. It's fine for my uses. I'm shooting milsurp with open sights for fun. If I was shooting benchrest or competing I would use a beam or a high end electronic. But I've checked loads against a beam and it seems to be right on or pretty close to it.
 
[QUOTEIf I was shooting benchrest or competing I would use a beam or a high end electronic. But I've checked loads against a beam and it seems to be right on or pretty close to it.
][/QUOTE]

Most benchrest competitors do not use a scale.
 
Spend the money to get a good one, you'll be glad you did. My son got me an RCBS 1500 for this past Christmas, and I just love it!!! Best addition to my loading bench, besides my LNL. :D
 
If the above were true the government would have the pest toilet seats in the world.


Dollars spent does not necessarly constitute a good or better item or product.

Might I add, it Dollars spent, or dollars saved does not ecrt., ect.
 
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[QUOTEIf I was shooting benchrest or competing I would use a beam or a high end electronic. But I've checked loads against a beam and it seems to be right on or pretty close to it.
][/QUOTE]

Most benchrest competitors do not use a scale.

Cool. Look how much money you saved me. Thanks.
 
OH RATS!!! That's outrageous!!! I want one. But . . .that's outrageous. Well, no running with the big dogs this year.
 
Dillon Powder Scale

I bought a Dillon electronic scale a few months ago. I am really enjoying it, and it is stable, accurate, and easy to use. Because every room has drafts, and even my close-by hand movements can cause it to fluctuate, I use the grounded lucite platform cover that came with the scale. I use an RCBS drop setup with micrometer adjustment, and a trickler to tune the last bit of powder (I only load/shoot rifle these days, so it's not like the days when I'd go through up to 300 rds./week of handgun ammo).

The scale is accurate to 0.1 grain, for real. In fact, with a little interpretation it can be read close to half a tenth (digital oscillation when close to half a tenth). When loading IMR 4350 and 4831, it does change reading when you drop one cylinder of powder into the tray. I love the thing, and yes, it has both a battery and a power supply.
 
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