Electronic Scales/Powder Dispensing

[mxsailor803]

Alright guys. I know many people dont use electronic equipment when measuring charges. This is not for extreme precision, think lighter load range ammo. I will mainly be using it for 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP, .44mag(light cowboy loads), and .38/.357's. Does anyone have any experience with the following setups?

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/73...creen-powder-scale-and-dispenser-110-220-volt

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/81...harge-powder-scale-and-dispenser-110-220-volt

Does anybody have any other suggestions? I'd be willing to go up to $300. I'm still using a single stage press as well, just my preference.

 

[Jim243]

I don't have any experience with either of those machines. I do have a RCBS Charge Master 1500 I really like. BUT:

I use it for precise RIFLE loads. You do not need to go to this extreme for pistol loads. The difference between 4.6, 5.6 & 6.2 grains and what is used for rifle loads make a big difference when shooting precision rifle when using 25 to 43 grains of powder.

I would suggest purchasing a good manual powder measure like the Lyman 55 instead of spending the extra money for an electronic that will not make much of a difference for pistol loads. Unless you are shooting bullseye matches with your pistols you will not see much difference between 4.7 and 4.6 grains of powder in your loads.

Stay manual or get a Lee Auto disk powder measure for pistol applications.

Good Luck and stay safe.
Jim

Another suggestion would to be to use that cash to get a Lee Classic Turret Press to help speed up making your pistol loads. It really helps in that area.

 

[zanemoseley]

I agree with the above. I load my 185 grain .45 bullseye loads on a LNL AP and it seems to meter the WST powder quite well, usually little to no variation. I'm not the best at bullseye but I would have to get a lot better before the powder charge was the weak link.

I also have a Chargemaster from RCBS, its a neat little gizmo but struggles with extruded powder (I use Varget). In fact I'm shipping it back today since they offered to swap out for another due to my problems. I really enjoy the operation though.

Honestly if you shoot a big volume of pistol rounds you could buy a LNL AP for not much more, I think they're in the low $400's. That includes the whole deal including the measure.

 

[FITASC]

I use a single stage as well; and if you're like me, you things in batches. Once I get my Uniflow set, I use loading blocks and can charge 50 cases in a matter of seconds. I had an electronic scale/dispenser when they first came out. Went back for warranty repairs twice and finally went in the trash. Was NOT reliable enough and I wound up using my balance beam to check it.

 

[Nick_C_S]

This is not for extreme precision, think lighter load range ammo.

IMO "lighter load range ammo" IS an application requiring precision.

Most electronic scales are calibrated in grams as their native unit. More specifically, accurate to .01 (1/100th) of a gram. When purchased for ammo loading, they are "internally converted" to grains. And even though they may say "accurate to +/- 0.1 grain," they really aren't. Frankly, I don't think 1/100th of a gram is accurate enough. And scales accurate to 1/1000 are expensive. I'm not saying there's no good electronic scales suitable for loading that are affordable. I'm just saying you have to do your homework and be choosy.

Myself, I prefer to stick with a good balance scale. And although they aren't as convenient as electronic units; I believe they can't be beat for accuracy and consistency. And like FITASC, once I get my Uniflow set, I can crank out the 50-round blocks pretty fast.

 

[gunnny12]

To add my 2 cents, I also have the Chargemaster does a decent job, would I believe it be .001 gr. off ,no ,sometimes if you use the beam scale different.
For hand gun rounds I like to double check so from the master to the beam , and I make the adjustments from there, but as I just restarted loading handgun rounds a slow process, but worth it on the range.
Enjoy, can never be too safe.



Jeff

 

[crashdummy]

I also load single stage but have been using the Lyman DPS 3 exclusively for a few years now. Of course I still check it against the conventional beam scale every session. I would be lost without it.

 

[steve4102]

I have a Lyman 1200 DPS and luv it.

That said I do not use it on handgun ammo, strictly rifle.

For all my handgun ammo I set up my powder measures.

Once I have worked up and found an accurate rifle load with my Lyman 1200, I will use my powder measure for them as well if loading in bulk, think AR-15.

 

[LE-28]

I have Hornady's Auto Charge and I really like it a lot. It is accurate but all these electronic scale are subject to vibration and you have to watch that.

The only thing I have found about my Auto Charge I don't like is it won't measure AA#9 powder. I can't slow it down enough to make it work. Constantly get overcharge error.

That powder is like super fine sand and it is dense for it's size.

I haven't tried the straw trick yet though, it works on the Charge Masters.

 

[crashdummy]

The Lyman comes with a plastic bushing that screws into the discharge tube that slows down the flow of the powder and helps eliminate most overcharges.
works great

 

[m&p45acp10+1]

I do not use my DPS for pistol loads. It would take more time than I care to spend wating for ech charge to finish. A decent powder measure, and mid range digital scale would be of better service for pistol loads. As for rifle loads if my Hornady DPS ever goes out, I will replace it.