OK. I'm finally stepping into the current century and looking at getting an electronic powder dump. I've just always used my cheap lyman that never adjusts finely enough and then trickling a ton to get the charge right on my balance. For those of you with them which one do you feel is the most accurate?

Right now I'm looking at he Hornady Autocharge Pro and maybe the RCBS chargemaster. I don't want to spend the $900 for the expensive RCBS.

Advice please?

Thank you

Darrell

We use the RCBS and are very happy with it.

I have good results with the Lyman.

Chargemaster

Im still using the old lever drop powder charges. I have 2 that Ive used for years...I was droping powder charges of H414 the other day and loading 60 rounds without the scale...A vistor asked why I never weighed the charge, told him no need, I knew my charger..He challanged me on that, so for $10 for dead center on the scale was a sure bet to him. He lost and is still shaking his head, and he is not the first...Powders such as H414, ww760, cfe223, Lever revolution, and a few others work best thru a powder measure, stick powders come with a plus or minus 10ths, the secret is consistency in your moves from case to case, and lever power slow or fast, but the same..no cutting powders work thru a powder measure in that weights vari enough to make a somewhat larger area of mistakes if that makes any differnce and you need to use a charge that fills half way to the neck...and best of all it always good for a bet...I will challange the electronic powder scale, drop by bring money and lets gamble..

Get an old relic Belding & Mull and it will weigh all types powder.

Thanks for the info guys. I know I can and maybe even should just stick with my old dump and 10-10 but I'm in the mood to try something else. I'll probably still throw them on a balance just to make sure.

Ray, Dad always taught me never bet on another mans game. Can't take you up on that bet

I have a Lyman Gen6 it very accurate with ball powders. Stick powders are mostly right on except 1 or2 out of 20 will be +- 0.1 tenth of a grain. with stick powders that's close enough.
The Gen6 is a replacement for my Lyman Auto-scale which turned 20 this year. its been bullet proof. always accurate with in 2 tenths of a grain. the Gen 6 is a little slow. It can be changed but I like it just the way it is. Ill charge a case and after 5 or 6 I will seat a bullet after each dump.
Dave

I've used the RCBS for about 7-8 years now and use it all the time.

I'm still a coward in that I dump each load into the pan of my old RCBS 5-0-5 scale as a safety check. I've never found anything bad with the exception of the occasional 1/10 - 2/10th of a grain over charge due to extra kernels falling into the pan when the motor stops.

Have been running two RCBS Chargemasters for over a decade. I run two of them as they are slow, (Yes have done the reprogramming tricks) so cuts down on the waiting time. Decent accuracy but not great. Needs adjustment on maybe two out of 10 throws because it ends up being .2-.3 grains over.

Now running a single V3 AutoTrickler. Night and day difference and never throws over. About 10% of the time it will throw .02 grains light which is plenty good for me. The one AutoTrickler is faster than 2 Chargemasters by far and much higher quality.

Thanks for all the feedback. I ordered a Chargemaster Lite this morning. Should do everything I need. I don't shoot nearly as much as most of you.

I;ve had the same Lyman Power Drop for many years, had a RCBS and a Lee before that. Lyman seemed to be the best for me as far as powder drops go, but won't be using one in the future much.

My RCBS Chargemaster lite came on Sunday. All I have to say is its a game changer, stupid easy and dang accurate. Zeros every time you set the powerder cup back on the scale. I bet I can have powder in 10 or more rounds before I can get my Lyman set to where I want it to drop.

do these things also work as a digital scale.

meaning weigh a bullet or a case, etc...

the Gen6 works just fine as a digital scale up to 999 grains.

quote:

Originally posted by Gringo Cazador:
I;ve had the same Lyman Power Drop for many years, had a RCBS and a Lee before that. Lyman seemed to be the best for me as far as powder drops go, but won't be using one in the future much.

My RCBS Chargemaster lite came on Sunday. All I have to say is its a game changer, stupid easy and dang accurate. Zeros every time you set the powerder cup back on the scale. I bet I can have powder in 10 or more rounds before I can get my Lyman set to where I want it to drop.

I’ll be interested to see if the Lite version throws fewer + 1/10 or 2/10 charges.

My older Chargemaster throws about 1 in 10 + 1/10 or 2/10 charges. I just adjust with a small Lee Dipper...but still annoying.

I have owned 2 Chargemasters. Right after they came out I bought my first one and after 7 months the scale broke. Fortunately it was under warranty and RCBS exchanged it for a new one. I used this new one for a year and half and the dispenser stopped working. No longer under warranty I packed it up in it's box set it up on a out of the way high shelf, broke out the balance beam scales and the uniflow dispenser and never looked back.

quote:

Originally posted by McKay:
Have been running two RCBS Chargemasters for over a decade. I run two of them as they are slow, (Yes have done the reprogramming tricks) so cuts down on the waiting time. Decent accuracy but not great. Needs adjustment on maybe two out of 10 throws because it ends up being .2-.3 grains over.

Now running a single V3 AutoTrickler. Night and day difference and never throws over. About 10% of the time it will throw .02 grains light which is plenty good for me. The one AutoTrickler is faster than 2 Chargemasters by far and much higher quality.

You can speed everything up by having a small container of powder next to the chargemaster.

As soon as it starts dropping powder into the pan, add more powder by hand from the container.

Stop just before the required charge is reached.

I do that when loading some of the cartridges that require a lot of powder.

I am not sure what kind of scale the RCBS Chargemaster uses but if it is strain gauge technology instead of magnetic force restoration it has these problems:

1. It takes some time to "settle out"
2. You need to plug them in long before you use them or they will not register correctly
3. They tend to drift and need frequent calibration.
4. They tend to be slow to react (drop one kernal in the pan and it might not change; tap the pan and suddenly it does)
5. Calibration is often imperfect

Now, that said, my RCBS scale is pretty good; I leave it plugged in all the time except when I am in CO.

When I weigh powder with my RCBS I throw a close charge with a measure, then trickle up slowly. Once it is correct, I tap the pan, then lift it up, then take it off and place it back on. All three must be correct.

I have three bullets I use to check calibration (100, 180, and 240 grains). I check every five charges.

I bought a Hornady scale for my CO place but it was horrible; drifted horribly and even after calibrating the check weight would not scale correctly. I bought an A&D; it uses mag force instead of strain gauge tech. This thing is not cheap but it is AWESOME. Scales charges instantly; measures to the nearly .01 grain. Drop one kernel and it instantly registers. Does not drift.

consistency to the old world powder measures is what makes them accurate, it up to the user to be consistent in how he works the lever, may need to pull on it as you toss a load, or push on it, but do it every time, and a few other tricks then don't get in its way!! Also works best with powder that don't cut grains..

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
consistency to the old world powder measures is what makes them accurate, it up to the user to be consistent in how he works the lever, may need to pull on it as you toss a load, or push on it, but do it every time, and a few other tricks then don't get in its way!! Also works best with powder that don't cut grains..

When I use spherical powders, I always just use a measure. My Redding BR3 is dead nuts on almost every time (maybe 1 in 10 or 15 are .1 off).

Yep, over the years you form a loving bond with your powder measure and what its likes and dislikes are!!

Another thumbs up for the RCBS Chargemaster, had one a dozen years too and it's never had a problem. I'd hate to replace it though because this side of the pond they're a new mortgage to buy!
PS Fjold, nice pair of Thr'penny Bits on your avatar!