FGYT Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 So have been reloading slowly over the last few months with the help of a friend up the road and now have most of the kit to Not hassle him and family of an evening currently have an old set of Lee safety scales Im borrowing with a powder thrower At my mates he has an RCBS Charge master so quick n easy (but has just moved the weighing to a set of lab scales due to inconsistency on the RCBS ..hes shooting F class so every Kernel matters). Im mostly Deer shooting with target to 700 ish . (plus i load shotgun) Im now looking for the final piece in my Reloading Kit Spud Recommends the Redding No2 beam scales £82 ish +/- 0.1gn Cheap enough and can be modded for more sensitivity or do i go for something like the Gem 250 Electronic £160 ish to 0.02gn (definitely wouldn't go for a electronic that only had 1 decimal place) Accuracy may well be more than i need now but the price isnt to excessive RCBS and type charges are out of my budget and the possible speed isnt needed as Im only loading 50-100 at a time and with a powder measure (thrower) dumping a few 10ths under its not that slow ATB Duncan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 I use the Chargemaster and am very happy with it but have heard good feedback re the Lyman Gen 6 scale ....might be worth a look as its cheaper than the RCBS...no personal experience of it though. I could never see me going back to a basic beam scale.....too slow and fiddly but some swear by them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannywayoflife Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 I don't think a good beam scale and a target master can be beaten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcampbellsmith Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 I use a Gempro 250. Very simple to use. I wouldn't go near a beam scale. Regards JCS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhunter Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Lee powder thrower, rbcs 505 scales and a trickler work fine for me (.223/6br) Going to invest in a targetmaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestarter Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 I have both the targetmaster/tuned scales and a Kern digital scale. If you want accuracy to the Kernel then the digital scales are the only route to go. However just how much difference that level of accuracy will make in the real world is questionable! If you want an upgrade to your lee scales i have a set of RCBS 5-0-5 scales and redding powder thrower gathering dust :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That bald headed Geordie Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 I use an Acculab scale (+/- 0.02 allegedly). Throw the main charge from a powder thrower and trickle up. The only problem I encounter sometimes with an electronic scale is that the scale can be affected by heat, power fluctuation/surges, static electricity etc. Which can make reloading a pain in the ar*e sometimes when it is misbehaving. I usually walk away and leave it for a while before returning to finish off. I always re-weigh the charges before putting the powder in the cases just to make sure. The electronic scales can be temperamental whereas other methods are probably less prone to outside influences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCetrizine Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 I'm my opinion, you can't beat beam scales. Gravity doesn't need calibrating and it's not subject to interference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Dogge Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 I like the beam + targetmaster. If you check out the videos on the targetmaster site there is one where Alan drops individual kernels of varget into the pan with a set of RCBS beam scales, they are detectable. In actual use I think I am probably working +-3 kernels at worst, in the odd instance where the targetmaster stops a bit short I dab the button and you can see them drop. I don't believe there is any benefit to better accuracy than that, for me, not shooting mega long range, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Beam scale. The thing you should really spend your coinage on is a good manual powder metering unit (aka, "thrower") like a Jones Precision or a Harrell. Unless you are shooting 1000 yard BR you can pretty much stop weighing each charge when you use one of these. My Jones will meter H-4350 to a charge weight SD of 0.067 grains over 20 charges. With finer powders like H335, H322 or the ball powders there is negligible (a charitable way of saying none) variance. No electronics to fuss with or warm up. They will last two lifetimes.~Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbal Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Pretty much agree with all tthe posts.Some might like the 'speed' of digital-I compared and there was almost nothing in it. Harrel powder dispenser set .1 low-it's pretty reliable (good for 100y Bench Rest) and just use a hand trickler on a Trgetmaster RCBS tuned beam. The extra electric trickler might be nice,but....the tuned beam is superb,compared to the (adequate) ordinary ones. I can definitely see the effect of two kernels,and often one.That degree of precision is probably in excess of anything needed for even competitive shooting,but it's easy to get,and reassuring-and it does not 'wobble' with air temperature,or draughts, or any other electronic glitz. While on 'accuracy' three decimal places are just vanity,unless the scale is reliable-same decimals every time when you reweigh the same load of dispensed powder.....The Targetmaster is reliable,at least to 1 kernel. Indulge your fancy-you won't see much difference in the holes on paper (where little draughts really matter much more) :-) gbal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VarmLR Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Beam scales plus a decent powder thrower. I use the basic Lee stuff which has generated some pretty surprisingly consistent results from the powder thrower. I just weigh every 5 loads to make sure it's still on the ball, and it's rarely out by much. Had the RCBS 5-0-2 but disliked the adjustment which was all too easy to knock and change the load without realising (did that a few times) so sold it. Clumsy? Yes, undoubtedly, but you can't do that with the Lee safety scale. Was thinking of saving for an RCBS chargemaster but may just invest in Target Master instead and stock with the beam scales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re-Pete Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 I use an old top-pan lab balance, a Mettler P163.............weighs to 0.001 grams. £105, fully serviced and calibrated. H/man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeroz Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Can I please hijack this thread and ask where/ who would l send my Redding No2 beam scales to, to get them tuned? Thanks in anticipation. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John MH Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Scott Parker in the USA or Allen Edwards here in the UK. Both do a stirling job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeroz Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Thanks John. I'll Google Allen Edwards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John MH Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 He's 1066 on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeroz Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Yes, I've just sussed that. I've PM'd him. My scales must be over 25 years old and I've noticed them getting sticky of late. Time to tune & add maybe a camera or a target master. Thanks again. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorset Winmag Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Kern PCB Great little benchtop lab scales Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FGYT Posted June 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 Thanks For the advice so far and the PM offers Been flip flopping on the choice but still thing Beam scale would be the Best bet would love a Tuned one but seems that is not really going to happen as the Guy who does it is (from 3rd parties) Snowed under on lots of things ( I know that feeling ) Target master looks good but again seems unlikely that any will be available for the foreseeable future for the same reason as Tuning Scales But the extra speed isnt hat important to me yet Paint brush to add or take a few Kernals Seems fine so far ATB Duncan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma Posted June 23, 2016 Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 I got a set of AWS Gemini 20 scales from USA...cost me £28 and measure to 0.01 Gn. For that money it was a steal and tbh when you consider 0.5 grain of powder is only bout 50 fps does it need be that accurate..?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triggersqueezer Posted June 23, 2016 Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 i weigh on gem pro 250 and then put that charge into the 505 to check on every round.the 505 catches the gem pro out more than the gem catches the 505's out .its rarely more than one kernel either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1066 Posted June 23, 2016 Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 Just to let you know - Targetmasters are available at the click of a button - just might need to wait 4-5 days for one. I've just this week posted my first one to Kazakhstan, that's now 21 different countries that I've sent them to. Yes, scales are a problem - They are a total loss financially, I might spend eight hours tuning, making and fitting brackets, pointers etc.. I do the odd one to help out and charge a nominal fee but I really don't have the time available to take them on. I have several projects in the pipeline and I'm way behind on some. I have no high tech machinery, every thing is done by hand - and I've only got one pair This might be something I'll produce a small batch of in the future.(If I have time) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FGYT Posted June 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 Just to let you know - Targetmasters are available at the click of a button - just might need to wait 4-5 days for one. I've just this week posted my first one to Kazakhstan, that's now 21 different countries that I've sent them to. Yes, scales are a problem - They are a total loss financially, I might spend eight hours tuning, making and fitting brackets, pointers etc.. I do the odd one to help out and charge a nominal fee but I really don't have the time available to take them on. I have several projects in the pipeline and I'm way behind on some. I have no high tech machinery, every thing is done by hand - and I've only got one pair . Excellent news on the target masters tricklers how about a idiots guide to checking and Tuning a Beam scale I can see where it can get fiddly and take a long time ATB Duncan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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