SmallCaliberCentral

Hey guys.

I'm needing a new digi scale. i've been getting by with an MTM CaseGuard and it is a total POS. I cannot accuartaly load for the .204 with it. Impossible.

What scales are every one using? I want to stay Digital. I've read up on all of the usuals, RCBS, LYMAN, etc, but they all seem to to have 50/50 possitive and negative reviews.

I have been looking at the PACK units, with I like the auto temporature adjustment feature.

I don't want to break the bank as the 204 is the only caliber I load for that the load MUST be withing 1/10th grain. but I am willing to spend $100-$200

I use the RCBS Chargemaster dispenser/scale combo and have been happy with it. Its accurate and quick.

I load all my rifle on a Lyman DPS3 electronic powder dispensor,which has a very accurate scale,and use an older PACT scale to check weight when loading on my Hornady,LnL progresive for pistol,and other checks, like weighing bullets.Had it for 15 years,and it has been reliable.Gave my beam scale,to my gandson.They should have a nice one in your price range.If you load hi-volume,or intend to,you should consider a
electronin powder dispensor.RCBS,Lyman,Pact,and Hornady all make suitable equipment. I talked to a Sinclair tech last week,about his impression of the Hornady,and he lked it(it has three speeds).They were'nt out at the time I needed to load hi-volume for a Prarie dog shoot 2010,so bought the Lyman.Mid South did have the Hornady listed for $218,but haven't checked lately.

My PACT started acting up six months after I bought it, fluctuating all over the place with nothing on the platen. Would not rezero so beware of their poor quality. Older ones seem to be better quality than what they have now.

I bought an RCBS Range Master 750. Within a couple of months it began failing to hold zero so I sent it back. Their customer service was great to deal with and the new scale they replaced it with has been perfect. I was suspicious of it when it first came back so I kept checking it against an RCBS 5-0-5 balance beam scale, which I still do from time to time. Three years on and the 750 always agrees with the 5-0-5 to less than a tenth of a grain.

Janesy, I know it's not what your looking for but, a high quality beam scale used correctly will never let you down. Set it up at eye level and use a magnifyer if needed. Used with a good powder measure, it is fast and reliable. For those who use and like the electronic scales, give Janesy some help here on the best ones.

i just bought hornady bench scale so far so good and cheap , i was going with lyman but was told they sometimes struggle with 24v in the uk.

i have been using the Smartreloader iSD Digital Powder Scale for 2 years and am happy with it

I happened across a used Lyman LE-1000 for a good deal. So I scooped it up this morning to keep me moving. I think my next step will be a scale/dispenser combo unit. But hopefully this is heads and shoulders over the crap MTM I am using now.

Thanks for the ideas, keep them coming, this info is hard to find.

Haha, I have one of those little MTM scales too. That thing isn't accurate enough to measure out flour for a pie. I got it for free and don't know why I still have it.

RCBS 10-10 as main scale with an RCBS 5-0-5 as a backup.

Trent wrote:Haha, I have one of those little MTM scales too. That thing isn't accurate enough to measure out flour for a pie. I got it for free and don't know why I still have it.

LOL yep. Mine does not measure 24.7 . Skpis it all together, will do all other decimal places, just not .7

wirelessguy2005 wrote:I use the RCBS Chargemaster dispenser/scale combo and have been happy with it. Its accurate and quick.

I have been using my RCBS Chargemaster for around 6 yrs now. For about the first year or so, I double checked the charges against my beam scale. This unit is always spot on. I still check occasionally, still no discrepancy, and I do load sometimes as many as 2000 to 3000 rounds a year.
I would just bite the bullet and get the scale-dispenser unit now and not mess around buying a scale now and then a powder dispenser later. I am also loading 204 and 223, and 38spcl. My 38 load only uses 3.5gr of Titegroup powder, and the dispenser/scale unit works flawlessly.
JMHO

For most rifle cartridges I use the RCBS 1500 Chargemaster, but for handguns and some small rifle calibers I've got a digital scale I bought from BrianEnos.com....German made, excellent quality and consistency....price is $135. I've owned the 10-10 scale, and a couple of less inexpensive digitals, but this is the one I'm satisfied with.

janesy wrote:

Trent wrote:Haha, I have one of those little MTM scales too. That thing isn't accurate enough to measure out flour for a pie. I got it for free and don't know why I still have it.

LOL yep. Mine does not measure 24.7 . Skpis it all together, will do all other decimal places, just not .7

Yep, mine does that same thing. Trickle charging and it will jump right over a digit. Junk.

I bought a RCBS Chargemaster 1500 and use that for most of my reloading. I also have a RCBS 5:10 balance scale that I have been using for a while. I pretty much only use the Chargemaster these days though.