Begrudgingly, I’m looking to get back to reloading and right now specifically looking at electronic powder dispensers

[JAS-SH]

Disclaimer: I will apologize up front for this going long. I know we all like short posts, but this will not be one of those.

Don’t really want to reload anymore but I have so much once fired brass now that reloading is pulling back me in!

Dispensers are not necessarily time savers (some take 45-seconds to dispense a load), nor necessarily more accurate than other methods, but there is some worth just for convenience.

I’m old. Been shooting since I was eight, probably before a lot of you were born. Back in my reloading days we all used beam scales. They worked just fine. Accuracy was great. I did tens of thousands of reloads back then, one at time for rifle accuracy and progressive presses for volume shotgun competition shooting.

The title says it all. However, being “anal”, as in an analyst by profession, and having searched the site for all posts relating to this topic, I still don’t have valid answer to my questions:

We now have dispensers going from say $300 to $2000. Do they really make a difference? I’d say yes for convenience sake so let’s say they do. However, is the price difference between them worth a .05 or so grain accuracy?

Lots of questions.

How good is good enough? What is the difference in a .05 grain charge variability in actual vertical dispersion results? Except for aerodynamic jump, at 100 yards, where we all initially test, the powder charge should have no other influence. So how much vertical dispersion will a .05 grain charge have? Is it worth a $2K? $700? or a $300 machine?

And I have a lot to say about powders. I’ll leave it at this: Extrusion powders have a variance in the length of the stick. Ball powders have a variance in the size of the ball. What happens when you throw a charge that happens to have only the smaller sticks or balls? It burns quicker. Does that affect results. You bet ya.

Am I wrong to assume that? Don’t think so…

Is 100th of a grain (.01) significant in accuracy? Forget that, I’ll say no until proven otherwise,

How about a 10th of a grain.(.1)? That’s a more valid question. Does anyone know for a fact that this makes a difference? As in LOTS of shots to prove that?

See what am I getting at? There are so many other variables in reloading, rifles, and the person behind the trigger that it makes me think those small variations would be lost in the “noise”. And right out of my pocket… If so I’ll go for the $300 dispenser…

I’d love to see valid data if any of you have any. If you don’t then it’s no issue. just disregard this post. I will eventually find the truth on my own. Just trying to save time, at 68 years of age, my extremely valuable time!

All the Best, and Happy New Year!

 

[alamo5000]

Eventually I will get a SuperTrickler. For me it is a viable solution.

Not all electric dispensers are equal by any means. Up until recently I have not seen anything that scratches my itch and hence I have not bought anything yet.

I think the right machine can easily save a reloader a substantial amount of time. On some of the FClass John videos there are people running two V4s. That would be great depending on what you are doing.

Compared to doing everything by hand many of these machines are more accurate, more fast, and a lot more repeatable. Instead of pure speed gaining a balance between those criteria is really what you are getting.

I don't have any doubt that a good machine will unquestionably simplify and speed up the overall process. On top of that it will add accuracy and repeatability.

 

[Stevo86]

AutoTrickler V3 saves a lot of time IMO. I’m getting charges about every 15 seconds. Worth every penny over my rcbs chargmaster. Haven’t fingered a V4 yet tho. Good luck going down the rabbit hole

 

[Old Corps 8541]

Ask for people to time from they hit the start button on their $$$$ scale / dispenser, including the trickling to the exact Wt. to pouring the powder into a case. Now time the same procedure with a manual dispenser, trickler using a $$ battery powdered scale to pouring the powder .

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

With my V3+IP Trickler, I get charges in 7-8 seconds and no overthrows. With the AD120, that means that you can get charges that are .02gr on either side of your target weight. So for 40gr that would be 39.98 - 40.02 . From my testing, using only charges that are exactly at either end of that (meaning one group of charges that are all 39.98gr, and the other group being charges that are all 40.02 grains), there was virtually no detectable variation or ES in 20 round test groups. Meaning, this is accurate enough not to matter, even with ball powder. I would look at one of the big 3 (v4, v3+IP, or Super Trickler) plus the AF120i scale that they all use. The Super trickler has some features that the others don't, but the ease of use with the V3+IP is very appealing to me and it's very easy to change powders ect, so I'm sticking with it for the foreseeable future.

 

[CK1.0]

"to the kernel" > everything else, period. (FWIW "to the kernel" means within +/- 0.02-0.04gn)

The SuperTrickler is the king of the hill right now, no question. Ignoring price, maybe the only "con" is that if a mechanical issue were to arise, it's literally made on the other side of the planet (New Zealand).

That said, take a hard look at the RCBS MatchMaster (especially if you qualify for the LEO/Mil discount... hard to pass on one for what they're asking).

My MatchMaster drops either Varget (notorious extruded stick powder) and/or StaBall (tiny ball powder) to within +/- 0.02gn in ~10 seconds. I've loaded ~1500rds with it so far while waiting for it to give me a reason to order a SuperTrickler... still waiting.

 

[Doom]

Disclaimer: I will apologize up front for this going long. I know we all like short posts, but this will not be one of those.

Don’t really want to reload anymore but I have so much once fired brass now that reloading is pulling back me in!

Dispensers are not necessarily time savers (some take 45-seconds to dispense a load), nor necessarily more accurate than other methods, but there is some worth just for convenience.

I’m old. Been shooting since I was eight, probably before a lot of you were born. Back in my reloading days we all used beam scales. They worked just fine. Accuracy was great. I did tens of thousands of reloads back then, one at time for rifle accuracy and progressive presses for volume shotgun competition shooting.

The title says it all. However, being “anal”, as in an analyst by profession, and having searched the site for all posts relating to this topic, I still don’t have valid answer to my questions:

We now have dispensers going from say $300 to $2000. Do they really make a difference? I’d say yes for convenience sake so let’s say they do. However, is the price difference between them worth a .05 or so grain accuracy?

Lots of questions.

How good is good enough? What is the difference in a .05 grain charge variability in actual vertical dispersion results? Except for aerodynamic jump, at 100 yards, where we all initially test, the powder charge should have no other influence. So how much vertical dispersion will a .05 grain charge have? Is it worth a $2K? $700? or a $300 machine?

And I have a lot to say about powders. I’ll leave it at this: Extrusion powders have a variance in the length of the stick. Ball powders have a variance in the size of the ball. What happens when you throw a charge that happens to have only the smaller sticks or balls? It burns quicker. Does that affect results. You bet ya.

Am I wrong to assume that? Don’t think so…

Is 100th of a grain (.01) significant in accuracy? Forget that, I’ll say no until proven otherwise,

How about a 10th of a grain.(.1)? That’s a more valid question. Does anyone know for a fact that this makes a difference? As in LOTS of shots to prove that?

See what am I getting at? There are so many other variables in reloading, rifles, and the person behind the trigger that it makes me think those small variations would be lost in the “noise”. And right out of my pocket… If so I’ll go for the $300 dispenser…

I’d love to see valid data if any of you have any. If you don’t then it’s no issue. just disregard this post. I will eventually find the truth on my own. Just trying to save time, at 68 years of age, my extremely valuable time!

All the Best, and Happy New Year!

Few if any scales are going to have a true precision of better than .05 gr including the Fx-120i. The RCBS's load to about that precision. But from the tone and depth of your questions I think you should look at the really upscale auto units like the Autotrickler with an Fx-120i. Anything less and you will probably be second guessing yourself. You have done the research and seen all the opinions. The answers to the questions you ask are myriad and to some extent can only be answered by you. One way to look at a 0.1gr variations is to consider whether 12 fps (in a 223) is going to ballistically matter or a 6 fps (6.5CM or 308) difference in velocity will matter to you. Are you shooting at 600 yards, a 1000 yards, or going for extremely long range of a mile or more? Are you going to becomeme obesessed with standard deviation as opposed to what the target says?

I will caution you that recently a lot of changes are happening in the world of load development and much of the old "thinking" and "methods" are being shown to be conceptually in error.

It might be worthwhile to visit Keith Glasscocks Youtube channel and look at his more recent videos and reloading. https://www.youtube.com/@winninginthewind/videos

Hornday has some good podcast out right now on load development and statistics (#50).

 

[Alabusa]

Pony up for either the Suoer Trickler or Auto Trickler V4

 

[CK1.0]

I was listening to Morgun King's podcast earlier today while running errands and he had Austin Buschman on... dude won the World Championships and got #2 in the PRS Finale with ammo loaded on an RCBS Chargemaster ("only" +/- 0.1gn resolution)... so there's that lol.

That said, (also mentioned in the podcast) he's loading to the kernel now (Auto Trickler V4) lol.

Here's the aforementioned MatchMaster before I learned how to really tweak it (it's faster nowadays):

 

[bmash]

68 isn’t old…1954 was a good year! you don’t say what you do, how much you shoot, or what you can spend. I’m 68 and deer hunt, prairie dog shoot, hog hunt, coyote hunt, take grandkids hunting, and compete on occasion. If you shoot a lot, get an autotrickler /thrower. It saves SO much time! And is accurate. I got sick of fooling with the cheaper throwers. If you don’t shoot 600 plus rounds a year go cheap…

 

[Precision Underground]

A chargemaster is good enough. A faster and more accurate dropper won’t hurt anything, but spending 10x the money on it won’t get you 10x better ammo. I’ll prob buy a better setup at some point but the CM works well enough that I don’t feel like I need it right now.

 

[nn8734]

A chargemaster is good enough. A faster and more accurate dropper won’t hurt anything, but spending 10x the money on it won’t get you 10x better ammo. I’ll prob buy a better setup at some point but the CM works well enough that I don’t feel like I need it right now.

This. Everyone is trying to spend their way to success on the reloading bench when if those funds were spent on training by competent instructors, would make a world of difference.

Very few people are missing the target at a grand+ because of their reloading equipment

 

[CK1.0]

Honestly, any of the ~$250ish powder droppers are probably just fine for most, especially if they've got their other reloading processes squared away.

Chargemaster Link, FA Intellidropper, Lyman Gen6, etc.

 

[JAS-SH]

68 isn’t old…1954 was a good year! you don’t say what you do, how much you shoot, or what you can spend. I’m 68 and deer hunt, prairie dog shoot, hog hunt, coyote hunt, take grandkids hunting, and compete on occasion. If you shoot a lot, get an autotrickler /thrower. It saves SO much time! And is accurate. I got sick of fooling with the cheaper throwers. If you don’t shoot 600 plus rounds a year go cheap…

I beg to differ. Whoever said that I'm in my golden years lied. I call them the "Rust" years! That said I'm still quite active. Since you asked, I'm a pseudo-retired Business Analyst. And my grandkids are still a bit young - I started kids late.

Yes, I'm shooting over 600 rounds a year now . I'm shooting a lot more these days than fishing, which living in FL kept me out in the sun for 40-years and my skin went to shit. Used to deer hunt but for that I flew out to the eastern Cascades in WA every October for mulies and sometimes December for ducks and geese. FL is not the best place for deer and it's way too overcrowded. I've gotten old enough that I have trouble climbing up 5000 foot mountain logging roads with snow almost to my knees to get to a bluff overlooking a clearcut. Heck it was pretty taxing in my '30s! So, sadly no more deer hunting - a hog here and there I will do occasionally.

I still quail and pheasant hunt tough. Love them cold morning walks behind the dogs with my 28 ga O/U Beretta. That thing's a laser.

Having competed in shotgun sports, quail hunts are one of my passions. Great eating too! While competing in Sporting Clays I was in some years reloading ~20,000 shells a year! That became less enjoyment and more like work! Did a lot less centerfire because I did so for hunting - .308 & .243....

 

[JAS-SH]

Beings that I haven't gotten valid actual shooting data responses on dispenser accuracy vs price differences I will close the thread now by saying that:

Based on my reloading experience I strongly believe that accuracy lies in component prep, and an accurate press and dies. I will be going with the Forster's Coax press and their benchrest dies, including the micrometer seating dies. Unfortunately that press in now on backorder....,

I see electronic dispensing as a luxury/convenience item. If I go that route It will be the Chargemaster Link. A +/- .1 grain accuracy is plenty unless shooting benchrest, and that small of a variability will probably get lost in the noise.

Thanks All!

 

[Rover31]

Beings that I haven't gotten valid actual shooting data responses on dispenser accuracy vs price differences I will close the thread now by saying that:

Based on my reloading experience I strongly believe that accuracy lies in component prep, and an accurate press and dies. I will be going with the Forster's Coax press and their benchrest dies, including the micrometer seating dies. Unfortunately that press in now on backorder....,

I see electronic dispensing as a luxury/convenience item. If I go that route It will be the Chargemaster Link. A +/- .1 grain accuracy is plenty unless shooting benchrest, and that small of a variability will probably get lost in the noise.

Thanks All!

I would ask what are you trying to accomplish in shooting? As in what discipline are you participating in?
Some require more “accuracy”. I spend more time in field or positional matches not benchrest. My accuracy demands are shooter based improvements not getting the .01 powder demands. No I am not using Lee powder dippers.
That said, consistency is king, quality products provide for that.
Knowing what “game” you are in helps with those choices.

 

[secondofangle2]

"to the kernel" > everything else, period. (FWIW "to the kernel" means within +/- 0.02-0.04gn)

The SuperTrickler is the king of the hill right now, no question. Ignoring price, maybe the only "con" is that if a mechanical issue were to arise, it's literally made on the other side of the planet (New Zealand).

That said, take a hard look at the RCBS MatchMaster (especially if you qualify for the LEO/Mil discount... hard to pass on one for what they're asking).

My MatchMaster drops either Varget (notorious extruded stick powder) and/or StaBall (tiny ball powder) to within +/- 0.02gn in ~10 seconds. I've loaded ~1500rds with it so far while waiting for it to give me a reason to order a SuperTrickler... still waiting.

It's assembled in Denmark (Rex P and employees), from parts made in China and other places, with software code written in Australia (Peter K)

 

[Evintos]

How big is the target that you're trying to hit? What is the difference between a 10" tall and 20" wide target versus a 20" tall and 10" wide target? How far is the target?

The variable you're trying to minimize by being able to dispense within a kernel of powder is muzzle velocity variation which correlates with vertical shot dispersion at longer distances. If you're able to minimize the effects of powder charge induced vertical dispersion, that would be one less thing you have to worry about in the field. You'd be able to focus more on atmospheric influences on your shot dispersion.

The book "Accuracy and Precision For Long Range Shooting" by Brian Litz, chapter 6 has the type of info (rather than anecdotal) you seem to be seeking. Link below is the type of stuff you'll find in the book.

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/04/18/how-much-does-sd-matter/

 

[secondofangle2]

Beings that I haven't gotten valid actual shooting data responses on dispenser accuracy vs price differences I will close the thread now by saying that:

Based on my reloading experience I strongly believe that accuracy lies in component prep, and an accurate press and dies. I will be going with the Forster's Coax press and their benchrest dies, including the micrometer seating dies. Unfortunately that press in now on backorder....,

I see electronic dispensing as a luxury/convenience item. If I go that route It will be the Chargemaster Link. A +/- .1 grain accuracy is plenty unless shooting benchrest, and that small of a variability will probably get lost in the noise.

Thanks All!

In the Devils Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce defined “consult” thusly:
“To ask another’s opinion on a course of action already decided upon.”

 

[M4orturnate]

I bought the intellidropper and figured id upgrade in a year or so. As much ad id like a auto or super trickler i cant justify it. Me sd is as low as any of the guys im shooting matches with and its as fast as my process requires. A lot of my reloading gear is budget stuff and makes damn good ammo i shoot through not at all budget guns. My ammo is the one thing im super confident in and as much as id love to have better gear in my reloading room right now the moneys going to matches and components.

 

[Rust]

When RCBS first came out with the Chargemaster I picked one up. That unit failed after a couple of months and RCBS promptly swapped a new one. Plus one for service. I've been using it ever since. It's been a huge timesaver as I shoot a lot of rounds in multiple chamberings, I consider it a must have tool. It throws to 0.10 grain when warmed up and plugged in to a quality surge suppressor. It works well enough that in one rifles load it amounts to an ES of 7 fps for an SD of 3. I don't see spending a lot more money on a fancier rig as having any discernible return.

 

[KYAggie]

Sorry up front; I didn’t read your long dissertation.

My advice if you are not getting a supertrickler or V4 right now is to buy the AD120 and a Redding, RCBS, or Hornady manual throw. Manually throw and trickle the exact amount on the AD120. When you tire of that, pony up for one of the other two. Everything else is not worth the money.

 

[LR1845]

Excuse me if I missed it but what are you reloading for? Are you going to shoot matches? PRS? F-class? ELR?

 

[The_Steward]

IMO, if you're not doing competition, the RCBS units are good enough.

The autotrickler might save you a couple of minutes per 100rds in time (and it might not be any faster at all), and it will have around half the standard deviation in throw weight. The RCBS stuff will be +/-0.1gr 95% of the time, and something like the Autotrickler will be +/-0.04gr 95% of the time.

So, is it worth spending an extra $750 to gain (maybe) 5-10 seconds loading time per round and reduce load weight variation by 1/20th of a grain? If you're doing competitions, it's probably worth it. If you just have the money, it's probably worth it. But that money could buy a lot of components, a nice barrel, a nice rest, etc... if you're facing financial constraints then the RCBS stuff will do pretty darn well.

 

[Jmccracken1214]

"to the kernel" > everything else, period. (FWIW "to the kernel" means within +/- 0.02-0.04gn)

The SuperTrickler is the king of the hill right now, no question. Ignoring price, maybe the only "con" is that if a mechanical issue were to arise, it's literally made on the other side of the planet (New Zealand).

That said, take a hard look at the RCBS MatchMaster (especially if you qualify for the LEO/Mil discount... hard to pass on one for what they're asking).

My MatchMaster drops either Varget (notorious extruded stick powder) and/or StaBall (tiny ball powder) to within +/- 0.02gn in ~10 seconds. I've loaded ~1500rds with it so far while waiting for it to give me a reason to order a SuperTrickler... still waiting.

I didnt realize when I got my bushnell dmr3/xrs3 that I got the same MIL discount for rcbs, and when I did, I got the matchmaster.
Its not as simple to use as my lite, which annoyed me at first, but after taking some time on the app to set up 3 profiles for the powders I use and get it dialed in, Im pretty happy with it. Im throwing 8208, h4350 and lever, and it does so in about the same time as the lite, but much more accurate. Ive had the same results as you, .02 +/- which with varget or 4350, is 1 kernel... or a half kernel.

 

[Doom]

Beings that I haven't gotten valid actual shooting data responses on dispenser accuracy vs price differences I will close the thread now by saying that:

Based on my reloading experience I strongly believe that accuracy lies in component prep, and an accurate press and dies. I will be going with the Forster's Coax press and their benchrest dies, including the micrometer seating dies. Unfortunately that press in now on backorder....,

I see electronic dispensing as a luxury/convenience item. If I go that route It will be the Chargemaster Link. A +/- .1 grain accuracy is plenty unless shooting benchrest, and that small of a variability will probably get lost in the noise.

Thanks All!

I am in agreement with you on the scale, by the way. I run a Chargemaster 1500 and it sounds like you have a firm handle on the issue. Going with quailty dies and press is going to work well for you. Good Luck.

 

[Jmccracken1214]

I am in agreement with you on the scale, by the way. I run a Chargemaster 1500 and it sounds like you have a firm handle on the issue. Going with quailty dies and press is going to work well for you. Good Luck.

Yup. I never had an issue with my chargemaster lite. Got some amazing accuracy out of my ammo. Just got bored and wanted something new, I didn’t realize how little 0.02 gr is…. With the matchmaster, if I’m aiming for 44gr, it throws 44.04…. I was like damn, overcharge! I picked up 2 kernels with tweezers, it went to 43.98…

I use all the charges now so long as they aren’t over or under more then .04

 

[JaoeyP]

Disclaimer: I will apologize up front for this going long. I know we all like short posts, but this will not be one of those.

Don’t really want to reload anymore but I have so much once fired brass now that reloading is pulling back me in!

Dispensers are not necessarily time savers (some take 45-seconds to dispense a load), nor necessarily more accurate than other methods, but there is some worth just for convenience.

I’m old. Been shooting since I was eight, probably before a lot of you were born. Back in my reloading days we all used beam scales. They worked just fine. Accuracy was great. I did tens of thousands of reloads back then, one at time for rifle accuracy and progressive presses for volume shotgun competition shooting.

The title says it all. However, being “anal”, as in an analyst by profession, and having searched the site for all posts relating to this topic, I still don’t have valid answer to my questions:

We now have dispensers going from say $300 to $2000. Do they really make a difference? I’d say yes for convenience sake so let’s say they do. However, is the price difference between them worth a .05 or so grain accuracy?

Lots of questions.

How good is good enough? What is the difference in a .05 grain charge variability in actual vertical dispersion results? Except for aerodynamic jump, at 100 yards, where we all initially test, the powder charge should have no other influence. So how much vertical dispersion will a .05 grain charge have? Is it worth a $2K? $700? or a $300 machine?

And I have a lot to say about powders. I’ll leave it at this: Extrusion powders have a variance in the length of the stick. Ball powders have a variance in the size of the ball. What happens when you throw a charge that happens to have only the smaller sticks or balls? It burns quicker. Does that affect results. You bet ya.

Am I wrong to assume that? Don’t think so…

Is 100th of a grain (.01) significant in accuracy? Forget that, I’ll say no until proven otherwise,

How about a 10th of a grain.(.1)? That’s a more valid question. Does anyone know for a fact that this makes a difference? As in LOTS of shots to prove that?

See what am I getting at? There are so many other variables in reloading, rifles, and the person behind the trigger that it makes me think those small variations would be lost in the “noise”. And right out of my pocket… If so I’ll go for the $300 dispenser…

I’d love to see valid data if any of you have any. If you don’t then it’s no issue. just disregard this post. I will eventually find the truth on my own. Just trying to save time, at 68 years of age, my extremely valuable time!

All the Best, and Happy New Year!

So your main question, is the difference between a $300 dispenser and $2000 trickler worth it? Will ammo with a $2000 trickler be more precise?

I can only speak to my own experience. Last January I went from a Chargemaster, or roughly $300 option to a V3 Autotrickler with the Ingenuity Precision trickler upgrade, plus I bought the Area419 pan and tray, roughly $1500 all in on this trickler setup.

I'll answer the precision question first- are my loads more precise? I haven't noticed a higher level of precision from my setup- I still get 5 round groups that are .4-.6" at 100 yards, same as I got with my Chargemaster.

So, if I'm not getting more precise groups, do I think it's worth it? After a year of this setup vs. 5 years with the old I will say I feel like it is hands down the best money I spent in my reloading room. Here's why:

1. Speed. My set up turns out charges 8-11 seconds, consistently. The Chargemaster would spit out a load in 15 seconds for several on a row, then it would take 45 second for just as many. It was inconsistent and I found that aggravating.

2. The loads are Precise. I am consistently within .04gr. Never under, never over. I overshot target weight on the Chargemaster as much as 20%.

3. Consistency. The aggravating thing about the Chargemaster to me is its inconsistency. Don't get me wrong, for $300, they are a GREAT machine for what they do. I just grew tired of it misbehaving some times. I'd crank out 10 charges perfectly. Then it would act up and get slow for a few charges or overthrow several charges in a row.

4. Cool stuff. I have no qualms about spending money (or people wanting to spend money) on gizmos and gadgetry just because they're cool and high quality, and the AutoTrickler with Ingenuity trickler upgrade, and Area419 accessories are all very cool, high quality gadgets.

So, it it worth it? It has been for me. I deal with my kids misbehaving enough, I don't need my reloading equipment doing the same when I've already gotten my kids to bed.

 

[MLS2GO]

Beings that I haven't gotten valid actual shooting data responses on dispenser accuracy vs price differences I will close the thread now by saying that:

Based on my reloading experience I strongly believe that accuracy lies in component prep, and an accurate press and dies. I will be going with the Forster's Coax press and their benchrest dies, including the micrometer seating dies. Unfortunately that press in now on backorder....,

I see electronic dispensing as a luxury/convenience item. If I go that route It will be the Chargemaster Link. A +/- .1 grain accuracy is plenty unless shooting benchrest, and that small of a variability will probably get lost in the noise.

Scheels has the CoAx in stock. If you don't have one near you they ship fast.

 

[hkguns]

I get more consistent results by throwing my CM 2 grains light and then trickling up with a separate trickler. CM can throw at the high end of a grain, or at the low end. By trickling up you can judge when it flips to the next grain by the kernel of powder. You're still dependent on the inherent accuracy of the CM, but you get less variation in the weight of the throws. You know you are close when it flips over and back again, usually one more grain is all it takes to flip it and not have it go back down.

Weighing separately would improve precision, but I'm not certain that matters enough to justify the extra time / expense.

 

[JAS-SH]

Scheels has the CoAx in stock. If you don't have one near you they ship fast.

Thanks! Found one at Midway USA. Now the the bigger problem. I can't find Match primers!!!

 

[LR1845]

Thanks! Found one at Midway USA. Now the the bigger problem. I can't find Match primers!!!

You do not need match primers to build good ammo.

 

[activereality]

So, gonna toss in a question and partial answer:
What are you loading for? Plinking, PRS, BR/FClass, etc?
That question, imo, will mean more for the intended result of the question - as those options can 'weight' (see what i did there) the needed resolution. As BR will _want_ for more fine control over the loads, vs PRS which can _deal with_ tenth gr accuracy.
Now, for a partial answer:
I shoot prs, for the intended purpose of hitting steel - which _can_ be 1 moa targets at distance but is statistically more likely to the closer to 2 moa (for the naysayers, yes yes, there are some matches of almost all 1 moa, but not 'most' matches lol).
For me, +/- 0.1 gr is more than i really need and gives me the consistency that i rely on for my poi being relatively close to my poa.
I run 3 FA Intellidroppers (1 new in a package deal for Black friday a couple years ago and 2 used) - all in i am sitting around 450 (ish) imperial credits.
When i tested 1 of them using an FI scale, i saw a .06gr variation max - sd of charge closer to .03 (this was with h4350).
I am very much like you, i value my time. Each dropper avg's ~24 seconds per charge. Running 3, gives me an avg of 6 charges per minute. I do 200 round charge parties in less than 30 minutes (including setup - or tack on 5 minutes if i need to swap powders).
Testing them against each other - after proper calibration - i have never gotten an errant reading (meaning a charge from Dropper A will meter the same on Droppers B and C- when zeroed with same cup haha).
While i know many look at this and say 'but so much money into it' - my 3 droppers are still cheaper than a single 'better quality' dropper (ie one with more fine drops than the +/- .1gr). However, its efficient, i see more than decent results, and feel like it is a worthy compromise for me - while not spending another 1500 on a single dropper that can do just as many drops a minute - if it is dropping in < 10 seconds.

 

[JAS-SH]

Update: Just information. I've located all of the equipment and supplies to get me back into reloading with the exception of primers. Manufacturers could be using "unobtanium" for primers now! The whole initial setup - equipment and consumables - is running slightly under $2K. But it's all pretty good stuff.

So, today I went to the range to chrono my 6mm ARC bolt gun - 26-inch barrel - with factory ammo to set a baseline to what I can expect when I start reloading. And as expected the Hornady Black with the HPBT 106 grain bullets were faster than the Match 108 ELDs.

The 106 gr. rounds averaged 2775, SD of 18 and ES of 47 over 10-shots
The 108 gr rounds averaged 2736, SD of 19 and ES of 67 over 10-shots

Nevertheless, the 108s were more accurate at the 106 yard range I use for testing.

Below is a 10-shot group with the 108s and with the chrono on the barrel. I found out that it makes the rifle shoot low. I verified that later without the chrono, and the rifle returned to its zero, which averages .141-inches low. Too small to correct in Mils. Each red square is .1 mil at 100 yards - .36-inches.

Here's the 10-shot group:

All the best in the new year!