I'm falling down the reloading rabbit hole. I'm about to spend a shit ton of dough on equipment including the that new 1200 scale and v2 trickles with area 419 base and powder cup, but...... is it really necessary? I watched a youtube video of a guy with a decent scale and the powder dippers which may take an additional step but really seemed to be in line (time wise) as waiting for the auto trickler to finish up. I plan on loading 6.5 cm, 308 win, 223/556, maybe 45 pistol ammo. my point is, if we're just weighing powder on a scale though the dipper may require me to acquire a technique, but it really didn't seem that bad. if for nothing else when the power goes out.
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OK don't laugh but what is so bad about Lee powder dippers?
- Thread starter srtsam
- Start date
Read up on volume vs weight. The arrangement of the kernels in the scoop alone can have a respectable effect, weight is more refined. Takes more time. Provides better results.
A chargemaster is just as good to a certain extent. If you’re not going to 1k and wanting kernel accuracy fast then don’t waste the money. If you have ample money or lacking in time then it’s nice to have. Plenty of short range br throw charges to the .4gr wide of a margin but still shoot tight before the velocity difference comes into play. No matter the scale you can’t weigh small enough if you aren’t in a node.
A chargemaster is just as good to a certain extent. If you’re not going to 1k and wanting kernel accuracy fast then don’t waste the money. If you have ample money or lacking in time then it’s nice to have. Plenty of short range br throw charges to the .4gr wide of a margin but still shoot tight before the velocity difference comes into play. No matter the scale you can’t weigh small enough if you aren’t in a node.
I loaded good ammo for many years throwing a low charge with the cheap lee measure, setting that on a cheap (but very sensitive, although finicky) lee scale and bringing it up to weight with a lee dipper by bouncing powder out by tapping it with my finger. Works fine, but slow. A $25 manual trickler will do the same faster. I have a charge master but the way I use it, it's really no faster.
Don't let the price tag of getting all top end gear right off the bat keep you from getting into hand loading. Get what works for you, learn to load and progress as you see fit. That's how most of us did it.
Don't let the price tag of getting all top end gear right off the bat keep you from getting into hand loading. Get what works for you, learn to load and progress as you see fit. That's how most of us did it.
Dip with the Lee spoon, then trickle into the pan on the RCBS 505. Been doing that 40+ years, I've used the Lee Perfect measure, but I'm just more comfortable with the process this way. If I want +/- 0.1 gr, or +/- 1 kernel, that's what I get.
Yea, the Lee Perfect gets within a couple tenths so trickling onto a tuned beam scale takes less time. The beam is so accurate I cannot justify moving to a high end digital system.
Their was a great video posted here a couple years ago. The guy had a bunch of Varget poured onto a clean flat tray and spread out into one layer of kernels. He would drop the main charge with a cheap volume powder measure onto a nice digital scale. His main charge was dumped a couple tenths of a grain under the desired charge weight. He then would simply scrape the desired number of kernels off the flat tray with a credit card to finish the charge. Since extruded powders like Varget and H4350 have pretty consistent kernel weights this worked fast and accurate. The key is to have a very nice digital scale that reads to a resolution of .02 grains. This resolution roughly equates to 1 kernel of powder. If the desired charge was 40.00 grains and the initial drop was 39.86 grains the guy would just scrape off exactly 7 kernels with the credit card and it was spot on. This method looked pretty good to me, but I am still just using an RCBS chargemaster.
To have the same accuracy, a "nice" digital scale is almost one order of magnitude (i.e. 10x) more expensive than a beam scale.
I’ve been throwing with a harrel and hand trickling, but two days ago saw chargemaster on sale for $319 with free shipping and a $100. rebate, that deal is still out there right now- so for 220ish I’m gonna try digital
I use the Lee dippers for handgun loads, but would not rely on them for long-range precision rifle cartridge loading except to pre-load the 505 and trickle to dead on, as others have mentioned.
I've been doing something similar to that using the RCBS Chargemaster scale, when working up pressure ladders. I realize that the resolution of that scale isn't the greatest, but it gets me in the ballpark of where I want to be... and once I find a load that I want to go with, I'll likely start using my GemPro 250 to get the loads down to the gnat's ass (or at least as close as I care to get).
I just posted a thread related to this and linked to this cheap digital scale that, so far, has worked extremely well for me confirming my much more expensive RCBS Chargemaster. Which only has a resolution of +/- .1 grain. Meaning, it when it throws 42.6 and you put in 42.5, that is within spec. Add in the fact that you don't know if it's a fat 42.6 or a 42.5 plus one kernel.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071GYVQF3/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Read my thread for a more thorough review.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071GYVQF3/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Read my thread for a more thorough review.
There are very good electronic scales out there that read down to 0.02 grain resolution for well under $100. Look for lower capacity scales. I know you guys that have your $800 dollar scales will scoff, but there are very good scales that only have a capacity of 20 grams. Increasing the capacity to 100 grams or more and maintaining the same precision is what drives the cost up fast. 20 grams is plenty of capacity for the powder charges I weigh.
If you want a good digital scale and don't want to spend the huge bucks at first get a Gem Pro 250. That being said the A&D FX-120i with auto throw is amazing and will drop a complete charge in less than 5 seconds.
