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powder measure.

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powder measure. was created by foxhunter

I am really getting tired of measuring all my rifle rounds on a scale, so I can get to 1/10 grain accuracy. I have an RCBS progressive reloader and the powder dispenser that came with it puts out loads + or - about 3/10 grain, so I am forced to measure every load.
Does anyone use any of the electronic powder dispenser/measurers? I have been investigating this one....RCBS Chargemaster 1500 Scale & Dispenser Combo. Reviews vary from 5 stars to 0,the bad reviews mostly due to malfunction. The accuracy seems to be acceptable.
9 years 3 months ago #43992

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Replied by Libertarian623 on topic powder measure.

Fox- You know I don't reload but I just inquired of the gentleman that does reload for me. He uses a RCBS automatic dispenser and a triple beam 10,10,10 scale and measures each charge. He is one of the finest rifleman I know, he insists on following the same procedure. Everyone I respect as a rifleman follows this same format when reloading. Hope this helps put your mind at ease , your on the right path.
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9 years 3 months ago #43993

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Replied by JustMe on topic powder measure.

I use the RCBS Combo electronic dispenser/scale and I like it. When I first purchased it, I re-weighed every powder load as I had read some bad reports like the ones you probably read. Now I am confident in the accuracy of it's auto dispensing and no longer re-weigh the powder dispenses. The key is to use the "slow" trickle speed of the RCBS Combo Dispenser when you are using the longer cylindrical powder grains to give the trickler time to stop dispensing the longer and heavier grained powder. Small grained ball type powders never seem to be a problem. If the dispenser trickles too much powder, it sounds an alarm, so you just dump it back in the reservoir and hit the dispense button again -- very easy and fast. It doesn't sound the alarm very often for the Varget and IMR4350 powders I normally use. I'd definitely recommend it to speed up your reloading. If you are a long range competition shooter then all bets are off and I'd re-weigh every powder dispense, weigh every brass, every bullet, check every round's concentricity, etc., etc. I like the accuracy I get from reloading (0.5 MOA), but I don't need to be as anal as competition shooters with my reloading.
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9 years 3 months ago #43995

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Replied by Siscowet on topic powder measure.

I use a digital scale. And a manual dispenser. I weigh the first 20, then if no problems, I weigh 1 out of 5. Never had a problem, but I intend to upgrade to an electronic dispenser. Until then I concentrate on making the exact same lever pull every time.
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9 years 3 months ago #43998

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Replied by foxhunter on topic powder measure.

Yes, I think varying the speed of the lever pull on my manual dispenser is the main cause of load to load variability.
9 years 3 months ago #44005

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Replied by bipe215 on topic powder measure.

My powder measure is a little copper spoon that my wife hasn't missed yet, combined with an electronic measure. I shoot for groups and don't load large quantities of ammo, so I trickle right down to the piece.

Steve
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9 years 3 months ago #44006

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Replied by RLAMM on topic powder measure.

get an auto loader scale set up it will save you time and head aches check the dump every five to ten loads for consistency you be time ahead
9 years 2 months ago #44170

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Replied by 10before15 on topic powder measure.

The RCBS Chargemaster is impressive. I love mine.
9 years 2 months ago #44172

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Replied by VTIT on topic powder measure.

I have the RCBS too. I measure every 5th load on a beam scale. I don't know why I have never found it to be off I guess I am just paranoid. A couple things I have found out while using it; Don't have it on the same bench as your press if you want to multi-task. It will make it throw bad loads every once in a while; get a McDonald's straw (the big ones) and cut a piece off it and put it in where the powder trickles out, it helps when you are getting over charges; Treat it like a computer and plug it into a battery backup/surge protector.
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9 years 3 weeks ago #44426

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Replied by JustMe on topic powder measure.

Yes, there really is no need to reweigh any rounds. The RCBS Combo Dispenser has its own scale and if the scale is calibrated, it will be accurate. Also, the RCBS electronic powder measure gives you a warning sound if it dispenses too much powder so you can dump it back in the hopper and dispense it again. If you don't want to trust the warning sound, you can also just read the weight on the scale every time before you remove it from the RCBS Combo Dispenser. If you don't trust the electronic scale, you could compare it to a beam scale which also has it's own set of inaccuracies. Testing has shown that the powder charges aren't really that critical if they are inaccurate a grain or 2. I know many long range competitive shooters worry about getting everything perfect from round to round, but testing has proven that a little variation in powder charge doesn't have much of an effect on group size. Other things like shooting technique, wind, quality of trigger, etc. have much greater effects than powder charge variation.
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9 years 3 weeks ago #44436

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