Auto dispensers good enough for long range?

[jimbo88mm]

I am putting together a rifle that I plan to use out to 1000 yards. I have been eyeballing the Hornady auto charge but I'm starting to think going with a gempro 250 might be a better bet.

Based on the reviews I've read on this site and others it looks like all the auto dispensers come in at roughly +/- .1 of a grain. Are any competitors using these?

Intended purpose is recreational target shooting. Caliber will be .260 Remington.

 

[Catfish]

Number 1, all powder measures do a better job with ball powder than with stick. I load on a Dillon and can tell you that their powder measure gets any where close to 1/10 of a grain. off.

 

[dreever]

If you are serious about long range you'll weigh every charge. There's no getting around it.

Danny

 

[NHgunNut]

Alot of guys run the rcbs loadmaster 1/10th of a grain under, swap to a more accurate scale and trickle the last .1 grain

 

[louielouie]

Since I've been using the Hornady for some time now, I don't see the point of worrying about +/- 0.2% of the charge weight (say 44.8 gr of H4831sc) if you haven't done the 'due diligence' with weight-sorting & prepping your brass, weight-sorting and bearing-surface length sorting of your bullets which may be beyond 'recreational' target shooting.
You can program the Hornady/RCBS to throw that last 0.4 gr agonizingly slow so that last 1 or 2 kernels is what makes the weight spot on. I'm just saying that the Hornady/RCBS dispensers are a really good tool in conjunction with detailed loading practices.

 

[bozo699]

Jim,
A thousand yards is a long ways,.....I mean a really long ways, anything past 600 every little thing comes into play including powder chg. weight. With all the expense of components I can't imagine not being as precise as possible no matter for recreational or competition, with that said I see no problem using the Hornaday for the initial throw of powder although the RCBS is quite a bit faster, I have three RCBS machines and use them all the time when preparing for a 1K shoot, I set them a little low and trickle to exact weight on a tuned balance although a gempro 250 should be just fine also from what I have read about them.
After I put the straw in the RCBS chargemaster's feed tube it almost completely stopped it's irritating over throws and I use it with confidence for shorter ranges, say out to 500 or so but 1K I still weigh each chg.
Wayne.

 

[dreever]

LouieLouie,

+/- .2% of a 44.8 grain charge weight gives you .0896 on either side for .1792 total variance. This is over one and three quarter tenths, or almost two tenths of a grain. That's a lot of variance which will translate directly into vertical at 1000 yards.
Like you mentioned EVERYTHING makes a difference at extended yardages. Attention to detail is what shrinks groups.

Danny

 

[jr600yd]

Been there done that got the bad scores to prove it. Use my experience to save you from having problems. Throw a charge 1/2 gr under, use a powder trickler to bring charge up to weight. +/- .02 will give you vertical spread you don't need.

 

[tonedaddy]

I have the Hornady & love it. You cannot go wrong with it!

 

[markm87]

If you are serious about long range you'll weigh every charge. There's no getting around it.

Danny

I'm moderately serious about long range, and I weigh every single charge.

 

[FroggyOne2]

I ain't serious about it all and still weight every charge.. I like consitant ammo..

 

[Erik Cortina]

The RCBS Chargemaster got me to High Master in F-Class in Mid-Range and Long Range, so it's good enough for what you want to do.

 

[ronsroom1]

+ 1

If you are serious about long range you'll weigh every charge. There's no getting around it.

Danny

 

[LarryDScott]

I'm a little confused as to why some think the chargemaster would not weigh accurately. You can double ck the charge that the unit throws by merely lifting the powder pan and then setting it back down to verify the charge weight. This will tell you if it differs from the first reading. What you are looking for is consistency in your powder charges. I fail to see how this can be improved on. If you use the same powder dispensing and weighing equipment all the time, plus repetitious procedures, your weights are going to be consistant to that equipment. Larry

 

[Erik Cortina]

Larry, while that is true, it is only as accurate as the accuracy potential of the machine. If that machine is only accurate to +-0.1 grains, then a scale capable of .01 gr. accuracy will be more accurate.

 

[LarryDScott]

Larry, while that is true, it is only as accurate as the accuracy potential of the machine. If that machine is only accurate to +-0.1 grains, then a scale capable of .01 gr. accuracy will be more accurate.

As long as I am using the same equpment all the time, what the charge may weigh on another scale to me seems a moot point. Larry

 

[bozo699]

Larry, while that is true, it is only as accurate as the accuracy potential of the machine. If that machine is only accurate to +-0.1 grains, then a scale capable of .01 gr. accuracy will be more accurate.

As long as I am using the same equpment all the time, what the charge may weigh on another scale to me seems a moot point. Larry

Larry the problem with the charge master is it doesn't read far enough like Erik said, I have dropped several Kernels of powder in without it changing and that is not near accurate enough for long range shooting IMHO I know others including Erik are using them for long range work but I have proven it to myself that my ES/SD went down after I started using a tuned balance scale and just use the chargemaster as a dispenser. For 600 and under I suppose there great but there is just to much vertical problems with two or three Kernels on either side of your reading,...ie the scale is just not accurate enough!
Wayne.

 

[Erik Cortina]

Larry, while that is true, it is only as accurate as the accuracy potential of the machine. If that machine is only accurate to +-0.1 grains, then a scale capable of .01 gr. accuracy will be more accurate.

As long as I am using the same equpment all the time, what the charge may weigh on another scale to me seems a moot point. Larry

What I meant is that with 0.1 gr. accuracy you can be .05 too light or too heavy and still get the same reading, therefore you can be up to 0.1 gr. off from one case to the next.

 

[Leaddog]

I've used the CM. .1 variation is 5 kernels of Varget and will affect verticals. I've since moved on to a manual dispenser and trickle up with the Omega and weigh with a GD503. Accuracy has improved and ES/SD's are very low now.

 

[amlevin]

An auto dispenser with a good reliable scale is about as good as you can get. I have an RCBS Chargemaster and when double checking with test weights it's always spot on. Any more sensitive and it would start measuring fly poop and room dust.