CM1500 + GP250 + Omega trickler; a quick report.

[Turbulent Turtle]

Some time back I purchased at Gempro 250 to complement my Chargemaster 1500. At that time I also bought an Omega powder trickler. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of undertaking a handloading marathon in preparation for the upcoming FCNC and FCWC in Raton later this month. Prior to the marathon, I had prepared all 500 cases and they all had aged a minimum of 2 weeks after sizing and prior to the marathon.

My load is x.5 grains of Varget as dispensed by the CM1500, which I calibrate at the start of each session. I also note the unladen weight displayed when I’m pouring the powder in the case. If it varies from what I expect it to show, I investigate and will recalibrate if it’s warranted.

At a recent match, I had shot my last remaining cartridges loaded with CM1500 only at the 1000 yard target to only measure elevation. The 11 rounds had a maximum spread of about .58 MOA, with 9 of them measuring .40 MOA.

I set up my CM1500 alongside my GP250 with the Omega trickler between them; so left to right: CM1500, trickler, GM250. I adjusted the CM1500 to throw its charge at x.4 and I would trickle up from there to my target of X.5 on the GP250. When I run the CM1500 by itself, I always make sure the display shows x.5, so I would pull or add kernels of Varget as needed. I knew the CM1500 had a precision of +/- 0.1 grain, and my goal was to eliminate that or reduce it as much as possible.

These are my observations after loading 500 rounds in 2 days.
1- The CM1500 is good for +/- 0.1 grain, maybe up to 90% of the time. It’s good for +/- 0.2 grain up to about 99% of the time. That other 1% saw deviations as high as 0.24 grain.
2- The CM1500 is usually low on the charge when it displayed x.4; the GP250 showed it to be mostly about x.34-x.36 grain. The lowest I saw was x.16. It very rarely exceeded x.4, unless it jumped to x.5 or x.6. The jump above the target weight was very rare; I think it only occurred a half dozen times in 500 rounds.
3- It is much slower to lad with the two digital scales than with the CM1500 alone. The CM1500 would dispense the next load before I could finalize the load on the GP250, virtually all the time. There were a few times when I actually waited for the CM to finish, but that was only when it dispensed a load to the exact weight I wanted (I think that happened once,) or I could trickle the few missing kernels very quickly. I was able to load a box of 100 cartridges in about 60-70 minutes with the CM1500 alone. When I got really proficient with the new setup, it took about 2.5 hours to load the last 100 round box.
4- Instead of seating a bullet after each case was loaded with powder, it was more efficient to load 50 cases at a time and then take a break and seat the bullets after a quick inspection with a penlight.
5- The GP250 has a 3+ second lag time, sometimes it’s faster to use the tweezers to lift the pan a little bit and cause it to take a reading right away. Regardless, you need to wait a few more seconds to get the final weight.
6-The GP250 is very repeatable.
7- Watch those overhead air vents.
8- For a long time, I suspected that it took about 5 Varget kernels to make the CM1500 go up by one 0.1 grain. The GP250 confirmed that suspicion. Also, since the GP250 increments in .02 grains, it became quite easy to reach x.50 on the GP250 with the Omega trickler; the latter is a neat device with two speeds that allow the Varget consumer to dispense one kernel at a time.

This past weekend, I had a chance to confirm the elevation at 1000 yards for 55 of my newly-produced ammunition. I shot the last string with no elevation adjustments, only wind and I while I was unable to measure the actual spread, all 17 rounds appeared to “group” less than X-ring size on target in the vertical plane.

I only wish that I had been able to do the same on the horizontal plane.

 

[BoydAllen]

Thanks for the report. This is perhaps a stupid question, but what about simply throwing the charge carefully and then proceeding with trickling to weight on the scale? I would think that it might save some time, and be just as accurate. I have spent a lot of time working on measure technique, for at the range loading and although Varget is a bit of a challenge, with appropriate technique it can be thrown close enough on the low side that trickling does not take too long.

 

[savageshooter86]

I agree with Boyd. I throw my charges low and then trickle up to desired weight. I throw say 50 cases and then go to the GP 250/Omega and trickle each one. It doesn't take long at all. And after I put pan on the GP250 and trickle I gently touch the weighing platform with tweezers and it reads instantly rather than waiting the 3-4 seconds for it to read on it's own

 

[ShootDots]

I bought a ChargeMaster a couple of years ago. I used it in conjunction with my GemPro 250 and Omega trickler. After many frustrating hours of difficult loading with the Chargemaster, I reverted back to my Harrell powder measure. I found it to be MORE accurate than the Chargemaster, as well as quicker. Well to make a long story short, I sold my Chargemaster>>>The person I sold it to UNDERSTOOD why I was selling and wanted it anyhow. I have not heard from him, so he must be satisfied! I found that the "heavier" the kernel(s) of powder, like H4350 and H1000 the further off the Chargemaster became! I love my Harrell and my GemPro.. I do like the Omega too, but I have a "VibraShine" dispenser too and it is just as good as the Omega..

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

Well, here's the thing. First off, let me say that I am VERY conservative, in every way. When I change something that has been working for me, there needs to be a good reason. My wife says I'm a packrat, (when she remembers to use the word "pack",) just because I keep everything and do not like to throw things away.

She gifted me the CM1500 about 7 years ago. Before that I had been doing rifle ammo with a beam scale and hand trickler. The only powder measure I had was dedicated to pistol powder that metered extremely well; using Varget in that device was a nightmare.

The CM1500 always worked well for me and what I discovered is that as the years go by, I find it increasingly difficult to sit and perform repetitive tasks especially when they require a combination of fine manipulation and precision with gross manipulation and focus change. The CM1500 allowed me to concentrate on just reading numbers on a display and seating bullets. The switching between trying to divine the zero on a beam scale while trickling kernels of powder and picking out bullets and maneuvering a press was a pain.

I had the CM1500 already, and it does its thing without any intervention on my part. I do not have to press any buttons of cycle a handle or do anything but pick up a pan, empty it and put it back. That's about as minimal as I can make it. So, while loading the cases, I just concentrate on pouring the powder from one pan to the next and playing with the trickler buttons while watching a display.

I specifically stated that I was virtually never waiting for the CM1500 to do its thing, so pouring the initial load faster was never a requirement. Ease of use and utmost accuracies are the things I strive for.

I will not get rid of the CM1500 because it is plenty accurate enough for everything but the most exacting precision; it has loaded multiple thousands of rounds that I have used to good effect at local and state matches. I know and understand its limitations and the only reason I added the GP250 was to reduce or eliminate the last remaining "equipment" issues that I had identified.

I thought holding .58 MOA at 1000 yards with a .308 on a bipod was pretty good; I just wanted it to be smaller and I think I have it now.

The one drawback is that now any deviation are all MY fault; I have nothing else to blame but myself.

 

[BoydAllen]

Sorry about that, I guess that I missed the part about not having to wait on the Chargemaster. In that case, you obviously would have nothing to gain by using a measure. Congratulations on your results on target. Shooting aside, I am also impressed with your wife's choice of a gift. Evidently you are not the only one in your family who pays attention to details. Again, thanks for the excellent report. I appreciated all the details.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

Thank you for the kind words.

I will say that the CM1500 has been a huge help in my pursuit of F-TR classifications and results. At one time, I was traveling a great deal for work and absolutely dreaded loading up ammunition at the last minute on a beam and trickler arrangement. I would throw a full grain short with my powder measure and trickle from there. It was tedious and uncomfortable because of the positioning of the scale. I'm 6 foot 4 and I played with lamps and mirrors and it was just a royal pain.

When I got the CM, Christmas '06, it got much better for me. I could load up great ammo, usually within .1 grain of the target and it was easy. I relegated the powder measure to the flake pistol powder for good.

The CM loaded ammo good enough to allow me to attain HM at mid-range and Expert at 1000 (we don't shoot anything else.) However, I had detected the occasional unexplained elevation issue, always under. I suspected that it was either me or the powder load; I use JLK 180 LBTs, the meplats are consistent and very small.

This last match I had many Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moments, but they were all of my own doing.

 

[BoydAllen]

If there is anything that I have learned from reading the posts of long range shooters, it is the importance of precise charge weights. The other thing that seems to stand out is annealing. Have you done any of that?

 

[Nomad47]

I guess I am loading the "poor man's" way. But it is similar to Bayou's. I use a Lyman DPS III and it will at times overshoot my target charge even with it set .15 grains light. And it definitely in NOT as good as Bayou's CM. I have the GemPro250, but unfortunately no Omega. I have found a shiny metal 1/2 teaspoon a decent substitute.
With IMR7828ssc for example with each kernal weighing ~.03 grains, I choose my target charge for something like x.15 and settle for either x.14 or x.16 grains. So if the GP says I am .09 grains light, I will just scoop 3 kernals in the teaspoon, add to the pan, and pour in the case. No need to wait on the scale, from experience I know it will be within .01 grains of my target charge.
Sometimes I have to remove a couple kernals which I'm not fond of but that's life. Like the OP, I almost never have to wait on the dispenser. It might be right on the money 10% of the time and that is the only time I have to wait - all of 3 or 4 seconds.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

If there is anything that I have learned from reading the posts of long range shooters, it is the importance of precise charge weights. The other thing that seems to stand out is annealing. Have you done any of that?

I have a Giraud annealing machine of which I am quite fond. I anneal every other loading. I rack up a 100 cases on the annealer and it does its thing.