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Electronic or beam scale

bench

Fellas,
Do you prefer a electronic scale or a beam scale to load with,
I have both and want to upgrade to the best way only once and this will be for target shooting only not hunting.
What do you benchrest guys use for your target rifles but keep in mind I am not going to spend 3000.00 dollars on a electronic scale.
Please give your opinion and what you use.
Thanks
 
Target shooting at what distance, with what caliber, in what rifle? Generally, for powders that do not throw well, in the affordable category, I find that a well tuned balance scale (whole other thread) works better than most affordable electronic scales that I have tried. Set your powder measure to throw a half a grain light. Throw the charge in the pan. Put it on the scale, and use a manual RCBS trickler to bring the charge up to weight. The only accessory that I think makes this better is some way to eliminate parrallax and see the pointer with some magnification. The best way that I have found to do this is a manually focusing web cam, but second best works and is a lot faster to set up, one of those adjustable prism units.
 
I am a bit confused why one would ask what type of target shooting,distance,caliber??
But I shoot 308 F/TR 1000yd and use Varget,Rl-17 and H4350
I can say I have a very cheap balance scale and have never used a good tuned scale and wondered if they were as good as a electronic scale as I find them very finicky.
 
bench, if you can come up w/ a RCBS 304, you will be the happiest guy on the firing line. I've been the route of the e-scales
and kept going back to the 304. I doubt you would be happier than me, though.
 
I wanted to know what your rifle was capable of, and how it would be used. Lots of fellows want to know how to load like target shooters, and some of it will help them, but some of it will not. For instance, most short range benchrest shooters load at the range and throw their charges. On the other hand, virtually all of the serious 1,000 yard competitors that I know weigh their charges on a scale that reads to .02 grain. The least expensive scale that does this reliably does this is a Gem Pro 250. I have used one, and it worked just fine. Playing your game, I would do that, and probably get set up to anneal cases on a regular basis. The other biggie is dies. I prefer arbor press seaters, and having a FL die that is matched to your chamber is a big advantage, but this is from a short range perspective. Does your rifle have a factory barrel and chamber? What kind of vertical do your targets show under the best conditions, with loads done with a tuned balance scale? What do your velocity extreme spreads look like?
 
BoydAllen,
Well I guess I am haly way there as I do use a Gem Pro 250 and do have a annealing machine(Bench source) and anneal after every fireing.
Having never used a good ballance scale I had nothing to compare it to and also nothing to check my weights of powder to assure myself my electronic scale was right on(saftey and peace of mind).
Also thought a good ballance scale would be a bit faster to weigh powder charges.
All of these questions are only because I have never used a good ballance scale.
 
I really like my tuned up 10-10, and just for grins, one time I set it up at 90 degrees to the edge of my desk, with a web cam looking at the balance marks, and the image on my 22" monitor just behind. One one side of the scale pan, I had my RCBS trickler set up, and on the other a SAECO Micro measure set up to drop into the scale pan (while it was on the scale) without any powder bouncing out of the pan. The full cycle, including dumping in the funnel, from touching the measure handle and back to that point could be done in about 18 sec. with reasonable precision. With recent scale modification to limit beam swing and remove impact, I am pretty sure that I could beat that.
 
Bench - I use a tuned beam scale and they are definitely better than not. But they still have their quirks...IMO once you are at a certain level with your scales and reloading process the only way to improve is to spend the big money.
 
Bench,

Over the last 12 years I have used everything from a 5,000.00 electronic lab scale with inline voltage regulators and wind protectors to my current tuned Redding $80.00 balance beam scale.

Every electronic scale will drift. It's the nature of the beast. Balance beams are absolute. You get what you see.

An old Jewish jewler told me one time that in order for him to verify his gold dealings, he would never use an electronic scale. Even Ft. Knox uses a balance beam scale.

Yes it might take a few seconds longer, but matches are won or lost on the reloading bench. Why spend the money to go to a match if your not willing to invest the time reloading? Fast scales are not accurate time after time.
 
There is a balance beam scale that I would love to have, but they are out of price range. And they have a waiting list to get one I understand.
 
I've had an RCBS 304 for longer than I care to say. Mounted at eye level to avoid parallax I find it flawless. I keep it clean (dusted) and I check it now and then with known weights. I can find NO faults with it at all. I barely have a cell phone (?) so I am not apt to change to an electronic scale. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks"....but if the old tricks are filling the house I don't see the need. Also I am not in a rush at all. This whole reloading and shooting is for my pleasure which I can do at a pace I prefer and choose.
 
beams are good,,but not PRECISE. THEY ARE SOLD AS PLUS OR MINUS 0.1
stay away from low dollar electronics as they are also plus or minus 0.1 BUT DO SO IN STEPS...not good.

the gwm pro250 seems to have agood following, but i have not used one.

the mx123 has nay sayers and lovers...it was $325 and i like mine..have no issue producing ammo that is easily plus or minus 0.05

spend your money , take your chances and enjoy shooting.

do what provides you CONFIDENCE....
 
IMO (and most likely anyone else who has used one) a fully tuned balance scale's performance resembles that of a new out of the box scale even less than a NASCAR car resembles the factory car it is built to resemble. Another thing, if you are loading with the same scale, all the time, absolute accuracy (as long as you are fairly close) is not of much concern. On the other hand, consistency and repeatability are major concerns. One way that I check a balance scale is to make up a test weight, from anything that is handy, that weighs the same as the pan with the load in it. That way, if I loose confidence in a reading for some reason, I can swap the pan and powder for the weight, and see if I get what I am supposed to. This also works on a digital scale. You might take a look at this.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MRNuQX9pOs
 
There are about three things that the Prometheus has has done that were tough to accomplish. One was designing the powder "pan" so that powder does not bounce out when the charge is dropped from the measure. The second is developing a reliable stopper ( so that the "pan" can stay on the scale) that can be unplugged and reset to dump and then retain powder without adversely affecting the scales accuracy and consistency. The third was the innovation that keeps clumps that cause the charge weight to rise above the desired value. That was on the Gen I. The Gen II is a whole new kettle of fish, enclosed, automatic trickling control (I think) projected balance point indicator, trickler that works like a miniature rotary case feeder on a progressive press, a jewel. Of course they both have very well done balance beam scales. I probably missed several things, but that is what you get from someone who doesn't own one (won't work for portable loading setup & I couldn't afford it if it would).
 
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