Gem Pro 250 vs beam scale?

[mattri]

Looking to get a new scale. Have looked at various beam scales and electronic scales.

The Gem Pro 250 gets excellent reviews, and is said to be more accurate than most beam scales.

Is there a reason to go with a Gem Pro over a beam scale? If choosing a beam scale over a Gem Pro, which, and why?

 

[BigDMT]

Digital is way faster when weighing each charge. Beam scale can be just accurate and weigh individual kernels of powder like the GemPro, but much slower without spending a lot of money on a high quality electronic powder trickler.

I have the Gem Pro 250 AND a RCBS 10-10 tuned by Scott Parker. I like them both. I prefer the Gempro 250 because it is so fast being a digital, but I wanted a good beam scale because "electricity" is not always a guarantee and electronics eventually will take a "dump" on you. Even with GemPro's lifetime warranty, you'll still be out of a scale while it gets repaired. But I've had no troubles at all with my GemPro so far.

I also have the RCBS rangemaster digital scale I use to check my powder measure charges when loading varmint and pistol rounds. It works great as well, just doesn't weigh to the 2/100th's like the Gempro. It also serves as digital backup to my GemPro.

I say get a beam AND a digital scale and rest assured that you'll always have a good scale to load cases at any time.

 

[mattri]

Thanks for the reply. The scale I was using just started acting up to the point that it is unusable. I absolutely see the benefit of having a good beam scale as well as an electronic, just need to decide which is going to be first to get loading again.

 

[BigDMT]

Bang for your buck, the GemPro is hard to beat.

 

[watercam]

For Christs sake, one granule one way or the other will NOT make a wits bit of difference at 1000 yds.! Two yes...

 

[mattri]

So we have 1, maybe 1.5 votes for the Gem Pro....

 

[BigDMT]

For Christs sake, one granule one way or the other will NOT make a wits bit of difference at 1000 yds.! Two yes...

Hahahahaha

 

[308sako]

I've been using a gempro for a couple of months now and find it to be the best electronic scale I have ever seen. I would strongly recomend it to any serious loader.

 

[dogdude]

What BIGDMT said,its best to have both. big ups on the GEMPRO 250!!! i'm bumping up to a GD503, might be a waste of time and $$$, hey BIGDMT glad to hear you like my old 10-10!!! knew you would dogdude

 

[Justin1098]

I use the gempro 250 and love it. It's so much faster. I will never go back to a beam scale as long as I have electricity.

 

[bigwoodsman]

I too love my Gempro 250,i don,t even bother taking off the dust cover to my Ohaus 10-10 anymore

 

[gary0529]

Another +1 on Gempro250- Have a number of scales including a 10-10 but it is the Gempro that gets the bulk of the work.
Will check the accuracy with check weights and against the 10-10 and it is always spot on.
I have gotten used to the speed and rarely use anything else in the reloading room.

As mentioned, pretty decent value for the cost.
It more than meets my needs and expectations.

Gary

 

[drumcorpschamp]

I did an experiment this afternoon using my RCBS Chargmaster, GemPro 250 and RCBS 10-10 scale. All 3 were set up and zeroed and were calibrated with their respective weights and procedures. The test was performed with N540 powder as it has the smallest/lightest kernels (about 5-6 kernels) per .1 grain of any of the powders I have on hand.

Test 1: 30 grains N540, repeated 3 times.
1.) Throw charge with Chargemaster.
2.) Weigh and trickle up to 30.00 grs. on GemPro.
3.) Dump charge in pan of 10-10 set at 30.00 grs. Beam centered exactly on zero.

Test 2: 30 grains N540, repeated 3 times.
1.) Throw charge with Chargemaster.
2.) Weigh and trickle up to 30.00 grs. on 10-10.
3.) Dump charge in pan of GemPro. Scale read exactly 30.00 grs.

The 2 above tests were repeated with charge weights of 43.00 grs. and 65.00 grs. Results were the same as with the first two tests.

The scales were checked after the tests with their respective calibration weights and none had changed.

Conclusions:
The 10-10 is a great scale. So is the GemPro. The Chargemaster is perfect for throwing charges quickly, but not as accurate (+/- .1 grs. or more) as the other two scales.

I have been using the GemPro to verify and trickle to the proper weight as it is takes less time to do than with the 10-10. Agree with a previous poster in that if I am in a situation with no electric power, I'd be perfectly served weighing charges with my 10-10 only.

Jerry

 

[mattri]

Just ordered a Gem Pro, here's to hoping.

 

[1066]

Conclusions:
The 10-10 is a great scale. So is the GemPro. The Chargemaster is perfect for throwing charges quickly, but not as accurate (+/- .1 grs. or more) as the other two scales.

I have been using the GemPro to verify and trickle to the proper weight as it is takes less time to do than with the 10-10. Agree with a previous poster in that if I am in a situation with no electric power, I'd be perfectly served weighing charges with my 10-10 only.

Jerry

Have you thought about using the Omega Auto trickler with the 10/10 - after dumping the charge and pressing the button it trickles it's self up to the exact weight while you are seating the previous bullet.

 

[jlow]

We used to use beam balanced scales (not those being discussed, but really accurate and expensive ones going for thousands) in the 70s in the lab. No one even makes beam balance for scientific use anymore, ever wonder why? The reason is they were very accurate but difficult to maintain and keep accurate. I've seen the insides of one at the local university lab surplus; it looks like the inside of a Rolex watch except 100 times more intricate.

The current reloading beam balance is much simpler and easier to maintain but in order to achieve the same degree of accuracy and precision as a store brought digital, you have to jump through a lot of loops to get them that way and then you still need to modify them with optics or digital camera so that you can see exactly where that needle is pointing. I understand the love for something that one has used for 20 to 30 years, especially something that works and serve so well, but somewhere down the road, there comes a time when reliable digital scales makes more sense.

 

[drumcorpschamp]

Have you thought about using the Omega Auto trickler with the 10/10 - after dumping the charge and pressing the button it trickles it's self up to the exact weight while you are seating the previous bullet.

I have researched the Omega Auto Trickler and expect that it will be my next investment in powder handling. A friend that I shoot with uses one and swears by it.

Jerry

 

[300 RUM]

The Gem Pro 250 will change your mind on scales once you use it, there is none better for the price.

 

[savageshooter86]

anyone having issues with the 250 drifting? I have tried finding any reason not to buy one and seems it is hard to find any

 

[BigDMT]

Nope. Every electronic scale requires calibration from time to time. I always use my empty powder tray as a check weight in between every charge weighed and the GP250 almost never drifts on me. And if it does drift, which sometimes happens if it has just been turned on and it hasn't warmed up yet, but still very rarely, it's only off by 2/100th of 1 grain. Just hit TARE at zero weight and mine never drifts again so long as I leave it turned on. I usually never shut mine off anyhow so drifting is never an issue.

And if you ever do have issues with it, just remember that it has a LIFETIME WARRANTY so you can rest assured that your investment is safe