My RCBS Chargemaster quit

[B y r o n]

I and a bunch of others that shoot BPCR have used Chargemasters for years. The risk with blackpowder is way overblown,but everyone has to decide for themselves.

The electrical spark that is warned about is the possibility of static electricity. Since the loaders are primarily made of plastic it is like playing Russian roulette. Your life, your choice!

 

[Bc'z]

Electronic drawer of my tool box
Then there's the drawer for when I can't fix or trouble shoot the problem.sometimes I just start with 2nd drawer

 

[Nemsis]

I had a chargemaster for about 10 years then sold it to a friend who’s still using it today 2 years later. Great powder measure but since I got into F-class I wanted more precision so I got the Autotrickler V4 and it’s been fantastic.

 

[tommeboy]

I have one of the very first ones. Last year the power button stopped working. I guess I got my money worth out of it. It was so old you could not reprogram it like everyone does. Tried, did not work. I might send it in to have a new button installed. Or I might take it to a electronics college near me and have them solder in a toggle switch to turn on the power.

It worked perfect up to this point. It hardly EVER overran the weight that it was supposed to be. I checked it time and time again against weight checks and it never was off.

 

[Doom]

I had a chargemaster for about 10 years then sold it to a friend who’s still using it today 2 years later. Great powder measure but since I got into F-class I wanted more precision so I got the Autotrickler V4 and it’s been fantastic.

You hit the need and differences perfectly. People seem to want to compare these different systems. My experience is primarily with the Chargemaster 1500. But here are the differences and experience that I have seen in using the CM for 12 years.

I can't speak to all the Chargemaster's but most seem to work fine but the lower end models all use a single drop tube which is a compromise and ends up making the loading process slow. That single point feed is the primary reason for overthrows/underthrows and the infamous straw modification was part of the solution for that. In the 1500 programing also helps reduce the overthrows but could also increase time.

People often blame the scale for weight variations but the actual weight thrown is typically +/- 0.05 gn for the most part in my experience. Every so often a .1 grain will show in my experience. But again this is a byproduct of the single point drop. The cause of the overthrows and under throws are due to clumping of the powder on trickle which throws a heavy trickle charge. The scale in these units is strain gauge based and hence has a slower response time than the force balance system used in the Fx120i.

The Autotrickler with the Fx120i is a duel feed system with a higher precision scale. Its design addresses the above shortcomings of the Chargemasters (with the exception of the MatchMaster which is closer to the Autotrickler in function and price). By separating the feeds into bulk and trickle it can function at a faster rate and the scale technology also allows for faster loading.

So ultimately you have the option of a dispenser that cost in the $250-$450 range or a ~$1000 range. Pick the one that fits your needs.

 

[Enosiophobia]

Bills suck. Always have.....always will. They'll lose this game and I can finally have peace.

See.