RCBS Chargemaster

[StephenPerry]

G
I don't know if you have access to a Rail Gun but if you do load 25 rds of ammo for the rail. Purposely load 5 of each .1 grain apart. Now take one of each say 28.0, 28.1, 28.2, 28.3, 28.4. Load enough for 5 groups. Now throw 25 all the same from your 123 and load 5 groups of ammo.
Now assuming you can shoot shoot 5 shot groups with all this ammo. Come back and tell what you got. I already know the answer but you need to know.
How many lab rats do you guys kill in your in-house experimenting. I compete outdoors and many many benchrest champions HOF people throw powder with a powder thrower. A load of 29.83 doesn't impress me anymore than 29.87. You people are promoting the 123 scale and claiming it is the Holy Grail. Never met anything electric at a benchrest range that I need. Tony Boyer, Lester Bruno, Gary Ocock still swear by their powder throwers. If I did go to an electric powder dispenser it would be the RCBS Chargemaster. Not trying to be a hard nose but I have been competing in BR a long time.
Stephen Perry

 

[gdragon34]

So what was this thread about again?

 

[StephenPerry]

G
It's never a personal vendetta. I don't need anybodys approval of what I know as accuracy loading, I am such. I just find it interesting what foundation guys consider important in the shooting game. Benchrest the original game shoots 100,200,300 yds. I always thought technique seperates the winners and losers. The guy with best gun and load needs the best technique to win also. Nothing off this web will make a champion. What does happen here is sharing that is why I am here. I spend little time with the cartridges and a lot of time on the competition page sharing with the readers. I don't know about you and others but I have been in the shooting/reloading game since 1963 and back to 1930's in my research. No brag just fact.
Good luck in what your doing whoever you are. Again I am Stephen Perry all day.
Stephen Perry

 

[StephenPerry]

dragon
This thread started out as a RCBS Chargemaster thread. As with long threads it has drifted with all kinds of numbers and hyping other throwers. Bring it back with a post on the RCBS unit. Have a good day.
Stephen Perry

 

[DickHowell]

Tightneck;
I should have explained the .5 a little better, if say you are
going for 30.0 of 133 it could be as much .25 under & .25 over,
thats where .5 came from.It's hard to tell if that hurts your
aggs, but it sure can't help. The Chargemaster is generally off
about .1 under & .1 over, I only use the Chargemaster for 133. I
use a Harrell for fine grain powders like 8208. I hear what your'e saying about Chargemasters not changing the BR world, but
I see more & more guys either preloading or bringing preloaded bottles to the matches & doing well. Lou Murdica told me that
weighed charges of 133 shoot better in his tunnel than dropped
charges. As more & more guys start using powder machines for
the bigger grain powders I think we will see it in the aggs.
btw; Lester was shooting T32/8208, a fine grain powder that drops
OK from a measure.

 

[harvey13118]

I posted this in the tools and other stuff section but I thought it might need to be up here also. These are my learn stuff in the school of hard knocks and are observations from my experience with the charge master.

After putting almost 7# +, 4064, varget, 3031, H110 thru my Charge master I have found,,I think), a couple of quirks.

1. All 8 leveling screws need to be in adjustment, I really need to find a nice marble or granite slab to set it on.

2. My consistancy,tare weight) is almost always the same and does not, usually, change during a session, if I've set up right. When it does and I check against the 10-10 scale the charge is not off.

3. I plug in and turn it on for at least 1 hour prior to using, I think it helped the tare issue. The tare will go out .1 or so during the session it does not seem to affect the charge according to the 10-10 scale.

4. I use the aute dispense, hear the beep, wait, it counts the charge, returns to weight on the scale and it will show an over charge. The long grain 4064 is sometimes .3 over. I just remove the over and move forward.

Does anybody else see some quirks and work arounds?

Harvey

 

[Mark Walker in TX]

I have been using the Chargemaster for only about two months now, but it seems to work very well.

My only tip is to plug the unit into an AVR,automatic voltage regulator)/UPS.

Prior to using the RCBS, I was handweighing my charges using a Dillon D-terminator. I was having some wondering issues with the Dillion and I had read about this tip. I tried it with the Dillon and the wondering stopped immediately. I started with the RCBS unit right into the AVR/UPS, and works well.

Heck, the Battery Backup / AVR unit might just work for use at the range as a power source. Then, plug the BB/AVR into a charger while not in use??? Just a thought.

 

[StephenPerry]

Walker
Thanks for the insight. The RCBS Chargemaster must be a great unit. I only have watched it operate. But in benchrest products only quality items make it through the season. From what I have seen and knowing the caliber of the BR guys I know the Chargemaster seems to be a keeper. Why not it's an RCBS. Everything I have that is RCBS is top equipment.
Stephen Perry

 

[gdragon34]

What exactly is an AVR/UPS? How much are they and where would I find one?

 

[Forum Boss]

AVR="Automatic Voltage Regulator"

UPS="Uninterruptible Power Supply"

You can buy a UPS,basically a big battery with 120 AC in, and 3 to 6 outlet jacks for appliances) starting at about $45. The more sophisticated units actually deliver constant, controlled voltage output. The cheaper units just kick in the battery when you have a power failure or the voltage drops below a certain amount.

 

[Mark Walker in TX]

AVR="Automatic Voltage Regulator"

UPS="Uninterruptible Power Supply"

You can buy a UPS,basically a big battery with 120 AC in, and 3 to 6 outlet jacks for appliances) starting at about $45. The more sophisticated units actually deliver constant, controlled voltage output. The cheaper units just kick in the battery when you have a power failure or the voltage drops below a certain amount.

Yep. The AVR models start about $75 and up. Just be sure that you get and AVR/UPS not just a UPS.

You could also use a Monster brand line conditioner. They cost a bit more though - like $150 and up.

I bought a AVR/UPS at Best Buy and it was about $80.

Mark

 

[nowler]

i don't own a charge-master, but i do shoot against plenty of folks that do. i have a harrel and throw short and trickle up on a DI mmx123. why throw or weigh to within 0.1 of a grain when you can measure to within 0.02 of a grain just as easily? it's a no brainer if you ask me.

fwiw, i have used my harrel for years, and cannot get it to consistantly throw to within .1 of a grain for point blank br size charges using 133 and the like. maybe it's just me though, and i am not a br shooter.

whilst on the subject of all things good from rcbs, how many top shooters are using rcbs dies out of interest?

for bulk loading they may be the way to go, but for low ES, i don't think they can be accurate enough to bank on.

 

[tightneck]

nowler,

In point blank Br shooting, alot of competitors load at the range between each match. The reason for this is so they have the flexibility to adjust loads to current conditions. At smaller matches, sometimes there will only be 2 relays of shooters, which means not much time for you to collect your gear from the bench, walk back to the loading area, clean your rifle,if needed), reload your ammo, go back to the bench an prepare to shoot. At the match I attend most often, there are between 15-20 shooters and about 15-20 minutes between matches.
I barley have enough time without feeling rushed to throw charges. I couldnt throw short and then trickle. Apparently the chargemaster will work fast enough for this but I'm not convinced that it gives an accuracy advantage over throwing charges with my Harrels. Maybe i am wrong and in a year everyone will be dragging a big green thing to their loading area, but for now I'll just stick to the Harrels. As far as shooters using RCBS dies, not so much in point blank BR.

 

[gdragon34]

Just got my Chargemaster 30 minutes ago. All I can say is "WOW"!!

I have to get to the range and empty some brass so I can play with this thing some more.