reloading scales

[richard_123]

looking to purchase a electronic reloading scale... any recommendations ...please give pros and cons.

 

[diriel]

One con is that many of the "affordable" ones are not at all consistent. Another con is that it takes a near Black Magic Voodoo to really be assured that it will throw true. I played with 3 of the "affordable" ones, and was very disappointed. I ended up giving 2 away and keeping the 3rd one for weighing brass, which is not really so critical.

I am sure others will chime in, and tell you what units work well. I think perhaps for now at least I will stay Old School. Far too many things seem to affect on electronic scale accuracy.

Gary

 

[Scott Harris]

I've used the Acculab VIC-123 scale for about a year. This measures to .02 grains and I have found it to be very reliable. However, you need to understand the scale's quirks to get the best from it.
1. Make sure there are no drafts. This scale is so sensitive, drafts will make it fluctuate wildly. I turn off the A/C while using it.
2. Have a good surge protector, ideally one that regulates the voltage. One that does this properly can actually be quite expensive. Voltage variations damage the scale over time and also impact its accuracy during use. I always disconnnect the scale from power when not in use to minimize the possibility of electrical damage.
3. Allow it to warm up for 20-30 minutes. Otherwise, you will get rapid drift as it warms up.
4. Re-zero it often: it's only a push of the button. This is really not a trouble since you just push the zero button and wait a second. I do this pretty regularly and it eliminates any drift problem.

Now, how do I know that the scale works exceptionally well? Periodically, I will throw my check-weights into the dish. It comes up exactly the same every time. People get all hot and bothered about drift, but by re-zeroing, you factor this out and my check weights show that this is true.

Now the VIC is about $300 and I think that is as cheap as you can go before getting into the land of garbage scales. There definitely is a minimum price of entry to get a good scale.

Keep in mind these types of scales measure to an order of magnitude smaller than previous scales. Things that never mattered with less precise scales do matter with these super-sensitive ones. If you're not shooting past 600 yards, it may not be worth the effort to get a scale like this.

 

[bozo699]

A big + 1 on scotharr's post. Drafts,florescent lighting,temp varience,two way radios, micrawaves,among other thing will interfere with any of your electronic scales accuracy readings, if you want true accuracy deal with the little inconvienences and do what ever it takes to make your scales work! scotharr, I built a plexiglass shroud around my acculab and it's not nearly so sensative to little breezes although I as well turn my a/c off. I also load daily so I never turn my scale's or electronic powder drops off so it is seldom off, but same as you I rezero often it just takes a few seconds. I garrentee they are more accurate than a old rcbs 505,and don't think for a minute that breezes don't effect them. I use the cheap scale that came with my rcbs chargemaster for weighing brass, ect. and I use my acculab for powder charges. I also agree if your not shooting long distance or your just a short range hunter the cheap electronic scales or cheap beam scales work just fine. Richard, I think any of the scales will work for you if you follow the instructions, I like the rcbs and have a franklin battery operated one for portable use. The only con I can see to electronic scales is if you live in an enviroment that won't allow them to work, like things mentioned above, or there is no electricity! I also don't think there is anything wrong with a beam scale there just to slow for my tastes,but I own several and probably wouldn't ever get rid of them!
Wayne.

 

[Laurie]

+ another one on the Acculab. Generally, I hate electronic scales because of the sensitivity problems, so will only use a really good one in a reasonably controlled environment for powder weighing. Like the others have said, weighing brass is another matter.

The cheap little Chinese made models that are appearing everywhere can be seriously inaccurate. Worse, people reload on the firing point using them and don't understand that inherent unreliability plus draughts, temperature changes etc can make them very inaccurate indeed. if I ever did this, I'd find myself rechecking their accuracy with check-weights or a bullet whose weight was accurately known every two or three charges. A friend blew a primer and burned the bolt-face on his first round through a new 6.5X47 Lapua barrel thanks to a firing-point loaded round using electronic pocket scales. When he got home and checked them, he found they were under-reading somewhere between three and four grains.

I use the Acculab instead of my RCBS 10-10 beam scales when I want really tight charge consistency as in my 1,000yd .223 Rem 90gn bullet loads. The beam scales are very accurate, but their heavy magnetic damping means that you have to lift the pan off the scales and put it back on again a few times with each charge to get really consistent readings, and sometimes they just don't seem to want to settle. Where plus or minus 0.1gn is OK, I'll use them every time in preference to any electronic model. With the Acculab, charge accuracy is down to a single powder kernel I reckon.

Laurie,
York, England

 

[MOO1072]

I use a PACT BBKII electronic scale. It has its quirks but I find it reliable and much faster than using a beam scale. I let the scale warm up by calibrating it with the check weight a couple of times before weighing charges. I change the battery often and also try to avoid electronic interference and draughts.

 

[15Tango]

I'm scared of the electronic scales! There are so many to choose from and everybody's got something bad to say about them all, plus they're expensive. I've been sticking with my RCBS 5-0-5 all this time. I'd love an electronic for the speed and to help with checks and balances but I'm not sure which one to get.

I do the same thing Laurie does, I lift the pan off and on a few times for each charge to try and get a true reading, the balance beam scales do tend to wander and be finicky as well.

I'll be watching this thread closely as I've been searching for the same answer to this question as the OP.

Wayne