SCALES

[tn noshooter]

Which scales do you guys recommend. I've been shooting a little midrange (600) and some 1000 yard matches and the RCBS chargemaster just is not accurate enough for that. I would like to get one and be done. nt that i have plenty to spend but in many cases i would have been better of to bit the bullet the first time.
Thanks

 

[Richard Coody]

Sold my chargemaster. Here is my new.setup

​

 

[ridgeway]

Keep chargemaster and get A&D. Throw .1 grain lower on CM and trickle up on A&D. You'll find the CM surprisingly accuatate.

 

[bradb]

I could never warm up to the charge master at all.
The aitotrickler and the fx120i I just got and is an awesome set up. It's very accurate. I prefer to scoop some powder in the pan as it's trickling.
And Adam will soon have a lee measure set up to drop.
Read the entire post turning a&d into Prometheus

 

[T-shooter]

Which scales do you guys recommend. I've been shooting a little midrange (600) and some 1000 yard matches and the RCBS chargemaster just is not accurate enough for that. I would like to get one and be done. nt that i have plenty to spend but in many cases i would have been better of to bit the bullet the first time.
Thanks

For the money, get an A&D FX120i, FX-200i, or FX300i. They are all the same except maximum capacity. The FX120i will be the least expensive if you can find one. Keep your Chargemaster and use it to throw the loads close, then trickle up on the FX. I have the Hornady Autoloader and set my charges 1/10 light and most all will need just a bit more. The Dandy/Omaga trickler is another item that will benefit you. With it adjusted right you can drop just one kernel of a larger powder like Varget at a time.

I went the route of looking for a cheaper alternative. I had the GemPro-300, a Veritas-S63, and a U.S. Solid balance. None worked as well as I wanted. The cheapest, GemPro-300, came the closest but you will be +/- .02 grain and occasionally .02 either way over that range. The FX-300i usually hits the mark 100% of the time.

 

[Fyrchief]

+1 for the A&D FX-120i; well worth the investment. Just wish I had done it sooner instead of trying less expensive solutions like T-Shooter!

 

[Gina1]

How much drift in grains (.001/1 will occur in the FX120i over 10 minutes. (unit having warmed up and no drafts or electrical interference) ??

 

[T-shooter]

How much drift in grains (.001/1 will occur in the FX120i over 10 minutes. (unit having warmed up and no drafts or electrical interference) ??

Usually none. Had it on over 24 hours and never drifted. It does need a stable temperature and air pressure, has to be level, and needs a good clean power source. I had fits with mine (FX-300i) for a while until I found the problems. It seemed to be all electrical. I put 2 ferrite chokes (Fair-Rite RCT-2 Ferrite Bead) on the power cord and noticed an immediate difference. I had some cheapies that didn't work before. I followed these instructions. (http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/how-to-install-a-ferrite-bead.html). Then I got a TrippLite LC1200 line conditioner and that made it even more stable.

 

[CharlieNC]

Its a waste of time and money to use a CM to prepare the initial charge for final trickling. I use a Lee thrower which cost 1/10 and is 10 times faster for that purpose, and trickle using a tuned beam. This works fine for my Fclass shooting, as the wind constitutes the losses in score.

But the CM is surprisingly accurate, much better than the .1 increment on the display. Based upon adding one kernel at a time it does not register a change until a full .1 charge is added, meaning it does not round off. Crosschecking shows it will maintain +/- .03 as long as the final trickle completes smoothly, which is a function of the insert and parameter settings. This was surprising to me, but I've tuned and checked enough to be convinced. You did not indicate how much you worked with the CM, and it may have more capability than you have achieved so far. No issues shooting 2moa steel on long range tactical with this, and I will assess for midrange Fclass soon as the acid test.

 

[T-shooter]

I don't see any problem using a Chargemaster, if you already have, one to throw the initial charge. I use the Hornady Autocharger which is basically the same thing but it is no better that +/- 1/10 grain and sometimes not even that good. No, I wouldn't spent $200 for one for that purpose but it was a Christmas present so why not use it? I set the charges 1/10 under what I want. By the time I dump the powder into the pan and put it on the FX scale, trickle, fill a case and seat the bullet, another powder load is waiting.

Accuracy is more important than time to me. For plinking ammo I just use the Lee thrower directly into the cases and yes it's a lot faster. I have had 3 different name brand beam scales but have never used a tuned one. The last one I thought was accurate and I thought I carefully loaded to one kernel of Varget (.02 grain) adding or removing to get the scale needle dead on. I "though" I had them real close until I pulled apart 100 loaded rounds to change the powder load and weighed them with something better. I was shocked to see how far some were off. Not to mention a few cases of cold welding which is an unrelated issue. No wonder I had fliers. With the FX scale, what I weight today will weigh exactly the same a week from next Tuesday at 3:30 am or whatever. It doesn't matter. I confirm the scale accuracy every few loads with a test weight and it never varies, always 100% on as long as I do things right. To each his own. It was hard to justify $600 for a scale and another $100 for a line conditioner to make it work right. At this point, I'm glad I did.

 

[KenOath]

Get the AnD 120i with Adams Auto Trickler you wont look back and your search will be over, fast and accurate to 1 kernel..its all you'll ever need for powder dispense and charge. The only regret I have is not buying the set up sooner.

Cheers Rushty