Electronic Powder Dispensers/Scales

badmutha6 · 03-19-2014, 03:17 PM

Hey guys,

Anyone run any of the above? TRying to decide between the lot. There's several reviews for them between the Hornady, RCBS Chargemasters, Lee, the Lyman touchscreen, and PACT on Midway and all seem to say the same thing. Difference in price from the RCBS at the top $350 to $235 for the Lyman. I generally only load rifle (blessed to get 223/handgun ammo or used to anyway from work) in 22-250, 308, 30-06 and I like to weigh every charge for consistency. As such I mostly use stick powders with those rounds such as 4350 etc. but want to leave my options open for that 300 BLK uppen with my suppressor. Any advice? What to stay away from? THanks for your time.

Respectfully,
Matt

**rjtfroggy** · 03-19-2014, 04:11 PM

I have used the ChargeMaster since about the time they came out, and now I am spoiled, wouldn't load with out one. I always reweigh my loads on a balance scale(5-0-5) only because I get anal, and am always with in a .1 of a grain.
On a side note the original ones were made by Pact.

**jhelmuth** · 03-19-2014, 04:16 PM

I have an RCBS ChargeMaster 1500, and a A&D FX-120i. I use both - the CM "throws" a prescribed charge (usually pretty close to the target weight), and I transfer it over to the A&D (Scientific Scale) to fine tune it so I am EXACT (to within 0.015 Gn). The CM I got on sale (as I did the FX-120i) and I recall it was ~ $290 shipped. The FX-120i was also a fantastic discount and I picked it up for ~$700 shipped (ret. $1000) .

The CM is typically close. If you don't need more than +- 0.1 Gn accuracy, then you don't need anything more than that (Note: that means that the MAX delta between any 2 rounds will not be greater than 0.2 Gn). That is not enough consistency for me, so I opted to go with the A&D due to [1] uses Magnetic Force Resonance ($$$$), and [2] it's FAST! (1 sec.). So I get rounds which vary no more than 0.03 Gn - which really has a significant impact on lowering my SD and ES data ....which translates into better ammo.

Now if I could just shoot as well as I load

BTW.... did I mention that I have OCD.

**CharlieNC** · 03-19-2014, 06:02 PM

I have a Lyman digital scale, not the auto version, and it will not hold zero better than 0.5 grains so I only use it immediately after calibrating to confirm my starting point when setting up a load. I have not taken the plunge to an autoloader; I am still happy with my new $29 Lee Perfect Powder Dispenser plus balance beam for trickling every load. The cheap Lee PPD handles the stick powders smoother with more consistent results than my other more expensive dispensers.

**xsskeet** · 03-19-2014, 06:58 PM

Been using the RCBS Chargemaster for 5 years or so. I check it every once in a while with scale weights and has always been dead on. The only way to go...

One thing that I found that helped the .1 or .2 over throw was using the soda straw mod in the dispenser pipe. Kernels flow smoother the last little part and greatly reduced the dribble. There are other programing mods out there, but never messed with them.

Bill

BW64 · 03-19-2014, 08:29 PM

Been using the Hornady for about 2 years & no problems. Only thing it doesn't do is store charges like the RCBS. I still check often with a 5-0-5. I'm anal also! :)

BW

**Slowpoke Slim** · 03-19-2014, 08:53 PM

I have the Lyman dps3. Not happy with it at all. Constantly over runs the powder charge. You have to set it for .3-.5 grs under what you want and then bump it up to full. It's not a scale calibration issue because the scale has always checked dead on. The powder feed is too fast, with no "slow down" right before cut off. It just rips full speed and slams to a stop. Well, you constantly get more kernels of powder falling out of the tube after cut off.

I despise it and it hasn't been out of the box in 2 years.

I've used the RCBS chargemaster, and want one, but just haven't done it yet. It doesn't have the same issue.

emtrescue6 · 03-19-2014, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by badmutha6

Hey guys,

Anyone run any of the above? TRying to decide between the lot. There's several reviews for them between the Hornady, RCBS Chargemasters, Lee, the Lyman touchscreen, and PACT on Midway and all seem to say the same thing. Difference in price from the RCBS at the top $350 to $235 for the Lyman. I generally only load rifle (blessed to get 223/handgun ammo or used to anyway from work) in 22-250, 308, 30-06 and I like to weigh every charge for consistency. As such I mostly use stick powders with those rounds such as 4350 etc. but want to leave my options open for that 300 BLK uppen with my suppressor. Any advice? What to stay away from? THanks for your time.

Respectfully,
Matt

I use a RCBS 1500 scale, and I like it...it's always within a 1/10th when I double check it on my beam scale. The Chargemaster 1500 is onsale on Natcheze for $289....spend $300 on RCBS and get a $50 rebate....I am tempted to make the jump as well.

**shoalwater** · 03-19-2014, 11:08 PM

I have had an RCBS CM for a little over a year and will never go back. I love mine and it throws pretty true most of the time. It doesn't throw spherical powders as well as ball, but what dispenser does.

Savage6x284 · 03-20-2014, 03:28 AM

I've tried two of the dispenser units, the CM and the Lyman, and I always go back to throwing from my old Lyman 55 manual powder measure directly into each case.

My ES and SD stays about the same and throw and go is much quicker and more comfortable for me.

I'd save the money and put it towards a nice new McMillan EDGE.

That said, the CM is generally regarded as the finest of the reasonably priced dispensers.

n4ue · 03-20-2014, 05:00 PM

I have the RCBS and although it seemed a bit pricey at the time, I haven't regretted it a bit. I love it!
I also did the straw in the spout and it works super. I try to not get in a rush when reloading and once you get a rhythm going it just plain fun. It amazes me every time I use it.
One last thing, I always remove the power wart from the AC line and also out of the scale. Mine is right under a florescent light and ZERO problems. (I do this because 2 years ago I had a lighting strike on my outside power line and it took out almost everything in the house that was plugged into an outlet......)

ron

**drybean** · 03-20-2014, 06:36 PM

Been using a Pact dispenser & scale for about 15yrs now
no complaints

drybean

**limige** · 03-20-2014, 07:59 PM

Both the CM and hornandy are great scales. Cant go wrong with either. I love my CM as does most anyone who used one. You do have to get a MCDONALD'S straw and put a small 3/4" length in the dispenser tube to help it trickle better. And if your trying to load a lot you can fine tune the settings to get it to throw a charge quicker.