Reloading ?

[BarW]

Did a digital powder scale like RCBS charge master lite increase the accuracy of your loads and by extension your on target accuracy?
I use the old style scale and I'm accurate but I rarely get better than 30 to 40 fps deviation. Looking for ways to squeeze more out of my hand loads.

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[scott.str]

if your SD is 30/40 thats terrible. Ive never really used a old school beam scale but you need to try some different powders, primers or adjust your reloading methods. should be in the 20fps SD max single digits preferred.

Now the autoscale will also may you way faster while being consistent within .1gr as well.

[El Paisano]

I use a powder measure just short of the required load and then trickle on a beam scale, for every one, if you want them consistent.

[BarW]

I use a powder measure just short of the required load and then trickle on a beam scale, for every one, if you want them consistent.

This is the method is use now.

Some of my deviation may be that my chrono is a budget model from cabelas.

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[Txarrowhunter]

I’d try to shoot to a sd to a 15or less. I’ve been able to achieve that with a manual scale just fine. The charge master makes things quicker tho and it’s still very accurate with a few modifications.

[Drycreek3189]

My RCBS Chargemaster is dead on after the addition of the brass tube the guy on THF sells. It used to be off a couple tenths of a grain either way, which is ok for pistol plinking, but I want my rifle loads right. I don’t shoot a hunting rifle much so I check every load on a beam scale as well.

[6.5 shooter]

My RCBS Chargemaster is dead on after the addition of the brass tube the guy on THF sells. It used to be off a couple tenths of a grain either way, which is ok for pistol plinking, but I want my rifle loads right. I don’t shoot a hunting rifle much so I check every load on a beam scale as well.

I glued a whataburger straw in my charge master. It made it very accurate, but I still beam check after it dispenses it.

[hpdrifter]

yep, I trust a beam scale a lot more than an electronic.

My old job was calibrating(well actually verify checking and adjusting) electronic scales; of a larger variety.
Over half the time they needed to be adjusted.

They will however, speed up the process.

[kmitchl]

Do a 10 shot ladder test and find the velocity node. This is the point where velocity is less sensitive to powder charge weight. The do the bullet seating depth protocol. I think you will see better results.

[Kong]

If your getting 30-40 plus fps variation that’s not very good,

It sounds like your problem is more so with you not having the right load combo though so a scale probably isn’t going to resolve your issue. If your convinced your problem is with the charge weight then I’d buy a high end digital scale and never look back.

[howabouttheiris]

Two quick points.

1) 40fps variation is acceptable in most applications. With my rifle setup, it would only amount on the target to a +/- 1" variation at 500 yards. It takes considerable effort to get these numbers low and you need to decide how much time / money it is worth to you.

2) I agree that single digit SDs are the goal of most hand loaders. BUT only knowing that your data has a variation of up to 40 fps does not allow anyone to calculate your SD. You cannot substitute variation (ES) for SD. For example: a 10 shot group with 40 fps variation, your SD can be anywhere from 8.9 to 20. Depending how your distributions look, you may not be as far off as you think.

On the original question.

I say no. The primary benefit of a Chargemaster is to allow you to save time and do something else in your process while the powder is dispensing. A decent $50 scale will give you 0.01gn accuracy (one extra zero). I use a simple hand pull dispenser and then adjust on the scale. I believe that if you actually measure (vs just blindly using an inline dispenser) it is very rare for your variation in powder charge to be the largest contributor to your SD issue. As others mentioned, burn rate, charge choice, case volume, neck tension, shoulder bump, primer type, etc all contribute.

[muzzlebrake]

I did the Chargemaster hack and whataburger straw. Mine is dead nuts on every throw as long as there is no air movement in the room.
As for SD, get the neck tension and shoulder bump set correctly and you will see it tighten up. https://youtu.be/p-DRJCL0D3A

[kck]

Are you sure that your charges are the main reason for the large spreads? What does your brass prep look like with respect to neck tension? A straw in the end of a calibrated RCBS chargemaster should yield good results as well as trickling into a beam scale that's been verified.

[BarW]

Do a 10 shot ladder test and find the velocity node. This is the point where velocity is less sensitive to powder charge weight. The do the bullet seating depth protocol. I think you will see better results.

This helps clarify the purpose of the ladder test, thanks.

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[BarW]

Are you sure that your charges are the main reason for the large spreads? What does your brass prep look like with respect to neck tension? A straw in the end of a calibrated RCBS chargemaster should yield good results as well as trickling into a beam scale that's been verified.

I generally put what I consider to be a light crimp on the brass trying for uniform neck tension.


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