Previously, I tried all sorts of different methods of throwing charges. When I started, I used the Lee dippers. Then progressed to a balance scale. Years later, I bought a Chargemaster. I was great…fast…and I used it for years. My loads were accurate enough, but it bothered me that if I re-weighed some charges, it would never be the same as I dispensed. Plus it would “over throw” every 3rd or 4 load, so I spent time tweezing out kernels.
About 10 years ago, I got into long range and precision shooting. I thought I needed to do better on my reloading consistency. I got my hands on a used, high quality lab scale. So now I use the RCBS Uniflo powder dispenser to throw a lower than required charge and use an Area 419 manual trickier to top up. My loads are now very consistently within .02gr unless the I use large stick powder and then there will be a little more variation due to kernel size. I draw the line at cutting sticks to make exact weight. My time to dispense a charge (after I’m all set up) is less than 14 seconds/load which some might think is too slow. But I can live with it. The best part now…I can re-weigh charges and get the same result. My goal is to have an ES’s < 25 and SD’s < 10ft/sec. Often, (and depending on rifle and powder used) I’m seeing ES’s < 10 and SD’s < 4 for groups of 10 shots.
I know that this level of precision is not required for my hunting and most of my shooting, but sometimes OCD takes its toll!
The bottom line is: use whatever works for you…to whatever level of precision you need.
