Scale recomendations?

[TrxR]

What would you recommend for a good standalone scale . I was thinking about going with a beam scale that is tuned to 1 kernel sensitivity. But am wondering about going with a electronic scale. What scale would you suggest and where did you get it?


Thanks

 

[FTRRookie]

A good beam scale is a must have, and can be used to double check the electronic. For electronic I'm really happy with my GemPro 250 which can measure down to the kernel of Varget.

 

[TrxR]

Is the main reason to go to a electronic scale to save time? From some of the things I have been reading is a good beam scale can be just as accurate.

Am I correct?

 

[brobones]

RCBS 505 works great. I use the Lyman dpm, and like it. The 505 is used to check the power scale once in a while.

 

[TrxR]

What does it mean when it says 10-0-10 or 5-0-5 or 10-0-5?

Also is a OHAUS 10 . 0 . 5 RELOADING SCALE a good scale?

Thanks

 

[alberta tactical rifle]

Is the main reason to go to a electronic scale to save time? From some of the things I have been reading is a good beam scale can be just as accurate.

Am I correct?

Unfortunately no.
SOME electronic scales are far more precise than a beam scale when weighing very small weights. A beam is only as good as your eye can align the markings and is only as accurate as the check weights.
Most scales sold as reloading scales are fairly inexpensive and not necessarily accurate for the actual weight, but you can keep pretty close charges with many of them.
The RCBS 1010 scale is considered to be pretty good by many, yet when weighing a powder change of exactly 100 grains from 1 on an Acculab scale it actually weighed 102.54 grains. Most guys reloading are really only looking to keep their powder charges as close as they can for each round, and most reloading scales are fairly good at that task. It all boils down to how anal you want to get in reloading.

Some of us who want that absolute finest of measuring employ scales that weigh to the 1 hundredth of a grain.
The Acculab scales we carry will do this. They are laboratory scales that just happen to weigh in grains rather than milligrams.
In my mind the higher cost of lab quality scales are worth the price.

 

[guntech]

For reloading a quality beam scale is all you ever need. I would trust the reading of a scale marked 5-0-5 or 10-10 measuring in grains. (Ohaus made them for RCBS) before I would trust the majority of electronic scales. The 10-10 comes with a test weight. I don't remember if the 5-0-5 does.

Grains are the measurement for reloading. 7000 grains to 1 pound. Kernels are a description, not a measurement. The scales measure to one tenth of a grain.

 

[maynard]

But Accu-Lab scales measure .02 gr and yes one kernel of Varget will show on an Accu-lab VIC 123. Again it all comes down to how anal you want to be and how accurate you need your ammo to be.

 

[TrxR]

I see reviews about a guy that tunes the ohaus beam scales and they are getting 1 kernel accuracy. theres a couple of youtube vids on his tuned scales. The electricals scare me as i keep reading about drift and them being so sensitive to environmental changes.

 

[armorman]

I have an Acculab VIC123. It's too sensitive for reloading in my opinion. Just gently passing your hand over top of it is enough for it to go bonkers. Once it settles down and locks in a reading it has been extremely accurate and precise ever since I've bought it. I use it just to double check my other scales from time to time because it's so sensitive to any air movement that it takes a lot longer for it to stabilize a reading....slowing down your reloading big time.

 

[TrxR]

I just cant see myself spending 500 + on a scale Its not like I will be doing national competitions but mainly local club stuff.

 

[foxbat]

I have an Acculab VIC1223 which is gathering dust on my reloading bench...if I were loading five rounds at a time, I might feel differently.
It just takes way too long to settle down and give me a final reading.
On the advise of some of the board members, I picked up one of the Gempro 250's, and have been very pleased with the unit.
It settles down quickly after calibrating, and doesn't seem to drift appreciably during a loading session.
It seems to be accurate to within 0.01 grams, and my range session today was my first post purchase, and I've found a 'hummer' of a load for all three rifles I was testing today....life is good!
For the money, I would recommend the Gempro....

 

[SND]

Regarding digital scales, in order to try to notice drift faster when it starts. I made the pan weigh 100.0grains. When I weigh 42grains it reads 142.0, so when I put the pan back on, if I don't see 100.0, its starting to drift, and when its lifted off I can see if it goes back to the calibration zero as well. Might not give an exact weight, but main idea is to try to at least have it stay consistent load to load. With that said I'm just starting reloading and don't yet have chronograph data to see how much of a difference this makes, as its a .1gr scale. If I get serious enough about it eventually, I'll probably go for a higher end lab scale, definite keeping an eye open for good deals on used ones until then.

 

[rnbra-shooter]

I just cant see myself spending 500 + on a scale Its not like I will be doing national competitions but mainly local club stuff.

Spend $500+ on a gorgeous scale if you like it, want it, and can afford it.

But, don't think you _need_ to spend big dollars on a scale.

You should have a good competent scale. Any of the traditional beam balances are fine, and perfectly up to the task.

I shoot national competitions, and I do not weigh each charge in my ammo that I use at 300, 500 and 600 yards (I have satisfied myself that ammo made with thrown powder charges is way-more-than-accurate-enough). In fact, under certain circumstances I will use ammo made with thrown charges at the longest (and most difficult) distances we compete at (800m/900m or 900y/1000y).

If you want to weigh a number of charges to the same weight, a beam balance does a very good and efficient job of this. You set the scale to the desired charge weight, you have your powder measure set up to throw about half a grain light, and then you trickle-up (by fingers, or with a powder trickler) the charge in the pan until the beam comes into balance.

*Many* electronic scales out there cannot be trusted to operate accurately when trickling powder (their software can see the slow change in measured weight, and wrongly interpret it as thermal or sensor drift, and automagically null out these changes, thinking it is helping you...). I treat digital scales as guilty until proven innocent of this fault.

On the other hand, electronic scales are *way* faster and more efficient when it comes to weighing a large number of objects that have a different weight, for example weighing out 500 pieces of brass for sorting. This is practical with an electronic scale, and nearly impossibly difficult with a beam balance.

 

[Solar]

I have an Acculab VIC123. It's too sensitive for reloading in my opinion. Just gently passing your hand over top of it is enough for it to go bonkers. Once it settles down and locks in a reading it has been extremely accurate and precise ever since I've bought it. I use it just to double check my other scales from time to time because it's so sensitive to any air movement that it takes a lot longer for it to stabilize a reading....slowing down your reloading big time.

I have the same scale. I will power it up 4 hours in the ambient temperature (-6 C in the garage during winter or +20 C in summer) to stabilize or warm up the electronics. Also, the scale seems to be sensitive to flourescent light so I leave the light on during the warm-up. Yes, air movement will affect the scale accuracy as it can measure 0.02 grain. However, I am used to lab work so this is no big issue for me.