Got a new Digi Scale

[cereal83]

Well I was in the market for a new digital scale and I looked around to try and find a used one but ending up buying a brand new RCBS Blah 750 (forgot name)

It seems like a cool scale but it is always off. If I put the 20 grain scale on, it says it's 20.1. I know it has error or something of 0.1 but is it always off?

2nd it weight up stuff so fast and accurately compared to my previous scale. I was measuring some powders on my old and new and the old one was usually off my like 3-4 grains.

I also measured some bullets I made but haven't had time to shoot yet and discovered that most of them are in between 3-4 grains from each other. Like one was 430.1 grains and another would be like 433.9. Is this normal? Could it because of different brass and primers maybe weight differently?

Well so far I am happy with it but it seems kind of cheap for a $150 product. It's mostly plastic and I am wondering today if it was actually worth the money. I am going to keep it just because it's so much better then my old one but I will still always wonder.

Just thought I would let u all know what I think.

 

[ElmerFudd]

It seems like a cool scale but it is always off. If I put the 20 grain scale on, it says it's 20.1. I know it has error or something of 0.1 but is it always off?

Have you read the manual? You should be able to calibrate it with one of the weights it came with so it is correct. I usually at least check mine once every time I use it just to be sure.

2nd it weight up stuff so fast and accurately compared to my previous scale. I was measuring some powders on my old and new and the old one was usually off my like 3-4 grains.

3-4 gr. at what weight? Measuring 5 gr. of powder or a 500 gr. bullet? Have you tried your check weight on your old scale?

I also measured some bullets I made but haven't had time to shoot yet and discovered that most of them are in between 3-4 grains from each other. Like one was 430.1 grains and another would be like 433.9. Is this normal? Could it because of different brass and primers maybe weight differently?

By "bullets" do you mean fully assembled ammo? If for example you are checking a 45 ACP round, your 230 gr. bullets (projectiles) could be off by a grain or more from each other. Run some over the scale and see what kind of range you get. Your powder could be off by a bit but shouldn't be much, maybe 0.1 gr. Primers aren't much and should be really close to each other. Cases could easily be a few grains off especially from one brand to the next.

If you check your component weight ranges you will be able to see what kind of range you should be in for the total round. If it is off by more than what you expect pull the bullet and check the powder weight or subtract your components from your total to see how much powder was there. If it is out by a lot maybe your powder measure isn't dropping uniform loads and need to be looked at.

Hope this helped.


Fudd

 

[cereal83]

Hey,

1. Yes I read the manual and I calibrated it according to the directions in the manual and I even tried it 3 times just to make sure.

2. I haven't tried to use the weights on the old scale but I will try that next time I take both of the scales out.

3. By bullets, I mean full loaded shell. They were each off by a few grains, I do have mixed casings in there so that could be a reason why it is off.

How do you get a bullets out of the casing? I would like to re-measure all of these bullets as I don't feel safe shooting them anymore.

I am not worried about the accuracy of the RCBS but I am worried about me actually using my old Lee scales properly as I was shown by a member of the board and understood him but just not confident in myself to use an non-digital scale. I just think I didn't properly use the scale when I made this bullets and I think I should double check them.

Thanks

 

[kfn]

An inertia hammer type of bullet puller is good for removing the bullets from your questionable loads. Keep your eye on eBay for a good buy.

 

[M12shooter]

Bought an RCBS micro pro digital couple years ago. Calibration is important after the prescribed warm up. Have been having trouble with mine as of late. Keeps giving a flashing "tare" message. Phoned up RCBS in California and they recommended I send it back to them ASAP.

Have to say that other than that its been OK but also very sensitive to slight dips in power should an appliance start or what. Have checked powder charges with my old beam scale and always no more 1 or 2 tenths of a grain difference.

Ted

 

[(((Echo)))]

I also have the RCBS 750 and I quite like it.
I too noticed the .1 variation and thought it was crap. It needs a warm up period to settle things. Now, I fire it up first thing and then start getting things out for the reload session. When I'm ready to go, a quick calibration and all's good.
Your cartridge issue could be from what's known (in my industry) as tolerance stack-up. I've weighed bullets and cases just to see the amount of variation. LOTS!! You simply could have the heavy bullets with the heavy cases and vice versa.
The inertia hammer is good for pulling bullets for small lots. It really sucks if you have a heavily crimped bullet or lots to do. Collet pullers are another method.

(E)

 

[cereal83]

That "warming" the scale up might actually be a good tip. I was playing with it again and it does seem to be right on. I measured some of my bullets and most of them are 180 grain but some of them are 179.9 or 180.1 and stuff like that.

Well I think I have to find a "hammer" on ebay or wherever and then I will pull the bullets apart and see how good the powder actually was.

Thanks for your words of wisdom people

 

[daBear]

As for variations on component weights, its not uncommon at all. Even with the same headstamp, some casings can vary a few grains from each other. You will find that not all manufacturers brass weighs the same and in some cases varies considerably . Personally, I keep a chart which shows the weight of the empty casing on average by each manufacturer for every caliber I shoot. It helps to determine if you have a round without a charge in it after loading if you arent sure about the reliability of your powder measure. A bit of overkill but nice info to have just for the hell of it.. Sounds silly, but once you have a squib in your batch , it sure helps the verification process go pretty fast...
Cheers
dB

 

[canuckgunny]

An inertia hammer type of bullet puller is good for removing the bullets from your questionable loads. Keep your eye on eBay for a good buy.

Save your money and stay away from these damn things. I'm not even going into how well they DONT work, but... well, I ain't goin into it.

Get an RCBS collet style puller. Works EVERY TIME, NO effort, no whacking a dozen times while praying, no spilt powder, no damage to the bullet, etc etc. WELL worth the extra money. Will pull the meanest of crimped bullets, even if they are sealed military stuff from 30 years ago.

If your scale is CONSISTANTLY .1 off, you know its a calibration thing.

+1 on the warmup thing.

Make sure your scale is not on your reloading bench either... vibrations. No fans or airducts in area either, will throw off readings.

 

[fogducker]

Save your money and stay away from these damn things. I'm not even going into how well they DONT work, but... well, I ain't goin into it.

Get an RCBS collet style puller. Works EVERY TIME, NO effort, no whacking a dozen times while praying, no spilt powder, no damage to the bullet, etc etc. WELL worth the extra money. Will pull the meanest of crimped bullets, even if they are sealed military stuff from 30 years ago.

If your scale is CONSISTANTLY .1 off, you know its a calibration thing.

+1 on the warmup thing.

Make sure your scale is not on your reloading bench either... vibrations. No fans or airducts in area either, will throw off readings.

this is the way to go to pull bullets..if i got the one you need..i,ll lend out to ya just to try..

 

[Kodiak99317]

I personally like the "hammer" type pullers. The collet style puller marks the bullet were they grad it, every time I used mine anyways. Even on light neck tension BR cases, so I sold it here for $30 bucks! RCBS Collet bullet puller with 6mm, 7mm, 30 Cal and 35 Cal collets... and I was happy.

The hammer type can bend plastic and lead tips, but it is faster for the few you may have to pull.

Re: scales, florescent lights cause problems too I have heard but not seen myself, the cycle of the lights or something wackes out the calibration. The unit should be on a very solid platform too. My strain-gauge bathroom scale if moved around on the lino covered cement floor shows different readings even.

Hard to beat a regular old grain scale for accuracy, gravity vs electronics, gravity wins. I use an electronic scale for volume sorting new cases by weight for LR comp and a regular one while loading the cases.

 

[blindside]

I also have the RCBS 750 and I quite like it.
I too noticed the .1 variation and thought it was crap. It needs a warm up period to settle things.
QUOTE]


How much of a warm up time? I thought it was only the lyman dps that was plagued by that

 

[cereal83]

I made a few bullets last week and I let it warm up for a good 10 minutes but it still had the .1 thingy going on, I re calibrated it a few times and no change.

I dunno I guess .1 off isn't all that bad

 

[blindside]

I made a few bullets last week and I let it warm up for a good 10 minutes but it still had the .1 thingy going on, I re calibrated it a few times and no change.

I dunno I guess .1 off isn't all that bad

So then if it can flop one way or the other by .1 on calibration and .1 on weighing the accuracy is really .2....The whole reason I thought of getting rid of the DPS and going with this simple gizmo is to get away from any and all warm up

 

[(((Echo)))]

I also have the RCBS 750 and I quite like it.
I too noticed the .1 variation and thought it was crap. It needs a warm up period to settle things.

How much of a warm up time? I thought it was only the lyman dps that was plagued by that

I fire it up first thing, then start pulling things out and getting ready. Maybe a couple of minutes. I then run the calibration on it, and its bang on for the rest of the session.

(E)

 

[2bad4u2]

Regarding the inertia style bullet pullers. Yes, it's a pain in the ass to whack away at the concrete floor. If you want to prevent bullet deformity at the tip, try taking a cleaning patch and stuffing it at the bottom of the puller. It provides enough cussion effect to prevent the damage you speak of.