I am wondering if anyone owns a RCBS charge master. And how does it work. Is it consistant, fast enough, reliable. I had a lyman auto measure center and it wasn't great and it just crapped out so I am looking for something different.
RCBS charge master
- Thread starter Bigbear
- Start date
lineofsight
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Lower Mainland, BC
Its a thing of beauty. Increments in charge weight irrelevant - takes same time to load 20 x 43gr as 5x 42.8, 5x 42.9, 5x 43.0... you get the picture. Sometimes throws over but then toss it back into the hopper. Can integrate in workflow so take tray off scale, dump in case, put tray back on ChargeMaster, it throws while you seat, repeat.
Are posts on how to reprogram it (speed up initial dispensing, set at what point it slows etc.), and mod on how to make it throw more consistently. Have not found a need to do either though.
Only thing that worries me i I have heard of a couple replacements under warranty (RCBS is great for warranty coverage but warranty period only 1 year and is an expensive piece of kit).
Are posts on how to reprogram it (speed up initial dispensing, set at what point it slows etc.), and mod on how to make it throw more consistently. Have not found a need to do either though.
Only thing that worries me i I have heard of a couple replacements under warranty (RCBS is great for warranty coverage but warranty period only 1 year and is an expensive piece of kit).
I have had one for about 3 years now, and it is the Bees Knees! I made a small modification to the spout, and it now consistently throws charges dead on. I would never go back to manual weighing again. Lots of options and easy to program, easy to dump excess powder. Just a great rig! Eagleye.
I had a Pact scale and dispenser but it didn't work when I bought it so I sent it in for repair and then it quit working within 600 dispenses of the repair so I purchased the RCBS and it is great. You won't regret getting this unit. I have found that once you calibrate the scale you don't have to do it again unlike the Pact where I had to calibrate it several times to start with and then a few times while using it.
I have owned both the RCBS and the Lyman. The lyman is faster although poorer quality too many over charges for my liking. I find the RCBS well made, plenty fast, consistent and accurate. The RCBS is the way to go. I'd like to try a PACT.
Rcbs
I've used mine for loads as low as 8.5 and as high as 72 with different powders from 748 to IMR4350. It works great and is fast enough to allow you to seat your bullets while it pours another one. I get the odd over charge by 0.1 gr and in the entire time I've had it I only had maybe 5 times where for some reason it left an under charge by 0.1gr.
My only grip is the warranty, I just sent mine back for service since the key pad was not working properly. After I called RCBS, it will cost me $45 for the service and return shipping. Not too bad for a $500 peice of electronics.
I've used mine for loads as low as 8.5 and as high as 72 with different powders from 748 to IMR4350. It works great and is fast enough to allow you to seat your bullets while it pours another one. I get the odd over charge by 0.1 gr and in the entire time I've had it I only had maybe 5 times where for some reason it left an under charge by 0.1gr.
My only grip is the warranty, I just sent mine back for service since the key pad was not working properly. After I called RCBS, it will cost me $45 for the service and return shipping. Not too bad for a $500 peice of electronics.
I like mine too, I've only had it for a couple months. The wife got it for me for Christmas!
Eagleye, what sort of mod did you do?
I cut off a 7x57 case and I use about ¾" of the neck, shoulder and body of the case. It just slips into the dispenser tube and thus there are none of those "overweight" drops that occasionally happen just as the unit is adding the last grain of powder. Since I added this small piece, I have had as many as 125 consecutive drops that were dead on selected weight. Regards, Eagleye.
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
Your modification definately sounds like something worthwhile trying. If I had a complaint or criticism of the ChargeMaster Combo, the odd but slight overcharge would be it.
I got mine a couple of years ago as part of an equipment upgrade and it's great. With my 'confidence' in modern technology, I did keep my old Lyman beam scale,
just to confirm accuracy every once in a while. Also, with my capacity to absorbe some of todays technical details, I keep the manual readily available to remind me on 'how to'.I did keep my old Lyman powder measure as well for charging large mutliple quantities of handgun cartridges.
It's easy to fix the occasional overweight charge issue. Just take some heavier weight paper, like the flap off an ammo carton, roll it into a tube about an inch and a half long, and push it into the end of the dispenser tube, leaving about a quarter inch sticking out. It will take a little longer to drop the charge, but you will find that overcharges will be very rare after that. I can do literally hundreds of charges for my .308 (40-50gr) without a single overcharge.
