Best brand of digital scales ?

[Apollo]

For the few last comments.

A Harrel Powder Thrower is very well known and used for competition but it depends on the model as to how accurate they are. Nice gear.

F-Class and/or Full Bore is a whole different ball game to Benchrest. Most common in F-Class/Full Bore is the .308 so even in the accuracy node you have a huge window open around the initial powder charge for accuracy. Plus that the top scoring ring size is a lot bigger than that for Benchrest where also the degree of accuracy required is much tighter.

I'm not going to get into a debate about F-Class/Full Bore as I have never shot that type simply because I can't lay down prone due to physical injuries. What I do know is that a few of those shooters that come and shoot Benchrest actually don't do all that well as they have never had to come up with the degree of accuracy required. However, after awhile they adapt, even change calibres to get in with the rest.

My own Gunsmith has never shot Benchrest, only shoots at a NRA Range. He admits that it's a different ball game and accuracy requirement.

If you have a calibre that isn't fussy about powder charge weight then go for it but if not then you need to be fussy about how much powder goes in that case.

It's all shooting and shooters love shooting.

[Bills Shed]

I am no comp shooter but have tried weighing each load and using a powder thrower. Reality results show no difference. On that note I do have a lab grade digital balance for my projectile swaging and use it for checking my powder thrower reloading as well.
This type of scale is expensive. It will weigh .02gn very consistently, it is fast but you must treat it like a lab balance. Give them at least 1/2 hour to warm up, I leave mine on. As to fluros affecting balances, maybe a cheaper one but I have not seen it with the Sattorius. There are a lot of electronics in there to compensate for a lot of factors. Every lab I have worked in has had fluors. Maybe the distance from the Fluro is a big factor. In my opinion .1gn is fine for run of the mill reloading. If you want better, more power to you but these days the biggest factor in accurate shooting is usually the human.
I use a scale for projectile swaging with .02 resolution as there are two or more components used to make up a projectile and keeping the errors in weight to a minimum helps to keep the weight differential to a mininium.
Good luck in your search.

Bill

Bill

[bigfellascott]

I am no comp shooter but have tried weighing each load and using a powder thrower. Reality results show no difference. On that note I do have a lab grade digital balance for my projectile swaging and use it for checking my powder thrower reloading as well.
This type of scale is expensive. It will weigh .02gn very consistently, it is fast but you must treat it like a lab balance. Give them at least 1/2 hour to warm up, I leave mine on. As to fluros affecting balances, maybe a cheaper one but I have not seen it with the Sattorius. There are a lot of electronics in there to compensate for a lot of factors. Every lab I have worked in has had fluors. Maybe the distance from the Fluro is a big factor. In my opinion .1gn is fine for run of the mill reloading. If you want better, more power to you but these days the biggest factor in accurate shooting is usually the human.
I use a scale for projectile swaging with .02 resolution as there are two or more components used to make up a projectile and keeping the errors in weight to a minimum helps to keep the weight differential to a mininium.
Good luck in your search.

Bill

Bill

Spot on Bill re fluros, I used have fluros in my reloading room, can't say I noticed any weird and wonderful differences in my results on the scales.

I think it's one of those weird and wonderful airy fairy interwebs things or some such and you are right about the shooter being a very important part of the accuracy equation too, not much good being a "Barry with all the gear and no idea"

[Gamerancher]

It all depends on how OCD you are. Yes, some folks think that weighing down to the granule of powder makes all the difference. If that's what it takes for them , let them do it. I've sat in the reloading room at benchrest nationals, talking to a mate who was competing, bloke next door on the bench was just throwing his powder straight from thrower ( yes it was a Harrells ) into his cases and seating his projectiles. He went on to win that year. Yes he used a scale to set up his thrower but there 'aint no way that thrower was throwing to the granule, I've used them, they are not that accurate.
I really dont believe one granule of 2208 = 15f/s.
I know fella's who have won U.S Nationals and World Titles and they do both, one weighs each charge, the other uses the "just set and forget the powder thrower" and goes with that. Like I said, whatever works for you in your head.
So, your choice of digital scale comes down to how OCD you are, what type of shooting you are doing, what you believe makes the difference and how deep your pockets are.

[Bills Shed]

It all depends on how OCD you are...

Best answer I've heard yet.

Bill.

[sungazer]

Apollo the crap you spew about f-class is just stupidity especially like you say you have never tried it. It has nothing to do with the topic on hand. The Topic is which is the BEST brand of scales the not the best value for money scales and certainly has nothing to do with the class of shooting.

So you say a $1000 scale may be better than one that is $250 you also say that a kernel is about 0.02grn perhaps even 0.015 grn that is 0.001 gram so maybe a scale that accurately weighs that amount could be helpful in a precision sport at long distance where velocity actually makes a difference to the POI.

I made no such statement that 1 Kernel of 2208 = 15ft/s either. Since it has been brought up though I will say that at 1000 yrds 6ft/s will make a difference it is easily verified using a ballistic calculator and if that difference is position it important to you. You need to know what that difference is in powder weight and other factors in reloading that may cause that difference.

[bladeracer]

GemPro250.
Never run it on batteries, mains power only.

[tom604]

Lyman 6,,mine is out by .1 but is consistently out by .1 , so i add .1 to my charge,,should try the nozzle extension thing that may fix it but im too lazy

[Sarco]

Lyman 6,,mine is out by .1 but is consistently out by .1 , so i add .1 to my charge,,should try the nozzle extension thing that may fix it but im too lazy

My Lyman 5 is exactly the same, so I also add .1gn to the charge I want. I tried the nozzle extension and it made SFA difference either way so I didn't bother to remove it again.

Sarco

[in2anity]

Lyman 6,,mine is out by .1 but is consistently out by .1 , so i add .1 to my charge,,should try the nozzle extension thing that may fix it but im too lazy

My Lyman 5 is exactly the same, so I also add .1gn to the charge I want. I tried the nozzle extension and it made SFA difference either way so I didn't bother to remove it again.

Sarco

I found that it really depends on the powder. Most powders I agree the extension doesn’t seem to make much difference (other than to slow you down). But I found that for powders that seem to flow super easy (like 06H), the throws are generally over rather than under. In this case, the nozzle restricts it just that little to prevent the “over pour”, and you seem to mostly get the consistent 0.1 under again.

[Rod_outbak]

If we are talking 'Best' brand, as opposed to 'Best value for the dollars', then I'd vote for a Prometheus scale.

http://prometheustoolcorp.com/

However, I'm not sure if they actually rate as a digital scale as such...
Automated:- Yes, but digital; Not really.. Kinda a beam scale with some attached electronics etc..
It looks like they resolve to about 0.01 Grains. (Blurb says it responds to a single grain of 8208, which is supposed to weigh 0.009 Grains)
Mate has one, and it certainly delivers the same charge every time consistently...

For me, I have a RCBS Chargemaster, as well as a Chargemaster Lite, for powder dispensing.
For my shooting, they seem to be good enough for my needs.
I do confess a yearning for one of the A&D scales like the FX120i....sigh.

[Sergeant Hartman]

Mate look around you will find lab scales go reasonably. I got a a&d hr200 the other week. And it resolves to 0.0001grams is a bit slower than the fx. But accurate and repeatable.

All that means is I have a brand new gempro 250... which I won't ever use... so not sure what to do about it

Edited its actually higher resolution

[No1_49er]

Mate look around you will find lab scales go reasonably. I got a a&d hr200 the other week. And it resolves to 0.001grams is a bit slower than the fx. But accurate and repeatable.

All that means is I have a brand new gempro 250... which I won't ever use... so not sure what to do about it

.001 grams = .015 grains.
Doesn't the gempro do as well? Last time I checked, their spec' said +/- .001 gram
Seems like you've got two that achieve the same thing.

[sungazer]

The gempro has the same resolution but there are lot more to the specs than just resolution, Linearity is one of the most important, also sensitivity. I know with the gempro and other Chinese scales that also have the 0.001g Resolution they have a hysteresis like a mechanical backlash. they may take 3-4 or more kernels before they register and then they may jump up or they may just move a little. You really have to read and understand a lot of the specifications to be able to compare units. Of course manufactures often make this a hard task when they are trying to hide things.

Very much like the old analog meters there specifications only applied between 30% and 100% of the scale. Remember the old Barometer that you had to tap the glass and then the needle would move, this was due to stiction a similar effect can occur with all measuring devices. It can be hidden in the specifications in lots of different ways.

[Sergeant Hartman]

Apologies it is 0.1mg or 0.0001. So higher than gempro

The gempro I found if you lift the pan and place it back will register the kernel. After a while you work out how many kernel to chuck in to get the last bit. Time consuming but in a way boring fun.

This hr200 unit will rust every kernel, at times will take a a tiny bit of time to stabilize (its rated to 3 seconds while the fx120 is 1 second) I find it unnoticed really

[Blr243]

I ended up buying another product from Hornady but a different model. Somebody here mentioned a powder thower/ digital scale combo. I did not even know they existed so with a bit of research that’s what I bought. It’s easy to use sensitive consistent and accurate. It does not accidentally overcharge like I was doing often while trickling. Thanks for your replies ..this new tool is goin to make load development much easier

[Stix]

I ended up buying another product from Hornady but a different model. Somebody here mentioned a powder thower/ digital scale combo. I did not even know they existed so with a bit of research that’s what I bought. It’s easy to use sensitive consistent and accurate. It does not accidentally overcharge like I was doing often while trickling. Thanks for your replies ..this new tool is goin to make load development much easier

What product did you buy Blr...?

Got a pic or a link...?

[JimTom]

I had a set of those cheaper Hornady digital scales and found them a little bit hit and miss. Hoping you didn’t end up with a set of those.No such problems with the RCBS chargemaster lite I use now.

[Blr243]

Firstly I got a 39 dollar set of Hornady digital scales. Then the Hornady lock and load electronic powder dispenser for maybe 330. Regardless of the dispensing process there is a very noticeable difference in the digital readings. The first set was up and down like a yo-yo. And the latter set just instantly told me the weight of powder in the dish without any dicking around