Need a powder scale and/or dispenser. Recommendations?

T

TruthTellers

New member
I'll make this OP short and expand on it later as I'm in a rush, but basically I've come to the point where I need a more accurate powder scale and a means of dispensing powder off the press. Right now my setup has been a an LCT with an Auto Drum measure attached to the mouth flare die, that works for the Lee dies I have, but I recently bought a Lyman M Die for reloading .32 and .327 and the auto drum won't work with that.

The only scales I have is a Hornday balance beam (that was a waste of $70) and a Frankford Arsenal DS-750 (that I got for $22 and has been awesome) but I question the accuracy of the scale.

I do have a manual powder trickler, I could do that, but it's painfully slow. I don't want a manual powder throw like this:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/762907/lee-deluxe-perfect-powder-measure

... because I don't have a dedicated bench to mount it to or a table nor a proper table to clamp it on to after mounting it onto a plank of wood.

It's why I'm looking at an electronic scale and powder dispenser like the Hornady LNL or an RCBS Chargemaster.

What do you gentlemen think?
 
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I have an Electronic Hornady scale which works great. Even the battery powered Hornady scale is quite accurate.

I have considered the Chargemaster. It was on clearance at Midway two weeks ago for $100 off. Like a dummy I didn’t order it. I ended up getting a stand and Hornady Lock N Load for my RCBS Turret, which isn’t pictured in this lineup.

I do single stage for my calibers in 454 Casull and up. I do separate Progressive presses for 44, 357, 9 mm and 45 ACP.

What I have heard about the electronic measures is that its best to do a certain amount and still trickle in the rest. Since I’m no benchrest shooter and accuracy just needs to hit 250 yards, I just use my dispenser.


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I've had an electronic scale since 1994, Pact Precision. Also bought the GemPro 250 a while back. Always wondered if I'd like a scale-dispenser but put it off until last year when the RCBS Chargemaster Lite got good reviews and caught one on sale. I've been impressed with the Lite model and have confidence in it now after comparing dispensed charges on my other scales. I recommend the Chargemaster Lite or the larger Chargemaster if you prefer. Don't know why I put off getting a dispenser model for so long?
 
This model of Lee is a great improvement on those previous models which is made out of plastic. It probably would last longer. Do not understand me wrong Lee makes good products, like their factory crimp dies. I love them.

But if you want to buy something which would last you a lifetime, look at the Lyman 55 Powder Measure and the RCBS Uniflow. Even if you could find them second hand, it is always a good buy.
 
I use a lyman 55. I also have a lyman d-7 scale which isnt in production anymore but if u can find one i highly recommend. I have the hornady lnl auto dispenser but dont care for it at all and wish i had spent the money on an rcbs instead.
 
I have what I think are 3 decent one.

Your D-750 should have check weights. Also if you weight your powder pan that can act as a quick cross check.

Lyman makes a scale that has a built in trickler, its pretty good and fast, when I use it I under charge and trickle up to the desired point, faster than it sounds.

I have the Horn LNL. Its good, somewhat slow and the one setting gets cleared out each time you reset a load, that annoying as it pretty well needs a value of .8 to 1 in the anticipation (Mode, hold, number comes up) - once I got used to its setting quirks its decent.

I also have a Lyam Gen 6, its faster but not spot accurate (usually I don't care if its a tenth above or below) - I like it better as less fussing, but also does not have a beep for on, or over like the LNL. Can;t get it all in one?

I use them both at the same time. I start loads from one end of the 50 and the other end or the middle. That way I can powder cases and insert and set bullets at the same time and saves a lot of time.

I don't have the Chargemaster my brother does and likes it but I have not used it.

For mine if I want to get that last half grain up to what I want, so I can dump the pan I have tiny screwdrivers I fish out the grains until its spot on.

Same if I overshoot and have to dump and over dump. Just fish out the needed grains and not start over.

Works well.
 
If all you are shooting is pistol and are using fine ball powder for pistols and rifle less than two or three hundred yards any throw and a $20 Chinese milligram scale from Amazon might be all you need.

If you also shoot 1000 yard BR using stick powder a $2K setup using a Auto Throw and a Sartorius Entris might be required or maybe a $6 K Promethius which uses a precision beam for it's weighing device

What type powder and type of shooting makes a huge difference
 
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I have the Hornady Auto Charge and the Hornady bench scale. I couldn't afford the RCBS Chargemaster at the time and when they started to fail RCBS stopped supporting them.

I don't know how bad the problems were with the originals, so many people seemed to think they were the best on the market despite having to put a drinking straw in the charge hole to get them to meter accurately without over charging constantly. The were quite popular over the Hornady model.

They had the only one until Hornady and Lyman came out with their models.

After RCBS stopped supporting them they disappeared from the market for a while, then they started selling the Chinese models. People started having trouble with what McCarthy said in the post that Dale A referenced above.

I remember when that post hit the forum.

My Hornady Auto charge isn't the fastest but if you load one round, start to finish, at a time the next charge will be there waiting for you. I've tried to outrun it but it's hard to do if you do a quick inspection on your rounds after the bullet is seated. The plastic does discolor but the powder hasn't eaten into it like the RCBS Chinese model does.

I use mine more for hard to meter powders like Unique and Bluedot or for short runs of magnum loads when I want the best accuracy I can get without using a balance scale.

It does over dispense once in a while but it beeps and stops running until you empty the pan and reset it. The better metering powders for normal bulk runs, I just run through my Hornady measure on my LNL-AP and it usually keeps things within .1 gr. My RCBS Uniflow would never be that accurate for me. I've put up with it for 30 years and don't use it anymore.

I've heard good things about the Gen6 Lyman when it came out but haven't heard of them for the last few years. That usually means something.

To be honest, I don't think anyone will support an electronic measure/dispenser for more than the normal warranty period. But I've not heard anyone bashing Hornady's or Lyman's for failing yet and that news usually travels fast.
Don't get me wrong, I love RCBS, but I will never buy their electronic measure/dispenser they sell now or their Uni-flow manual measure again.
 
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DaleA said:
I'm a fan of all things RCBS.

That said, you might be interested in this thread from a few months back that had some criticism as well as praise for the RCBS Chargemaster.

https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596534&highlight=chargemaster

I don't have a personal opinion here, as I have never used a Chargemaster. I use a beam scale and a powder measure and I think you want a better, faster setup than this.
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That's exactly it, I want a faster way to get very accurate charges and it's not about shot-to-shot consistency, it's about safety because I don't want to go over published data with certain loads.

I have no concerns with the Lee auto drum when I'm loading .45 Colt at max standard pressures because I'm shooting them in a Ruger Redhawk. For .327, it's a different story, I want to make sure I'm safe and the guns are safe.

Before I got the LCT and auto drum, I was measuring each charge with the Frankford DS-750 and it took way too long to trickle the powder in.

I have the Hornady balance beam, I don't like it, I don't find it accurate. For the price, it feels cheaply made and frankly I can't wait to find someone willing to buy it for a lot less than what I paid for it.
 
hounddawg said:
If all you are shooting is pistol and are using fine ball powder for pistols and rifle less than two or three hundred yards any throw and a $20 Chinese milligram scale from Amazon might be all you need.

If you also shoot 1000 yard BR using stick powder a $2K setup using a Auto Throw and a Sartorius Entris might be required or maybe a $6 K Promethius which uses a precision beam for it's weighing device

What type powder and type of shooting makes a huge difference
Click to expand...
Mostly Unique and Trail Boss for .45 Colt, same with .327 but will be using Accurate #9 for that with jacketed bullets.

200 yards max with the .327 in a Henry with max loads, 100 or less with reduced Trail Boss loads.

Will be getting into .38 and .357 soon, but I'm not going to be pushing them to max load recommendations. They'll be kept warm, but conservative.

Haven't gotten into rifle cartridges yet, but when/if I do it'll be for common things like .308 and 5.56.
 
LE-28 said:
I have the Hornady Auto Charge and the Hornady bench scale. I couldn't afford the RCBS Chargemaster at the time and when they started to fail RCBS stopped supporting them.

I don't know how bad the problems were with the originals, so many people seemed to think they were the best on the market despite having to put a drinking straw in the charge hole to get them to meter accurately without over charging constantly. The were quite popular over the Hornady model.

They had the only one until Hornady and Lyman came out with their models.

After RCBS stopped supporting them they disappeared from the market for a while, then they started selling the Chinese models. People started having trouble with what McCarthy said in the post that Dale A referenced above.

I remember when that post hit the forum.

My Hornady Auto charge isn't the fastest but if you load one round, start to finish, at a time the next charge will be there waiting for you. I've tried to outrun it but it's hard to do if you do a quick inspection on your rounds after the bullet is seated. The plastic does discolor but the powder hasn't eaten into it like the RCBS Chinese model does.

I use mine more for hard to meter powders like Unique and Bluedot or for short runs of magnum loads when I want the best accuracy I can get without using a balance scale.

It does over dispense once in a while but it beeps and stops running until you empty the pan and reset it. The better metering powders for normal bulk runs, I just run through my Hornady measure on my LNL-AP and it usually keeps things within .1 gr. My RCBS Uniflow would never be that accurate for me. I've put up with it for 30 years and don't use it anymore.

I've heard good things about the Gen6 Lyman when it came out but haven't heard of them for the last few years. That usually means something.

To be honest, I don't think anyone will support an electronic measure/dispenser for more than the normal warranty period. But I've not heard anyone bashing Hornady's or Lyman's for failing yet and that news usually travels fast.
Don't get me wrong, I love RCBS, but I will never buy their electronic measure/dispenser they sell now or their Uni-flow manual measure again.
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I wasn't gonna get the RCBS anyway, it's a bit too far out of my price range. I just name dropped the Chargemaster so people knew what it is I was looking to get.

Frankford Arsenal is coming out with their own automatic powder dispenser/scale and it's going to have a feature that stores load data in apps on phones and tablets.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/685263/frankford-arsenal-platinum-series-electronic-powder-dropper

The downloadable app features preloaded bullet and powder databases, with the ability to add additional bullets/powders. The app stores your load data, has a preloaded cartridge list, powder list, caliber with bullet type, weight, ballistic coefficient, sectional density and length options. The app also allows you to input charge weight, case, time primer, length of barrel and more. The app also allows for the uploading of grouping images.
Click to expand...

I'll still keep a hard copy of all my load data, but it's nice to have all that info right in the phone where it's easy to find.
 
I have the Hornady Auto Charge. It was gifted to me a few years ago. At the time I could not bring myself to spend that kind of money when I had a working scale, and powder thrower. After having it I will not be without one. Bang for the buck the Hornady wins in that respect. If mine goes out, will more likely than not get the Lyman.
 
Mostly Unique and Trail Boss for .45 Colt, same with .327 but will be using Accurate #9 for that with jacketed bullets.

200 yards max with the .327 in a Henry with max loads, 100 or less with reduced Trail Boss loads.

Will be getting into .38 and .357 soon, but I'm not going to be pushing them to max load recommendations. They'll be kept warm, but conservative.

Haven't gotten into rifle cartridges yet, but when/if I do it'll be for common things like .308 and 5.56.
Click to expand...

I think the auto dispenser of your choice is the right choice for you them. I have a RCBS Chargemaster and it works well enough.

I have never used Trail Boss or Accurate #9. I do know that Unique meters horribly in a throw. The large flake gives uneven consistency even in my Johnson which throws stick really well

Depending on you budget I would get a autothrow or go with a good quality old school throw (RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, Redding, etc) and trickle with any scale from a $20 Amazon cheapie up.
 
Trail Boss I have experience with. I experimented with it. I tired a test between weighed charges, charges from a Lee Perfect Powder Measure, and from a scoop. The end results were too close to call. I put them over a chronograph. AA#9 is my go to magnum powder. It meters well from my Lee PPM. It leaks a wee bit, but not enough to write home about. I have never used Unique. I know several people that use it a whole lot. They say that it meters better at larger volume. Small charges can bridge. I have the same issue with Red Dot, Blue Dot, and 800X.

I use my Auto Charge for stick rifle powders. When it goes out. My money will be spent on a Lyman.
 
I run stick powders mostly but also 748, TAC and Varget.

Lyman has a screw in nozzle for stick that helps, it likes the ball powders with no nozzle. Hornady does both ok, just slower. More accurate.

I havn't run flake powders and may not unless I load up 9mm again.
 
I have a small digital lyman scale I've used for years now.

I prefer not to use a powder dropper of any kind, but weight each charge as I load. I once found an eyeglass frame screw in a pound of bullseye powder which is one of several reasons I no longer use that brand. Had I been using a dropper I'd have very likely put that screw through a weapon and damaged a barrel or worse.

Also droppers tend to have some variability of charge which I prefer to avoid.

But most here use droppers with the occasional test weigh and they're fine with them.
 
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