Automatic Powder Measure

[JEBar]

I've been using the same RCBS® Uniflow Powder Measure ===> http://www.cabelas.com/product/shooting ... s?slotId=9 <=== since the mid '60's .... it sure doesn't look new (that could be because it isn't ) but it still works .... I've only recently become aware that in the last 50 +/- years they have come up with automatic powder measurers .... I've never used one or seen one in person .... I have watched several YouTube videos about them and I do admit they look interesting .... I'm curious about two of them .... the RCBS® ChargeMaster Combo ===> http://www.cabelas.com/product/shooting ... s?slotId=0 <=== and the Lyman® Generation 6 Compact Digital Powder System ===> http://www.cabelas.com/product/shooting ... s?slotId=4 <=== observations from anyone who has used one of these automatic powder measurers would be appreciated

[BigAl52]

Hi Jim
I cant speak for the Lyman I have a Lyman case prep center that is worth its weight in gold. I dont know why I didnt buy one sooner I love mine. If the Lyman is as good as my case prep machine it should be good. I do have the RCBS and I like it alot. Works great and is easy to use. The only thing thats happened to mine is the power cord has a large head on it which contains the power converter. Its big and mine cracked. I see RCBS has replacements I just need to call and get one. I put some electrical tape on mine and its holding together fine. But I have thought about buying a second one and the price of the lyman is attractive. Al

[JEBar]

delighted to hear that your RCBS "Works great and is easy to use." .... what percentage of the time is your over to where you have to rethrow the charge ? .... have you had to do anything to yours to improve its out of the box accuracy

[clovishound]

Those are good for precision rifle calibers, or small batch precision pistol calibers. Way too slow for use in producing target fodder even for my .357 Henry, where I normally load 100 at a time or more.

For the small amount of rifle calibers I load, an inexpensive stand alone powder measure fits the bill. I set it a tad high, and then trickle down to desired amount. I normally never load over 20 rounds in a session.

For those who shoot more than that, and are shooting long range where extreme precision of charge loads, something like that pictured would be the ticket.

[snell]

I've been reloading since the 70s. A few years back I bought a Lyman model 1200 DPS 3 and had nothing but trouble with it. Back to the factory twice, the second time I had to upgrade because they didn't make my model any more at almost the cost of a new unit. It took forever to warm up and was extremely sensitive to any florescent light in the area. It really soured me on Lyman scales. When it finally failed, I took the plunge and bought the RCBS and have never looked back.
The RCBS is truly a joy to use. It calibrates quickly and is spot on. I check it against a Ohaus beam scale and they agree well within the +- range of either scale. I light my bench with a florescent light and have seen no bad effects at all. I single load and by the time I dump the powder and seat the bullet the next charge is in the pan waiting for me. It can make a mess if you don't remember to close the chute after empting it (don't ask how I know) but that is the only complaint I can find with it. I suggest you buy it, you wont be disappointed.
Art

[JEBar]

I suggest you buy it, you wont be disappointed.

Art

I really appreciate you taking the time to post your experience ..... I place a high value on such recommendations

[BigAl52]

Jim
I find that mine is usually right on and at the most a tenth over. Sometimes it will throw a larger charge and I just do it over but it isnt a big deal. You can set it so that when you return the ladle it will auto throw another charge of the same weight. Like clovis says though I dont use it for mass producing target rounds. Its to slow.I use mine for the larger pistol calibers and for rifle shells. If Im doing 41 mag and below those blue dillons are cranking out the rounds. Al

[JEBar]

Jim
I find that mine is usually right on and at the most a tenth over. Sometimes it will throw a larger charge and I just do it over but it isnt a big deal. You can set it so that when you return the ladle it will auto throw another charge of the same weight.

very good to hear of the consistent accuracy .... for my purposes, 1/10th over or under doesn't bother me .... when it comes to shooting, I have more than enough bad habits to negate any such a deviation in powder

Like clovis says though I dont use it for mass producing target rounds. Its to slow.I use mine for the larger pistol calibers and for rifle shells. If Im doing 41 mag and below those blue dillons are cranking out the rounds. Al

we use our Hornado Lock-N-Load progressive press with its mechanical powder measure for handgun practice rounds .... one of our dies provides a mechanical volume check and for us that is close enough .... when it comes to hunting level rounds, of any kind, we do them on our old single stage Rock Crusher

[BigAl52]

Jim
You will like it then for what you are going to use it for. It works great for the 45-70 and the big rifle rounds that a guy might use those IMR type powders for. I have a 338 Win Mag and I love it for that. I use to spoon mine in a balance beam scale and use a powder trickler to finish it off. Thats slow time consuming work. I almost hated reloading rifle shells.

[JEBar]

based largely on recommendations from folks here and on the MyRVTalk Forum, tomorrow Cabela's is scheduled to deliver an RCBS Charge Master Combo (see link in post 2 in this thread) to our home .... when it gets here it will be put to work immediately loading 200 practice and 100 hunting 308's; along with, 75 practice and 25 hunting 30-30's .... most of these rounds will be loaded for friends and a few for our use .... as a side thought, I figured out what Combo in the title RCBS Charge Master Combo stands for ....they have combined two different machines, a Chargemaster 1500 scale and dispenser


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8KW-bRuEQo

[BigAl52]

Yes sir thats correct. Let me know how you like it.

[JEBar]

do you modify yours by adding a straw ?

[JEBar]

I spent a good bit of time today working with our RCBS Charge Master Combo .... as it is with all electronics, when it comes to using them, for me, there is a learning curve .... I deliberately chose to work with Winchester 748 powder .... it is an extremely fine grained powder that can be a bit of a challenge to meter .... once I figured out how to punch the buttons in the right order, the Charge Master really did well .... out of 50 rounds loaded, it didn't over charge a single one .... I hope to eventually get to where I can run it without having to have its manual in hand

[JEBar]

earlier today when it started raining, my attention to loading 100 308's for a long time friend .... it is becoming simpler to use but I still have to keep the manual close at hand .... once again the Charge Master performed well, this time with extruded powder .... out of the 100 I did have 2 powder drops that were .2 heavier than I wanted .... .1 +or- I usually don't worry about .... more than that I add more powder or dump it and rethrow it .... the Charge Master seemed to take a bit longer with with some of the loads, I suspect that the way it builds up inside the tube it would be very easy to trickle too much powder .... I'm still very pleased with the Combo

[BigAl52]

Good to hear Jim. I have never modified mine in any way. I have read where you can do this online but everytime I try something like that I end up with a bigger problem that I had to begin with. Sometimes it takes a little longer to throw a charge but Im always working on something else anyway. I like mine for the extruded powder especially. Al

[JEBar]

I even went to McDonalds and picked up a couple of straws .. .. that said, the way it is performing, I see no reason to mess with it .... depending on the quality of this afternoon's race at Charlotte, I have 200 more 308's to load

[JEBar]

Hi Jim
I cant speak for the Lyman I have a Lyman case prep center that is worth its weight in gold. I dont know why I didnt buy one sooner I love mine.

Al

I've never seen one .... comments / assessments would be appreciated

[BigAl52]

Hi Jim
I cant speak for the Lyman I have a Lyman case prep center that is worth its weight in gold. I dont know why I didnt buy one sooner I love mine.

Al

I've never seen one .... comments / assessments would be appreciated


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TABTWU?aa ... moES0mudUg
https://www.amazon.com/Lyman-7777760-Fl ... rring+tool
Jim heres a link to one on Amazon. It works great for cleaning primer pockets and I also bought the lyman inside the flash hole deburring tool. You can screw the shaft of that tool into one of the stations on the machine. Its one step I do to all of my rifle cases. The case mouth tools are also very easy to use this way after trimming brass thats to long. Trimming brass is one of my most unfavortie jobs but with this machine it makes it easy. I found mine on sale for 99.00. Perhaps if you look around maybe you can catch one for that. But none the less I would buy it again after using the one I have. Al

[JEBar]

info appreciated .... I have individual tools that can perform those task .... will most certainly take a look

[JEBar]

update :

we've been using our RCBS Charge Master for just over 2 years .... yep, I still think it was expensive but it has become a highly valued piece of our reloading equipment that I'd hate to do without ... if it was to self-destruct tomorrow, I'd immediately order a replacement .... for production of precision loads with exact charges of powder, it excels .... it does operate at a leisurely pace that best fits use with a single stage press