Which digital scale?

[KB1911_NewB]

Lifetime warranty - can't beat that. Thinking about getting this one myself.

http://www.brianenos.com/store/be.scale_hp.html

[JNunez23]

I have a Lee Beam scale as well as a Hornady 1500 I bought on Amazon with some credit I had left over from school books.

For being a $30 scale, you calibrate it with the weight they provide, and you are ready to go. All loads have matched my beam scale to the t thus far.

[ChrisToad]

No that's what it lists, but more than likely it's a gram scale. it lists .01 grams which when converted to grains is .15
Ah yep, look at the table on the website:

Grams scale, 100 grams, meaning that's its true unit of measure. .01 grams = .15 grains. Unfortunately most scales false advertise .01 grains (actually, nearly all) so it's safer to get a .001 or .002 gram scale. Sorry most people get bured by this being uneducated on how scales work it happened to me on my first digital scale purchase too

This info is intriguing... as I'm shopping for a scale also. What scale do you use? ...and do you know of any scales that natively calculate in grains?

[CSACANNONEER]

If you want easy get a Chargemaster Combo. If you want a great electronic balance for reloading, forget about all the "reloading scales" and get a Denver Instruments MXX-123. It's there bottom of the line balance and better than any balance marketed as a "reloading scale".

Also, you do need to remember that many things affect how an electronic balance reads. If you want ANY of them to work properly, you should shield them from power surges found in household AC. You should always let them warm up for hours if not longer. You should not have any magnets, speakers, florencent lights, phones, etc. near them. All of those things can and have caused false or fluctuating reads. Even the slight breeze from a breath or a hand moving will affect any decent balance.

[call-in]

Any one has any experience with this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007PLR5BO

Product feature states "0.001g / 0.01 ct / 0.02gn accuracy" so it should be accurate enough for powder, right?

[NorCal Einstein]

This is a old thread that got bumped, but I recently went down this road like last week...picking out a digital scale for reloading.

At first I had my eye set on the Brian Enos scale and I had posted a thread about it, then I had some people tell me I didn't need to spend that much money and I could do with a Frankford Arsenal scale which is only like $30. I thought about getting it, but most everything I've read about scales basically says you get what you pay for. There were a number of members that recommended the Jennings Mack 20 to me, which measures in 0.02 grain accuracy where the Brian Enos and Frankford measure to 0.1.

I ended up buying the Mack 20 + AC powder adapter, and it cost me about $80.

http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/jennings-jscale-mack-20.html

I haven't really got to try it out yet, but it seems to be a scale that most people are happy with. If you're going to get a cheap scale, at least get the Frankford Arsenal one and not that Horizon one. There are quite a few people here that use the FA scale who could also give you their opinion it in, but I doubt there are many using that Horizon scale from Amazon. But just like I've read and what I've been told, if you can afford something better, buy it once and buy it right.

Also, just like it has been mentioned in here already...one should understand that readings on a electric scale can be affected by many different things like power source, lighting, fans, etc. I'm already planning on getting a beam balance scale to accompany my Mack 20 scale because I've seen first hand that the breeze going through my place with windows open can cause a flux in the scale's reading.

[M27]

Stay away from the RCBS 750 I bought one, loaded with it, returned it. Constantly wandered.

[ExtremeX]

As a follow up to my own thread... I got the Hornady scale from Midway because I just wanted something to get me started.

While it’s gotten me started, I’ve at least been able to get my progressive powder measure setup and start some load dev.

I can sure see an upgrade once I start to get more into precision ammo reloading as this thing does float a solid .2 grains but it works to confirm or check the powder measure is dropping consistently for the most part.

I think when upgrade time comes around, I am going to get something more in the realm of a science lab grade scale, and the Denver Instruments MXX-123 which was recommended would sure do the trick.

[call-in]

I think I'm going to get the AWS Gemini-20.

A reviewer compared the Gemini-20 to a Mettler Toledo AG204 Analytical Scale and got the following results, all measured in mg.

Std	Mettler	AWS
5	5.0	5
10	10.0	10
20	20.0	19
50	50.0	48
100	100.0	100
200	200.1	200
500	499.8	501
1000	1000.3	1001
2000	2000.0	2001
5000	5000.2	5005
10000	9999.6	10011
20000	20000.0	20022

[brando]

If you want a great electronic balance for reloading, forget about all the "reloading scales" and get a Denver Instruments MXX-123. It's there bottom of the line balance and better than any balance marketed as a "reloading scale"

^^^^This

I've learned the hard way with a number of items like this. If you're serious about reloading and plan to do it for a long time, invest in a quality electronic scale. Over the last five years or so my process for match ammo has evolved and each step of the way so has my powder weighing process. When I moved over to electronic scales I started with a cheap Lyman scale that ultimately wasn't reliable. I kept replacing it with different scales until I settled, for a while, on an RCBS. Compared to Lyman, MTM, Hornady - it was more reliable and tended not to drift as easily. I had a good thing going using first a DPS to dispense powder and an RCBS scale to confirm before charging the case. But after a couple years of using this setup I recognized how prone they were to drifting still and as I refined my precision ammo technique I reached a point where I was frustrated with having to recalibrate both scales so often. So then I went back to confirming on one of my modified beam scales and the results were excellent, but SO MUCH SLOWER.

After a while I couldn't take it anymore, so I finally broke down and bought a professional scale from Denver Inst - something an engineer buddy had told me to do years ago. The difference was so noticeable that I don't think I'll ever go back. Many of the scales made by reloading manufacturers are good for plinking ammo as long as you can recognize when they're drifting or the conditions that often lead to it. But if you're into precision ammo, especially the kind that costs quite a bit per load, those scales will just frustrate you over time. It's kind of like the situation with ultrasonic cleaners - the ones sold by the reloading guys are the low-end compared to what's available for people who use ultrasonic cleaners professionally.

Anyway, that's my $0.02

[CSACANNONEER]

I'm not going to lie to you. My 123 is great but, I picked up a Chargemaster Combo last year and have been using that to load my match rounds now. The DI is still a better balance and, I use it to check the Chargemaster. But, it's in semi retirement now that I'm not using it to dixie cup and spoon every charge.

[ExtremeX]

I'm not going to lie to you. My 123 is great but, I picked up a Chargemaster Combo last year and have been using that to load my match rounds now. The DI is still a better balance and, I use it to check the Chargemaster. But, it's in semi retirement now that I'm not using it to dixie cup and spoon every charge.

Thanks for that, I like the Chargemaster combo myself. I would take the 123 just to have, I don’t mind owning good tools, and I can use it to confirm weights and scales at a higher level if needed.

I went with the cheap-o Hornady scale for now only because I rely on my RCBS powder measure to throw my charges loading progressive. I only need a scale to get me in the ballpark for now. Once my powder measure is set for the load I just leave it alone, and just make sure it’s throwing right before my next batch… Seems to work well for me in the meantime.

Once I start reloading for my .308 I think some of that will change. I may start loading on a single stage just for my .308 and a scale will become a more important item. I can see how the Chargemaster would really speed things up. I considered getting one as my first scale, but I think it would have gone to waste considering what and how I am reloading now.

[CSACANNONEER]

Just remember all the potential problems what causes them when you are using any electronic balance. Warm it up for hours first, keep it away from the slightest breeze, protect it from household current diviations, keep it far away from florecent lights, speakers, bells, phones, radio, eloctronic musical instruments, etc. All of these things can and have made electronic scales fluctuate and, that's not a good thing.

[Twystd1]

I have 2 Dillon digitals and a RCBS beam scale.

The Dillons are amazingly consistent.