Used a friends hornady scale, all my loads are light

[8mmFMJ]

Spent the day loading in his loading room with a lock n load setup. I was so careful to get the powder weights right. After calibrating (to a 100 gram weight) it passes. Then switch to grain and everything weighs heavier then it really is (150gr is 158) . Found this out later on when I weighed my 175 sierras. His scale is brand new and came with the 400$ lock and load setup.

So I did some equality problems and determined I have:

- 150 rounds of .308 loaded with 150 grain soft point sierras using 41.7 grains of CFE223.
- 50 rounds of .308 loaded with 155 grain hornady FMJs using 41.7 grains of CFE223
- 100 rounds of 30.06 loaded with 175 grain sierra hpbt's using 43.6 grains of IMR4895.

What kind of (crappy) performance can I expect to see from these

[MrB63]

I assume it's a digital scale?

[kenjimatic]

This is a 3 shot group at 100 yards. My loads are 40.5gr of varget, 165gr Sierra GameKing HPBT with Winchester large magnum primer. Yes I know it's not CFE223 but I don't think it would be that bad unless you're planning on shooting 300+ yards.

[buzzardbait]

You only lose a couple hundred fps. Accuracy wise, check your notes for when you worked up from the minimum to that mid range load. That will tell you whether to pull or shoot them.
Above is about the 30-06. I have no clue on the CFE and no data to compare.

['ol shooter]

Just out of curiosity, I compared my throw weights on my RCBS to a mechanical scale. Dead on. Should have checked it out of the box. Good warning to the rest of us. Thanks for posting it.

[Spyguy]

I was so careful to get the powder weights right. After calibrating (to a 100 gram weight) it passes. Then switch to grain and everything weighs heavier then it really is

The problem wasn't the switching to grains, the problem was your calibration method.

100 grams = 1,543 grains

That is a very poor choice for setting/checking calibration on your scale when you're trying to weigh charges that are less than 3% of your calibration weight.

[Divernhunter]

^^^ Yes and if you use a bullet as a standard that is also a mistake because they do not weight what the box says they do.

[CSACANNONEER]

Was this an electronic balance? If so, did you protect it from flucuations in household current? How about removing all flourecent lighting, speakers, cell phones, land lines, etc. from the room? Did you warm it up for 24 hours? Did you properly level it? Why would use 100 gram check weight?

[8mmFMJ]

The scale is a the standard hornady electronic scale with 100 gram weight and scooper in the box.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001KZ7JLW?pc_redir=1409139714&robot_redir=1

It's trash, and I emailed hornady. I want them to send me bullets for a refund. Their scale is so bad

[CSACANNONEER]

The scale is a the standard hornady electronic scale with 100 gram weight and scooper in the box.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001KZ7JLW?pc_redir=1409139714&robot_redir=1

It's trash, and I emailed hornady. I want them to send me bullets for a refund. Their scale is so bad

I'm willing to bet it is operator error. There is a lot more to properly using an electronic balance than simply plugging it in and reading it.

[BigBronco]

I highly recommend a set of check weights for verifying the accuracy of any scale, Mechanical or Digital. That being said I trust a good analog scale more that I trust any digital scale. I often verify my Chargemaster throws with a 10-10 scale that I know to be right on the money.

[JagerDog]

The problem wasn't the switching to grains, the problem was your calibration method.

100 grams = 1,543 grains

That is a very poor choice for setting/checking calibration on your scale when you're trying to weigh charges that are less than 3% of your calibration weight.

^^^^ding

I don't know what an "equality problem" is. You either check against a known standard...or you don't. You can't assume any linearity or offset.

[8mmFMJ]

Ya so the scale is broken. That was not the purpose of this thread. Hornady will make it right I'm sure. Good to know my light loads aren't gonna adversely affect the chamber pressures.

My tanita gem scale will take over from here on, it weighs in hundredths of grains so there won't be an issue again. Never should have trusted the hornady kit. Reviews show that it is quite common. Inspection of it and comparison to any smoke shop cheap scale proves it's 10$ made in china crap.

I'm willing to bet it is operator error. There is a lot more to properly using an electronic balance than simply plugging it in and reading it.

Thanks. You know, now that you mention it scales are so very hard to operate ... the scale has calibration instructions. Clear as day. On the lid. It's not rocket science guys. Hold mode til it blinks, stick on the included 100g weight, press mode. It then says pass. Put on a nickle and it says 5.5 grams. Click grains it says 84.6 grains. Should I make a video?

[8mmFMJ]

[3RDGEARGRNDRR]

Im confused. I use all my own equipment and double check my loads on my balance.
OP Did you work up your loads on your equipment and then use your friends equipment to load? And was this loaded on a progressive?