Post by: JJD on January 18, 2017, 07:31:35 AM
The hands down favorite was the RCBS Chargemaster 1500.
I purchased one shortly there after.
Impressions:
Good things are its fast on many types of powder, easy to use.
Things I don't like; Warm up time, at least 30 min. Poor results with extruded powders out of the box. In order to get fairly accurate results with said powder you must make speed adjustments which are not explained in the instruction manual. The McD. straw fix helps, but come on man, why not make it work that way out of the box. Lots of info on these fixes on u-tube.
A friend bought a Lyman gen 6 measure, about 6 months ago. It is about $100 cheaper and works just as well if not better.
Had I to do it all again, I'd go with the Lyman.
Hey, I'm not a bench rest shooter and do not require that accuracy, but I want at least what I had with my previous manual measuring system.
Anyone worked with the Hornady powder measure system? Impressions?
Post by: Fl0und3rz on January 18, 2017, 07:39:51 AM
Post by: Magnum_Willys on January 18, 2017, 08:06:37 AM
Don't know about the Hornady, but it is hard to beat the Lee Dippers and trickle or tap to final weight. With repetition, you might get 3/10 or better drops right on the money and faster than any auto thrower.
And the dipper set is $10 and a digital scale is $18. Under $30 and you have small batch perfection accurate to 1/5 of a grain.
Post by: JJD on January 18, 2017, 08:40:02 AM
Cheap electronics scales do not meet my needs. I'd go with a quality beam scale over cheap electronics scales myself.
Dippers;
Playing golf, one could conceivably putt with a driver, but there are better tools available for the job. I do own a set of the Lee dippers and they did serve a purpose, but batch reloading was not it.
If its all a could afford, I'd do it that way. If time were not an issue, I might consider ithem as well. If you figure your $$ would be better spent elsewhere, by all means, keep at it.
Post by: Fl0und3rz on January 18, 2017, 09:02:35 AM
I'd rather have fast and accurate powder drops with rifle handloads than deal with shoddy tech and youtube fixes when I want to load a batch of rounds. :twocents:
FWIW, reading about the McD's straw fix is what put me off the RCBS chargemaster in the first place. If you find something that doesn't require a bunch of hacks to get it to work, I would be glad to hear it. But I am not one to pay be a guinea pig for a half-working product.
Post by: Stein on January 18, 2017, 09:06:43 AM
For rifle, I use a Lee Beam which, like most beam scales, is HIGHLY repeatable. I would love to go faster, but my experience with digital scales is they just are not as repeatable and I don't mind taking the extra time to know my rounds are as identical as possible.
Post by: jay.sharkbait on January 18, 2017, 09:15:25 AM
Post by: grundy53 on January 18, 2017, 09:54:09 AM
Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk
Post by: JJB11B on January 18, 2017, 09:58:03 AM
Post by: Bill W on January 18, 2017, 10:02:40 AM
Post by: Fl0und3rz on January 18, 2017, 10:30:07 AM
I have the Hornaday. It works great and is easy to use right out of the box.
Any thoughts on the OP's comments?
Quote
Warm up time, at least 30 min. Poor results with extruded powders out of the box.
Post by: BULLBLASTER on January 18, 2017, 10:47:53 AM
Post by: grundy53 on January 18, 2017, 12:06:06 PM
My Hornaday warms fast and handles extruded powder just fine.I have the Hornaday. It works great and is easy to use right out of the box.
Any thoughts on the OP's comments?QuoteWarm up time, at least 30 min. Poor results with extruded powders out of the box.
Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk
Post by: JJB11B on January 18, 2017, 12:19:11 PM
diddoMy Hornaday warms fast and handles extruded powder just fine.I have the Hornaday. It works great and is easy to use right out of the box.
Any thoughts on the OP's comments?QuoteWarm up time, at least 30 min. Poor results with extruded powders out of the box.
Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk
Post by: bobcat on January 18, 2017, 12:25:52 PM
Post by: jay.sharkbait on January 18, 2017, 12:29:09 PM
I've been using nothing but my Lee dippers for over 30 years. Never felt the need for anything else. But then I don't load a high volume of cartridges. I may load 100 or 150 one year and then not load anything for a few years. Normally the most I load at one time is 20. So the Lee dippers along with my 32 year old RCBS scale and a powder trickler are all I've ever needed.
It really is all you need. The rest is just a luxury.
Post by: Fl0und3rz on January 18, 2017, 12:37:42 PM
Post by: Jason on January 19, 2017, 06:24:36 PM
Not sure about a warm up time as mine works within seconds, I always calibrate mine before each reloading session. Mine seems to work with every powder I've put through it without the McDonalds straw mod.I have the Hornaday. It works great and is easy to use right out of the box.
Any thoughts on the OP's comments?QuoteWarm up time, at least 30 min. Poor results with extruded powders out of the box.
My buddy had the Lyman and just upgraded to the RCBS CM 1500 and has been tickled pink. He can't believe the difference in the two units. He said the Lyman would never throw accurate charges, he also said he had to constantly rezero the pan.
Post by: jasnt on January 19, 2017, 07:48:52 PM
Post by: Lincoln4 on January 19, 2017, 08:04:01 PM