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One of our new members asked me for advice on scales today.

She has some cheapo £30 MTM portables and they are all over the place. I've loaned her my RCBS 10-10s but she really needs a decent set of digital scales for around £100 - any suggestions guys?

Vince

I have a Lyman 1500 that has been relegated to case weighing as it was a nightmare to keep steady, they are all susceptible to vibration, electrical disturbance and air movement.

We had my best results when it was levelled on a heavy block of steel with a box around it and left on over night before it was used. It might be worth applying this technique to the MTM before swapping it out.

These days Christel uses a ChargeMaster and I have a good beam scale that measures to 1 milligram. As far as I am concerned electronic scales (Unless you pay a lot of money) are the work of the devil.

With such an important stage in the process I would urge her not to buy cheap or too hasty. I just had a quick look at Sinclair's and Ebay and it was clear that you need to be spending more than £100 to get the quality that she needs.
I did notice this unit but have not read any reviews, one wonders if the internal electrics are all the same. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Digital-Powder-Di ... 19c5727224

With regards to the problems that she was having did she read the recent article on Accurate Shooter? http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/201 ... ic-scales/

DM

Why does she need digital scales.?

Gun Pimp wrote:One of our new members asked me for advice on scales today.

She has some cheapo £30 MTM portables and they are all over the place. I've loaned her my RCBS 10-10s but she really needs a decent set of digital scales for around £100 - any suggestions guys?

Vince

What's wrong with what you have loaned her?...All you need...RCBS can't go wrong.

I've got 505 scales...with a wheel adjuster...God it has to be 35 years old!

https://shop.rcbs.com/WebConnect/MainSe ... te=C08J154

Gun Pimp wrote:digital scales for around £100 - any suggestions guys?
Vince

Invest the GBP 100 until it becomes circa GBP 1000, then buy decent digital scales that don't drift and are fast, responsive and repeatable. I don't think there's another way (apart from second hand). Recently I had high hopes for a scale circa GBP 400 (ex VAT), which used good measuring technology, and while it is fast and repeatable it still suffers from significant drift (and yes, I follow the 10 commandments for digital scales).

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I must admit to having a £10 cheepy digital scale from the bay and finding them much easier to use than beam scales, i have an RCBS 5-0-5 that seems to not zero properly

Alan

Dangermouse wrote:With such an important stage in the process I would urge her not to buy cheap or too hasty. I just had a quick look at Sinclair's and Ebay and it was clear that you need to be spending more than £100 to get the quality that she needs.
I did notice this unit but have not read any reviews, one wonders if the internal electrics are all the same. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Digital-Powder-Di ... 19c5727224

DM

DM - that's fantastic value - worth a punt if it wasn't in America - but, by the time it gets over here..............?

It looks - from the yellow colour - that it might be from 'Smart Reloader' - Kranks are the UK importer - I will make enquires when I go next week.

For my own weighing I use the Denver Instruments MXX123 - expensive at around £280 but superb and weight to one-fiftieth of a grain! On range, the RCBS 10-10 are excellent.

Thanks for everyones help.

Vince

Gun Pimp wrote:For my own weighing I use the Denver Instruments MXX123

How do you find the MXX123? They were reviewed recently in Target Shooter (possibly one of the many rebranded variants), and the review was quite off-putting, including saying that they drifted so much that they needed to be re-zero'd for every single charge delivery. Do you have that kind of problem? If you leave them with a weight on (say 50% of full scale) for a few hours, will they hold the same measurement?

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I use the Pact powder dispenser combination. The scales are separate and are first rate, always spot on when a check weigh them and against my Ohaus M5 scales.

If I was looking for a digital scale the it would be a Pact. I use their chronograph as well and its a fine piece of kit, their warranty and suport is first class too.