Digital Powder Dispenser?

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I'm thinking about picking up a single stage press for my loads that I would like to tighten up my tolerances on. Does anyone here use a Digital Powder Dispenser and do you like it? I'd be using my Cabela's points to buy it, so I am more interested in quality then price.

I am thinking about either the;

  1. RCBS ChargeMaster Combo $299.99
  2. Hornady Lock-N-Load Auto Charge Powder Dispenser $199.99
  3. Lyman 1200 DPS 3 Digital Powder System $219.99
 
I have a new Rcbs Chargemaster and I really like it. +/-.1 grain on IMR 4064 makes me happy. Easy to use and memory/counting features are nice.

If you know 4064, you know it's a tough one to meter.
 
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I have the Hornady unit. I have used the RCBS unit also. Dollar for dollar, I would take the Hornady dispenser. No problems with mine, and its dead nuts accurate.
 
I just went through the same process (selecting a charging scale). I talked to a bunch of people, borrowed a few to try, and ended up buying the RCBS Chargemaster. In fact, it should be here today.

I tested the Lyman and the Hornady, and neither would throw coarse stick powders well, which is what I want to use it for. All of them worked fine with ball, flake, and short stick powders, but so do my other powder measures.

The Omega looks interesting.
 
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I got the RCBS Chargemaster yesterday and just loaded 50 rounds with it. I like it a lot. It was fast - it takes about 5-8 seconds to dispense 24.2 grains of stick powder. It never overshot the weight in the 100 or so times I used it, and was right on the money every time (I cross checked the charge weight with my PACT scale).

I'm going to give it a big thumbs-up.
 
EddieCoyle said:
I got the RCBS Chargemaster yesterday and just loaded 50 rounds with it. I like it a lot. It was fast - it takes about 5-8 seconds to dispense 24.2 grains of stick powder. It never overshot the weight in the 100 or so times I used it, and was right on the money every time (I cross checked the charge weight with my PACT scale).

I'm going to give it a big thumbs-up.
Click to expand...

Are you able to compare it to the Hornady? Though I want quality, a $100 is $100. Thanks!
 
The Hornady was slower, and it overshot the weight when I used coarse stick powder, which is a PITA. I had to pick out granules until the weight was where I wanted it.
 
I have an RCBS Chargemaster and an Omega auto-truckler

2 COMPLETELY different animals.

the chargemaster can be quite fast once its reprogrammed (mine is), and throws within ~ +/- 0.1gr of target (verified with a lab grade electronic scale)

the auto-trickler is QUITE a bit more difficult to set up, but once its up and running, its a LOT more accurate than the RCBS (within .05gr of target, also verified by a lab grade scale). My omega is set up on an RCBS 10-10 beam scale @ 47gr of Varget for my Palma ammo. it's all I use it for, therefore it never really gets adjusted.


if you're not shooting long range (1000yd+) benchrest, I'd stick with the chargemaster. it'll be as accurate as you need it to be.
 
I purchased a RCBS Chargemaster a couple of years ago and found to be very fast, repeatable and accurate when loading shells greater than 20 grains that I was using for bench rest.
The only drawback was when I started to use it for reloading 9 mm (~4 grains) and 45 acp (~5 grains) for plate/pin shoots because it takes way too long to meter small loads. I did try all kinds of software changes but with small loads it always started in the slow trickle mode instead of the fast trickle. I ended up going back to the manual powder drop measures for pistol reloads.
I am still waiting for someone to come up with a software fix for small power drops ( 3.5 to 8 grains). It is a great time saver for rifle reloads.
 
I use the chargemaster combo for my 338 and 50BMG loads.... My experience is the same as previously mentioned.... Fast and accurate and no problems so far....[thumbsup]
 
01bmf said:
I really want the chargemaster. It just ends up going to the back of the line when I get funds saved up though.
Click to expand...

That was the problem with me too, but I ended up getting mine for free.

I had some airline miles that were going to expire at the end of the year. I'm not going to take any personal trips between now and then, so rather than use them for upgrades, I cashed them in for Amazon gift cards, and got the Chargemaster with the gift cards.
 
So the big brown truck delivered a RCBS ChargeMaster today. I am very impressed with it. Though I didn't load anything I did mess around with it using a couple different powders. I used Reloader 15 for stick and it was surprisingly fast and didn't overshoot at all. I then tried some H-110 with the same results. The instructions are easy to read and calibration is simple. Cleaning the remaining powder out of the system takes a couple minutes to do, but this is mostly going to be for riffle and I only use two powders, so I'm not going to worry about it.
 
I've been pretty impressed with it too.

I bet you'll end up using it more than you think.

I use mine any time I'm loading 50 or less of something. You can start throwing dead accurate charges right away. In the time it would take me to set up a regular powder measure, I've already got them loaded.
 
My RCBS Chargemaster is one of my favorite pieces of equipment. I use it for small runs when I am working up loads. Fast, accurate with all the powders I throw in it.
 
daddybld said:
My RCBS Chargemaster is one of my favorite pieces of equipment. I use it for small runs when I am working up loads. Fast, accurate with all the powders I throw in it.
Click to expand...

Yep.

It's right there near the top of my "Reloading-stuff-that-looked-too-expensive-but-ended-up-being-worth-every-penny" list:

1. Giraud trimmer
2. RCBS Chargemaster
3. Precision seating dies
4. RCBS Universal hand priming tool
5. Redding Competition Shellholder set
 
I have an RCBS. You can tap on the feed tube lightly once it enters slow trickle mode and speed up the process significantly. It takes a little practice to get a feel for it and prevent overthrows, but if you're a little impatient like me, it can help quicken the pace.

If you're reloading the Giraud is probably the most significant time saver you can ever buy IMO. I tell anyone who's thinking about reloading rifle that they need to get one from the start.
 
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Just a heads up -- Cabelas has the RCBS Chargemaster (combo) for 299 on sale with your choice of discount codes. I used 2SANTA for free shipping (-18.95), my Cabelas points, a gift card I had lying around, and with 50 dollar RCBS rebate it was 180 OTD. It's back ordered a week or two but that doesn't really bother me.
 
Royal said:
Just a heads up -- Cabelas has the RCBS Chargemaster (combo) for 299 on sale with your choice of discount codes. I used 2SANTA for free shipping (-18.95), my Cabelas points, a gift card I had lying around, and with 50 dollar RCBS rebate it was 180 OTD. It's back ordered a week or two but that doesn't really bother me.
Click to expand...

Can you link me to the $50 rebate? I just picked one up and only saw a $10 rebate.
 
EddieCoyle said:
Yep.

It's right there near the top of my "Reloading-stuff-that-looked-too-expensive-but-ended-up-being-worth-every-penny" list:

1. Giraud trimmer
2. RCBS Chargemaster
3. Precision seating dies
4. RCBS Universal hand priming tool
5. Redding Competition Shellholder set
Click to expand...


Might I also humbly suggest adding to Mr. EC's list the new Mr. Bullet Feeder. Just wow, and flawless with cast lubed bullets if mica is used.
 

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