Thread: Powder Scale Options

Hey fellas,

Just wanting to upgrade from my existing scales (Hornady G2) to something a bit more reliable. I find it does not hold constant enough for me (even though I'm in a sealed room with no open windows etc and allow the scales to sit "on" for an hour or so before using them.

Looking at a Frankford Arsenal DS750, or a Hornady G3 1500. What are your thoughts/experiences with these two? Or is there something better for similar money (circa $120 - $150 max)

I'm not wanting to spend much on them, but need it to be consistent at least.

Cheers,

I prefer beam scales, I haven't had much luck with electronic ones.
With the Lee scoops, a trickler, and well-damped scales (my Lymans are excellent) I find beam scales just as quick to use.

@Cigar interesting. I just find balance beam scales tricky to get around and prefer to read a number than get the needle in the right place. Maybe I should give it another shot perhaps...

If you're after accuracy on a budget beam scales will get down to a kernel. If you're after digital and accuracy force restoration scales are the go to, but blow your budget to bits. The other option is some check weights and regularly check as you weigh, or 2 digital scales and confirm each charge.

A beam scale with magnetic damping can't be beat unless you intend loading hundreds of the same thing then a powder thrower calibrated with the aforesaid beam can't be beat. Both run on gravity, mass and volume which are everywhere and free.

I have early lee balance beam,green one...its great...also have flash ohau 505 balance beam,also great,find it slower but its got huge weight range,good for checking cast projectile weight of loaded cases.... if you find balance beam slow,get cheap set of lee spoons/dippers and powder trickler,throw weight below and trickle up...too easy and very quick.

Electronics .... not for me. Had RCBS and Hornady, gave up on both. Gone back to and stayed with my old Hornady Balance Beam. Utterly reliable and consistent. I'm quite content with my slow and steady pace of handloading.

Originally Posted by JohnQT

@Cigar interesting. I just find balance beam scales tricky to get around and prefer to read a number than get the needle in the right place. Maybe I should give it another shot perhaps...

also ..if you set up scales at or close to eye height it makes life easier..I have small wooden box screwed onto my heavy wooden reloading bench,scales sit on top of that with trickler off to side so spout sits over pan
Ive got good accurate powder thrower but unless I mdoing more than 30 rounds at once prefer to weight out each load....its NOT slow.

I run a dillon balance beam and Lee measuring spoons,
I was using a Lyman gen6 dispenser but it would always come out of calibration and accuracy frequently and ended up being a right pita so it went in the bin with the trust of it. I don't think I'd bother with another electronic scale unless it was one of those reputed high accuracy high cost ones.

I've found the Hornady G3 scales consistent.
I also use a Dillon balance scale though.
My reloading process is trickle up on electronic scale then dump onto the beam scale.
Then sort out another load on the electronic scale before tweaking the measure on the beam scale to be bang on.

The electronic scales are really only capable of +/- 0.01 gr, the beam scale then gets the rest sorted. In saying this, this is way pedantic as I doubt the 0.1gr is enough variation for me to notice in my loads. But the process is quick using both scales and a happy quite fast pace is able to be maintained while delivering very finely weighed charges.

Any electronic scale will drift, but by simply rezeroing they should be good to go, if it takes 30 seconds to drift .01 and only 15 seconds to weigh the charge where is the problem.... unless the resolution of the scale is crap and if its a "low cost" scale that has a resolution of .1 grain plus or minus thats a three point (.3) range of error right there.
Sometimes if you want the convenience of electronics you simply have to put down more money. Or do what has been suggested and use a beam.
If reading numbers on a beam is not your thing maybe hook it up to an unused TV or monitor and a camera aimed at the scale pointer ( I have seen this done) is very easy to read accurately.

I have been in both camps and I would not have an electronic scale for love nor money ( this attitude persisted for many years) for average reloading use such as with reloading for a couple of hunting rifles.

But then I got into target rifles.

I tried a Frankford Arsenal intellidropper, as it wasnt much more than an up market beam scale in cost outlay.
What a revelation!!

I could now seat bullets while the next charge was being weighed for me! it sped up the reloading process manyfold. Even with checking every now and then by comparing the thrown charge of the intellidropper on a beam. I soon learnt about scale drift but as above just rezero and its fine. Its definition was .1 of a grain and as said this means you have to put up with + or - of this But for most shooting this is actually fine.

I ended up far far down the rabbit hole and invested?? in an AandD scale, its on the same step up from a beam to an intellidropper all over again.
@JohnQT if you take the name badge off of the Hornady or whatever the price will come down to about $50 personally at that price point I would still use a beam scale.

And I must add, when i started target rifle I simply use a good quality powder thrower that gets you within .1 of a grain for fine powders. I would use a beam to get the throw spot on and then throw straight into 50 cases on a run and seat them...... if you are using a ball powder its probably THE fastest way to reload.

A couple of options that might help.
Also if beam is slow to settle add a magnet or replace with stronger ones under the unit. It does not effect accuracy only settles faster.

https://bulletin.accurateshooter.com...e-beam-scales/

https://bulletin.accurateshooter.com...on-smartphone/

Originally Posted by Makros

I've found the Hornady G3 scales consistent.
I also use a Dillon balance scale though.
My reloading process is trickle up on electronic scale then dump onto the beam scale.
Then sort out another load on the electronic scale before tweaking the measure on the beam scale to be bang on.

The electronic scales are really only capable of +/- 0.01 gr, the beam scale then gets the rest sorted. In saying this, this is way pedantic as I doubt the 0.1gr is enough variation for me to notice in my loads. But the process is quick using both scales and a happy quite fast pace is able to be maintained while delivering very finely weighed charges.

Correction Hornady G3 Scales are +/-0.1gr not 0.01.
They are probably more like +/-0.05. Dillon scales say they are within a granule or two of Ar2213sc over 48 replicates.

Originally Posted by JohnQT

@Cigar interesting. I just find balance beam scales tricky to get around and prefer to read a number than get the needle in the right place. Maybe I should give it another shot perhaps...

Maybe go to Specsavers !

Cool. All good info here. I found the G2’s were changing between loads. Within 30 seconds. That just took all my confidence out of them entirely.
I’ll give the balance beams another go. It’ll be interesting to cross reference with the digital scales too.
I’m not running huge numbers of reloads so I think I’ll just need a bit more patience. And I’ll take your advice there @mickyduck and set them up at eye height ��