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Chargemaster Lite vs Chargemaster Combo? VS?

Joeg26er

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 26, 2018
365
110
Chargemaster Lite vs Chargemaster Combo? VS?

Reloading 6.5 creedmoor and looking for an auto / electric powder dispenser for precision reloads. What are the pros/cons of these two and which is best function for the least dollars?
Is there a 3rd or 4th choice?
 
I got my Chargemaster 1500 Combo in an awesome sale at Creedmoor Sports (for about the same price as the Lite), and I love it. Simple, accurate reliable. Had I not seen that sale, I'd have gotten the Chargemaster Lite ... which also gets great reviews. Can't go wrong with either one, IMHO.
 
IF you got the cash, I'd go for the FX120 autotrickler set up. Listening to those who have it, it's as fast if not faster than two Chargemasters running at the same time.

I use both a 1500 Combo and a Lite next to each other at the same time when doing my precision loads. I haven't really noticed any difference. My 1500 is like 8 years old and is tuned, but is a bit finicky sometimes. You can't tune the Lite's like you can the 1500's. But the straw mod works well in the Lite and is consistently the same speed.

If you had two Lite's you're at $400-$500 (depending on sale and new vs used.) A new Autotrickler setup is about double that, but way more accurate and a bit faster.

The ONLY advantage with having two Chargemasters is the ability to have two powders on tap for different load developments or some situation like that where you want to have two powders available within the same time frame.
 
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I had both the CM and CM Lite. They were both pretty equal. I ended up using the Lite since it's easy to pick it up with one hand and shake the powder out of the spout when I'm finished. I just gave the CM to a friend last week who is going to start reloading. I have the FX120 setup but since I shoot mainly short range, I found no difference in group size at 100 yards over the Lite so I just use the Lite. If you shoot mid to long range the FX would probably be the way to go.
 
I bought a Lite to replace my 1500 Combo after it died and I like the Lite a lot. I find consistency is the same, I swear the Lite dispenses faster when it’s dispensing the majority of the load before it starts trickling, and I like that it’s smaller and a single unit. I never used the memory features on the 1500, so I don’t really miss anything about it.