Need a new scale. Recommendations?

[Crewdog135]

Well, I managed to break the balance beam on my 10-10 scale. I’m still not sure how that happened, but when I went to set it up today, the beam was broken right at the pivot. I must have banged it somehow. Since the 10-10 is discontinued, I can’t get a replacement for it, so I’m now looking for a new scale. Unfortunately, a Prometheus isn’t in the budget...

What do you recommend? I’ve considered getting a new beam scale, or possibly an electronic. Are the Chargemasters worth it? Last I looked into them, they were a bit finicky, but that was several years ago. Appreciate any experience or recommendations as I’m sitting here bummed. Thanks.

 

[Fursniper]

If you're ok with plus or minus a tenth of a grain, the chargemaster is just fine. There's a ton of people here on the Hide that are using them. The two biggest tips I can offer that help get along with them just fine is 1., turn it on 30 minutes prior to use and 2., put a line filter in your load room.

 

[spife7980]

I used the chargemaster for awhile before moving to the autotrickler. Using the Chargemaster was soo much better than a beam scale I dont know how I ever managed to keep my sanity when using a beam. Just set it to running while you seat a bullet and then there is another charge there waiting for you without you having to pay attention to it at all. Sure it over throws regularly but its still quicker even if it were to over throw 50% of the time (it doesnt).

 

[HoustonB77]

I use dual Hornady auto charges and check every load with a Gempro 250. The Gempro measures to 2 hundredths of a grain.

 

[rduckwor]

I use a GEMPRO 250 as well. It can be a PITA with its tendency to zero drift, but I simply can't justify $500-600 for a scale as I am a casual shooter. I use a cheapo Lee powder drop and trickle up to weight on the 250 using an Omega trickler. It works and is reasonably fast.

RMD

 

[Kopfjager1]

I purchased the A&D FX-120i with the auto trickler and thrower. Well worth the investment so far. For me I wanted to spend the least amount of time handloading while still being precise, time I'd rather spend with family or on the range.

 

[Crewdog135]

Thanks for all the suggestions. As much as I’d love to go the A&D/V2 route, the funds are just not lining up for it. Maybe in the future.

I ended up finding a decent deal on an Allen Engineering scale-a pretty good, reasonably priced bit of kit. Auto-calibration and 0.005g (0.07 grain) resolution. It will hopefully help me pull down the ES/SD from the beam I was using. Again, appreciate all the suggestions.

 

[arm017]

Well, I managed to break the balance beam on my 10-10 scale. I’m still not sure how that happened, but when I went to set it up today, the beam was broken right at the pivot. I must have banged it somehow. Since the 10-10 is discontinued, I can’t get a replacement for it, so I’m now looking for a new scale. Unfortunately, a Prometheus isn’t in the budget...

What do you recommend? I’ve considered getting a new beam scale, or possibly an electronic. Are the Chargemasters worth it? Last I looked into them, they were a bit finicky, but that was several years ago. Appreciate any experience or recommendations as I’m sitting here bummed. Thanks.

Before you get caught up in the research - most important parameters to define here is:
- What's your budget?
- What's your intended purpose (shooting discipline)?