Newbie questions

[wv.citybilly]

Introductions: old man learning about reloading with a limited budget.

Scales:
I have the RCBS M500 (balance beam) scale and was planning to get the Lyman Pro-Touch 1500 Electronic Reloading Scale to double-check against, but the Lyman scale has been a waiting game being on being back-ordered. Is there an alternative to this digital scale in the $100 range? I don't expect it to be lab quality, but accurate, and with a plug-in power source vs battery.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Im2bent]

Looks like amazon has them for 87 bucks? And what is it with this site fucking up amazon links?

 

[vinniedelpino]

For what it’s worth, the scale is the last thing you want to cheap out on when reloading if shooting long range.

You can get by with a cheap press, cheap dies, even a cheap rifle.

At minimum, I’d get the RCBS.

 

[danatkins]

I used that lyman scale before getting my intellidropper and it served me well. I checked it against my dad's old lyman m5 by ohaus multiple times enough to tell me it was more than good enough for my abilities. Only thing I changed is I went to a pan with a funnel on it really streamlined things. But since going to the intellidropper I've got an mkm funnel and it's a new game

 

[straightshooter1]

Introductions: old man learning about reloading with a limited budget.

Scales:
I have the RCBS M500 (balance beam) scale and was planning to get the Lyman Pro-Touch 1500 Electronic Reloading Scale to double-check against, but the Lyman scale has been a waiting game being on being back-ordered. Is there an alternative to this digital scale in the $100 range? I don't expect it to be lab quality, but accurate, and with a plug-in power source vs battery.

Thanks in advance.

There's a bit of a learning curve with any electronic digital scale, mostly having to do with the drift you can encounter. Once you learn to manage that well, it'll do well for your powder measuring. . . though many of them may not let you load as fast as you might like. I now use a high end scale (FX-120i), but I've had an Frankford Arsenal DS-750 in addition to my M500 for a much longer time and found the DS-750 actually does a pretty good job and I'd say it's a really good value. Therefore, I'd recommend you seriously consider it:

Frankford Arsenal DS-750 Electronic Powder Scale 750 Grain Capacity

The DS-750 from Frankford Arsenal is the perfect scale for budget minded reloaders. It delivers extreme accuracy for precise measurements of bullets,...

ads.midwayusa.com

 

[wv.citybilly]

Looks like amazon has them for 87 bucks? And what is it with this site fucking up amazon links?

I've had one on backorder via Amazon for a few weeks now.

Lyman (the manufacturer) was surprised Amazon didn't have any, and told me they will ship again in March. Waiting.

 

[longrange772]

I second @straightshooter1 recommendation. I used that scale for years before upgrading to Chargemaster. Not as fast as having a Chargemaster but with respect to accuracy, though I haven't done a bunch of testing , the Frankford seems as accurate.

 

[Im2bent]

What's interesting is it's 108 from Lyman and 87 from Amazon

 

[straightshooter1]

I second @straightshooter1 recommendation. I used that scale for years before upgrading to Chargemaster. Not as fast as having a Chargemaster but with respect to accuracy, though I haven't done a bunch of testing , the Frankford seems as accurate.

Here's a little comparison I did to compare my other scales to my Chargemaster:

 

[ShtrRdy]

I've actually gone back to using a balance beam scale. The less expensive electronic scales have trouble with drifting.

 

[longrange772]

Erik Cortina shows how to get some additional accuracy by trickling up with a CM 1500 though I imagine this would work across the board. Now, whether the juice is worth the squeeze ...

 

[OkieMike]

What's interesting is it's 108 from Lyman and 87 from Amazon

I'm sure they're Chinese made and probably only cost Lyman $40 or $50. But if you order from Lyman they have to pay the overhead for their shipping department to handle the order.

Amazon probably orders them by the thousands so they get a bulk discount... If they actually ship from Lyman to the Amazon warehouses then it's one or two guys loading pallets of them on a trailer... Lyman doesn't make as much per unit but the volume profit offsets their shipping overhead.

Or Lyman just has them shipped directly from the manufacturer to Amazon... Then they don't have to pay their people to handle them. Again, the profit per unit is lower, but there's virtually no overhead. They probably make more money doing that then selling them directly at $20+ more per unit... but paying more overhead for their people to do the work.

Anyway, drifted way off the topic. Apologies to the OP.

Mike

 

[Lost_Phil]

There's a bit of a learning curve with any electronic digital scale, mostly having to do with the drift you can encounter. Once you learn to manage that well, it'll do well for your powder measuring. . . though many of them may not let you load as fast as you might like. I now use a high end scale (FX-120i), but I've had an Frankford Arsenal DS-750 in addition to my M500 for a much longer time and found the DS-750 actually does a pretty good job and I'd say it's a really good value. Therefore, I'd recommend you seriously consider it:

Frankford Arsenal DS-750 Electronic Powder Scale 750 Grain Capacity

The DS-750 from Frankford Arsenal is the perfect scale for budget minded reloaders. It delivers extreme accuracy for precise measurements of bullets,...

ads.midwayusa.com

I bought mine back in 2007-2008 as a backup to my RCBS 500 scale and it has worked grate for what I paid for it, that I really never thought of buy a better one to replace it.

I don't expect it to be lab quality, but accurate, and with a plug-in power source vs battery.

I would save your money and get one of the Frankford Arsenal DS-750's as a backup, and as it takes 2 AAA batteries that seem last forever, and I would also get a powder trickler at the same time if you do not have one. Also, save up and get an RCBS link powder dispenser or one like it, as its money better spent then buying an overpriced digital scale.

 

[Thump_rrr]

Here's a little comparison I did to compare my other scales to my Chargemaster:

View attachment 8350035

View attachment 8350036

The Gem Pro 250 is a great value for the money.
I believe it is discontinued though.

 

[straightshooter1]

The Gem Pro 250 is a great value for the money.
I believe it is discontinued though.

Yeah, the GP-250 works well, once you've figured out how to manage the drift.

And yes, they've been discontinued, though one might be able to find one for sale on eBay.

 

[Dolomite]

The Gem Pro 250 is a great value for the money.
I believe it is discontinued though.

Actually used ones pop up on accurateshooter or here every once in a while. M

 

[wv.citybilly]

Lyman (the manufacturer) was surprised Amazon didn't have any, and told me they will ship again in March. Waiting.

Amazon has since updated their estimated shipping date to March 5th.