[lizziedog1]

Does anyone here use one of those electronic powder dispensers?

There are several companies that make them. If you use one, which brand is it?

I was looking at the Midway website and reading the customer reviews about these machines. Talk about being all over the place. Some folks really love them, and some were really cursing them. I figured I can probably get the real scoop here.

[cfullgraf]

I have a Pact. Works as advertised.

I find it slow for general reloading but it is the cat's meow for developing loads. It is easy to load up a few cartridges of one charge then change to another.

I cannot comment on the other manufacturers but I suspect they work fine as well.

[REL1203]

I have the RCBS Chargemaster and love it. It makes reloading Rifle SOOOOOOOO much easier. I honestly dont know what I would do without it, so i HIGHLY recommend getting a good one.

[fullmag]

I started out with lyman unit it worked great for about a month then went waco returned it and the new one worked great for a while then started doing the same thing. traded it back in paid a little more and got a rcbs it works great had it for a year now and no problems. if you have any florescent lights near lyman unit it wont work according to their service guy.
rcbs is pretty fast it keeps up with me on my turret press.

[subman47]

i also have the RCBS Chargemaster, greatest thing since sliced bread :)

[MtnCreek]

I had an old Lyman (balance beam type). I was unable to get consistant charges with it. I suggest not getting a Lyman beam type dispenser.

[john16443]

have a read here

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=588531

[kingmt]

I love mine. It does a batter job at dropping the load then I can. It can also drop it faster then I can.

I use a Lee masseur when loading bulk for handguns because it is faster but if I'm working up a load for my rifle(what I do the most of) it is much faster to let the electronic do it. I can set the measure to run fast at first then slow down right before it reaches weight. I is normally done by the time I'm ready for it.

It is put out by Smartreloader.

[viking499]

Anyone else using the PACT dispenser and scale combo? How does it compare to the RCBS?

[john16443]

Anyone else using the PACT dispenser and scale combo? How does it compare to the RCBS?
Electronic Powder Dispensers Go Head To Head

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ahbEa77WVI

[jagter82]

I have the RCBS and love it. Have multiple calibers and works great. I have no complaints as of yet.

[ranger335v]

" I suggest not getting a Lyman beam type dispenser. " ???


The value of a digital dumpster depends on the expected quality of your work with a manual measure and scale/trickler.

[parisite]

How would this work with a progressive press?

[scotch827]

I have the RCBS Charge master and really like it. I check it every once and while against a beam scale and it always right on. I like the auto feature. It also makes setting the powder charge for my Lnl progressive a lot easier.

Scott

[Ala Dan]

Another RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 user checking in; best thing since Uncle
Henry invented the FORD~! :D ;)

[Win1892]

PACT 2 thumbs up

[Fatelvis]

I have Lyman's "III" version. Quick enough for me, accurate, and trouble free. I recommend it.

[cheygriz]

The dispensers don't buy you anything thast I can see. Any quality measure will throw charges close enough that even a benchrest rifle won't notice the difference.

[RidgwayCO]

My wife bought me a Pact system years ago for Christmas. I use it primarily for .30-06 loads, and it really makes the reloading go faster.

(Did I mention how much I love my wife?)

[Brian10]

I have the Hornady unit. It works pretty good for me.

[Blowtorch53]

+1 (or more) on the Chargemaster. I don't know how I lived without it before!

[cfullgraf]

The dispensers don't buy you anything thast I can see. Any quality measure will throw charges close enough that even a benchrest rifle won't notice the difference.

I agree for general reloading. But when making small quantities (5-10 rounds) of several different charges, the dispensers make short work of the changes in charge weight.

Except for working up loads, I use a standard powder measure.

[amlevin]

I like my RCBS real well. Biggest single benefit is that it dispenses all the powders I use without cutting grains, requiring a special technique to insure uniformity, and it does so while I am seating a bullet and measuring.

It may be slow for anyone who likes to load a whole block full of cases but not so slow if you measure load, fill case, place pan back for next load, and seat/measure the finished round. By the time I do this I can reach for another measured load and repeat.

[texaz]

Like someone else said, my electronic scale is SLOW for loading lots of cartridges with the same charge, but it's the bees knees when working up different powder charges for the same cartridge. I'm happy I have both, but for different reasons.

[Liberty4Ever]

The dispensers don't buy you anything thast I can see. Any quality measure will throw charges close enough that even a benchrest rifle won't notice the difference.
If you mean that a good volumetric powder measure throws charges as accurately as an electronic powder dispenser, then I'd disagree. The accuracy of a volumetric powder dispenser is very dependent on the shape of the powder grains, and the best powders for larger calibers tend to dispense poorly in volumetric powder dispensers.

Most of my pre-purchase research was reading the reviews at Midway, and a little bit of YouTubage and forum crawling for opinions and insight. I bought the RCBS Chargemaster 1500 and I'm VERY pleased with it.

I crank out .223 semi-auto plinking ammo on my Lee LoadMaster progressive press using a volumetric powder drop, although with all of the case prep needed for rifle cases, only the powder drop, bullet seating and crimping are done progressively. I do the case prep on the RCBS Case Prep Center that I modified to do all case prep functions after resizing... including trimming. I have a couple of YouTube videos if you're interested. I use only powders that meter well for the progressive powder measure and I visually inspect each. One of the MANY advantages of the RCBS ChargeMaster powder dispenser is the accurate measurement BY WEIGHT of almost any powder. It's essentially a powder dribbler on steroids.

For loading anything less than the 220 grains of powder I use in .50 BMG, the RCBS ChargeMaster has dispensed another accurate powder load while I seated the bullet over the previously dispensed powder charge, and I don't wait long for .50 BMG - just long enough to verify OAL before crimping. For volume production of accurate hand loaded rifle ammo, the ChargeMaster is a big time saver. It does all the powder measuring while I'm doing other things.

The ChargeMaster is also great for load development. No fussy powder bushings or powder volume to weight translation charts or powder dribblers. I punch in 22.0 grains and automatically dispense five charges of powder. Then I punch in 22.2 grains and dispense five more, and so on, throughout my powder load test range. Easy as pie. I like pie!

I wouldn't by a powder dispenser if you want to progressively load pistol ammo of one recipe out of a load book, but for accurate rifle ammo, it's a real time saver. Yes, you can do the same thing with a powder drop onto a scale and trickle powder manually to the desired weight, but you'll need a powder drop, scale and powder dribbler... and a lot more time.

If you want to reload .50 BMG, be sure to check the capacity of the other dispensers, and their dispensing speed. A large part of my decision to get the ChargeMaster a few years ago was the capacity and speed that were compatible with reloading .50 BMG without making two powder drops. At the time, the others weren't practical. The RCBS got higher marks on build quality and reliability back then too, and from my experience, that reputation is warranted. It seemed to be worth the small increase in price compared to other brands.

Finally, if you're put off by the high cost and you're looking to justify it, you're getting a great digital scale as part of the ChargeMaster automatic powder dispenser, and you can easily use that scale as a standalone digital scale for all your reloading needs.

[raddiver]

I have to put my +1 in on the chargemaster. Not that i think you need to get that particular model, but just having the auto function is a great help in speeding up the process. Verify the weight, grab the tray, dump in the cartridge, replace the tray, and by the time i get the bullet seated, the next round is ready to verify weight and continue the process.

Great time saver.