Beam scale

eBay for vintage reloading scales: ohaus, Lyman, Redding, RCBS, Bonanza, Pacific, etc... you should be able to pick up a fine scale for about $50, sometimes less.

I use an Ohaus RCBS 505 and have never had an issue with it. You can sometimes still find them, but they are getting harder and harder to find.

Right now if I was to buy a brand new scale it would probably be a Redding, but the reality of it the new RCBS, Dillon, Hornady, Lyman, etc all are good scales. I am not a fan of how the Lee scales work.

I found the Dillon (3) Poise beam scale easy to use & read.

• Set Main Poise on 0
  
• Set Middle on 4

Set last one on 3
4.3 grains.

Other brands get by with only (2) but is just seems more complicated to read, set-up, and use.

For a basic beam scale, I don't think you can beat a Redding. You'll find 1st and 2nd gen example on ebay and elsewhere for $25-ish, and magnetically damped 3rd gen for $30 occasionally.

I've owned at least one example of every major manufacturer's beam scale. . . and I now own 3 Redding scales.

I have two Ohaus 10-10 and Lee beam scales (I PIF my old Lee and RCBS 5-0-5 to deserving reloaders and new Lee scale was signed by rcmodel so it stays in the factory box).

Keep in mind while 10-10, 5-0-5 and most other beam scales have .1 gr resolution, Lee scale has .05 gr resolution. Both Ohaus and Lee scales are sensitive to .05 gr check weight and accurately verify Ohaus ASTM Class 6 check weights down to 10 mg - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-busting-digital-scales.821449/#post-10551544

I would recommend RCBS 10-10 but it is no longer made in USA.

I would second recommendation for Dillon beam scale as it is built like 5-0-5 - https://www.dillonprecision.com/dillon-s-eliminator-scale_8_7_25215.html

Go with the ebay plan, as long as you have decent pics so you can see it hasn't been dinged up, they will clean up fine and work as new.
I use a very old RCBS 10-10, or an even older Lyman M5(both ebay finds), before that I had bought a new Lyman Pro500 with the plastic base(It was on sale at Optics Planet for 45 bucks shipped and I was desperate to replace my Lee at the time, as I hated it), it pales in comparison to the old ones as far as build quality, but does match them with my check weights, it is just light and cheap feeling/looking, I weighted it down with a few chunks of lead hot glued in the frame and that helped a bunch. I do use it occasionally(Some days it just depends which box is closer to me)
The Lee scale is so small and just not very user friendly, I wish they would rework it to a full size scale, it is more frustrating than satisfying as it is.

Kaldor said:

I use an Ohaus RCBS 505 and have never had an issue with it. You can sometimes still find them, but they are getting harder and harder to find.

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The RCBS 505 ($68 on Amazon) is the same scale that Ohaus makes for Dillon, which they call the Eliminator ($89 at Dillon Precision).

I recently bought a vintage US-made RCBS 1010 on ebay. They go for fairly high prices, so you have to pick your auction. I recently saw a NOS 1010 go for $330! The thing is, from the paint and the box I really couldn't tell if it was China made or not. The box was the newer one. I hope the guy knew what he was buying. That said the 5-10 go much cheaper and have the same micrometer poise, so should be just as accurate.

Kaldor-

I am ok with the Lee except it is a PITA to read,

This is like my scale:
Bonanza Model C POWDER & BULLET SCALE Scale USED ORIGINAL BOX RELOADING EQUIPMEN https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/372230287592

I use a Dillon beam scale, and don't yet use an electronic scale. The Dillon is nice, and easy to use. It is rather lite, and easy to jar, so I pretty much filled the base with lead shot and used an epoxy as a mortar. I kept the magnet area clear though.

It weight slightly more now.

“Beam scales” are really balances, not scales.

I’ll cast another vote for the RCBS 505

As mentioned check out Ebay if you time it right you can get a deal, look for Ohaus 10-10 / RCBS 10-10 / Lyman M5
scales Made in the USA Ohaus made some of them and yes they look like the same scale... then if you have the time and some xtra $$
send it off to Scott Parker to it tuned, Scott does great work.. and they are accurate...repeatable

-Snoopz

Dillon Precision.

While the many suggestive are all good most scales under $100 are similar in performance. Then it comes down to Customers Service. IMO RCBS has the best CS in the business. While the 10-10 is an outstanding scale it's also expensive and does nothing more than the 5-0-5 scale but for weighing heavier stuff... The RCBS 5-0-5 scale is a great product and I suggest buying a cover for it too. They have been discontinued recently so if you want one you better get on it. Most reloaders will never weigh anything over 511 grains.

EBay has some good deals.

I stopped trusting electronic scales in cold weather, that is weather below 50 F. I had low velocity rounds, loaded in freezing weather, in a very cold reloading room, rounds that missed the 600 yard target. I pulled bullets and found low powder charges even though each charge had been individually weighed on my electronic scale. So, in cold weather, I break out the old Redding balance beam scale. I do check the calibration with check weights. While electronics are affected by temperature, I have not found any references to gravity being affected by temperature, and these balance beam scales work very well.



These have to have been made by the same company that made the older Lyman 1000 balance beam scales,which go for less than $40.00 on ebay. New they are running $80.00 delivered. Before buying a used scale, make sure the cup and swing arm are OEM. The swing arm on my Redding is weighted, and it and the cup balance the beam arm exactly to "0.0" grams.

fotheringill said:

Kaldor-

I am ok with the Lee except it is a PITA to read,

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Same here. It works fine, its just a pain to use. My 505 is simple, quick and accurate.

A beam scale is a very useful tool to have as a backup to an electronic that's giving variant readings. I bought an old Pacific off of ebay a few years ago and it is a trustworthy unit. I think I paid in the $15-$20 range.

If I had to replace my RCBS 505 I would buy another RCBS 505...It has served me well for over 32 years.

Some days *you* get the bear. I was at an auction a couple of years ago, and saw an old new in the box RCBS 10-10. Unfortunately, another guy wanted it, too.. and I had to give $40 for it..

Chuck59 said:

Some days *you* get the bear. I was at an auction a couple of years ago, and saw an old new in the box RCBS 10-10. Unfortunately, another guy wanted it, too.. and I had to give $40 for it..

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You made out! The last few auctions I saw for 10-10s went for $160, $138, $330, and $122. OP, go for a 5-10. It doesn't have that nifty snap on dust cover and it will only weigh up to 500 grains, but it is just as accurate. The only reason I didn't go that way myself was that a long time ago when I bought my first scale, a 502, I promised myself that one day I would own a 10-10. Sometimes it's nice to be able to keep promises that you made to yourself when money was tight.