Pat Riot
Contributing Member
I have an RCBS M500 beam powder scale that I have been very happy with until yesterday.
You see, I went to my reloading store last week and I bought a set of Lyman calibration weights. I actually bought them because I always buy something when I go to my reloading store even if I am just there to see if he got primers in. I want to keep him in business and I didn’t have any calibration weights so...
Anyway, I used these weights yesterday and found that when using the scale at low charge weights for handgun cartridges I have some discrepancies after zeroing and checking Zero several times in this process
5 grain test:
Main poise at 5 grains, small poise at Zero:
6 grains of weight to balance beam.
Main poise at Zero, small poise at 5 grains:
5.5 grains of weight to balance beam.
10 grain test:
Main poise at 10 grains, small poise at Zero:
10.5 grains of weight to balance beam.
Main poise at 5 grains, small poise at 5 grains:
10 grains of weight to balance beam - Dead On.
So, here are my questions:
1. Is an RCBS M500 the wrong scale for measuring really light pistol powder loads?
2. Is there a scale you can recommend for light powder loads?
3. Should I trust the Lyman calibration weights?
Right now I don’t. I found that the 5 grain individual weight is .5 grains off compared to using 2-2 grain and 1-1 grain weights.
4. Should I buy another scale like a digital or another beam scale to compare with the M500 or replace the M500?
5. Should I look at digital vs beam scales?
6. Am I heading down a rabbit hole?
I was looking at digital scales this morning and they all use 50 gram weights for calibration. Many of the reviews mention “an excellent 0.2 grains of accuracy”. I don’t see that as “excellent”. Not when I load 9mm 115 grain loads with 4.9 grains of Universal and the Max recommended by Hornady is 5.0 grains. I want accuracy in my handgun loads. I load WAY more handgun cartridges and I use mostly Universal powder. My loads range from 4.3 grains to 7.7 grains of powder depending on what cartridge or bullet I am loading and for whichever gun.
I was going to try to bring my Lee Precision scale into my testing to compare it to the M500 and the Lyman weights but then I remembered what a PITA that things was to set and discarded that idea.
Last question:
7. Am I being to picky, anal, analytical, whatever...in this regard? I do not think so.
Bottom line is:
Should I not trust the Lyman weights and trust the M500 scale or should I do something different?
Thank you for reading all this.
PR
You see, I went to my reloading store last week and I bought a set of Lyman calibration weights. I actually bought them because I always buy something when I go to my reloading store even if I am just there to see if he got primers in. I want to keep him in business and I didn’t have any calibration weights so...
Anyway, I used these weights yesterday and found that when using the scale at low charge weights for handgun cartridges I have some discrepancies after zeroing and checking Zero several times in this process
5 grain test:
Main poise at 5 grains, small poise at Zero:
6 grains of weight to balance beam.
Main poise at Zero, small poise at 5 grains:
5.5 grains of weight to balance beam.
10 grain test:
Main poise at 10 grains, small poise at Zero:
10.5 grains of weight to balance beam.
Main poise at 5 grains, small poise at 5 grains:
10 grains of weight to balance beam - Dead On.
So, here are my questions:
1. Is an RCBS M500 the wrong scale for measuring really light pistol powder loads?
2. Is there a scale you can recommend for light powder loads?
3. Should I trust the Lyman calibration weights?
Right now I don’t. I found that the 5 grain individual weight is .5 grains off compared to using 2-2 grain and 1-1 grain weights.
4. Should I buy another scale like a digital or another beam scale to compare with the M500 or replace the M500?
5. Should I look at digital vs beam scales?
6. Am I heading down a rabbit hole?
I was looking at digital scales this morning and they all use 50 gram weights for calibration. Many of the reviews mention “an excellent 0.2 grains of accuracy”. I don’t see that as “excellent”. Not when I load 9mm 115 grain loads with 4.9 grains of Universal and the Max recommended by Hornady is 5.0 grains. I want accuracy in my handgun loads. I load WAY more handgun cartridges and I use mostly Universal powder. My loads range from 4.3 grains to 7.7 grains of powder depending on what cartridge or bullet I am loading and for whichever gun.
I was going to try to bring my Lee Precision scale into my testing to compare it to the M500 and the Lyman weights but then I remembered what a PITA that things was to set and discarded that idea.
Last question:
7. Am I being to picky, anal, analytical, whatever...in this regard? I do not think so.
Bottom line is:
Should I not trust the Lyman weights and trust the M500 scale or should I do something different?
Thank you for reading all this.
PR