Happy early Father's Day to me!!

[ajandrs]

A friend texted me over the weekend wanting to shoot tonight and after quickly saying "of course!" I realized I had no ammo to shoot so I went down to the basement Saturday night to whip some up ... gotta love being able to make your own on demand!

Well, like usual, after the tedious process of weighing out each load on my RCBS 505 beam scale I didn't get nearly as many done as I'd like so yesterday I informed my wife that I had just ordered my father's day present - the RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Combo!! Should be here tomorrow (thanks Amazon Prime) and with the $75 rebate after the $300 price tag it was almost a no brainer. Can't wait to get it set up and crank out some cartridges!!

Any suggestions, tips, or tricks that you know of to really dial this thing in? I was reading and came across the McDonalds straw mod, but I might wait to see what kind of results I get before messing with that ... mainly loading with Varget right now. Are hopper baffles really necessary? I'm going to build an separate table to put it on next to my bench to keep it away from the press and outside "noise."

 

[ants]

Hopper Baffle not necessary. It's function is to keep consistent weight on a powder measure that uses gravity to fill a cavity. Your new chargemaster feeds by using a motor to turn a trickler. It doesn't feed by gravity, it doesn't use a cavity.

Follow the instructions to the letter. The controls are very well programmed, the instructions tell you how to use the programming for best outcome.

Warm up the scale 15 minutes before use. This really helps the load cell. Then do the calibration with the 50 gram weights.

[I always advocate a set of 'check weights' with every scale. Not the 50 gram calibration weights, but the check weights you use to make sure the scale is working correctly. Use weight or combination of them near your intended target charge, just in case the unit gets damaged or malfunctions. It's not a calibration thing, it's just an extra check. Then proceed.]

Even if it seems like a pain, I swing the cover over it every time it throws a charge. That keeps any air currents off and helps it settle down more quickly. Air currents may contribute to overthrow or underthrow problems.

I've never had a problem with 'overthrow'. Most of us don't. Don't do the straw thing unless you find you have a problem. The programming can be altered (do a search or call RCBS directly) if you have an underthrow or overthrow problem.

Don't turn it upside down, the Chargemaster is made tough and it can handle being upside down during shipping to you. But any load cell can be damaged upside down if weight pulls down on it in tension rather than sitting on top in compression as intended. Best to take care of it.

 

[ajandrs]

Thanks for the info Ants, much appreciated!!

 

[Reloadron]

Here are a few hacks and hints so to speak. A Google of "RCBS Chargemaster 1500 Hacks" will bring up more of them. I have been using mine for a few years and I like it. Used it yesterday for some .308 loads with AA2495 powder. I have not done the straw mod but only because I have not needed to. I also left the beep alone as it doesn't bother me. As to how much I like it? Would I buy it again? Absolutely. There are others out there that work on the same principal but I am real happy with my RCBS flavor. You should really like the change.

Ron

 

[ants]

By the way, I also own automatic dispensers from Hornady, Lyman and Pact.
The Pact never did work right, ever, and customer service disappointing.
Hornady only works if I set the charge weight low and then trickle up to it.
The smaller Lyman Gen II is the least expensive and works fairly well
if you zero the empty pan every time you get ready to throw a charge.

The RCBS Chargemaster is virtually flawless, that's the one worth the money.
Reliable, accurate, more features, better programming, easier to empty, easier to clean.

 

[topazguy]

I 'm partial to the green machine(RCBS) myself. I've never had a problem with it and love the memory feature. It's accurate to a fault and even looks kinda sexy sitting on my bench. I'll have to read the manual because it's good to hear I can turn that annoying beep off.

 

[Dentite]

You'll love it compared to the beam scale. I went from the same beam scale to the Chargemaster and it's a huge time saver for me.

 

[tcoz]

Best reloading investment I've ever made. It makes load work up a breeze and is amazingly accurate if you let it warm up and keep air currents off of it.
If you find that you need the straw trick to prevent overthrows, look on eBay for the little brass insert that you can slip in to take the place of the straw. It works better and looks much better. Unfortunately I'm not at home right now and I don't remember the guy who makes them but it should be easy enough to find.