Electronic Scale Question

[Matt3357]

In lieu of the double charge post, and of a mistake of my own that  I caught, I have decided to buy an electronic scale to weigh each round after it is done.  My main concern would be to catch doubles and empties since I don't load anywhere near max.  My mistake was a 5 gr. under charge due to a bumped scale.  Fortunately I haven't had time to shoot any and noticed it the next day.  I ordered a hornady bullet puller and started pulling away.  Back to the scale.  Which low end scale would you recommend?  I was looking at this one:  http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=438260

Thanks,
Matt

[Savage]

Matt,
With the accumulation of weight variances in the cases and bullets, something as small as 5 gr might be hard to detect. It's not uncommon for brass from the same lots to vary 2-3grs, and bullets maybe 1 or 2gr. The best safeguard for me, has been to visually inspect charged cases before seating the bullet, weighing any questionable charges.
No experience with the particular scale, but have had good luck with an inexpensive one I bought from Cabela's. Don't get rid of the beam scale, I actually use mine more than the electronic.
Savage

[LaOtto222]

I do not see how accurate it is. Is it +/- .1 grain or what. I would think for your purposes an accuracy of +/- .5 grain would be good enough.

Some thing to think about - Weigh some cases, some primers and bullets and get your average + the high and low weight. Add in your weight of powder and you should have your average weight and what the highest and lowest is.  After finding out what the highest weight will be and the lowest. determine if the spread is low enough to tell if you are under weight or over weight. This gets more critical, the lower the powder weight is. For instance if you are using 5 grains of Bullseye a variation of 1.5 grains is not going to give you a real accurate picture of your powder weight differences. It will give you a range that the finished ammo should be with in. It will tell you if you missed a charge or double charged one. A partial charge is a little more tricky. If you got a combination at the lower end of the scale and then threw a little heavy on the powder charge, you may not see it as a problem. From 230 grains to 233 grains for instance. Then any thing above or be low those two limits be thrown out and re-done. Good Luck and Good Shooting

[Matt3357]

Thanks for the quick replies.  I have no intentions of using this to replace my beam scale.  I plan on using it to do a double check for my cases before they are put in the box.  I use benchmark powder for my 223 and have not had a chance to work up a load completely, so I am still weighing each and every charge with the scale, not using the auto disk thrower yet.  I use the auto disk for 38 spl and check the charge every 5 cases so I am not so concerned with being able to discern very small differences.  I know that the tolerances could stack up but I was able to tell that the cases were light with my beam scale, it just took longer.  do you guys have any recommendations for a scale to get?

Thanks,
Matt

[wncchester]

" The best safeguard for me, has been to visually inspect charged cases before seating the bullet, weighing any questionable charges."

Ditto.  I think you will obtain better safety from better methods than from any change in tools.  

I've been charging all of my cases in loading blocks and visually checking the powder column for consistancy, under a strong light, before seating for over four decades.  Never had a double charge, never a squib, never a missed charge so I guess it's working.  (Had two fail-to-fire events about thirty years ago  but it was because of bad primers.)

[Chas.]

I wouldn't bother to weigh the finished product.  I would just weight the shell after charging and before seating bullet.  In other words, just the case, primer, and powder.  That takes the bullet weight variance out of the equation.

[Matt3357]

I guess i left a part out of my original post.  I wont be changing tools, just adding one.  I still look into the cases, but one can never be too safe right?

Matt

[trotterlg]

I use this one below.  Accurate to .02gr, I stopped using my balance scale after getting this one.  The price is right.  Larry

http://cgi.ebay.com/0-002-GRAM-PRECISION-JEWELRY-SCALE-DIAMOND-CARAT-SCALES_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a1Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a0Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem588140f9c8QQitemZ380125641160QQptZLHQ5fDefaultDomainQ5f0QQsalenotsupported

[Savage]

 If you're using the "Auto Disk" powder measure, your charges are going to be consistent. Still think refining your process to a point where you have confidence in it, and visually confirming everything will get you where you want to be. Like Winchester, it's worked for me for over 45yrs! But, by all means get an electronic scale. It really speeds up the process of weighing and averaging a large number of items.
Savage

[coues2506]

I case size and prime in batch but weigh the powder and seat the bullet one at a time to prevent error.

[Doug B.]

I case size and prime in batch but weigh the powder and seat the bullet one at a time to prevent error.

I don't even prime in batch. One at a time straight across the board. I use a piece of hardwood with one hole drilled in it while charging. The bullet gets seated after priming/charging and the complete cartridge goes into the box. Have never had a problem.