mjbgalt, I first started handloading in the early 70s. I had read in several articles how the RCBS rockchucker was highly respected, and the Lyman 55 powder measure was the most consistant of measures. So, I bought a Rockchucker and a Lyman ammo crafter kit that included a 55 measure, and a 505 balance beam scale. I would weigh charges and adjust the measure, until I got one that was the right weight, then charge a full loading block of brass. Like you, I was getting groups that were quite narrow, but 2-3 inches in height. I asked a local experienced handloader about this, and he told me to buy a trickler,and as slamfire said, set the measure to throw a little light, then trickle the charge up to the exact weight. This cured the verticle stringing, but after a few years, I noticed that once I trickled up to 0, if I bumped the beam on the scale, it would stop showing a little heavy. I figured the jewel or knife edge on the balance had worn, so I bought a new RCBS 1010 balance scale. for a few more years, everything was well, but soon it started doing as the 505 had done, so I bought a RCBS digital. It is now 15 years old, and still doing things right. It is faster at trickling up than the beam scales, because you never have to wait for the beam to quit bouncing to get a reading. By all means, get a digital scale and trickler, and load more consistant loads than you can buy, by trickling up to your powder weight.
