RCBS Chargemaster WOW!!

[Atakawow]

Just picked one up for an amazing price. All I can say is "WOW!!". How did I manage to go so long without one?? Charges are thrown as input with +/- 0.1, exactly as advertised (I cross-check every 3 or so charges on the beam scale).

Truly a must-have for rifle cartridges (too slow for pistol). I would have paid the full MSRP for one.

Pic of it on the bench:

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Yep. I wouldnt trade mine for nothin'. I use the check weights and if everything is kosher I roll on. Youve probably already figured it out but you can have it automatically start throwing the next charge once you replace the pan and it zeros itself out. That way you dont have to hit the dispense button everytime.

[17nut]

I have the old (PACT) model and love it for loading 17 Hornady Hornet, where the difference between 10.0 grains and 10.2 grains is disaster. It is not fast but it is hugely convenient.

[Beagle333]

Didn't I read somewhere that you could program it to do pistol loads faster?

[MyFlatline]

I wouldn't trade mine for nuthin, as for speed, by the time I seat and crimp the next load is ready to pour.

edit to add:

You might see if you can move it to a different table other than the one the press is on. If there is any movement at all when pulling the press it can have ill effects on the weight..JMHO

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Good suggestion on putting it on a different table. That's exactly how I use mine and find it is super accurate.

[jmorris]

I have a couple, I would like them even more if RCBS would include information about the parameters, I would prefer the ability to shut the auto zero “feature” off.

[lightman]

Just picked one up for an amazing price. All I can say is "WOW!!". How did I manage to go so long without one?? Charges are thrown as input with +/- 0.1, exactly as advertised (I cross-check every 3 or so charges on the beam scale).

Truly a must-have for rifle cartridges (too slow for pistol). I would have paid the full MSRP for one.

Pic of it on the bench:

Thats a nice looking loading bench! And Yeah, the Chargemaster is a nice piece of equipment. I would hate to be without mine!

[Road_Clam]

Same here, used a drum dump for many years, then finally shelled out the big coin, and wished I did it from the beginning. The Chargemaster is not technically a direct "time saver" but it does allow you to push a button, dump a very accurate charge then walk away and perform secondary tasks. Very fast drop weight charge adjustments as well. A definite time saver when loading up new loads with varied charges. Keep in mind when the unit is not perfect if left for extended periods the weight will drift. In other words if you drop a 42 grain charge and walk away for an hour the reading will read something like 40.8 even though you do in fact have a perfect 42 gr drop of powder. I tried using my Chargemaster on BP and it seems to be extremely slow with FFG Goex. I've since gone back to using a drum for BP.

[jmorris]

A pair of CM’s has you loading pretty smoothly though but if I want the most repeat consistency I use my homade auto setup, it has a much higher resolution.

[dragon813gt]

Didn't I read somewhere that you could program it to do pistol loads faster?

Yes, you can speed up or slow down the dispensing speed. I wouldn't suggest it for light pistol loads. It will over throw the charges w/ regularity if you do this. Most people change when it goes from high to low and low to trickle. This allows for faster throws w/ large rifle charges. I played around w/ if but went back to the factory settings. The load is always ready when I need it w/ these settings.

[Atakawow]

A separate table is a good idea. I haven't had any issue from vibration while operating the press. Although I can see that it is needed while loading bigger cartridge.

I haven't messed with the charging speed, yet. If I remember my part, that is, dispense the next charge while seat/crimp the current round, there's almost no downtime by the time I need to charge the next round.

I found that for pistol cases, removing the brass from the LCT, funnel, dump, and add back to the press added quite a bit of time in the overall process. So for this, the Lee drum still serves a purpose.

The one negative feature I've found is the drain channel. My God, it is no fun when half a pound of ball powder is poured all over the bench (ask me how I know that ).

[Road_Clam]

Link to adjusting speeds:
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/...gemaster-1500/

[OS OK]

To speed the dispensing, try this...use a Lee dipper to put 3/4's or so of the dispensed charge in the pan after pushing the dispense button.
I have the (?-1500) model separate dispenser and scales, it works with this old one.
Also, set the charge a few tenths light of target and trickle up to exact desired amount...if you are having trouble with it overthrowing/underthrowing the stick powders.

Attachment 208371

[jmorris]

NOTE: there is no default to go back to the factory parameters if you start adjusting them, write them all down before hand, so you can return them to original.

If you are like me and tested the various “tunes” side by side with an unchanged unit to see what changes actually worked better or worse. Some are completely useless others work better with some powders and worse with others. Instead of changing parameters every time I changepowders, I just leave mine at their factory settings these days.

If you just want it to throw another charge when you return the pan, once you throw your first charge, press and hold “enter” until “auto” comes up on the display. Then it will throw a charge by just returning the pan, it’s in the manual.

[dragon813gt]

I found that for pistol cases, removing the brass from the LCT, funnel, dump, and add back to the press added quite a bit of time in the overall process. So for this, the Lee drum still serves a purpose.

The one negative feature I've found is the drain channel. My God, it is no fun when half a pound of ball powder is poured all over the bench (ask me how I know that ).

The Lee funnel fits into the top of their charging dies. There is no need to remove the brass from the press. If you're using another brand of dies in sure one of the funnels on the market will fit. There will always be a use for a press activated powder measure.

I hear the compliant about how the unit drains all the time. This isn't a design fault. It's a user fault. I haven't dumped powder all over the place because I always make sure it's closed before I dump powder into the hopper. No matter what type of drain system they used people would forget to close it and dump powder all over the place.

[BK7saum]

Maybe I'm the oddball here but I went back to a uniflow, trickler, and rcbs beam balance. My charge master with auto zero doesn't want to keep +/-0.2. Frankly I can get just as good accurate charges with just the uniflow. Even when zeroed, the auto zero feature seems to cause 0.2 grain fluctuations with the pan zero from charge to charge having about a 0.2 grain variance. I just don't trust it.

[OS OK]

Remember that a very slight air flow in the room and bench vibrations will play heck with these digital scales too.

[country gent]

My very early RCBS charge master ( it uses the separate setting and measure with infared pick up to the scales. HAs worked great since I bought it. Ive used it for long range ammo ( 1000 yds) and its performed great. I got in the habit on rifle loads (243 308 and 300 win mag) to set up a powder measure to drop just shy of where the high speed tube shuts off. I drop a charge and drop it in the pan hit the start button. The measure starts with the high speed tube running and finishes dead on before I have seated the bullet on the previous round and gently set it in the ammo box. Using the pre dropped charge with the heavier charges of coarser grained powder speeds things up a lot with mine. In reality with practice and paying attention I can do almost as good with my Harrels measure on a solid mount.

[6bg6ga]

A pair of CM’s has you loading pretty smoothly though but if I want the most repeat consistency I use my homade auto setup, it has a much higher resolution.

This little setup will beat those fancy store bought units at a fraction of the price. The money you save can be put towards another firearm purchase.