Electronic scales

[Chris C]

I'm looking for a good grain scale. Anybody have any info on the RCBS Rangemaster 2000?

[Victor N TN]

I favor my old model Dillon Terminator.

[LenH]

I have the Rangemaster 750, works like a champ.

[OptimusPanda]

I have the rangemaster 750 as well. It's been a good scale havent found a reason to buy something else yet.

[Chris C]

Unfortunately, the Terminator is out of my price range and the Rangemaster 750 has been discontinued.

[Pee Wee]

I have one, very accurate. I also have the 750 and 1500 chargmaster. I have four calibration weights of different weights and Check them reguraly. I use the 2000 to check my compition loads with.

[Chris C]

So I can take that to mean you like it. It's not a bad price...........a little more than I'd really like to pay, but I do want an electronic grain scale so I can work with my bullet casting. I'll stick with my beam scale for loading.

[country gent]

Look at the gem pro 250 and 500 on the internet. I have a 500 and it does a great job for me and reads to .02 grns Its actually a jewelers scale but grns is one of the five wieght systems it wieghs in. I have the check wieght it came with and 2 rcbs check wieght sets Its always dead on for me.

[jmort]

gem pro 250

+ 1

[Chris C]

Okay guys, I just ordered the Rangemaster 2000 from Brownells. Looks as if the Gem Pro would be a good one also.

[Pee Wee]

Okay guys, I just ordered the Rangemaster 2000 from Brownells. Looks as if the Gem Pro would be a good one also.
Chris,
you will be very happy with it. You will find that it is a accurate as your beam scales. After a year of checking every thing on the beam to the digital and with the calibration weights I no longer own a beam scale.

[Chris C]

That's encouraging PEE WEE, thanks. This was a big expenditure for me, especially since I've bought all of this equipment in just a few weeks time. Everything, all at once. Next thing I'm considering is a PID...........but that'll be after I win the lottery!;-)

[lightman]

Electronic scales are nice. I'll just remind you about a couple of things to watch out for. Electronic scales can be affected by air currents that you can't feel. Mine moves a little when the central heat/air comes on. They also can be affected by other electronic devices like cell phones or cordless phones. Some fluorescent fixtures also can affect them. I have had no problems with mine, just a few things to be aware of. You will enjoy having an electronic scale.

[Tackleberry41]

The reviews on amazon for the gempro500 were not very good. Guess the sort of usual stuff you find on places like Midway, if you get a good one, their great. If not alot of frustration. I have avoided buying digital as the reviews on reloading specific scales did not fill me with confidence. Again, if you get a good one, they work fine, but if you get one of the many that are junk out of the box, leaves a bad taste. Especially since some returned them multiple times. Or the fact they seem to require some sort of clean room to work right as they are not shielded against things like cell phones or shop lights.

I have been wanting to buy a new scale, an extra one, but the newer beam scales being peddled are not near as well made as the old ones.

[jmort]

I have two of these, and have yet to find any deficiencies that warrant spending more than $25





BPI BallistiScale-1500 Digital Scale





http://www.ballisticproducts.com/images/12Tx.jpg



BallistiScale-1500 digital scale
Now with a larger powder pan
BPI ballistic technicians designed the BallistiScale-1500 with the reloader in mind. Besides being packed with all the necessary features, our scale is America's best value for a high quality compact digital scale. Our laboratory technicians know that a reliable digital scale is an absolute necessity for accurate reloading; no competent reloader should be without one. We wouldn't put our name on a scale and back it with a 10-year warranty unless we believed in it. No other scale has more features and no scale can compete against this value.
Why a digital scale?
Once you've used a digital scale, you'll wonder what you ever did without it. No fumbling with beams, no lost heartbeats while waiting for a beam scale to settle. Big LCD backlit readout for those of us with "experienced" eyes. When technology offers a better tool, take advantage of it. Your loads and your sport deserve it.

Features:
Capacity: 1543 grains (over 3-1/2 ounces)
Accuracy: 0.1 grain
Stainless steel platform
Large, easy-to-read LCD backlight display
Self-contained, hinged cover
Includes large powder pan & calibration weight
Runs on two AA batteries (included)
Weighs in four different modes: grain, gram, oz & ct
Auto off: 3 minutes
Pocket-sized: Convenient & portable

[Chris C]

Where were you before I ordered the Rangemaster, jmort? That looks as if it would do just what I'm after.

[Walter Laich]

where was this post on last Thursday?

My old D-Terminator died! This one bought from Dillon before they moved to their present location--want to say 15 years ago.

Found one I like but the Ballastic Cast looks to be a better deal

[jmort]

Sorry guys, I have been pimping these things for a while now. I'm sure what you picked will work just fine. You could always return to most sellers, get your $$$ back. For $25 it is a great deal, but the accuracy is .1 grains, which is more than accurate enough for me. I tend not to red-line my loads and use check weights often.

[mozeppa]

gem pro 250

+ 1

+2 got mine 4 days ago!

[Pee Wee]

As long a you keep it calibrated and check for accuracy with a calibrated weight you well be fine. I do competition shooting for ILSA and NRA silhouette and need my powder and bullet weight to be dead on. I have done due diligence over two years to have the confidence in my RCBS scales to use them exclusively. Saves me time and space.

[country gent]

I was off mine is the gem pro 250 also by myweight. Ive been using mine for 2 years now. Mine came with an anti vibration pad for under it also. Mine very seldom needs rezeroing when using it. I do check it before use with check wieghts. I normally check at the weight I want to be at Ie a set of weights equal to chare wieght Im throwing. I know then that 66 grns is 66 grns or whatever the charge is. The rcbs check wieghts are your friend and can be a usefull tool. To set up for this enter the weight into calculator and subtract down with each with added. 66 grns is 1 50 grn 1 10 grn 1 5 grn and 1 1 grn in the pan. This tells me the scales is zeroed and reading correctly where Im working.

[JWT]

I have been interested in a digital scale for sorting boolits so I have been watching this discussion. The online reviews for the Gem pro 250 and 500 are not real encouraging. The MTM and Frankfort at Midway have a lot of negative reviews also. I don't want to spend a fortune but an inconsistent scale is useless. I use an old RCBS 10-10 for loading and I don't see that changing but weighing boolits is painfully slow.

[Chris C]

but weighing boolits is painfully slow.

Believe me, I know what you mean. I weighed 135 on a beam scale today! Can't wait for my digital to arrive.

[Walter Laich]

When mine died over the weekend I dug my old beam scale out. Was a good trip down memory lane and really wasn't as slow as I thought it would be.
That being said my new scale should be here this week.

[54bore]

I have a little frankford Arsenal that works great, I use it quite a bit to check bullet weights and such, My main scale is an Rcbs 10-10 beam, I often check back and forth between the beam and the digital and so far no glitches with the little frankford Arsenal

[Chris C]

Well, my new rangemaster 2000 arrived yesterday. I'm disappointed..................not with the scales, but with how wide a variance of weight my bullets have. Just shows how inconsistent I am in my process. Oh well, this scale will help me get on track. Oh...............as far as a review of the scales goes, I have tried to fool it every which way and it's spot on no matter whether or not I've got the florescent lights on or off; whether the temperature in the shop is 55 degrees or 85 degrees; whether or not the circulating fans are on in the room. I've got several items, in addition to the test slugs that came with the scale that are a known weight. They weigh exactly the same each time I've tried to change the scale's surroundings. It's spot on. It was pricey and I really puckered when I hit the buy button, but I think it'll be worth it in the long run.

[Walter Laich]

I got my new one yesterday. Easy and simple to use. Doesn't take up much space. Will be finding a small plastic or wood box to keep it in some dust and things falling from top shelf won't hurt it.

Say what you will--prices on electronics have come way down. My Dillon D-Terminator (their first model way back) was over $300! I replaced it with one for less than $25 and with money that has less value than 'back in the day.'

[Chris C]

Think I'll just keep the cord plugged into the hard-to-access outlet and put the scales in the cabinet above to protect it, Walter. I'll only put it on my bench when needed. My bench looks like a hoarders house, so I certainly don't want it there among the muck. :D (organized is something I'm definitely not!)

[Chris C]

Okay, here's a report. I need someone to tell me what condiments to use with crow! I got my scale. The first week I had it, it worked like a charm. From then on, I could put a bullet on it.........take it off and put it back on and get as much as a whole grain, plus or minus difference. I've turned off the fluorescent lights and used incandescent. Everything I tried couldn't make it give consistent results. I put it in a box today and sent it back to Brownells. Huge disappointment. Guess I'll start looking at something else! Let's see, crow............maybe stuff it with onions and wrap it in bacon, ya think?

[Irascible]

Just remember to warm it up 10-15 minutes or so so you won't have to keep zeroing it. I have an RCBS and it takes all of 15minutes to settle down. I don't know about these ones that only go on with weight, I guess you'll have to experiment a little.

[Chris C]

I left it on at all times............as I was told in the instructions. No drafts in the room. (no fans or ducted air-conditioning) Level surface with no vibrations. No activated fluorescent lighting.

I just took the advice of some here on this forum and others and ordered a BallistiScale from BPI. One fifth of what the RCBS scale cost.