Is the rcbs chargemaster lite good enough?

[GLTaylor]

Have the 1500 and have used for several years. Works well. Accurate. I have noticed it wanders if left on for several hours
If I'm away for a couple of hours, i check and/or recalibrate.

 

[browning442]

Mine has worked great... i just make sure to do the same warmup & calibration procedure each time. I turn it on the night before if possible so it sits on a while. While i'm getting ready to load i set one of the 50g weights on it for 10 mins or so, then pull it off, let it rezero if needed, and put it back on. I wrote the number down that it likes each time BEFORE calibration. After that, make sure you calibrate each time, i verify and also write down my powder pan weight to make sure the scale is reading that to be the same each time. I've had no issues doing this.

When emptying, I get as much powder out as possible with the drain tube on the side, whatever is remaining i blow out of the charging tube with a little can of computer duster to make sure all the grains are out.

 

[270jim]

I think you would be very happy with it. I am with mine. It trickles as good as I can by hand when approaching final weight and when I check it with another electronic and a balance scale it checks out the same. Always turn it on long before using, level and calibrate and get loading. Not fast but neither is doing it manually. Seating a bullet in previous case gives you something to do while waiting for it.

 

[PAGSDIII701]

Thanks very much.

There's a guy on eBay that 3-D Prints reloading parts/components for SEVERAL brands and applications. Perhaps he'd have something(?)

 

[Rudolph Ferdinand]

Is the rcbs chargemaster lite accurate enough to produce ammo capable of .5 - 1.0 MOA loads assuming the rifle and shooter can do it? I hunt out to 500 yards so I don't need 1/4 MOA loads but I do like to get below 1MOA if not as close to .5moa as possible. I'm getting tired of measuring charges on my scales by hand so I'm looking for a trickling type scale which won't break the bank. If the chargemaster lite won't do it, I'll just keep throwing charges by hand.

I have one and a Hornady powder dispenser. The RCBS is accurate and easy to set up and get going reloading.

 

[Mc Fraser]

Is the rcbs chargemaster lite accurate enough to produce ammo capable of .5 - 1.0 MOA loads assuming the rifle and shooter can do it? I hunt out to 500 yards so I don't need 1/4 MOA loads but I do like to get below 1MOA if not as close to .5moa as possible. I'm getting tired of measuring charges on my scales by hand so I'm looking for a trickling type scale which won't break the bank. If the chargemaster lite won't do it, I'll just keep throwing charges by hand.

I had mine in conjunction with FX 120i and it can be quite off sometime, as high as 0.9 grain without noticing. What I mean by that? Let's say you want to throw 55.5gr the scale can be off anywhere between 55 to 56 without getting the message that you are over or under.
That being said based on your requirements I believe the RCBS will serve you well and you can help derisk your operations if you stay away from hot loads.

My advice:
- find a velocity node to compensate for the high tolerance the scale presents
- stay away from hot loads or if you must use a beam scale to verify
- follow RCBS manual and properly warm up the unit, and operate it. Be aware of the enviromental challenges and how to mitigate them.
- verify your loads with a beam scale. I used to check 25% of my loads but each to its own. There where times when I would dump with RCBS verifying with beam and fx 120i for every load during load development.
I hope this helps.

 

[tnek13]

YES it will

 

[Mram10us]

Yes

 

[FURMAN]

You do not need the reducer for the Lite. It does not overthrow like the charge master. The Lite is actually better at getting consistent throws out of the box than the charge master. With some tweaks and the reducer the charge master can be as good but it cost more. Why buy the more expensive chargemaster? The input keys are far better and punching in numbers to the lites takes more attention to what you are doing. Yes that is splitting hairs but I do get frustrated with the lites. As far as accurate throws. I would say 95 out 100 throws with h1000, RL26, H4350, etc sized kernels are within 1(+-1) kernel of the exact charge compared to an A&D FX120i. If you leave the units on and calibrate prior to each usage you should be good. As others alluded to if you develop stable loads a few kernels is not going to make or break you out to 1k and maybe a little farther.

 

[Coues110]

Mine stopped constantly charging, varying by about +- half grain about a week before warranty expired (1 year). RCBS said they'd replace it. I decided to go back to a balance beam scale for consistency. Using a volume charger, scale and trickler seems as fast and I trust it.

 

[aushunter1]

My answer is yes BUT...……...
Like the majority of scales(even beam scales) they have a charge variance of +/- .1gr.
Probably the best way to see the effects of this is through a crony.
How does that affect round to round accuracy, well it is still able to produce 1/2 moa rounds.
For hunting I think it will do the job, if I was a BR shooter I would be looking at a scale that has a better/lower variance.

 

[md66948]

RCBS Reducer Sleeve

 

[mbaysinger89]

If you find a node where you load is less sensitive to powder charge variation, that will help too. Need a decent chrono over a more expensive powder trickler gizmo.

This is exactly right. If you find a load that is forgiviving it is definately enough. You dont need kernels or powder cut in half for hunting accuracy.

 

[FURMAN]

This is exactly right. If you find a load that is forgiviving it is definately enough. You dont need kernels or powder cut in half for hunting accuracy.

This is a long range hunting forum. LONG RANGE. We DO NEED better than +-.1 grain. I have had great luck with mine staying much tighter than that but there is no way I would trust not checking it against something better which makes it worthless to me by itself. What if one of the charges it throws that happens to be off .3 grains, you know the one that causes that flyer 5inches high and right at 1k, happens to be shot at an animal??? I do load development for wide nodes but expecting tight vertical at 800,900,1000 yards with up to .2 tenths of a grain variance does not make sense and is not likely going to happen. This statement is exactly why I can no longer relate to a majority of this forums members. Saying it does not matter when shooting game at LONG RANGE is not ok with me. It is what gives long range hunting a bad name.