My buddy has some really nice reloading equipment. And has the ability to really see actual results. He has moved to a GemPro 250 electronic scale. They get really good reviews on their accuracy. But not so good reviews on their longevity. I've been using an archaic beam scale for 30 years. And a cheap Lyman one at that.

Wanted some opinions on the best and most accurate method of weighing charges for extreme low ES and Long Range.

Beam scale is about as accurate as you can get for consistency. The objection to them is that it takes a bit more time.

Why agonize about weights? For years the most accurate shooters, those in benchrest competition, dumped their loads out of powder measures. Unweighed. You'd be hard put to beat them with a sporting rifle.

Not a fan of the electronic scales. I like my RCBS 5-0-2 and tuned Redding #2 balances better than my Gempro. I get inconsistent readings with mine, not huge values but enough to be bothersome. My balance on the other hand seems to repeat very well and when used with an Omega trickler I can get three perfect (+-.05gr) charges per minute for my long range ammo I load single stage. I think I'd need to spend quite a bit more than the Gempro costs to get the consistency I want. You can get a Parker tuned RCBS 10-10 balance for a lot less than a good electronic scale and it is as accurate and pretty much as fast to use. My .02c.

If it has to be a digital, the Acculab 123 was well thought of. There are probably others. I think that Accurateshooter.com has reviewed several models but I don't remember seeing an independent comparison of several models at the same time regarding performance.

A beam scale can be pretty sensitive. On a typical 308 charge of 45 grains of Varget my old RCBS 10-10 will show detectable movement with the addition of one kernel. That's assuming I'm wearing my reading glasses, Varget kernels are pretty small.

Ditto. I wouldn't be without my 10-10. 30 years old and counting. I tried a couple different electronic scales along the way and sold them pretty quickly.

I would spend money on a first rate powder measure before going crazy on the scales.

I believe benchrest shooters tend to gravitate toward powders that meter well unlike some of the ones I use.

RCBS 10-10

I just heard RCBS is discontinuing the 505 and 10-10 scales. True?

Yes, 'tis true.

I use a PACT. I use to double check weights with my 5-0-5 but haven't done so in years.

So what will RCBS sell? Just the 5-0-2?

There is a gentleman over on the accurateshooter.com forums who goes by "sparker". He tuned up a Redding #2 scale for me a few years ago, and made a big difference in how it performed. He is highly regarded on that forum, if you want to do a search on him. My personal experience with him was excellent. If anyone is thinking of staying with a beam balance scale, I would recommend a chat with him.

Steve

Personally lean toward the mechanical side that I can check, tune up if ever needed, zero out, and don't need power or batteries. My 1960's Lyman balance responds to a single flake or kernel of powder.

Is yours an M5? That's what I have made by Ohaus for Lyman. I think Ohaus made the 1010 for RCBS as the older versions look almost identical to the Lyman M5.

Nothing to identify mine. At one time there was a paper label on the oil bath end, but it's long since fallen off. About 1962 vintage.

Started out with and RCBS, tried a couple of the electronic scales and did not like the need for re-zeroing. Went back to an Ohaus 10-10.

Here's a few pics of a Lyman M5:

10-10 for the win/win

+1. Spot on,Sir.

From time to time I clean the little pivot point stones as well as a gentle scrape with a razor across the "V"s of the beam itself to keep the beam ultra free in its movement.

Hope I described that right !

Also have a PACT digital but do a final trickle using the 10-10.

Damn thing gotta be 35-40 years old.

I also have an exact designated spot on my bench for the scale. Can't remember the last time I had to adjust its zero.

Don't dismiss one of the old Redding oil dampened balance beam scales. They can get a little squirrely and and be slow to settle down with just 3 in 1 or gun oil.....but, try replacing the oil with something more viscous....STP and RCBS case lube work fine and really speed things up. I tried a couple electronic scales and gave up on them. Maybe the new ones are better....dunno.

There's an active thread over on accurateshooter.com which "sparker" (Scott Parker) started. For those of you with the excellent old Lyman (Ohaus) M5, I found the OEM damping magnets in mine had declined over the decades, and the damping action was too slow. I did a lot of experimenting with tiny, powerful neodymium magnets as replacements, and came up with what I consider to be an excellent and inexpensive magnet replacement solution for the M5. I posted my solution in Parker's thread, you can view my post here:

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/on-beam-scales-part-two.3906350/page-8#post-36833260

The entire thread (including Parker's OP of course) is well worth reading. He has some things to say about the ubiquitous RCBS 5-0-5 which you may not want to hear - they're why I bought my old M5 off Ebay some time ago. I plan to have Parker super-tune my M5 some day soon.

Brian

I have a couple of electronics that are OK, but I am just as fast on my 10-10 with a powder trickler, plus more accurate. About the only thing I don't like about the beam scales, is I have to shut the air vents in the room to keep air from blowing on it. With the air conditioning running it will show almost a full grain difference.

Yep, air currents are very bad for balance beam scales. But also electrostatic buildup. In my dry high desert country, we get cool dry air masses the majority of the year, and lots of static indoors. After trying rubbing Bounce dryer sheets on everything, I finally discovered that taking my shoes off cured static problems. My room has carpet on a concrete floor. If I weigh charges in stocking feet, there's enough moisture from my feet in the socks to dissipate static. With shoes on, the static disrupts scale accuracy completely. To illustrate, I zero the scale, then poise a fingertip about 1/4 inch from the pan, and I can "levitate" it up or down, like a magnet, at will. It's no theory, I could post a video.

PS Parker says the 10-10, being a two-poised design, is a good scale, and accurizes well, if not as well as the M5. The 5-0-5 three-poise design has an inherent flaw in its middle poise weight's design.

I like my GemPro250 way better than my RCBS beam scale.

To me it depends on the rifle and load. 90% of the time I use my Dillon electronic scale. When I load hunting loads for the 26" lilja barreled long range rifle I use my old balance beam. It might not make a real difference but I am more confident anyway.