Need a recommendation... RCBS Chargemaster?

Wambli Ska

I'll admit I'm being lazy because I really don't really want to read all the product descriptions and try to figure this out on my own...  That's why I have YOU folks. 

My wife is being very nice to me this Christmas and she gave me a healthy budget to shop.  I've been wanting an RCBS ChargeMaster forever but have no real practical experience with them.  Out of the 3 models at current Midway USA sales pricing:

• ChargeMaster: $269
• CM Supreme:  $379
• CM Match: $799 (this is out of budget but I think I can make it happen if worth it)

I do not participate in precision matches of any kind.  This will be used to load hunting and "target" ammo (basically practice stuff).

Pro, cons?  If you are an owner, which one did you pick and why?

Leaning towards the regular ChargeMaster and use extra money on more supplies...  But I could be convinced to jump to next level for good enough reasons.  

Are there other alternatives to consider?  I saw similar products by other companies like Lee, FA and such but some sketchy reviews have kept me away from considering them.  I know and trust RCBS.

Pegasus

I currently see three models of the CM.  The lowest price one is the CM Link with BT connectivity.  For your purposes, that is the one I recommend.  The Supreme does not bring anything to get table apart from more bells and perhaps one whistle.  The Matchmaster is overpriced for what it does.  If you're going to go close to $1k, you're better off switching scale technology and getting an A&D FX-120 and the Autotrickler V4.

The RCMS devices and all the other low cost electronic scales use a strain guage technology for weight measurement.  This technology is cheap and efficient, but it has an issue of drifting and not being very good at detecting changes as they occur.

The better technology for trickling (detecting changes and reliable measurements) is Magnetic Force Restoration (MFR).  This technology is a quantum leap in reliability and (sigh) price.  The cheapest and most popular MFR scale for handloading is the Japanese A&D FX-120.  It's anywhere between $450 and $700 depending on where you buy it and also when (prices fluctuate.)  The scale is fast, detect minute changes very quickly and has an RS-232 interface, which Adam MacDonald used to connect to his Autotrickler.

For your purposes, I would not consider the A&D and AT, the CM Link will be just fine.

Pegasus

I should add that I have an original CM 1500, which I bought about 10-12 years ago.  It worked very well for me for many years.  It was only as I was progressing in F-Class that its limitations became an issue and I switched.  When I would do a loading session of several hundred rounds, the thing would start drifting.  It's definitely precise and accurate enough for target and hunting loads.  Also, to my mind, the RCBS scale/loaders are the best of the strain gauge variety.

Wambli Ska

Great input.  Thanks!  My thought is that if I need the extra precision I can always go shy with the CM by a few tenths of a grain and finish with a trickler and scale the old fashion way.  That will give me a much faster speed of loading than what I have today, time savings being the dominant point I want to address.

sakodude

My old chargemaster 1500 does everything I need it to and my shooting habits probably mimic yours pretty close. If I had a complaint it would be speed, it's a bit slow if your loading a mess of handgun rounds but for rifle, it's hard to beat.

Wambli Ska

sakodude said:

My old chargemaster 1500 does everything I need it to and my shooting habits probably mimic yours pretty close. If I had a complaint it would be speed, it's a bit slow if your loading a mess of handgun rounds but for rifle, it's hard to beat.

For bulk handgun ammo the old drop type thingy does fine.  This will be strictly for rifle rounds.  My MO is simple, once I find a load a particular rifle likes, load 100 rounds with same lot components,mand label box to the specific rifle so I’m ready to shoot at a moments notice and move on to the next.

GrapeApe

I upgraded from the old and slow original separate scale/dispenser, to the now, apparently discontinued, 1500.
It's faster and I LOVE not having to calibrate it when I change powders.

I use an ANCIENT Lyman 55 for bulk handgun ammo. Accurate enough and MUCH faster for my bulk needs

bullsi1911

The Chargemaster 1500 was the #1 best upgrade I did to my very limited loading setup. It was a true “game changer”- it made loading sooooooo much easier and safer to weigh every load, and having a drone do it for me

Zee

Chargemaster Link

BamaakIII

The original 1500 is all you need.  I would bet they all have similar accuracy and resolution but have not looked.  For pistol I don't even bother weighing every charge, rifle I let the charge master spit out the load.

Wambli Ska

Zee said:

Chargemaster Link

Your loads seem to be quite accurate.  Is that what you use?  Do you find it precise enough?

Wambli Ska

BamaakIII said:

The original 1500 is all you need.  I would bet they all have similar accuracy and resolution but have not looked.  For pistol I don't even bother weighing every charge, rifle I let the charge master spit out the load.

For pistol, in the rare occasion I load handgun ammo, I usually pick a load about 5-10% under max and just load away.  I find the consistency of hand loads usually gives me the accuracy I need by default.  Then again I’m not shooting 200 yards with a handgun or have any handguns suitable for that…. Yet…

Zee

Wambli Ska said:

Zee said:

Chargemaster Link

Your loads seem to be quite accurate.  Is that what you use?  Do you find it precise enough?

I have the 1500. But, of the ones you mentioned, the Link should do the job. 

Wambli Ska

Zee said:

Wambli Ska said:

Zee said:

Chargemaster Link

Your loads seem to be quite accurate.  Is that what you use?  Do you find it precise enough?

I have the 1500. But, of the ones you mentioned, the Link should do the job. 

👍👍

Wambli Ska

Seems the 1500 is the hands down favorite and the Link seems to be its equivalent.  I think the Link it is.

Thanks 👍👍👍

Zee

I never use the “memory” of the 1500. So, I think it’s a lost feature. My understanding is that the Link doesn’t have a memory. So, seems perfect to me. 

Wambli Ska

Zee said:

I never use the “memory” of the 1500. So, I think it’s a lost feature. My understanding is that the Link doesn’t have a memory. So, seems perfect to me. 

Yeah I can’t figure out what the memory would do for me…

Zee

Wish they’d had the Link when I was shopping. Could have saved me some money. 

Jay

I have a 1500 as well. Same as Zee, I don’t use the memory function. It’s too easy just to type in the charge I want and go. 

Seems to me the Link would be just fine. 

I do notice some drift on the scale on mine. It helps a lot to turn it on a good hour or so before you plan to use it and let it “warm up.”  If I turn mine on, calibrate and zero it and come back later, it will many times be reading 1.5 to 2 grains difference. Recalibrate and zero again and it seems to hold pretty well. 

Only real down side I’ve seen is, it’s slow. I try to use the time between charges to seat the bullet in the case I just charged. I still end up having to wait a good bit for the next charge. And I have to keep the CM far away from my press when I do that. Even the slightest bump on the bench makes the CM throw a fit and stop charging. 

For speedier charging, I use a Redding Match Grade 3BR. That thing is awesome..

Jay

Also, I use one of these on mine. Very useful. Does away with the need for a separate pan and funnel.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012948067

JKP

Jay said:

Also, I use one of these on mine. Very useful. Does away with the need for a separate pan and funnel.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012948067

Where has that thing been all of my life! Ordered!

Zee

I tend to run pretty full cases to compressed loads. So, I need a long tube to let the powder settle. Jerm hooked me up with this years ago and it’s been a God send. 

Jay

I can see how that would be useful for compressed loads. 

Just to illustrate a few points on the relationship between my Chargemaster and the 3BR. They play really well together. 

As mentioned, the Chargemaster is kinda slow. The 3BR is much faster and can easily throw 100 charges within .1 across all of them when I do it right. It doesn’t liked to be bumped or tapped very hard at the top and bottom of each stroke. Some measures like that. The 3BR likes it nice and smooth and consistent. 

There are two things the 3BR doesn’t do well with. Long grain extruded powders, and charges below about 5 grains. They sell a handgun metering chamber for smaller charges, but I never ordered one. But for ball and very short grain powders above 5 grains, the 3BR rocks. 

So the Chargemaster pretty much gets used for loads under 5 grains and loads using long grain powders. Otherwise, I’ll sometimes use it when I’m just kicking back in the man cave, not really doing anything, I’ll charge cases and put them in a loading tray until I have 50 or 100 charged, then seat all the bullets and finish them. 

I also have two Dillon presses now. So for bulk loading, neither the CM or the 3BR get used. 

Big Al1

I use this 
and this 

Pretty low tech, but faster than a balance beam and most electronic scales!

Diver43

^^I have that scale also^^
Works pretty good

Wambli Ska

Big Al1 said:

I use this 
and this 

Pretty low tech, but faster than a balance beam and most electronic scales!

That’s what I’ve been doing for years but I’m getting short of patience and would like my loading sessions to be a little shorter.

Uncle Fester

Wambli Ska said:

Big Al1 said:

I use this 
and this 

Pretty low tech, but faster than a balance beam and most electronic scales!

That’s what I’ve been doing for years but I’m getting short of patience and would like my loading sessions to be a little shorter.

I upgraded to the older Chargemaster Lite (no BT) and love it for rifle.  To minimize waits, I seat the bullet while it is dropping the next charge.  

Now, I only time I use the scoops if I am working up a new load and only plan to load just a few rounds.

Pegasus

Let's talk about how fast a setup is.  When I load for my match rifle (pretty much all the shooting I'm doing these days of component scarcity), I will charge 100 cases at a time.  Each charge is measured at 2 hundredths of a grain, (one kernel) either dead-on or one kernel over.  The charge has over 2000 kernels, I have managed to bring myself to accept one kernel over (in my case it's X.30 or X.32.)

With my setup, I will charge 100 cases to that accuracy, in about 40-45 minutes.  This is not hurrying things along, at my age, it;s too easy to make a mistake or drop something while trying to go quickly.

Sometimes the charge is dispensed very quickly, within 5 seconds.  Other times, it's a little longer or there may be one or more kernels jumping in at the end, to be with his buddies.  Then I have to fish out one or more kernel with tweezers.

Bigslug

The Chargemasters are GREAT when you're working up a pressure/velocity test string - - enter 30 grains, push a button, load the charge.  Enter 30.2 grains, push a button, load the charge.  No adjusting volumetric cavity-based systems or cutting grains on a rotary one.

They can be a bit on the slow side, but they are PRECISE.    My Retired Old Man Of Leisure recently started running TWO of them simultaneously to deal with this.  One of them is a few years old; the new one is - I believe - the current mid-grade.  For production, he sets them both to auto-start the dispense cycle when the pan is replaced and the scale returns to zero.  If you are truly after Benchrest quality results or loading smaller, fussier rounds, you'll want to spend a few seconds watching after it settles to make sure it didn't trickle in a tenth of a grain too much.

But even that may still be faster than a lot of other options because it weighs as it goes.

BamaakIII

I have mine sitting on a 1 inch slab of marble.  Seems to help with vibrations from the press.  There is a lot of tricks on you tube for them.  The mcdonalds straw works.

Wambli Ska

The slab of Marble is an interesting idea.  Mine will be on top of a big tool chest with a 1” hardwood butcher block work top.  That sucker weights quite a few hundred pounds so no chance of me bumping anything.    As I said before if I have to go for match grade reloads I’ll let the CM weigh in to within 2/10 of a grain and then finish with a trickler and a digital scale.