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.
You'll figure it out on your own, but no need to add another step if the CM doesn't throw the right charge. You just remove (mine almost always throws a bit too much when it's off) or add a bit of powder. The scale shows the weight real time as you are removing or adding...
I use those instances when mine messes up the charge as a learning opportunity. I dump the whole charge back in the hopper and make it do it again until it gets it right...
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..
No. Once"dialed in" I might spot check one every 20-30 rounds, but rarely will it need adjustment. I used this thrower even for competition BR rounds. It never let me down. You'll load faster by a long shot and save a couple hundred $$ along the way. Trust me on this one.
Mike
"Walking away seems to be a lost art form." N454casull
Harrel's makes a very nice thrower, too. Scootertrash had that one, and I used it a time or two. I really couldn't tell a difference in powder drop accuracy between the two, though I will admit, the Harrell felt a bit "smoother". For a couple hundred $ more, it should. Bottom line.....a thrower is way faster than any other method. If your previous experience has been with an RCBS thrower, upgrade to the Redding or Harrell. You'll be pleased. (This advice comes from a guy that used to lob 500+ rounds a day at p'dogs, and had to reload that night to be ready for the next morning. Just saying).
Mike
"Walking away seems to be a lost art form." N454casull
No. Once"dialed in" I might spot check one every 20-30 rounds, but rarely will it need adjustment. I used this thrower even for competition BR rounds. It never let me down. You'll load faster by a long shot and save a couple hundred $$ along the way. Trust me on this one.
Mike
I’m too anal. I measure/OGL Check, and kiss every load. 😘
"To Hell with efficiency, it's performance we want!" - Elmer Keith
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..
So you don't weigh every charge?
Not at all. 100% what Linefinder said. Once mine is set, I check it about as often as he said. My loading blocks being the standard 50 round with 5x10 rows, I check one about every 4th or 5th row. It almost never requires any adjustment. It's just for peace of mind.
I bought the Redding many years ago at the advice of Linefinder and others. I believe Scooter was still around at that time as well and recommended it second to the Harrel. Given the credibility of those recommending it, I went with it and am glad I did.
I used only the 3BR for many years before getting my Chargemaster. And the Chargemaster was intended for what I mentioned earlier. Long grain extruded powders and charges less than 5 grains, such as using Titegroup in handgun rounds where I might only be throwing 3 or 3.5 grains. The standard metering chamber on the Redding doesn't like that. To order the handgun metering chamber for it right now is $60. Far cheaper than a Chargemaster. But then I have to change the metering chambers when I switch to loading something else. I chose to spend a bit more and get the Chargemaster. And it fills it's role nicely.
The 3BR will throw long grain powders. It just has to cut grains occasionally and feels "crunchy" and not natural when doing so. I just don't care for that. I believe the drum on them is specifically sharpened on the edge for that purpose. And it does work and is accurate. Like I said, I just don't like it. For short grain extruded rifle powders and all ball powders, the thing is hard to beat. Metering W296 out of it is like metering water. I've never used a Harrel. I have used a Lyman, an old Pacific Tool and a Hornady. They don't even come close.
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.
I don't know about the new version, but the 1500 has a manual trickle button. Each time you push the button, it will turn just a tiny bit and trickle a little bit.
That being said, the Chargemasters do the trickling for you. The dispense at different speeds, depending on the charge weight and slow down as they get closer to the set charge. I can't remember how many grains before mine stops, somewhere around 3 or 4 grains short. Then it trickles powder until it reaches the desired charge. Every now and then it'll go over by a bit. Usually when powder bunches up at the end of the tube and a larger amount comes out right at the end of the trickling process.
The short of it is, the Chargemaster does that for you anyway. No need to add a step the machine does itself.
I think I’ll stick with the CM too. I want something that is basically brainless for me. What don’t want to have to calibrate a chamber for different charges. Just push a few buttons and I’m loading is more my speed. I’ll never have to load 500+ cases. The stuff that I need in those quantities I just buy in bulk.
No. Once"dialed in" I might spot check one every 20-30 rounds, but rarely will it need adjustment. I used this thrower even for competition BR rounds. It never let me down. You'll load faster by a long shot and save a couple hundred $$ along the way. Trust me on this one.
Mike
I’m too anal. I measure/OGL Check, and kiss every load. 😘
Given that, one would never be able to even contain the perimeter of a 3K acre p'dog town, let alone do the damage the rancher that allows you to shoot there is hoping for. But, everyone loads for what they need. Hogs, deer, elk, etc....yep...I can take my sweet time. But I needed to kill 2K-3K p'dogs a month for a few years.
With the help of Scootertrash and the occasional always welcome help of SixGun, we pretty much wiped out a 3K+ acre dogtown for a rancher in about a year and a half. The last time Scooter and I went there we hadn't seen half a dozen dogs. in an hour. I said the weather must not be right today. He said, "Nope....I think we finally killed them all".
If we'd kissed every round we loaded during that effort, we'd still be shooting that town 12 years later. LOL!
Mike
"Walking away seems to be a lost art form." N454casull
Kind of off subject, but not by much. One morning Scooter, SixGun, Rapier, myself and one of Sixguns friends (he'd brought a .308 Win...sad day for him...LOL!) pulled up to this dogtown. As we were leaving around sunset, I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw shining pdog bellies spread out like beer cans after Woodstock for as far as the eye could see. I'm almost embarressed at the damage we did that day, but that's why were invited there. When I got home and started reloading I discovered I'd fired in excess of 750 rounds that day. I think everyone else did close to the same and I'd judge our overall hit rate was 85% or better. We did well for the rancher that day. But aside from fine rifles, optics, and all around good shooting....plenty of accurate quickly made handloads was the trump card. That was a day to remember.
Mike
"Walking away seems to be a lost art form." N454casull
Kind of off subject, but not by much. One morning Scooter, SixGun, Rapier, myself and one of Sixguns friends (he'd brought a .308 Win...sad day for him...LOL!) pulled up to this dogtown. As we were leaving around sunset, I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw shining pdog bellies spread out like beer cans after Woodstock for as far as the eye could see. I'm almost embarressed at the damage we did that day, but that's why were invited there. When I got home and started reloading I discovered I'd fired in excess of 750 rounds that day. I think everyone else did close to the same and I'd judge our overall hit rate was 85% or better. We did well for the rancher that day. But aside from fine rifles, optics, and all around good shooting....plenty of accurate quickly made handloads was the trump card. That was a day to remember.
Mike
This was actually very helpful. I can absolutely see why the SB3 would be the right choice for bulk loading ammo, but I will never find myself in a situation where I'll have a need to shoot 750 rounds of accurate rifle ammo in one day. my requirements are more like one session of loading 20 rounds of this cartridge, 50 rounds of another and 15 rounds with 3 different charges to accuracy fine tune. The ability of efficiently switching from one powder and changing a charge weight to another with a few button presses is key.
Well, I found the limits of RCBS' outstanding customer service. I was just on the phone with them yesterday regarding a broken decapping pin and a messed up neck sizing collar (did all of that at one time - I can break most things well). They are sending new stuff free of course and they are also sending me some new 3-way cutters as I told them I thought the outer "cutter" wasn't lining up properly.
Back to the CM 1500 that is five years old, RCBS sent me a detailed doc regarding potential repair solutions including a reference to a place in AZ that repairs them. Due to being out of warranty and RCBS not carrying repair parts, that's the extent of what they will do. Fair enough, I can't blame them for a five year old device with a one year warranty.
Called the repair place and spoke to a nice gentlemen. They want around $200 inclusive of shipping to repair and refurbish. Hmmm, new one is around $300 delivered...
While speaking with the gentleman in AZ he mentioned that the various connections often get oxidized. The Navy didn't give me all of that electronics repair training for nothing, so I got after it. Armed with my trusty screwdriver set and a wanton disregard for "warranty void if removed" stickers I tore that sucker down cleaned all of the various ribbon cable connections with MAF cleaner.
Got it all back together and it's functioning normally.
Getting my inferior backup out, plugging it in, and warming it up near the CM might have also had something to do with the CM straightening up and getting back to work.
Replies
It’s a °IIIII° thing 😎
Mike
N454casull
It’s a °IIIII° thing 😎
Mike
N454casull
Mike
N454casull
It’s a °IIIII° thing 😎
I bought the Redding many years ago at the advice of Linefinder and others. I believe Scooter was still around at that time as well and recommended it second to the Harrel. Given the credibility of those recommending it, I went with it and am glad I did.
I used only the 3BR for many years before getting my Chargemaster. And the Chargemaster was intended for what I mentioned earlier. Long grain extruded powders and charges less than 5 grains, such as using Titegroup in handgun rounds where I might only be throwing 3 or 3.5 grains. The standard metering chamber on the Redding doesn't like that. To order the handgun metering chamber for it right now is $60. Far cheaper than a Chargemaster. But then I have to change the metering chambers when I switch to loading something else. I chose to spend a bit more and get the Chargemaster. And it fills it's role nicely.
The 3BR will throw long grain powders. It just has to cut grains occasionally and feels "crunchy" and not natural when doing so. I just don't care for that. I believe the drum on them is specifically sharpened on the edge for that purpose. And it does work and is accurate. Like I said, I just don't like it. For short grain extruded rifle powders and all ball powders, the thing is hard to beat. Metering W296 out of it is like metering water. I've never used a Harrel. I have used a Lyman, an old Pacific Tool and a Hornady. They don't even come close.
That being said, the Chargemasters do the trickling for you. The dispense at different speeds, depending on the charge weight and slow down as they get closer to the set charge. I can't remember how many grains before mine stops, somewhere around 3 or 4 grains short. Then it trickles powder until it reaches the desired charge. Every now and then it'll go over by a bit. Usually when powder bunches up at the end of the tube and a larger amount comes out right at the end of the trickling process.
The short of it is, the Chargemaster does that for you anyway. No need to add a step the machine does itself.
It’s a °IIIII° thing 😎
Oh wait, I forgot that this is a Christmas gift.
It’s a °IIIII° thing 😎
With the help of Scootertrash and the occasional always welcome help of SixGun, we pretty much wiped out a 3K+ acre dogtown for a rancher in about a year and a half. The last time Scooter and I went there we hadn't seen half a dozen dogs. in an hour. I said the weather must not be right today. He said, "Nope....I think we finally killed them all".
If we'd kissed every round we loaded during that effort, we'd still be shooting that town 12 years later. LOL!
Mike
N454casull
It’s a °IIIII° thing 😎
N454casull
N454casull
It’s a °IIIII° thing 😎
Back to the CM 1500 that is five years old, RCBS sent me a detailed doc regarding potential repair solutions including a reference to a place in AZ that repairs them. Due to being out of warranty and RCBS not carrying repair parts, that's the extent of what they will do. Fair enough, I can't blame them for a five year old device with a one year warranty.
Called the repair place and spoke to a nice gentlemen. They want around $200 inclusive of shipping to repair and refurbish. Hmmm, new one is around $300 delivered...
While speaking with the gentleman in AZ he mentioned that the various connections often get oxidized. The Navy didn't give me all of that electronics repair training for nothing, so I got after it. Armed with my trusty screwdriver set and a wanton disregard for "warranty void if removed" stickers I tore that sucker down cleaned all of the various ribbon cable connections with MAF cleaner.
Got it all back together and it's functioning normally.