Digital ;

[Lenard]

Need some opinions. I am thinking of buying a digital scale for weighing cases. My shooting partner called me yesterday and said he had weighed some 223 loaded cartridges. They went from 160.4 to 163.5 grains. He seperated them out into three groups and his results were quite promising. By matching weights,he shot three groups that were under 1/2" , with the only difference being the POI. He is going to see of he can get the same results next time to the range.

I am not interested in using a digital scale for powder, just looking for a reliable one to weigh cases with. I definately don't want an el cheapo.

Help me out.

[kenbro]

Not the answer you're looking for,but, does weighing the cases tell you anything more than the weight of the cases?
Ken.

[Brooks]

Originally Posted by kenbro

Not the answer you're looking for,but, does weighing the cases tell you anything more than the weight of the cases?
Ken.

Agreed----do the top bench rest shooters weigh cases? I have (weighed cases, not been a top bench rest shooter) and found it was a waste of valuable time unless one is trying to shave .001 off of an already small .01 group. I have even measured the rim variations on rim fire cases and found that too was a great waste of time. Neither my guns or I were capable of shooting good enough to find any difference in measured rims or case weighing.

[cmatera]

Gempro 250

[Lenard]

I guess that two of you think that 3 grains difference in capacity in a 223 case is not any big deal. If my shooting partners tests show differently, I will be prepared to argue with you.

I am interested in consistent accuracy and if it works for him, I will try it.

[Gary in Illinois]

Originally Posted by Brooks

Agreed----do the top bench rest shooters weigh cases? I have (weighed cases, not been a top bench rest shooter) and found it was a waste of valuable time unless one is trying to shave .001 off of an already small .01 group. I have even measured the rim variations on rim fire cases and found that too was a great waste of time. Neither my guns or I were capable of shooting good enough to find any difference in measured rims or case weighing.

If the cases have been properly prepped and full length sized, weighing cases will let you segregate cases into groups by case volume. Whether this is helpful or not likely depends on the uniformity and quality of all other reloading components and practices, accuracy of the firearm and the ability of the shooter.

In my case, my time would likely be better spent at the range.

PS - I have a Denver Instruments MXX 123. It seems to be very consistent and extremely sensitive. Priced at around $275.

[barretcreek]

Charles Petty did a series in Handloader in which he got as anal as possible with .223 loading. I couple articles dealt with case uniforming and I believe weighing was part of that.

I'll try to find it.

[hemiallen]

I just picked up a Sako L46 in 17 Javalena that came with some of it's favorite loads. Being cautious I took the box of 50 rounds and weighed all of them on a balance beam type powder measure, and it was easy to see I had some that were .5 grains heavier than the majority of the ammo.

I took 1 of the "heavy" rounds and one of the lighter weight ammo, removed the bullets and weighed the powder charge and found they both had 17.8 grains of powder. I then weighed the brass and found they were the variation, not a powder charge difference. All of the ammo was under a tenth off max, the reloader must have done very meticulous reloading.


What was odd to me was I expected 2 different weights of powder, since they were right on 0.5 grains difference! I didn't expect the brass to be the difference.

Allen

[Chuck Miller]

I like others went down the trail of weighing brass and gave it up. Now weighing "loaded" rounds and having 3grs of spread might mean your powder charges are varying which would have an impact. Are these loaded rounds thrown with a powder dispenser or is he trickling these out on a beam down to .1gr? Weighing rimfire rounds, mainly cheap ammo, and separating the ones that are off from the average makes sense, premium ammo was always right on the money.

I've seen even the best electronic scales have hiccup's and when in doubt have always gone back to the beam scale for verification. Obviously, I feel a need to have both right next to each other.

[ray h]

For PD's I don't weigh cases, too many other variables in the field that make a bigger difference at long ranges. Those that weigh, have you accurately measured the case volume of the 2 extreme case weights?