Beginner reloading questions

I purchased a press and have made a total of 20 rounds.  They all went bang and 9 were in the rapid fire 10 ring using a slow fire rate.  So I was happy.  But, I have some questions.

There is a lot on this forum about precision.  However the scales that are sold for reloading only read to the 0.1 grain.  Since they range from $50-$500 in price, I question how accurate they really are.  How many of you are happy with +/- 0.1 grain precision?  Are people really using better lab scales.

When done reloading, do people leave primers in the feeder tube?  I know to put the powder back in the original container.  But, how about the primers.

+/-.1 precision has been used to shoot record scores for over a hundred years. 
You can improve on that if your a 1000 yd benchrest shooter.

My old Reading balance beam will still make excellent rifle and pistol rounds if I choose to use it.

I normally use a 40+ year old Lyman beam scale. The main scale has 0.1 grain graduation and there is the usual secondary scale that allows even finer judgement. As Jim says, that seems to be more than adequate.

However, I recently purchased one of these inexpensive digital scales so that I could quickly sort some bullets by weight - it seems to be very accurate (0.01 grain or better?) and very convenient. Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TBJBFRK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I tried an even cheaper model first, it was not so good and got returned. But I really like this $20 unit.

.1 grain precision is plenty for most uses. I've shot 1/2 moa groups on my first 1000 yard outing using an RCBS chargemaster which reads to .1 grain. Only reason to go to .01 grain resolution is if you're really serious into centerfire BR.

I do advocate buying a decent scale, I started with a small Frankford Arsenal digital scale but it's battery powered and seems to float a lot especially when first turned on. The RCBS chargemaster is a nice scale and auto trickle for stick powders, doesn't feed ball powder well.

I leave both primers and powder in my Hornady LNL presses. No ill effects so far.

Consider your gun. What did it give you—2" groups at 25 yards? Better/worse? 2" at 25 is about 8" at 100yds. So, will bench rest ideas to shave a 0.1 MOA or less off a group size really help you out?
The only proven reason to go to 0.01gn precision is because you want to. No other provable reason. To get 0.01gn precision, I always figure folks must actually be chopping up kernels of powder, since 0.1gn is almost always a kernel of powder. From what I have seen, your 0.1gn measure is +/- 0.05gn and most OCD reloaders are really only getting 0.05gn, so they are at +/- 0.025gn. Big whoop.
I've left primers in primer tubes forever.
I've left powder in measures for a few years.
No issues other than hopper discoloration.
If the manufacturer did not properly remove the EPA-mandated low-VOC solvents, you can damage the plastic hopper. If your hopper is exposed to sunlight, reportedly you can destroy the powder.
Read you manuals and follow the warnings and cautions given...

Redding, RCBS, and Dillion all make great scales. Look at different reviews on on line and see what you like.
I have 2 scales I use all the time. I have a Redding knife beam scale that was made sometime back in the 50's. I also use a Dillion beam scale as well.

I do recommend a set of check weights just as a safety thing.

I'm one not to keep powders and primes left in my press. It's just the way I am.

Get a digital scale!!! I've got a beam scale, got it cheap and played with it once.

I have a Redding beam scale that I have used since the early 70's, been very reliable.  Slow to use for weighing bullets.

One thing I have noticed is to make sure there is no air movement in the room when weighing on a powder scale.

SonOfSwede wrote:I purchased a press and have made a total of 20 rounds.  They all went bang and 9 were in the rapid fire 10 ring using a slow fire rate.  So I was happy.  But, I have some questions.

There is a lot on this forum about precision.  However the scales that are sold for reloading only read to the 0.1 grain.  Since they range from $50-$500 in price, I question how accurate they really are.  How many of you are happy with +/- 0.1 grain precision?  Are people really using better lab scales.

When done reloading, do people leave primers in the feeder tube?  I know to put the powder back in the original container.  But, how about the primers.

I have a pyrex powder hopper so I never take my powder out any more unless I an switching to a different powder. I leave primers in the tubes also.

The price range of scales you quote will produce accurate rounds that will allow you to shoot the best score you possible can as long as the other variables are correct. 

The environment that an electronic sale is used in is just as important.  If used around items that give off electrical fields like freezers, extra fridge or florescent lighting you can get inconsistent and inaccurate readings.

At 1,000 yards not getting better accuracy in loads will hurt you. .1 is just fine for pistol. 100 Yard Winning Bench Rest Rifle shooters change loads on the bench with a quality Powder Thrower and NO SCALE AT ALL. They know the settings and swing the handle so consistently they get plenty of accuracy for 100 yard shooting.

Be careful with inexpensive digital scales. Set up in the right place, allowed to warm up adequately and check weighed they can be ok. 

Better scales like my FX120i will weight to .02 grains. For 1,000 yard we do that, sitting with exacto knives and tweezers cuttering powder.

Want a GREAT beam scale get one from Scott Parker. Accurazed M5.

For quicker loading I use a RCBS Powder Master and an Omega auto trickler.

Bob

When you are shooting a 45 one handed at 50 yards I think .1 of a grain is not going to be your biggest issue.

I use a beam scale to set my powder measure then when I get it set to where I think it is right on I through 10 charges and see what that weighs and divide by 10 I figure that is my charge 3.8 on my 45 haven't moved the setting for two years now and every time you reload a batch through a charge and weigh reload 100 rounds then check another charge to verify that 100 loaded is good to go!

James Hensler wrote:When you are shooting a 45 one handed at 50 yards I think .1 of a grain is not going to be your biggest issue.

Ditto !!

I have an older Lyman DPS 1200 combination electric powder measure and scale. I also have Lyman check weights. When I let the scale warm up it is always dead on. I think of more concern regarding consistent charges is having a powder measure that is up to the task. Some powder measures are better than others when throwing charges of pistol powders. My Dillon powder measures throw powder charges with adequate accuracy. I think a more important factor in pistol accuracy is to select high quality bullets. If the bullets are the correct size, uniform, consistent in weight and most importantly, have well formed bases (bottoms) you can shoot in the 10 ring at 50 yards with a quality match grade pistol and the appropriate powder and powder charge.

Most Benchrest shooters are using Harrell’s Powder Throwers. I have a small one for Pistol and a large one for riffle. With practice you can get .1 grain accurcy.

All reloaders seem to have a certain degree of OCD, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I have four Dillon powder measures, one each for my most used powders: Bullseye, 231, and Unique, marked as such. The forth is for other powders I occasionally use. I always count primers to load just the number of rounds I want so the tubes are left empty.

Here are two targets shot at 25 yards; two different powders, load weight was 3.8, 4.0, and 4.2 grains, shot from a rest.  The outliers were called.  This is to show that powder weight variance has little effect.  And that isn’t my regular bullseye pistol which is more accurate.

Thank you everyone.  All of your answers helped me understand.

Cheap digital scales are dangerous. Don't go there.

If you can't budget for a FX120i or better, stick with a beam scale.

Also, get a set of check weights. Lyman makes a nice set with 20, 10, 5, 2, 1, and 1/2 grains IIRC.

NKF wrote:Redding, RCBS, and Dillion all make great scales. Look at different reviews on on line and see what you like.
I have 2 scales I use all the time. I have a Redding knife beam scale that was made sometime back in the 50's. I also use a Dillion beam scale as well.

I do recommend a set of check weights just as a safety thing.

I'm one not to keep powders and primes left in my press. It's just the way I am.

+1 on what NKF recommends.  A good scale will last a lifetime, I use a RCBS Ohaus 10/10 and a digital Dillon. I also use check weights. When I was younger and starting out, a bullet worked as an ok test weight.

Once I find a load I like,  I load in large batches now, so when I am finished, it is cleanup time with primers and powder being returned to storage. Machine gets cleaned up, relubed, covered and put away. It’s easy to get lazy and have your shop denigrate into chaos, just ask my wife.

You might also want to consider a Pyrex hopper, they have a built in baffle and don’t stain either. Buy them from Dramworx.