I'm curious as to what kind of scale you rifle reloaders use. I don't load tons of ammo, just some for hunting rifles every year. I've been using a Hornady balance beam and double checking every load with a Lyman digital. This system works okay but man those balance beams are slow and drive me crazy sometimes. I just bought a Hornady Lock-n-Load electronic scale and I'm going to try just using the digital ones for a while.

I've always heard the beam scales are more precise but I weighed a charge last year, put it on the digital and it was .5 gr heavy, put it back on the beam scale and it was heavy that time. That tells me the beam scales are not fool proof either.

i use a balance beam i bought 40 years ago. nosler bullets are very precise about weight. i check it with a few different bullets when ready to charge cases. when i get done with the initial 0 i put a 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch piece of paper on it to make sure it throws the 0 way off. no issues yet. why fix what aint broke?

I've got a Frankfurt arsenal digital scale that works well for me. It was cheap too. I think the balance beam scales can be misread pretty easily. I like having a number in front of me

Might be the pins your balance beam scale pivot on are dirty and cause some drag. Try just cleaning the seats out and don't lube it, as that will just attract dust.

I have a Lee balance beam scale , it has no pin it is a blade that fits in a V notch. it has been very consistent and they don't cost much

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they don't have a ton of capacity so if your weighing over 100gr it won't work for you

that said 44gr is the most any of the my loads weigh currently

if you want to use it for weighing bullets to sort by weight you would need a scale with more capacity 1gr is enough for my bullets I have a little harbor freight digital for that I also fin that faster. but in powder charges where 1/10s are needed I use the balance

90% of what I reload are rifle rounds and still use the old man’s Herter’s single stage press. I have no desire to use anything else. With that said, I have a RCBS 505, Frankford Arsenal digital, and recently bought a RCBS Chargemaster lite. I honestly don’t touch the 505 anymore, although it’s accurate and I like it. I have used the FA extensively and once you learn it’s disposition, it’s very accurate and cheap. My life changed when I bought the Chargemaster. It’s the most accurate and consistent scale I have ever used. It’s also, by far, the easiest to use. I love it. With the last RCBS rebates, I got it for $175.

I guess balance beams are more sensitive because I can add one kernal of powder and see the pointer move. Of course it takes more than that for my digital to change 0.1.

After a lot of research i settled on a OHAUS YJ152 because of the accuracy.
But my rounds cost $2.71 a piece reloaded plus labor and are used for a highly custom rifle.
Ive use the $35 lyman scale for anything less than 350 yards and works good enough.

Some lights will affect a cheaper digital scale though. So be sure to test it.

I think its the RCBS 10-10 balance beam that has magnetic dampening which is fast to settle

I have used an RCBS and a Lee balance over the years and both worked well. Magnetic dampening definitely helps it settle faster. A balance works fine for small volume stuff. I am currently using an RCBS Chargemaster combo and absolutely love it. It is super fast.

When I was still on the water, Was not able to use a balance scale for obvious reasons. So I used a couple of digital scales. Now I am on the lookout for a balance scale as the boat has stopped moving

I have used RCBS 505 scale for many yrs.

Rcbs 505 for me as well. I have a couple of digital scales and just don't trust them for some reason. I only reload when I am in the mood,so it doesn't bother me if it is slow. I use a small plastic measure spoon to dip the powder. After 10 or so rounds I can darn near dip up the charge right on. Always finish off with the powder trickler.

Can’t beat anything Dillon - they have the best warranty and service out there in my opinion. I use a Dillon D-Terminator digital scale. My first one lost part of it’s digital readout after six years and Dillon sent me a new one - no questions asked. I’ve ran a Dillon RL550 for about 20 years now without a problem.

I use an RCBS beam scale with magnetic dampening. I set my powder measure to throw the charge just a bit light and then trickle it up to weight on the scale. If i mess up and trickle over at all the charge goes back in the measure and I start again with a fresh charge. I'd like to have an easier and quicker way but what I have read about electronic scales and temperature sensitivity has kept me away from them.

Im with EdP except my scale is a magnetic dampened Ohaus 5/0.5

Yes you have to pay attention to what your doing but its very accurate. still to this day. loaded many thousands of rounds with it. bought it 40 some years ago.

A Basic LEE Powder Scale.

Lyman Ohaus M5 scale.

Both have their use.

Balance beams are all about consistency from the user.

I dump my charge on the pan. Than push it down (lightly) till it bottoms out. Than let it rise on its own.

I’ve found balance beams, when used consistently, to be more accurate and consistent than electric scales.

If there is a doubt in my mind, i always eliminate the doubt with my balance beam scale...