The Lee scale is reading 41.4 grains. You always read the center white line on the 1/10 scale.

The Lee is a simple tool and easy to read. It shows low because you set it to read 41.4 grains. I notice that immediately. You should see a distinct line above the 5 and 2 thinner lines, one above the 4 and another over the 6. And yes, it looks cheap when compared to the other two.

You set the lee to 41.4 grains, not 41.5

Of all the scales you have here, the Lee is the most sensitive by far! The problem with the Lee scale is that one cannot reliably reset it to zero. I love the Lee scale if I REALLY want consistent charge weights, but since I cant reliably reset zero, my method is to use the several other scales, both beam and digital to find a known weight, then adjust the Lee to match, which is easy and it works great and is more accurate than any of the others. Once I have a load I like and will stick with, I use a bullet just over that charge weight and file a little of the material off of it at a time until I get it to the exact weight of my load weight. Then when I want to use the Lee scale (or any other for that matter as a check) I just use this bullet to quickly set the Lee scale to this charge weight. So far, I have found no other scale as sensitive as the Lee. Having said all of that though, I don't really think perfect charge weights are the most significant part of long range accuracy...LOL.

Love those old balance scales. I have a RCBS 10-10. Good video comparison. I want one of them Hornady auto loaders.

Great video. Thanks!

I own the Lyman M5 (just like the one shown) its always dead on...Worth every penny.

Ive had three digital scales and all of them needed re-zeroing every ten rounds or so even with a warm up of ten or more minutes and putting small weights on them and taking them off repeatedly. My first one was a cheap Cabelas brand then I bought one RCBS range master and sent it back for another to replace it after it would not hold a zero. I noticed with the Range Masters that putting my hand one inch over them would drastically change the reading so they are room temperature sensitive, that said I loaded with them on my kitchen table instead of my basement reloading table to see if that helped and they still changed by several tenths of a grain every ten or so rounds when I was weighing every round. I now have a Lyman M5 that once set works flawlessly and considering I don't need to keep re-zeroing it it is much faster. Maybe I just got three lemons but at this point I really don't see any advantage in taking another gamble. The Lee scale is a PITA to set but when I started reloading I used it for the first couple thousand rounds and I had no problems with it, I would absolutely trust that over a digital at this point.

Great video and information... my lee safety scale and Redding 505 reads different as the charges are increased they start drifting about 15 grains... it’s about a 6-7 tenth difference

The Lyman M5 is the standard as far as beam scales are concerned. I have 3 M5s that I've tuned and each one will repeat EXACTLY, linearity is spot on within the range I use, sensitivity and resolution are something you just have to see to appreciate. They really don't make them like that anymore, I think there is a certain etiquette to operating a beam scale. If we as handloaders are so anal about consistency in everything we do, then setting up and using a scale should be no different. "You repeat, the scale Repeats."

I recently found the holy grail that is rcbs 5-0-5. I only use that for trickling up off my dropper. I will look at the auto charger though now.

My first powder scale was a Lee. Was it accurate? Sure was. But as you mentioned in your video, very fussy to set up. After putting powder in the bowl. It took forever to settle down. Found it very slow to use.

I use a hornady auto powder dispenser and have added a few new trophy to my collection i use it for load development and comp ammo can over throw every now and again even on slow speed but works well for me as they say as long as its consistent and repeatable .

You didn’t have the lee set properly. You should have had a line on either side of the 5.

I conducted the same test with my electronic scale and my Lee precision and the Lee was dead nuts accurate so evidently you didn't have your Lee scale zeroed in I only paid twenty bucks for this scale new, your other balance beam scales are fifty to 100 dollars. All my equipment is Lee precision, and it's proven on the shooting range. Consistent one hole groups.

I'd like to see how the Hornady dispenser works w spherical powder and smaller powders.

How the powder sits in the charge pan can change the results. The center hook in the charge it the exact center line of the scale. If the bulk of the charge is on one side or the other of the center hanger in the canter of pan can give you a plus or minus charge. You need to make sure you shake the pan and center the bulk of the charge as close as the the center of the pan.

Except for the GS-1000 Seems like they all work pretty good. Good to know as i am doing alot of research before i jump into reloading.

I have two RCBS 505 scales. RCBS publishes the accuracy as +/- 0.1 gr.

I just used a friend's digital reloading scale at his house and it kept reading high or low. We could remove 2 granules and it would drop .1 grains, then add back 7 grains before it would go back up. Made me wonder if my loads were right. A balance beam is right when set up and used properly. There is a reason they are still the standard after thousands of years.

Everyone has missed the error on the lee scale.Yes it is set @ 41.4 but since we know the powder weight is 41.5 it should have indicated heavier then 41.4 but it is showing weighing less then 41.4 I guess that possibly the lee wasn't zeroed properly because I have used this scale and have found it very accurate. It is not as nice as the others but it is just as accurate when set and pivoting properly as this scale appears to be binding on the pivot point.

Obviously you set the Lee Scale to 41.4 grains. If you set it to 41.5, you would be able to see equal amounts of white on .4 and .6. It is called a vernier scale. With the scale getting stuck, I would say you don't have the arm installed correctly.

The Lee mechanical scale is more elegantly, more simplistically designed scale on your table along with that RCBS 505.

What is difficult with screwing the weight back or forth to zero the Lee scale? Seems pretty simple and foolproof. Of course if you do not follow instructions, then you will not get accurate results..cannot blame the scale.

I cost things not by their MSRP but by the box of ammo on average I'm reloading and the difference etc.... The RCBS is the one I learned on. The WAOW is the one I reload on and it's just fine. I'm happy to be within .1 grains. For example 7gr and it weighs out 7.1 I'm happy. I'm not a black ops secret agency needing every bit of accuracy..... I budget for 7k rounds of 9mm or subsonic, 3200 for supers. I. Happy to be within 10% and the time I take is ease on my mind. I love to see people having the ability and fortitude to do super expensive and accuracy within .001

Properly setup, my Lee is spot on with my 505 and my 2 digitals. Granted the 505 is easier to use.. and yes, you set the Lee for 41.4 not 41.5...my guess is you made the same errors reading vernier marks zeroing it, hence low reading.

Impressive...well done Hornady..... I still am suspicious of digital scales though (but then I'm old!).. :-)

I have to second your opinion on the Lee scale. Everything I have from Lee is excellent except for that. It works, but it's kind of finicky and slow especially to set up.

My RCBS 505 scale allows me to measure right down to the granule of powder. I don't think it possible to get much better than that, so I cannot see any reason to change, but I do not reload a tremendous amount of ammunition. My opinion might be much different if I was reloading hundreds or thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Years ago, I ditched my old Lee kit scale and bought a relatively inexpensive Hornady GS-1500 digital scale. The old scaled worked fine, but digital is better, right? I've really been focusing on precision hunting loads this year. I've settled on a load at 56.5gr. So the other night, I figured I had the recipe nailed and loaded 30 rounds in a sitting. From the first charge to the last, weighed each one and was really happy with them. then just for fun before seating I went back and weighed the first charge. It was 56.9! I was beyond frustrated, went back and weighed them all and it was all over the place. (+/- 0.4gr) I think this thing has been the source of the SD issues I've been chasing. I don't need speed, I need repeatability. Now I'm stuck on the fence between buying something like an RCBS 10-10, or try another (better) digital scale like Frankford Platinum.

A worthwhile experiment. A bit too much explanation tho. You coulda done it in 7 minutes. Splitting hairs, but trust me.

what makes you think your digital scale is accurate?

you just need to know how to set it and it will work fine

Lee products are the best at thier price point! No body else can duplicate that!

Nicely done video. It would be best if you would learn to use that Lee scale properly especially if you are going to bad mouth such an easy to use piece of equipment.

Im guessing you shoot precision long range. Cause that .1 difference dont make a lick of difference within 100-200 yards.

You set the lee low

yup he did

you have three white lines and the middle one should be on your 10th of a grain

Ur using the lee scale incorrectly,, read instructions & u will see how to set & read it...

It’s faster to use your balance beam with more Accuracy

Well I han't blown a gun up Yet.

RCBS made by OHAUS, not Lyman

No argument from me. I hate the Lee scale too.

I wonder if the reason you don't like the Lee scale is because you're not using it correctly?

you have to be smarter then the powder pan

if you set it right it would be dead on

Let's see, you have hundreds if not thousands of dollars in the gun. Now go out and buy the cheapest powder scale and see if you can blow up the gun. Some people's sense of economics puzzles me.

The lee scale is not put together correctly, the arm is against the magnet that's my it not bouncing up and down! You have to be smarter than the equipment you're working with. It appears you bad-mouth something you don't know how to use.

Dislike. Try reading the instruction manual before you go trashing the Lee scale.