An analog, or mechanical, powder scale.
Choosing Your Powder Scale
Anyone with firearms experience knows the importance of using the correct type and amount of propellant, or powder. Hand-loading your own ammunition can be tricky, but it allows for greater flexibility. If you hand-load, you will eventually need to invest in a powder scale. There are various types of scales available, from general-use scales to those designed specifically for ammunition purposes. You will also need to decide whether to get an analog, or mechanical, powder scale or a digital one.
The Analog Approach
If you use only a few types of powder and standardized loads, you probably don't need a digital scale. Since getting the correct amount of powder is crucial, you'll need a scale with sufficient accuracy. Digital and mechanical powder scales alike should have an accuracy of plus or minus 0.1 grains (where a grain is 1/7000 of a pound). Most standard triple-beam balances will provide you with this kind of accuracy, though of course they can be slower and more difficult to use than a high-quality digital powder scale. On the other hand, if you like to experiment with different calibers and different loads, the added speed (and, in some cases, accuracy) of a digital powder scale may be worth it, since a triple-beam balance (even if it has good magnetic damping) will take a while to stabilize, which can be a big time-suck if you're loading many cartridges.
Convenience of Digital Scales
One of the nice features of many of the most popular digital powder scales is a tare, or zero, feature. You can get an accurate reading on your powder charge by putting the empty cartridge on the weighing pan, zeroing the scale, and then adding the propellant bit by bit. This means you won't have to subtract the weight of the empty cartridge from the total weight in order to determine the weight of the charge. Some powder scales even come with special tools for progressively adding more powder in small increments.
Maintaining Your Ammunition And Ultra High Precision Scales
If you buy a digital ammunition scale, protect your investment by taking good care of it. High-precision scales have sensitive components which can be affected by dirt, changes in temperature, and even the levelness of the surface on which it is kept. To keep your scale working well, keep it in a clean area with a constant temperature, and keep it on a level surface. Since some electronic scales can take a while to achieve equilibrium after being turned on, make sure to factor this time (in some cases as much as half an hour) into your plans. If you use the scale very frequently, you may even consider leaving it on at all times.
