Check weights

[rooster]

I am in need of a 5 grain check weight.  Don’t want to buy a whole set. I only load for 9mm, so I think a 5 grain weight would do. I am willing to pay a reasonable price for the trouble.

[TrackCage]

That's random and arbitrary. My scale came with a 100 gram weight. If 100 is 100, why wouldn't 5 be 5? Unless you're saying you dont have any check weight at all? If so, use a dollar bill which should weigh one gram

[rooster]

Yes, I don’t have any weights, and I want to calibrate my scale. I have a beam scale and they don’t come with check weights. A digital scale usually comes with one. Using a dollar bill is not precise. So if anyone has a 5 grain check weight they wish to sell let me know. I know that you can use various coins paper clips etc., but I would rather have a weight made for the purpose.

[Ken6PPC]

This is probably the best price you will find...  

 

https://www.oldwillknottscales.com/5-gram-calibration-weight.html

[Ken6PPC]

Note the link in my post above is 5 GRAMS, not grains...  

 

5 grams = 77.1618 grains

[rooster]

Just went 5grain does not even come up on the search. You can get about any size individual weights in grams, not grains.

[rooster]

I might just buy the whole set. They range in price from about thirty to fifty bucks. I just want one 5 grain weight.

[Ken6PPC]

Lyman and RCBS both sell check weight sets.  Midway has them...  

[Yetilostnthewoods]

Check with your local electricians and ask about any new housing going up.  Check and see if they're putting in ceiling fans. New ceiling fans come with a small bag of counter balance weights. They're really small, 2 or 3 to a package. Hope that helps.

[EarlKeese]

I bought the RCBS set. Hated coughing up the money, but they've been very useful.

[z40acp]

I bought the Lyman set a long time ago and it was one of my best purchases. Shooting 9mm you can put the two 2 grain weights on. You know for sure the scale cannot be off.

[AHI]

match grade air rifle pellets weigh 8 grains . 

[Flatland Shooter]

I have not used a set of check weights in years.  I match my load to the chrono.  Not important to me that 3,3 gr N-320 is not exactly 3,3 grains on someone else scale.

 

Back in the good old days when these things were important to me I had a friend with a scientific scale weigh some change for me.  I had good weight measurement on a penney, dime and nickle.  Kept them in a small case (should it turn out not all pennies weigh the same).

[muncie21]

On 6/12/2019 at 1:07 PM, rooster said:

I am in need of a 5 grain check weight. 

Because individual 'throws' can vary, why not throw 10 or 20 and divide to get the average weight per throw?

 

If you want to be more scientific, basic statistics recommends 30 samples in order to estimate the variance of the true population. In layman's terms this means that at least 30 samples need to be measured to estimate the result to what would be expected from all of your reloads.  I.e. at 95% confidence you would expect each round to contain 'x' grains, based on your 30+ samples.

[CSEMARTIN]

I’ve been throwing ten charges and taking an average. I like the idea of doing thirty better.

[Flatland Shooter]

Throwing ten charges and average should be sufficient unless you are trying to get the bare minimum PF.   The closer you shoot for 125 PF minor or 165 PF major, the larger your sample needs to be.

[muncie21]

As we aren't shooting bullseye here, I would suggest taking an average of 10 throws.  This gives you a good idea of charge weight and is quick/easy to perform/calculate.

 

Many of the cheap scales on Amazon come with check weights.

Edited June 26, 2019 by muncie21

[Chrisyoung]

I use a check weighs I got off of Amazon for around $15. 

[Amerflyer48]

I bought check weights to make sure my 2 beam scales agree with each other , they didn’t but they do now and if I ever go digital or a new scale I can either calibrate or know the offset from old to new and adjust the notes/load and verify easy enough. 

 I work only with my scales and a chronograph so as long as my scales are consistent for me I am good  my notes record what the scale says and the book is used for a safe starting load mostly as there are a lot of variables between their test fixture and my firearms etc.  

 

   I also know my Titanium wedding band on my scales weigh 71 grains.  So there is another check weight I always have handy 

[MemphisMechanic]

On 6/23/2019 at 11:42 AM, Flatland Shooter said:

I have not used a set of check weights in years.  I match my load to the chrono.  Not important to me that 3,3 gr N-320 is not exactly 3,3 grains on someone else scale.

 

1,000 times this.

[427Cobra]

I have the gold standard for long range precision rifle scale, a Gen 2 Prometheus, yes it’s worth it and a old Lyman M5 scale, but I don’t have any check weights, nor will I be buying any, use your targets and chronograph to tell me what is good and what sucks.