Favorite old school reloading equipment

Made by Winchester, this tool was patented 1894 and is marked 30 W.C.F. Though well made and hell for stout, it is heavy, awkward and slow to use. In other words, not a very efficient design, and not as usable as other reloading tools of that period. But has considerable collector's because it was made by Winchester..

I'm currently restoring this old Herters #5 Awaiting some .006 SS wire to get it up and running.



below is a .38 spl Lyman's Accru-Wax bullet kit. It came with a deprimer and a hand primer

The Lee whack-a-mole set for .256winmag. It’s what I started on 22 years ago, and it brings back fond memories.

These three vintage sets of Ideal "Tong Tools" are for .30/06, .300 H&H and .300 Sav, and date back to the 1920's..

Does anyone recognize this? It's a vintage tool for removing primers from shotshells. Reloading shotshells back in those days was a lot more complicated then now..

Nothing really old.

A Lee Loader in 30-06 from the late 60's
A Herters oil dampened scale, also from the 60's
A set of homemade powder dippers made from older rimfire cases. Purchased from a High Road member.
A Star Sizer---Not sure of its age
Several H&G molds. One made in San Diego.

Grandpa started us off reloading in the mid to late 60's. I've upgraded some of the equipment. The H&G molds I purchased afterwards.

My favorite single stage press.

Made by the original Ideal Mfg. Co. of New Haven, Ct, this century old tool does it all: including casting and sizing bullets, de-priming, sizing and re-priming cases for .38 WCF ammo.

Offfhand said:

Made by the original Ideal Mfg. Co. of New Haven, Ct, this century old tool does it all: including casting and sizing bullets, de-priming, sizing and re-priming cases for .38 WCF ammo.View attachment 823800 View attachment 823801 View attachment 823802

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I have a few of those too but I have never used them. One is 45-70 Govt and the other 40-82.

~g

I have the second black press set up as you show...with the large and small primer tubes, it is my first (30+ yrs) and still my only press. I also have an original Pacific powder balance that I use almost xclusively. With weights, it is faster than my Lee or my small ele scale.

Also trhe Ideal / Lyman 55 powder measure in post 21. Very accurate; set load by scale weight, markings on slides are for black powder and can only be used as ref for set up.

I only hunt paper and do not shoot thousands of rounds per month / quarter / year.

A vintage primer pocket cleaner and an old case trimmer that was simple, inexpensive and did what it was supposed to do, a hallmark of good design,

rayatphonix said:

Two old CH presses. Hard to justify another single stage press.

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I have my Grandfather's single stage ch4. It is still going strong. He died in 92. I also have some of his RCBS dies and his powder trickler.

Nothing really old, but I have a 1970 model Rockchucker and a set of RCBS dies in .45acp. One of the customer service guys there said the dies may have been made by Fred himself. LOL

I have a herters balance scale i use for weighing bullets(goes up to 500 grains)

I just finished cleaning up the old Lyman No. 55 powder measure I bought used. Do you know there isn't a plastic part on it, except the hopper? Even the knob on the handle is steel. The hopper cover is stamped sheet metal. The thing is a tank! This is an old one with the orange handle and knocker as well as the body. I think I am going to enjoy using this one.

"Works fine lasts a long time". Just ignore the slide settings, set by scale weight. I added a baffle toward the bottom of the hopper for more consistent throws.

Here are some oldies and semi-oldies: Including Speer's first loading manual and wildcat manual. The Belding &Mull guide is from late 1920's and lists first loading data for the then new .270 Win.

You have one of the all time great classics!!!

A first edition of the "Lyman Handbook of Cast Bullets".

Original Winchester made bullet mould for .25-20 W.C.F. Over 100 years old and makes beautiful bullets.

Nothing really "old" except for my 1972 vintage RCBS JR2 press and matching Uniflow powder measure. Dad bought it for reloading his 22-250 back then.

Just some old Lee odds and ends..... Nostalgia hard to give up.

Not too many folks are aware of these two inline presses.

Cougar and Hunter on the left. I’m not sure of the year of Mfg. Maybe Offhand or someone else will know.

Ransom Grand Master on the right. From the 80s, only 100 made.

While it's not "old school" among the fleet of gear we've seen here, I really miss the round tray Lee hand primers. Often imitated, never duplicated - and unfortunately discontinued. I have ONE left, and it'll be a sad day when it gives up.

Varminterror said:

While it's not "old school" among the fleet of gear we've seen here, I really miss the round tray Lee hand primers. Often imitated, never duplicated - and unfortunately discontinued. I have ONE left, and it'll be a sad day when it gives up.

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I have two, plus 4 more inserts, but only two tray covers. I agree, when they are gone, i will miss them.