optional reloading stuff you wished you didn't get and stuff that made you happy

[Cavediver]

Hornady primer pocket uniformer- Works ok but I should have purchased the KM for use with a power tool as the Hornady only fits the knurled aluminum handle.

That ought to back a standard 8-32 machine screw thread. Take it to a local hardware store and check. If so, an 8-32 coupling nut will allow you to chuck it in a hand drill. Redding also sells an adapter, but it is basically a nice looking coupling nut....
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/314848/redding-primer-pocket-uniformer-tool-power-adapter?cm_vc=ProductFinding

 

[Hondo 60]

Lee Breech Lock Anniversary Kit - not so much
I like the press - love the bushings you put the dies in - never have to adjust.
But the whole kit? Lotsa stuff I never use.
The powder measure is cheap & leaks like a sieve.

The scale bounces forever before it settles down - it's accurate, but S-L-O-W.

I prime on my press - so the hand held priming thing is not used.

And finally, the Lee manual isn't my fav.
Mr. Lee proudly crows over & over that his equipment is the finest ever made.
While I have lotsa Lee stuff, some of his stuff leaves a lot to be desired.
And the data has no bullet profiles.
Isn't there a lot of difference between a 125 gr SWC & a 125 gr RNFP ???

=========================================================

The Good Stuff
I bought an unused 2nd hand Dillon RL550B.
Best $150 I ever spent.

I also couldn't live without my Lyman Power Case Trimmer.
Ya, it was expensive - about $200 - but it makes trimming 100s of cases a LOT easier.

I use my Lyman Turbo 1200 Tumbler almost constantly.
Its about 5 years old, but I run it usually 2x a week for 3 or 4 calibers.

 

[lckdnldd]

Interesting thread roval. Thanks for starting it.

 

[Dudedog]

Wished I would have bought sooner
Worlds Finest Trimmer for .223 -- Love it major time savings over the Hornday lathe type trimmer. Money well spent.

Gemini 20 electronic scale. Nice little scale.


Wished I would have bought more
The Old round tray style Lee hand priming tool. Wore out one. One left.
The new one with the square tray has features the old one diden't have like the ability to feed primers sideways, and to somehow get them upside down. I never realized I was missing these important features on the old model.
(the new one does have the little elevator thing so it should be safer)

Agree with this, but use my Frankford most of the time because usually it is close enough. The GEM 20 is nice when I do use it.

 

[blarby]

Mike, I've been preaching the #2 for a long time.

Glad you found how great it is !

So simple....

 

[roval]

that settles it ..... with all the should have bought sooner comments- next time I'm due to trim 308 and 223 i'll just pony up for the wft.

another not so useful item for me buying the 2 sizes of universal decapper. I pretty much use just one of them and can't remember which one I have on my turret.

 

[ironworkerwill]

That ought to back a standard 8-32 machine screw thread. Take it to a local hardware store and check. If so, an 8-32 coupling nut will allow you to chuck it in a hand drill. Redding also sells an adapter, but it is basically a nice looking coupling nut....

Good heads up Ol' Boy, Thanks! It would be close to the same money either way

 

[mgmorden]

Only thing I can think of is a Forster Bullet Puller die. It just doesn't work well (or mostly at all) on handgun rounds. Got a kinetic "hammer style" puller that works fine.

The Lee "Ram-prime" die that I bought a while back I don't use that frequently either, but I won't say I didn't wish I'd bought it. Back when I got it I had Lee presses with no on-press priming I'd use the die for some rounds. Now though I'm running a Hornady LNL progressive and an RCBS Rockchucker single-stage - and both have on-press priming, relegating the Ram-prime to mostly permanent storage. It was cheap though, so it doesn't hurt anything to have.

 

[Kaldor]

Awesome to see other guys thoughts.

I was really careful when I started buying gear when I started loading again last fall but Ill hit the high points.

Good:
Lee C press for decapping - cheap, built an ejector and catch for it. Keeps my other presses clean and gives my kids something to do.

RCBS crimp cutter - tried swaging, it pissed me off, this is stupid simple in a drill press with my jig I made

Homebuilt SSTL media tumbler - never going back to dry tumbling

WTF2 trimmer - best money spent, fast and easy.

Case feeder for my LnL - huge time saver for brass prep and loading

Bad:
RCBS swaging die - tried this on my single stage LnL, sorting cases by headstamp was a PITA, and it was inconsistant. Maybe the Dillon swager is better but alot more $$$

Kinetic bullet puller - all of them suck, broke a Frankfort and a Hornady. I just use a rubber tipped pliers on my single stage now to pull bullets

Want to buy:

RCBS Chargemaster - I dislike hand trickling stick powders

Chronograph - self explanatory

Hornady OAL and Comparator - useful for finding a sweet spot for OAL for rifle

Mr Bullet Feeder - this is a stretch, but if I ever start shooting alot, this will be at the top of my list.

 

[bronsht]

Reddyeddy:I wish I didn't get ... the powder measure. These were just mistakes on my part. Didn't know/realize that ... there's no real way to use a powder measure with a hand press.

If you batch load your powder into cases using the loading block you can fill cases quickly and then check them for safety. Then proceed to seat the bullets as a separate step. You would set up (say using a C clamp) the powder measure as a separate station on your reloading desk. I do this for pistol loading, but I weigh every load for rifles.

 

[roval]

Kaldor if you have a chance to try the hornady oal gauge(formerly stoney point), try it first . some people like me just can't get consistent readings with it. I suspect the straight one works better, I have the curved one.

 

[Patocazador]

Sorry I bought:

Anything Lee except for casting molds.
Lyman die sets.
Automatic scale/dispenser .. too slow.
Vibratory case cleaner.


Happy I bought:

Pact scale.
Rotary Thumler tumbler case cleaner.
Chrono chronograph.
Redding neck-sizing dies.

 

[Kaldor]

Kaldor if you have a chance to try the hornady oal gauge(formerly stoney point), try it first . some people like me just can't get consistent readings with it. I suspect the straight one works better, I have the curved one.

Yup, thats what I figured on buying. Did you have the straight or curved version? Straight one seems pretty easy to use.

 

[sirgilligan]

I am new, so there are probably some things that are better and I just don't know they are better.

Things I like:

Everything that came with the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Starter Kit (press, scales, hand primer tool, etc...)

RCBS Dies seem to be fine: .30-06, .223, 9mm, .380 ACP

RCBS Chargemaster, its like a partner weighing powder while I am seating a bullet.

RCBS powder measure stand. I don't know why I was being so cheap when it comes to figuring out where to mount it.


Things I dislike:

RCBS .223 primer pocket swager. After slapping the press handle around and watching things bounce around my bench I wish I had something else. I did find that if I lube the nipple it helps, but then I feel the need to clean the lube from the primer pocket. The pockets where still very tight, and I have a few primers that are flattened but they went in.

Kinetic bullet pullers.


Things I think I would like:

Dillon Primer Pocket Swager
Another Rock Chucker press
Better lighting at the bench
A bigger bench

 

[Ironicaintit]

I forgot about my newest addition, the chrony! So glad I got that. Gives me more OCD data data data!

 

[readyeddy]

Bronsht - good advice thanks.

I forgot about the chrony. I don't use my chrony a lot, but it is handy when you want to use a balistics calculator.

 

[vaalpens]

I am new to reloading so there are no regrets starting with Lee dies, Lee single stage press and RCBS/Ohaus beam scale.

Happy I Bought

• Lee Bulge Buster punch
• Lee 40S&W FCD (using it as bulge buster for 357sig)
• RCBS impact bullet puller
• Lee Universal decapping die
• RCBS Powder trickler
• Lee dippers (powder measure kit)

Sorry I Bought(Not sorry, but don't really use it)

• Lee 9mm case length gauge (for Lee trimmer)
• Lee 40S&W case length gauge (for Lee trimmer)

 

[FLIGHT762]

Ironworkerwill

Hornady primer pocket uniformer- Works ok but I should have purchased the KM for use with a power tool as the Hornady only fits the knurled aluminum handle.

A fix for this can be done 2 ways: Buy a Redding power adapter http://www.midwayusa.com/product/314848/redding-primer-pocket-uniformer-tool-power-adapter

It's Inexpensive, it's also called a 8/32 coupling nut. The Hornady cutter has a 8/32 threaded shaft.

Or like I did, had a friend with a lathe, turn down one end the aluminum handle for the Hornady crimp reamer. Turn the unthreaded end down to .375" for 1/2" down. This will let you chuck the handle in a 3/8" drill. Now you can use it by hand or chuck it in a power drill.

 

[David4516]

Didn't know/realize that ... there's no real way to use a powder measure with a hand press.

I use a powder measure with a hand press. My entire setup is portable and fits inside a .50 cal ammo can (see attached photos). I attach a Lee powder measure to the top of the ammo can with two screws (had to drill two small holes in ammo can lid for this). I have a small wrench I keep in the can to loosen/tighten the nuts on the screws to attach/detach the measure. This system has worked well for me so far. Hope this helps.

 

[David4516]

Also here is a photo of it un-packed and in use

Edited to add:

Disclaimer: While the tools all fit in the ammo can, the components do not. If you want to travel with your reloading stuff, you need a second container for the bullets, brass, powder, etc...

Also I will add my list to everyone else's:

Happy I Bought

Lee Hand Press (I use a turret press most the time but it's nice to reload on my couch sometimes)
RCBS powder checker die (haven't had a squib since I bought it)
Redding balance beam scale (have a PACT digital scale but I like having a backup that doesn't require battery)
Gun Guides powder measure adapter (allows me to use my Lee "perfect" measure on the turret)
Lee Auto Prime II (while not perfect it works better than anything else I've tried for priming)
Multiple manuals (I like to be able to compare data from more than one source)
Chrony Chronograph (haven't used it yet, been sharing my Dad's for years, nice to have one of my own now)

Sorry I Bought

Lee scale (this thing is crazy-difficult to read)
RCBS .257 Roberts dies (nothing wrong with them, but I don't have a .257 rifle LOL)

 

[Dudedog]

Wish I would not have purchased
Frankford Ultrrasonic cleaner.

Got it for about half the normal price on sale.
Works but underpowered. Takes lots of 6 minute cycles and it has like a 30% duty cycle. Don't realy use it to much hassle.

Add to Glad I bought
Lee Deluxe turent press. Wish I had the Classic but my deluxe is the old 3 hole one Probably 20k to 30k rounds still serves me well.
Pro Chrono Pal Chrono, got it on sale <$80

David4516
Does the can of Arizona work for reloads when you run out of Bullseye? Whats the charge?
Nice setup for the hand press.

 

[Hondo 60]

Thought of 2 more things I'm glad I have...

1. Chronograph - while it's not absolutely needed, I like having that extra info
2. Modified Lee Adjustable charge bar - a very intelligent, kind-hearted, philanthropic thr member modified mine so i can use it for small charges.
I even stole his pic to show you his great work.

 

[witchhunter]

One of my best investments is the caliber specific aluminum funnels by Satern. I bought one when I got my first 17 caliber. Sinclair primer pocket uniformers with the power driver adapters. Also, the Sinclair power adapters for the L.E. Wilson deburring tools. I bought an RCBS case prep center that I like too. My favorite though is Redding micrometer seaters. They are essential in working up seating depths for new loads. I buy a Redding competition die set for any new rifle I get. Expensive, but well worth the money when building new loads.

 

[oldreloader]

lyman case prep center- a real wrist saver. by far one of the best addition to the bench

I agree. I realize that's one I should have got sooner.

 

[Toprudder]

Yeah, I forgot to mention my chrono. I have the Caldwell and use my iPhone with it. It is awesome. I've shot thousands of rounds over it and have not hit it yet.

I started with the F1 Shooting Chrony. I also bought the printer for it. While it works well, it does not compare to the convenience of the Caldwell. I still have it, and still take it to the range as a backup.