Over the last 30 years or so I have spent a whole bunch of money on guns and various reloading/shooting equipment. Some of it is a requirement and something you just have to have. A press and dies for instance. However, there are lots and lots of reloading accessories, some of which have much more value than others to the user. Over the years I have picked up lots of things I thought I really needed, and spent some dang good money doing so. Some of those things have panned out, some haven't. There have been a few that really stand out as items I should have purchased way before I did. Things that have changed the way I load. Things that either greatly increased the quality of my loads, or the efficiency at which I produce them.
Chargemaster. How did I ever live without this thing? Sure, it took a few tweaks to get it running exactly the way I wanted. Adding the little brass insert into the spout, keeping it wiped down with anti-static dryer sheets, a couple things like that. But now once brass is ready I can just sit down in front of the TV, letting it throw charges while I seat bullets in my Lee hand press. 100-150 rounds an evening, no sweat. Once every 25-50 rounds it will overthrow a charge and I will dump it back in the hopper, but not often. Not like what I hear some folks talk about. Maybe I just got a good one, IDK. But if it crapped out today, I would be buying another one tomorrow,
Annealeez. Setup is quick and easy. 7-8 minutes to run 50 cases through it. Not only that, I can be cleaning the loading bench while it runs. Nice consistent neck tension. Butter smooth sizing, trimming, neck turning. Now cases pretty much last until the primer pockets let go, neck splitting a thing of the past. "Flyers" have gone way down. This is another thing I just pretty much would not do without at this point.
Hornady case and bullet comparator tools. Very high return on investment with these items. Relatively cheap, but I use them all the time. I can't load at all without using them several times during the process. Die setup to PFLR, just bumping the shoulder back .001 to .003 is so much easier with these tools. What used to take pulling the ejector, trying sized cases in the rifle, all kinds of voodoo is now fast and easy. My brass is lasting way longer. I can't even remeber the last time I had a case head separation due to incorrect die setup. Not to mention the ease of finding depth to lands and adjusting seating depth precisely to find the sweet spot.
So just out of curiosity, what are some of the loading items you guys fee you could not do without?
Well, maybe you COULD do without them, but you wouldn't want to!
