What is the best money you ever spent on a hand loading tool.
For me it's the Stoney Point tool....I bought one when they first came out (before Hornady bought it.) It took all the guess work out of bullet to rifle land relationship.
Probably a Sinclair concentricity gauge.
For OAL determination I use cases with a slit neck and my bullet of choice.
Bang for the buck, Lee collet neck dies have to rank very high.
My vote is for the Lee hand priming tool. The older model with the round tray.
had a neighbor who was a hoarder and an auction junkie. [RIP Tim ] He knew i did reloading.
Paid him $40 for a NIB set of Hornady 44 Magnum dies and a RCBS press.
The press showed little or no previous use. it needed some cleaning from being in storage.
Very heavy duty design. Included the green plastic primer catcher tray. Had '81' stamped on the top. Maybe that means '1981'.
Already had a RCBS press, but this one was better and became my usual press.
The die set went to a friend who had just gotten a 44 Mag. My 'happy retirement' gift to him.
When i see some of the prices in stores or online I figure i got a good deal.
Dillon Square Deal B. I have loaded many thousands of rounds with it.They have doubled in price since I bought mine..Dillon's No BS warranty is not matched anywhere.Something goes wrong, a telephone call gets the part in2-3 days or they tell you to send the whole machine back,no charge.They have rebuilt mine twice.
The next thing close would be my RCBS electronic scale
Lee perfect powder measure best $26 I ever spent
Lyman carbide 22 deg inside chamfer tool.
Frankford Arsenal electric case trimming center. Trims, deburrs, and cleans primer pocket in a few seconds.
The RCBS 3-way cutter is not cheap, but it sure is a time-saver. No chamfering and nice consistent trim lengths.
I would not want to be without my Chargemaster dispenser. Again, not cheap but a darned good buy.
Lee collet neck sizers are a bargain any way you look at it. I think they've improved my handloads quite a bit, not to mention the benefit of not having to use case lube (sometimes, at least).
Giraud trimmer. Expensive but a real time saver. Worth it.
Stoney Point comparator, the LCD is a close second……
What is the best money you ever spent on a hand loading tool.
For me it's the Stoney Point tool....I bought one when they first came out (before Hornady bought it.) It took all the guess work out of bullet to rifle land relationship.
Sooting the bullet and pushing it into the case is too hard I guess... Some of this schidt is never not funny...
What is the best money you ever spent on a hand loading tool.
For me it's the Stoney Point tool....I bought one when they first came out (before Hornady bought it.) It took all the guess work out of bullet to rifle land relationship.
Sooting the bullet and pushing it into the case is too hard I guess... Some of this schidt is never not funny...
It's not the tool for the guy that thinks he's smarter than a tool.
I was sooting bullets and slip fitting bullets before you were chitting yellow.
The Stoney Point tool is the fastest starting point....that all any technique is a starting point.
Sinclair bullet comparator. Great asset when validating bullet seating depth when changing from one lot of bullets to another. Agree with sooting bullets 40 years ago. Double agree with the Stoney Point for last ~25 years.
Hands down the RCBS chargemaster.
Stoney Point comparator, the LCD is a close second……
Positively another great tool. Without one there is NO way to know exactly how far off the lands you're seating or duplicate a seating depth with any precision. You might get pretty close using a piece of handgun brass smaller than the bullet of interest, but that can be pretty clumsy and slow.
RCBS competition seating dies. I have one for a 222 which I bought seating stems and inserts for 17, 20, 22, 24 and 25 caliber. Makes seating small bullets a bunch easier. I also have Vickerman dies in 30, 35 and 375.
RCBS chargemaster. Great addition to the loading bench.
My vote is for the Lee hand priming tool. The older model with the round tray.
^^^ this for me ^^^
But casting equipment comes in mighty close second.