What piece of gear, or process, has made biggest difference in your reloading?

First topic message reminder :

Wanted to find out if there is one piece of gear that has made all the difference?  Or is it a particular way of doing something that helped with the quality of your reloading?  Maybe there wasn't anything at all ... but I'm just curious.

Dillon RL1050.

For my 9mm I really like the custom powder funnel on uniquetek, and the EGW U die to lengthen 9mm cases.

I agree with the 1050 being the biggest/best addition. I lucked into one for the price of a 550. It is setup for my competition loads. I never have to adjust anything. I have a 640 for everything else. So I can just walk upto my 1050 and crank out whatever I need in no time. I can do 1k quality loads in an hour. After about 50k rounds without a single issue I even stopped case gauging all of my loads not meant for competition.

Dang you guys are making me want a 1050 even though I don't need one.

zanemoseley wrote:Dang you guys are making me want a 1050 even though I don't need one.

+1

Nothing that was said or posted makes me want a 1050. I used to have an RCBS junior and learned to re-load for my 357, 41mag and 44 mag. Then I got a Rock Chucker and loaded everything happily for the next 30 years or so. A lot of quality me time was spent in various loading rooms. Then I got a Lee turret press for all my shorter loads and went to town loading ammo. This produced a LOT of ammo and actually increased my loading time because I was shooting so much more. Then I got a progressive (Lee also) and that could really turn out ammo. Very quickly. I just got a big shipment from Midway and tucked it away in the gun room. I took my time about it because I had nothing else to do there. Every nook and cranny was stuffed with loaded ammo. The new brass and bullets just went into storage. My quality "Me" time is completely gone. I can re-load all the bullets from a 2700 in an hour or so and even with cleaning everything I shoot is ready again by the next day. At least I get that hour or so. If your young and have zero time to load and don't like re-loading then get a monster bullet producing machine. If you enjoy the process then don't. That of course is the opinion of a 69 year old that is not ready for daytime soaps.

Len

Len, I’m 70, and definitely agree with your rationale.  What caught my attention were the remarks about its precision for match grade ammo, not its high volume

RCBS beam scale. The digital ones were driving me crazy......

Star machines set up with Dillon case feeders, purchased the loaders used from a range that closed down in the 1980's, then added the case feeders later

Conservative talk radio in the background.  Righteous indignation helps make the time pass.

gregbenner wrote:Len, I’m 70, and definitely agree with your rationale.  What caught my attention were the remarks about its precision for match grade ammo, not its high volume

I'm a teacher with a young family and a pregnant wife. Haha, I need to be able to crank out as much ammo as possible so that I can grade essays, do the chores, and take care of the wife.  If I spend too much time loading I will not have any time for practice. But it's still important to me that the ammo be perfect and consistant. The 1050 allows that In a way my lnl and 650 doesn't.

zanemoseley wrote:Dang you guys are making me want a 1050 even though I don't need one.

if you want to drool over a reloading set up maybe Mr. Peck will upload some Blue Press porn for you.

Vociferous wrote:Conservative talk radio in the background.  Righteous indignation helps make the time pass.

You and me both!

Bill

LenV wrote:Nothing that was said or posted makes me want a 1050. I used to have an RCBS junior and learned to re-load for my 357, 41mag and 44 mag. Then I got a Rock Chucker and loaded everything happily for the next 30 years or so. A lot of quality me time was spent in various loading rooms. Then I got a Lee turret press for all my shorter loads and went to town loading ammo. This produced a LOT of ammo and actually increased my loading time because I was shooting so much more. Then I got a progressive (Lee also) and that could really turn out ammo. Very quickly. I just got a big shipment from Midway and tucked it away in the gun room. I took my time about it because I had nothing else to do there. Every nook and cranny was stuffed with loaded ammo. The new brass and bullets just went into storage. My quality "Me" time is completely gone. I can re-load all the bullets from a 2700 in an hour or so and even with cleaning everything I shoot is ready again by the next day. At least I get that hour or so. If your young and have zero time to load and don't like re-loading then get a monster bullet producing machine. If you enjoy the process then don't. That of course is the opinion of a 69 year old that is not ready for daytime soaps.

Len

I think having enough "me time" is important here.  The RCBS Big Max is still set up in my reloading room, and I used to thoroughly enjoy all the time I spent with it.  Never mind that my fingers ended up looking like they had been chrome plated or something, it was relaxing, and enjoyable, and everything was done as accurately as I knew how.  Looking back on it though, I didn't know about cleaning cases, so my cases just got re-used and re-used endlessly.  I had enough 44 cases to last me most of a year, but I would load up 100 or so, then shoot them, then do it all over again.  The more I got involved in Bullseye, without having as much "me time" as before, I decided to get the Pro2000.  That was the only choice - every other press, and even the new ones from RCBS used a primer tube which I refuse to have.   Very happy with the Pro2000, but I'm much. more concerned with quality than quantity.  The most I'll load typically is 100 rounds, and I'm trying to make that something I do several times a week, so I can build up my on-hand ammo.  Brass gets cleaned before every re-use, and looks more shiny than new.  

You reminded me about "me time".  I'm now 75, and seem to have lots of "me time".  I've got lots of questions that I should start asking here in the forum, as for my whole life I just find "something that works" and continue doing it forever.  I'm buying 2000 more of each of Terry's Magnus #801 and #514 bullets, and while I still have most of a bottle of Unique powder, I'm only using Bullseye.  Depending on the type of powder, Dillon powder dispensers are apparently more precise than the RCBS, even using the micrometer adjuster.  I read a comparison about them last year.  Apparently it is due to the way the powder is released - RCBS still does it essentially the same way they did ages ago.  Apparently this is due to the type of powder, so one of these days I'll ask in the forum if I should look for something better for me than Bullseye powder.

I really don't care much about "quantity".  I will shoot between 50 and 100 rounds on a trip to the range.  If I'm reloading two or three times a week, and making two or three trips to the range each week, this isn't hard to keep up.  Keith Sanderson said that for every shot I do as "live fire", I should do 100 as "dry fire".  Maybe I would follow his advice better, if I didn't enjoy shooting so much.  


Len reminded me - if I had to pick one piece of gear that made the most difference to me since the 1970's, it would be my old RCBS Big Max Press.  It had an automatic shell holder, was built like a tank, easy to use, never once had a problem over all those years....   it was not only easy to use, and reliable, but fun to use!

+1 Len.

I interviewed an elderly BE shooter who had an impressive shooting history including two National Records in the same week at Perry in the 1960s. His name was Cordy Rich from Delhi NY. He had the targets in his shop.

His answer to the OP question was that " he bought a Star loader". From the discussions above, you can come to the same conclusion that l did.

It's still the indian, not the arrow.

My Visa card and Atlanta Arms phone#. 

Powder Transfer Units from Photoescape.  Makes setting the bullet so much straighter and Redding Comp Seating dies to actually seat.  My issues with 9mm dropped dramatically.

I load single stage with my Lee Classic  using the Hornady QC lock n load bushings. The biggest difference for me was purchasing the Harrell Schuentzen/pistol measure. Incredible powder dispensing accuracy and consistency. I also like the Lyman "M" Die for expanding the case necks of my .38 Spc brass.

FWIW 40 years ago I reloaded with the single goal of getting it done and getting to the range.  A need for match ammo did not exist since I was issued virtually limitless 22/38/45 ammo.   Flash forward to today and I enjoy the reloading process.  Doesn't mean that I'm not still itching to get to the range but I like reloading. My old RCBS Rockchucker is loved and frequently used for wildcats and magnum cartridges.  My three SDBs and four 550s speed up the process for various calibers.  I've only got one 1050.  It is set up for 45.  Every time I load for my 38 Super paper punchers I see a need for a second 1050 to load 38 Super.

The wife calls me a "Hoarder."   She has never even been upstairs.

What piece of gear or process has made the biggest difference in your reloading.

Learn how to use a Ransom rest properly. 

Use Incremental load process (varying powder charge) to determine the best load for your particular gun (and as needed for each bullet and OAL if you need to).  Find the one with the largest range of powder charge that forms the central group.  Use that powder / powder charge from the middle of that group, so you won't worry about a tenth or so of powder.  Go train. 

Realizing that all the reloading time, effort, equipment and attention to detail fades in importance when the mind finally accepts that an 8 or worse on the target almost always has nothing to do with reloading. Go train. 

CR

Most of my remarks  are peculiar to the Star machines. While the newer progressives include these features,  these 1930's designed machines produce ammo equal or superior to any on the market. Same for strength and durability! 

1. Modify to include loaded rd ejector.
2.Case feeder.
3."Shaker" type feed on #2.
4.Indexer.
    All 4 of the above eliminate 1 step from every rd loaded. 
5. A unit, several on the market, to ease powder reservoir draining.
6. Counter...just  nice to have!

Ron Habegger

There is some mention of 1050's above. While having never used one were I much younger, or affluent, I would certainly have one.

Although retired I find I have less time for loading than when working. (Explanation: Every day I wake up with nothing to do, work at it all day, and am only half done at bedtime.)

Back to the 1050. Check out a video on You Tube illustrating a 1050 outfitted with machine drive, Ponsness-Warren if memory serves...........Sweet!

Ron Habegger

My wife surprised me with a D1050 on my B-day 4 or 5 years ago, she was shooting a 9mm a lot and I guess she felt bad about all the time I spent loading. I had a Hornady Projector and a newer LnL already but no case feeders. I love the 1050 and it works great but slow for me to make changes on. Especially primer size swaps. Lately I just load .45 on it as i can change SWC bullets without any die adjustments by using a shoulder seater. When she starts back blasting away again I may change it back to 9mm. 
Having run off at the mouth about all that the best thing I have done to improve reloading for myself is setting up 3 different height benches so I don't hurt myself as much loading. Tried the mounting machines at different heights but didn't like that as much.
I think sometimes I really do shoot so I can reload....