Auto trickler vs. Super Trickler

[Mastershot]

I have owned them all, AT versions 1-4 and ST 1-2. I loved the ATV3/IP setup, I will not got back to ST ever with all the programming that is required to just reload bullets. I am thinking of ditching my ATV4 and get another IP dropper for that. I just need to find a V3 dropper for it, not the printed model.

 

[sgav8r]

I have been using the RCBS Chargemaster for years, and honestly, I have been satisfied with its performance, but like most hobbies, I am looking for better, faster. I have been eyeballing these two and was wondering which, in your opinion, is better overall, and I should buy? Thanks for your help

First of all, please be certain to update the thread with your final decision, whichever way you go. Let me begin by stating that I own both the ATV4 and a Gen2ST. They’re both recent acquisitions for me, and I have spent considerable time with each in the past few weeks.

The ATV4 was as simple as can be to set up and get started with (a suggestion would be to add the “riser mod” made by @JustDreaming on this forum). That is a VERY worthwhile addition! The ATV4 simply does what it’s supposed to do with the approximate precision and repeatability of a metronome. I’d call it “boringly” accurate and reliable. Yes, you have to use an app to control it, big frickin deal. Who doesn’t have multiple extra devices (tablets and old smartphones) laying around. Just set one up next to your AT and it’s “problem solved”, your phone is still free to do phone things while you reload.

The Supertricker is another story. Tons of fiddling, tweaking, menu diving, firmware updates, as well as copious amounts of back-and-forth with the “ST owners” FB group. Incidentally you get a lot of communication from the makers of the ST on there, as they’re both quite active on the FB groups. Yes they can be rude (they’re foreign) and they’re SUPER proud of their SuperTrickler so they don’t take criticism well. Suffice it to say, the ST is a handful. I sort of regret my decision to buy it, but at the same time I DO enjoy it when it’s performing optimally. The problem is it takes work, and time (like A LOT), to get it doing what you want it to. If you like to “geek out” on every single detail and nuance of the powder dispensing operation, get yourself a ST. You’ll always feel like you’re beta testing a piece of lab equipment.

In conclusion, if I’m recommending one over the other, it’s the ATV4 over the ST all day, every day. It’s cheaper (by a lot), more reliable, usually as fast or even faster, and it’s built like a thousand times better (IMO). 99% metal construction vs 99% plastic, you be the judge on that. Also, I did not pay any duties or tariffs on either the ATV4, or the scale, which both get shipped from Canada. Granted, I bought the ST from a forum member so there were not duties or tariffs (for me) on that. However, I did have to buy the heavier scale platform directly from SuperTrickler (due to scale drift with their severely underweighted standard platform) and not only was it like $70 shipped, I got hit with $40 extra in duties and fees from UPS. I can’t imagine how much it would be on a $1500+ SuperTrickler/scale purchase!

It pains me to say it because the ST does have tremendous potential, but at the end of the day, I’d suggest steering clear of the SuperTrickler. If you want to dispense gunpowder for the purpose of reloading and shooting, get a V4 AutoTrickler, if you want to dispense gunpowder as a hobby or as a “laboratory experiment”, get yourself a SuperTrickler and go nuts!

 

[Krogen]

Excellent post, @sgav8r ! It and your other posts reinforce my decision to buy an AutoTrickler. It was the right choice. I am very pleased with it having had some time with it. The only minor grumble is calibrating the flow rate. A bit fiddly, IMHO. In his videos, Adam says it's OK if the scale bubble level is off a bit when striving for the right flow rate. While I personally may be a bubble off plumb it bugs me when the scale is. I don't leave the V4 and scale in one place, so I need to readjust each time I use it. I think the riser with its adjustment thumbscrew would be a good choice. Alternatively, I may go fully Red Green and add a thubscrew to the rear tab on the OEM plate.

 

[sgav8r]

Excellent post, @sgav8r ! It and your other posts reinforce my decision to buy an AutoTrickler. It was the right choice. I am very pleased with it having had some time with it. The only minor grumble is calibrating the flow rate. A bit fiddly, IMHO. In his videos, Adam says it's OK if the scale bubble level is off a bit when striving for the right flow rate. While I personally may be a bubble off plumb it bugs me when the scale is. I don't leave the A4 and scale in one place, so I need to readjust each time I use it. I think the riser with its adjustment thumbscrew would be a good choice. Alternatively, I may go fully Red Green and add a thubscrew to the rear tab on the OEM plate.

That’s a great idea (thumb screw on the MacDonald plate). I thought about that myself, AFTER I got the riser mod! It would truly be the simplest and most economical way to accomplish the same task. I have to say though, that riser mod is significantly sturdier than the OEM breeze shield, and the sliding front doors are quite handy.

I agree with you about the scale bubble level. Even with the riser, I find the occasional powder that calibrates a little “fast” initially with no rear lift applied. I WAS solving that by raising the front of the scale with the leveling knobs, but then it dawned on me, why not just slightly raise the front of the riser? So, I got some little stick on bumper pads, similar to the ones MacDonald includes for the bottom of the breeze shield and I simply stuck two of them under the front corners of the riser. He’s already got little thin cork pads there but I scraped them off and used thicker rubber ones. This method would work on the OEM breeze shield too. You could accomplish the same thing by adding a little height to the “bumpers” on top the riser/OEM plate where the ATV4 rests. In either event, this effectively prevented me from ever having to take the scale itself off “level”. There’s enough backwards tilt to the ATV4 now, that even the fast powders will initially calibrate just below .20, and I can simply apply a tiny bit of thumb screw to get to the sweet spot. I personally think he should have designed the thumbscrew feature into the ATV4 initially. Shims are just clumsy and ghetto, and people do NOT want to deal with that. It seems to be the number one thing they bitch about when they complain about the ATV4. That and the fact you “have to use an app”.