F/TR Loading Setup - starting from scratch

[1shot]

^^^
Well stated, and I’ll add that the longer the yard line, the more the little things matter.

Lloyd

 

[zipollini]

I'm sure I'm not going to change your mind... but you trickle with a Chargemaster and then trickle with the Dandy. I find it very hard to believe that's faster than dumping a dipped precharge into the pan as the Autotrickler is going. The Autotrickler has finished before I have even returned the charging dipper to the powder pot for replenishment. (The Autothrower add-on can automate the pre-charging process.) Even if the need ever occurred, the fastest way to add/subtract a single kernel is with a set of tweezers.

Where the autotrickler loses out in the race is the time it takes for me to trickle <5 kernels with the Dandy trickler and the time it takes for the autotrickler to do the same.

I will also save time over the spoon preecharge method as using a Chargemaster can usually put me to within a few kernels under the target weight which will require me to actually trickle less than using a spoon which will not be as close to the target weight.

I looked at the autotrickler very closely when making a decision to upgrade my system from my Chargemaster. I looked at Adam's video very carefully and sat there with a stopwatch in hand and have timed myself many times.

Bottom line for me - Do I need the extra speed ? Not really. Do I need the extra sensitivity of an analytical balance - not really. Nobody on this forum can hand load ammo to an SD and ES that +/- one kernel would produce and nobody can shoot to a +/- one kernel. But if I were deciding between an autotrickler and a Dandy trickler for pure speed as well as cost the Dandy wins every time for me.

 

[dcali]

Exactly. Then take a rifle setup that can at best shoot a 1/4” group and what do you have except lots of money down the drain? A good ppc rifle can shoot zeros with powder dispensed from a harrels without any kernel uniforming and no annealing. Sometimes we have to look at the bigger picture of whats important and not get caught up in the current trends or we wont even be able to enjoy shooting. By reading some of these posts some of these new guys wont even start shooting without $10k in equipment- they feel its futile.

I just want to repeat this for emphasis. To any new shooters out there, you can clean a 600 yard F class target with ammo made from an RCBS reloading kit. Probably 1000 too, but that's not really my game. You absolutely do not need this fancy reloading stuff. What you need is knowledge (this forum is full of it), good bullets, good brass, and a good rifle. A good F class rifle does not need to cost $7,000, either. But it does need to built right.

 

[1shot]

Very well put @damoncali ,
If I might add that in my experience cleans at 600 are a whole lot easier than 1K. At a grand everything comes into play to a much higher % than 600.

Lloyd

 

[XTR]

@zipollini - I use the autotrickler with the throw mounted on the top of the Fx120i. It measures powder faster than I can seat bullets with my Wilson and a K&M arbor, usually I can do runs of 50 bullets in well under 30 minutes. I used to use a chargemaster and trickle up, and my speed was almost the same, but the level of attention that was needed was exponentially different. With the Auto Trickler you simply sit and fill cases.

There are two pieces of equipment that have most reduced my level of effort are my Guiraud trimmer and my Auto trickler. The idea of not having either is unthinkable for me today.

You can load just as well with out some of the things listed, but if you are starting from scratch and only want to buy once there are a lot of good ideas here.

(I've cleaned a lot of 600 yard targets, as of this writing, 1000 is still evading me)

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

It is so nice to spend money on reloading equipment that we read about and think these pieces of kit will get us that extra % on the target.


I use an oldddd lee Powder dispenser that I bought with my very first “reloading Kit” many years ago (I actually have a coupe set up for different calibers) and a dillon eliminator beam scale that I tried to tune up with all the info I gathered on this website. Now that scale might not be the new wiz bang electronic scale (I tried a couple of the normal electronic auto throwers but didn’t care for them) but it’s very fast and dead on every time. The little Lee’s will generally throw a charge maybe 3 or 4 kernels low and now and then over but it takes a second to drop that in the pan with my little RCBS trickler or sometimes ill just pick up 2 or 3 kernels and drop them in. If im going I can drop a charge in a case in 45 seconds to a minute depending on what the Lee dropped so it takes me less than 2 hours to load 100 rounds (prime, charge and seat) which is generally more than I need for a weekend and I enjoy reloading so its not work.


That Auto trickler an FX combo is something that I see in my future and not because It will greatly improve my reloading/shooting just because it’s such a nice piece of equipment but unfortunately I can buy a pretty decent Rifle over here for less than what that setup will set me back.