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Reloading bench. What's your one upgrade?

Buy a:
  1. GOOD digital caliper (Mitutoyo or Starrett)
  2. Hornaday or better comparitor
  3. A set of Redding Type-S FL resizing and /competition seating dies, or better (Whidden)
  4. Forster COAX press
  5. AutoTrickler V4
  6. Lee "Bench Prime"
From experience, I will tell you, if you re going to really "play the game", buy this stuff up front. You will not only be way ahead $-wise, you will be loading real quality ammo, right from the start.
 
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Chiquita said:
IMO, don't sell the neck bushings.

I am glad I did not sell mine. I am using the Lee Collet neck die, but it seems "seems" that the neck tension is too light, so I may have to go back and try the neck bushings with a stronger tension. Sorry didn't mean to digress.
Click to expand...
Sand down the mandrel that comes with the lee: smaller it is in dia the more neck tension. If u use neck bushings to increase tension after the lee then ur concentricity will go out of wack n u will soften the neck brass by double working it. Lee will make a custom mandrel for u cheap..other option
 
If you're going to compete or go through a lot of ammo just having fun at the range I would invest in a power trimmer of some kind like the Henderson or Gerrard. It is a huge time saver. Trimming large lots of brass by hand becomes very tedious.
 
The biggest time saver for me was a Giraud trimmer. It trims and chamfers in one step. The only downside is that it's only as consistent as your sizing process as it indexes off of the shoulder.

The other major investment for me was the AMP Mark II annealer. Not a must have but sure makes for some consistent brass.
 
BigBolt said:
This is my bench in entirety, built the bench out of 4x4s and a solid 2 inch top coated with epoxy. It has a front draw to put in the majority of the stuff. Also, I use clamps to hold down the items like the press. It allows me to clear the top for cleaning the guns. View attachment 1439080
Click to expand...
nice set up... looks like your going to quickly grow into some shelving and a roll away tool cabinet
 
Kevin1990 said:
So I started reloading about 2 years ago. I won't go over my process, as it's probably not worth mentioning and is nothing special.

Figured I'd give a list of what I have, and could get some suggestions to a particular piece of equipment or another piece of equipment all together to help me better my reloads. When I got all the equipment I have now, I was trying to keep it within a certain price range. Now that I'm 100 percent certain without doubt that I love doing this, I'm ready to take it further. I don't currently compete, but I will be shooting midrange f open at a local club later this summer, and I like a very accurate rifle just as much as the next guy

Im reloading for 6br, 6.5 Grendel, and 223 rem and soon 22br.

my equipment: have other little odds and ends as well.

.


RCBS rock chucker supreme, on inline fab junior mount.
RCBS chargemaster link
Redding and Forester FL dies
Forster ultra micrometer seater dies
Sinclair mandrel die and expanders
LE Wilson micrometer case trimmer
Lyman multi tool
Lyman brass pro powder funnel system
RCBS bench primer tool
rotary tumbler


Any suggestions?

thanks fellas!
Click to expand...
Get a Dillon calendar.
 
Hammer said:
I'd consider a second identical RCBS press.

When loading a specific cartridge, have the sizing die in one press and the seating die in the second identical press. There were times when this eased my experimentation process.
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Agree with Hammer here...I have a Rock Chucket Supreme and went with a Summit I found at rediculously mistaken, marked down price. Both are multi-purpose.
 
Pres100 said:
nice set up... looks like your going to quickly grow into some shelving and a roll away tool cabinet
Click to expand...
Most of the stuff fits in the draw under the top and there is a lower shelf under the bench. I just broke out typically what I use when reloading. I have another ultrasonic cleaner coming besides the Hornady one on the bench. It is an industrial model, and I can fit items up to 20 inches long in it. It will be on the garage rollaway tool bench. I do have a roll away bench next to the reloading bench in the basement. It doubles as my leather working station and tools along with gun maintenance supplies.
leather.jpg
 
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For precision shooting, good case preparation and restoration are the key.
Start with a good brass and use the most efficient brass processing tools that produce repeatable consistent results that fulfil your specifications.

Loading a preped/new brass takes 30 sec max.
Restoring cases takes minutes per case.

LEE or Hornday Custom dies (less than $100 per set) can produce 1/2 MOA groups in a good barrel from a factory $1200 rifle.
 
The ugly annealer has been an absolute major improvement to my reloading setup. My groups shrank. Simple as that. It made my neck tension much more consistent. My old annealing process was aimed at prolonging brass life. The auto annealer made annealing about consistency and precision.

The 2nd major improvement was the Creedmoor TRX-925 digital scale that I bought on sale. That made my ES/St Dev number much more pleasant which translated to better groups.

The next upgrades are not really upgrades. It's components. So I can practice more and learn wind reading better.

After that, will be scope upgrades and front/rear rest upgrades. I think my reloading setup is as good or more likely better than I can shoot currently.
 
oh chronograph for sure. If you don't get data on your loads, you cannot improve them with any certainty
 
No one has mentioned it yet, but a top quality hand priming tool should be on the list. Do a thread search for best hand Priming tool. I prefer the K&M w/indicator, but most seem to like the 21st Century and PMA tools the best. It's another tool that can easily be taken to the range. I wouldn't be without a neck turner, and PMA makes a great one.
 
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