Reloading Equipment up grades.

[hkm]

I am going to up grade some of my reloading equipment. What would you guys do first. I am looking at either a AMP, Autotrickler or a Zero press.

 

[jr600yd]

A better scale

 

[Ranger007]

AUTO TRICKER!

 

[Ol Thumper]

Why just one? You only live once and that’s not for very long in the grand scheme of things.

 

[ditter]

Best reloading upgrade for me was a Bartlein barrel.

 

[JohnKielly]

Best reloading upgrade for me was a Bartlein barrel.

A separate ultracheap Lee press for my universal depriming die.

 

[tsyarnall]

I am going to up grade some of my reloading equipment. What would you guys do first. I am looking at either a AMP, Autotrickler or a Zero press.

Well, what type of shooting are you in to?

 

[TC260]

Best upgrade for me is everything in my range kit....and a good rest....and high quality bullets....and wind flags...

 

[hkm]

Best reloading upgrade for me was a Bartlein barrel.

Already have 3

 

[hkm]

Well, what type of shooting are you in to?

Hunting and shooting steel. Have a 100 yard range at my house my friend down the road has targets at 500 700 and 950. We also have a target set up at 1850 yards 20 minutes down the road. We shoot almost every weekend. Also want to start going to some local mile shoots.

 

[BartsBullets]

V3 throw and trickler would be first on the list. Then the Amp with the press being 3rd.
Bart

 

[Ranger007]

A separate ultracheap Lee press for my universal depriming die.

+1

 

[big john 5394]

You said right Bart thats is what i did.

 

[Matt_3479]

The auto trickler was the best upgrade I made on my bench. Last year I did the auto tricklrr and giraud trimmer. This year will be new press, still debating. Looking at the zero though

 

[jnm300ultra]

I’m waiting for my V3 auto trickler. I’m in the list bought on 1-1–21. Hope it comes soon. The way everyone is raving about it justifies the price.
Jason

 

[skeeljc]

Your reloading should drive what you upgrade. What do you need to do with more precision? What do you need to do with more speed? What do you want because it is nice (expensive) should be your last consideration.

 

[PatMiles]

I’m waiting for my V3 auto trickler. I’m in the list bought on 1-1–21. Hope it comes soon. The way everyone is raving about it justifies the price.
Jason

You won't be sorry with the AutoTrickler!
The AMP should be the second addition to your reloading equipment.

 

[DiffEQ]

You don't say much about your reloading or shooting setup, so don't know what will be the best for you.
With regular access to 950, and "at your convenience" access to 1850, I would invest in the following:

• Labradar
• LR target system (don't know the brand)
• Multiple kestrel's to read the wind

And i would spend boat-loads of time shooting and reading the wind.

If you have all that, with your budget, here's the order I would buy from your list:
AMP
Autotrickler v3
Zero

Now I'll be "that guy" and piss on all of them:
I've tried to "automate" my process, doing other things while the auto feed equipment is working. It has resulted in having to hammer out brass more than once, and one KB in a pistol. Since then, I've reverted to an Amish approach - present, attentive to detail, consistent. My shooting and ammo have seen the benefits of this.

AMP : Reloading bench space is a premium for me, even though I have a 4'x5' steel air dampened microscope table to reload on, plus a 30" x 45" x 1" bare steel work bench. Putting an AMP on it is like setting a suitcase in the middle of my work. No thanks. I'm happy with my old-skool annealing techniques with gear that neatly packs away when I've done my annealing (~4x per year when I shoot as much as I'd like to).

Autotrickler :
Same goes for the Autotrickler. I have a Hornady LnL trickler and rarely use it, and it takes up a lot of space IMO. I have reverted to using a powder drop, load into the Ohaus balance scale and finish with tapping kernels out of an old lab powder spoon. Then fill case. From drop to case is about 20 seconds. Error : 0.1gr.
Other, nit-picking observations on the Autotrickler. Any time a reloader claims they throw "to the kernel" I toss that out as total BS. That aside, having built and automated scale systems, I don't agree with their design, though I'm sure it works based on the claims of others here. There's always a trade off.

Zero :
Reminds me of Sadaam Hussein's gold plated MP5, and sure would look awesome on anyone's bench. If you're working with a Lee Challenger press, yeah, get the zero. Otherwise, IMO it's a spendy "so-what". Technique is 99% of the battle.

 

[tsyarnall]

All of these suggestions are excellent. I might offer that you would consider custom dies and if you don’t skim-turn your brass, take a look at that (before the custom dies). At those distances, everything that you can do to get repeatable, consistent reloads will help. I don’t know your budget, but the “Hole” is deep and ever-changing.

Scott

 

[Fast14riot]

IMO the most important tools in reloading are your measuring instruments. Good scale, calipers, micrometers, comparators, etc. The finer you are able to resolve a datum, the more precise you can be. The more steps you're able to measure and quantify, the more repeatable every step will be. That is basically the definition of precision, being able to repeat the same thing over and over again exactly.