I recently helped a good friend of mine clean out his storage unit that had a very large plastic tote full of reloading equipment in it.Some of it was the normal stuff-RCBS dies,Uniflow powder measure,etc.Also in the box were some really old things.One was a Herter's Universal Die-quite a long and elaborate looking contraption the likes of which I've never seen before.Another interesting item is a very small Lyman turret press that uses very small dies.It has dies for 222 and 280.They appear to be neck sizing dies.There were a couple of Bonanza tools that are tiny compared to todays stuff-a case trimmer and a scale.Both are very small,but seem to work well.The scale's not magnetically dampened,so it takes it a while to settle,but it matches my RCBS scale exactly.There are several sets of Bonanza and Herter's dies,some of them marked Benchrest,so I'd think they're good stuff.If I remember right,didn't Forster buy Bonanza out?If anybody knows anything about this older stuff,chime in.Even though I'll be 61 in a week,some of this stuff is before my time.
Vintage Reloading Tools
- Thread starter WVRJ
- Start date
All I know is the Lyman is probably called the True-Line Jr.. I also know I love my Bonanza 225 win. Die set, which I only use the f/l die w/o the expander button on my deprimed brass, then use a mandrel to expand. I don't even use the seater from that set because I happened to find a Bonanza bench rest seater and I am happy with it. It may not be any better than the standard seater for my use but it gives me a psychological advantage! LOL. I do like the Bonanza dies though.
I think the Herter's die you have may be the old long universal neck die, but I can't be sure.
It does sound like you were given a box of quality stuff.
I like seeing people get rewarded for good deeds, and you could put a lot of those items to good use.
Just imagine if you were given that box full of small rifle magnum primers. All the messages you would be getting!
I think the Herter's die you have may be the old long universal neck die, but I can't be sure.
It does sound like you were given a box of quality stuff.
I like seeing people get rewarded for good deeds, and you could put a lot of those items to good use.
Just imagine if you were given that box full of small rifle magnum primers. All the messages you would be getting!
nmkid
Gold $$ Contributor
You better get a lotto ticket this week!
Yes,the Herter's die is the universal neck sizer.There was a set of Bonanza 222 dies that say Benchrest on the box.They have a micrometer type seater die.Lots of golden items for sure!
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