some quick reviews of reloading stuff I bought

[usnmars 136]

I recently got into reloading and am addicted as hell. I bought a bunch of stuff and figured I'd share some of the stuff that is awesome in my setup. I am using just a Lee single stage breech lock setup but so far I am in love with it.

 

I got a Hornady lock and load powder trickler from midway powder measure This thing is absolutely AWESOME! The one thing I learned is to let it warm up. The longer warm up time you give it the better(I turn it on when I start priming cases). If you just fire it up and calibrate, it will overthrow quite a bit. If you let it warm up say maybe 1/2 hr. it will give you exact charges every time. The trickler has an auto function, so once you put the empty powder pan back on the scale it will automatically throw another charge. On a single stage this is great, by the time you seat your bullet another charge is ready for the next round. I verify the charge weights about every 10 throws with a separate digital scale and have never had any variances. Overall this thing is SWEET!!!!!!

 

I bought a cabelas media seperator media seperator link and this thing does the job. The hinges are molded plastic that just snaps together. Once in a while, the hinges will pop out on you. Although a minor inconvenience, it is a pain in the A$$. Although it does the job nice, i would look for another one. I am already thinking on bolting some hinges to it and getting rid of the plastic ones. If I buy something, I expect it to last.

 

I also got the Lee factory crimp dies for .45, .308, and 30-06. These were recommended to me from the guy that is teaching me precision loading. These put a nice consistent crimp on that is just awesome. They average about $10 each too so they are well worth the cost.

 

The greatest thing of all time in my setup is a cheap magnetic bar from harbor freight. magnetic holder linkI mounted it to the front edge of my bench and put my small tools on it. It is the greatest accessory I have ever spent $5 on. I put my deburring tools, primer pocket tools and allen wrenches and even a tiny flash light on it and they are always within easy reach. I cannot recommend this enough to people. I just ordered 2 more for my garage since they are on sale right now.

 

And for those that have a lee press with the quick change bushings. Do yourself a favor and get a couple of sets of these. Lee bushings link They are the lock ring eliminator bushings. They make setting up your dies so much faster. I keep the lock rings on my dies and just use them as a lock nut on your bushings. Your dies stay set up exactly where you set them last time. I verify every time I start and haven't even moved .001"

 

I figured I'd share some of my likes and dislikes so far, hopefully someone gets some use from it.

[djg0770 481]

I bought a cabelas media seperator media seperator link and this thing does the job. The hinges are molded plastic that just snaps together. Once in a while, the hinges will pop out on you. Although a minor inconvenience, it is a pain in the A$$. Although it does the job nice, i would look for another one. I am already thinking on bolting some hinges to it and getting rid of the plastic ones. If I buy something, I expect it to last.

 

what about some reclosable zip ties?

[NJdiverTony 27]

 

I also got the Lee factory crimp dies for .45, .308, and 30-06. These were recommended to me from the guy that is teaching me precision loading. These put a nice consistent crimp on that is just awesome. They average about $10 each too so they are well worth the cost.

 

 

Yep, the factory crimp dies are great! I have loaded a bunch of pistol ammo in the last couple of months since I started reloading, and I love the Lee factory crimp dies! They work great and are very consistent. I forego the crimp during the bullet seating and just seat the bullet, and then crimp with the factory crip die. Not a single failure with any of my ammo either. 100% success rate so far on about 1,000 rounds fired.

[StephanieSeven 70]

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely going to check out those magnetic holders.

 

Have to be honest, I kind of like that the media separator comes apart. I find it easier for getting the brass out and pouring the media back in the tumbler. It snaps back in simply enough. Just my experience.

[Socom 19]

there is nothing special about lee factory crimp dies.. all they do is resize and crimp which in my opinion sucks i knock out the carbide sizing ring because it destroys my lead reloads.. as in sizes the lead after bullet has been seated i stay away from them at all costs just my .02 cents

[NJdiverTony 27]

there is nothing special about lee factory crimp dies.. all they do is resize and crimp which in my opinion sucks i knock out the carbide sizing ring because it destroys my lead reloads.. as in sizes the lead after bullet has been seated i stay away from them at all costs just my .02 cents

 

I guess YMMV...

 

I reload lead SWC's in .45ACP and haven't had a single issue... They factory crimp die works great... I just put a very slight taper crimp on the case, to bring it to spec, and there is no change to the bullet at all. I've actually tested this out by seating and crimping a few dummy rounds and then used a bullet puller and measured the lead bullets and there was no change to the bullet size at all. My loads are very accurate through my 1911 and haven't had any failures whatsoever.