opinions on reloading gear needed

[futant]

I am looking at purchasing these major items to get me going, if you any opinion make it known!


Forster Coax press - pretty much sold on this, kinda pricey though

thumler tumbler of some kind

RCBS chargemaster and scale - not too sure on this yet, considering just getting a powder thrower(mountable) , and a trickler (mountable), and a good scale (obvious)


I've decided to not focus on quantity / production , and just focus on getting the right tools , the first time around.
I am most interested in what you single stage press guys seem to think wastes the most time - case prep , or measuring loads out ?

[slowyellow]

My chargemaster will be here tomorrow and I can't wait. If all goes well, it'll be the biggest time saver in my "single stage" arsenal. From everybody that I've heard from, they say that once you get it, you'll wonder why the hell you did it any other way.

I've heard good things about that thumler tumbler and the SS media. I'd say go for that as well. It's just a pricey setup.

And I've never heard of that press, not to say it's bad, I just don't have anything to add to that.

I'd say to get a good trimmer as well. As long as you are talking top shelf stuff, I'd say to take a look at the Giraud trimmer.

Good luck, and have fun getting into the hobby.

[dee]

What are you planning on loading the most of? Pistol and bulk rifle can be done efficiently with a powder drop (depending on powder choice) and a decent scale to check drops occasionally. The Chargemaster is nice when doing precise rifle stuff in a hurry of sort but occasionally they should be checked and some times it can be finicky with certain powders.

[CJ]

the rotary tumbler with stainless media works great, however its kind of a PITA, adds another step - drying media, and its relatively small quantity depending on how much you're going to reload.

[Gtracer]

the rotary tumbler with stainless media works great, however its kind of a PITA, adds another step - drying media, and its relatively small quantity depending on how much you're going to reload.

What do you use?

[futant]

ill be reloading 9mm , 45acp, 762x39, 762x51
only the 308 , some will be match.

but to me , if I'm going to make it ala single press, it might as well all be good quality
so that is kind of my reasoning on the chargemaster
the forster isn't a turret press, so if i can get a chargemaster to do the trick I can avoid purchasing a powder drop and trickler
I don't know if thats a failing line of reasoning or not, and I'll end up needing both anyway some day. Chargemaster got much better reviews than the hornady autoloader, so I thought I had a chance at making the chargemaster just 'do it all'

all the shit i 'need' to reload has already grown to over 1000$ , so lol at my original 500$ budget.
But hey I'd rather have less problems, because problems waste a lot of time.
problems every time you use the equipment compound.
i may not make a lot of ammo, but i do value my time

problems that piss me off make me drink lots of alcohol
drinking lots of alcohol introduces problems. vicious cycle!

[slowyellow]

What do you use?

He's on a whole different level, lol. I think that he has something to do several thousand cases at a time. I'll let him fill in the specifics on his setup.

But I use a RCBS vibratory tumbler with harbor freight fine crushed walnut shell media. Works good. For my precision loads, I use an ultrasonic cleaner.

ill be reloading 9mm , 45acp, 762x39, 762x51
only the 308 , some will be match.

but to me , if I'm going to make it ala single press, it might as well all be good quality
so that is kind of my reasoning on the chargemaster
the forster isn't a turret press, so if i can get a chargemaster to do the trick I can avoid purchasing a powder drop and trickler
I don't know if thats a failing line of reasoning or not, and I'll end up needing both anyway some day. Chargemaster got much better reviews than the hornady autoloader, so I thought I had a chance at making the chargemaster just 'do it all'

all the shit i 'need' to reload has already grown to over 1000$ , so lol at my original 500$ budget.
But hey I'd rather have less problems, because problems waste a lot of time.
problems every time you use the equipment compound.
i may not make a lot of ammo, but i do value my time

problems that piss me off make me drink lots of alcohol
drinking lots of alcohol introduces problems. vicious cycle!

I think as soon as you said chargemaster your $500 budget went out of the window. I think that they were saying that you could use a powder drop was just due to time. It's plenty accurate for your run of the mill rounds, just not for a precision round. IMO, you would get better results with the chargemaster but it's going to take more time. So it's a give take. You have to figure out what you want to do. If you are just picking up brass or buying bulk once fired stuff for your .223 and .308, I think that the powder drop is all that you need.

[CJ]

What do you use?

I've tried them all. I have a thumblers tumbler. I've used cement mixers for large quantities, as well as a few homemade contraptions. Right now I use a large vibratory tumbler - primarily because they are quiet, clean, and they tumble much, much quicker than others. In the future I would like to switch to a larger wet ceramic vibratory tumbler.

[Gtracer]

I've tried them all. I have a thumblers tumbler. I've used cement mixers for large quantities, as well as a few homemade contraptions. Right now I use a large vibratory tumbler - primarily because they are quiet, clean, and they tumble much, much quicker than others. In the future I would like to switch to a larger wet ceramic vibratory tumbler.

humm, never thought about the noise. I guess once brass comes back around, I will look into a vibrating media cleaner.

Right now I have 100 .223 projectiles but no cases or primers
Have 100 10mm projectiles and 100 brass but no primers
Have 300 .45acp but no projectiles or primers....

lol I cant win

[CJ]

humm, never thought about the noise. I guess once brass comes back around, I will look into a vibrating media cleaner.

Right now I have 100 .223 projectiles but no cases or primers
Have 100 10mm projectiles and 100 brass but no primers
Have 300 .45acp but no projectiles or primers....

lol I cant win

Harbor freight sells a large vibratory tumbler, I've done as much as 1,200 .223 cases at a time in it, and I can tumble about 150 .50BMG cases in one at a time. Just make sure you get a warranty. They run about $150.

[Gtracer]

Harbor freight sells a large vibratory tumbler, I've done as much as 1,200 .223 cases at a time in it, and I can tumble about 150 .50BMG cases in one at a time. Just make sure you get a warranty. They run about $150.

I have one of those right up the street, thanks for the direction CJ!!

[CJ]

They also sell some nice real fine walnut media which I use for final polishing. For my grunt work I get 50lb sacks of walnut media from people in the oil field, mostly people doing fracking. It's dusty as shit, so keep it capped or cut a cement mixer open in the wind. The HF fine walnut media is great though, no dust, no crap, just put some Flitz media polish in it.

[slowyellow]

They also sell some nice real fine walnut media which I use for final polishing. For my grunt work I get 50lb sacks of walnut media from people in the oil field, mostly people doing fracking. It's dusty as shit, so keep it capped or cut a cement mixer open in the wind. The HF fine walnut media is great though, no dust, no crap, just put some Flitz media polish in it.

I'll second that about the HF media. I think that you are the one who turned me on to it. Now I'm about halfway through my 2nd box of it.

[futant]

sweet idea - so this thing, right ?

http://www.harborfreight.com/18-lb-vibratory-bowl-with-liquid-drain-hose-96923.html

ill grab me one and a box of media

[futant]

I think as soon as you said chargemaster your $500 budget went out of the window. I think that they were saying that you could use a powder drop was just due to time. It's plenty accurate for your run of the mill rounds, just not for a precision round. IMO, you would get better results with the chargemaster but it's going to take more time. So it's a give take. You have to figure out what you want to do. If you are just picking up brass or buying bulk once fired stuff for your .223 and .308, I think that the powder drop is all that you need.

yeah im not too worried about the budget, ill likely use this stuff the rest of my life if it's good equipment.
the thing is , and correct me if I'm wrong, a powder thrower + a powder trickler = the same price as a chargemaster.
And really the chargemaster setup comes with a good scale.

I totally understand that the powder thrower would be faster, but if I've already decided against the turret style, would it really be that much faster at that point ?

Would it be wise to stick with the basic setup of : quality electric scale, thrower, and trickler because I wouldn't have to worry about the chargemaster breaking or issues with certain powders ?

Im not going to be making a ton of match ammo, so maybe I could omit the trickler? and just weigh up every load manually that is match ? that would save money probably vs. chargemaster