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View Full Version : Reloading Equipment (Review)



alamo5000
2 November 2016, 18:57
I recently bought two products that I have had my eye on for quite some time. The first was a Dillion Super Swage 600.

https://www.dillonprecision.com/uimages/Super_Swage_600.jpg

And the other was an RCBS priming tool.

https://media.midwayusa.com/productimages/880x660/Primary/457/457599.jpg

A few months ago I bought a bunch of military brass (will probably buy more later). I learned a lesson pretty quickly that crimped primer pockets are a pain in the ass. I tried removing the crimp several different ways. I tried with a hand tool, I tried with a drill (with the right chuck), I tried with my case trimmer station, but NOTHING comes close to the speed and ease of the Dillon.

I did a small test run of about 250 cases and I zipped through that in almost no time. With any of the cutting methods I can honestly say I tore my hands up. At one point I got a decent gash on my hand when the the chuck snagged in one of the pockets while I was trying to use a power drill. Long story short all the other methods don't hold a candle to the speed and ease of the Dillon.

Not to mention after trying out swaging vs cutting I like the swaging a LOT better. Plus it was much easier to do. You can swage all different calibers with it with just a minor swap of a part or two. I haven't tried it yet but I will eventually try some 9mm.

Admittedly you only have to swage brass once but the ease of how that's done matters. This tool might sit on the shelf for 6 months, but when you need it, trust me, it will be worth it. Yes you could just buy brass that doesn't need swaging, but overall I wish I would have bought this tool like a year ago.


The second tool is the RCBS priming tool. Again, I wish I would have bought that thing ages ago. I blew through 250 cases in NO TIME and I did not have a single spoiled primer. The design of this tool is pretty good. Not perfect but good. It uses that old thing we call 'gravity'. The primers sit flat and get pushed up flat so nothing ever gets cocked off to one side. The main thing I like is the ease, the SPEED, and the accuracy of it.

The only downside to the thing at all is getting the primers in the tube is minorly fiddly. One thing I did learn though is with the little trays that CCI primers come in, the tip of the tube fits right in the CCI primer trays that they get packed in. Getting the primers in the tube doesn't take an excessive amount of time but if the primers get turned over or whatever you have to take time to get them right side up. On the flip side, once you're loaded, it doesn't take hardly any time to do a lot of priming with a very small almost non existent error rate. If you're using a hand tool it's time to upgrade, and this is definitely an upgrade from that.

If I really tried I could probably prime around 1000 cases in an evening no problems. And I could do it while watching tv and not much if any disoriented primers to mess with.

Overall I am very happy with my purchases so far. I am always on the lookout for better and faster ways to do things but I have definitely made my life a lot easier with these two purchases.

alamo5000
2 November 2016, 19:41
I would also like to get something like this (but they are very expensive)

For match reloads this is probably the most fast and accurate powder charger possible.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sqNcs-uWzY

When I finally get into some serious bolt gun long range shooting I will probably get an annealer as well.

Someone asked the other day if annealing brass extends life of the brass...

I found this:

"“When done right, annealing extends brass life and makes neck tension more consistent, something very important for accuracy. There is plenty of evidence that annealing works. Just look at your new Lapua brass – those rainbow colors on the necks are artifacts of annealing. And we know annealing can make your brass shoot better and last longer. Score Shooter of the Year Joe Entrekin has 40+ reloads on his regularly-annealed brass."

http://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/12/31/reloading-tips-from-top-precision-rifle-shooters/

And of course I will get a neck turner...