Haha! Just one hellava son. Proud as can be. Good husband and dad. Pretty good career. Must have got it from mom.
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AND FZ-i/FX-i Balance
- Thread starter Muddyboots
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meatyrem
Well-Known Member
This was the one I was considering before I went with the Entris 323 and so far I like mine
So who has the auto trickler? Pros? Cons? Best price?
Does the auto trickler really deliver on consistent total weights? ES and SD?
Looks like another rabbit hole!
Does the auto trickler really deliver on consistent total weights? ES and SD?
Looks like another rabbit hole!
Thanks! Holy cow on wait list delivery dates!
QuietTexan
Well-Known Member
I have the V4, I was one of the conversions so I was early on the list, and got one the first month they were shipping because I'd been on the V3 list before.So who has the auto trickler? Pros? Cons? Best price?
Does the auto trickler really deliver on consistent total weights? ES and SD?
Looks like another rabbit hole!
Pros -
- SO EASY. To use you dump in the powder, run the automatic calibration test with by hitting one button and waiting a minute or so, then set the charge weight and it'll automatically keep kicking out charges just by setting the cup back into the pan until you hit the button again.
- If you want to increase charge weight for a ladder, there are preset buttons to increase the charge by (IIRC off the top of my head) 1gn, 0.1gn, or 0.01gn just by hitting a button.
- It really does run in less than 10 seconds, even 100gn magnum loads. Has run every powder I've put in it from fine ball powder to big extruded kernels.
- Powder changes are easy - close the hopper and dump it back into the powder keg. Lift up the unit, set it on the rim of the keg and slide the plexiglass up and it dumps. Tilt the unit back and bump it to clear the tubes, lift the glass one more time, and it's done. Takes less than a minute once you've done it a couple times, and then you're back to loading with a different powder in another two minutes. I had hold ups about changing powders to test multiple at a time and didn't think this could beat my old Lee dipper and trickler for speed but it does! No more haphazard ladders and reshooting nodes to confirm because I was rushing through weighing charges.
- I might break down and start loading 300 BLK subs that I usually use a drop for because honestly it's very fast, and it won't leak the fine ball powder all over my press like the Lee hopper does.
- Repeatable and no drift so far meaning weights don't vary over a long session
- Easy to remove from the balance for water sorting cases, weighing bullets, etc.
- Takes awhile to get
- The Tripp Lite line conditioner wasn't cheap, but it's a big investment you're protecting in the balance so I think it's worth the cost
- I bought a foot square chunk of waste granite countertop ($30 ish?) and put it on three points a la a granite test surface plate to further dampen any vibration. I have no idea if it changes anything or not but it lifts the unit up a couple inches to a better height.
- It's kind of big and I don't have anywhere other than on by bench to store it (especially because it's sitting on a big rock)
- If you like nice things the Area 419 upgrades feel more sturdy than the 3D printer components the V4 comes with.
- You'll figure out real quick that charge weight doesn't make as big an impact on ES and SD as you might be hoping for, and so you'll end up using your new balance for sorting cases and then you'll end up with a SAC comparator kit because Hornady sucks and then you'll be sorting bullets and then you'll probably buy a Type S die set or a whole new barrel or something else because it's SO FUN TO LOAD AGAIN.
- People will call you uppity for having one and tell you ALL the reasons why their way is better. Literally, every single reason they can come up with. Even when you lead with "but my V4 is hands free" they'll still talk about how they can tweezer a single kernel onto their manual balance, or that they can buy enough Charge Masters to run as fast, or tell you your node isn't wide enough, or anything else other than just saying "meh, that's nice but I like mine too". So you'll have to come on here and vent to the rest of the ascot and monocle wearing, scotch drinking elite who burn Benjamins in their AMP annealers to light their cigars while caressing your FCD and pretending that owning one piece of Lee to load Hammers in your Sherman Max keeps you in touch with the common man. I'll send you a membership card in the mail once you join the club
You have to send in 1,000 CCI large rifle primers, 8 pounds of Retumbo, 100 ADG 300 RUM cases, and 500 Berger 245 EOLs to prove your financial bona fides - I'll send you my address to send all that to.
Yes it delivers on charge weights to 0.05gn consistently under 10 seconds. You'll figure out fast that charge weight only impacts ES and SD so much and you'll find a new part of the process to tinker with soon enough. If you were already good, you won't see huge change. If you were shooting 20SD it will probably help you. I bought into the Autotricker because my Hornady Auto Charge was a glorified manual powder dump and if I was going to drop a grand on a balance and powder thrower I wanted a really good quality balance under it, not one built into a factory unit like the Match Master.
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QuietTexan: Not so quiet, eh? 
Exactly what I was hoping to get from someone, really appreciated your effort to explain both sides of the coin. Well done!
Exactly what I was hoping to get from someone, really appreciated your effort to explain both sides of the coin. Well done!
QuietTexan
Well-Known Member
I'm quite laconic compared to some of my relations, but the "quiet" part is really about my love of suppressorsQuietTexan: Not so quiet, eh?
