Worst thing you have purchased for reloading

[FEENIX]

We all have varying personal experiences/preferences, budgets, purpose, and time and efforts spent in the reloading room and hopefully the readers/end-users can synthesize what it is noted here objectively and with an open-mind. For instance, my longest MT bull elk harvest at 931 yards was loaded on a Lyman T-Mag, I have my GemPro 250 for ~6 years now, no problems with Winchester brass (sure it needs extra work), etc ...

 

[dok7mm]

The whole RCBS kit I got with my initial RockChucker. Good press, but the other stuff was minimal, at best.

Bertram brass, sorted 50 by weight, had 10 equal groups, each a full grain apart.

Cheap scales, none lasted long.

Propane annealers, work pretty well IF you're not loading and annealing for lots of different headstamp brass & cartridges. Bummer, constantly adjusting torches. AMP is great.

Dies I never use, but have to keep rust free, just in case. Seaters with no micrometer, yuck! Expander ball stems, got a box full.

Hand powered neck turners....self explanatory.

Cheap calipers or any other cheap measuring tools, especially the digital ones, caused me plenty of head scratching.

 

[aushunter1]

Personally, Lyman aerosol case lube.



Not only was my last batch of Winchester brass flawless, there was 51 in the bag...

Link? Hook a brother up!

Not part of that forum anymore.
Besides its in Australia mate!
Would cost more for postage than what they are worth.

I have seen some other versions for sale on ebay though.

 

[elf]

Forester trimmer and neck turner. The trimmer is OK, but the neck turning is terrible. Ditched it and went with Wilson trimmer and K&M neck turner.

 

[tbrice23]

GemPro 250 for ~6 years now, no problems with Winchester brass (sure it needs extra work), etc ...

Yep.

 

[Clay Target Guy]

A Lee powder measure, I bought it to use in shotgun shell reloading to drop the buffer I was using in my turkey loads. The clearance was so great between the housing and the cylinder that the buffer would pour out the side.
I knew I was buying cheap, but did not know it would have been that cheap. It is about the worthless.

 

[VTbluegrass]

I have no experience with the RCBS charge master but there is a YouTube channel "Panhandle Precision" that claims a piece of McDonald's drinking straw inserted into the trickler of the powder measure increased accuracy. Just needed a sharper edge to drop the powder from basically.

 

[RT2506]

I just thought of something else. Hornady PUMP BOTTLE One Shot spray case lube. I had been using the aerosol can of Hornady One Shot case lube for a while and loved it. When I had run out of it I went to the local sporting goods to get some more. They were out of the aerosol but had the pump bottle so I through probably the same stuff. Just like my Mom used to say when I was a teenager and thought I knew everything and I would say "but I thought" in a reference to contradicting what she had just said. Mom would say, "You know what thought did? He through he had to fart but he filled his britches full."
First time I used that pump bottle lube I followed the directions and the first case I ran into the die STUCK FAST. It was a 7mm Mauser case and I was using Lee dies which I had used for a good wile with no problems. This case stuck so fast into the die that I could not beat it out using the de-priming stem like the instructions with the die stated. Actually ended up bending the stem. I even tried heating up the case with a torch and it would not come out. It was like it was glued in there with a high strength glue. I borrowed a RCBS stuck case remover and stripped the screw out of the case. I ended sending the die back to Lee with an explanation and they sent me a new sizing die. I have been loading for over 40 years and this is the only case I have ever stuck in a die. I threw the pump bottle of Hornady One Shot in the trash. I still use the aerosol One Shot lube and love it and keep at least two spare cans on the shelf at all times.

 

[lancetkenyon]

I have no experience with the RCBS charge master but there is a YouTube channel "Panhandle Precision" that claims a piece of McDonald's drinking straw inserted into the trickler of the powder measure increased accuracy. Just needed a sharper edge to drop the powder from basically.

I do this. Not sure if it works or not.

 

[Clay Target Guy]

Oh, and who at Hornady thought that a "zip screw" was a good thing on the sizing die.
That thing sticks up so high out of the top of the die its not funny. I don't know about the rest of you but once I get my depriming stem set, I leave it alone. Why to I need a rapid adjust stem?

 

[Kooz7]

-RCBS concentricity tool (replaced with 21st century tool)
-Hornady brass ( now use Lapua , Nosler & Norma)
-Lee rifle dies (replaced with Redding premium dies)

 

[Brian49]

So we have had a few threads to help out new guys over the last few weeks. Thread on best piece of equipment, thread on sharing your reloading bench setup. So how about we share what was the worst/biggest waste of money you purchased for reloading! This will take me a little bit of thinking as I have wasted a lot of money lol.

The item that stands out is a case luber from Herters when I was new, you were supposed to be able to pass a case thru a lubed felt hole to to lube the case, maybe it was because i was 16 or so, but i could never get a case lubed right with it. BTW it's still in a drawer.

 

[thwatson2]

Auto powder dispenser. Pricey, slow and temperamental. Easier to use a hand dispenser and trickle a little. Much faster. I bought the PACT. Just my opinion

 

[brotherbear67]

I have no experience with the RCBS charge master but there is a YouTube channel "Panhandle Precision" that claims a piece of McDonald's drinking straw inserted into the trickler of the powder measure increased accuracy. Just needed a sharper edge to drop the powder from basically.

I had a good friend show me that trick a couple years ago. Helped immensely. Cut my "overthrows" by quite a bit. I still ended up buying a Chargemaster Lite. Rarely have an overthrow and it consistently throws just a touch light which is ok, because everything goes on beam scale and I trickle up.