Worst thing you have purchased for reloading

[smokepoler]

^^^THIS^^^ RCBS all plastic inertia bullet puller (hammer). So many have broken the handle, it's a wonder it's still on the market. Went to the metal handle version sold by Midway and pulled hundreds of rounds without a hitch.

 

[popgun240]

Brass and Dies for a 7mmX75mm Vom Hoff Super Express. Cant find any load data, anywhere.

 

[Camalius (Tim) Pomaville]

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

 

[Camalius (Tim) Pomaville]

I did it and it works. Saved me some extra money and it overloaded 2 out of 20. I'm very pleased.

 

[Lee Goodwin]

The absolute worst thing I ever wasted money on was one of the RCBS power puller hammers ( do they even sell these anymore?). You would have to insert the loaded round into the hammer then take out your angered frustration on an innocent 4x4 only to have it crack before the bullet even dropped. When you finally got the bullet loose it would fall out and spill powder all over in the head which would then have to be carefully poured back into a powder jug to be rethrown. Finally got the rcbs puller dies that fit screw into the press and the headache was gone.

The only good thing about the plastic hammers is the workout, beating the frustration a little and they are cheap, but messy. I only use the hammer for heavy lead pistol bullets the rcbs gripper won't grab cause the lead is too soft.

 

[Randy Tidwell]

Funny thing that happened with a hammer bullet puller a number of years ago.

Someone gave me a bunch of 303 British rounds that were corroded green on the outside, yuck.

He asked if I could dispose of them safely.

Obviously, would never shoot them (don't even own a 303).

The second one I pulled the bullet on, the neck and shoulder separated from the body of the case. The bullet was welded inside the neck.

3-4 rounds later, I had to pound one so hard, the lead core on the round nose actually stretched out of of the jacket. it looked like a bugger hanging out of the jacket. LOL

After that, I switched to the collate puller to do the rest. Even with collate style, I had 4 or 5 more that damaged the case before the bullet let loose. Had to really crank down hard to get them to hold.

I saved a few of these to use in Hunter Safety Classes (back when I was teaching it) to show students what to look for. If I think about this weekend, I will dig them out and post a picture, funny looking round.

I actually thought about saving a couple of these rounds, find an old junk 303. tie it to a tree an blow up the gun to use as a prop in the classes. But, decided that was too dangerous.

 

[Clay Target Guy]

I found a trick for the hammer bullet puller. Instead of the little metal thing that comes with the hammer, I use a shell holder and put the rim in the holder, insert the round in, screw the cap on and away you go. It holds the round way better and causes no damage to the bullet or the case

 

[RobMokry]

I found a trick for the hammer bullet puller. Instead of the little metal thing that comes with the hammer, I use a shell holder and put the rim in the holder, insert the round in, screw the cap on and away you go. It holds the round way better and causes no damage to the bullet or the case

Nice fix!

 

[stx]

Some will probably disagree but that's what makes the world go round.

Mine was to different powder auto dispensers (The RCBS Charge master) I realy thought these would improve my loading time and accuracy, They did not. I bought one and found that half the time was spent dumping error charges. So based on other peoples recommendations I bought another one to speed up the process (Some had as many as 3).

The second one was no better at dropping consistent charges than the first. and only complicated the process. so I set out on a mission to evaluate the powder charging process altogether.

I found that with a very good powder measure and beam scale, speed and accuracy was better than using the charge masters. I loaded 50 rounds with one system and 50 more with the other and it wasn't even close.

I checked each load individually and found the measure and scale came out on top with almost 100 % accuracy. the charge master was close to 20% rejected. Curious as to why, I started dumping more loads and If i waited long enough it would give me an error message and the charge had to be dumped.

Once I got the powder measure calibrated and got my rhythm down there were almost no rejects. I also checked these loads with a digital scale that measures to 0.01 g so there would be no human factor. this confirmed that the beam scale was being read correctly and accurately.

Some feel that this level of accuracy is not necessary and I don't disagree, but when I load, I don't want or need any excuses for poor accuracy and except the human factor as the problem.

So I have reverted back to a simple and time proven method that gets me the most consistent loads in less time with less problems.

I sold both of my Charge masters and have never looked back. and of all the poor choices I have made for reloading this has been the most costly one.

J E CUSTOM

I was a little disappointed in the accuracy of my Chargemaster, as well, but it still saves me time with my "Old Timer" procedures. I throw a slightly light charge with CM and then pour into Gempro pan and then trickle from there.....still saves time over my previous method! If I'm not working up a load, CM is accurate enough for some of my rifles that are used at moderate ranges.

 

[J E Custom]

I was a little disappointed in the accuracy of my Chargemaster, as well, but it still saves me time with my "Old Timer" procedures. I throw a slightly light charge with CM and then pour into Gempro pan and then trickle from there.....still saves time over my previous method! If I'm not working up a load, CM is accurate enough for some of my rifles that are used at moderate ranges.

I went through many Powder Measures be fore I found one that Is truly accurate. The first good one was an Ohaus and it did very well then I found a Harrell's and it is the best I have ever found. With this powder measure I just dump all of the loads after setting in 50 round batches, Then I dump them one at a time in the scales and check them for accuracy. If they are under, I just trickle and place them back in the loading block. If they are over I dump the case back in the measure for recharge,

With this method I get a rhythm and can measure very accurate charges. normally I only find and reject 3 to 5 charges per batch. Doing it one at a time the rejection Rate is much higher. It is also very fast because of the low rejection rate.

Like many other processes, technique and rhythm can improve consistency.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Mc Fraser]

I always do a ladder test so a Chargemaster lite is perfect. I use a Gempro 250 to check loads. Gempro 250 is the worst fing thing I ever bought. The product is fine but customer support is like they want to go bankrupt. I have never ever seen such horrible service. Literally I sent 4 emails asking how should we fix my unit cause it was drifting, 5 emails basically said that I will go to the authorities and their replay was yes hoe can we help you? Its been a month already and i got nothing from them.

 

[Dirt_Nap]

Hornady Lock-n-load press. Hated that thing! Dies would never stay "locked" into place. Got a Forster co-ax and have never looked at another press

 

[MagnumManiac]

To date, the only thing I can say I have used or purchased that truly was JUNK............. ANYTHING MADE BY HORNADY.
I bought a set of the Custom dies for my 45 Auto with the carbide sizer and the seater with the sliding plug thingy......... the sliding thingy broke the FIRST time I used it, contacted Hornady and they replied I must have used too much FORCE seating LEAD bullets. WHAT?!
They would not replace it under warranty and said I could order and purchase a new one. RIDICULOUS!
RCBS would have sent a new part that day at no cost.
Anyway, will NEVER spend a cent of my money on ANYTHING Hornady again.

Cheers.

 

[Camalius (Tim) Pomaville]

I had the very same experience with a Hornady die, and they gave the very same answer.