Any new reloading tools that are helpful/useful?

I'm sure the primer pocket gages have been out for longer than a year but I think the neck tension gage might be relatively new.

https://ballistictools.com/store/reloading-products/three-gage-pack

Lee's new auto drum is pretty slick. They have a high end stand alone powder drop that looks good on paper.

There's a guy on eBay selling a slider actuator gizmo for a Dillon 650 that looks interesting. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dillon-XL-6...491057?hash=item4ac4180f71:g:RRQAAOSwX~dWktqG

Helpful for what?

There is always another gadget that can separate your money from you.

People have been reloading for a very long time and there are specific tools that are great for many applications and not so useful in others.

Have you tried smokeless powder?

thomas15 said:

Have you tried smokeless powder?

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I don't know if my flint is good enough for that stuff.

I'm sure the primer pocket gages have been out for longer than a year but I think the neck tension gage might be relatively new.

https://ballistictools.com/store/rel...hree-gage-pack

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There is nothing new about that gage; before the Internet that gage was called a 'go/not go' gage. At the same time there was something called bullet hold that was measure in pounds. And now the Internet has turned the go/not go gage into a tension gage with no way to measure the amount of tension. All of my tension gages are calibrated in pounds, the first tension gage I operated measured in thousands of pounds; and, depending on how it was hooked up there were times we had to multiply the reading by 9 or 18, there were times we got some huge numbers like 1000,000 pounds ++. and then there were interference fits. The one thing we did not have was a conversion for going from tensions to pounds.

F. Guffey

I'm sure the primer pocket gages have been out for longer than a year

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I have a flash hole gage, I have had it for over 35 years.

F. Guffey

This is my latest acquisition and takes the drudgery out of the repetition:

Siri in a box? I have the mate for the solid what looks like 20mm round on y0pour table beside Alexa.

Ron

I held off for years the purchase of a 'digital auto powder charging' tool.

Finally bought the Hornady auto charge earlier this year and am very happy I did. I have always enjoyed working up loads & testing of new bullets/powder/primer configs and this device makes it a pleasure to do so.

There is no known standard in the reloading or ammo making industry for neck tension. That difference in diameters is known to intelligent machinists as an interference fit, also known as a press fit or friction fit. Is a fastening between two parts which is achieved by friction after the parts are pushed together, rather than by any other means of fastening. Neck tension is the force the neck applies to the bullet and unless there's some pressure sensor inside the bullet, there's no way to measure it. And it would be measured in some force per square unit.

Therefore, I'm amazed that the tool mentioned in:

https://ballistictools.com/store/rel...hree-gage-pack

is a worthwhile tool. Especially when 30 caliber bullets have a .003" spread in diameter (SAAMI specs) and the only industry method of anything close to neck tension is bullet pull:

BULLET PULL
The force required to extract a bullet from the case into which it was loaded.

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as seen in:

http://www.saami.org/glossary/display.cfm?letter=B

Bullet pull in pounds can be measured easily. A close approximation can be seen with a hand scale hooked onto a bullet puller as it's on a bullet in a case neck with the case in a securely anchored shell holder. Or make a few test cases with a 3/10th hole drilled in the primer pocket then use a 3/16 diameter rod to push the bullet out of a case held in an upside down seater die on a bathroom scale noting the scale weight reading when the bullet goes out.

A given case mouth diameter and a given bullet diameter will have different bullet pull amounts depending on how brittle or soft the case brass is. So bullets with different diameters will have different bullet pulls on the same case type with the same mouth diameters. 5 to 10 pounds pull at most is best for accuracy; less for single round loading. More may be needed for semiautos or heavier bullets. There is no SAAMI spec for bullet pull. Most military rifle ammo has 40 to 60 pound pull specs.

I consider that tool a joke. That case mouth gage is not a quick and reliable way to test your case neck tension.

These are two of my most useful tools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrFhnDQ-eUU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2U1ujg_nzo

"New" is realitive though, one is a about 5 years old the other more than a decade old.

The Jmorris Corporation, doing for loading technology today what should have been done yesterday.

As always, thanks for sharing those cool tools.

Ron

Lee's new auto drum is pretty slick. They have a high end stand alone powder drop that looks good on paper.

There's a guy on eBay selling a slider actuator gizmo for a Dillon 650 that looks interesting. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dillon-XL-65...QAAOSwX~dWktqG

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Greyling or anyone else,

Is the autodrum a better powder thrower than the unit that comes with the Dillon 650?

Likewise, have you or anyone tried that upgrade to the linkage the dude on ebay is selling?

(I'm a sucker for better mouse traps)

Lee recently updated/revised their trimmers and this one looks pretty interesting. I don't know how long it has been out but I just noticed it as I was researching dies for my new caliber 300 Blackout.

That Lee trimmer has been out for a while. They also have a drill attachment that works well. I use it when I have large amounts of brass to process.

There are a bunch of new annealers that have come out. Prices vary but there are plenty of affordable ones. Then there is the Annie induction annealer

I'm in the market for an annealer. Do you have any links?

Nature Boy said:

I'm in the market for an annealer. Do you have any links?

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http://www.mikesreloadingbench.com/mikes reloading bench_025.htm

http://annealeez.ddns.net

Lots of folks have built various versions of mine.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?48611-finished-the-auto-annealer-today

jmorris, Ive seen yours or some just like it for sale but i couldnt find a link to include in my post above. I like your design best of any I've seen and it almost makes me want to start annealing but i probably have more brass than i could ever shoot even one time so the benefit wouldnt justify the cost.

Here is a link to the Annie: http://www.fluxeon.com/Annie.html

I wish I had the money for one because it's the way to go. Those that have it love it. I went w/ the Annealez due to cost. But it has limitations. Specifically short brass.

Almost forgot about the AMP. This one is the Cadillac: http://www.ampannealing.com

I can't justify those induction annealers. I'm leaning toward the Annealez too, mainly focused on .223/.308/.30/06......for now

You had mentioned "a bunch of new annealers that have come out"