What is the one reloading gadget you've bought and now couldn't live life without?

first I was going to say bullet feeder, then maybe Dillon tube filler, .then I was going to say Mk7 Autodrive for my 1050s, but now I'm going to say, my Revolution.
 
I'm a single stage guy; I really like to check every round multiple times throughout the reloading process to make sure everything is the way it should be, and load one at a time. It's extremely rare that I'll get to the point of seating a bullet and realize that there's a crack in the casing(maybe 1 out of every 2000 rounds), and have to pull the bullet and chuck it all. This works well for me: If I load 100 rounds per night each night during a work week, I have enough for that weekend's shoot. Simple.
That being said, measuring powder by hand and using tricklers got old really quick. I'd have to say the best gadget I ever purchased was my Hornady L&L powder measure. It does a great job giving consistent pistol and rifle charges and is the primary reason I can load 100 rounds in that 1.5-2 hrs at night between satisfying my family obligations and hitting the sac in time to get to work the next day.
 
Paatz said:
Correcting myself, not RCBS. Redding is the one I have, and it has a very solid heavy base.
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My last reloading purchase from the EE was the Redding #5 trickler, and it was a sanity-saver!!!

My old Lyman was driving me nuts by squeaking whenever the tube was turned - plus it was all plastic (i.e. very light), so the slightest bump and you'd overshoot your weight. Again.

Not the Redding - good and heavy (and silent!), so it sits dead still until you make it drop the next kernel.

Only (very) minor quibble is that it would be nice if the drop-tube were a quarter-inch or so higher up, so that my fumble-fingers wouldn't occasionally hit the tube with the pan when I lift it off the scale, dropping another kernel or 3 into the pan (which is NOT the trickler's fault...). Have been meaning to make a base for the trickler to sit in for this, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe today - it's too wet to shoot out there...
 
I used a powder measure for years, figured I'd get out of the stone age and go with a Chargemaster.......and got rid of it pretty quickly, too slow for me. I use a powder measure, beam scale and trickler, it's way faster, so out of anything I use, I'd miss the powder measure the most.
 
Redding trickler. I'd be lost without it.
Chrony.
Some nice calipers.

I have a redding concentricity gauge and a case trimmer, and I've never used either of them.
 
bearkilr said:
I used a powder measure for years, figured I'd get out of the stone age and go with a Chargemaster.......and got rid of it pretty quickly, too slow for me. I use a powder measure, beam scale and trickler, it's way faster, so out of anything I use, I'd miss the powder measure the most.
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You know you can change the settings on your RCBS and tune it to your preference right? The RCBS is plenty fast for me: when doing 338LM for example charge weight of 88.2gr H1000 I have enough time to check the primer pocket then prime ONE case before the charge is ready. That's' pretty quick!
 
So many for me.
This whole hobby is about the next amazing gadget, to me anyway.
Like many I started with no knowledge, entry level equipment, limited expectations and a ton of curiosity so every upgrade has a revolation (and still is).
Highlights:
-a progressive press.
-a primer tube vibratory filler for the above press.
-a co-ax.
-a Rock Chucker.
-all the bits to attach to a caliper for measuring cases, etc...
-a tool for measuring seated length in the gun I’m loading for.
-an electronic powder dispenser.
-care-o-safe metal.
-a concentricity tool.
-Lee quick trim with power attachment.
-a chrono.
-a solid bench with good lighting...

Can’t wait to see what’s next.
 
Boomer686 said:
You know you can change the settings on your RCBS and tune it to your preference right? The RCBS is plenty fast for me: when doing 338LM for example charge weight of 88.2gr H1000 I have enough time to check the primer pocket then prime ONE case before the charge is ready. That's' pretty quick!
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Yeah, I know, but I'm old school and still don't trust digital scales, I like to weigh every load on a beam anyhow. Dump, weigh, trickle, dump into case..... I did 50 rounds of 375 H&H the other day in about 1/2 an hour, start to finish, with crimping, something I don't do with other calibers.
When I was a kid, I used a spoon to trickle powder while having the pan on the scale, that was before I had a powder measure, so I've evolved somewhat! :d
 
Without a doubt, the single best reloading tool I have is a computer with an internet connection. I can now in one hour online find more data and learn more than I could do on my own in months pre-internet.
 
Best investment I made when loading on a single stage was a metering powder dispenser. Previously, I tediously hand weighed every single charge for pistol, rifle and shotgun loads.

After years of hoarding brass (308, 30-30, 30-06, 223, etc) I realized I could never get it all loaded in my lifetime with a single stage so I ended up buying a progressive to speed up processing. Nowadays, clean brass doesn't sit around long; as long as I have components it gets turned into ammo.

Third best piece of equipment was a homebuilt wet tumbler. Some years ago, I got an insanely good deal(almost free) on a large lot of 9mm and 223 brass, only downside was the heavy coating of mud and tarnish. Managed to cobble together a wet tumbler with about ~$100 worth of parts, it's definitely saved many buckets of what would be considered "un-salvageable" brass from being scrapped.
 
There are a few that come to mind for me:
1) Cement mixer, $175 at CT... I can now tumble close to 3/4 of a 5 gallon bucket of brass in one go. Was my first shift into wet tumbling and it was a great upgrade.
2) Recently purchased the hornady swager for 223 and a dillon RT 1200... certainly sped up my case prep monumentally.
 
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