What were you thinking? I spent how much for that!

Rick Richard

Rick Richard

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I am beginning to question my sanity on how much I am spending on certain reloading equipment items with little to no conclusive benefits other than marking off a "maybe" or going further down the "rabbit hole" or "scratching an itch".

So, what are some of y'all's and was it worth it?

Recent:
Arbor press and inline bullet seater $300 plus…..what all the pro shooters use…and I ain't one of them.

Funnel $100 ( This is what made me start this thread)……$100! …….for a funnel!….and i already have several…..that work .
 
I still haven't determined if my annealer has paid any real dividends yet. Before annealing brass, I never split a case neck or had any other issues. Brass life was typically rather good at sane pressure levels.

Now I anneal my cases after every other firing. Is it resulting in smaller groups? I'm not convinced yet.

How about all of those mandrels? They certainly seem like a sensible idea. but are they really reducing groups? I take a lot of things on good faith, like putting expensive oil in my SUV. :)
 
Varmint Hunter said:
I still haven't determined if my annealer has paid any real dividends yet. Before annealing brass, I never split a case neck or had any other issues. Brass life was typically rather good at sane pressure levels.

Now I anneal my cases after every other firing. Is it resulting in smaller groups? I'm not convinced yet.

How about all of those mandrels? They certainly seem like a sensible idea. but are they really reducing groups? I take a lot of things on good faith, like putting expensive oil in my SUV. :)
Click to expand...
Exactly, which I recently purchased a Mandrel die too and anneal after every firing. "Am I getting closer to catching that rabbit" lol.
 
I'm guessing 95% of us on this forum can not justify spending the money we do on guns and gun related items. So why do we spend so much money on custom or semi-custom rifles? It's definitely not because it's necessary. We spend it because the current economy has made it possible. How much traffic would this forum get if we were struggling financially as if we were in the 1920's? I'm guessing this forum would be dead or nonexistent. But we have it very good now, so we play😉
 
Rick Richard said:
Exactly, which I recently purchased a Mandrel die too and anneal after every firing. "Am I getting closer to catching that rabbit" lol.
Click to expand...
Where's that waskaly wabbit? It has me so frustrated that I have begun to write with a speech impediment. I have upgraded dies on some calibers and they shoot about the same. If I could get a better trigger finger and eyesight ...
 
IMHO it all boils down to our ego or should I say our quest for perfection. Each and every one of us wants to achieve it and shoot one hole groups at various yardages. The marketers know this and think of ways to convince us we need a particular item to achieve our goals. Does some ot it work - yes, but there are other items that are basically gimmicks promising to improve accuracy.
I've gotten by for years with a single stage press I got for Christmas over 60 years ago and standard dies and was able to get excellent accuracy. Not match grade but way better than what's needed for hunting. There are things that helped me such as micrometer adjustable seating dies so I could accurately adjust my seating depth. But I believe consistency over gimmicks results in better accuracy.
But one thing for sure, you can't get a crappy rifle to shoot with match grade accuracy. Notice I didn't say budget rifle. I have a couple of Savage Axis and 110 rifles that will shoot 1/4-1/2 MOA all day long
 
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Rick Richard said:
Exactly, which I recently purchased a Mandrel die too and anneal after every firing. "Am I getting closer to catching that rabbit" lol.
Click to expand...
I know that the annealing and the mandrel dies have improved my ability to shoot tighter groups. I would like to have a better annealing system, however it is an Annealeez until I can afford an AMP annealer. And at this point in my life that probably "ain't" happening........... I passed that "rabbit hole" many decades ago.
 
I'm half beagle, I chase rabbits.
There's an endless supply; get on trail for one, and another crosses his path. Then, I head off on another trail.
That's just me.
I don't need to catch him, though I try. The pursuit is what gives the joy, and the all important Warm Fuzzies.
 
Boy this thread hits home. I live close to LE Wilson and it's way too convenient to stop by the show room and buy things. I do love seating bullets on arbor press, now i got addicted to the smooth feel of the Wilson sizing die with neck bushings. This week i got the shoulder setback micrometer. I should have stuck with archery. 😂
 
Wilson FL bushing type dies are some of the best available, you'll notice the lack of the expander ball system along with two size de capping stems , the small one I believe is 0.57 and should never be too large for Lapua brass.
I use Wilson dies exclusively.
 
It is our hobby (obsession for some of us), and like so many other "hobbies", we spend our money and time doing what most of us love. I have friends who race and/or collect cars (or at least used to), some have terribly expensive boats, some have airplanes, some golf and have several sets of everything and the latest carts, some are always remodeling their homes, etc, etc. Their financial outputs are large also.

A couple or so years back, I made the mistake of trying to take inventory and calculating replacement costs of all my shooting, hunting and handloading equipment and supplies, and it was rather awakening. Six figures is putting it mildly........ So brother, I know how you feel, but so far, it has been an enjoyable trip. My bigger question is, who will benefit from all my "stuff" when I am gone?
 
You are not alone.
I bought an arbour press and dies for my light comp guns because everyone at the club were praising how good their ammo was.
In 12 months I could not see a single difference in the ammo concentricity or noted anything better on target.
So I sold it all to another club member.
I still cannot load better than my Lapua made match ammo in 6.5x47 anyway.
Best improvement of late has been the roll sizer we all chipped in for at my rifle club. We all use it regularly and it really makes a difference.

Cheers.
 

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