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Equipment you’ve bought… and hate

Wile_Coyote

Wile_Coyote

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Full Member
Minuteman
    • Feb 13, 2018
    199
    95
    Florida
    www.none.com
    I was working on some cases and during priming this question came to me.

    Using an RCBS universal hand primer. Bought it thinking it would be helpful. No shell holders. Changing small to large a little work but hey if it works for 1 but another and leave it set up. That being said…

    I really don’t like this thing. Center snap on the primer tray is lame, it flips primers when you close it. Jaws not smooth and inserting cases takes effort. Primer feeding not good and primers can tilt or double.

    Going back to the Hornady primer I have until I find another that I’m interested in. Yes not the greatest but I’ve had far fewer problems with it.

    How about you all? Got any equipment that you bought and think I can’t stand this thing?
     
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    Wile_Coyote said:
    I was working on some cases and during priming this question came to me.

    Using an RCBS universal hand primer. Bought it thinking it would be helpful. No shell holders. Changing small to large a little work but hey if it works for 1 but another and leave it set up. That being said…

    I really don’t like this thing. Center snap on the primer tray is lame, it flips primers when you close it. Jaws not smooth and inserting cases takes effort. Primer feeding not good and primers can tilt or double.

    Going back to the Hornady primer I have until I find another that I’m interested in. Yes not the greatest but I’ve had far fewer problems with it.

    How about you all? Got any equipment that you bought and think I can’t stand this thing?
    Click to expand...

    The Lee hand primer, the Hornady hand primer , and the RCBS hand primer. They all suck! I think the Hornady may be the worst but they are all absolutely garbage.


    The Frankford Arsenal is Soooooo much better it shouldn't even be the same type of item. Seriously, just get a FA one (or get 3 like me and never have to change for small to large or to do small in a 308 base case cartridges. It's really the only way you should do this if I'm being honest.
     
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    BuildingConceptsllc said:
    The Lee hand primer, the Hornady hand primer , and the RCBS hand primer. They all suck! I think the Hornady may be the worst but they are all absolutely garbage.


    The Frankford Arsenal is Soooooo much better it shouldn't even be the same type of item. Seriously, just get a FA one (or get 3 like me and never have to change for small to large or to do small in a 308 base case cartridges. It's really the only way you should do this if I'm being honest.
    Click to expand...
    Oh I’ve thought about multiple. Thinking I should have just gone with a bunch solution.

    I don’t have to do many cases at a sitting, but I broke both wrists in an accident. Metal plates and screws in both and a crushed median nerve. Having to do more than 100 means some extra pain. Since I only do less than that I thought a hand tool would be ok. So far I haven’t liked them.

    I have a FA hand depriming tool that I really like. I just may have to try the FA primer. Thanks for the suggestion
     
    Dillon super swage. I’ve screwed up tons of primer pockets with it. Hornady crimp reamer is far superior and like 1/10 the cost
     
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    Wile_Coyote said:
    How about you all? Got any equipment that you bought and think I can’t stand this thing?
    Click to expand...
    Got the whole neck-turning setup for 6.5 and 300 from K&M. What a waste of money ... both the stuff, and the whole neck-turning experience. Did a bunch of testing and it's DEFINITELY more trouble than it's worth. I need to find it a good home. Works fine, just doesn't produce any better results than "not" neck-turning. It's sitting in a big ziplock back on the shelf next to a big bin of holsters that I bought and don't use.
     
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    Wile_Coyote said:
    Oh I’ve thought about multiple. Thinking I should have just gone with a bunch solution.

    I don’t have to do many cases at a sitting, but I broke both wrists in an accident. Metal plates and screws in both and a crushed median nerve. Having to do more than 100 means some extra pain. Since I only do less than that I thought a hand tool would be ok. So far I haven’t liked them.

    I have a FA hand depriming tool that I really like. I just may have to try the FA primer. Thanks for the suggestion
    Click to expand...

    That sucks man. I have really bad arthritis I guess, in my hands from breaking them so many times, fingers, ect... it does get to me with any hand primer after a while but nothing like holding a screw driver or pencil or something.

    I have a thread on here about my little search for the best hand primer (I could get any primer I wanted but I like to do it while watching my kids so hand primer is just a lot better for that). The FA is just incredibly easier and works better. It's all metal too and you can set the depth on it also. There's a higher end version that someone makes that's very similar to how it works but the FA works extremely well and won't break on you either. One of the best reloading tools I've bought for sure.
     
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    Hornady Dies... Junk Universal RCBS Primer seater not near as good as the old style that used the shell holder
     
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    Hornady dies I use for my gas guns. They’ve done alright. Bolt and future bolts is Redding.

    There have been great answers. Only did a cursory look at neck turning, but now I will skip it.

    Yes the arthritis is bad. Mine is osteo from the violent nature of the injuries. The crushed nerve is the worst part as it affects hand function.

    Enjoyed the info thus far. Please keep it coming 👍🏻
     
    FA priming tool. Broke two. Decent compared to the competition but the Sinclair, 21 century and PMA are 1000% better.

    I’ve bought the Primal CPS and I’m happy now.
     
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    Rcbs swager. The bushing fell apart imediently and it swaged crooked. Also the cheap as pot metal hornady trimmer. The handle broke after a few thousand rounds.
     
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    All the hand priming tools suck to use if you are priming hundreds of cases at a time. Bench mounted priming units are the way to go. I have a RCBS Universal and Frankford Arsenal that just collect dust now. Also the Lee APP press is absolute garbage. It's so finicky and must be constantly adjusted to keep on running without cases either falling out, jamming or feeding. I only use it as a decapping station.
     
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    Gen 1 RCBS case trimmer ( the one that came with two stair stepped collets that hold the case rim ) couldn't trim cases the same length ,if my life depended on it. Got an LE Wilson trimmer.......best money I've ever spent .

    Gen 1 RCBS hand primer tool ( had to use shell holder ) was "ok" ,I thought ,until " shootin buddy " gave me an RCBS ramline priming set..,...I can set primers more better now And as mentioned above my old hands thank me for not using a hand primer.

    Hornady 308 FL sizing die... Damn thing must be a "small base " die ....sizes brass smaller than factory loaded ammo at the base. Other Hornady dies work fine ,after putting the " Glen Zediker " tune to them.
     
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    ZA206 said:
    Dillon super swage. I’ve screwed up tons of primer pockets with it. Hornady crimp reamer is far superior and like 1/10 the cost
    Click to expand...

    I have done thousands of cases on mine and love it.

    I would bet a small amount that yours was out of adjustment. When properly adjusted mine is mindless to operate and perfect every time. It even works perfectly on mixed headstamp brass.
     
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    I had the same, shitty experience with the RCBS priming tool, the one that uses regular shell holders. I tossed it and stuck with an older Hornady priming tool I use for bulk 223 and I bought the newer Hornady for L/R priming. The newer one (6-7 years old) fucked up I called them, sent it back and they sent me a new one. I still have an old Lee that I leave set up to prime 9MM.

    For priming precision ammo, I use a K&M tool that I found for $25.00 on a used tools table at a local gun shop. It was in excellent shape.

    If I was looking for a hand priming tool, I'd consider the Frankford Arsenal. It gets a lot of good reviews.
     
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    I was never very happy that I bought 6 different neck bushings and not a one of them worked properly just to find out the die body did the same job easier and cheaper .
     
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    CK1.0 said:
    Not a whole piece of gear, just a piece/component really: Redding/L.E. Wilson die lock rings with the stupid little set-screw. Good dies, useless lock rings.
    Click to expand...
    Soooo true! I replaced all of my Redding dies with Hornady lock rings. The Redding lock rings are absolutely worthless.
     
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    Any tools with .001 adjustment allowed (ie, required) need to be completely dis-assembled, re-assembled, etc...to domething basic... Meanwhile, you are lose all the .001 settings in the process... because the adjustments aren't indexed/repeatable...and you cannot start the next task until they are re-calibrated to .001 ... Holy hell what a pain in the ass...

    :ROFLMAO::cry:
     
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    Feesh said:
    Hornady LNL AP Press, gave it away before a move because it wasn’t worth the space it would take up.
    Click to expand...
    My LNL AP has been ok. Mainly use it for pistol and 223 AR ammo. Use my single stage more. Have a Hornady that I’ve been using for a while. Got a basically new RCIV in the box. Need the plate for my mount. It was too good of a deal to pass up.
     
    RCBS universal hand primer. Arthritis makes it difficult to do more than 50 cases at a time. And if you load for .45lc the case rim doesn't grip well and you have a case and a primer go flying.
     
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    CK1.0 said:
    Not a whole piece of gear, just a piece/component really: Redding/L.E. Wilson die lock rings with the stupid little set-screw. Good dies, useless lock rings.
    Click to expand...
    Yep, I'll go one further...Whidden Click Adjustable Lock Rings. IMO, worse that useless.

    I only use the Hornady lock rings, with the locking screw tangential to the bore, these days....best I've found so far.
     
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    Hornady dies with the “zip spindles” that only zip when you don’t want them to.

    Lyman universal hand crank trimmer. I don’t mind trimming by hand, but the set screws that hold the locking ring and the pilot suck. They like to back out, no matter how tight you torque them down. I increasingly over-trimmed about 50 pieces of .308 brass once. It happened so gradually that I only realized something was up when the case necks were looking obviously short. I thought it was taking longer to trim because the cutter was getting dull 🤣 I felt like a dumbass. Oh, and the pilots get stuck in the case necks sometimes, too. Also, it comes with a pilot for most calibers, but NOT .264/6.5.
     
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    This damn thing. I'll stick to cutting out the crimps with the Hornady tool chucked up in my cordless drill.
    Screenshot_20230204-212632.jpg
     
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    Curious as to the hornady die dislike. I know I am not a fan of those o-rings. My OCD really likes micron bullet seaters and I wish I could get one for shoulder bump

    Mine is a FA Trimmer. THing was a PITA to mount and adjust.
    I also gave up on my dry media cleaning. That wasn't a pain, the FART just made it EZ.
     
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    I'll be an outlier here. Forster micrometer seating die. Why can't they be like the hornady or redding where it adjust up and down instead of just one direction
     
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    Hornady FL sizing die, destroyed several pieces of brass. (Yes, the brass was lubed)

    Inversely, the seating die that came in the set was pretty decent... And it only improved with the micrometer adjustment stem.

    Mike
     
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    OkieMike said:
    Hornady FL sizing die, destroyed several pieces of brass. (Yes, the brass was lubed)

    Inversely, the seating die that came in the set was pretty decent... And it only improved with the micrometer adjustment stem.

    Mike
    Click to expand...
    That's my setup I've crunched a couple pieces myself. I want to see what my runout is wondering if it's worth upgrading
     
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    7mmMato said:
    Funny Hornady dies are junk but the do have the best lock rings. I use them on all my dies.
    Click to expand...
    Same.

    If it's something critical that has to stay absolutely where it's supposed to be, the Hornady lock rings can't be beat.

    My Lee universal decapping die still has the crappy Lee factory ring on it... since it just has to physically stay in the press it isn't super critical if it creeps a couple thou.

    Mike
     
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    danatkins said:
    That's my setup I've crunched a couple pieces myself. I want to see what my runout is wondering if it's worth upgrading
    Click to expand...
    Like this? Most pissed I've been in a while. Back when .300 Win Mag brass was harder to come by than it is right now.

    I went back to my RCBS sizing die... May not be the greatest die ever but it doesn't smash the hell out of new brass.

    Mike

    IMG_20230206_172656303.jpg
     
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