The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

WalterGAII · November 7, 1999, 06:26 PM

I have produced a lot of good, dependable handgun ammo with my crappy Lee Loadmaster. If I had it do do over again, I'd have gone ahead and bought a Dillon 650. However, the guy said that $$ was a consideration, so he's not going to spring for a Dillon. You can get a Rockchucker for around $84. That's not a huge inve$tment for quality and safety.

I just about went nuts with headspacing problems when I first started reloading for .400 Cor-Bon. Tried both Lee and RCBS dies on my crappy Loadmaster. Then I tried loading .223. I didn't realize that the headspacing was off on the .223 until I invested in a Wilson case gage. The problem is in the design of the Loadmaster shellplate. You absolutely can't adjust the sizing die down enough to sufficiently bump the shoulder of bottleneck cases. I changed to the Rockchucker, and miracles began to happen. All the headspaces were perfect. With the Glock, I wasn't getting good lockup. With my Bush, I didn't know the difference until I read about some problems in AR's caused by bad headspacing. That's when I bought the Wilson gage.

If you're only going to load straight-walled handgun ammo, and you have a sizeable budget for Valium and Paxel, then go ahead and buy a Loadmaster for under $200. Otherwise, get the Rockchucker and go with the Piggyback or some other progressive alternative later.

November 7, 1999, 06:26 PM	#9
WalterGAII Junior member Join Date: November 7, 1999 Posts: 1,516	I have produced a lot of good, dependable handgun ammo with my crappy Lee Loadmaster. If I had it do do over again, I'd have gone ahead and bought a Dillon 650. However, the guy said that $$ was a consideration, so he's not going to spring for a Dillon. You can get a Rockchucker for around $84. That's not a huge inve$tment for quality and safety. I just about went nuts with headspacing problems when I first started reloading for .400 Cor-Bon. Tried both Lee and RCBS dies on my crappy Loadmaster. Then I tried loading .223. I didn't realize that the headspacing was off on the .223 until I invested in a Wilson case gage. The problem is in the design of the Loadmaster shellplate. You absolutely can't adjust the sizing die down enough to sufficiently bump the shoulder of bottleneck cases. I changed to the Rockchucker, and miracles began to happen. All the headspaces were perfect. With the Glock, I wasn't getting good lockup. With my Bush, I didn't know the difference until I read about some problems in AR's caused by bad headspacing. That's when I bought the Wilson gage. If you're only going to load straight-walled handgun ammo, and you have a sizeable budget for Valium and Paxel, then go ahead and buy a Loadmaster for under $200. Otherwise, get the Rockchucker and go with the Piggyback or some other progressive alternative later.