By Art Merrill | Contributing Editor
The quarter-turn die bushing for reloading presses has become a bit of a darling among manufacturers of reloading presses and dies, if not exactly The Next Big Thing among handloaders. A great many handloaders are a curmudgeonly and frugal lot and see no need for a new gizmo that merely saves a few seconds of threading a die into a press, but the quarter-turn die bushing appears to enjoy some popularity nonetheless. While curmudgeons lament change, the die bushings and presses to accept them are likely here to stay, and as what cell phones did to land lines, a new generation of handloaders will forget that there was ever any other way and will ask, “Why don’t they just machine quarter-turn dies and skip the bushing?”
Lee
Lee goes progressive without breaking the bank.
At SHOT Show 2019 in Las Vegas, Lee Precision debuts their new progressive press, the Lee Auto Lok Pro. The press takes the quarter-turn bushing, which Lee says provides perfect alignment in the press without any vertical play. There’s no tedious, tiny parts setup with this progressive, either – just bolt the Auto Lok Pro to your bench, install dies and the proper shell plate and start reloading. However, with a little time expenditure – some saved by the quarter-turn die bushing, now that I think of it – you can attach a Lee Auto Drum Powder Measure to automatically throw preset powder charges, and you can automate case and bullet feeding with a couple other accessories, as well. Changing primer seaters takes only a few seconds, without fumbling with itty-bitty parts.
With a 2019 MSRP of $165, the Lee Auto Lok Pro addresses both speed and frugality for the handloader, and appears to be an excellent choice for a first progressive reloading press. And for the curmudgeon, what’s not to like about that smooth-rolling wooden handle for long reloading sessions? More info online at leeprecision.com.
Redding
Redding also has a focus on the volume reloader, expanding its line of 3-die Premium Die Sets for 2019. While we don’t typically juxtapose, “straight-walled handgun cartridges” with, “precision shooting,” Redding may change your mind about what is possible.
Redding Premium dies help handloaders pursue one-hole pistol groups.
At the last SHOT Show, Redding introduced their Premium line with 9mm, 40S&W/10mm, 45 ACP, 38 Special / 357 Magnum, 44 Special /44 Magnum and 45 Colt dies; 2019 brings Premium dies for reloading 380 ACP and the 32 H&R Mag/32 S&W. What sets Premium dies apart from other no-lube-needed titanium-carbide dies is a newly designed case expander plug that features a titanium-nitride (TiN) coating. TiN adds hardness and lubricity for greater durability, while a radius on the expander eases entry into the case. A small flare on the plug flares the case mouth to prevent shaving lead from cast bullets and ease seating of jacketed bullets. The Premium bullet seating die includes a micrometer-adjustable seating stem as found on bench rest dies for uber-precise bullet seating depth, and the die applies either a roll crimp or taper crimp, as appropriate.
Premium Die Sets retail in the $125-$140 neighborhood. Redding doesn’t list MSRPs on their website, but you can find more detailed info and order a 2019 Redding catalog at www.redding-reloading.com.
F.W. Arms
Check handloads from the bench with a can-do spotting scope mount.
While technically not a tool for the reloading bench, for testing handloads at the range small manufacturer F.W. Arms in Hayward, CA, has designed a heavy duty clamp for firmly attaching your spotting scope to the shooting bench. Whether your shooting bench is only a ¾ inch sheet of plywood or a beefy concrete slab up to 7½ inches thick, the F.W. Arms Best Bench Mount will adjust to fit. The scope mounting plate adjusts from four inches above the bench surface to a full height of 13 inches, and an optional mast extension will stretch that another 18 inches. The tilt control adjusts through 1600 MOA of vertical movement. Made of stainless steel, brass alloy and anodized aircraft grade aluminum, the unit probably wouldn’t rust if you tested loads from a leaky minesweeper in a typhoon, should you feel so inclined.
F.W. Arms is apparently a recent start-up with just a couple of products available at the outset, and their website hints at a soon-to-be-offered, “Coaxial Shooting Rest.” While I understand what “coaxial” means, I am curious to see how they express that in a shooting rest.
MSRP for the Best Bench Mount is $249, and another $32 for the mast extension. Visit fwarms.com/ to see what F.W. Arms may be up to next.
Nosler
This year Nosler supports their recent introduction of the 24 Nosler cartridge with brass in that flavor for handloaders. Also available in 2019 is fine Nosler brass for reloading the apparently up and coming 6mm Creedmoor cartridge. If you’ve wondered why some Nosler brass costs more than brass from other manufacturers, one reason is because Nosler sets its Premium line of brass above that of most others in that the brass is ready to load straight from the box; they “pre-prep” the brass at the factory by chamfering case mouths after trimming to length, plus they deburr the primer flash holes – a “match prep” trick long known to precision rifle shooters.
Nosler’s pre-prepped brass is no-fooling ready to load.
Though Nosler in recent years has moved into making excellent brass and fine bolt action rifles, “Nosler” is historically synonymous with, “bullets,” and the company has new offerings in its Match Grade line, including 9mm and 10mm for pistol shooters. (Hmm…coupling the concepts of Nosler’s Match Grade pistol bullets with Redding’s Premium reloading dies, one must wonder if perhaps the pursuit of one-hole groups with straight-walled pistol cartridges might be the Next Big Thing in handloading.) Now that American rifle shooters have finally discovered the versatility and high performance of 6.5mm bullets, we are now exploring its potentials beyond the limits of its European progenitors. Nosler ushers things along for handloaders with 6.5mm bullet offerings in light-for-caliber 90-gr. Varmageddon and 100-gr. Custom Competition weights. Other new bullet offerings from Nosler run from .22 to .338 caliber, four in competition styles, six for hunting, and a .310” BT for the 7.62×39 cartridge.
And since we mentioned guns, also worthy of note is Nosler’s new Model 48 Custom Handgun, a rifle cartridge bolt action on an aluminum stock that accepts AR-15 aftermarket grips. An added perk, you can display your artistic sensibilities (or lack of them) in choosing your own separate colors of Cerakote® finish for the barreled action and for the stock. Muzzle brake is optional. Whether you’re a beginning or seasoned handloader, rolling your own rifle cartridges specifically for handguns adds another dimension to the game. More info at: www.nosler.com.
AMP upgrades
Load .308 Win for handgun? Sure, for Nosler’s new Model 48 bolt action.
Last year we introduced you to the Annealing Made Perfect (AMP) machine, the flame-less tabletop induction annealer for extending the life of brass and shrinking groups. AMP, the company, has upgraded AMP, the annealer; to the next generation in the AMP Mark II with the addition of both software and hardware that extends the capabilities of the original. Taking the first one first, the Mark II’s new AZTEC program fills in any blanks on the AMP website where you find listed specific machine settings for specific manufacturer and lot numbers of brass. With your sample of brass, AZTEC will calibrate the AMP to properly anneal that specific lot of cartridge cases.
AMP upgrades its brass annealer with calibration software, 50 BMG capability and auto feeding.
On the hardware side, AMP now has available as a separate option an Annealing Made Perfect Mate Auto Feeder automatic case feeder to keep things rolling along with no more effort than keeping the hopper filled with cases. It is also compatible with the Dillon case feeder. Watching this thing go is a study in tabletop robotics, and about as Zen-ish as a lava lamp.
Mark II improvements over the first AMP machine include improved air flow, twice the cooling fans, a user-replaceable pilot boss and an additional ceramic heat shield, all of which mean the AMP can now anneal cases from tiny 17 Hornet size all the way up to mongo 50 BMG.
Retail on the AMP is around $1400; the Auto Feeder costs about $300. Also available is a separate stand to support your Dillon case feeder for $100. Already have the first gen AMP annealer? For $195 you can download the AZTEC program into it. Visit the AMP website at www.ampannealing.com for more information.
