CALCULATED UPGRADES

I was taught to reload with minimalistic gear. It wasn’t that we couldn’t afford anything better than what we had; it was a combination of being unaware of certain products and my dad’s frugality. Dad had a Lee turret press from the 1970s, which was housed in a neat finger-joined wooden box that could double as a stand, and an RCBS 505 balance beam scale; the rest of the gear we went halves on.

Now, I’m not complaining. We made great ammo with very little gear, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But as I started