Saeco Lead Hardness Tester

[Buckrun]

How well does this work? Is it worth the $104.00? I have been just using my thumb nail to see how hard the bullets are. Not very scientific I know But I have never had any problems. But now I have been casting a lot more bullets and have a large supply of wheel weights that I want to turn into ingots with as close to the same hardness. Of course this thing only works on bullets so I won't know if I have the mixture correct until I have cast some bullets.

Steve

[Guy Neill]

It works pretty well. Whether or not it is worth the price depends on your needs.

It will allow greater consistency in your cast bullets. It may depend on the caliber you are using, since higher velocity cartridges will benefit more from harder bullets. Of course, bore smoothness and matching the size of the bullets to the bore diameter also play a part.

Overall, I would recommend it for the most consistent cast bullets, but the final decision is up to you.

Sometime back I wrote about it in "Front Sight".

Guy

[JFD]

I think I'd look at the Lee hardnes tester.

Will buy one next time I place a Midway order.

[calhunter]

I bought one about four years ago. I had to send it back for recal once as it was sticking. I've found that it does not work well on round nose bullets such as the 120 gr 9mm I load - nearly the same reading whether it's pure lead or lynotype, But seems to be fine on my 158 gr flat nose .38. I've followed the lyman #2 mix and it shows hardness to be right where it should be.

[Claudio]

Rather buy the LBT hardness tester. It is easier to use, more accurate and cheaper to boot.