Freeloader

[fish cop]

Is there anybody that makes a freeloader style case feeder or has plans that allow one to be made with materials availbile today. Can anyone tell me what they see original Freeloaders sell for either at gun shows or auction sites.

TIA

[rbwillnj]

I sold one recently for $25.? Don't know if that's high or low.? ?You don't see them around much except on machines.? ?However, I believe there is one on ebay right now.? ?I converted all my machines to use a Lee case feeder and collator.? I like it better than a FreeLoader because it holds about 100 45 ACPs.

[fish cop]

Rbwillnj, thanks for the info on pricing. I recently got my first star press, a Progressive 38 Special machine with a Hulme case feed and the seller told me about the freeloader as an alternative to loading case tubes. The one listed on e-bay is the first one I have seen and thus the questions. Thnaks again

Fish Cop

[Kenneth L. Walters]

Ransom made a variation of this for his shortlived progressive.? Chuck is long gone, unfortunately, but his wife just recently sold the Ransom rest business.? So if you contacted the people who make the Ransom rest now and asked if they could help you get information from Chuck's wife on his case feeder it just might work out.

Anyother possibility would be to contact Tony Sailer in Owen Wisconsin and see if he had any information.  Assuming that he is still alive, Tony ran CH for some number of years.

[TDO'NEILL]

fish cop

I am making a EZ loader for the Case feeder if you need more information my email is tomoneill [no e-mail]@.net

[fallingblock]

Tony is still around haven't talked to him for a few weeks but another friend see him regularly.
The Freeloader was made in Janesville WI I can't remember the name but he was a pistol
shooter and ran a gun shop. I ran acroos a card from some time agohim which is again lost.
If I remember correctly he died in the late 70s.
Cheers,
Fallingblock

[Star73]

Use a funnel with a large enough outlet to be clamped onto a shortened tube. The funnel may have to be shortened and/or split.  Cement a flat piece of plastic a couple inches from the top of the funnel. Cut a round hole in the center of this piece. Dia large enough to let a 45 case drop thru easily. The tube should reach the bottom of this plastic. A gasket or spacer may be required to fit the funnel to the tube.I drilled & tipped the lever and fastened a silver soldered  SS loop to give the assembly enough movement for the cases to drop.

This setup works fine for 38, 357, & 45ACP assuming you have the proper blocks for the Hulme.

Star73

[kengordon]

Right on, Star73!  I remember making one years ago for a .45acp machine.  Used an inverted, cut-down Clorox bleach bottle for the funnel, a drilled-out cork stopper to fit over the plastic tube.

One addition ... add a string from the funnel ear to any moving part of the Star so that each rime you pull the handle, the funnel gets a shake and the cases roll over the hole.

Primitive, cheap, but damn effective!

[starstruck]

You can easily make a homemade version of the Freeloader. It was simply made using what appeared to be a ceramic cereal type bowl  ( smooth inside with no ridges ) with a hole drilled in the bottom center of it. The bowl had a plastic funnel glued to the bottom of it. The exit hole of the funnel  spout should be large enough to allow a .45 to slide thru. You then need to apply a clear plastic tube to the funnel. You may have to attach a coupler between the funnel end and the tube , which would  then extend down into your Hulme ( or other brand ) case feeder. Adding the "wiggle string" to keep the funnel  moving will help keep the cases dropping down thru the cereal bowl, thru the funnel , thru the plastic tube and into the case feeder. I bought one years ago thru Gil Hebard.. It cost about $30.00 around 1980. It was a real profit maker for the builder, as it was a very simple device to assemble, and only used low grade items. I was not real impressed with it back then. If I remember correctly, the case tube may have extended thru the bottom of the funnel, and extended up to contact the bottom of the cereal bowl. I seem to remember a thick wall metal washer on the bottom side of the cereal bowl, which probably acted as a guide to center the case tube. It was all glued together. Possibly a heat glue gun make do the trick for you. So eat your Wheaties and don't use a plastic tupperware bowl for the case feeder.