Questions and Answers with RCBS Director of Marketing, Joel Hodgdon. – by Adam Litke

Origin & Legacy

1. RCBS stands for “Rock Chuck Bullet Swage.” For those new to the craft, can you share the story of how Fred Huntington’s struggle to find varmint bullets in 1943 birthed an industry leader?

That’s correct! RCBS’s story is the straight up American dream. An entrepreneur with an idea to build a better mousetrap started off in a garage (or in Fred’s case, laundromat) and grew his company to become a household name. Huntington was a passionate varmint shooter, and in his native north California, that meant shooting rock chucks. During WW2, getting any kind of bullets or ammo for non-military use was limited. Fred came up with a bullet swaging die that was designed to use leftover .22LR cases as bullet jackets and the rest is history.

Fred, then his son Freddie Jr, grew their company to be a leader in handloading. They brought the American reloader several other innovations and even gear that we all know and still love today, like the quintessential rock chucker press.

1. RCBS has called Oroville, California home for over 80 years. How does staying rooted in that community shape the “Precisioneered” identity of your products?

RCBS is still located in Oroville, California, where Fred Huntington founded his company all the way back in ’43. This kind of tenure in one town is not something you see these days. Leaving the obvious California jokes aside, Oroville is a great place to do business and a community that’s supported RCBS from day one. First and foremost are the folks that work for us. They’re proud to be part of a company that’s supported Oroville for all these years, and vice versa. We’ve got folks that’ve been RCBS employees for over 40 or even 50 years. You can’t buy that kind of loyalty or dedication.

1. In May 2024, RCBS returned to family ownership under Hodgdon Powder Company. Given the long history between the Huntington and Hodgdon families, what does this “homecoming” mean for the brand’s culture?

My favorite example of the shared history between RCBS and Hodgdon is a flyer we found in RCBS’s archives advertising a reloading clinic that was put on up in Anoka, Minnesota in 1965. It lists factory representatives attending from companies like Speer bullets, CCI, MEC and notably Fred Huntington of RCBS as well as Bruce Hodgdon, my great-grandfather, of Hodgdon Powder. The fact that the two founders of RCBS and Hodgdon were friends and knew each other solidified the ties between our two companies. I’d like to think both men would be proud to see what their companies are up to together these days.

On the practical side, pairing up the world’s best reloading data via Hodgdon and a world reloader in reloading equipment a la RCBS should mean some game changing new products. We’re focused on making reloading better, faster, easier to get into, more accurate, really all of the above.

The Evolution of Reloading

1. From the back of a laundromat to a 50,000-square-foot facility, what do you consider the single most “game-changing” innovation RCBS has introduced to the reloading bench over the decades?

Absent a few sleepy years over the company’s long history, RCBS’s always been on the cutting edge of innovation in the handloading world. Fred Huntington invented the interchangeable shell holder. If you can believe this, pre-Fred, reloaders would buy different rams for their press that were specifically machined for the cartridge case head that they wanted to load. Fred said, why not the same ram, and we swap out a metal adapter on the end of it? That became the shell holder.

In later years, RCBS’s led the industry’s push into electronic powder dispensers and their integration with scales, making throwing powder charges more consistent, repeatable, precise and accurate.

1. The Rock Chucker Supreme is often called the “Gold Standard” of single-stage presses. How has that specific design evolved to stay relevant in an era of increasingly complex long-range cartridges?

Much of the success of the Rock Chucker is “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It’s the go-to single stage press for a reason. You’ve seen RCBS update the press’s design with minor tweaks over the years but chasing a trend is not something we want or need to do with the RC. Part of the press’s popularity is its affordability and consistency. You can go spend just about as much as you want to on a press these days, but for the price you cannot beat the rock chucker.

1. RCBS was a pioneer in the removable shell holder. How did that one invention fundamentally change the workflow for the average reloader?

Innovation & New Products

1. We saw some exciting reveals at SHOT Show 2026. Can you tell us about the new MatchMaster Precision Case Trimmer and why the partnership with Henderson Precision was the right move?

The revamped RCBS has put out more new products in the last 18 months than the company did for years before that. A flagship for us is certainly the new MatchMaster trimmer. Working with Henderson Precision was a game changer, we paired up Henderson’s reputation in the trimmer world and well-known drive for quality with our distribution and engineering, to make an improved version of Henderson’s Gen 3 trimmer widely available around the world. Todd Henderson is a great guy, hardcore entrepreneur, and we’re proud to work with him and his company.

1. The new MatchMaster Multi-Cartridge Reloading Block features a dual-size hole design. What was the “lightbulb moment” that led to creating a block that handles both .223 and .308 sized cases simultaneously?

At RCBS, we’re listening to reloaders, we are handloaders, we know what guys want on their bench these days. For us as we get a new product idea, the challenge is not “can we do this?” it’s “how can we do this differently, how can we bring some value to the reloader that they can’t get elsewhere?” and the new MatchMaster block is a good example of that idea. Folks can get a nice, machined billet aluminum loading block elsewhere but they can’t get one that holds two case head diameters. We want to innovate, do something new.

1. You recently showcased a Rock Chucker kit. What has the community response been to that and how do you think it will impact the person just getting into reloading or the person who has been reloading for years?

Ask any experienced reloader what you should buy to get started, and I’d guess they’d tell you to get a rock chucker. We’ve offered RC kits for years, but our new Elite kit is the first time we’ve paired up our popular Chargemaster Link electronic powder dispenser with a rock chucker in the same kit. When my friends asked me what they’d need to start reloading, I’d send them a list of gear that basically became this kit. It’s everything you need, nothing you don’t, and saves some cash vs buying all the items separately.

1. With the rise of high-performance cartridges like the 6.5 and 7mm PRC, how is RCBS tailoring its newer die sets and tools to meet the needs of the modern precision rifle shooter?

You have to give the modern competitor and reloader in general credit. We’ve always been a bunch of gear nerds seeking to optimize the last little bit of precision out of what we’re working on but with the rise of the Creedmoors, ARCs, PRCs, GTs, it’s given more people more experience with inherently accurate cartridges. The bar for what’s an acceptable amount of SD, an acceptable margin of error in your platform’s performance has risen. So, you’ll see RCBS lean into the premium side of our lineup, our MatchMaster products as a way to help those folks that want to push the envelope on what kind of accuracy and precision is possible with modern handloading. And we’re not the only company doing this by any means, there’s some amazing people out there making and selling a quality of reloading equipment that you could have only dreamt about 20 years ago.

Impact & Leadership

1. As the Marketing Director and a member of the Hodgdon family, what is the one project or product launch currently on the horizon that you are personally most excited about?

Man, we’re busy. There’s a ton coming down the pipe for both Hodgdon and RCBS, but to not give anything away, I’d say just get excited because RCBS especially has a couple projects in the works that’ll truly change the way people handload for the better. And, we’re listening. If you have product ideas or requests, write in, get ahold of us.

Hodgdon’s just launched a load data request feature on our website, so if you can’t find the load data you need, let us know.

1. Many people view reloading as a way to save money, but it’s increasingly becoming about “tailored performance.” How is RCBS shifting its product development to support this move toward extreme precision?

Agreed that reloading in the past was to squeeze a nickel – and there’s still that advantage if you shoot enough – but today’s reloader is after that last little bit of accuracy and precision. RCBS will stay true to our roots and release precision products that are meant for the masses.

1. How is RCBS working to lower the “barrier to entry” for younger generations or new shooters who might find the technical side of reloading a bit intimidating?

Education is the barrier to entry to reloading, and in today’s world of tiktok attention spans, we’ve got to find ways to make handloading simple and easy to get into. I think our kits are one way to simplify the noise, buy this kit and you’re off to the races and reloading. Our website’s Reloading Hub is also a place where we park a ton of how-to information, with articles, videos, and much more designed to help folks learn and get started.

The Future

1. “Made in America” is a core tenet for RCBS, with over 97% of products manufactured in the U.S. In a globalized market, how do you maintain that commitment while staying competitive?

It’s not enough to say “my product is made in the USA, you need to buy it.” You have to bring more value to the table and make sure your product is also a good price and quality. This is who we are at RCBS, it’s USA manufacturing quality but at a competitive price. End of the day, we’re not going to race to the bottom to compete with imported reloading gear or try to sell the cheapest reloading gear out there. We sell a good product for a good price and we’re proud to make the vast majority of what we sell in the US.

1. If you could look five years into the future, how do you see the synergy between Hodgdon Powder and RCBS tools changing the way the “American Reloader” interacts with their hobby?

With RCBS and Hodgdon Powder together, we’ve got a dedicated group of people 100% committed to growing and improving reloading. We wake up every day and focus on the reloader. That’s both our heritage and that’s who we are today.

Our family and all the folks who work with us are in this industry because we love shooting, we love hunting, we love reloading. It’s a joy to come to work every day. I think you’ll see this passion and commitment show up in our gear, in our powder, in how we support the 2^nd amendment and in the resources we’re putting out to make reloading everything it needs to be for the future. We’re not focused on making a quick buck, we’re behind RCBS and behind reloading for the long haul.