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What did you do in the reloading room recently?
- Thread starter DW357
- Start date
allen-1
NES Member
I just started loading .38 special on my Dillon XL650. Loading Titegroup, so it's a little powder in a tall case. Kinda hard to see, and I don't want to load a round with a primer only, so I check every round. Did some looking in the Dillon group on facebook, and the UFO 650 by KMS looked like the right setup to provide light. Then a guy named Al Abbot posted a couple of pics showing how he added outlets to his case feeder to cut down on cords running everywhere.
Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery:
The light from the UFO650 is amazing. Really like it.
And yes, for the observant, I finished loading .38, that's 9mm set up in right now
Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery:
The light from the UFO650 is amazing. Really like it.
And yes, for the observant, I finished loading .38, that's 9mm set up in right now
Cranked out some 357 magnum this morning. Then shot a bunch out of the Dan this afternoon. I was pumped to find some shiny 357 and 44 mag brass laying on the ground at the range. Snatched that up quick.
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
With all the money you saved on casting your own you didn’t hire a lawn guy?
nice looking bullets too. Good job on the mould.
pastera
NES Member
Save money? More like shoot more and buy more toys/toolsWith all the money you saved on casting your own you didn’t hire a lawn guy?
nice looking bullets too. Good job on the mould.
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
You said it.
I never knew I needed 6 presses and 2 lube sizers but the more I learn the more I realize I “need”
gerrycaruso
NES Member
I shot a 10 round group of gp11 out of the swiss model 1911 and 10 rounds of my reload. The shooting was at 200 yards and the reloads did slightly better. The load was a 175 grain Sierra Match King and 37 grains of WC844 which is supposed to be the same as H335.
Recovered one of my 200 gr Buffalo Barnes 44 mag XPB bullets after hitting my steel plate at 120 yards with the Henry. Pretty cool to see how uniform the expansion was.
peterk123
NES Member
Loaded my first ever rifle cartridge today; 308. IMR4895 42.7 grains starting point. Only did five because I am hand charging and was playing with my new little trickle charger. Plus the rifle has not arrived yet, so I do not want to get ahead of myself too much. Goal is to do a bunch of different charges, increasing by half grain increments (stopping at least a full grain below max) then going to the range and figuring out which works the best. Then, go back reload some more with the favorite grain count, then play with bullet seating depth a bit to see if it makes a difference. I have a chrono on the way as well. Really looking forward to playing around and figuring out what works best. Too bad I am limited to a 100 yard range. I mostly shoot pistol but really starting to see why people like shooting rifle. Pete
I hear you, Pete. Good job!
Was out today shooting my m96 Swede, along with a friend's m44 Mosin and Ruger SR 762. Mostly Albanian surplus with the Mosin, but mostly my reloads in the others. We can reach out a bit further to 165 yards.
The SR 762 doesn't run 100% with MKE (Turkish) factory 7.62 NATO (even at #3 gas setting), but my reloads cycled properly at the #2 gas setting. I had to load them at/near maximum. You won't have these issues with a bolt gun, of course.
All shooting is pleasurable, but I do tend to favor the old long gun relics, too.
Enjoy!
andrew1220: some creative artwork there!
Just got up from loading two hundred 9mm, 115gr fmj over 5.7gr Power Pistol.
Those will be nice and flashy if you shoot em later in the day. Power Pistol is great. I bet you’ll find those loads VERY accurate.
Knob Creek
NES Member
Separated .38 Special by head stamp. Why you ask? Because I now have a revolver that takes moon clips. With .45 ACP or another rimless or semi-rimless cartridge it was never a problem. But with a rimmed cartridge like .38 or .357 I discovered that the grove is cut in different widths based on the manufacturer. So a 0.25 moon clip will fit R&P, Federal, Blazer but not Winchester. So for Winchester you need a 0.20 moon clip which are of course thinner and more prone to getting bent. I even had some fairly new Federal cases without a rim.
FAQ's - TK Custom
FAQ's - TK Custom
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Yes, that load is very accurate. I'm working on a four pound jug and did a pile of them last spring. I was real pleased with the performance especially out of the carbine and subgun.
save them up and you can sell them as precious metal works of art![[thumbsup]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/044.gif "Thumbs Up [thumbsup]")
peterk123
NES Member
Good day today. Tumbled, I don't know probably 500 rounds of 9mm. Loaded about 250 rounds of 9mm. And, did some load development for my new .308. I think 30 rounds. Pete
I picked up an upper in 20 Tactical today that had been sitting at my LGS. While technically still a wildcat, there are a lot of good loads on the web. I’m curious if anybody is reloading 20 Tactical. Did you buy brass or resize 223? I don’t have any experience resizing as I only load 6.5CM and 26 Nosler today. Is resizing worth it for the abundance of 223 brass available or is it a pain in the ass.
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You know how the Dillon catalog says things like, "loading rate: 400-600 rds./hour"?
I thought those numbers were .... optimistic.
Sure, if you have six primer tubes pre-filled and a big enough hopper of bullets and cases so you don't have to re-fill them, and the output goes directly into a big jug so it doesn't fill up, and everything works perfectly, and you've already set up the machine so you don't have to do any adjustments, and maybe if you buy a case feeder you can get 600 rds/hour out of a 550B.
But in the real world those numbers are not what anyone actually gets.
Well... I think maybe they're not.
The other day I loaded 1,035 rounds of .38 spl in just a smidge over two hours.
I don't have a case feeder, I only have two primer pickup tubes, and I had a few problems that slowed me down. But I did it.
It was .... exhausting. Both physically and mentally. It takes a lot of brain work to go that fast and pay attention to everything. Whew!
I bet with a bullet feeder and a case feeder it would go a lot faster!
I thought those numbers were .... optimistic.
Sure, if you have six primer tubes pre-filled and a big enough hopper of bullets and cases so you don't have to re-fill them, and the output goes directly into a big jug so it doesn't fill up, and everything works perfectly, and you've already set up the machine so you don't have to do any adjustments, and maybe if you buy a case feeder you can get 600 rds/hour out of a 550B.
But in the real world those numbers are not what anyone actually gets.
Well... I think maybe they're not.
The other day I loaded 1,035 rounds of .38 spl in just a smidge over two hours.
I don't have a case feeder, I only have two primer pickup tubes, and I had a few problems that slowed me down. But I did it.
It was .... exhausting. Both physically and mentally. It takes a lot of brain work to go that fast and pay attention to everything. Whew!
I bet with a bullet feeder and a case feeder it would go a lot faster!
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
It all depends on the case really. I've timed myself faster than that but I had no issues on the way, all we'll sorted brass and plant of brass and bullets to feed the machine. Meanwhile I've had batches of 9mm brass that fought me the whole way and I think I got about 100 rounds an hour out of that batch. 44 mag and 45 colt are much harder to size and it slows you down a bunch. Those speeds are attainable and more but only under ideal conditions with experience. Forget about a new batch of brass you've never worked with before and all the little hiccups or crimped primer pockets.
I would say thats damn good speed.
Happy birthday to your wife. I hope you bought her a new gun
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
I loaded up a handful of 45 Colt to get the machine set for the 200 grain hollow points.
I’ll run the rest of my brass with these bullets this week.
A healthy dose of SR 7625 should put these 1050 FPS or so.
I’ll run the rest of my brass with these bullets this week.
A healthy dose of SR 7625 should put these 1050 FPS or so.
Haha same here! Both reloading and wife’s bday today.
I was pretty happy with it.
And I know exactly what you mean.
.38 Spl is particularly easy because it's easy to align the cases by feel and they don't stretch much upon firing, so sizing is easy.
Anything that requires lube: Ha! let's aim for 120/hour, maybe. Or just 60.
New 500 Magnum? Nope nope nope.
Even 9mm is slower because manipulating the cases is harder.
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
you’re right about the 9mm and also depending on your dies. I use Dillon and they size the case down a ton. More resistance. Slower times.
More reason to shoot 38 special
Funny thing, I had to get a replacement 9mm sizing die from Dillion because the first one was too big (by 0.001” maybe) so they didn’t grab the bullets tight enough. But only R•P brass!
I like .38 Spl. because you get more respect shooting a lever gun fast than a 9mm AR, and likewise a Security-Six over a Glock.
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
Funny thing, I had to get a replacement 9mm sizing die from Dillion because the first one was too big (by 0.001” maybe) so they didn’t grab the bullets tight enough. But only R•P brass!
I like .38 Spl. because you get more respect shooting a lever gun fast than a 9mm AR, and likewise a Security-Six over a Glock.
interesting.
My thoughts exactly. Ringing steel at 200 yards with irons on a 38 lever gun while the AR once a year range guys are all over the place. That’s my favorite way to pass time.
Made up 15 rounds of 45-70. Oregon trail 430 grn . Gas checked. 43 grains of IMR 4198. I got to the range today and the batteries in my chronograph had died. I shot 5 of them anyway. Don't know how fast they were going but they had a hell or a kick.
