What did you do in the reloading room recently?

meh said:
Same, but I know if I trained for and shot competitions, I’d have a big blue machine.
Click to expand...

My wife bought me my first press, a Dillon XL650 with a case feeder. She asked my son and his buddy who reload what she should get for me, and that's what they came up with. I had some issues with the first couple hundred rounds I loaded - there was definitely a learning curve there.

That press is now dedicated to 124 grn 9mm - and I have another one that I swap toolheads for .38, .357 and .357Sig. Still waiting on my .45 dies/conversion kit from Dillon; ordered January 12th - so it's been 6 months so far.

I *LIKE* the 650s - and despite everything I've heard about "start with a single stage", I don't agree. If I were loading precision rifle, or perhaps even bullseye pistol - I might look at a single stage; but everything I'm loading is sufficient for its purpose.

I've also got two MEC 9000's that a friend gave me for 12 and 20GA. I've played a little bit with them, but I'm really still collecting components. If you're not familiar with them, (I'm just starting to learn about them) - they're progressive presses also.
 
andrew1220 said:
Got my delivery of 147 gr RN bullets today (only 2.5 weeks from ordering). Looks like they’ve changed the profile/ogive on these. They’re not as blunt or short and stubby as the old profile.
Photo shows the old on the left and new on the right. I’m guessing I’ll be able to load these longer in my CZ pistols. But won’t know until I make some dummy rounds and do the plunk test.View attachment 502133
Click to expand...
Moulds wear out. Manufacturers are way behind on making moulds too.

My guess is they upgraded to another machine or two during this component mess or at the least they needed a new set or additional set of moulds and a different mould maker produced something as close as they could get to their current moulds.

Even companies like lyman had tons of variation from cherry to cherry when producing the “same” mould.
Somewhere in CastBoolits there is a picture of a dozen versions of the 429421 over the years and though all were a 250ish grain SWC they were all over the place on features.
 
Finally finished prepping (size, trim, deburr and wash) a 3.5lb Folgers coffee can of 223 the I had decapped a while ago
Probably 6-700 cases.
Processing is taking way longer than I want - need to look at a faster way to trim and deburr. I use my lathe and a home made fixture but each operation - Trim, ID deburr, OD deburr - is a separate operation. Need to look at a tri-way trimmer or buy the power trimmer cutting head and build my own power trimmer (not spending $500 to trim)
 
walter62 said:
2.5 weeks? Jeez, I'm on week #10 or something. Will check when/if they ever show up.
Click to expand...
Yeah I was really surprised. I did get 1500 (two 750 count packs) not my usual 3k bullet order - not sure if that changes things? Only other thing I can think of is the fact that I used a $50 gift certificate from the Area 7 USPSA championship and they expedited the order??? No clue.
 
Michael J. Spangler said:
Moulds wear out. Manufacturers are way behind on making moulds too.

My guess is they upgraded to another machine or two during this component mess or at the least they needed a new set or additional set of moulds and a different mould maker produced something as close as they could get to their current moulds.

Even companies like lyman had tons of variation from cherry to cherry when producing the “same” mould.
Somewhere in CastBoolits there is a picture of a dozen versions of the 429421 over the years and though all were a 250ish grain SWC they were all over the place on features.
Click to expand...
Good call. I'd imagine it's got to be one of the reasons you stated above.
 
Isn't that a really unsafe/unadvisable thing for Blue to do?

If you didn't 'notice', then you would have used your 'normal' seating depth would would
have made the case space smaller resulting in significantly higher pressure.

Are you still within the 1.169" overall length limit if you adjust the seating depth so that the
in-case bullet length is the same as the old shape?

I'd give them a call w/ some pix and ask them what the story is.
 
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andrew1220 said:
Yeah I was really surprised. I did get 1500 (two 750 count packs) not my usual 3k bullet order - not sure if that changes things? Only other thing I can think of is the fact that I used a $50 gift certificate from the Area 7 USPSA championship and they expedited the order??? No clue.
Click to expand...

$50 gift certificate from the Area 7 USPSA championship

Everyone's a winner!!

I have a really nice Ruger PC9 that was a random draw from GA State IDPA match; and (3) Glocks as random awards from GSSF matches.
 
andrew1220 said:
I just weighed 5
~148 gr
~149 gr
~150 gr
~151 gr
~151 gr
All 0.3555"
They're noticeably longer too so I definitely need to work up a new load/COL etc for these.
Click to expand...
Just add the differnce between the lengths - that should get effective case volume close enough.
The bevel base on the new round looks larger but I doubt the reduction in bearing area will effect velocity much
 
walter62 said:
Isn't that a really unsafe/unadvisable thing for Blue to do?

If you didn't 'notice', then you would have used your 'normal' seating depth would would
have made the case space smaller resulting in significantly higher pressure.

Are you still within the 1.169" overall length limit if you adjust the seating depth so that the
in-case bullet length is the same as the old shape?

I'd give them a call w/ some pix and ask them what the story is.
Click to expand...
I load these to ~1.105ish. If i stuck with that same OAL and charge weight I think they would be perfectly safe to shoot but would be warmer without a doubt. These made 131 PF at Area 7 which means the ~150 gr bullet was going about 870ish fps.
 
pastera said:
Just add the differnce between the lengths - that should get effective case volume close enough.
The bevel base on the new round looks larger but I doubt the reduction in bearing area will effect velocity much
Click to expand...
Good eye! I didn't even notice that until you mentioned it. Ya I don't think it will matter much. I don't load these at SAAMI max length anyway.
 
Getting an early start on vacation: swung by the range this morning and tested 30 each of the following (same set-up as usual):

LOAD #10- 240gn SWC (T&B), 7.3 gn Alliant SP, 44 MAG New Rem Brass
mean = 832 fps, standard deviation = 23, PF = 200

LOAD #11- 240gn SWC (T&B), 7.5 gn Alliant SP, 44 MAG New Rem Brass
mean = 852 fps, standard deviation = 31, PF = 205

Keep going back to LOAD # 8 (240gn FP (HS), 6.6 gn Alliant SP, ~800 fps) - made up and shot about 48 of those too. Just flat-out fun knocking the plates over. I think I missed one from 30'. :D

Just got my second LNL powder drop today - all degreased and ready to go. Will start with Alliant 2400 and the 240gn XTP JHP sometime this weekend or next week Time for some real .44 mag loads.

They're putting a new roof on the indoor pistol range, so it might be a little crazy at the outdoor pistol area for the next two weeks. We'll see.
 
andrew1220 said:
Got my delivery of 147 gr RN bullets today (only 2.5 weeks from ordering). Looks like they’ve changed the profile/ogive on these. They’re not as blunt or short and stubby as the old profile.
Photo shows the old on the left and new on the right. I’m guessing I’ll be able to load these longer in my CZ pistols. But won’t know until I make some dummy rounds and do the plunk test.View attachment 502133
Click to expand...
Any difference in weight? In the pic, the bottoms look more rounded on the new ones, so maybe the cg has been moved forward somewhat?
EDIT: Didn't read to the end of the thread b4 posting...:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
pastera said:
Finally finished prepping (size, trim, deburr and wash) a 3.5lb Folgers coffee can of 223 the I had decapped a while ago
Probably 6-700 cases.
Processing is taking way longer than I want - need to look at a faster way to trim and deburr. I use my lathe and a home made fixture but each operation - Trim, ID deburr, OD deburr - is a separate operation. Need to look at a tri-way trimmer or buy the power trimmer cutting head and build my own power trimmer (not spending $500 to trim)
Click to expand...
I get great results using the Dillon trim die/Rt-1500...then use a drill with RCBS carbide chamfer and debur tools... goes fast.
 
Agt. Smith said:
Getting an early start on vacation: swung by the range this morning and tested 30 each of the following (same set-up as usual):

LOAD #10- 240gn SWC (T&B), 7.3 gn Alliant SP, 44 MAG New Rem Brass
mean = 832 fps, standard deviation = 23, PF = 200

LOAD #11- 240gn SWC (T&B), 7.5 gn Alliant SP, 44 MAG New Rem Brass
mean = 852 fps, standard deviation = 31, PF = 205

Keep going back to LOAD # 8 (240gn FP (HS), 6.6 gn Alliant SP, ~800 fps) - made up and shot about 48 of those too. Just flat-out fun knocking the plates over. I think I missed one from 30'. :D

Just got my second LNL powder drop today - all degreased and ready to go. Will start with Alliant 2400 and the 240gn XTP JHP sometime this weekend or next week Time for some real .44 mag loads.

They're putting a new roof on the indoor pistol range, so it might be a little crazy at the outdoor pistol area for the next two weeks. We'll see.
Click to expand...
You'll love 2400
 
76Too said:
I used to prefer my single stage too, but my production with a progressive once it’s dialed in is at least 3x than with the single stage (assuming all brass is prepped). If you think about it, the amount of times your handling each case with a single stage is probably at least 3...if not more.
Click to expand...
+1. Yes I do all my sizing on a single stage, my small run cartridges and precision rounds. The high production non precision rounds go progressive.
 
akma said:
+1. Yes I do all my sizing on a single stage, my small run cartridges and precision rounds. The high production non precision rounds go progressive.
Click to expand...
I do the same thing - sizing and de-prime (especially 44 mags) on a single stage next to the LNL.

I like the LNL but I prefer the serious clunking be done off the turret.
 
allen-1 said:
My wife bought me my first press, a Dillon XL650 with a case feeder. She asked my son and his buddy who reload what she should get for me, and that's what they came up with. I had some issues with the first couple hundred rounds I loaded - there was definitely a learning curve there.

That press is now dedicated to 124 grn 9mm - and I have another one that I swap toolheads for .38, .357 and .357Sig. Still waiting on my .45 dies/conversion kit from Dillon; ordered January 12th - so it's been 6 months so far.

I *LIKE* the 650s - and despite everything I've heard about "start with a single stage", I don't agree. If I were loading precision rifle, or perhaps even bullseye pistol - I might look at a single stage; but everything I'm loading is sufficient for its purpose.

I've also got two MEC 9000's that a friend gave me for 12 and 20GA. I've played a little bit with them, but I'm really still collecting components. If you're not familiar with them, (I'm just starting to learn about them) - they're progressive presses also.
Click to expand...
You can always run “progressives” 1 round at a time for a “single/turret” style experience.
When my mec 9000 hydraulic cylinder went I just hand cycled it until the new piston came…..i still have not installed that new piston.
 
andrew1220 said:
Got my delivery of 147 gr RN bullets today (only 2.5 weeks from ordering). Looks like they’ve changed the profile/ogive on these. They’re not as blunt or short and stubby as the old profile.
Photo shows the old on the left and new on the right. I’m guessing I’ll be able to load these longer in my CZ pistols. But won’t know until I make some dummy rounds and do the plunk test.View attachment 502133
Click to expand...
Damn I just made a few dummy rounds and with the CZ SP-01 Shadow I can load to SAAMI max length (1.16"). But with the Shadow 2, 1.105-1.113" is the longest I could load depending on the bullet/brass. Seems as the profile definitely varies bullet to bullet (to be expected) since I had one that plunked fine at 1.113" using Blazer brass case and then another dummy round with Blazer brass case had to be loaded to 1.105".
I don’t shoot the Shadow 2 much but it would be silly to load them to only fit the SP-01 Shadow…. I suspect I’ll need to drop the N320 powder charge down a tenth of a grain.
 
meh said:
Same, but I know if I trained for and shot competitions, I’d have a big blue machine.
Click to expand...

Oddly enough, I didn't go the blue machine route until after I started shooting matches.
I was burning though ammo faster than I could make it.
Its a cyclical, twisted addiction.
 
Agt. Smith said:
More fodder for .44 mag testing - Alliant 2400 / 240 gn XTP JHP on the left, Sport Pistol / 240 gn SWC on the right. First time I ever switched both the powder drop and set/crimp stations - it worked as expected.

Hot dog. The fun never ends.............. :D

View attachment 502710
Click to expand...
Tempted to go search the LGS,s for a not so loved revolver/lever gun in 38/357 or 44 cal.
 
mac1911 said:
Tempted to go search the LGS,s for a not so loved revolver/lever gun in 38/357 or 44 cal.
Click to expand...
Me too. :D In the process of picking up one of those Henry .44 MAG single shots (w/o the brass receiver). There seems to be tons of data available on rifle loads.

I'm also interested to see how accurate it could (will) be at, say, 100 yds.
 

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