What did you do in the reloading room recently?

I did a little evaluating
I came to the conclusion that I will not be able to afford to replace any reloading components heck just in the last three weeks we got three notices of increases and auto home and health insurance.
Scratching my head we’re gonna come up with that money.

So I figure at the limit and amount of shooting I do anyway I have enough to last me maybe three years. I offset that the shooting 22 long rifle I might be able to push it 5 to 6 years. I’ll be in my 60s by then and about 35 years away from retirement. Lol.
 
Finally zeroed new 14.5” ar15 upper and going now to make a ladder in 70 nosler rdf on varget, 25.8 to 25gr.
Upper theoretical limit is 26gr but nosler says 25 is max, which I know is not true, so, will see.

So, processed and primed a 100 brass so far. Will load tomorrow.
 
mac1911 said:
I did a little evaluating
I came to the conclusion that I will not be able to afford to replace any reloading components heck just in the last three weeks we got three notices of increases and auto home and health insurance.
Scratching my head we’re gonna come up with that money.

So I figure at the limit and amount of shooting I do anyway I have enough to last me maybe three years. I offset that the shooting 22 long rifle I might be able to push it 5 to 6 years. I’ll be in my 60s by then and about 35 years away from retirement. Lol.
Click to expand...
I did this job over covid years.
I reconsolidated and got rid of everything that cannot be loaded with varget and rl16. Then stocked up on both and on primers. The priciest jug was I think at $320, last one I got, and now all that stuff is around $400+.

9mm I just shoot less, and have quite a lot of .22lr as well, which is actually a lot of fun with ruger mk4 and cz rifle to shoot.
 
I have a redding t7 not dedicated to anything. Was doing 223 on rock chuckler. Have redding comp die 3 piece set and lee 3 piece set is there anything that would speed/ease moving to turret besides reset are there 4 piece sets better suited for this
 
I was in Brownells retail shop the other day, took this photo of their primer shelves. Hopefully the text is legible enough. Nice selection.

brownells_november_24.jpg
 
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so, i decided to size and prime 800 pieces of .223. a bold decision, it was 2 hours so far, 500 are done, 300 more to do and a hand is totally sore. :)

my lubrication adapter is a life saver, as i just throw brass into the feeder and pull the lever, no need to bother with any prep.
1731633576457.png

i`ll finish that bitch tomorrow, will make some mod to the adapter and print a new one to try out, want to try making an oil holder larger.
 
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so, pumped 200 more in about 45 min, updated design works well, that 5mm+ on the wings made a good difference, and used smaller wheels, so less oil on a case now, but still works like a charm.

pity my sales of it practically stopped, as no one knows it exists anymore, as i stopped talking about it and stopped reading other forums and groups.
it looks like after ebay shot down my listing 1.5yrs ago i sold about 46 of them, but then it just stopped, so, go figure. well, anyway, it was never for profit, i guess people have other ways to deal with things. whatever.

adapter.jpg
 
aaand, the great priming masochism of 2024 is over. 1200 rounds, according to primers i spent, used all the c41 i had, only 100 is left now. good riddance.
it is how much, apparently, i have shot since september 2022, as my last big reloads batch is marked about that time on my board. fun( not :) ).
IMG_5928.jpeg

Now time for 800 noslers to get in there.
 
so, i did 800 loads in 2 hours yesterday and proven that my adjustments to the dillon powder measure worked out fine.
i set the measure on 25.7gr drop, then after i was done with noslers i loaded some 69gr SMKs with same settings not touching the measure but weighting each drop to place it properly on the laddder, and below will be a picture with the factual distribution of measured weights, from a 0.01gr accurate scale. 3 rounds at bottom row were from 25.56gr to 25.7. nothing was lower then 25.56gr.

25.7 rows are 25.68 to 25.75.
25.8 are all 25.76 to 25.85
25.9 are 25.86 to 25.89. there was none of 25.9+.

1731860463109.png

for a batch process one after another drops i would say i love it.
what it took to get to this point is on a next picture - the bar was subsequently painted over to reduce all gaps to the minimum, so it slides with almost no wobble in the measure. excess paint kinda worked itself out as it can be seen with black marks on the bar.
the original d750 mechanism is removed - it`s all running on the rubber band - or one can get a proper spring there from 550. the idea is to make whole movement as butter-smooth as possible.
all brass gets pre-primed, of course.
so, the shitty stock dillon measure can be made decently accurate.
IMG_5938.jpg

bullet feeder die is of my own design, i like to feed it by hand, fits 9 bullets. i like it low, as i load sitting in the chair by the press, so it is set at a height i can reach.
 
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I have some longshot. I tried it in other calibers and it was very loud. Be-86 works well. It is supposedly Power Pistol with a flash suppressant added. My bullets are also coated groove less 180 grain. They're made by Precision Bullets which is apparently out of business.
 
gerrycaruso said:
I have some longshot. I tried it in other calibers and it was very loud. Be-86 works well. It is supposedly Power Pistol with a flash suppressant added. My bullets are also coated groove less 180 grain. They're made by Precision Bullets which is apparently out of business.
Click to expand...
I find that Longshot ramps up fairly quickly. I'm using it because it seems it's pretty popular with the 10mm crowd.

I figured be86 would be a bit quick burning for 180 gr. I'm going to have to try it out. It's a great powder for 9mm. So many loading options with it.
 
paul73 said:
so, i did 800 loads in 2 hours yesterday and proven that my adjustments to the dillon powder measure worked out fine.
i set the measure on 25.7gr drop, then after i was done with noslers i loaded some 69gr SMKs with same settings not touching the measure but weighting each drop to place it properly on the laddder, and below will be a picture with the factual distribution of measured weights, from a 0.01gr accurate scale. 3 rounds at bottom row were from 25.56gr to 25.7. nothing was lower then 25.56gr.

25.7 rows are 25.68 to 25.75.
25.8 are all 25.76 to 25.85
25.9 are 25.86 to 25.89. there was none of 25.9+.

View attachment 937183

for a batch process one after another drops i would say i love it.
what it took to get to this point is on a next picture - the bar was subsequently painted over to reduce all gaps to the minimum, so it slides with almost no wobble in the measure. excess paint kinda worked itself out as it can be seen with black marks on the bar.
the original d750 mechanism is removed - it`s all running on the rubber band - or one can get a proper spring there from 550. the idea is to make whole movement as butter-smooth as possible.
all brass gets pre-primed, of course.
so, the shitty stock dillon measure can be made decently accurate.
View attachment 937184

bullet feeder die is of my own design, i like to feed it by hand, fits 9 bullets. i like it low, as i load sitting in the chair by the press, so it is set at a height i can reach.
Click to expand...
Have i mentioned this upgrade to the Dillon powder die?
www.doublealpha.biz

DAA .223 Fast-Flow Powder Funnel

The DAA .223 Fast-Flow Funnel is designed to improve powder-flow consistency and greatly reduce bridging of stick or flake powders often used in these calibers. Designed in collaboration with Aerospace Systems Engineer Andrew Murrell, CSEP, this funnel will not fail to enhance yo...
www.doublealpha.biz www.doublealpha.biz
 
PatMcD said:
Have i mentioned this upgrade to the Dillon powder die?
www.doublealpha.biz

DAA .223 Fast-Flow Powder Funnel

The DAA .223 Fast-Flow Funnel is designed to improve powder-flow consistency and greatly reduce bridging of stick or flake powders often used in these calibers. Designed in collaboration with Aerospace Systems Engineer Andrew Murrell, CSEP, this funnel will not fail to enhance yo...
www.doublealpha.biz www.doublealpha.biz
Click to expand...
it is a good thing to have. i got mine out and polished internals of it to a mirror state, so it is very smooth, so far i did not think about altering that part. i may try it, why not.
 
gerrycaruso said:
I mostly use BE-86 in 45acp. It seems to be quite similar to Unique. It flows better and is available. I see load data in all the calibers I use Unique for.
Click to expand...
I saw BE-86 on a shelf for the first time, $35. Not that I really need any more pistol powders, but I picked up a pound. Figured I'll give it a whirl where I usually use Power Pistol.

Also, I saw these workbenches pop up. They look like somebody's new reloading benches to me.

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peterk123 said:
Loaded 50 rounds of 223. I've been using 68 gr bthp. Do you guys think those would be effective on coyotes? Their guides are so thin and nice l bones are small. Can't see it not being effective.
Click to expand...
Go back to the days when 55 grain was considered heavy for 223
50 gn was the common “heavy” offering for 223 and 22-250. Although 22-250 is 700-1000 fps faster. I would have no problem with a vital zone shot with 223 with in PBR. Especially with the bullet choices today
 
i have a stupid question. :)
is there any powder at all that can work for both .223 and 9mm luger reloads?

i finally gave up and ordered 9mm dies, probably gonna stock a little bit of a unique or power pistol to begin with, but would like to fully investigate if i can consolidate this too.
 

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