What did you do in the reloading room recently?

[pastera]

Made up spacers to quickly set the height of the case feeder on my Load master
Quick lathe work with 1/2" aluminum stock
Turn to .440
Drill through length with #7
Drill length minus .25" with letter F
Part off to length and tap 1/4-20

Finished length is case length minus 0.25" - 0.30" depending on how much clearance you like.

45 ACP
357 MAG
9 MM

and 38 spec installed.

Also in pics is an aluminum case slider - works for 40 SW down to 25 ACP (doesn't feed through the collator well and needs a bushing like 223)

Sent from my ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Fierce using Tapatalk

 

[76Too]

Made up 100rds of .45acp on the 550b. Still getting used to the machine so it took me 40 minutes from stare to finish (already had the caliber conversion on the press as well), but it's really actually fun once you get a good flow! I'm really looking forward to cranking out some rifle loads this winter so I can shoot to my hearts content next summer.

what do you guys typically average for time/100rds after you get the hang of the press?

 

[headednorth]

Made up 100rds of .45acp on the 550b. Still getting used to the machine so it took me 40 minutes from stare to finish (already had the caliber conversion on the press as well), but it's really actually fun once you get a good flow! I'm really looking forward to cranking out some rifle loads this winter so I can shoot to my hearts content next summer.

what do you guys typically average for time/100rds after you get the hang of the press?

TBH, I don't even know. Never timed myself. Started off slow and after.i got the hang of it and gained confidence that the machine was.doing the same thing every time things picked up and you can start to crank out a good amount. I wouldn't get hung up on what your rate is and what others are doing.

 

[DW357]

Made up 100rds of .45acp on the 550b. Still getting used to the machine so it took me 40 minutes from stare to finish (already had the caliber conversion on the press as well), but it's really actually fun once you get a good flow! I'm really looking forward to cranking out some rifle loads this winter so I can shoot to my hearts content next summer.

what do you guys typically average for time/100rds after you get the hang of the press?

I think once I get everything dialed in I'm somewhere between 300-400 rounds per hour. I check the headstamp before placing on the press and also check powder charges every 50 rounds or so.

 

[EddieZoom]

Made up 100rds of .45acp on the 550b. Still getting used to the machine so it took me 40 minutes from stare to finish (already had the caliber conversion on the press as well), but it's really actually fun once you get a good flow! I'm really looking forward to cranking out some rifle loads this winter so I can shoot to my hearts content next summer.

I'm new to the 550 as well. All reloading experience has been on a Dillon SDB. A few times I've found myself expecting the shell plate to rotate and wondering why it's not ;-)

So far, I really like the extra space the 550 affords and the ability to quickly recover from the occasional issue that pops us. Dealing with an issue on the SDB is always a PITA due to auto-indexing.

As far as speed, I find that I personally only have the attention span/desire to crank out batches of 300-400 anyway, so If I can get that in less than two hours it's plenty fast enough for me.

 

[mac1911]

I'm new to the 550 as well. All reloading experience has been on a Dillon SDB. A few times I've found myself expecting the shell plate to rotate and wondering why it's not ;-)

So far, I really like the extra space the 550 affords and the ability to quickly recover from the occasional issue that pops us. Dealing with an issue on the SDB is always a PITA due to auto-indexing.

As far as speed, I find that I personally only have the attention span/desire to crank out batches of 300-400 anyway, so If I can get that in less than two hours it's plenty fast enough for me.

Pretty much how I do it. I load until I feel like it's work or I get frustrated. I also still load a lot on my single stage. Gives me time to clear my mind and forget the out side world for a while.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

I think I’ll be using up these old bronze points for some blackout loads.

 

[mac1911]

I think I’ll be using up these old bronze points for some blackout loads.

Cool ...I had a gent give me a box of 180gn soft points...the lead tips are all beat up and some oxidized thought perfect for 300

 

[DW357]

Forgot to take out 2 rounds of 9mm from my pockets last weekend and washed and dried them yesterday. Oops!

Can't imagine it would be a good idea to try shooting them?...so I'll pull them at some point.

 

[pastera]

Cleaned up an old Pacific DL-366 that hasn't been used in probably 40yrs - doesn't look like it had seen much use at all.

Don't do shot shell so will probably either sell or trade it now that it lacks all the dirt, dust and grime

Sent from my ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Fierce using Tapatalk

 

[headednorth]

She's a beauty

 

[PL-52]

No ones making anything that rugged anymore. That's awesome.

 

[pastera]

She's a beauty

No ones making anything that rugged anymore. That's awesome.

When pulling it apart to clean up, that was all I was thinking - no cost savings stupidity, just well designed and manufactured to last.

I think my LoadMaster peed itself just being in the same room as a real tool.

 

[houdini]

made 9mm

 

[DW357]

made 9mm

I also continued making more 9mm.

 

[meh]

I prepped about 700 cartridge cases: .38 special, .357 magnum, and .44 magnum. Most (not all) had been decapped and cleaned. About half had already been resized. Now they're all resized, primed, and flared, ready to load.

In the process I decided to mothball the rest of my Herters, .357 magnum Geco, and .44 magnum G.F.L. brass. I have the case prep center with the reamer to deal with these, but it's really tedious to get the primer pockets ready to accept new primers without a fuss, and if you stop too soon, you're wasting time futzing with a poorly seated primer. It's something I'll do if I need to, but for now I have enough brass that's easy to prime. I actually like priming Remington and Magtech brass. Armscor .44 magnum is easy to prime, too, but for some reason I had a few of these cases buckle going into the resizing die (thin?). It's interesting how reloading changes your perception of what factory ammo you might even consider buying when it goes on sale. Before you reload, you don't care about the brass, tight primer pockets, or anything like that. After, whether or not you like the brass factors in to what is a "good price".

 

[PL-52]

Came into possession of over 5500 9 mm brass cases I forsee a long session decapping, sizing, and priming my newly acquired haul.

 

[5 DOLLAR FOOT LONG]

I haven't done any reloading in forever, and today was miserable so I just watched the vietnam documentary on PBS while making 5.56 on a single stage press. Using brass I prepped last year I made 450 of m193, then I prepped some once fired lake city and made some of the good stuff with the 69smk and varget. Also made a ladder for 77 SMK with IMR 8208 which I haven't tried before and had laying around.

 

[Uzi2]

Started sizing and priming some berdan primed .308.

Had a 5gal bucket of berdan brass(Radway, South African, Portuguese) that was just too good a quality to scrap. Last year I deprimed a large plastic tote of them,(about 1.5k or so) with a tool I made from a hardened masonry nail. It works well and doesn't mess up the anvil either.
Bought the berdan primers way back when some Tula were brought in for a reasonable price. So I decided to start sizing and priming some, getting them ready for trimming and loading.

Took several pieces outside to test them in FAL to see if they would fire as they looked a little deep but all of them fired just fine.

 

[NavelOfficer]

Started sizing and priming some berdan primed .308.
Had a 5gal bucket of berdan brass(Radway, South African, Portuguese) that was just too good a quality to scrap.
Bought the berdan primers way back when some Tula were brought in for a reasonable price. So I decided to start sizing and priming some, getting them ready for trimming and loading.

Good for you. Don't know when the LRBs will come back to store shelves.
If you have the Lee 30 caliber decapping set with a broken pin punch, water will also knock most primers out. The SA's can be tough. For loose ones, use a bread wrapper to help seal your punch.

FWIW, the Swiss GP-11 decap like a dream. If you have an 8mm punch, you can do most 8mm Mauser cases, too. French .30-06 primers don't seem to come out at all (hydraulically or mechanically)!

 

[76Too]

i wish i could get my hands on some berdan primers. i have quite a bit of GP11 brass i've saved for no reason over the years...it's just too pretty to scrap

i loaded 99 .45acp (attempted to load 100, but I crushed a primer when it went in the cup sideways somehow on the 550) and tumbled, resized, deprimed, retumbled and reprimed 150 30-06...yes, in that order...and after catching myself (buzzed reloading), found out I had about 25% of my rounds with corn cob in the flash holes. i've done it before...said I would never do it again...and did it again.

i took the cases to work and used some compressed air to blow into the case...got about 80% of the ones with corn cob good to go, but still have about 8-10 cases with the flash holes blocked. i'll use those for slow fire practice before the CMP match this Sunday so if any fail to ignite i'll have a better shot at catching it before its an issue.

i'd say i'll never let it happen again...but i'll probably let it happen again. ftr, i don't typically have more than a beer or two when I'm charging cases/seating.

 

[Rim Job]

I've started contemplating rearranging my bench

Right now. it's 8ft long and not that deep. I have (from left to right) a big vise, RCBS powder dispenser, Dillon 550, RCS Rock Chucker, empty space to collect stuff.

I'm thinking of moving the dispenser to the left about 8 inches, swap the presses and move both to the left about 6 inches, put a tek mat between the vise and the RCBS press and another tek mat between the RCBS press and the Dillon. And put the tumbler in the corner that collects stuff.

Just like asses and elbows, everybody's got an opinion. I want to hear it.

 

[76Too]

I like the 'space between the presses' idea...so much so that I did it on my bench!

we have almost identical setups, save for the fact that my vice isn't in the dungeon and instead is on the main work bench in the multi-purpose shop in the basement proper...a mere 15 feet away. i've never posted pictures of my reloading bench, but i might out of sheer desire to show you how similar our setups are...it'd also require some cleaning after last nights 'slightly more than slightly buzzed' reloading blooper.

 

[Uzi2]

Good for you. Don't know when the LRBs will come back to store shelves.
If you have the Lee 30 caliber decapping set with a broken pin punch, water will also knock most primers out. The SA's can be tough. For loose ones, use a bread wrapper to help seal your punch.

FWIW, the Swiss GP-11 decap like a dream. If you have an 8mm punch, you can do most 8mm Mauser cases, too. French .30-06 primers don't seem to come out at all (hydraulically or mechanically)!

I tried the hydraulic method just to say I tried but was unsuccessful with it and got more wet than got cases deprimed.

It took me about 10 minutes to grind the nail into a tool and drill a hole in my bench top to support the brass. From there on out it was a deprimed case about every 15 seconds.

I also made a couple more out a hardened steel shaft out of an old printer. They are a little longer and easier to handle.
I know hydraulics can be a lot faster but this is an "as I find the time" project and no water involved indoors.

 

[NavelOfficer]

I tried the hydraulic method just to say I tried but was unsuccessful with it and got more wet than got cases deprimed.

It took me about 10 minutes to grind the nail into a tool and drill a hole in my bench top to support the brass. From there on out it was a deprimed case about every 15 seconds.

I also made a couple more out a hardened steel shaft out of an old printer. They are a little longer and easier to handle.
I know hydraulics can be a lot faster but this is an "as I find the time" project and no water involved indoors.

Whatever works for you. It's just good to reuse this perfectly good brass.

 

[mac1911]

I tried the hydraulic method just to say I tried but was unsuccessful with it and got more wet than got cases deprimed.

It took me about 10 minutes to grind the nail into a tool and drill a hole in my bench top to support the brass. From there on out it was a deprimed case about every 15 seconds.

I also made a couple more out a hardened steel shaft out of an old printer. They are a little longer and easier to handle.
I know hydraulics can be a lot faster but this is an "as I find the time" project and no water involved indoors.

Water decap method should be reserved hot lazy summer days.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

i wish i could get my hands on some berdan primers. i have quite a bit of GP11 brass i've saved for no reason over the years...it's just too pretty to scrap

i loaded 99 .45acp (attempted to load 100, but I crushed a primer when it went in the cup sideways somehow on the 550) and tumbled, resized, deprimed, retumbled and reprimed 150 30-06...yes, in that order...and after catching myself (buzzed reloading), found out I had about 25% of my rounds with corn cob in the flash holes. i've done it before...said I would never do it again...and did it again.

i took the cases to work and used some compressed air to blow into the case...got about 80% of the ones with corn cob good to go, but still have about 8-10 cases with the flash holes blocked. i'll use those for slow fire practice before the CMP match this Sunday so if any fail to ignite i'll have a better shot at catching it before its an issue.

i'd say i'll never let it happen again...but i'll probably let it happen again. ftr, i don't typically have more than a beer or two when I'm charging cases/seating.

When I load rifle single stage I tumble between resizing and priming and I usually visually inspect the flash holes. I found the quickest way to knock out the stuck media is to hold a lee universal recapping die inverted in one hand and with the other hand I drop cases into it so the recapping pin clears the flash hole. I know you could do the same thing with a punch but the die seems to help center everything and it moves a lot faster with less coordination on my part.

That being said I loaded plenty of rifle rounds without checking the flash hole at one point in my life. I have not had one fail yet. Thought I'm sure it has accounted for a flyer or two.... dozen.

 

[84ta406]

Loaded up some 9mm, 124gr GDHPs. Been tinkering with the Lee, 4 hole turret. Working pretty well but the powder drop seems to get powder everywhere.

Still trying to decide if I want a Dillon SDB or 650 next?

 

[mac1911]

Loaded up some 9mm, 124gr GDHPs. Been tinkering with the Lee, 4 hole turret. Working pretty well but the powder drop seems to get powder everywhere.

Still trying to decide if I want a Dillon SDB or 650 next?

Go with the auto drum , mine has been great.

 

[mac1911]

i wish i could get my hands on some berdan primers. i have quite a bit of GP11 brass i've saved for no reason over the years...it's just too pretty to scrap

i loaded 99 .45acp (attempted to load 100, but I crushed a primer when it went in the cup sideways somehow on the 550) and tumbled, resized, deprimed, retumbled and reprimed 150 30-06...yes, in that order...and after catching myself (buzzed reloading), found out I had about 25% of my rounds with corn cob in the flash holes. i've done it before...said I would never do it again...and did it again.

i took the cases to work and used some compressed air to blow into the case...got about 80% of the ones with corn cob good to go, but still have about 8-10 cases with the flash holes blocked. i'll use those for slow fire practice before the CMP match this Sunday so if any fail to ignite i'll have a better shot at catching it before its an issue.

i'd say i'll never let it happen again...but i'll probably let it happen again. ftr, i don't typically have more than a beer or two when I'm charging cases/seating.

Ditch the corn cob... tumble before decap. I tumble the completed rounds to remove the lube. Sometimes.