What is your reloading procedure?

[TZCHRIS]

I am curios as to the steps you are using in reloading, would be cool to see the various steps different reloaders use.

Don't need recipe just the actual steps used, caliber and brass type would be helpful. I will update tonight with my steps in reloading .223.

Thanks for the feedback.

My .223 reload procedure:

Sort
Tumble/Clean about 1 hr (Lyman Pro 1200)
Lube/De-cap/Size (Lee Pro 1000)
Measure & Trim to size (if needed) (hand trimmer PITA)
Deburr/Chamfer trimmed ends (drill press)
C'sink primer pocket (if needed)
Tumble about 4 hrs (lyman Pro 1200)
Brush/Clean primer pocket (drill press)
Prime (Lee Pro 1000)
Powder & Bullet (Lee Pro 1000)



I might also add its fun for the whole family!

 

[MisterHappy]

I tell my kid, "Go make shells" if he hasn't started on his own.

In a little while, there's ammo.

The steps in between are a mystery. Possibly the shoemaker's elves have branched out.

Note - this is for shotgun ammo....not sure if it works like this for metallic, but I'll set up the Dillon machine, and see if .38 target loads appear as magically!

 

[Dirtypacman]

I will just do .45 cause that is what I started on...
Loading on Dillon 550B

Brass: range pickup or once fired - look for any problems with brass
Tumble for 2-6 hours depending on if I am around or not.
Look over brass again for any problem brass, incorrect size or damage

Once I get started on the Dillon its as simple as keeping the primer tube filled and watching each load as it progresses.
I check each powder drop visually as I manually index the stage to assure it looks good.
I will check the first initial round and a round periodically depending on how fast I am moving that day.

I use a case gauge, the loads I am doing right now have been adjusted so I just assure nothing has changed since the last session.

 

[bbarer]

reprime, resize, add powder and pound in a bullet...

 

[Passthemacs]

I am curios as to the steps you are using in reloading, would be cool to see the various steps different reloaders use.

Don't need recipe just the actual steps used, caliber and brass type would be helpful. I will update tonight with my steps in reloading .223.

Thanks for the feedback.

I was just about to post this same type of thread. +1

 

[EddieCoyle]

Bottleneck rifle:

Clean
Inspect
Sort*
Lube
Resize/decap
Clean again (to remove the lube)
Remove primer pocket crimp (if needed)*
Trim/chamfer/deburr*
Deburr the flash hole*
Prime
Charge
Seat
Crimp (if necessary, and it's rarely necessary)
Shoot

Note - the above procedure are for first-time processing of once-fired brass. After that, I keep my brass sorted by headstamp and number of times fired. Any step with a * is only done the first time I process the brass.

Pistol:

Clean
Inspect
Resize/decap
Prime
Charge
Seat
Crimp
Shoot

 

[TZCHRIS]

EC, What type of press are you using for rifle reloading? I am curious if you (or anyone) prime and powder in a progressive together? I have not had much luck with the Lee Pro 1000, I run .223 in 3 stages and the Lee works great, if I try to prime and powder in the same run the powder eventually gets all over the place and screws with the primers. Constantly cleaning powder out of the primer feed.

 

[EddieCoyle]

I run an L-N-L Progressive. I usually prep the brass with a single stage then prime, charge, and seat on the progressive. I run ball powder when I load on the progressive, and haven't had any problems with the Hornady powder measure leaking.

 

[GunGrey]

everything is done in stages, large stages

Clean
inspect
Size/deprime in bulk
Prime in bulk
bell in bulk
Powder and cap in bulk

that pretty much it, besides putting on rock 102.1 on the radio and crackin a beer.

 

[Chris.Cal]

-I sort/inspect brass every once in a while, when my range brass jug gets full.
-Tumble brass at a random date and time.
-Decap/ Re-size at another random date and time.

-Expand and Prime each case on a single stage.
-Charge with powder.
-Seat/crimp on single stage.

-Paranoia sets in and inspect just about every time the case/cartridge is handled.

This is a long slow process.....I see a progressive in my future.

 

[JimB]

Bottleneck rifle:

Clean
Inspect
Sort*
Lube
Resize/decap
Clean again (to remove the lube)
Remove primer pocket crimp (if needed)*
Trim/chamfer/deburr*
Deburr the flash hole*
Prime
Charge
Seat
Crimp (if necessary, and it's rarely necessary)
Shoot

Note - the above procedure are for first-time processing of once-fired brass. After that, I keep my brass sorted by headstamp and number of times fired. Any step with a * is only done the first time I process the brass.

Pistol:

Clean
Inspect
Resize/decap
Prime
Charge
Seat
Crimp
Shoot

this is my pistol process.....

 

[Slowdive]

Bottleneck rifle: I use the single stage for brass prep then I trim if necessary, prime by hand, then I load w/ the progressive. (Small batches all on single)
Straight wall rifle: I hand prime, then I do everything on the progressive except crimp (personal preference)...which I do on the single. (Small batches all on single)
Pistol: Everything gets done on the progressive, including priming.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Inspect brass and crimp the mouth shut with pliers on anything thats even remotely questionable so it cannot be used by anyone.
Tumble in corncob media for 6-8 hrs with TurtleWax Car polish or Nu finish with a couple of tbsp odorless mineral spirits to reduce dusting of corn media.
Lube using alcohol/lanolin lube(home made) in spray bottle
Resize/decap
Remove primer pocket crimp if necessary using Dillon swager or Wilson deburring tool in hand drill. This is usually only necessary on certin military brass, usually Lake City. Radway .223 I've been able to reprime without reaming the primer pockets.
Trim using Dillon electric trimmer w/full length resizing die
deburr case mouth
reprime on Dillon press
powder drop using Dillon measure on 550B
Check powder visually then set bullet on top and index press
Seat bullet index press
Crimp depending on caliber and application.
Guage every round using Dillon guages and feel for any high primers and shake to hear powder at the same time
Tumble for 15 minutes in clean corncob media to remove any remaining lube.

(NOTE: I've done tests with powders tumbled in excess of 24hrs and compared them to the same powder poured directly out of the jug and there was no difference. The test was done on clean white paper and there was no dusting of tumbled powder pulled from rounds and no difference in accuracy so tumbling loaded ammo for its final cleaning is the way I do it and so does the factory.)

I load in large batches, usually between 800 and 2000 at a time and do the steps in stages also.

On .50BMG

Carefully inspect the brass with bright light inside and using feeler wire to feel any stretch ridges near web
Tumble 6-8 hrs in corn media and Turtle Wax Car Polish or Nu finish and a few tablespoons of odorless mineral spirits
Lube with straight hydrous lanolin on a piece of cardboard
Resize/decap making sure to observe brass for any sign of a shiney ring near the web that would indicate potential casehead failure/separation.
Clean primer pocket (usually lots of debris from the .50 cal primers and it needs to be scraped out so the new primer seats properly
Remove primer pocket crimp with Wilson deburring tool in cordless drill (done only once on first reload)
Trim length manually with Wilson Trimmer
Deburr case mouth
Reprime
Hand weighed charges are done on Dillon digital scale ahead of time and put in 35mm film cannisters for dispensing
Dump powder into funnel
Visually check powder level in each case
Set bullet
Seat bullet, feeling for inadequate neck tension.
Very Slight crimp in cannelure, no crimp on non cannelured bullets.
Guage each round and shake to hear powder
Hand wipe with terrycloth towel with isopropyl alcohol to remove lube
Pack in ammo can or vacuum bag with 10 rds and data tag inside with caliber, bullet weight and type(usually ball), powder weight and type and date loaded.

 

[GunGrey]

Inspect brass and crimp the mouth shut with pliers on anything thats even remotely questionable so it cannot be used by anyone.
Tumble in corncob media for 6-8 hrs with TurtleWax Car polish or Nu finish with a couple of tbsp odorless mineral spirits to reduce dusting of corn media.
Lube using alcohol/lanolin lube(home made) in spray bottle
Resize/decap
Remove primer pocket crimp if necessary using Dillon swager or Wilson deburring tool in hand drill. This is usually only necessary on certin military brass, usually Lake City. Radway .223 I've been able to reprime without reaming the primer pockets.
Trim using Dillon electric trimmer w/full length resizing die
deburr case mouth
reprime on Dillon press
powder drop using Dillon measure on 550B
Check powder visually then set bullet on top and index press
Seat bullet index press
Crimp depending on caliber and application.
Guage every round using Dillon guages and feel for any high primers and shake to hear powder at the same time
Tumble for 15 minutes in clean corncob media to remove any remaining lube.

(NOTE: I've done tests with powders tumbled in excess of 24hrs and compared them to the same powder poured directly out of the jug and there was no difference. The test was done on clean white paper and there was no dusting of tumbled powder pulled from rounds and no difference in accuracy so tumbling loaded ammo for its final cleaning is the way I do it and so does the factory.)

I load in large batches, usually between 800 and 2000 at a time and do the steps in stages also.

On .50BMG

Carefully inspect the brass with bright light inside and using feeler wire to feel any stretch ridges near web
Tumble 6-8 hrs in corn media and Turtle Wax Car Polish or Nu finish and a few tablespoons of odorless mineral spirits
Lube with straight hydrous lanolin on a piece of cardboard
Resize/decap making sure to observe brass for any sign of a shiney ring near the web that would indicate potential casehead failure/separation.
Clean primer pocket (usually lots of debris from the .50 cal primers and it needs to be scraped out so the new primer seats properly
Remove primer pocket crimp with Wilson deburring tool in cordless drill (done only once on first reload)
Trim length manually with Wilson Trimmer
Deburr case mouth
Reprime
Hand weighed charges are done on Dillon digital scale ahead of time and put in 35mm film cannisters for dispensing
Dump powder into funnel
Visually check powder level in each case
Set bullet
Seat bullet, feeling for inadequate neck tension.
Very Slight crimp in cannelure, no crimp on non cannelured bullets.
Guage each round and shake to hear powder
Hand wipe with terrycloth towel with isopropyl alcohol to remove lube
Pack in ammo can or vacuum bag with 10 rds and data tag inside with caliber, bullet weight and type(usually ball), powder weight and type and date loaded.

Jesus christ OCD much

 

[swampy]

I run an L-N-L Progressive. I usually prep the brass with a single stage then prime, charge, and seat on the progressive. I run ball powder when I load on the progressive, and haven't had any problems with the Hornady powder measure leaking.

I use a pro 1000 with a hornady powder measure rig. The Lee powder measures just can't handle rifle powders.

Lee used to have good videos on their web site to help troubleshoot problems with their presses. The videos for the pro 1000 primer set up has a few tricks that'll keep it working with few headaches. I"m sure they still have those videos on their site somewhere. One thing for certain is you need to have enough primers in the trough to push the next primer into position. That prevents no primer or tipped primer problems. To get the last few primers to work properly you need to manually help the primers get to their destination. I use a straightened paper clip.

This site has a pro 1000 discussion area with some good ideas and help. http://forums.loadmastervideos.com/forums/

 

[TZCHRIS]

(NOTE: I've done tests with powders tumbled in excess of 24hrs and compared them to the same powder poured directly out of the jug and there was no difference. The test was done on clean white paper and there was no dusting of tumbled powder pulled from rounds and no difference in accuracy so tumbling loaded ammo for its final cleaning is the way I do it and so does the factory.)

I almost asked this question but thought I would be banned for life. Is there any other concerns about tumbling finished goods? What if you are not factory crimping? I would imagine you must keep the batches small (25-50?)

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

I almost asked this question but thought I would be banned for life. Is there any other concerns about tumbling finished goods? What if you are not factory crimping? I would imagine you must keep the batches small (25-50?)

Even with uncrimped rounds the usual neck tension should be enough to not have any bullet setbacks during tumbling and yes I tumble them in somewhat smaller batches otherwise the media won't move in the vibratory bowl if there's too much weight.
I have the large Dillon tumbler and its pretty powerful so I am able to do about 100 at a time in .223 and 50 or so in .308/30.06

 

[yogi]

I reloaded 600 rounds of 357 mag this week and it was my first time. I only reloaded my once fired brass. Tumbled it in corn cob approx. 4 hours. Inspected all cases. Resized, decapped, primed, charged, seated and crimped on a Hornady LNL. Weighed the first five charges and measured using calibers. Once i got going i measured and weighed approx. every 25th round. Shot all 600 without issue. Marked all 600 shells in a new bag marked 2x fired. I did not seperate head stamps but only had two (remington umc and starline) and both measured very close to the same empty.

 

[TY43215]

I am curios as to the steps you are using in reloading, would be cool to see the various steps different reloaders use.

Don't need recipe just the actual steps used, caliber and brass type would be helpful. I will update tonight with my steps in reloading .223.

Thanks for the feedback.

My .223 reload procedure:

Sort
Tumble/Clean about 1 hr (Lyman Pro 1200)
Lube/De-cap/Size (Lee Pro 1000)
Measure & Trim to size (if needed) (hand trimmer PITA)
Deburr/Chamfer trimmed ends (drill press)
C'sink primer pocket (if needed)
Tumble about 4 hrs (lyman Pro 1200)
Brush/Clean primer pocket (drill press)
Prime (Lee Pro 1000)
Powder & Bullet (Lee Pro 1000)

View attachment 32319

I might also add its fun for the whole family!

My 223 procedure:

Send brass to Texas

10 days later, get brass back clean, trimmed, primer pockets set

Load it

 

[EddieCoyle]

I almost asked this question but thought I would be banned for life. Is there any other concerns about tumbling finished goods? What if you are not factory crimping? I would imagine you must keep the batches small (25-50?)

Every single round of factory ammo you've ever bought was tumbled after it was loaded. Every one.

With that said, I don't tumble my finished rounds because I have no need to do so. I tumble my prepped brass to remove the lube before trimming because my trimmer works better when there's no lube on the brass. After that, there is absolutely no need to tumble finished rounds.

 

[T(1)of(3)]

I do the rifle slightly different,

I inspect, full length size and de-cap first. (On a single stage Hornady)
I trim, chamfer, and debur next on the Giraud trimmer.
I clean the brass in a ultra-sonic cleaner for about 30 minutes.
I set the brass aside for a few days to dry, although I could do it faster if I wanted to fire up the oven.
I then reload rounds on a Hornady LNL AP

By running through the cleaner 3rd I get the lube off and it cleans the inside and outside of the brass as well as the primer pocket. The only big downside to the ultrasonic is the drying time. I usually have enough brass in various stages that waiting isn't an issue.

 

[mac1911]

Tumble, sort, lune, deprime., size,trim, for plinking I will prime out several hundred, for my better loads I load up what I need for next match. Expand if applies, drop powder, seat boolits , crimp if applies........did I miss something
I torture myself and do everything om a single stage

 

[KMM696]

Every single round of factory ammo you've ever bought was tumbled after it was loaded. Every one.

With that said, I don't tumble my finished rounds because I have no need to do so. I tumble my prepped brass to remove the lube before trimming because my trimmer works better when there's no lube on the brass. After that, there is absolutely no need to tumble finished rounds.

You use a Giraud trimmer, right? Were you getting trim length variations with lube on the brass, or was it something else?

 

[EddieCoyle]

You use a Giraud trimmer, right? Were you getting trim length variations with lube on the brass, or was it something else?

The lube caused the plexiglass shield to get brittle and shatter. It's also easier to hold the cases with the lube cleaned off.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Jesus christ OCD much

Why do you say that Steve? Which proceedure would you define as varying so widely from the others listed to declare it as even remotely OCD?

If you read it, its just a step by step proceedure which is what the OP asked for.

I'd say the odds that you've got a reading comprehension problem or maybe ADD are far greater than me having OCD. Fact is, I'm the furthest personality type from OCD as you can get.

Reloading isn't a hap hazard undertaking and there's nothing OCD about following a set, safe and thorough proceedure, its far better than "winging" it any day. The first time you have a large caliber rifle round blow up in your face because of negligent, improper or hurried guess work reloading you'll change your tune.

 

[GunGrey]

Why do you say that Steve? Which proceedure would you define as varying so widely from the others listed to declare it as even remotely OCD?

If you read it, its just a step by step proceedure which is what the OP asked for.

I'd say the odds that you've got a reading comprehension problem or maybe ADD are far greater than me having OCD. Fact is, I'm the furthest personality type from OCD as you can get.

Reloading isn't a hap hazard undertaking and there's nothing OCD about following a set, safe and thorough proceedure, its far better than "winging" it any day. The first time you have a large caliber rifle round blow up in your face because of negligent, improper or hurried guess work reloading you'll change your tune.

no i'm amazed you actually wrote all that out.

 

[crazymjb]

Is it neccessary to remove the lube (I use dry lube) prior to firing? I havent been, and Im pretty ssure some factory mil ammo has dry lube.

Mike

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

no i'm amazed you actually wrote all that out.

Aah, ok. It was a slow evening and I can actually type pretty fast for no formal typing skills.

 

[Romokid]

I am curious if you (or anyone) prime and powder in a progressive together? I have not had much luck with the Lee Pro 1000, I run .223 in 3 stages and the Lee works great, if I try to prime and powder in the same run the powder eventually gets all over the place and screws with the primers. Constantly cleaning powder out of the primer feed.

I was using a Lee Pro 1000, but I primed off press and just used it for powder drop and bullet seat. I was priming and using the Factory Crimp on a single stage press. (I have since replaced the Lee Pro 1000 with a Lee Loadmaster, it only cost me 100 rounds of .40 S&W for a never used Loadmaster.) I'm still going to prime off press but now I'll be able to powder drop, bullet seat and crimp on the progressive.

I had no problems using the Lee Pro 1000 for 9mm for everything. I probably loaded around 4K rounds of 9mm on the Pro 1000. I haven't loaded any pistol on the Loadmaster yet as I refuse to pay $37 per thou for pistol primers right now. (That is what a couple of local shops were charging)