Reloading equipment.

[HOLLiS]

I was looking for the thread, I thought one was started for reloading discussion. (if this needs to be moved, please do)

Some time back I bought a Dillion RL100 auto primer filler. I am so impressed I bought another one. I have two 500B one is set for big primers, the other for little primers. So why not two RL100 set the same way.

No more chasing those primers around on the tray. It is interesting to watch the RL100 work. One heck of a design. Once I got it set up right it worked flawlessly.

[Gene Econ]

Originally Posted by HOLLiS

I was looking for the thread, I thought one was started for reloading discussion. (if this needs to be moved, please do) Some time back I bought a Dillion RL100 auto primer filler. I am so impressed I bought another one. I have two 500B one is set for big primers, the other for little primers. So why not two RL100 set the same way. No more chasing those primers around on the tray. It is interesting to watch the RL100 work. One heck of a design. Once I got it set up right it worked flawlessly.

Hollis:

I was tempted but you can buy a whole bunch of primers for the price so I bought one of the Frankford hand held electric primer filler. Looks cheap but it works surprisingly well.

I will say this much about primers. The more stuff one has between his hands / eyes and primers when hand loading, the better.

I bought a 550B ten years ago and it never worked particularly well. Primer feeding problems, primer seating problems (wouldn't seat deep enough), and ram alignment problems. I sold it and pulled out my old 450. Not sure why but I can seat primers deep enough with the old 450 and the alignment is perfect. I even trust it to make some short range rifle ammo that will feed in match grade chambers. I have it set up for rifle.

I wanted a decent auto progressive so bought a Hornady Lock-N-Load Auto Progressive. Good ram alignment and extremely easy to change shell holders and primer system from large to small. Same issues with the primer seating as the 550 for rifle. Won't seat deep enough for easy bolt closure. So I have it set up for pistol where it seats primers just fine.

Funny thing is that I use the Dillon powder measure on the Hornady for the pistol and the Hornady measure on my 450 for extruded rifle powders.

Flagship of my various bench mounted presses is a Redding T-7 Turret. Have the turret set for the three cartridges I use in match shooting. Massive press that is exceptionally well made and produces some very consistent ammunition.

Gene

[bberkley]

I have a 550B with their new casefeeder for loading .40 S&W and 9mm. My press is pretty old, about 15 years or so, and I had to send it back to Dillon for some of their special help in getting the new casefeed platform system to work right.

I'm totally sold on the casefeeder so much that I will probably add a 650 to the bench, and use the 550B for .40 only, as I load two different loads of 9mm for Production and Open in USPSA.

I have one of those Frankford vibrating primer things, and at times, its slick as any of my reloading tools can get, at other times, primers hang (probably the primer brand and not the equipment), turn sideways, upside down.

I don't know that I'm ready for a $250 outlay for the Dillon primer machine, I think I would get a nice digital scale first.

[Gene Econ]

Originally Posted by bberkley

I don't know that I'm ready for a $250 outlay for the Dillon primer machine, I think I would get a nice digital scale first.

Berkley:

Wish I could come to some conclusions on electronic scales but I just can't. Had a Pact and once it broke and got fixed, it never worked right again. Had to return a Dillon because it refused to hold a zero worth trusting. Got a replacement from Dillon that works just fine. Bought a Lyman electric powder measure and that scale works OK as long as you re-zero it about every three charges.

I believe that the common electric scales are good to plus or minus 1/10th of a grain with consistency. In other words, it may read say 45 1/2 yet it may actually be 45.4 or 45.6. If you get one you can trust, you will learn its little issues pretty quickly.

Some guys say the balance beam scales are more accurate but they depend on your eyes seeing alignment and that can be within +- .1 grains as well. They will change zero just as easily as a electronic scale based on air temperature and any air currents in the room.

Bottom line for me is that both have their problems so I opt for the one that is faster to use -- the electronic one. I just have to be more aware of its changes as I use it.

Gene

Gene

[HOLLiS]

Gene,

I bought my first 550B about 15 years ago. I do remember that I had a problem with the primer feed. I have been trying to remember just what was wrong. It was either a adjustment or operational error on my part. Once I fixed it, I have had years of great service. Same with the auto primer feed on small primers. I made a poor adjustment and had a 4 % error, in primers being inverted. I corrected that, and it is 100% for the last 600 rounds. I do have a few rounds I load in limited quantities. I will only neck size, hand prime, weight each measure (lyman electronic powder feed) and seat, and then crimp all individually.

My first electronic scale was a Dillion and it went bad. Dillion replaced it at no charge. I like the electronic scale and it pays to have weights to test them. What I think is important is the powder dispenser, that it throws the same charge. Most loads I do today are plinking loads so + - 0.1g is no big thing. When I loaded for bench shooting, I had a balance beam scale. I don't think electronic scales where around in the 70's.

H.

edited to add, I have had real good accuracy with the Dillion on 308's. Clover leafs at 100M. on a stock ruger MkII Bull barrel,

[Gene Econ]

Hollis:

Guys on PS may want some advice on getting set up with loading gear and etc. It is an exceptional way for guys to learn ballistics and to learn how to weed out the BS from things they can actually see while shooting.

There is little doubt in my mind that handloading has allowed me a much better understanding of such military topics as 'Applications of Fire'. It has been a major part of my personal foundation in understanding military ballistics and military ammunition.

I have been hand loading for over 25 years and I bet you have been doing so for close to 40 years so we overlap to a degree and I bet we have had the same learning curves which at times can be tough.

So how about giving the guys some advice on handloading for rifle and pistol in terms of gear, procedures, and 'what to expect' from their handloaded ammunition.

Gene

[HOLLiS]

Gene,

Thank you for the compliment. There are others on this forum that I have learned alot from, such as Longrange1947.

I like to tell my shooting buddies, that do not reload, "reloading to shooting is like foreplay to sex". I agree with you it adds deminsion to the sport.

I would first suggest to some who wants to get into reloading is to buy a current reloading manual and maybe go to a used book store and pick up a few older ones from different companies. Buy a book that has good reloading information. A bullet company may have a great discussion on Bullets and construction while a powder company may have a better discussion on powder.


Even if a person decides not to reload, they will havea great base of knowledge. Right now a few cartridges are almost cheaper to buy than to reload for plinking loads.

I first got in to reloading because I wanted to know more about shooting. In the early 70's, reloading offered a cheaper solution to shooting, passing the time (reload rather than watch TV), a more accurate round and better selection in bullet selection.

There are some really nice reloading equipment on the market today and lots of choices... maybe too many. I still buy cheap to shoot military surplus stuff, some of it is really good stuff.. some good for plinking only. As I mentioned in my earlier post I had clover leafs with hand loads then I tried some cheap European 308 Military surplus and the group @100M was about 6 inch.

I reload for about 36 calibers, a number of shotgun guages, plus paper and combustable cartidges and front stuffers. For me the biggest blast...are the front stuffers.

Hopefully more will add to the reloading section. I'll post some pic later of my reloading bench.

[bberkley]

Hollis,

Do you ever get out and shoot at the local clubs, i.e. CVSC at Dundee or ARPC at Albany?

I've got a shooting friend up in Amity, and his reloading setup isn't pretty to look at, but he uses modified receiver hitches (welds them himself), and has his various presses setup to just swap them out that way. Pretty ingenious setup. His gun safe is huge. Seems an old bank was getting torn down, and he got the safe door and built a concrete bunker around it.

I'm in need of getting a good bench built so I can make use of my Rockchucker for sizing glock-fired .40 brass (or have my teenager do it), and start loading .223.

Here is a good view of the corner of my garage where my bench is, and another view with the new casefeeder on the 550. The bench I've looked at for building would be loosely based on the NRMA bench, but be L-shaped and a bit longer so I have a place to mount my bench grinder with a polishing wheel.

[HOLLiS]

bberkley,

I have shot SASS at Albany, but not recently. I am not a very competative shooter any more. I like shooting for fun.

Your shop looks very good. How do you like the case feeder. I thought of getting one but... it got complicated.

I have a couple of pictures, of my reloading bench and my work table.

[Sten]

I have started to sell my budget manager on reloading. I need significant help in cost estimating and picking a brand of press to purchase. I like the Hornady Lock-N-Load Auto Progressives price, reported load consistency and standard features. But I am open to the facts about any company to help make my decision. Quality seems to be a tie between each company Dillon and Hornady both offering lifetime "no BS" warranties.

My numbers, I figured the components to reload .45 ACP will cost about .13 cents a round, is that a realistic number? Quick math told me that .223 will provide a bigger round savings, but quick math is notoriously inaccurate. I have a bunch of unknowns, for example how many times can .45 brass be reloaded safely how about .223? I have read that buying in bulk will provide big savings, how much is "bulk".

I would like some kind of powder check (no squib or doubles). Is this check a gimmick or is a functional piece of equipment?

Also, if you could list the accessories that you have found indispensable that would be greatly appreciated.

These are my reloading needs:

.45 ACP

.223 win (match grade). After rereading Gene's post, am I to assume that the progressives are not good at rifle ammo loading?

9mm and perhaps .44 magnum down the line.

Thank you!
TJ

[HOLLiS]

Sten, depends on progressive and rifle load, I have had good luck But I don't load my magmun (338 WM or 300 Ultra Mag) with it. I don't load that much at a time. They are hunting rifles, so I never shoot much with them. 223 should be no problem at all. I think with progressives the problem is learning the machine. Also you can develope a methology that will insure no double charges or squib loads.

Cost depends......... buying 8 lbs of powder is much less than at 1 pound at a time.

Bullets, exotic bullets are costlier than cast lead, or even doing your own (casting) greatly drops the price.

I think the last time I figured 45 Colt for cowboy shooting (reduced loads) was about $2.50 a box, re-using brass. The commercial stuff for cowboy shooting was about $22 a box.

Reloading really pays when you want something special. Also there are sites where you can buy pulled military components at a great price.

BTW Dillon is a very good company and information/help customer service is Excellent. Unfortuantely I have not played with other progressive presses ( do have a progressive shot gun press )

My first suggestion is picking up some reloading manuals and read.. see my above posts. RCBS starter kits has about everything you need. It is a single stage press. Depending on how much you get in to reloading, some of the basic stuff will get replaced.

Case guages are great to have,
electronic scale nice to have but not necessary if you already have a scale.
Case prep tools, especially if your going for high accuracy
neck sizing die, see above, also for cases only use in one Fire arm, if you neck size, the case may not fit into another firearm.
extra crimp die. I use the seating/crimp die to seat only.
I like to have two loading trays around.. with a Dillon, I don't use them.
A reloading record book
Tumbler
Chronometer.......... best way to check loads, though not necessary. Helps to determine load is reaching max along with the physical indicators

I think that is it.......... rest of the stuff is all recommended by reloading books.

H.

I use my single stage press for, Pulling bullets, forming brass (256 win mag, 30 herret, and 6.5 sauer) and very small loads (less than 20 rounds).

[Sten]

Thank you for that information!

[The Reaper]

I'm partial to Dillon too.

Have a 550, have eyed the 650 as well.

I have loaded quite a bit of 5.56 on it, pretty sure it will make 7.62 as well.

I have always used a single stage for Match ammo, though the case prep is the majority of the work and accuracy improvement there. You go to one of the big reloading companies and buy the precision tools you need to uniform primer pockets, turn case necks, check bullet seating depth for the specific rifle and check bullet run-out, etc. you can make better ammo than you can buy. Biggest problem with loading match rounds on a progressive is that a lot of the powder measures for the progressives do not meter "stick" powders very well. As long as you are using ball powder for the .223, get a good consistent primer seating and precise bullet seating in the case, I do not see why you could not make match ammo with it.

.45ACP can be reloaded a number of times as long as you are running low power loads. You start hot-rodding them, shooting them in full auto guns, or in sloppy chambers, case life goes way down. 5.56 should be okay for quite a few reloads as well. If you have trimmed them too many times or start seeing problems during case inspections, get new brass. It is much cheaper than a new gun and a glass eye.

Savings should run 25-75%, depending on the load and commercial pricing. Hard to beat Winchester white box price when reloading at home. Very easy to beat .45ACP Match load or Federal Premium prices.

HTH.

TR

[Air.177]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

I'm partial to Dillon as well.

Have a 550, have eyed the 650 as well.

I have loaded quite a bit of 5.56 on it, pretty sure it will make 7.72 as well.


TR

Must be one of those "SF" wildcat Calibers

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by Air.177

Must be one of those "SF" wildcat Calibers

Sorry, I can't tell you any more, it is classified.

If I could tell you, I'd have to cut your head off and keep it in my safe at night.

TR