[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Hand loaders.... (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 12/19/2010 9:00:48 PM EDT
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Do you use a progressive loader or one at a time?
I grew up loading one at a time, and still take pride in each completed cartridge. I clean the flash hole, scrape the primer cup, case trim each time, and so on. I can easily turn out 100 .30-06 or .375 HH mags in an evening. I always keep several hundred shells tumbled and ready to load. You? |
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Same as you... - Clint Same here. I would like to get a progressive for pistol rounds, but my overly cautious self tells me there's too much going on at once and too much at stake. It takes about an hour of (careful) use to get used to it. No biggee. 
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Quoted: $100 will get you a basic lee kit I would love to get into it but I've lacked the initial funds to do so. http://www.leeprecision.com/html/catalog/anivers.html I still load with mine while I have a dillon and a hornady that collect dust in my barn |
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Same as you... - Clint Same here. I would like to get a progressive for pistol rounds, but my overly cautious self tells me there's too much going on at once and too much at stake. It takes about an hour of (careful) use to get used to it. No biggee. You mean an hour to dial it all in, or an hour before you're comfortable with the stability of it all? How long did you single-stage reload before taking the progressive plunge? I've been on a single stage for nearly twenty years. Still just can't get over my paranoia of a progressive I guess. |
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Same as you... - Clint Same here. I would like to get a progressive for pistol rounds, but my overly cautious self tells me there's too much going on at once and too much at stake. It takes about an hour of (careful) use to get used to it. No biggee. You mean an hour to dial it all in, or an hour before you're comfortable with the stability of it all? How long did you single-stage reload before taking the progressive plunge? I've been on a single stage for nearly twenty years. Still just can't get over my paranoia of a progressive I guess. It takes an hour of use to get comfy and confident. Not kidding––I've had a number of guys use my presses in order to decide if they wanted to transition to a progressive.
On the recommendation of a friend I STARTED with a 550B, then bought a Rock Chucker after a couple of years, in order to make rifle case prep easier. I'm lazy about changing dies, so I use various presses dedicated to specific tasks. 
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Same as you... - Clint Same here. I would like to get a progressive for pistol rounds, but my overly cautious self tells me there's too much going on at once and too much at stake. It takes about an hour of (careful) use to get used to it. No biggee. You mean an hour to dial it all in, or an hour before you're comfortable with the stability of it all? How long did you single-stage reload before taking the progressive plunge? I've been on a single stage for nearly twenty years. Still just can't get over my paranoia of a progressive I guess. It takes an hour of use to get comfy and confident. Not kidding––I've had a number of guys use my presses in order to decide if they wanted to transition to a progressive.
On the recommendation of a friend I STARTED with a 550B, then bought a Rock Chucker after a couple of years, in order to make rifle case prep easier. I'm lazy about changing dies, so I use various presses dedicated to specific tasks. I have a similar setup. 550 for powder charge and seating of big lots and a rock chucker and a lyman turret for case prep and such. |
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Depends what I am wanting to do with the ammo.
For precision ammo for my 308 M24 and 8mm K98 sniper I do something totally different and more time consuming than I do for 5.56/.223 I shoot out of a 16 inch carbine with an EOTech. For the precision ammo (assuming you have already done your 1st round prep work of measuring/turning the neck):: Check/Clean cases Lube Size in a single stage RCBS press using a Redding die with sizing bushing Trim with a Wilson trimmer Chamfer/Deburr Measure OAL and check Headspace Uniform primer pocket Uniform flash hole Weigh Each Case and sort Prime using a RCBS hand primer Throw each charge and trickle it in a non-electrical scale Charge each case Weigh each projectile and sort Seat a projectile in each case For my normal loading, mainly for 5.56/.223 loading (except for the SPR MK12): Check/Clean cases Lube Swage if the brass is .mil/NATO brass Use the 'prep' toolhead on my Dillon 550 that has only a FL sizing die and the electronic trimmer on it. Sizing die in first position, trimmer in 3rd. Uniform primer pocket Check OAL Use my 'loading' toolhead on the Dillion 550 that primes in the 1st position, charges in the 2nd, seats a bullet in the 3rd and crimps in the 4th. Check every so often for powder charging consistency The first turns out rounds that are identical. I commonly have strings where the SD is a single digit. However, this takes forever. The second produces quality rounds that will do what you need them to; just don't expect sub MOA performance all of the time. But seeing as how I use these with a carbine that has iron sights or an EoTech on it, that will never matter. |
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This is ARFCom... GET BOTH!
What gets loaded on the 650: Handgun rounds* (with certain exceptions) AR ammo, both 55gr blasting ammo and sub-MOA Matchking loads What gets loaded on the Co-AX: *Hollowpoint handgun rounds that could conceivably be used in critical situations, including my 10mm "swamp ammo" for when I'm packing it in the boonies. Low volume rifle loads, including .308 and .270 softpoint for my dad's bolt action. Developmental loads when I want to experiment without making 100 of them. -All rifle cases get sized on the Co-Ax I've been extremely happy with doing it this way, and I've found that the biggest disadvantage to progressive reloading is the machine setup. It's not time-efficient without a 500-round or greater production run. On some occasions I've set up the press, made several hundred rounds, shot them in the same week, thrown the brass into the tumbler, and reloaded them a day later just to repeat the cycle. I think I fired something like 1600 rounds of 10mm in a week or so doing that. It was awesome 
I only stopped because I was running out of spare cash to buy projectiles 
Reloading kicks ass. I just made a batch of .38sp SWC loads for my S&W 686 that I'm going to go try out tomm 
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If your using a true progressive like a 650 or a hornady lnl, youd have to be retarded to screw something up tbh I think there is more I could screw up on my single stage than my progressive. This is the truth; if you double-charge a case on a 650, you probably did it on purpose 
FWIW, I went from complete n00b to a Lee hand press to a 650 within 2 months with no problems. I just bought the Forster later to do small volume stuff without having to change all the settings on the big one. |
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In true arfcom fashion, I got both.
I load any large centerfire rifle caliber on an RCBS Rockchucker. I load pistol ammo and blasting ammo for .223 on a Hornady Lock N Load AP. ETA: I load the following: .223 Remington / 5.56 NATO .243 Winchester 8x57 Mauser 7.5x55 Swiss 357 Magnum 38 Special 45 ACP 9mm Luger 9x18 Makarov |
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Quoted: Quoted: $100 will get you a basic lee kit I would love to get into it but I've lacked the initial funds to do so. http://www.leeprecision.com/html/catalog/anivers.html I still load with mine while I have a dillon and a hornady that collect dust in my barn wow, thanks for the link. If I get into it I might actually be able to shoot .45 and .308 again without feeling so bad about it. |
| I use an older version of Hornady's Lock N Load for rifle rounds. I don't bother cleaning the flash holes or primer pockets, way too much work. I do trim and deburr after 3-4 loading depending if it is out of spec. I watch the OAL closely. I discard the case after 3rd trimming because the brass flowed forward will cause the case mouth to be too small, and need to be inside reamed. |
| I'm probably gonna pick this up while it's on sale. Does anybody have experience with it? |
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Does anybody have experience with it? It's a start. If you are planning in loading bigger rounds like 30-06, 308 or 7.62*54R, then the press might be a little too light as the aluminium alloy frame feels to flex somewhat. The scale works, but is a PITA to use. The hand priming tool works, but tends to break after a couple thousand rounds. The LEE Classic cast press is built like a tank though. |
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Lee Anniversary kit that I've had for 20+ years.
Load .223/5.56mm 9mm Luger .38 Super .40 S&W 10mm .45 ACP .45 Colt .450 Bushmaster 7mm x 57 Mauser The investment is in the dies, which will outlast the press. I'll get a progressive when I figure out where to put it! |
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I loaded .45 ACP and .44 Mag for years on a 550B. I got a 650 because I wanted a case feeder and another station for the powder check station. I intended to sell the 550B, but ended up keeping it because caliber change is kind of a pain on the 650. So I load 230 gr Glock chow and 185 gr bullseye loads on the 650, 44 Mag on the 550B, and what little .308 I shoot on a Forster Co-ax. It's pretty silly; I should sell the 550B and load the .44 Mag on the Co-ax.
Jane |
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The 650 is a lot faster loading quantities of ammo, but a real PITA when changing calibers. I don't think the 650 can load anything bigger than 223Rem/5.56NATO.
I loaded .45 ACP and .44 Mag for years on a 550B. I got a 650 because I wanted a case feeder and another station for the powder check station. I intended to sell the 550B, but ended up keeping it because caliber change is kind of a pain on the 650. So I load 230 gr Glock chow and 185 gr bullseye loads on the 650, 44 Mag on the 550B, and what little .308 I shoot on a Forster Co-ax. It's pretty silly; I should sell the 550B and load the .44 Mag on the Co-ax. Jane |
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I wish we had a sub-forum for this sort of conversation. I forgot to ask about powder measurement. I have the RCBS old school dispenser for flake powder, but it does not do the RL-15 cylinder type powder. I use a RCBS digital scale for that. Am going to look into progressive this week. I have been an RCBS man all my life except for a set of Hornady dies that I really like. |