Friends and family shoot

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DRAINSMITH

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Well, the Friends and Family Memorial day Shoot has been renamed the "Chiefs Memorial Shoot". We lost one of our original members on the 3rd of January this year. He was our Lee Loadmaster Reloader. Well, last year we had the Dillon 650 vs the Hornady Ammo-plant challenge. Last year he suggested that we have a challenge on case prep centers.

So this year we have three case prep centers that will be set up to find out which one is "best". We have a Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Case and Trim Center. The next one on the block is an RCBS Universal Case Prep Center. The last one is my Hornady L-N-L Case Prep Center.

I bought 3,000 .223 and 3,000 308 both with military crimp. So we should have a good test. I'll let you all know how it comes out.
 
This will be interesting, not so much as speed, but which method has the most consistent case trim length.

Sounds like fun, and a worthwhile experiment.
 
Last year we voted on doing case cleaning challenge. Sonic vs rotary pin tumble vs vibrator tumbler with corn cob vs vibrator tumble with walnut. Chief was the only one that wanted to do a case prep challenge. So in his honor, we are doing case prep. In addition, I have two of his presses that I am going to set up so each of us can make 10 rounds each for mementos. I just hope I can keep them running as well as he did.
 
Last year we voted on doing case cleaning challenge. Sonic vs rotary pin tumble vs vibrator tumbler with corn cob vs vibrator tumble with walnut. Chief was the only one that wanted to do a case prep challenge. So in his honor, we are doing case prep. In addition, I have two of his presses that I am going to set up so each of us can make 10 rounds each for mementos. I just hope I can keep them running as well as he did.
That's a nice thought. A lifetime friend of mine who reloads is in his last days (cancer). He gave me a number of 45 acp FMJ, and a bunch of brass. I'm thinking about making them into keychains and giving them to his family. Might take them to a trophy/engraving shop and have his initials put on them.
 
So you found a way to get someone else to do the prep for you.:thumbup::thumbup:
Ha, That is exactly what I told everyone that was what I was doing. But they all know that I pay my 14-year-old Granddaughter $5.00 a pound to do it for me. !. I hate brass prep and 2. she needs makeup money and 3. she does a better job than I do. And besides, three others pay her to do theirs.

Well, today I put together one of my Harbor Freight Windsor benches. (I bought three when they were $130.00 with a 25% coupon) I mounted all three trimers on one side and two of Chiefs presses that his kids have loaned me for the shoot.

Tomorrow after school I will have six of my designated drivers that are going to help me put up my four 20 man Army surplus tents.
 
I enjoyed that Dillon vs Hornady press contest you posted when I was in the market for a progressive press. Doing a case prep looks interesting and educating. Can't wait to hear how it turns out.
 
Update: Let's start off with Wednesday. Well, there were eight of us it took five hours to set up four 20-man tents. All of you G.I.s can laugh now I know it only takes 15 min. for six G.I.s to set up one tent but they know their left from their right. I came back Thursday and retied all the knots. I mean come on guys you only need to know four knots. After I got all my knots retied I got my delivery of two porta-potties ten tables and sixty chairs. Friday I had six kids mow the range.

Now Saturday morning at eight we had a Non-denominational service for Chief and a blessing on the range. I had thought that I had planned everything. But to my surprise after the blessing, of the range I found that I wasn't the only one with a plan. Two of the Chiefs kids were there and with our lawyer, they got up and read part of the Chiefs will. The Chief willed my Grandson two of his Loadmaster presses that I thought were on loan. Now, if you ever saw those two together the way the picked on each other you would think they hated each other. But that was far from the truth. Eight months before the Chiefs passing he was put in a nursing home. I explained that old folks know that that is where you go to die. So we visited the Chief at least twice a week. I watched the ball games while those two played Cribbage. After everyone made the rounds, they wanted from Chiefs presses we had our 500 yrd. shoot and of course, the farm girl that wins every year won again. It would be acceptable to all of us if she shoot more than once a year. But nope the only time she shoots is at the Friends and family Shoot. We then had the 6" dueling tree shoot. After that, the temperature had reached 100° so we decided to put off the prep center challenge until the next day.

Sunday we ran our test because the temperature only got to 101°. WT-F. The three of us ran two 15 min runs on each Prep Center. One for .223 and one for 308. Now for the good news, the Frankford Arsenal owner Liked the Frankford best the RCBS owner liked the RCBS best and I liked the Hornady best. The Frankford Arsenal only has three case prep attachments so if you swage the pockets or don't need to do any primer pocket preps this is the way to go. It averaged 92 pieces for each 15 min run. The trim was within .0002. Both the RCBS and Hornady has 6 case prep attachments with the RCBS has two that are faster. The RCBS is spring feed for trim and both trim within .0001 The RCBS did an average of 63 pieces every 15 min and the Hornady did 61 pieces. The Hornady keeps all brass shavings contained where the other two sends shavings everywhere. Set up for trim Frankford is the hardest and most time-consuming. The RCBS has a micrometer built in and the Hornady has notches on the adjustment crank. Both are easy to set up. The Hornady has the smallest footprint with the Frankford next and the RCBS need a lot of room.
 
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