I knew this day would come...

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Obturation said:
even with powders that meter well I had some that were a few tenths off.
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I used to be paranoid about powder charges, but a few years ago, someone did the math for me and I became a Changed Man. Granted, starting with powders that meter well certainly helps... 2400 is one of them... but even dropping charges of IMR powders (log jam is a good phrase...) as long as it's within .2grn, which is not unusual, I don't really care. A 41.5grn charge of IMR3031 in a .308 case with a variance of .2grn is not even 1% variance total. For blasting ammo, which I don't load near maximum, or cast rifle loads... where I use IMR4198... that is a nothing. Sure, I drop and trickle up my precision charges, and certain powders, like W296.. because they are near maximum... but even with sketchy metering powders, like Unique, I don't lose any sleep over it. BUT. It's whatever your tolerance for variation is... and when it comes to handloading, I don't fault anyone for being picky. :)
 
Obturation said:
I've got 6 # of 2400 powder and a few thousand spm primers.
Click to expand...
Glad to hear you still have some SPM primers left...;)

My elbow is already sore just from reading your post... Do yourself a favor and get a progressive my friend, you will not regret it. I too loaded everything on a single-stage, still do load lots on there. However, I've moved anything I load in 'volume' over to the LNL. When you add up the time spent shuffling brass in/out of the shellholder and combine that with the time saved by doing multiple processes simultaneously you will have an epiphany.
 
ColtPythonElite said:
Buy a progressive press and don't look back.
Click to expand...
:rofl:

Boy, that's rich. Just kidding, of course. I'm sure I'll be able to pick up the pace once I get used to it, but my first effort with my new-to-me Dillon 450 was anything but quick and efficient. It went something like this.

Empty shell in the shell plate. Raise the ram. Did the primer get punched out? I didn't hear it. Check the catcher; oh, there's the primer. Lower the ram. Spin the shell plate. Add another empty, raise the ram. Oops, forgot to push the lever on the last one to seat the new primer. Take out the second shell, reverse the shell plate and seat the primer in the first case. Spin again, decap-size-prime second case. Spin shell plate add a third case. Oops, forgot to charge the first case. Reverse the shell plate again and charge the first case.

You get the picture. I just need to get the steps firmly planted in my head in the right order, which will only come from taking it slowly and concentrating on doing all the steps in the same order every time. I think the biggest delay was checking just about every case for powder. For some reason, I just couldn't remember if I had actuated the powder slide, even though in most cases I had. One of those little mirrors situated so I can see into the case without standing up is very much in order, methinks.

On a tangential note: it's probably just me and my inexperience with handgun loads, but 5.0 grains of Unique seems like almost nothing in the bottom of a .38 Special case. It looks like I could double or even triple charge a cartridge and not compress the load. I've read that Unique is not very position sensitive though, so not a big deal, I guess.
 
Obturation said:
It's a 3 in one step thing that includes priming. Yeah, I have a separate priming tool but it's just as quick to prime on the press if you consider how many times in picking up the brass and putting it back in the loading block.
I'll lower the ram, put a primer in the cup, raise it slightly, put a case in the shell holder, lower ram to install primer, raise ram to flare, drop my charge into a pan, confirm weight (it's typically right on or very close using 2400), trickle if need be, dump through funnel on the top of the flaring die, place bullet on top as I put it back in the block. Put my preset seating die in, blast through the assembled cartridges and then crimp in a separate step. Takes longer to type than it takes to do it. Not horribly inefficient but also not fast. I've got to be on a mission to do 100 an hour but I can do it. All of them with less than .1 grain charge variation.
I know that kind of charge accuracy isn't really needed for pistol cartridges but 2400 meters really well in my setup and typically charges don't need adjustment.

If we're talking about powders that don't meter well, it cuts me down to like 30 an hour. Good example is imr4198, I just can't get consistent metering (log jam :rofl:) so I dip and trickle. Same with trailboss, I've tried just about everything to get anything that resembles consistent weights but it seems impossible to me. Partially the reason progressives spook me a little. When I started reloading (about 5 years ago), I would just dispense directly into the case and check charges every 5 or 10, even with powders that meter well I had some that were a few tenths off.
Click to expand...
Sounds like me but I prime off-press using a Frankford Arsenal hand-priming tool. I can typically prime around a hundred in about ten minutes taking it easy. I don't ever get in a hurry. Life's just too short to be in a hurry. :)

One big difference here is, I couldn't let spent casings just sit. I have boxes for processing - range fresh, tumbled once, decapped - not resized, resized, tumbled twice - ready for reloading. I have a tag I print out on my Dymo labeler with checkboxes for each stage of processing. I also have boxes (USPS flat rate regional 10"x8"x5") of out-of-process staged brass, some in baggies separated by some criteria - condition, headstamp, modification, etc. - and some just loose in the box or in one big baggie. I keep them stacked separate from the in-process brass. One mistake I made when I went from the plastic craft boxes to the USPS boxes: corner braces. The boxes are heavy enough that the stack collapsed on itself a while back. I heard the thumpa-bumpa in the middle of the night, got up to check it out and didn't see anything until a few days later when I went into store room and found my boxes of brass strewn across the aisleway. Restacked and braced them but they're just too weak to stack higher than four high without interior bracing. Figure I'll cut some cheap faux wood corner molding and glue it into the corners next time I go by Homeless Depot. The boxes are free(ish) and the local PO don't care if we grab a few at a time as long as they got some for regular customers.

Brass storage and processing is an art unto itself. :)
 
Obturation said:
Hey all,

Hope everyone's feeling good.
I knew this was coming and I did it to myself. I'm out of 357 magnum cartridges. Yeah, none. Now this is no small thing, a year ago I had close to 5,000 loaded and ready to go. I shot my last 100 a few weeks ago.

2020 was a strange year for all of us, I was working for a small business at which I was the only employee . times were tight and the boss only had me working a day or two a week and many of those were half days. That left me nothing but time, a luxury I've never had in my adult life. What was a guy to do? I reloaded. Almost every day for an hour or 2.

I had built up my stockpile of loaded cartridges to a level I never had before but was doing almost no shooting. 2021 was a better year and I was generally working the first half of the year and in late June I changed jobs to a company that has endless work and longer hours. I was able to hit the range again and burned up ammo like it was going out of style. I get a certain satisfaction from setting up at the local indoor range and firing 1,000+ rounds while other shooters shuffle in and out after shooting their box of 50 or 100 trying to conserve ammo.

I did a little loading here and there but mostly to keep my 45-70 fed (I don't have brass or powder to make thousands). I didn't keep up with my 357 consumption and I knew I was getting low but when I pulled the last of my 357 ammo out my heart sunk a little. I knew I had a monumental task ahead.

I've got bullets , molds, lead ect , no problem. I've got 6 # of 2400 powder and a few thousand spm primers. I've got brass coming out my ears. That stuff isn't the issue, the issue is reloading it all. Not the worst problem to have but it's going to take some time. I deprime on a lee app which makes quick work of it. I tumble in walnut shell with some nu finish - I can only tumble about 300 at a time. I load on a single stage press, that's where my time gets soaked up. It's never been an issue, I load for quality not quantity . this is going to take a while.

Normally I wouldn't mind but like I mentioned before, my schedule has become pretty hectic. If I'm moving at a good pace I can do 100 rounds an hour. I can usually only squeek an hour or 2 per weekend . That means I'm going to have to spend the winter building back up. Not the end of the world but I need to remember not to get in this situation again. It's overwhelming but it'll be a project that pays good rewards . I did my first 100 today and I'm just going to stay at until I can get back to at least a few thousand and make sure I'm handling the brass as soon as I get home from the range. Having a mountain of dirty brass in a box is no way to be.

So not awful but I figured I'd share that with you all. Don't be like me, keep your inventory up and try not to fall too far behind.
Click to expand...

It's good to have a project. I've loaded relatively high volumes on a single stage before. Then I added another single stage. I could put a different die in each and work them sort of like a turret press. It was still relatively slow compared to a progressive press.

barnfrog said:
:rofl:

Boy, that's rich. Just kidding, of course. I'm sure I'll be able to pick up the pace once I get used to it, but my first effort with my new-to-me Dillon 450 was anything but quick and efficient. It went something like this.

Empty shell in the shell plate. Raise the ram. Did the primer get punched out? I didn't hear it. Check the catcher; oh, there's the primer. Lower the ram. Spin the shell plate. Add another empty, raise the ram. Oops, forgot to push the lever on the last one to seat the new primer. Take out the second shell, reverse the shell plate and seat the primer in the first case. Spin again, decap-size-prime second case. Spin shell plate add a third case. Oops, forgot to charge the first case. Reverse the shell plate again and charge the first case.

You get the picture. I just need to get the steps firmly planted in my head in the right order, which will only come from taking it slowly and concentrating on doing all the steps in the same order every time. I think the biggest delay was checking just about every case for powder. For some reason, I just couldn't remember if I had actuated the powder slide, even though in most cases I had. One of those little mirrors situated so I can see into the case without standing up is very much in order, methinks.

On a tangential note: it's probably just me and my inexperience with handgun loads, but 5.0 grains of Unique seems like almost nothing in the bottom of a .38 Special case. It looks like I could double or even triple charge a cartridge and not compress the load. I've read that Unique is not very position sensitive though, so not a big deal, I guess.
Click to expand...

After loading on a single stage for many years it took me a while to learn to trust the mechanics of a progressive press. I use a Dillon 650 for most handgun cartridges and .223 Remington these days. Your post detailing stopping and checking each stage as the cartridge progressed around the press brought back memories. You described exactly what I did. Now, I have a fairly high degree on confidence in what I load and the process is much quicker.

Best of luck and be safe.
 
barnfrog said:
:rofl:

Boy, that's rich. Just kidding, of course. I'm sure I'll be able to pick up the pace once I get used to it, but my first effort with my new-to-me Dillon 450 was anything but quick and efficient. It went something like this.

Empty shell in the shell plate. Raise the ram. Did the primer get punched out? I didn't hear it. Check the catcher; oh, there's the primer. Lower the ram. Spin the shell plate. Add another empty, raise the ram. Oops, forgot to push the lever on the last one to seat the new primer. Take out the second shell, reverse the shell plate and seat the primer in the first case. Spin again, decap-size-prime second case. Spin shell plate add a third case. Oops, forgot to charge the first case. Reverse the shell plate again and charge the first case.

You get the picture. I just need to get the steps firmly planted in my head in the right order, which will only come from taking it slowly and concentrating on doing all the steps in the same order every time. I think the biggest delay was checking just about every case for powder. For some reason, I just couldn't remember if I had actuated the powder slide, even though in most cases I had. One of those little mirrors situated so I can see into the case without standing up is very much in order, methinks.

On a tangential note: it's probably just me and my inexperience with handgun loads, but 5.0 grains of Unique seems like almost nothing in the bottom of a .38 Special case. It looks like I could double or even triple charge a cartridge and not compress the load. I've read that Unique is not very position sensitive though, so not a big deal, I guess.
Click to expand...
I occasionally throw a double charge in a case so I can see what they look like. Not on a progressive, but using a single stage and loading block. Done that way. You can easily see the difference. Maybe you should throw a double and compare next to a single charge to see the difference. Course you got to be extra careful to return the powder back to the hopper and not load it.
 
barnfrog said:
On a tangential note: it's probably just me and my inexperience with handgun loads, but 5.0 grains of Unique seems like almost nothing in the bottom of a .38 Special case. It looks like I could double or even triple charge a cartridge and not compress the load. I've read that Unique is not very position sensitive though, so not a big deal, I guess.
Click to expand...

Unique is quite fluffy, 5.0grn probably gives about 60% case fill (under a seated bullet) if not more; it would be very near the top if double charged (if memory serves. I've not loaded .38SPC in over 10 years.) You are correct, however, it is not position sensitive, nor do minor charge weight variations affect it's burn characteristics much... it's one of Unique's many endearing factors.
 
Bazoo said:
What happened to geodude... he was lost in a brass landslide. He went to pick up a piece of brass, and thumpa-bumpa, when they found him all they could see was his rump sticking out of the scree pile.
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Great. Now Train will make a new song/video, "50 Ways My Brass Killed"

My head was pulverized
My brass was oversized
I'll post to High Road like I should

You said it's meant to be
Wet tumble, not in chicken feed
That stacking brass is just no good

That's cool, but if my friends ask where you are I'm gonna say

He was caught in a brass slide
Crushed by a Dillon
Pinched an artery in a crappy primer slide-arm
Help me, help me! I have lever rage!
...

Well, I'll leave the rest to the lyricists ;)
 
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during these times when i am low on some calibers, i shift to calibers i have more remaining reloads of. i have been down to my last 100 , now 70 rds, of 9 mm since spring. i used more of my previously loaded 45acp, 38 spcl and 44 mag. most of those were still from 2019. the 44 mags were from 2018.
i agree about progressives. i bought a redding t7 turret press as my first press and after a couple of months bought a dillon 550.
 
barnfrog said:
:rofl:

Boy, that's rich. Just kidding, of course. I'm sure I'll be able to pick up the pace once I get used to it, but my first effort with my new-to-me Dillon 450 was anything but quick and efficient. It went something like this.

Empty shell in the shell plate. Raise the ram. Did the primer get punched out? I didn't hear it. Check the catcher; oh, there's the primer. Lower the ram. Spin the shell plate. Add another empty, raise the ram. Oops, forgot to push the lever on the last one to seat the new primer. Take out the second shell, reverse the shell plate and seat the primer in the first case. Spin again, decap-size-prime second case. Spin shell plate add a third case. Oops, forgot to charge the first case. Reverse the shell plate again and charge the first case.

You get the picture. I just need to get the steps firmly planted in my head in the right order, which will only come from taking it slowly and concentrating on doing all the steps in the same order every time. I think the biggest delay was checking just about every case for powder. For some reason, I just couldn't remember if I had actuated the powder slide, even though in most cases I had. One of those little mirrors situated so I can see into the case without standing up is very much in order, methinks.
Click to expand...

I suspect most if not all progressive users - myself included - have a tendency to express output as "what the press is doing when everything is set up and working well" while ignoring all the time it takes to get to that point - as well as the time spent unscrewing the occasional screw-up. I love my progressives, but will quietly admit to having spent many hours adjusting them, repairing them, or simply swearing at them for spewing primers onto the floor or dumping a mess of powder into the works or...
 
Bazoo said:
I occasionally throw a double charge in a case so I can see what they look like. Not on a progressive, but using a single stage and loading block. Done that way. You can easily see the difference. Maybe you should throw a double and compare next to a single charge to see the difference. Course you got to be extra careful to return the powder back to the hopper and not load it.
Click to expand...
That is a spectacularly ingenious idea, sir. I thank you for it and the relative peace of mind I'm sure it will engender upon its implementation.
 
.38 Special said:
I suspect most if not all progressive users - myself included - have a tendency to express output as "what the press is doing when everything is set up and working well" while ignoring all the time it takes to get to that point - as well as the time spent unscrewing the occasional screw-up. I love my progressives, but will quietly admit to having spent many hours adjusting them, repairing them, or simply swearing at them for spewing primers onto the floor or dumping a mess of powder into the works or...
Click to expand...


EXACTLY.......:)
I have both single and progressive presses, they each have their purpose, and I'm happy with all of them.
That said, I have never felt the need to load a ginormous amount of ammo quickly, I enjoy the hobby so it really doesn't matter to me how long it takes.
I've seen posts on here about doing 5-600 rounds an hour which I could probably muster, but unless I'm feeding an armory, I'm completely satisfied at 100 or even less per hour...:D
 
Use powder that will fill or overfill the case if double charged. One of THEEEEE best tips in reloading pistol ammo especially.

I run HS6 in 9/38/357/40/45 on a Dillon - if you double charge, you will see it.
 
Soonerpesek said:
EXACTLY.......:)
I have both single and progressive presses, they each have their purpose, and I'm happy with all of them.
That said, I have never felt the need to load a ginormous amount of ammo quickly, I enjoy the hobby so it really doesn't matter to me how long it takes.
I've seen posts on here about doing 5-600 rounds an hour which I could probably muster, but unless I'm feeding an armory, I'm completely satisfied at 100 or even less per hour...:D
Click to expand...

My days of shooting thousands of rounds a week are long gone, as is my old Dillon 1050. That thing really did the job, but operating it was, well, a job. My antique SDB still sees use on occasion, but even that isn't really an enjoyable process so much as a means to an end.

At this point, I really like sitting down with a single stage and making a box or two of ammunition just like Skeeter and Elmer did.
 
It's simple. Impose a process on yourself. Go shooting. Bring home your brass, clean your gun, deprime, tumble. Then don't let
yourself go shooting again until you have reloaded the cases you shot last session. Once you've reloaded them, then go shooting.
I don't like having massive quantities of brass laying around needing to be reloaded. Maybe I want to try a different powder, bullet or recipe
I'll do a couple of hundred, go shoot them, take notes, then modify the load or switch components.

To me, it gets boring being an ammo factory. If I shot competition, I can see the practicality of getting a Dillon and becoming an ammo factory
but the reloading part of cranking out volume, to me, gets boring. I find it's much more interesting to do what a true handloader does, refine loads, chrono,
measure, track the variables and their effect on accuracy, etc. But to each their own, that's just my reloading journey.

When I was deep into C&Rs it was fun to reload obscure calibers too, it can be boring to only reload 9mm, .45 ACP and .223/308, much more challenging and interesting to reload
7x57 or 7.62x25 too shoot out of WWII era guns. But that's just me.
 
dcloco said:
Use powder that will fill or overfill the case if double charged. One of THEEEEE best tips in reloading pistol ammo especially.

I run HS6 in 9/38/357/40/45 on a Dillon - if you double charge, you will see it.
Click to expand...
I certainly see the safety of that. But the economy suffers greatly. Bullseye and titegroup and plenty of others, while not bulky, give excellent results for target ammo. And you use much less powder. So you get nearly twice the shots from a pound of powder.
 
barnfrog said:
That is a spectacularly ingenious idea, sir. I thank you for it and the relative peace of mind I'm sure it will engender upon its implementation.
Click to expand...
It's given me some peace of mind. Since I load on a single stage, and charge my cases in a loading block. I will throw a double in a case after I have filled my block. Then I can compare that last one to the block and easily see the difference. I don't do it all the time, but when changing powders or working with a new caliber, to get a feel for how it looks.
 
Capybara said:
To me, it gets boring being an ammo factory.
Click to expand...
Brilliant! Couldn't agree more. Best way to ruin a hobby is to make it more like a job.

My most fun loading was for the old Webley Mk.1, Mdl. 1873 Chamelot-Delvigne or the Mdl. 1879 Reichsrevolver - black powder in cases made from brass foil or remanufactured from similar cases (.44Spl, .44Russian, .45AutoRim, etc.). Now that's a challenge. If sitting there pulling the lever for two hours is your thing, have at it and more powder to you. Be the steam engine powering the loom. That's not for me but that's okay, too.
 
I'm working on it!
Blowing primers out as fast as I can yank that handle. App working it's butt off this afternoon. And before anyone asks, yeah it's mounted to a chair weighted down with bullets. Not an issue of space but portability , in warmer months I'll process brass on the porch while the kids run the yard. 20220107_140119.jpg
 
Ya let it build up too much!

I'm tumbling as soon as I have enough cases to fill the tumbler.

I'm happy loading 50-100 in an hour for now. 50 for weighing out each charge and 100 for smooth-steady loading using a Lee 4-hole turret.

I typically do 50 or 100 of one caliber before switching out the disc to another. I rapidly went from loading one caliber to six.

I've been loading about 10 months. Pistol only.
 
"There's only one way to eat an elephant, thats one bite at a time". Need 1,000 rounds? Reload 'em one round at a time! I have used "batch loading" for quite a while now and that speeds up available hand loads. When nuttin' to do or bored with TV, I'll process some brass usually up to primed and ready to charge and seat a bullet. Sometimes I'll only size/deprime 20, sometimes I'll do 100, depending on how I feel. At this time I have about 200, 45 ACP, 300 38 cases, 200+. 357 Magnum cases and a lot of 9mm brass (a cofee can full). Plus a scattering of other calibers I reload. When the handload inventory gets low, I can just grab some primed and ready brass to stuff with powder and a bullet. Feels really fast, but If I timed it, it wouldn't be much faster than start to finish one box at a time...
 
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Capybara said:
To me, it gets boring being an ammo factory. If I shot competition, I can see the practicality of getting a Dillon and becoming an ammo factory
but the reloading part of cranking out volume, to me, gets boring. I find it's much more interesting to do what a true handloader does, refine loads, chrono,
measure, track the variables and their effect on accuracy, etc. But to each their own, that's just my reloading journey.
Click to expand...
I agree entirely. My favorite part of reloading is load development. I got the Dillon somewhat by chance and had every intention of cleaning it up and re-selling it. But after selling off a bunch of other stuff I got with it, I basically got it for free and decided to keep it for handgun ammo. I certainly have no designs on setting loading speed records with it.
 
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