Who says a progressive doesn't make accurate ammo

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BushMaster-15

BushMaster-15

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Who says a progressive doesn't make accurate ammo ?. Seems Mine does and with #26 + year old shells and print well apparently :)
I reloaded for some friends over the decades and a couple had .222 triple deuces ,I didn't but had Dies and such for reloading that caliber . I had to be extra careful as I had .223 aka 5.56x45mm and mix ups aren't welcome . So anyway I ended up with a model 722 Remington in 1996 ,had NO ammo so loaded a box #20 rounds ,used #12 to function test the Rifle and the last #8 this AM
Old Guy Old Rifle Old Ammunition :D What's Not to like :eek: Off sand bags 165 yd. under #5 minutes and the barrel wasn't even warm :cool:
 

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Walkalong said:
I've never said that, of course they can make bad ammo too, it just depends on the driver.
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This ^^^
What works for you works. We’re all good right there.

I’m good with what works for me, too. We can have whirled peas all day as long as no puffy chest strutting Jack wagon tries to tell me I have to stop doing what works for me and start doing what works for them. Then they go to the top of my ignore list.
 
Any kind of pistol, or general duty small rifle ammo-
Progressive is hands down the way to go. Break down the technical measurements (charge weight, OAL, Crimp, etc.) And I find a progressive just as good as a single stage- but about 10x quicker. Period.
I like the time I spend pulling on a lever more than just about anything else......but I like to spend 30 minutes at a time and usually like to yield 100 rounds in that time.
 
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Well You all can imagine , Nobody was blown away more so than I was this AM !. I haven't seen let alone shot this Rifle in over #26 years and had Never shot it on a target before this morning . Had #8 cartridges left in the original box ,so NO fouler Nothing ,just cold #4 into each target . Here's what absolutely Shocked the B Geezus out of ME , I ONLY remember laser bore sighting the scope and Never put it on a target . Shot #12 rounds in and old Orange grove ,just to be sure ALL worked as it should and that was it . Fast forward 26+ years and this prints out :eek: The barrel was barely warm after #8 rounds in under 5 minutes , can't do that with MY AR's !.
One shops collects builds ,becomes busy with work plays with other toys ,call it what you will . I had .223 ,5.56x45mm small caliber AR's and Bolt Rifles back then didn't even own a triple deuce but loaded for it ,because of a couple of friends who did own them .
Story short ; I SHOULD have taken it seriously and actually done some loading and experimenting , as in more than one load which worked for My Friends gun :) You live You Learn and IF you get old enough YOU WIN :D
 
BushMaster-15 said:
Who says a progressive doesn't make accurate ammo ?. Seems Mine does and with #26 + year old shells and print well apparently :)
I reloaded for some friends over the decades and a couple had .222 triple deuces ,I didn't but had Dies and such for reloading that caliber . I had to be extra careful as I had .223 aka 5.56x45mm and mix ups aren't welcome . So anyway I ended up with a model 722 Remington in 1996 ,had NO ammo so loaded a box #20 rounds ,used #12 to function test the Rifle and the last #8 this AM
Old Guy Old Rifle Old Ammunition :D What's Not to like :eek: Off sand bags 165 yd. under #5 minutes and the barrel wasn't even warm :cool:
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It has everything to do with the knowledge and skill of the operator. Even a great press can make terrible ammo if no skill is involved.
 
When I started reloading a 57 years ago I developed a deep mistrust of the early mechanical powder dispensers. They were not all that accurate. Only good for trickling up measuring. When I bought my Dillon 550 I'll bet I checked at least the first 1000 throws with a beam scale and was amazed on how accurate it is. Mechanical dispensers have come a long way in 57 years. The 550 is used for pistol reloading. For rifle I still reload on a turret and use a dispenser and the trickle up method. Just because that's the way I like to reload rifle.
 
My S&W 1500 in 222 Rem shot keyholes at 25 yards with 55 gr BTHP and several 8# jugs of H322. It is now a 223 Rem with SS 26" barrel and Dillon 450 ammo. 10K + killed prairie dogs can't all be wrong.
 
I have an RCBS "Piggyback" progressive attachment that mounts to the top of my RCBS Rock Chucker. I used it for a year or so in the mid 90s. I was reloading 357 mag and it somehow overcharged ONE of my cartridges. The cart seized to the inside of the revolver I was shooting at the time. That ended progressive for me, back then.

Now that I'm getting my bench back up and running, I will definitely do some progressive loading as well, this time with a powder checker, to make sure things do not get out of hand.

I really do prefer single stage reloading, but from what I remember, the progressive I have did a good job (other than that one overcharged load) in consistency and accuracy.
 
When I started (at the age of 13) reloading 24 rounds for my Blackhawk in one sitting was a lot. That was the combined brass from probably 2 or 3 trips to the hunting woods plus a range trip. When I got a car the range trips were less often. I had work and school taking up my time. A box of bullets and a pound of powder lasted me through high school with powder to spare. After I got out of the service I started hunting and shooting more and that lead to reloading more but still it was pretty rare for me to reload a whole box of ammo in a month. To say I’ve always been a low volume reloader is an understatement.

Progressive press? Why? ;)
 
I say they won't with exceptions

If you load in a traditional manner where you resize/deprive cases, expand case mouth, charge powder, seat bullet, and finally crimp bullet. You have made blasting ammo and I guarantee your oal of 1000 cartridges will be anywhere on variance of 0-.010 inch.

Remove the sizing die from loading set up and I will guarantee your oal will be within .001 to .002 inch.

The type and quality of dies you use will also play a role.

How much movement is in your press and the repeatability of said movement is another factor.

Progressive presses can manufacture precision match ammo however there are variables you must understand before hand.
 
Milt1 said:
Bushmaster-15, what powder did you use for your .222?
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BLC-2 it's pretty much MY .224 stable base powder . Now don't misunderstand Powder I HAVE and H335 4895 4064 along with others including Varget ( which I've yet to open ) Powder I'll NEVER run out of .
 
KY DAN said:
I say they won't with exceptions

If you load in a traditional manner where you resize/deprive cases, expand case mouth, charge powder, seat bullet, and finally crimp bullet. You have made blasting ammo and I guarantee your oal of 1000 cartridges will be anywhere on variance of 0-.010 inch.

Remove the sizing die from loading set up and I will guarantee your oal will be within .001 to .002 inch.

The type and quality of dies you use will also play a role.

How much movement is in your press and the repeatability of said movement is another factor.

Progressive presses can manufacture precision match ammo however there are variables you must understand before hand.
Click to expand...


Can't speak for others on how they use their presses but for ME well : I take fired cases from specific chambers ( Rifle Cartridges ) they're dropped in specific boxes . I wipe cases before sending them into a universal de-priming Die ,depending upon case dirtiness ,I'll use the Ultrasonic or just mark their box for annealing . AS ALL OF MY Dies are locked down onto toolheads and Presses Ram stroke NEVER changes I get very consistent Shoulder set back and known case resizing . One or a K , might vary .001 - 02 . After which I check with case gauge or chambering in specific Rifle . Now when I measure cases for OAL AFTER sizing ,I'll run them on the mini lathe quick collet ,with tail stock preset stop ,which has a pilot caliber . Makes quick work of trimming pretty precisely . Then after that onto the progressive's full function , Prime charge bell seat crimp while hand feeding the 550 . After using MY special wiping rag ,I've go Finished ammo . Now IF I'm making jewelry ammo or very precise ammo after de-priming I'll run Ultrasonic 2-3 min. Max . then annealing followed by 20-30 min. pin wash . I then toss em in the old belt driven Dillon media hopper with drying fan and they tumble dry . followed by above . Certain cases mostly pistol I'll dry vibrate to clean . MY entire setup is to MAXIMIZE CLEANING AND POLISHING EFFICIENCY ,so as to cut reloading time to a minimum . When I was working TIME WASN'T MY Friend and with the amount of reloads I produced over #5 decades ,sleep was a premium . For a # of years I reloaded near 3K rounds a Month ,Hence WHY I bought Pallets of Primers . That did NOT include # 1 K- 1500 Shotshells a week for Trap and Sporting clays practice . As I competed in Both Shotgun and High power Rifle competitions and actually won a # of them .

I had the Good fortune to be instructed by some of the Top Shooters back in the day . Dry fire all you want but there is NO substitute for Trigger time live fire ; IMO .

A day of reckoning all the prep work sore shoulders TIME MONEY SPENT FINALLY PAID OFF ; One afternoon at a prestigious Central Calf. Shooting Club ; I WON a Huge 2 day competition and beat the reining Worlds champ Trap shooter and Sporting clays Champion back then ( the latter MY Friend and instructor ) . The prize money Shotgun and other prizes didn't swell My head or even really matter , I had FINALLY HAD BEATEN MY Former Instructor . It also opened several opportunities which would never of come about and the people I met and introduced too truly PRICELESS . Life long Friendships Trips invitations
Can't explain that feeling ,it just is a milestone mark of equalization among SHOOTERS a vindication of peers an acceptance all into one . Ammunition sponsors want you to represent THEIR Products ,FREE AMMO .
Unfortunately MY involvement with WORK had escalated to the point , I couldn't pursue shooting much less other pursuits to the level I'd once dreamed of . Regrets NO , Aerospace is where I BELONGED . Now wondering what if ?. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT :D
 
Milt1 said:
Thanks!
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It was a simple 20.0 gr. .222 with BLC-2 load which is way under powered but appears accurate . Now I have #20 empty cases ,Ill load another batch and up the charge ,so as to see POI change if any .
Won't happen until I finish loading fodder for My M1's as it's a PITA LRP to SRP change ,when I've got #100's of .308 to do also . So After I finish .30 cal stuff ,I'll switch back as I've got hundreds of .223 to do also .
A reloaders tasks are NEVER FINISHED :)
 
BushMaster-15 said:
It was a simple 20.0 gr. .222 with BLC-2 load which is way under powered but appears accurate . Now I have #20 empty cases ,Ill load another batch and up the charge ,so as to see POI change if any .
Won't happen until I finish loading fodder for My M1's as it's a PITA LRP to SRP change ,when I've got #100's of .308 to do also . So After I finish .30 cal stuff ,I'll switch back as I've got hundreds of .223 to do also .
A reloaders tasks are NEVER FINISHED :)
Click to expand...
They are when every piece of brass you have is loaded. The lockdown gave most of us plenty of time in the loading room.
 
The large primer / small primer switch is a piece of cake. Small primer is the Dillon 450 (bought new in 1982) with lock rings preset on dies and powder die measurement recorded. Large primer Dillon 550 (bought used for $250 and worth every penny) with 2 tool heads, 45 ACP and 44 Mag. In a pinch the RockChucker is C-clamped in the middle. I use the RCBS bench mounted primer tool when needed.
 
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