What have you done in the reloading room today

Bearded Phil said:

Not the reloading room but casting related (while we're on the subject), today is the every other Friday that I swing by the tire shop on my way home from work to pick up wheel weights.

It's not to the exact day but it was right around mid February last year that I started collecting from that shop, our anniversary you could say. So i got an 18 pack of gatorades for the guys in the bays and I'm going to grab a cake of some kind from the grocery store before I get there. Just a little something extra for the dudes who are helping me build my COWW stash (even though the owner told them to ).

I'll have to do a final weigh after sorting through that bucket, but I should hit 260+lbs of COWW and then an unknown amount of stick-on weights. I haven't weighed that bucket lately as I don't get too many, it's maybe 40-50lbs worth.

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Thats the way you build a stash! I take my guys donuts as the small town where the shop is does not have a donut shop.

Just curious what % of lead weights are you getting? Mine has slowly been going down over the years. I'm probably getting 55% lead.

And to keep the thread on track, I just put another load of brass in the tumbler. Samo samo, around and around! In goes the dirty out come the shiny!

lightman said:

Thats the way you build a stash! I take my guys donuts as the small town where the shop is does not have a donut shop.

Just curious what % of lead weights are you getting? Mine has slowly been going down over the years. I'm probably getting 55% lead.

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Percentage wise I'm not sure, I'm usually happy if I get 5lbs COWW average per week (10lb in each bucket since I go every other Friday).

I've been talking with a gentleman who said he would buy zinc weights from me if I saved them so I started a zinc bucket for this pick-up. I can tell you I had a fairly above average haul of COWW this week, ended up with 13lbs 15oz. For the zinc weights I got just at 4lbs, and then whatever else was steel or random junk (tire air valves, random sockets, screwdrivers, etc.) but I didn't weigh that stuff, it just goes into the bucket with a can liner.

I think it's really going to help in the long run that this shop is still using lead based COWW for their new installations, assuming that folks that go to them are repeat customers the weights they're putting on now will come back my way someday.

Charged and seated some 223. 53 gr HM, 69 Sierra, and 88 ELD's

Might of overextended myself, put a cover on my Garmin Xero and put a sticker on the bench.

No pictures today as you have probably seen enough.........
Finished loading 500 10 mm this morning.
Going to save the other five hundred for later as I have other projects in mind.

Loaded a batch of 200 .38 Spl., 100 .44 Spl., and 100 .45 Colt with various coated bullets and AA #5.



Stay safe.

Ran myself out of prepped .223 brass with my AR Plus/62fmj load on the Six Pack Pro. Tore it down from .223 and put that stuff away, while pulling out the stuff to set it up for 9mm. Also mounted the thermal my buddy is letting me "rent" for my upcoming pig hunt on my LR308, and got the ammo out to set/check zero on the guns I'm taking on the hunt.

Prepped some 38 Special and 357 Mag brass. They had these lead plugs in the ends of the cases so I took them to the range and emptied them. Also scrounged a good supply of nickel plated 38 Special brass. I like shiny things.

Got a burr in my bonnet, so I went out and sized the rest of my waiting .308 and 6.5CM cases... about 500 in all.

Took them upstairs and checked them for length.... *sigh*... I'm going to have a bit of trimming to do.

Among the .308 cases were about 150 LC18 7.62mm cases, fired in my M1a. About 50 of those were showing signs of incipient case head separation... and so were scrapped. Some of those are only on their 2nd firing; they were bought as pull-down components, not once-fired brass. I have the worst luck with LC brass... and this lot of LC18 (500 cases) and the factory LC16 (500 rounds) will be the last LC 7.62mm I ever buy if I have any say in it. And, no, even though Winchester took over Lake City a year or two ago, I trust them less than I do Federal/ATK. I realize now that I will have to go back and probe the 300 or so ready-to-load LC18 cases already stashed. I usually don't worry about case head separations until after the 3rd firing... but some of this brass was coming out of the sizer at 2.040-2.050" ...and curiosity got the better of me and I checked a few.

Got today's pickups and rounds I shot decapt and all but the 223 washed... that always seems to take another full load found 44spl for the first time, don't own a 44....

Charlie98 said:

Got a burr in my bonnet, so I went out and sized the rest of my waiting .308 and 6.5CM cases... about 500 in all.

Took them upstairs and checked them for length.... *sigh*... I'm going to have a bit of trimming to do.

Among the .308 cases were about 150 LC18 7.62mm cases, fired in my M1a. About 50 of those were showing signs of incipient case head separation... and so were scrapped. Some of those are only on their 2nd firing; they were bought as pull-down components, not once-fired brass. I have the worst luck with LC brass... and this lot of LC18 (500 cases) and the factory LC16 (500 rounds) will be the last LC 7.62mm I ever buy if I have any say in it. And, no, even though Winchester took over Lake City a year or two ago, I trust them less than I do Federal/ATK. I realize now that I will have to go back and probe the 300 or so ready-to-load LC18 cases already stashed. I usually don't worry about case head separations until after the 3rd firing... but some of this brass was coming out of the sizer at 2.040-2.050" ...and curiosity got the better of me and I checked a few.

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That’s concerning. I have 75 or so rounds in 7.62 NATO brass loaded with 168 grain Speer match bullets. It’s mixed head stamp but I’m sure some is LC. Most is once fired from a Savage bolt gun I scrounged from my range neighbor a while back. 110+ cases of factory 7.62 all shot from the same rifle while I was there. Hopefully it won’t be a problem.

Cleaned a bunch of range pickups. Loaded a good bit of .45 ACP and 7.62x39. Good use of a snow day

AJC1 said:

don't own a 44....

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You know what to do.

anothernewb said:

This is a different take.
My buddy came over to load some 9mm, and we opened the bottle of JW blue he got me for christmas.

I understand why people pay that kind of money now.

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Makes the man cave more fun

I got back from the range so I cleaned guns & sorted brass. Then I started processing the brass to get it ready to reload.
I was processing 6.5 CM, 7.62x54r, 7.62x39 & some .308 that I picked up from the range that someone left lay.

Walkalong said:

Nice!

Here's where I charge cases. A similar setup, but I seat across the room on the reloading bench.
View attachment 1192812
View attachment 1192813

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Looks like a Quest Diagnostics lab.

After the funeral yesterday, I did get out to do a little bit of shooting. I ran my true blue ladder through my dad‘s 1911. It looks like right about 7 to 7.2 grains is going to be perfect. It’s dirty before that and, surprisingly, Primer start to look a little odd after that. It was first time fired Starline brass. And I recovered all of it. I also manufactured some more 9 mm brass by shooting up a few factory loads that I had. My gun doesn’t like them at all! So I contented myself with hitting a 12 inch round steel plate at 40 yards. I missed twice out of 27 times… obligatory spent brass picture. Now I know what’s on the agenda for tomorrow night… Church stuff today…

Made a batch of 50/95 rounds, primed 45/60 rounds and loaded the 1st of many test loads in 45/60. Ran out of day.

DMW1116 said:

That’s concerning. I have 75 or so rounds in 7.62 NATO brass loaded with 168 grain Speer match bullets. It’s mixed head stamp but I’m sure some is LC. Most is once fired from a Savage bolt gun I scrounged from my range neighbor a while back. 110+ cases of factory 7.62 all shot from the same rifle while I was there. Hopefully it won’t be a problem.

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Generally speaking, LC is decent brass, but when fired in a semi-auto (or full-auto, if you have that luxury...) the violent ejection cycle tends to stretch the brass. Some rifles are 'better' at it than others, but, again, generally speaking, you should probe semi-auto fired 7.62mm/.308 brass after firing. I do not probe my .308 brass fired in my Savage bolt gun, that brass will likely succumb to cracked necks or body before ever stretching enough to form a separation ring. This is one of the reasons why I have dedicated brass for the M1a only. As an aside, my other primary brass source for my M1a is Prvi brass; I don't have the stretching problems using that brass... some of it is on it's 4th loading, and it just keeps on keeping on.

Also, be aware that LC, and most NATO marked military brass, has less case capacity than most commercial brass... so prudence would dictate caution when approaching max load data using mixed brass that includes military brass.

As an example of what I'm looking for...

This is an LC case showing signs of stretching... the thinning of the brass just ahead of the case head...




...which will eventually turn into this...

Most of my 7.62 brass is IMI or GGG. However I know there is some LC in there. I have a different load for 7.62 brass using the Speer match bullets and IMR 4064, at least until I run out of the IMR.

Loaded exactly 1round.
I dropped the wrong die on a 338 Lapua case and messed it up.
I loaded it with 81gr of H1000 and I am going to fire form it to see if it will bounce back.
I’m at the range now.
Wish me luck.


It’s the case in the middle. You can see it where the shoulder meets the neck.

DMW1116 said:

Most of my 7.62 brass is IMI or GGG. However I know there is some LC in there. I have a different load for 7.62 brass using the Speer match bullets and IMR 4064, at least until I run out of the IMR.

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That's my general approach. I have my NATO brass (and the Prvi (nny), which isn't NATO...) for the M1a. I have my single lot of RP brass, and one small lot of PMC (commercial) brass for the Savage 10TAC. I have everything else (FC, Hornady, CBC, PPU, etc) segregated for the Savage 99F lever-action... and only because I load mid-range cast loads for the 99, where case volume differences matter little.

thump_rrr said:

I loaded it with 81gr of H1000 and I am going to fire form it to see if it will bounce back.

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Oh.... I have NO doubt 81grn of H1000 will 'bounce' that shoulder back!

thump_rrr said:

dropped the wrong die on a 338 Lapua case and messed it up.

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BTDT… of course, it can never be some dime-a-dozen cartridge range pick up brass…