I’ve gotten together some pictures of an old Belding and Mull hand loading setup that I inherited from my great uncle in 1967. I don’t know the total history behind it, other than uncle Howard was a handloading and shooting enthusiast in his younger years. When I knew him he no longer was active in those hobbies, but often reminisced with my dad and me. There were 2 1930’s vintage manuals included with the equipment so I assume that era is when it was purchased.
Belding and Mull is located in Philipsburg PA and was founded in 1916. They manufactured their own powder measures, bullet molds, dies and other reloading equipment as well as publishing loading manuals. They also made some of the first target and hunting scopes. The business continues to exist in the form of a gun store in Philipsburg and they still sell parts for their venerable B&M visible powder measure. To my knowledge they do not deal in any of their other products.
I started loading 30-06 hunting ammo with the equipment soon after I acquired it, and was able to buy dies for .308 and 25-35 from Belding and Mull in the late 60’s. The setup is pretty easy to use. I bolted the press to a piece of plywood which I C-clamped to a bench. The press can only neck size, and depriming is a separate step. You prime on the press and it has depth adjustment for that purpose. I would clamp the plywood in a vise to orient the press vertically for bullet seating. I produced very serviceable hunting ammo for myself and my dad until 1986, when I acquired a Rockchucker which I use to this day.
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Belding and Mull press. As you can see I have it clamped vertically into a vise. It was designed to be used horizontally. When I use it that way I C-clamp the board it is mounted on to my bench. It is set up now for depriming and priming. The “shellholder” is for 0.473 rimless casings (30-06/.308 family)
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Depriming a 30-06 case.
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Neck sizing dies. L-R .223, .257, .3075.
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Seating dies. L-R 22 Hornet, 30-30, .308, 30-06. There is no provision for crimping with these dies. I set up the press vertically when seating so as to not spill powder.
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25-35 Win. seating die assembly. Whack-a-mole style is necessary to crimp for tubular mag.
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Extra shell holders. L-R 22 Hornet, 30-30.
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Anybody know what this is for? The brass disk on left side is about the size of a penny. It came with the equipment.
Laphroaig
Belding and Mull is located in Philipsburg PA and was founded in 1916. They manufactured their own powder measures, bullet molds, dies and other reloading equipment as well as publishing loading manuals. They also made some of the first target and hunting scopes. The business continues to exist in the form of a gun store in Philipsburg and they still sell parts for their venerable B&M visible powder measure. To my knowledge they do not deal in any of their other products.
I started loading 30-06 hunting ammo with the equipment soon after I acquired it, and was able to buy dies for .308 and 25-35 from Belding and Mull in the late 60’s. The setup is pretty easy to use. I bolted the press to a piece of plywood which I C-clamped to a bench. The press can only neck size, and depriming is a separate step. You prime on the press and it has depth adjustment for that purpose. I would clamp the plywood in a vise to orient the press vertically for bullet seating. I produced very serviceable hunting ammo for myself and my dad until 1986, when I acquired a Rockchucker which I use to this day.
Belding and Mull press. As you can see I have it clamped vertically into a vise. It was designed to be used horizontally. When I use it that way I C-clamp the board it is mounted on to my bench. It is set up now for depriming and priming. The “shellholder” is for 0.473 rimless casings (30-06/.308 family)
Depriming a 30-06 case.
Neck sizing dies. L-R .223, .257, .3075.
Seating dies. L-R 22 Hornet, 30-30, .308, 30-06. There is no provision for crimping with these dies. I set up the press vertically when seating so as to not spill powder.
25-35 Win. seating die assembly. Whack-a-mole style is necessary to crimp for tubular mag.
Extra shell holders. L-R 22 Hornet, 30-30.
Anybody know what this is for? The brass disk on left side is about the size of a penny. It came with the equipment.
Laphroaig
It was shortly after that I started reloading with basic Lee gear. The rest is history (in a very small way).
