How much time to reload 1000 rounds?

[HiPhi]

Hey guys, newbie question here. I'm considering getting into reloading for the cost savings, and am trying to figure out how much time it takes to load 1000 rounds. At this point I would be trying to replicate standard range ammo, not anything high precision.

I'd be reloading rifle ammo, mostly .223, .300 BLK, and .30-06 Garand. It seems like I should be able to run 1000 rounds through a Dillon 550 in about 3 hours (2 hours operating the press and an hour of setup and tear down.) This is with brass that is ready to reload (either commercial brass or prepped brass.)

My questions are:

1. Does 1000 rounds in 3 hours seem reasonable?
2. How long does it take to prep the brass?
3. How much should I expect to spend on brass prepping tools or machines?

Thanks!

 

[<*(((><]

I'm a little confused because at first you said that you were going to be using commercial or prepped brass, then below you had a question about brass prepping tools.

A lot of the time spent (especially on military crimped .223, .308, 30-06, etc) is in the brass prep. You have to clean, deprime, decrimp/swage, size, trim, chamfer and debur, which takes a considerable amount of time with equipment available to the average person.

Now if you are using commercial prepped ammunition then I would think that a 1000 rounds in 3 hours is doable once you get everything setup and a routine/assembly line going and are organized. However, with commercial brass costs you are really eating into your savings.

Brass prep is a huge time suck on reloading.

Reloading large volumes makes a lot of sense on straight walled pistol cartridges as there is a lot less prep.

 

[HiPhi]

I guess that's my question - how long would it take to prep the brass myself?

I want to work out a savings per hour. If I can save 10 cents a round, but I can only get 100 rounds ready in a hour start to finish, then that's $10 an hour. Not a great rate for my free time really.

 

[dab102999]

I see your point but this is a hobby not a business. If you want to treat it as a business then fine but do you factor in your cost of time for everything else you do? (I.e. mowing lawn, cleaning house and such) even though that is more of a chore then it is a Hobbie it is still your time.

There is still a cost savings to reloading. Not as much as it was a year or two ago but yes still a savings. It is more satisfaction of making your own ammo. But with that said you will eventually find yourself shooting more. Brass prep time is way more involved with bottleneck as apposed to straight-walled cases. I myself do not or never have trimmed myself on prep. Prep is done for me over time in front of the t.v. When I have enough cases built up I reload in quite. If money spent on reloading and factor in money for time I would suggest just keep watching for Internet deals and stock up on factory ammo.

 

[wally]

I don't think 300 rounds of rifle ammo per hour is anywhere close to reasonable without automated equipment, given the need to lube the cases for sizing and the need to trim afterwards. That'd be like 12 seconds per round.

With handguns I can get 600+ rounds per hour if someone else fills the primer tubes for me on my Dillion XL650, but filling my own primer tubes and refilling the powder measure generally makes 300/hr pretty good.

Edit:
Its also pretty essential to check for incipient case head separation on bottle neck rifle cartridges that have been fired before reloading them. I'm not aware of any automation to speed up this task.

 

[TenDriver]

If you're going to assign a dollar amount to your time spent on reloading, factory ammo is going to be cheaper.

You have a learning curve to deal with starting out. That Dillon may prove to be a major time sink just setting it up and learning about it.

I would approach this as a fun thing to do and ignore the clock.

 

[Gadawg88]

If you count your time, reloading doesn't make a lot of financial sense, of course dependent on what you think your time is worth. There are, however many other reasons that reloading does make a lot of sense for a lot of people. The cost savings should, IMHO, be considered gravy. Rifle calibers require the most time due to the case prep. I use a Lee classic turret press to load .223. I can load about 150 already prepped cases per hour, in what I consider to be a safe manner. If those 150 cases had to be trimmed and swaged to get to the loading stage, then that takes about another 45 minutes, at least. You only have to swage crimped brass once and you don't always have to trim for each loading, so factor that in. Never used a 550 so I can't say how much volume you can realistically do, but my guess is your estimates are optimistic at best.

 

[JO JO]

reloading is a great hobby not something to rush with, starting out go slow check and check again safety is your first concern, if you get in a rush mistakes can be costly
but thats me

 

[HiPhi]

Thanks guys - very good point about not rushing for safety reasons. I'm definitely feeling drawn to reloading - it looks like an interesting add-on to my shooting hobby.

I'm just have not gotten any idea on how long it takes to prep cases. Would prepping 100 cases an hour be reasonable? 50? 200?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I can't figure put how long it takes to reload rifle ammo because I have never done it from start to finish. I usually prep all my rifle brass during the winter and store it in 3lb plastic coffee cans. First they get tumbled for cleaning and put in large plastic bags. At a different time they get the main processing. (sizing, decaping, trim, clean pockets, chamfer/debur) I usually load the prepped cases during the shooting season as needed. Seating primers, throwing powder and seating bullets doesn't take all that long. Sorry I can't tell you how long it takes to prep the brass because like I said, I can't remember ever loading rifle ammo from fired case to ready to fire ammo.

I have loaded .223 ammo on a Lee Classic turret press and used the same press as a single stage for loading 30-06, 30-30 and a handful of others but never loaded rifle ammo on a progressive press.

I also consider reloading a hobby and I have not looked at how much time I take to load. When I go fishing I don't figure in how much time it took to catch the fish to see how much money that fish cost me compared to buying it in the store.

 

[JO JO]

to me case prep is like cars faster = more money keep in mind that
the crimp removal is done once then its done, if just range ammo you may not need to trim each time its not that bad make sure to take the time for case inspection,

 

[Guilty]

If you are looking to compare your dollar per hour cost, you will be disappointed. Reloading is not a hobby that is accomplished in a hurry, attention to detail doesn't have time limits.
I don't know about the specific amount of time it takes to load using a progressive press for rifle ammunition, and there are other factors such as using ball or extruded powder. Using the extruded powder might not meter well in a progressive, especially if you have to trickle the powder to achieve the correct powder weight, and then your time factor increases.
Reloading can be a time consuming process, and there is typically a cost savings, but not if you want to pay yourself a minimum wage of $10.00 per hour for your time to reload.

 

[HiPhi]

"When I go fishing I don't figure in how much time it took to catch the fish to see how much money that fish cost me compared to buying it in the store."

Fair enough! How about a rough guess on "the main processing. (sizing, decaping, trim, clean pockets, chamfer/debur)"?

 

[HiPhi]

Thanks everyone for the input.

Is case prep something I could be doing in front of the TV some evening, or is it a more focused activity?

 

[<*(((><]

Thanks guys - very good point about not rushing for safety reasons. I'm definitely feeling drawn to reloading - it looks like an interesting add-on to my shooting hobby.

I'm just have not gotten any idea on how long it takes to prep cases. Would prepping 100 cases an hour be reasonable? 50? 200?

Case prep depends a lot on equipment. But it sounds like you have the means and desire to buy the equipment to make it faster.

I can give you an idea on how long it takes me with minimal equipment. My equipment is as follows:

1. Single stage press
2. Rock Tumbler with Stainless Steel pins
3. RCBS Swager Die
4. RCBS Hand Primer
5. RCBS Manual Trimmer
6. Lee Hand Debur and Chamfer Tool

My steps are as follows (based on 100, .223/5.56 cases):

1. Deprime all cases with universal depriming tool (15-20 min)
2. Tumble cases in rock tumbler and ss media (45-60 min)
3. Oven dry cases (30 min)
4. Lube & Size cases (30 min)
5. Check and Trim Cases (time depends on how many need trimmed, ~15-20)
6. Swage (if military crimped (15-20 min)
7. Chamfer and Debur cases (20-25 min)
8. Prime Cases (15 min)

I do everything in stages when i get a bunch of brass together and I'm more efficient, very rarely do i sit down and do the steps in order start to finish. And case prep can be done with some distractions (i.e. tv, kids, etc.), the most crucial part is a visual check of the case for problems (case head separation, neck cracks, etc.)

I wouldn't recommend my way of doing things for your quantity, your fingers will get really tired running the chamfer and debur tool and case trimmer. Unless you are only doing 100-200 cases at a time and are ok with that, but it does get tedious and I'm already at the point of looking towards a powered case trimmer unit as well as a case prep center for chamfering and deburring.

 

[HiPhi]

Case prep depends a lot on equipment. But it sounds like you have the means and desire to buy the equipment to make it faster.

I can give you an idea on how long it takes me with minimal equipment. My equipment is as follows:

1. Single stage press
2. Rock Tumbler with Stainless Steel pins
3. RCBS Swager Die
4. RCBS Hand Primer
5. RCBS Manual Trimmer
6. Lee Hand Debur and Chamfer Tool

My steps are as follows (based on 100, .223/5.56 cases):

1. Deprime all cases with universal depriming tool (15-20 min)
2. Tumble cases in rock tumbler and ss media (45-60 min)
3. Oven dry cases (30 min)
4. Lube & Size cases (30 min)
5. Check and Trim Cases (time depends on how many need trimmed, ~15-20)
6. Swage (if military crimped (15-20 min)
7. Chamfer and Debur cases (20-25 min)
8. Prime Cases (15 min)

Thanks! Are those approximate times for 100 cases or so?

 

[allaroundhunter]

Thanks! Are those approximate times for 100 cases or so?

Yes, he says it is based on 100 5.56x45/.223 cases.

 

[cfullgraf]

I resize and prep cases shortly after shooting and then store them for a future reloading session. Small batches go quickly and unpleasant tasks (trimming) are short and quick.

I can resize a 100 handgun cases in less than 5 minutes on my progressive press then tumble them for cleaning.

Rifle cases takes a bit longer as they need to be lubricated first and then measured and trimmed, if necessary, after sizing. About 15-20 minutes/hundred.

Tumbling is done over night. The cases are separated from the tumbler and stored away.

For loading, on a sigle stage press, I can turn on the lights in my reloading room, load 100 rounds and turn the lights off in an hour. Rates go up a little if I do 200 rounds but that is about my limit at one sitting on a single stage.

On my progressive presses, I operate the press at about 500 rounds per hour when pulling the handle. But, there is set up time, time for fixing jams and stoppages, time to refill consumables, storing all the ammunition away, and the such. As a results, the real rate is more like 200-250 rounds per hour. for the period of lights on to lights off. This is primarily handgun ammunition.

For rifle, I have to run the press a bit slower so overall rates are slower.

In my opinion, the advertised production rates from the progressive press manufacturers is optimistic when all things are considered.

 

[jwrowland77]

I do a lot of my case prep sitting on the couch spending time with the wife while she watches her show, it makes her happy.

If you had all your brass prepped (this is what takes the longest), and you had a progressive, you could possibly knock out a few hundred rounds an hour pretty easily.

Of course though, I do all my rifle loading on a single stage, and I like to take my time. It's a hobby, and as a hobby I try to enjoy it, and not feel like I'm on a assembly line, which would take the fun out.

You will NOT save money reloading. However, you'll shoot 3-4 times more.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Thanks everyone for the input.

Is case prep something I could be doing in front of the TV some evening, or is it a more focused activity?

I can figure it out and come back and post the answer but probably not until tomorrow.

Like said above, the tools you buy will change the amount of time it takes to precess the brass. For example, you can buy a Lee Zip-Trim for ~$16 plus about $12 for the cutter and case length gage. Another choice is a Forster Case Trimmer Kit for $99 and for even more speed you can add a 3-in-1 trim head for $61 more. Little Crow Gunworks makes the WFT trimmer which doesn't need to be mounted on a trimmer and they run ~$71 each but they are cartridge specific so you need one for every cartridge you load. The fastest and of course most expensive is motorized case trimmer setup like the Giraud Case Trimmer which costs ~$440.

 

[HiPhi]

Yes, he says it is based on 100 5.56x45/.223 cases.

D'oh! I need to learn to read better. Thanks.

 

[cowtownup]

Once you start reloading it won't be about saving the time or the money.... It will be about spending the time.... For me its a place I can go and forget about everything else if not but for just a little while...

 

[HiPhi]

Thanks for the advice everyone, and for answering my questions without attitude ... I'm leaning towards taking the plunge into reloading.

Can anyone point me to a good guide for prepping brass? A step-by-step that would help me figure out what gear is needed and such?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Thanks for the advice everyone, and for answering my questions without attitude ... I'm leaning towards taking the plunge into reloading.

Can anyone point me to a good guide for prepping brass? A step-by-step that would help me figure out what gear is needed and such?

There is a ton of good information right here on the forum. Here is the link to the sticky posts "Library of Wisdom" which will help a lot.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=649184

 

[mstreddy]

OP, you've had some very good responses to your question. You do need to take the concept and process with patience and don't rush it. I'll add, that for rifle, you can't really go full progressive. At best, you can do it semi-progressively.

What I do for 223 is run a batch of brass through the sizing die on a single stage press. Measure, trim (if needed), chamfer/debur, quick tumble or wipe down. I usually process a largish batch over a couple of evenings.
A lot of 223 brass needs primer pockets swaged or reamed -- so I handle those that need it.

Next steps - I use the LNL AP and run for priming, powder and bullet seating. I can usually run around 200 or more an hour for these final steps.
Recently, I took advantage of a long weekend and loaded 800 rounds in 3 days.

You can automate some of the prep stages by investing some $$ in one of the press mounted trimmers - Dillon, Giraud, etc... But you still have to deal with lube/size/clean and primer pocket - so you are still working off press.

Last thing I'll add is: I'd suggest you don't approach the reloading with the concept of time/value as you will never be ahead in that way. Most of us here reload from a passion for the hobby, as an extension of the shooting hobby overall. It's done in our "free" time and for most it's not a race, it's a process.