Inexpensive Bullet Feeding on Turret or Progressive Press

[john16443]

It isn't $28 and doesn't extend to the roof of the garage, but here's what I think is a great value option for any press that takes standard size dies.

RCBS has new bullet feeding dies that are shown on page 3 of their 2012 catalog (www.rcbs.com). They are caliber specific, and include tubes for bullet feeding ala the $28 feeder or the Lee style. Good news is that they supposedly work with all bullet types and styles, and there are no separate fingers and such required. I've purchased a set for 9mm and 45ACP to use on my Hornady LNL with extra tube sets, all under $100 for both calibers. We'll see how it works next week when UPS delivers.

 

[kingmt]

I thought you said inexpensive.

 

[1KPerDay]

Sounds cool, john. May speed up the turret significantly. Grabbing/orienting/placing a bullet is the most time-consuming part of the process for me.

Let us know how it works out

 

[Jeff H]

Interesting, but if it only holds 20-25 bullets and has to be loaded by hand (one by one), I think that its uses will be very limited. By the time you load all the tubes individually, you probably haven't saved much time vs. placing the bullet by hand.

 

[kingmt]

To me even if it only held 5 it would be faster for me to drop a bullet though a tube then to stop the press to balance it on top of a case. I was thinking about cutting mine down to about 5 or 6 so I could just reach up & drop a hand full in instead of having to take the tube off or stand up.

 

[GW Staar]

Interesting, but if it only holds 20-25 bullets and has to be loaded by hand (one by one), I think that its uses will be very limited. By the time you load all the tubes individually, you probably haven't saved much time vs. placing the bullet by hand.

You are not accounting for the fact that tube loading can be a multitasking event. Seems to me to be good activity for my hands while I watch NCSI on TV. Bet I can load 500 or so into tubes and not even miss one scene. Then when it's time to meander back to the reloading room to load, I don't have to load bullets....at all.

I have a Hornady Bullet Feeder with collator. I have to say, that even though changing calibers on it is quick and easy (especially compared to a case feeder) and dropping bullets from it into tubes is pretty fast, having 500 already loaded in 20 tubes (during a NCSI sit com) is faster still. I'd buy extra tubes from Linens & Things tho.....RCBS's get pricey.

 

[john16443]

There are multiple tubes provided with each die, so you're looking at 50 9mm, maybe 40 45ACP. I also bought extra tubes for $11 per pair.

I may yet get creative and figure out a way to mount the Lee Loadmaster case feeder tube thingy to this die and use it for bullets. That way you can fill 4 tubes and rotate them as they empty. As you'l limited to 100 primers (+/-), these 4 tubes with 100 bullets should do the trick. I should be getting the RCBS dies next week and let you know how they work out.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I use tubes to feed the bullet feeder on my Star Lubrisizer, and those have to be filled by hand. I do this while I watch TV, preferably NCIS, so Ziva can help.....

It gives me a chance to inspect the bullets before sizing. I may just look into the RCBS bullet feed die, if it will work on cast bullets. As I get older, it's harder on the hands to feed bullets into the progressive one at a time.

Fred

 

[dickttx]

I like kingmt's idea. Even dropping them in one at a time would be faster than fumbling them into the case. The placing of the bullet is definitely the slowest thing about using my LCT.

 

[jmorris]

I did the tube thing for a while, a collator is worth it.

 

[Jeff H]

You are not accounting for the fact that tube loading can be a multitasking event. Seems to me to be good activity for my hands while I watch NCSI on TV. Bet I can load 500 or so into tubes and not even miss one scene. Then when it's time to meander back to the reloading room to load, I don't have to load bullets....at all.

They are cheap enough to buy one just to try it. I might just get one to test it out. You guys might be right. I can cruise on the LCT at about 180-200 RPH. If I can increase this production, it is probably worth the cost.

 

[meleors]

Uh, before you get all excited. Looks to me that RCBS is selling their standard bullet feed die with the caliber specific plastic fingers pre-installed. They include a couple tubes for loading.
Will have same issues as before, fingers wearing, etc.

 

[mongoose33]

I'm a bit surprised at the "Balance the bullet on top of the case" thing. Mine have the casemouth expanded, so there's no balancing.

I looked at these things and considering I can pick up a bullet with my left hand as I pull the handle, grab a case with that same hand, then as I bring it back put the case in the slot and position the bullet--it's hard to see any time savings for me.

But I'll watch this with interest--if it's a significant improvement might be worth a look.

 

[ReloaderFred]

For me it's not about time savings, it's about aching joints. I normally load in batches of a thousand, so when my aching left hand wakes me up in the middle of the night, I know it's time to look for a better method that will fit the budget.

Hope this helps.

Fred