What am I doing wrong? re: loading cyle

[smogmage]

I'm still new to reloading in some ways and other ways I'm not. I took the plunge about two years ago and went straight to a Dillon XL650. I've loaded thousands of 9mm and hundreds of .223 and .308. While I've never had a problem attaining the consistency, velocity or precision I desired; I always have this nagging feeling I could be doing a lot less work for the same reward. I require large volumes of rounds and a lot of is precision rifle ammo. As you might imagine precision and a progressive press don't necessarily go hand in hand. I tend to use the press as a single stage when not using it for 9mm.

With that said here is my method of reloading, What I'm looking for is steps I don't need to do for every reload.

1x fired from factory ammo
a. Tumble clean
b. Lube and full length size
c. Tumble clean lube off
d. Trim to length
e. Clean Flash hole
f. Prime
g. Powder
h. Bullet

and If I'm being really picky, I'll sort brass by weight and bullets are all sorted to tenths of a grain.

So I guess my questions would be,

Do I really need to full length size every shot?
Do I need to trim each time if I don't end up full length sizing?
What sort of case life can I expect repeating my process as listed?

 

[cfullgraf]

So I guess my questions would be,

Do I really need to full length size every shot?
Do I need to trim each time if I don't end up full length sizing?
What sort of case life can I expect repeating my process as listed?

You need to do some resizing every time you load the case. If your rifle is a bolt rifle, you can just neck size but at some point you will need to full length resize.

If your rifle is a semi-auto, pump or lever action, you will need to full length size every time.

I measure my cases after every resizing, those too long get trimmed. Some folks trim every time. Some folks have success with an RCBS X-die and trim very little.

Case life depends. My ARs get case life in the 4-6 range, bolt rifles longer. I use cases until they are not serviceable any more.

For more precision shooting, folks may discard cases sooner.

Even with my progressive and even with hand gun cases, I like to clean cases between resizing and reloading. Since I break up the process, I even hand prime the cases before loading. Many folks think that is dumb but it works for me. I still make more ammunition than I can shoot. Just another data point for you to consider.

Hope this helps.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

^^
Plus 1 to what Cfullgraf said. I make me wonder though why you are using an auto progressive press single stage style when a single stage press will load rifle shells with much less deflection in the shell plate and much more precision due to design.
To me loading precision rifle rounds single stage style on an auto progressive negates the entire precision process.

I know we all shoot the way we shoot for our own reasons but this practice of using a AP for single stage style escapes logic for me unless it's the only press you own.

I don't mean any dis-respect, and I probably don't understand your situation but it doesn't sound right to me.

 

[smogmage]

Yes, it is the only press I have right now. Space is limited so adding another single stage while attractive, isn't doable for the time being. I do the best I can with what I have by keeping the shell plate tight and I manage to hold 1/2" or less groups.

Thanks for the input so far.

 

[Lee S. Forsberg]

Your holding 1/2" groups with your method of reloading? What's wrong with that? Is that good enough for what your doing? If that is your goal and your happy with it then keep doing what your doing. Hard to argue with success. Maybe a good single stage press would be a good thing to have happen when it can happen.

 

[smogmage]

Yes its certainly good enough and what I would expect from a custom GA Precision rifle; its guaranteed to hold 3/8".

My questions were more geared toward the overall process and finding any efficiencies if at all possible to reduce the workload.

I'm likely looking at either a Dillon case trimmer attachment for .223, or just a better/ more efficent trimmer than what I have currently. My rcbs trimmer is nothing but a hassle to work with. The cutting head is on the same side as the trim length adjustment, which is coarse, hard to fine tune. The set screw holding it in position is totally inadequate, prone to sliding on the trim bar and giving inconsistent cuts. The case holder is also prone to "walking" loose after awhile and needs to be watched.

 

[Sam1911]

One suggestion I do have is that you could always run a careful test as follows:

1) Run off a batch of 50-100 rounds as you normally do.
2) Run off the same number of rounds using the exact same components, but running the press as a full progressive.
3) Shoot the ammo using very careful testing and recording practices and determine exactly how much precision you're giving up if you use the progressive in its automatic capacity. You may find that what you lose is an average of 1/4" or 1/2" in bigger group size, and that may not be significant in your type of competition.

We've become very obsessive about precision in the last couple of decades, and it's fantastic to have the ability to do so, but if your time spent in extra work doesn't turn into results that you really need, efficiency may be the better path.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Heck,
Wouldn't it be something if he actually gained accuracy from having a more balanced load on his shell plate in full progressive auto mode then over running them through the press one at a time?

Curious.

 

[Sam1911]

It is entirely possible. I wouldn't put money on it, but the thought crossed my mind.

 

[Lee S. Forsberg]

Maybe consider going to a Wilson case trimmer? They are accurate but a bit slow.

 

[smogmage]

Well the issue and reason I have to use the press as a single stage when loading .308 is I'm using an extruded powder that doesn't feed well due to the powder measure design. I use Pro 2000 MR powder for .223 which is a ball powder and have since used the press in its full progressive capacity for .223. The powder measure only varies by .1 of a grain, so I'm not giving up much accuracy.

I'm clearly looking at my trimming set up as the majority of my time sink, and mostly wasted time fighting the rcbs trimmer. Dillon requires two different motors for the calibers I'd use. Wilson seems to be the most accurate and cost effective, while the Giraud is likely the fastest of all as it includes a chamfer and debur.

 

[smogmage]

...

 

[Brno]

Smogmage - if you haven't already, you might want to check out the WFT - World's Fastest Trimmer - at Little Crow Gun Works, LLC. Website: www.littlecrowgunworks.com

It's quite the tool. Powered by your cordless drill, once set to your case's OAL, it trims a piece of brass in 1-2 seconds - zzzzzzzt! done, zzzzzzzt! done. zzzzzzzt! done etc. Fast, precise, repeatable. It'll change your life. Check it out.