What clever little things have you "invented or discovered" that you can share?

I made snap caps by reloading a spent case minus powder and primer. I inserted a chunk of pencil eraser into the primer pocket. Works well for misfire drills during my range time. I just toss a couple into the mix while loading my magazines....
 
I made snap caps by reloading a spent case minus powder and primer. I inserted a chunk of pencil eraser into the primer pocket. Works well for misfire drills during my range time. I just toss a couple into the mix while loading my magazines....
I do the same thing, but use red hi temp RTV sealant in the primer pocket instead of a pencil eraser. Also have the bullet itself red powdercoated.
 
great idea- I used the pencil eraser only because I happened to have one on my reloading bench at the time.... Thanks for the idea
 
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Well, Picked up a hornady hand primer today. I like it, feels very solid. DOESN"T like lee shell holders. too bad since thats all I have. Using the RCBS tray, its still too tight and the primer punch gets all sorts of stuck.

15 seconds with my drill (about 900 rpms) and this 080596009526lg.jpg andno more too tight primer holes in my shell holders. Perfect fit now.
 
Decided to mount some brackets to the bench to hold akro bins in front of my Lee Classic Turret press. It really helps speed things up when I am decapping my brass.

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Using a finger to just flick the decapped round out and into the front bin, I was able to speed up the decapping process significantly.
 
I use a Hornady LnL progressive press, and a Lee Classic Cast. The Classic Cast can use an insert which then allows reloading dies with the LnL bushing to be used in that single stage press. I like the LnL bushing system.

Every time I go to Cabelas I look for bushings; there is a package that contains six (6) bushings plus an insert, for $19.99. I look at the other package which contains ten (10) bushings for $44.99, and wonder who is buying that when they can get six for less than half price.

Each time, of course, I have an orphan bushing insert. I have been puzzling on those inserts as they seem like they should be useful, but for what?

Finally, it dawned on me. I'm always swapping reloading dies, laying them on the bench, a shelf, wherever. They want to roll, and it's not an effective organizing system.

So I went looking for something that would accept the inserts and guess what? You can buy couplers at the local home store (mine is Menards) which have the same threads as the press.

You can see below what I do with them. Originally I wanted to mount them in a board that I would suspend from a shelf, but it turns out the couplers work just fine on the bench.

LnLinserts.jpg

There are two tips here: one is to use the inserts for a use such as this; the other is that you can get the bushings cheaper if you buy them this way. There are a lot of those kits that show 3 bushings and the insert for $10.99 or so, but the Cabelas kit has 6 bushings and the insert for 19.99.
 
I bought one of those 24 hour timers for lamps. I set my case cleaner up for how long I want it to run and walk away from it until morning.
 
Every time I go to Cabelas I look for bushings; there is a package that contains six (6) bushings plus an insert, for $19.99. I look at the other package which contains ten (10) bushings for $44.99, and wonder who is buying that when they can get six for less than half price.

That's Common Core Math in packaging
 
Homemade reloading die - made from scrap

This is a reloading die I made out of scrap over this week end. It's a plug expander die in .308. In the interest of increased accuracy I'm moving away from the traditional ball expanders where the case is squeezed down, then the expander dragged up through the neck to expand it out to the correct size.



This plug type of die allows you to resize the case without the expander ball, then expand from the top to the exact dimensions you prefer to give your desired neck tension.



I know you can buy "off the peg" expander plugs and I know it adds a couple of stages to the reloading process but it keeps me amused.

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and a video of the how I made it here:

https://www.youtube....h?v=MTW20NzZ-OA
 
Homemade Primer Catcher

It was time to buy a new press so I got Redding's "The Boss" press on sale form Midsouth. I still had my ancient Lyman Spartan press so I'm leaving it setup with a Lee universal decapper die. Problem was the Spartan was a hand-me-down from the 70's and no spent primer catcher and a bucket below was hit or miss, mostly miss! So I made one.

I cut out the bottom U shape from thick cardboard, about 3/16", and I had to use aviation snips to cut it out. Scissors or a razor blade was a fail. My wife had this stuff and I think it's used as marker or illustration board. The sides of my catcher are thin, very flexible plastic attached with white duct tape.

The bottom U shape was left longer to tuck into a gap below the plywood top and duct tape was used to pinch together the inner plastic sides across the top of the ram area for additional support to hold the catcher in place and eliminate the gaps in that area. Needless to say it keeps the main press clean. Works great too.
 

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Decided to mount some brackets to the bench to hold akro bins in front of my Lee Classic Turret press. It really helps speed things up when I am decapping my brass.

image_zpsgej1qcbt.jpg

image_zpsbqgwdrr5.jpg

Using a finger to just flick the decapped round out and into the front bin, I was able to speed up the decapping process significantly.
Copy cat!! :) I've done exactly the same thing (used plastic bin holders though)!! Extremely helpful...

Great thread folks, thanks all for sharing!!
 
Maybe already mentioned but today I placed a die lock ring on my Hornady case activated powder measure today to make adjusting it easier. It's about 1000% easier now to change height. I'm super happy with this discovery.
 

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I use different colored Sharpie pens to mark the primer on some loads to differentiate them from others. And recently, they have come out with a bunch of additional colors. It is a great to use during load development because it eliminates the possibility of getting loads mixed up with each other in the same box. Also, when you deprime, the marking is gone :D
You can also use fingernail polish on the case head to leave a colored ring around the primer to distinguish cases. This also seals the primer against "attack" from moisture, oils and solvents.
 
How many times have you broke one? I`ve done it so many time it will make your head spin,Most of the time it`s a small rock in the case from the range, or a 22lr brass in the case? in any event they never break at a good time or you don`t have a replacement,So for the passed 20 years i`ve been using finishing nails?After installing it i simply snip off the point and get back to work,I have one in my 357 sizing decapping die thats been there for 10 years now,Thats big jon tip for the day,
I use a Lee decapping die.

It is designed so that the decapping assembly moves out of the way of a significant obstruction rather than breaking the pin or bending the spindle.

Most of the rest of my dies are RCBS and I have just removed the decapping pins from them and proceed as usual.
 
Decided to mount some brackets to the bench to hold akro bins in front of my Lee Classic Turret press. It really helps speed things up when I am decapping my brass.

Simply brilliant Toprudder. I'm in awe....and searching my scrap for brackets.
 
This is a great little upgrade for LnL AP press too. Replaced the big Allen screw with a long set screw that I locktited in place. That way I can actually tighten down the shell plate with an Allen key and a wrench.
 

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Reloading 22 Rimfire

There a lot of things that I have had to come up with since I have been reloading 22 rimfire. Especially because it is such a different process, practically none of the techniques for reloading centerfire can be directly adapted to rimfire. But there are some things that people would probably like to know about. I don't know if others have come up with it or not. I have only been reloading now for 6 weeks. I quit shooting over 30 years ago and just started shooting 22 again about 2 1/2 months ago. Here goes:
I was color coding my bullets to differentiate loads. I discovered that the color from the marker came off on the target, making a little halo of color around the hole. Kind of like those hi vis targets but not as pronounced (gotta use plain white paper to see it) I print my own targets from regular paper so it's no problem. This is a good way to make sure you know which round makes which hole. I learned a lot of things specific to reloading 22lr. One thing that might be interesting to black powder guys is knurling. I'm sure others have done this but, I learned to roll the slug between two identical files to put a knurl in it to hold lube and help the seal in the barrel.
 
Easy/cheap brass catcher

Several have posted their homemade brass catchers and I've spent some disappointing hours searching for PVC and netting and trying to produce and plagarize the perfect easy-to-move-and-use brass catcher.

But then I got smarter. This one cost $22.50 sans tax, takes about 30 seconds to place up and take down, and works perfectly:

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Ingredients: One Berkley spiral fishing rod holder from Dick's ($2.49), and one H2O Express ultralight extendable kayak net from Academy Sports ($19.99). As you can see, the spiral rod holder sticks in the ground and holds the kayak net upright. The net is perfect, 100% polyester and very small mesh and opens as a "triangle" to about 18 inches wide at the top. It can be angled inwards towards your gun like the 2nd picture above to catch those almost straight up cases. It all folds down into a 28" long two-piece packet that weighs practically nothing like below:

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The only problem I've had is that the net extends to 65 inches tall, which was fine to catch the brass when I was on level ground, but when I shoot downhill (there's a slope to my range at home), it's a little shorter than I hold the firearm, so these pictures were taken before I added a 12" extender of 1/2" diameter copper tubing which fits inside the hollow handle of the net and raises it up.

Without this thing, I was losing almost every piece of 32ACP which my Beretta 70 launches into the stratosphere. With it, I saved 20/21 rounds in a recent outing.
 
Roller bearing on a 550b primer bar. Mine would stick after several hundred cycles. Still smooth as silk with several hundred cycles into the bearing addition.

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I've reloaded plenty of Remington .223 brass. Its definitely not as good as LC aand i dont get as many reloads before the primer pockets loosen but its acceptable.
 
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