What have you done in the reloading room today

[3sport]

Well, this is farming land not the burbs so we do things differently. The grill gets lit around 10am but the smoker will have been going a day or more so we head down with a couple bags of my homemade pickles, salad stuff and some fresh bread around 11. We’ll chat and catch up and watch the young folks run around until the tables are all layed down and everyone is ready for the prayer. The fun with guns doesn’t start until the younger kids are napping and the coffee is hot. Those who imbibed with adult beverages during the meal are exempt of course. It’s mostly just us old guys cleaning up and taking a few shots at stray water bottles. Those pesky bottles find their way everywhere - especially when they’re in little hands.

Sounds like heaven to me, sir. I'll be right over!

 

[CQB45ACP]

Well, this is farming land not the burbs so we do things differently. The grill gets lit around 10am but the smoker will have been going a day or more so we head down with a couple bags of my homemade pickles, salad stuff and some fresh bread around 11. We’ll chat and catch up and watch the young folks run around until the tables are all layed down and everyone is ready for the prayer. The fun with guns doesn’t start until the younger kids are napping and the coffee is hot. Those who imbibed with adult beverages during the meal are exempt of course. It’s mostly just us old guys cleaning up and taking a few shots at stray water bottles. Those pesky bottles find their way everywhere - especially when they’re in little hands.

Sounds great!

Guy at the range is a lawyer from DC (15 miles away or so) and has a firearms instruction business out of the NRA range here in Fairfax.

I asked him once how he could stand living in DC and that I worked there much of my 34 year career, but have been back only half dozen times in 16 years. He said something like he couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

Like grandma said, people are different.

 

[dobedo]

De-capped, ultrasonic cleaned 1K 9mm

 

[shoebox1.1]

I need to get busy. I have tons of chores to do and lots O’brass that needs prep..

 

[Walkalong]

This thread is for what you have done in the reloading room today. Specific questions? Start a thread please.

 

[CQB45ACP]

Took apart my Redding 45acp Competition Micrometer Seater, removed spring, and loaded 10 rounds to assess OAL consistency. Fine result.

Spring isn’t necessary as far a I can tell.

 

[IALoder]

Woke up with the sun this morning and went to the reloading bench with some coffee. Sized, trimmed, primed, and loaded a ladder of 88 ELDM's and Staball Match in .224 Valkyrie. I know my barrel really doesn't like the 88 ELDM, but I had to satisfy my velocity curiosity, plus, I had 25 left to burn up.

88 ELDM's shot pretty inaccurate as expected, but I was pleasantly surprised with the velocity. Max load came out right at 2600 fps, with a good es/sd, no pressure signs. That's pretty darn good out of this "slow" 22" barrel.

77smks over TAC shot very well, with really good velocity, and good to great accuracy. I think the WOA barrel is speeding up with ~300 RDS through it now. Velocity jump between 23.2&23.5gr was 92fps(2662 to 2754fps), then a consistent 35-40fps jump on each .3gr step after that. 23.2, 23.8, and 24.1 were all ~1.25moa, 23.5 was .8moa at 2754fps with a "meh" SD of 17fps, and 24.4 was .48moa at 2865fps ES24/SD10. Definitely worth looking at in detail. Not sure where the 5th hole is in the group, but I'm guessing top left hole, it was VERY slightly oblong. Nothing on the new cardboard backer a foot each way, and only 24 holes total in the target, so I'm going with top left hole of group.

This evening once it started raining I deprimed the brass from the range trip, and pulled out some more Norma .223 brass.

 

[shoebox1.1]

Washed my 200 rounds from yesterday’s outing. The impaler is back in action!

 

[Ray P]

Deprimed some 32 acp and some 7.62x39, all S&B.

 

[JmacD]

Started sorting through some brass. I’ll be using CCI primers (or something different than Federal in my 9mm/true blue load. The federal are showing signs of being “soft”. Ill shoot up the few I have left.

 

[Walkalong]

Your Federal primers are fine for 9MM, even if they do flatten a little more. That is assuming sane loads of course.

 

[JmacD]

That is assuming sane loads of course.

Absolutely! 5.7 g of True Blue. Well within 6.1 (edit:it’s actually 6.2 in the manual) grain max in my manual.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Absolutely! 5.7 g of True Blue. Well within 6.1 grain max in my manual.

My thought is, what are you wanting to put a hole in that needs 90% of the maximum load?

Reading primers to make load decisions is kinda like reading tea leaves to make investment decisions.

 

[Horskinator]

A friend invited me to the range he is a member of so I could run my 338wm out to 300yds thus creating brass that is needed to be cleaned and proving to myself I can hit the my target at that range, which boosted my confidence. I also got to play on my shooting sticks with my 5.56 bolt gun. So off to prep those cases and load them again for some final practice before going to Africa on the 9th.

 

[JmacD]

My thought is, what are you wanting to put a hole in that needs 90% of the maximum load?

Reading primers to make load decisions is kinda like reading tea leaves to make investment decisions.

I’m in total agreement. I’ve run it with cci and Winchester and no problems. Also, lower than that charge was pretty dirty. I worked it to that point.

I washed the “brush and bullfrogs” out of my brass pick up from Saturday and have tumbling(no pins) in dawn and Hot (soft) water…

 

[Bill M]

some final practice before going to Africa on the 9th.

I'm reminded of a friend who was in his late 60's years ago who was recuiting anyone who would help sight in his rifle for his trip. I don't remember the cartridge, but it was definately "Elephant Gun" capable. He didn't shoot an Elephant, but got the rest of the critters he was hoping to, gave the gun to his guide!

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Mixed brass from Sunday going into the tumbler. Mostly .38Spl, some 9mm, and a bunch of .45ACP I’ll tumble on its own. There may be some .40’s. I think one of the kids was shooting a S&W M&P in .40.

 

[JmacD]

I washed the “brush and bullfrogs” out of my brass pick up from Saturday and have tumbling(no pins) in dawn and Hot (soft) water…

I forgot the pictures! Dump em in here.
Spray em out… in they go.

 

[IALoder]

Sized and trimmed the Norma.223 brass I pulled out last night. I'm going to have to anneal some brass sometime this week, just realized I have zero 6mm ARC loaded up!

 

[shoebox1.1]

Shot these 100 44 specials Saturday, washed and dried Sunday, and sized deprimed and decarbonized primer pockets tonight. Now my “ready to load bin”is back where it was. I love my little dollar store bowls. Use the heck outta them 3 for 1.50 or something.

 

[Bearded Phil]

Loaded some 357 mag last night with NOE 360-158-WFN-T4 PB solids to ladder test in the Henry. N110 at 12.4-13.6gr in .3gr increments.

Haven't tested any of these solids since I finished coating and sizing everything a few months back, but I'm hoping for some consistent results.

I weighed about half the bag of 50 I had on the bench to see what the weight variance was like and it looked really good. Most falling around 158.4gr, +/- .2gr. Saw some up at 158.8gr and some down near the 158.02gr area but over all very tight to that 158.4gr average.

Of course a few anomalies as well, one weighed in 157.Xgr and one I saw all the way down at 156.Xgr but if those 2 are indicative of the whole batch that's only 4% that may be on the lighter side. And that 156gr compared to a 158.4gr average is only 1.5% low. I can live with that.

Going to shoot them this weekend if all goes well.

 

[horsemen61]

I’ve prepared 50 pcs of 260 Remington in preparation for getting a deer rifle ready for some youth Hunters I still need to load them but I have sized them trimmed and chamfered and deburred them

 

[AJC1]

Like to welcome a new member of my family the Lyman 452-250-rnfp. Took her fresh out of the box, scrubbed her down with a tile brush and dawn, and mounted her up to sit atop dad's Lee 420 pot. I hadent used his pot and the pour rod assembly is a little different than mine, but by some miracle his pot doesn't drip...... yet. Grabbed a few bars of noe lead filled up the pot and let everything get up to temp.... this must be the little mould that could. Two warm up drops, no more wrinkles and off to the races.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Like to welcome a new member of my family the Lyman 452-250-rnfp. Took her fresh out of the box, scrubbed her down with a tile brush and dawn, and mounted her up to sit atop dad's Lee 420 pot. I hadent used his pot and the pour rod assembly is a little different than mine, but by some miracle his pot doesn't drip...... yet. Grabbed a few bars of noe lead filled up the pot and let everything get up to temp.... this must be the little mould that could. Two warm up drops, no more wrinkles and off to the races.View attachment 1210715View attachment 1210716

I’m so happy for you!

 

[JmacD]

I went down to the bench tonight with the intention on setting up to load some 38 spec with 125gr XTPs. But… I was thinking about the static cling in the drop, and wondering how long until I justify spending the $ on a dramworx hopper when Eureka!!!

I just switched the bench mount thrower over to the LnL. That got me looking at my bench mounted set up. It also reminded me of what I hadn’t finished a year ago… so off to the drill press to “modify” the included hornady bracket.



It now is mounted to my plate and can ride with me in the Bench-in-a-Box. Don’t use it near as much now that I have the progressive. I did that with the tumbler running in the background(also an old time radio episode of “The Great Gildersleeve”).



7.62x39 & 5.56 all sorted out.