Is it worth the cash to buy big

[MDRifles]

Lyman also has a powered case prep station - Amazon product ASIN B0BXSYLMQ9
It’s been working for me since I started reloading.

That looks cool im going to watch a YouTube vid on it

 

[BradMacc82]

It’s been really easy to use, sure as hell beats doing 1k pieces by hand on each process… (in time/ease sense)

 

[trickg]

To join I would have to join a club then buy a badge?
Thanks man gave me a couple ideas I like the idea of that trimmer possible not needing to debur

Yes - on the surface it seems costly, but for me it pays for itself over the course of a year because I go a lot - planning a trip out this weekend.

There are a lot of associated clubs, and I joined the Meade Rifle & Pistol club because it was cheap, but I was having an issue with scheduling my walkthrough. Squaregrouper here on this thread offered to do my walkthrough after work one evening if I'd join MSI, so I did, and MSI has been my associated club ever since.

AGC annual fees are now up to $225 a year and guest fees I think just went up to $15 for the day, and family badges are available too provided the family members live under the same roof and are under 23 years old. That's a bummer for me - I shoot a lot with my son, but he's 28, doesn't live with me, but he also doesn't shoot on his own - he enjoys going with me, but he doesn't want to get his own range badge, so we pay the daily fee on the days he comes out with me.

 

[trickg]

I need to get more into reloading

That's a slippery slope. I went at one point from selling gear because I wasn't doing much shooting, never mind reloading, to doing a bit of a deep dive, investing in all kinds of stuff.

I can't honestly say that I reload to save money at this point - there is a bit of savings to be had, but I'm much more interested in tailoring the things I load into what I want them to be. I've noticed anecdotally (I haven't actually run any real testing) that my reloads for AR are more accurate than factory ammo, and for pistol, I can load down to reduce recoil.

For my precision/varmint rifle, I have tailored a pretty specific load - it's 223, and I'm loading a 50 gr Hornady VMax over 25.0 gr of benchmark. Out of that 26" barrel (1:12 twist) I chrono'd those loads with a friend's lab radar at about 3,250 fps, and they are pretty accurate - if I do my part I can consistently do 1/4" - 1/3" groups at 100.

 

[BradMacc82]

Reloading can become its own addiction, but it’s a valuable skill/base of knowledge to possess.

 

[atblis]

Not sure if you’re deciding between the rifles listed, or plan on buying one in each caliber. There’s really not that much difference between the three rounds you listed. Pick one and simplify your ammo logistics.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

... I’m really interested in the progressive with some fancy prep tools to make 9, 45,40, and 223 rounds being able to be reloaded in a seamless flow while I watch shows during my downtime.

No no no no no.

Reloading is not knitting, or crossword puzzles, or eating Doritos n drinking beer.

Reloading needs 100% undivided attention. You are creating a safe product unless done so using dangerous practices if distracted.

Do not reload ammo and watch TV, etc

 

[4g64loser]

Treat every step of the process as if your health and safety depends on it. Because it does.

I can tell stories about bad reloads (and other bad weapons practices) causing major injuries. Even the minor injuries from "normal" problems can be pretty unpleasant.

Don't watch tv. Don't talk on the phone. Don't listen to anything that occupies your mind. If you do any of these things, don't shoot near me.

 

[trickg]

Dad used to have the radio on while he reloaded. I can have music on the in background, but more often the ONLY thing I'm doing in the reloading room is reloading - no music and no other distractions. I won't even go pee until I finish a run of what I'm working on because I don't want to have to figure out where I left off.

 

[85MikeTPI]

Dad used to have the radio on while he reloaded. I can have music on the in background, but more often the ONLY thing I'm doing in the reloading room is reloading - no music and no other distractions. I won't even go pee until I finish a run of what I'm working on because I don't want to have to figure out where I left off.

It's always a fun conversation getting back to the SO after she calls for you to come, and you show up 15min later after finishing up your run..

 

[MDRifles]

No no no no no.

Reloading is not knitting, or crossword puzzles, or eating Doritos n drinking beer.

Reloading needs 100% undivided attention. You are creating a safe product unless done so using dangerous practices if distracted.

Do not reload ammo and watch TV, etc

Your right don’t want a hole in me or my ceiling

 

[Uncle Duke]

No no no no no.

Reloading is not knitting, or crossword puzzles, or eating Doritos n drinking beer.

Reloading needs 100% undivided attention. You are creating a safe product unless done so using dangerous practices if distracted.

Do not reload ammo and watch TV, etc

Treat every step of the process as if your health and safety depends on it. Because it does.

I can tell stories about bad reloads (and other bad weapons practices) causing major injuries. Even the minor injuries from "normal" problems can be pretty unpleasant.

Don't watch tv. Don't talk on the phone. Don't listen to anything that occupies your mind. If you do any of these things, don't shoot near me.

Dad used to have the radio on while he reloaded. I can have music on the in background, but more often the ONLY thing I'm doing in the reloading room is reloading - no music and no other distractions. I won't even go pee until I finish a run of what I'm working on because I don't want to have to figure out where I left off.

These are guys with the proper uncluttered and dedicated mindset for reloading.

They're the ones you hope to see, when someone with a plastic ammo box sits down at the bench next to you.

 

[4g64loser]

These are guys with the proper uncluttered and dedicated mindset for reloading.

They're the ones you hope to see, when someone with a plastic ammo box sits down at the bench next to you.

If I can't devote myself to the task, I'll do something else. Sort brass, prep work, etc. With pistols, the main danger is a double charge. A squib will piss you off, especially if it happens to find it's way into your chamber during a match or a class. Unless you do something world record stupid (like shoot another one when I he last one made a weird noise and the target didn't take a hit), a range rod and you are back in business.

With rifles, the pressures are higher and all sorts of things can go wrong. One of my students had a batch of ammo that he loaded lock up the gun HARD. Once the gun was cleared, the case was recovered and there were extreme pressure signs. I looked at some other rounds from the box and asked a few very direct questions. The rounds looked VERY long and I know that the charge weight listed was at the top of the range for the powder listed. Turns out he had been loading multiple bullets and had not adjusted the seat die to the correct length. An extreme jam, plus a very hot charge, wasn't a winning combination.

Had a guy bring me a savage that was locked up tighter than a bank vault. Turns out he misread the load tables. Case failed, bolt head was catastrophically failed, and it gassed the shit out of him. He got treated for burns and some light frag. I took the barrel out of the rifle to relieve the bolt and action enough to get it apart (after triple checking that it was a FIRED case in the chamber). Inspected the receiver with a loupe once it was fully apart. I suggested that he get it x-rayed to be sure. He's still shooting it, with a new bolt head and barrel but with a much healthier respect for care in loading practices.

Another guy, not one of mine, at match blew up a rifle because his powder measure still had pistol powder in it and he put a full rifle weight charge of it into his creedmoor brass. Fortunately for him, it was a Defiance action and not a Remmy or a savage. He went to the hospital for sure but he lived.

I can keep going but I think I've belabored the point enough.

I've separated plenty of case heads by reloading cases too many times, had virgin cases fail, split, etc. I try to be darn careful and inspect things during multiple stages of the process.

 

[trickg]

WOW. One change I made to my bench was to move all of my powder off of the bench to another shelf rather than keeping them on the shelf on the bench. That way I only have one container of powder on the bench at once so i know what’s in the hopper and don’t load the wrong powder.

 

[MDRifles]

WOW. One change I made to my bench was to move all of my powder off of the bench to another shelf rather than keeping them on the shelf on the bench. That way I only have one container of powder on the bench at once so i know what’s in the hopper and don’t load the wrong powder.

That sounds smart, I’m looking into benches and how I’m going to set up my reloading area right now. I like for things to be organized and convenient to access.

 

[Russ D]

WOW. One change I made to my bench was to move all of my powder off of the bench to another shelf rather than keeping them on the shelf on the bench. That way I only have one container of powder on the bench at once so i know what’s in the hopper and don’t load the wrong powder.

This is how I do it. Only one bottle of powder out at a time. I decided a long time ago that I’m not going to reload pistol ammo so at least I don’t have to worry about that bad stuff that can come from mistakingly loading pistol powder in rifle cartridges. I can be forgetful and lose concentration easily so I make sure when I’m charging loads there are zero distractions and I can work without feeling rushed. I also visually double check every case before seating bullets.

 

[lazarus]

Dad used to have the radio on while he reloaded. I can have music on the in background, but more often the ONLY thing I'm doing in the reloading room is reloading - no music and no other distractions. I won't even go pee until I finish a run of what I'm working on because I don't want to have to figure out where I left off.

Just curious if you are batch reloading, or progressive? I don't like stepping away for a long time, but I have no problems stepping away for a little while. One of the things I like about loading on a Lee Classic is that 4 pulls of the handle and its a loaded round. Nothing in the pipeline. No cartridges partway assembled. My wife or kids need me for something and "one second. Okay I am done". Now if I stepped away for hours, I might not remember where I was going. Was I going to load a bunch more? Etc. I never leave the powder hooper loaded overnight, or primers in the feed tray. If I need to be done for the day, I'll take the time to clean that stuff out. Next time I go to load, re-weigh the first few charges and double check COAL. I've yet to notice a shift in COALs, but sometimes humidity, or just the first round or two on a freshly filled powder hooper means the first couple of rounds don't hit the charge weight right.

But I always take the time to do things like take a pee or grab a seltzer or snack if I need it. Or just need to rest for a few. A bad idea to load tired or distracted. I do around 150 rounds an hour of pistol or rifle on my Lee Classic at a leisurely pace. About 100 of precision rifle because I am weighing the charges and trickling. If I am trying to really cram a lot of loading in, like 400 rounds of 9mm, I can run closer to 200 rounds an hour on pistol. That's also because I am usually taking about a 10 minute break an hour to stretch my back and legs and sometimes an extra 5 minute break in there for the same. Keeps any monotony from setting in. I try to keep it under 2 hours for loading sessions.

I do listen to music while I load. Its not distracting for me. No podcasts, videos or TV. I do watch TV when I sort brass.

 

[trickg]

I load progressive, but I have loaded batch/single-stage.

It isn't that I can't step away - if I really need to, I can run one last cartridge on the progressive and clear the press completely to step away, but it's more that I don't like to. What I won't do is stop and leave cartridges on the press at the various stations.

I think it's a focus thing that carries over from being a musician. When I practice, I get into a zone, and it's jarring to get broken out of that. It took my wife a long time to understand that unless it's important, if I'm in the practice room, don't bother me until I'm done.

 

[MADad]

For those that like to load on single stage for some things but use a progressive for others, why not use a progressive and load one at a time as if it were a single stage? I’ve taught people how to use a progressive by going through each stage separately, explaining things as I went along. As Tickg pointed out above, the progressive can be used as a single stage, and still produce rounds faster than on a single stage Because the dies don’t have to be changed after each step.

 

[MDRifles]

So somehow I landed on me wanting to get a Dillon 750xl. I didn’t realize it’s only 100+ more then the 550 and schells have a 100 online gift card with the purchase of one. With thoughts of me in the future getting and bullet feeder and for sure getting a case loader. Price wise all the conversion kits would bring the end setup to close to 3k of not more. If it should last 5 to 10 years that’s not the deciding factor. All 9mm aside, 308, 45, 40 223 would be the cost saving calibers and loading the used and abused 9 would be something else I would do. Then there’s the trimmer. Time is king and I’ve been looking at triway giraud timmer and the giraud table top to cut of the deburring. Setting up the triway with a motor or the unsightly drill Vice method is hundreds cheaper for the calibers I would use it for so there’s that. I figure start out doing a case at a time with the powder check and double checking would be a interesting cost effective way for me to start. I just don’t like the idea of manual indexing and would want to go full auto with the marks