How long does it take you to reload?

[houlsby]

Before I start here.. I'm not trying to be 'rough' or 'unsafe' im trying to get an idea of if buying a powder thrower/ stage press is a good idea

 

 

So.. Just loaded 30 bullets in 2.5h.

 

I'm currently using a lee hand press, a lee safety scale, and appropriate dies and a auto prime jobbie.

 

Wondering if its worth buying one of those multi stage dies, the deprime, size, etc jobs and a powder thrower

 

I THINK it's taking me longer as I'm having to weigh every charge. And as anyone who's used this scale knows waiting for them to stop wobbling about takes ages!

 

Like I say, just trying to be more efficient at it. Or.. Is that time about normal?

[Livefast123]

I would say around normal for hand tools, I did 56 in around 2 hours with the Lee Loader and yes, having to weigh every charge is a PITA. I can't wait till I've saved enough pennies for a chargemaster!

Edited August 5, 2013 by Livefast123

[houlsby]

How you getting on with the subs?

 

Iv copped out and bought a .22 for rabbiting. It's miles quieter even when I downloaded it the primer popping made the most noise! Still having a go with it for nv tho.

 

Definitely considering the multistage idea, think ill need to save abit tho, this full fat powders 3.5 times the price of trail boss!

[zx10mike]

i can rattle rounds off quiet quick with a big boss single press but i don't because i like to get real anal so everythink is done to the brass before i carefully weigh the powder twice what is the hurry just enjoy doing it.the yanks can rattle them off on the multi stage press if you search youtube.

[fieldwanderer]

I thought about getting a powder measure but decided a big part of the point for me was to try to be very precise and make superior ammunition so, I've cut the bottom inch or so off an empty case, soldered a little piece of brass bar to it for a handle and cut a thread through where the primer used to be (a bolt in this makes it adjustable). With that, I tip nearly the right amount into the scale and finish off with a trickler. I'll see how it goes, I might get a powder measure and do the same sort of thing with that.

 

I decided I wouldn't be loading enough to justify a progressive press, hopefully that wasn't a mistake.

Edited August 6, 2013 by fieldwanderer

[al4x]

I can knock out 50 in an hour or less with a rcbs kit. Brass de priming is about 10 minutes, trimming is only occasional cleaning is just throw a batch in the ultrasonic cleaner and leave then de burr etc the larger the batch the easier. Thrower is usually spot on and every charge is weighed then measured once the bullet is seated

[Kes]

I use a powder thrower and it varies to 0.1 grain +/-. There is no substitute for taking care but getting proficient - From prepared cases, it takes me about 2 hours to do 75, weighing everyone. I just de-prime, full-length re size (if needed) trim and clean the case fully and anneal once every 8/10 shots. Having a prepared case makes the job very quick.

Primer, charge, seat bullet. I usually prepare the cases when I have time in the evening.

[wickedwickedmotox]

I have a dillon rl550b, to load 50 bullets takes about 20 mins going steady and it really is accurate with the powder metering, i have to 2 powder throwers and 2 tool heads so have one setup for the 7mm and one set for .243

check you tube for the dillon rl550b

[Guest cookoff013]

about 40 minutes for 10 of ammo sent to be tested (shotgun)

 

as for run of the mill reloading 100-125 an hour.

[pestcontrol1]

I have 200 + cases for each rifle so i do it in stages one batch been used one batch cleaned sized primed ready to charge and seat then as i am getting near the end of one batch load the others takes about 2 hours weighing each charge out by hand ( didgital scales ) then sling the used cases into the cleaner and start again.

ITS FUN

[al4x]

I dont get multi stage presses for rifle use, surely you must account for removing the sized, lubricated cases to clean them before purther processes are attempted!

 

Or dont people bother?

 

 

I do get the opinion on here that there are lots of stages people don't bother with

[Imperfection]

I can do 100x 357's in less than an hour,but i use a dipper for charging the cases through the die which does kinda speed things up.

 

Bottle neck rifle calibres take longer,but i do tend to delibretly take my time because i dont want to blow my face off by overcharging a round.

[Livefast123]

because i dont want to blow my face off by overcharging a round.

Quite

 

I must admit that I find case prep incredibly tedious but as I only do 50 ish rifle cases at a time it isn't too bad, at the end of the day I like to know my cases are in good condition and have the correct dimensions

[njc110381]

All a multi stage press will save you is the time to screw the dies in and out. I have one because it's what I was offered second hand, but it doesn't save a great deal of effort.

 

My suggestion would be to buy a decent scale, a thrower and a trickler. Only the decent scale will cost you any real money, but with my RCBS 10/10 I can throw a load into the pan, drop it on the scale and the beam will go up over the weight mark, drop back down below and then rise to whatever weight it is and stop - none of this rocking up and down a dozen times like the Lee! If you throw your load a grain or less under into the pan and then trickle to top it up whilst on the scale you'll shorten your weighing process by a huge amount.

 

I only trim, clean and deburr my cases after every other firing and have never had any accuracy issues. You can't keep firing them without checking them but they don't grow enough to matter with one shot.

[308win]

Personally id steer clear of a multi stage press. Im not interested in time when reloading - Drift into a world where ultimate consistency and accuracy are your ultimate goals.

 

 

I generally do my reloading in stages, if i begin to have a few cases around i do the general sizing, trimming, cleaning

 

Then sit down in front of the tv with a de-burr tool & prime.

 

 

When i feel im getting low, then carry on to measure powder (using my old Pact scales & dispenser) then seat bullets. If im feeling extra anal, i might even weigh out bullet heads to see if there are any grossly +/- from the norm

 

FYI i load for the .308 and .204 my .20 is very fussy and will not perform to standard with average loads.

[kent]

Before I start here.. I'm not trying to be 'rough' or 'unsafe' im trying to get an idea of if buying a powder thrower/ stage press is a good idea

 

 

So.. Just loaded 30 bullets in 2.5h.

 

I'm currently using a lee hand press, a lee safety scale, and appropriate dies and a auto prime jobbie.

 

Wondering if its worth buying one of those multi stage dies, the deprime, size, etc jobs and a powder thrower

 

I THINK it's taking me longer as I'm having to weigh every charge. And as anyone who's used this scale knows waiting for them to stop wobbling about takes ages!

 

Like I say, just trying to be more efficient at it. Or.. Is that time about normal?

Get a powder thrower and drop a slightly light charge then trickle up so the scale reads spot on. Life is too short to mess around guessing and pouring back and forth

[Bewsher500]

I can do 100x 357's in less than an hour,but i use a dipper for charging the cases through the die which does kinda speed things up.

 

Bottle neck rifle calibres take longer,but i do tend to delibretly take my time because i dont want to blow my face off by overcharging a round.

choose an appropriate powder and case fill of 70+% use charge throwers or scoops and that cant happen

 

you will speed things up dramatically when you stop weighing each charge

I still use scoops tuned to a weight even though I don;t regularly use the lee loader anymore (too noisy when I am reloading in the kitchen with the kids in bed!)

 

with practice you can throw a very repeatable charge weight/volume that will be just as accurate as a kernel counted charge

[phaedra1106]

Horses for courses here

 

I have 4 presses, a single stage cast which I use for de-priming/resizing used cases in all calibres and also for loading my 308 target rounds. My usual routine is to de-prime/resize, clean and then prime the cases ready to be loaded.

 

For the 308 Target rounds I use a Hornady Lock n Load Auto Powder Dispenser, seat the bullet and when I have a batch done (50 or 100) change dies and factory crimp them all. Never really timed this as I just plod along as needed.

 

For 308 sub-sonic I use a 4 stage turret press, expand case mouth, drop powder (Lee Auto Disk Pro), seat bullet then factory crimp, loads are very consistent and fairly quick to do.

 

For the 300 aac Blackout and 44 magnum I use two 5 stage progressive presses with Lee Auto Disk Pro powder measures, for the 300 aac it's expand case mouth, drop powder, seat bullet then factory crimp. For the 44 magnum it's drop powder (with slight mouth expansion), seat bullet then factory crimp, these will produce 100 rounds in under 10mins working at a leisurely pace, again loads are very consistent.