Here's my setup. I spend a ton of time in here so I made it cozy. I've about the same amount of space behind me from vantage that this pic was taken but it's just my safes and military stuff.
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Reloading Bench Show yours off!
- Thread starter PL-52
- Start date
Here's my setup. I spend a ton of time in here so I made it cozy. I've about the same amount of space behind me from vantage that this pic was taken but it's just my safes and military stuff.
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2019
- Messages
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- 6
This is my "man cave". I started a couple of years ago reloading .357 mag. on the Dillon SDB. About six months later I bought a Winchester .30-30 lever rifle. So I traded in the SDB in on a 550 b. I went back into my LGS 6 or 7 months later and he still had my trade in. So I shot him a price and he took it. I bought the same press twice and I am still $19.00 under MSRP. I now have the 550 set up for large primers and the SDB does small ones.Not real fancy but it gets the job done!!
Ranger007
NES Member
Nice. I am with you with cozy.
Not as slick as the other setups posted here.......but its mine. Started with the whack a mole Lee loader last year. Loaded quite a bit of 357 and 38 on that thing. Added a breech lock Lee single stage today. Just loaded 200 rounds of 38 in 2 hours. Great improvement. Not bad for a $65 press and some dies a buddy gave me.
45collector
NES Member
I have one of those Lee loader kits for .223. I’ve never used it. Found it at a yard sale for $5. Figured I’ll try it out some day. I’ve never loaded .223 so I’m not sure what powder or primers I should get. But now that you’ve reminded me I have that kit sitting around, I’m going to get going on loading that caliber! I have plenty of brass to keep me busy for a while. So 55gr it is.
The kit worked fine. Slow....and noisy from using the hammer....but it worked. Taught me alot to get going.
I am loving the single stage press now. Can load 100 an hour and be confident of the quality of the ammo. I bought a 3 die set for 45acp and loaded up 400 rounds on a Saturday afternoon. The whole progressive press would be too much machine for me. Now that I have a good back stock of 38, 357, and 45acp I can plan on 3 to 4 hours a week early mornings at the table to keep up with my shooting needs.
45collector
NES Member
That was exactly what I thought when I first got into reloading. I used my RCBS Rock-Chucker for about 2 years, and then realized I am mechanically inclined enough to get into progressives. What pushed me to progressives was how much damn time I was spending making 9mm and .45acp, which I shoot a fairly good amount of at competitions throughout the year. (9mm for anything steel, and .45 for IDPA/ bowling pins)
I now have two Dillon SDB's. One for 9mm and one for .45acp. The Rock Chucker is used for everything else. I reload a total of 8 different calibers and I'd guess 80 percent of the time I spend at the bench is on 9mm and .45
How do you like the rock chucker single stage? I chose the Lee because of price but also because it lets me prime on the up stroke when sizing. Have to admit that the rock chuckers see like a much stronger unit.
Whiskeywon
NES Member
*cough cough* But nah, usually use TSUSA. I just have a single stage at the moment that I use for 45-70 and 30-06. Even then not as often as I'd like. Will probably do more odd calibers as I get older, but for the moment it's too much of a time investment for me.
45collector
NES Member
Same on the Chucker. Case goes into the resizing die, and upon moving the ram back downwards, a new primer is seated. Granted I have to touch each primer, but as of yet I haven't had any issues doing that. I just make sure there's no oil/ water on my fingertips.
45collector
NES Member
That's definitely a deciding factor. I had a lot more free time to make ammo before my babies came home. Since my daughter came home June 1st I haven't spent much time reloading and my stock of 9mm and .45 are slowly dwindling.
You've no doubt seen this before, but here is Mr. Richard Lee himself using the Lee loader for .223 Remington...
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeEl9wZyabc
Those kits actually work quite well. The only real challenge is the crimp (which he does not do in the video) Your crimping by how hard or how many times you hit the die with the hammer. After a few rounds you get the feel for how to get the crimp you are looking for.
Also in that vid he did not lube the case before sizing. Probably because it is neck sizing only. For 357/38 I had to lube the cases.......without lube I sounded like I was framing a house down in my basement. Lol. Lube first and they go into the die with a couple taps.
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The chuckers seemed to be built way more solid. But at 3x the cost of the Lee single stage I chose not to spring for the chucker.
I do the same for priming on the Lee. Just pop each in the holder by hand. It's no big deal. For charging I'm still using the Lee dippers and a funnel through the powder through expanding die. It's fast.....but not quite as flexible for trying different charge weights. Luckily the .5 cc scoop throws 4.6 of bullseye perfectly for 45acp 200 grain lswc.....I think Lee chose that Dipper size to include in the kit on purpose.
lazypengu1n
NES Member
I'll play too. Just added the MEC 410 press.
45collector
NES Member
Oh ok I never knew how other folks charged their cases during the expanding die stage. I just put the RCBS powder measure right into the top of the expanding die, and once the case is fully seated in the die, I leave it there and use both hands to drop the charge in. (left hand holds the powder measure steady, right hand works the arm). Works like a charm and goes quick. Well, quick for single stage anyhow.
I almost picked up a powder measure to put on top of my powder through expanding die last weekend. Decided to wait because the Lee dippers set I use has all the right volume scoops I need. I did buy a funnel to sit on top to make dumping the powder from the scoop a bit easier. It worked great when I loaded up a bunch of 45acp with bullseye powder. Today I learned a lesson. I switched to using 700x powder for some 38 special. My .5 cc Dipper gives me 3.6 of 700x perfectly. I set to expanding and charging 100 cases. When I inspected them I noticed every few would look like a heavy charge...not a double but a larger quantity. I started dumping some to my scale and had charges of 5.3 and 5.4 and some at 2.2 to 2.3. What the hell? I had to dump them all out because I didn't trust them. I started the process of charging again and noticed every now and then some of the powder would clog the funnel and sit there. What was happening was some would stick causing a low charge.....then the next dump would unclog and I'd get what was left plus the true charge! Good thing I inspected them! It's a good reminder that even a simple process like using a powder scoop requires detailed attention. 700x does meter like corn flakes but it's a good clean burning powder! Just have to tap the funnel to make sure it all goes down.
citoriguy
NES Member
700x is all I use for my shot-shell reloading. I have a bunch of other powders for pistol and rifle, but maybe I’ll cook up a few batches with the 700x and do a compare-and-contrast experiment.
Burns nice and clean. Low volume powder......3.5 or 3.7 grains under a 125 grain cast bullet is a nice accurate load in my sp101 and is a mid level 38 special.....not a powder puff load. A pound lasts forever with that small amount of powder charge.
