What did you do in the reloading room recently?

I love my Dillon 650, but find it to be a pain when reloading in lower volumes.

That and caliber conversion cost a bunch. I could never justify a 550 but recently on NES I found a guy looking to swap a 550 for a M&P 15/22, which I happened to have an extra.

After a few hours spent taking it apart, inspecting, adjusting, and cleaning everything, I'm turning out .223 at about 200 rounds per hour. Its much faster than the turret press I used previously and with about $50 worth of dies and tool head, I'm able to reload .300 blk and .380.

(assumes Lee dies and leverages the fact that .223, .300 blk, and .380 ACP all use the same shell plate. )

I'm very happy with it.
 
Churned out 750 rounds of 230gr fmj .45acp over the last week.

Anyone know best .45acp round for pumpkin expansion? :)

Found some Alliant 2400 and H110 so I'll load up a few hundred max charge 240gr Hollow points for the pumpkin shoot, as well!
 
Tiktock said:
Churned out 750 rounds of 230gr fmj .45acp over the last week.

Anyone know best .45acp round for pumpkin expansion? :)

Found some Alliant 2400 and H110 so I'll load up a few hundred max charge 240gr Hollow points for the pumpkin shoot, as well!
Click to expand...

Probably a 185 gr XTP?

Where did you find 2400? Cost?
 
Tiktock said:
Churned out 750 rounds of 230gr fmj .45acp over the last week.

Anyone know best .45acp round for pumpkin expansion? :)

Found some Alliant 2400 and H110 so I'll load up a few hundred max charge 240gr Hollow points for the pumpkin shoot, as well!
Click to expand...

Can't vouch for Speer Gold Dots, but the 230 grainers are available currently. PM on its way...
Seems to me there was some 2400 on the shelf at Autumn Gun Works (Goshen, CT). He was pretty well stocked with primers, powders and bullets, but he's not close to most of you.
 
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NavelOfficer said:
Can't vouch for Speer Gold Dots, but the 230 grainers are available currently. PM on its way...
Seems to me there was some 2400 on the shelf at Autumn Gun Works (Goshen, CT). He was pretty well stocked with primers, powders and bullets, but he's not close to most of you.
Click to expand...

I'll be leaving for Bridgeport, CT this morning for work. Wonder if I could somehow stop my that shop on my way home on Friday. I wish I had my CT nonresident license as I'll be working in a pretty rough area. But EPA requested 24 hour armed security so I feel safe now...
 
andrew1220 said:
I'll be leaving for Bridgeport, CT this morning for work. Wonder if I could somehow stop my that shop on my way home on Friday. I wish I had my CT nonresident license as I'll be working in a pretty rough area. But EPA requested 24 hour armed security so I feel safe now...
Click to expand...

Well, there's always Cabela's (East Hartford), Hoffmans, Newington Gun Exchange, Greysons (reloading supplies..?), Connecticut Sporting Arms (Rt80), North Atlantic Sportsmans (Rt25 Monroe), CT Gun Exchange (Rt110 Monroe) and a few others. Can't say what amount of reloading supplies each carry. There's another shop near AGW, just west of the Rt63/Rt4 rotary...Drop the Hammer.
The Monroe shops would be closest to Bpt. Both list "Closed" on Mondays!
Take a stroll along "Saint Mary's By The Sea" while in Bridgeport. Seaside is also decent. The Barnum Museum is a tad unique, too. You might like the Sea Grape in Fairfield, too (although it's more of a college bar...but there are old farts there, too).
Head a bit further down the parking lot (I-95) to exit 20 and see Tom and Jay at Hansen's Guns. Not so much a new gun retailer, but you may find some oddities and obscure items. http://hansenguns.com/
Another place with a slew of mil-surps (although he doesn't seem prone to sell FTF... I think he does mostly gunbroker and similar websites) is The Hunter's Shop in Branford on US 1. I know he had a Bronze Napolean for sale...
Come down or return via I-95 through RI and D&L and Heritage 1 & 2 are sources for powder, too.

Oh... Ron's Guns (East Lyme) is another possibility. He tends to run high, but he does carry ammo in calibers most shops don't stock...I can vouch for 5.6x52R for one. On your way up I-95 there are two shops in Old Saybrook, too: Grouse Perch and Harris Outdoors. The latter is fairly new and didn't have much for reloading supplies when I stopped a month or two back. Heck, the OSB Wal-Mart even carried limited powders and primers before the big blowout!
 
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andrew1220 said:
I'll be leaving for Bridgeport, CT this morning for work. Wonder if I could somehow stop my that shop on my way home on Friday. I wish I had my CT nonresident license as I'll be working in a pretty rough area. But EPA requested 24 hour armed security so I feel safe now...
Click to expand...

Bring a small rifle. Posession of long guns is unregulated in CT. NO licesne is required. It must be unloaded in your vehicle. But a loaded mag can be right next to it.

I don't know if that would help. But I thought I'd mention it.
 
Went to the range last week to do some load testing and someone was nice enough to leave 120 of LC 223 brass behind. Picked them up and when I got home sized,trimmed and swaged the few cases that needed it.
Loaded them yesterday 62 gr fmj over 25 gr of WWC 644 Remington small magnum rifle primers.
 
dcmdon said:
Bring a small rifle. Posession of long guns is unregulated in CT. NO licesne is required. It must be unloaded in your vehicle. But a loaded mag can be right next to it.

I don't know if that would help. But I thought I'd mention it.
Click to expand...

Nice, good to know. Thanks.

I like to think I can bring a gun with me for work but I know my company has a no gun policy. Although I don't know how my company can regulate what I do in another state. Then again it's a federal EPA (next to the old Remington factory actually) site so I'd assume no guns. If I was using my personal car, I wouldn't hesitate to bring my gun with me and keep it in the car. But driving around in a rented cargo van full of equipment, with my coworker makes it harder.

Good thing is well be staying at a hotel in Milford not Bridgeport[laugh]
This is the first EPA site I've been to where we've had 24 hour armed security.
 
On the topic of CT. I saw that there's a Bass Pro in Bridgeport. Can I buy powder there? I know ammo I can't without the permit. Just wasn't sure about components.
 
andrew1220 said:
Hah you're right! Not open until Nov 18. I'm sure I'll be back here around that time. Have to take a look.
Click to expand...

Pheeww! I was through that area within the last few months (so I thought). That would be some fast construction.
If you travel I-84 from/to the MA Pike, you can hit Cabela's easily enough. They have S&B primers for $24.99; don't know what powder prices are these days.
If you can take a jog up Rt8 and Rt 25, the two Monroe shops might be worth the effort. It's been awhile since I've been at either, but they did have reloading components back then.
Definitely call ahead, if you want to eliminate any disappointment and wasted mileage (~30 miles rt)..
 
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All of this has made it more obvious that I need to update the CT law stickie, which I wrote before PA-13-3.

I've tried a couple of times. But its too depressing seeing how many freedoms were literally CROSSED OUT with the passage of that law.
 
I decided I wanted to quit working out of a tackle box and get some proper storage...
I've got an Ikea compact desk top bookshelf, chosen because it was small enough to allow clearance on the ends of of the bench for reloading presses...
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50180027/
micke-add-on-unit-high-brown__0118732_PE274699_S4.JPG



That big open space is a magnetic whiteboard... Which I thought I could use for something, but ultimately has proven useless.

So... I stuffed that space with a 26" top chest from Sears:
spin_prod_819657012


The flush handles were key - The cubby in the bookshelf upper is 26 & 3/8" wide, and this thing fit pretty much exactly in that space.
I wanted a box with a gas cylinder lid support rather than the over-center prop rod shown, but they were a feature of larger boxes. I instead chose to remove the lid entirely... Drift pin to remove the lock bar pins, then drill out the spot welds and prop rod rivet.
I tried to drift out the piano hinge pin, but found that it was crimped every few inches into the hinge, so out comes the spot weld drill.
Bulky items go into the top, die sets go into the second shelf from the bottom, tools and labels and miscellaneous go into the smaller drawers.
Now I need to find some drawer liner / organizers for the smaller items.
 
Last night I resized some once fired 7.5x55 PPU brass with great results. Didn't have to set the shoulder back much at all in order to chamber a round in my K31. Also none of the cases grew much so no trimming needed. Many were below the minimum trim length of 2.179". Most were 2.171" with the longest being 2.176". I can probably get a few more firings before I'll need to trim. It may be the expensive Redding K31 specific dies I'm using? Not much force is required to resize the cases.
 
Just bought a house. I'm dreading the move but it's going to be awesome to have more than just a back hallway to reload in. I'm planning on taking up all the work bench space in the new cellar. Plans to eventually frame a room with one half and make a real reloading room.
 
jtnf said:
I decided I wanted to quit working out of a tackle box and get some proper storage...
I've got an Ikea compact desk top bookshelf, chosen because it was small enough to allow clearance on the ends of of the bench for reloading presses...
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50180027/
micke-add-on-unit-high-brown__0118732_PE274699_S4.JPG



That big open space is a magnetic whiteboard... Which I thought I could use for something, but ultimately has proven useless.

So... I stuffed that space with a 26" top chest from Sears:
spin_prod_819657012


The flush handles were key - The cubby in the bookshelf upper is 26 & 3/8" wide, and this thing fit pretty much exactly in that space.
I wanted a box with a gas cylinder lid support rather than the over-center prop rod shown, but they were a feature of larger boxes. I instead chose to remove the lid entirely... Drift pin to remove the lock bar pins, then drill out the spot welds and prop rod rivet.
I tried to drift out the piano hinge pin, but found that it was crimped every few inches into the hinge, so out comes the spot weld drill.
Bulky items go into the top, die sets go into the second shelf from the bottom, tools and labels and miscellaneous go into the smaller drawers.
Now I need to find some drawer liner / organizers for the smaller items.
Click to expand...

In the process of trying to figure out storage storage space solutions myself. I'm very limited.
I share a,space with oil tank, hot water tank and heater, not only does it contain my small reloading bench it's home to drill press,table saw, tool box and everything else that is mine that I can't keep anywhere else in the house......basically my stuff.

I bought a cheap plastic bin unit from job lot for 17$ it's on the small side but surprisingly built pretty well for a cheap unit. Will be home to brass and small items. Just not sure where to put it.

Everything else is in tackle boxes.....I,need a tackle box storage unit.
 
andrew1220 said:
Last night I resized some once fired 7.5x55 PPU brass with great results. Didn't have to set the shoulder back much at all in order to chamber a round in my K31. Also none of the cases grew much so no trimming needed. Many were below the minimum trim length of 2.179". Most were 2.171" with the longest being 2.176". I can probably get a few more firings before I'll need to trim. It may be the expensive Redding K31 specific dies I'm using? Not much force is required to resize the cases.
Click to expand...

I think because of the nice chambers and decent brass there is not much expansion. I still have plenty of gp11 to go through before I start reloading....Will work up some loads over the winter.

My goal is a light load with sub 2MOA accuracy. I might try some light bullets also.
 
mac1911 said:
I think because of the nice chambers and decent brass there is not much expansion. I still have plenty of gp11 to go through before I start reloading....Will work up some loads over the winter.

My goal is a light load with sub 2MOA accuracy. I might try some light bullets also.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have about 400 rounds or so of GP11. But I bought 500 PPU cases so I'll have plenty to reload.
I like that I can use the same powder and bullets as the Garand. So I've just settled on 40 gr of 4064.
 
1. Broke down a MAS 1936/51 rifle.
2. Hung a neon sign.
3. Tumbled 2500 5.56 cases.
4. Cleaned and lubed a Walther PPS.
5. Cleaned and lubed an AR.
6. Made room in the safe for a newly acquired 1903 Mark 1.
 
andrew1220 said:
Yeah I have about 400 rounds or so of GP11. But I bought 500 PPU cases so I'll have plenty to reload.
I like that I can use the same powder and bullets as the Garand. So I've just settled on 40 gr of 4064.
Click to expand...

I only know one person reloading for the k31. Uses 125gn Sierra soft points and blc2.

I will follow hodgdon method with reduced loads with H4895, goal is a,balance of accuracy and low recoil.

I shoot a light cast load out of the 1903a3 and it's fun the muzzle basically stays on target.
 
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You'll find plenty of toppings for the K31. Although not every .308" diameter bullet will chamber at ideal COLs due to bullet profile, there are still plenty of options. I can vouch for the 18gr Plastic Riot bullets, Lyman 311410, sabot loads, Norm's 170gr GCSil coated, X-Treme 150gr PFN, Sinterfire SF-308-125NTP, etc.









Oh, as to the OP, I did finish up some .40 S&W this morning. A friend brought over some of the 180gr bronze-colored bullets that he got from nereloading.com.
 
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NavelOfficer said:
You'll find plenty of toppings for the K31. Although not every .308" diameter bullet will chamber at ideal COLs due to bullet profile, there are still plenty of options. I can vouch for the 18gr Plastic Riot bullets, Lyman 311410, sabot loads, Norm's 170gr GCSil coated, X-Treme 150gr PFN, etc.







Click to expand...

How fast can you push the X-tremes? The 168s aren't much more than the jacketed 150 gr FMJ's and they shoot much better so I settled on those. I just got a good deal on 1,000 Nosler 168 gr BTHP bullets for $220 shipped. My 7.5 reloads are running about 40 cents each which isn't horrible with a match grade bullet.
 
I didn't do anything exciting. Loaded up 1000 rounds of 9mm and 650 rounds of 45ACP in the last week. My mistake was that I left the double door cabinet, that holds all my ammo and mags, open and the wife came down into the man cave (a very rare event) to ask me something and looked in the cabinet. The result was as expected, "Jesus ****ing Christ look at all this stuff!!!". So much for "what she doesn't know won't hurt me" [smile]
 

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