What did you do in the reloading room recently?

Im using Xtreme bullets with 4.4 grains of Titegroup.

Nice! Same here. I've been using 4 gr of TG but I'm going to bump it up a bit to see if there's a change in accuracy. Also if the cases still get charred/burnt from the cases not expanding enough and sealing the bore to avoid blowback...that's my theory anyway.
 
Like a couple of others, my newest project is creating a supply of 300 AAC Blackout brass. Currently I am using all my 5.56 brass to make these rounds, loading supersonic Hornady 150gr SP. They seem to be performing pretty well while I'm breaking in the upper. I'd like to arrive at a load I can use for hunting with this bullet, so that's what I'm working on now.
 
I built this stand today after work:

[URL=http://s582.photobucket.com/user/dedmouse/media/IMG_2844_zpsq5qjc3qs.jpg.html][/URL]

I got spoiled when I put my Dillon 550 up on the strong mount so I built one for my RCBS JR2 from aluminum stock...it seems to be very stable. The top and bottom plates are 1/2" aluminum plate and the vertical is 7/16 aluminum plate. The top and bottom are attached to the vertical member with three each, 1/4-20 x 1.5" cap machine screws on top and bottom. Eventually I'll have it anodized.

It's nice to have access to a fully equipped machine shop at work.
 
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Just finished up 50 rds 7.62x39 with a charge of 4227 and a 135 gr. cast bulle. Hope to try them out on Sunday at Cape Ann.

Okay you must be the guy I've chatted with at Cape Ann before. You got the bolt action CZ in 7.62x39 right? Only person at the club I know that reloads 7.62x39 lol. I should be there on Sunday as they're finally doing another steel plate shoot at 1.
 
Fired up the Coleman stove this AM... always good to have some plinking fodder:

Lyman 311410: great for the 7.62x39/51/54R/63mm and 7.5x55mm (also works in 7.65x53, 7.7 Jap and .303 British)


Lyman 266469:
Excellent for the 6.5 Swede and Type 38 Arisaka...


Bring some brass and your rifle down and we can reload and fire some on site...
 
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Instead of sitting on my ass watching YouTube, I thought I'd sit on my ass and do some reloading. I had 200 primed .38 SPL cases sitting in a box, so I thought I'd load those babies just to tidy things up a bit. There's just something satisfying about seeing neatly filled MTM cases. [smile]

I realized today that the Lee Perfect Powder measure is not so perfect for Accurate #5 (flattened ball). It spills powder out of the side of the drum no matter how tight I set it, so I can't just hold the case up to the spout; I have to use a funnel to catch the powder and spillage. Eventually I want to get a Big Dog progressive like a Dillon 650 or similar, but in the meantime I think it's time to upgrade my powder measure.
 
I realized today that the Lee Perfect Powder measure is not so perfect for Accurate #5 (flattened ball). It spills powder out of the side of the drum no matter how tight I set it, so I can't just hold the case up to the spout; I have to use a funnel to catch the powder and spillage. Eventually I want to get a Big Dog progressive like a Dillon 650 or similar, but in the meantime I think it's time to upgrade my powder measure.


Can't say I've used AA#5, but my Lee PPM seems to work just fine. Clean the innards and make sure it's assembled correctly and fairly snug. I'll get minor flakes of fine powder out of mine occasionally, but it doesn't appear to be anything significant. Generally, it throws fairly consistent charges.

Now that I cast some more 6.5mm bullets, I dug out my empty 6.5x55mm and sized and primed them all; berdan-primed Lapua, m41 and assorted boxer-primed brass.
Once my plated .308s come in, I'll load up some plinkers in 7.5x55mm, too (hardly worth the effort to cast and lubri-size with these bullets on the market).

 
Instead of sitting on my ass watching YouTube, I thought I'd sit on my ass and do some reloading. I had 200 primed .38 SPL cases sitting in a box, so I thought I'd load those babies just to tidy things up a bit. There's just something satisfying about seeing neatly filled MTM cases. [smile]

I realized today that the Lee Perfect Powder measure is not so perfect for Accurate #5 (flattened ball). It spills powder out of the side of the drum no matter how tight I set it, so I can't just hold the case up to the spout; I have to use a funnel to catch the powder and spillage. Eventually I want to get a Big Dog progressive like a Dillon 650 or similar, but in the meantime I think it's time to upgrade my powder measure.

The Lee PPM works great for coarse stick rifle powders. I use it for reloading 30-06 using IMR-4064. The powder is like little pencil leads (graphite whatever), so they don't fall out of the side/rotor. I've tried it with much finer pistol powders like H110 and Titegroup just for a test and it leaked powder consistently.
 
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Best group from last weeks loading. Just a hair under MOA, but the only one out of 10 groups under MOA...

My first time with 5 shot groups rather than 3. I need a 2.5 MOA 5 shot group to qualify at 200 yards at my club, once I do I'm going back to 3 shots groups lol. 5 Shots seems to be a long time to focus for me. I had a fair number that if they were three shot groups I would have danced around they would have been so tight, but shots 4 or 5 ruined them. (Sometimes it was shot one that ruined the group, you know how it is.)

I've only been bench shooting since like September/October of last year, and didn't get out until spring this year due to tax season... So I'm not overly upset with the results, but not really happy either. 31-b.jpg
 
I sorted through a totally full 50 cal ammo can of mixed brass that needed tumbling. Tumbled half of the 40 that was in there just to get it out of the way. I need another tumbler!
I had cast a good 350 or so MP precision 454200 hollow point bullets last night and cast some zinc slugs with a 1oz lee slug mold. I coated the 45s today with hi-tek gold coating.
I'm hoping to size some bullets tonight the 45s, along with some 250 grain 45 (453423 elmer keith design) and some 429421 44 caliber 250 grain as well.
I'm dying to see how my cast and coated bullets hold up to winchester 296. so far they have held up fine with moderate loads in 44 mag, 45 ACP+p and 38+P. now it's time for the next step.

has anyone else cast anything lately?
 
I sorted through a totally full 50 cal ammo can of mixed brass that needed tumbling. Tumbled half of the 40 that was in there just to get it out of the way. I need another tumbler!
I had cast a good 350 or so MP precision 454200 hollow point bullets last night and cast some zinc slugs with a 1oz lee slug mold. I coated the 45s today with hi-tek gold coating.
I'm hoping to size some bullets tonight the 45s, along with some 250 grain 45 (453423 elmer keith design) and some 429421 44 caliber 250 grain as well.
I'm dying to see how my cast and coated bullets hold up to winchester 296. so far they have held up fine with moderate loads in 44 mag, 45 ACP+p and 38+P. now it's time for the next step.

has anyone else cast anything lately?

I just started casting up some 8mm slugs for my Mauser. using the Lee C324x175 mold. Waiting on a custom lee sizing die in .325" to seat the gas checks. plan on driving them with H4895. Looking for about 1800fps or what ever gets me to 200 yards and under 6 moa. shouldnt be to hard. Also plan on casting some more .314" for the mosin and 303 brit

I also have been trying to un clutter my tiny space.
Im going to give my last 20 hornady 150gn .312" SP a try with some N150 in the M44. I have a good amount of 1lb ish powders I like to use up and maybe in the process find a sweet load. Most likely though this along with my 91/30 will find new life and accuracy shooting cast loads.115_4039.jpg
 
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Loaded up the last of my Montana Gold 240 gr JSP 44 mag bullets with 23.5 gr of H110. Then loaded the rest of these 345 gr cast lead bullets I got from a guy at my club. Worked up to 20 gr of H110 which was pretty stout and cases started to get a little sticky inside the cylinder. To save some $ I'm going to start using the Xtreme plated 240 gr FP bullets as they shot well with a heavy crimp and a full charge of H110. I have to send my 44 mag shell plate back to Hornady as it binds up the whole press if I try to tighten the shell plate screw. Been doing that since I got it and decided to call Hornady on Friday. They sent me a prepaid label to ship it back.

Today I loaded some 30 carbine using Berrys plated 110 gr RN bullets to see how they shoot compared to the Hornady 110 gr bullets I've loaded before with 14.5 gr of H110. Hopefully test them this week.

Busy weekend reloading.
 
I just started casting up some 8mm slugs for my Mauser. using the Lee C324x175 mold. Waiting on a custom lee sizing die in .325" to seat the gas checks. plan on driving them with H4895. Looking for about 1800fps or what ever gets me to 200 yards and under 6 moa. shouldnt be to hard. Also plan on casting some more .314" for the mosin and 303 brit

I also have been trying to un clutter my tiny space.
Im going to give my last 20 hornady 150gn .312" SP a try with some N150 in the M44. I have a good amount of 1lb ish powders I like to use up and maybe in the process find a sweet load. Most likely though this along with my 91/30 will find new life and accuracy shooting cast loads.View attachment 138456

Nice! Do you have any pics of the lee 8mm bullets?
I really like some of their designs.
What mould do you use for the 303 and the mosin?
I have a nice 198 grain spire point from NOE. I have barely messed around with and loads with it. I have cast with it a ton though. It's such a nice bullet and awesome mould



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Nice! Do you have any pics of the lee 8mm bullets?
I really like some of their designs.
What mould do you use for the 303 and the mosin?
I have a nice 198 grain spire point from NOE. I have barely messed around with and loads with it. I have cast with it a ton though. It's such a nice bullet and awesome mould



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I used the Lyman 314299 with wheel weight alloy and running about 750'F the mold will drop 315" or so. I bought a custom lee sizer in 314" just to seat the gas checks. I ran out of powder just before the shortage and am just getting back to load testing. I got some very good groups with the 303 with H4895 before running out.
The mosin was doing well also but I did more light powder puff loads with 2400 and trail boss
I will take some picks of the 8mm in the day light...
 
Just took a break from sorting and cleaning the reloading room and bench.
Does anyone else have a ton of coffee cans and baby formula cans etc full of random bits of brass and whatnot?
Does anyone else have issue throwing out the last few grains of powder in a can? I have the first 2 cans if powder I bought. some IMR4198 and some IMR4320 with just a little left in each metal can. I think it's time to toss them and put the cans on the shelf above the reloading bench.
 
Haha....I use 2 lb Domino sugar tubs and the plastic tubs ice cream comes in. I've got a couple remnant bottles of powder, but usually if I have something left over and I'm not gonna use it, on the lawn.
 
Just took a break from sorting and cleaning the reloading room and bench.
Does anyone else have a ton of coffee cans and baby formula cans etc full of random bits of brass and whatnot?
Does anyone else have issue throwing out the last few grains of powder in a can? I have the first 2 cans if powder I bought. some IMR4198 and some IMR4320 with just a little left in each metal can. I think it's time to toss them and put the cans on the shelf above the reloading bench.

I use everything I can get my hands on for brass. Home Depot homer buckets, Utz pretzel and cheese ball barrels, Italian rose salsa containers, Del Monte grapfruit contaners, family size smokeless powder containers, and a couple of decent sized bins.

I can't throw out powder, i reload with it until it is gone. I do save the containers though, the 8lb and 4lb containers are great for brass.
 
I junked about 10 containers yesterday. From glass jars to old coffee cans and whatnot. I found bits of random brass that needed consolidating. Couple dozen 40 cal in the bottom of a bin when I have a half full coffee can off to the side.
I usually find ammo that I forgot I had loaded when I do my cleaning. I was happy to find a dozen or so moon clips filled with 45 in a container in the back of the ammo locker.


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Started putting together some .300BLK loads with Lehigh Defense 78grain and 110grain bullets. I'm a sucker for shiny things, they looked amusing, figured what the hell. The brass jacketed 110's should help me figure out what the hell is going on with the copper everywhere behind the bolt on that gun, too, if I need to give myself an excuse.

Been having good luck finding powder lately. Pretty well set on Lil Gun, Win 296, 4198, and still have RL-7 and 2400 sitting around. Full shelf of powder at the local store yesterday, but not the H335 I really need. All kinds of other odd rifle powders and a good 50lbs of 'Hornady Superformance' that I've never seen before.
 
I have boxes and various 1 gallon storage bags full of brass in different stages. I'll find some other mess containment units at some point to store them in. My bench now has fishing lures hanging from it and my leader tying board attached to it so my press won't see nearly as much work as it does in the winter. So my reloading room is now a spot for changing hooks, tying leaders etc..no way I'm rigging/skinning eels down there though, wife will not be happy.
 
Last week I prepped about 500 .223 cases- Tumbled, sized, trimmed, chamfered, and cleaned.
This weekend I checked out the wall thickness with a scriber(bent piece of wire) 150 of them because some of these cases probably are near the end of their life and I did find a few that didn't feel right. I loaded them for highpower matches, Varget 23.8 grains, 77 grain Sierra bullets , and Federal Match AR primers. This was on the Dillon 550.
Last night I checked out another 100 for thin walls and hand primed them as I don't know what I'll be doing with them. Only another 250 to go!
 
Lee 8mm cast

Nice! Do you have any pics of the lee 8mm bullets?
I really like some of their designs.
What mould do you use for the 303 and the mosin?
I have a nice 198 grain spire point from NOE. I have barely messed around with and loads with it. I have cast with it a ton though. It's such a nice bullet and awesome mould



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
115_4040.jpg115_4046.jpg
Heres a few of the dozen or so I dropped the other night just to see hown they would come out. Wheel weight alloy with a touch of 70/30 tin solder
Plenty hard enough for my use I add a touch of tin in hopes of better mold fill out. I might use a little softer alloy as these come up a little light. The sprue plate is not snapping off clean and leaving a touch of lead on the bases and not smooth?

 
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Just took a break from sorting and cleaning the reloading room and bench.
Does anyone else have a ton of coffee cans and baby formula cans etc full of random bits of brass and whatnot?
Does anyone else have issue throwing out the last few grains of powder in a can? I have the first 2 cans if powder I bought. some IMR4198 and some IMR4320 with just a little left in each metal can. I think it's time to toss them and put the cans on the shelf above the reloading bench.

the similac formula containers work good and stack nice. I also use the square 5 gallon kitty litter buckets they stack well and can be stacked on their sides and cut the flap part off..... basically though what ever is empty when I need to put stuff in gets used. I find the plastic containers fruit come in work good for sorting brass or small projects. They are short lived and dont hold up to much use but great for sorting random brass out side.
 
I kicked out 200 rounds of .380acp for my wife's LCP tonight.

Looking forward to working up some rounds this weekend for my recently acquired Garand.
 
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