What did you do in the reloading room recently?

without good light my Caldwell will give some pretty stupid results
Plenty of light here in the desert, I think I was getting reflection off sand, I ran it today with artificial grass under it, this is the new "upside down" chrono.
Tested 10 batches with excellent results!
My 9mm that previously chrono at 1600 is at an ave of 1050. I feel better now:)
 
Dumb Newb question #2017:

Case lube with carbide dies or no?
I've set up my Uber cheap Lee APP for 9 mm decapping and sizing. Some cases fly through with little effort. Some require moderate effort. And some... require a lot of effort. So much so that I ripped a couple of cases out of the shell holder.
That doesn't seem right.
Stuck cases should be rare. Yes?
I noticed on another forum that case lube is recommended. Not having any I tried rubbing the cases on a dryer sheet. That helped immensely. Probably cut the effort 50%.
So, case lube yes? What do you all prefer?
 
Dumb Newb question #2017:

Case lube with carbide dies or no?
I've set up my Uber cheap Lee APP for 9 mm decapping and sizing. Some cases fly through with little effort. Some require moderate effort. And some... require a lot of effort. So much so that I ripped a couple of cases out of the shell holder.
That doesn't seem right.
Stuck cases should be rare. Yes?
I noticed on another forum that case lube is recommended. Not having any I tried rubbing the cases on a dryer sheet. That helped immensely. Probably cut the effort 50%.
So, case lube yes? What do you all prefer?
Isopropyl and lanolin - buy or mix it yourself.

I lube even with carbide - less stress on the press and can feel everything else going on with a progressive.
 
What do you all prefer?
i just got this one and it works just fine:

it is one of those cases when amazon item price is inflated by way too much- so this one makes more sense.
 
Plenty of light here in the desert, I think I was getting reflection off sand, I ran it today with artificial grass under it, this is the new "upside down" chrono.
Tested 10 batches with excellent results!
My 9mm that previously chrono at 1600 is at an ave of 1050. I feel better now:)
I always bring a 22 pistol when I chrono to verify stupidity is not occurring before waste any test rounds. I have had 9mm measure as high as yours did, and as low as 300fps.
 
I always bring a 22 pistol when I chrono to verify stupidity is not occurring before waste any test rounds. I have had 9mm measure as high as yours did, and as low as 300fps.
yep, as you always need to test the readout of chrono before wasting test rounds. i just usually run one of factory ammo i know the speed of as i bring rifle with clean barrel and it needs to be shot at least once before the test.

not exactly a reloading topic, but, a next thing on my mind now is the proper shooting rest, as i am frankly getting pissed at myself after last test i did - as i cannot see if it was inconsistent reloading or me flinching the shots. i decided to try out this small tripod one -

Caldwell Precision Turret Rest​

Amazon product ASIN B07792Z1ZPView: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07792Z1ZP


but i still look online and cannot find a model i saw on one of youtube videos - it looked almost like this one above, but the head holding the rifle was seating on a sprunged rail, so rifle would roll back at recoil and return back to the same position.
it also had a long handle where this model has plate for the gun`s grip for micro controls, and the guy operating it would pull handle a bit for adjustments.

i do not like those rests like a lead sled that completely blocks the recoil, but cannot find anything that is looking adequate. i want to test this caldwell thing, if it will work, but probably will resort back to sandbags. i just hate the thing with sandbags - they are good for prone, but shooting from the bench they are not tall enough, so you need to place one sandbag on top of another to be able to use rear bag, and it is just not that good of a setup for controllable bullet tests.
 
Can’t say whether you would like it, but I’ve found my Guide Gear rest to be perfectly adequate for my needs.
damn i found that thing. that is definitely outside my price range but looks awesome.

rifle rest porn. :)

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUl-nw46cwA


I saw Guide rest - it would work also, but i just wanted something collapsable. I have a pretty strong feeling i will go back to sanb bags, will see.
 
It has a garage-made vibe to it, but I stopped using my bags (they’re still in the car) because it’s a lot easier to carry and more comfortable to use. I’m bad about trying to set up in one trip, and it’s easy to tuck it under an arm while carrying other stuff.
i just received the 'thing', it is actually quite ok - made from heavy solid steel arms, about of 20lb total, does not feel flimsy as i was afraid of. probably worth $120 paid.
i will try to test it next week, will see if it will do any good. locks and controls seem to be ok. would be nice to sort out how to secure legs to the bench table better. stand.jpg
 
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Loaded plated bullets first time ever. These are heavier than my normal cast rounds. I expected a different point of impact H/L, not L/R. What’s up with that? about 10 inches to the left at 25 yards, still groups decent enough. If I Switch back to cast, point of impact good again. Maybe I should have loaded them with my right hand? Anyone ever see this before?
 
I expected a different point of impact H/L, not L/R. What’s up with that? about 10 inches to the left at 25 yards, still groups decent enough. If I Switch back to cast, point of impact good again. Maybe I should have loaded them with my right hand? Anyone ever see this before?
I don't know exactly why it happens, but I've seen it plenty of times. It's not specifically about plated. For example, my 200 grain (coated) .44 magnum light loads needed the rear sight on my model 69 pretty much centered. Switching to slightly hotter 240 grain (coated) loads needed the sight moved to the right. Full magnums needed it it even further to the right.
 
I don't know exactly why it happens, but I've seen it plenty of times. It's not specifically about plated. For example, my 200 grain (coated) .44 magnum light loads needed the rear sight on my model 69 pretty much centered. Switching to slightly hotter 240 grain (coated) loads needed the sight moved to the right. Full magnums needed it it even further to the right.
My guess is the different loads are just showing off your inconsistencies. A heavier slower bullet hitting high due to more recoil is well known. Now add in your technique that is influencing the bullet left a ways. Six exasperated by the heavier load.

Just a guess.

Maybe this chart will help.

530A416A-88E2-4FF3-A0CB-806E66EF026B.jpeg
 
My guess is the different loads are just showing off your inconsistencies. A heavier slower bullet hitting high due to more recoil is well known. Now add in your technique that is influencing the bullet left a ways. Six exasperated by the heavier load.

Just a guess.

Maybe this chart will help.

View attachment 539562
According to this, a lot of shooters i see at the range "Lack Character" [rofl]
 
i just received the 'thing', it is actually quite ok - made from heavy solid steel arms, about of 20lb total, does not feel flimsy as i was afraid of. probably worth $120 paid.
i will try to test it next week, will see if it will do any good. locks and controls seem to be ok. would be nice to sort out how to secure legs to the bench table better. View attachment 539552
I’ll keep an eye out for your feedback. That looks like it might be a good buy for load development.
 
According to this, a lot of shooters i see at the range "Lack Character" [rofl]
According to that chart, I have Not Enough Finger in Nose, but only when I'm shooting certain loads out of my model S&W model 69. I honestly never knew that I needed to put finger in nose. I'm not sure how to manage it. I'll have to seek out some YT videos. Hopefully only a weak hand finger is required, because with 44 magnum it could get painful with the strong hand. Or maybe I'm just being silly and this is only required of a bystander while I'm shooting,
 
Well no luck getting a deer in Maine this past week. Jumped a couple but woods were too damn thick to even see them, just heard them. My dad keeps saying I unfortunately missed the golden days of deer hunting as the population near his camp seems to have dwindled in the last 10 years or so. But I might go back in a couple weeks when the rut is in full swing.

Anyway, I was going through the closet where my dad and grandfather had some old ammo stored. Found these corroded 30-30 rounds in a dusty old Dixie cup 😂
No idea what happened to these rounds. But I think it’s safe to say they’re not safe to shoot so I’ll break them down for the bullets and maybe the primers.
46CF55A1-130C-4D44-A8DB-84F053FD0B1D.jpegB7E3E49E-05C8-43BA-BBC8-3AE52E674A71.jpeg
 
IMG_20211107_190613263.jpg

Finally got some time to cast up some Lee 230g 309 boat tails
I do have to say that I'm impressed with this Lee mold - cuts the sprue easily by hand no knocker needed.
I weighed about a dozen just to get a feel for how it was dropping - about 80% were 231.4 so it's more consistent than I am.

Did about 15lbs - will try to coat them this week.
Haven't found a reasonable source for 300aac brass so I'm going to have to get an RCBS small base die and convert some 223.

Also wouldn't mind trying them in some low velocity 30-06 but haven't looked into load data on something that heavy
 
View attachment 540299

Finally got some time to cast up some Lee 230g 309 boat tails
I do have to say that I'm impressed with this Lee mold - cuts the sprue easily by hand no knocker needed.
I weighed about a dozen just to get a feel for how it was dropping - about 80% were 231.4 so it's more consistent than I am.

Did about 15lbs - will try to coat them this week.
Haven't found a reasonable source for 300aac brass so I'm going to have to get an RCBS small base die and convert some 223.

Also wouldn't mind trying them in some low velocity 30-06 but haven't looked into load data on something that heavy
If you need to borrow my SB set let me know. We need to meet up for that slug mould anyway.
 
so, as i continue to learn my press i installed the other gizmo i didn't fully understand the point of, initially, and after reading a lot of negative reviews of it i kinda felt discouraged to even try.
a magnetic powder check
so, using a rubber band hack it allowed to rotate the powder measure in a way that did not obstruct this gizmo, and, at least the sample i have, on using the .223 case has a sensitivity range of approximately .3gn that is correlating with that fat marker line on the body on the right.
a marker line on the magnet then shows visually, and damn accurately so, how much powder you got from the measure, and even if it does not beep you do see if you got less or more and then can pull case out and adjust. it takes a little bit of an effort to setup the correct height of the magnet so it would be at the middle of the fat line on the ideal correct powder load weight but after that it works very well.
i probably going to take the battery out of it as beeping itself seems to be just an annoying extra, a visual control is more than enough.

i may need to ask a friend to 3d print me some caps for this rod, for different calibers, as the brass piece on top is for pistol brass, and rod itself is still a bit thin for rifle cases, especially for .308. DA for some reason did not bother to make matching caps for rifle calibers. but for .223 it works perfectly fine.

pc.jpg
 
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Well no luck getting a deer in Maine this past week. Jumped a couple but woods were too damn thick to even see them, just heard them. My dad keeps saying I unfortunately missed the golden days of deer hunting as the population near his camp seems to have dwindled in the last 10 years or so. But I might go back in a couple weeks when the rut is in full swing.

Anyway, I was going through the closet where my dad and grandfather had some old ammo stored. Found these corroded 30-30 rounds in a dusty old Dixie cup 😂
No idea what happened to these rounds. But I think it’s safe to say they’re not safe to shoot so I’ll break them down for the bullets and maybe the primers.
View attachment 539989View attachment 539990
I have a ton of 30 30 like that. Every year, for who knows how long, my mother would buy my dad two boxes of ammo for his yearly hunting trip. So it just accumulated over time. They get funky for sure. I bet some of the boxes are over 40 years old, if not more.

As ugly as they are, they still go bang.
 
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