Preferred reloading kit?

Reloading equipment, methods, load data, powder and projectile information.

Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by Bidgee » 30 Jun 2022, 9:53 am

Dont think you're going to save money by reloading. By the time you get set properly you'll $1,500 to $2,000 deep. That's before consumables. It also takes a lot time.

If you target shoot, like getting max performance from your rifle, are into wildcats or just like making bullets then go for it. If you hunt with a 223 go buy factory ammo.

I started off many years ago with a RCBS partner press kit and have upgraded bits over the years.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by wanneroo » 01 Jul 2022, 3:06 am

Bidgee wrote:Dont think you're going to save money by reloading. By the time you get set properly you'll $1,500 to $2,000 deep. That's before consumables. It also takes a lot time.

If you target shoot, like getting max performance from your rifle, are into wildcats or just like making bullets then go for it. If you hunt with a 223 go buy factory ammo.

I started off many years ago with a RCBS partner press kit and have upgraded bits over the years.


I started with a couple hundred bucks and pretty much had everything covered. At the time I had a limited budget but did fine.

Over time I upgraded with faster more efficient tools.

I think a lot of times people will hold back on doing stuff because they think they need a bazillion different farkles to make it happen but often they don't. Just was talking about this in regards to Youtube the other day, someone was saying I can't start a channel cause I need thousands of dollars in cameras, lights and audio and I'm like no I started mine and run mine using the camera on my phone, a $20 mic and $20 of lights. Over time I can upgrade as I see fit.

With reloading it may be nice to spend thousands but you really do not have to. As we talked about on this forum back about 2 years ago, if you are in a situation where you have little money and no room, you can at a minimum use a Lee Loader or a Lee Hand Press and make it happen.

With the prices of 223/5.56 these days, one can easily save money by loading their own.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by bladeracer » 01 Jul 2022, 3:24 am

Bidgee wrote:Dont think you're going to save money by reloading. By the time you get set properly you'll $1,500 to $2,000 deep. That's before consumables. It also takes a lot time.

If you target shoot, like getting max performance from your rifle, are into wildcats or just like making bullets then go for it. If you hunt with a 223 go buy factory ammo.

I started off many years ago with a RCBS partner press kit and have upgraded bits over the years.


What on earth would you spend $2000 on?
Under $500 will build you a set that'll last a lifetime and turn out ammo at least as good as factory, and more likely, better.
Another $100 for dies when you add another chambering to the list.

As for time, I loaded 200rds of .303 in about two hours the other night, including various breaks and weighing every charge individually. I spent under an hour earlier in the week sizing and priming 300 pieces of new brass. Using the powder thrower it's very easy to turn out 100rds in an hour from scratch.

I'm making .303 ammo to replace factory ammo a mate has been buying. He's been paying $40 for 20rd boxes of ammo. Mine are 90c apiece. In under 500rds he will have recouped everything he's spent on the equipment, will have halved the cost of his shooting from then on, and is no longer reliant on being able to find ammo when he needs it.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by wanneroo » 01 Jul 2022, 12:12 pm

I have found the cost savings over factory ammo tremendous. There is no way I could shoot the volume of 300 Blackout I do if I had to do factory ammo. 308/7.62 NATO the same. 9mm I am shooting right now for 10 cents a completed round. 45 ACP for maybe about 22 cents a round.

True you exchange some time for the savings, but often I do more reloading in winter when the days are short and the weather not conducive to being outside all day like I am now.

My own personal belief is if you shoot regularly and take it seriously for hunting, competition, target practice, etc. you should be reloading your own or at least some of it.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by JohnV » 02 Jul 2022, 7:47 am

If you moulding your own projectiles it is a bigger cost saver . Moulding your own Buckshot and Solid Slugs is the same .
Your in the US it's far cheaper for you than us and you buy our powders cheaper than we can !
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by b066y » 26 Sep 2022, 2:26 pm

Die Judicii wrote:
b066y wrote:
bladeracer wrote:
b066y wrote:Hi all,

Was looking at reloading kits and the dillion 1050 with the autodrive seems really cool. Does anyone have any personal experience with that set up? How do the other kits compare?


Is this your entry into reloading?
Unless you're churning out a ton of pistol ammo I'd stick with a single-stage press.

I prefer to maintain control over my loading through every stage.


It is my entry into reloading! I know absolutely nothing about ammo except there are different calibers. Just found out a few days ago about the differences between jackets. So yes, very much a newbie.

I figured an auto reloader would simplify the whole process. Pour the powder here, load the components there...press a button and presto! All done.

I take it that's not the way to go?


Yeah Mate,,, all the pre replies here are "good" advice.
As a shooter for MANY years,,,,, (and to this date, never reloaded) I'd suggest trying what I did.
I bought a Reloading Book (well known and quality),,,,,,,,,, read it,,,,,,,, then decided reloading was not for me.

:lol: :lol:


hahahah I took your advice, bought a lyman's reloading manual...it's certainly quite a snoozefest ain't it. Plus there's still no pistol powder available.

Kinda sad the state of affairs. Been reading up on a bunch of other stuff too. There's really quite a lot to learn.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by Oldbloke » 26 Sep 2022, 3:43 pm

Old thread.

b066y, what do you want to reload?

How many rounds?

And why?
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by bladeracer » 26 Sep 2022, 4:59 pm

b066y wrote:hahahah I took your advice, bought a lyman's reloading manual...it's certainly quite a snoozefest ain't it. Plus there's still no pistol powder available.

Kinda sad the state of affairs. Been reading up on a bunch of other stuff too. There's really quite a lot to learn.


I find technical instruction can be very boring unless you're actually hands-on as you study, but it's good to just read it a few times to get the concepts straight.

For starting out you really only need to learn the basic concepts, after that you can dive very deeply into the minutia if you want to. Remember, 150 years ago the cowboys would just melt some lead over the fire at night to cast some bullets, pop a new primer in their brass, fill the case with blackpowder, sit a bullet on top, and crimp it in place. It really doesn't have to be any more complicated than that if you don't want it to be.

Lack of pistol powders is certainly painful for those who only shoot handguns.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by niteowl » 26 Sep 2022, 5:04 pm

The fact that you are in WA with extreme difficulty obtaining powder, it was a bit of a mistake buying the Lyman book. Get yourself an ADI manual as they have a section on pistol loads.
I generally agree with all said above, except I don't go the single stage press. Before everyone goes off, there is nothing wrong with them. A GOOD SOLID turret press is the way to go.
I started reloading some 60 years ago and I never look at saving money by reloading, it means that you can develop a suitable load for a job. More in the way of components rather than a "good load".
Yes I am really that old, unfortunately.
I could go into good and bad products but I should not rubbish Winchester, it would not be proper. :silent:
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by bladeracer » 26 Sep 2022, 5:36 pm

niteowl wrote:The fact that you are in WA with extreme difficulty obtaining powder, it was a bit of a mistake buying the Lyman book. Get yourself an ADI manual as they have a section on pistol loads.
I generally agree with all said above, except I don't go the single stage press. Before everyone goes off, there is nothing wrong with them. A GOOD SOLID turret press is the way to go.
I started reloading some 60 years ago and I never look at saving money by reloading, it means that you can develop a suitable load for a job. More in the way of components rather than a "good load".
Yes I am really that old, unfortunately.
I could go into good and bad products but I should not rubbish Winchester, it would not be proper. :silent:


I don't think you need worry about load data in books, all powder and bullet manufacturers have online load data nowadays I think.

I haven't found any need for a turret press, and regardless of its solidity, it does add a moment force to your ram stroke that an O-ring press does not have, not that it is likely to matter for most shooters. I think its better, especially for newbies, to focus on each individual part of the process and avoid trying to automate any of it. Prep all the cases you're loading, size them all, trim them all, prime them all, charge them all, seat bullets on all of them, crimp them all if you're crimping. This is basically how I still do all of my ammo.

Doing it this way you have a number of pieces you can compare with, any mistakes should stand out. Ten cases sitting upside down in the loading block makes it obvious if one is not primed or a primer is inverted. Looking into the tops of all of them with a torch it becomes obvious if you have missed a powder charge, or over-filled one, the powder levels should all be similar. Seating all the bullets together it should be obvious if one feels different, perhaps a 150gn SP mixed in with your 168gn SP's (the Speer Hotcore 145gn and 160gn once they're seated look identical, but you should notice the longer/shorter bullet during the ram stroke), or some .311" 150gn bullets mixed in with your .308" 150gn bullets will be a little harder to seat. Run your eye across the side view of the loaded rounds in the loading block and it should be obvious if one is too short or too long.

Running a single round through the press from start to finish means you have nothing to compare with during the journey except your memory.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by Oldbloke » 26 Sep 2022, 7:07 pm

Oldbloke wrote:https://ssaa.org.au/stories/reloading-reload-the-centrefire-cartridge.html

Links and info here
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13453


https://www.rcbs.com/rcbs-downloadable-guide.html


Did he bother to download and read the rcbs guide.
Far better than a 200 pge manual full of stuff that will just confuse a newby
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by niteowl » 26 Sep 2022, 10:50 pm

bladeracer wrote:
niteowl wrote:The fact that you are in WA with extreme difficulty obtaining powder, it was a bit of a mistake buying the Lyman book. Get yourself an ADI manual as they have a section on pistol loads.
I generally agree with all said above, except I don't go the single stage press. Before everyone goes off, there is nothing wrong with them. A GOOD SOLID turret press is the way to go.
I started reloading some 60 years ago and I never look at saving money by reloading, it means that you can develop a suitable load for a job. More in the way of components rather than a "good load".
Yes I am really that old, unfortunately.
I could go into good and bad products but I should not rubbish Winchester, it would not be proper. :silent:


I don't think you need worry about load data in books, all powder and bullet manufacturers have online load data nowadays I think.

I haven't found any need for a turret press, and regardless of its solidity, it does add a moment force to your ram stroke that an O-ring press does not have, not that it is likely to matter for most shooters. I think its better, especially for newbies, to focus on each individual part of the process and avoid trying to automate any of it. Prep all the cases you're loading, size them all, trim them all, prime them all, charge them all, seat bullets on all of them, crimp them all if you're crimping. This is basically how I still do all of my ammo.

Doing it this way you have a number of pieces you can compare with, any mistakes should stand out. Ten cases sitting upside down in the loading block makes it obvious if one is not primed or a primer is inverted. Looking into the tops of all of them with a torch it becomes obvious if you have missed a powder charge, or over-filled one, the powder levels should all be similar. Seating all the bullets together it should be obvious if one feels different, perhaps a 150gn SP mixed in with your 168gn SP's (the Speer Hotcore 145gn and 160gn once they're seated look identical, but you should notice the longer/shorter bullet during the ram stroke), or some .311" 150gn bullets mixed in with your .308" 150gn bullets will be a little harder to seat. Run your eye across the side view of the loaded rounds in the loading block and it should be obvious if one is too short or too long.

Running a single round through the press from start to finish means you have nothing to compare with during the journey except your memory.


Yep basically what I do. De-prime and neck size, clean the primer pocket and prime all the cases ( I do admit that I prime with a small single press) then load the powder and seat the projectile one at a time as you would with the single stage press. No errors that way either as only one case has powder at any time, and as you say you feel each one as you seat the projectile.
My thing is with the turret you can have a number of turrets with all the dies set up per cartridge, no changing them.
I am rather particular with consistency due to the fact that, while I do not target shoot I do shoot as a contractor. Besides I have been a qualified gunsmith in WA since 1968 and am therefore a bit fussy.
As mentioned before, I do not have a problem with peoples choices but I can offer alternatives.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by bladeracer » 26 Sep 2022, 11:13 pm

niteowl wrote:Yep basically what I do. De-prime and neck size, clean the primer pocket and prime all the cases ( I do admit that I prime with a small single press) then load the powder and seat the projectile one at a time as you would with the single stage press. No errors that way either as only one case has powder at any time, and as you say you feel each one as you seat the projectile.
My thing is with the turret you can have a number of turrets with all the dies set up per cartridge, no changing them.
I am rather particular with consistency due to the fact that, while I do not target shoot I do shoot as a contractor. Besides I have been a qualified gunsmith in WA since 1968 and am therefore a bit fussy.
As mentioned before, I do not have a problem with peoples choices but I can offer alternatives.


No, that's the opposite of what I do. I want all my cases to be charged with powder before I start seating any bullets. I want to look over them and see that all of them have powder charges, and all are filled to similar levels, only then do I start seating the bullets.

Yes, the same with modern O-ring presses. They use interrupted-thread bushings, so a third of a turn and the die pops in and out of the press, and the dies are still set by the lockring on each die. If you're only using one bullet there's no need to adjust anything once the dies are set up. I like to try different bullets though so I generally have to set up my seating dies every loading session. For my standard loads, that simply requires putting a live round in the ram and adjusting the seating die stem down onto the bullet, then just load the batch to that setting. The neck-sizing dies have no adjustment, you just set them low enough that the ram comes all the way up to work the collet. The FLS dies I set to bump the shoulder where I need it, then they never need adjusting again. The trim dies have no adjustment either, just push the case up into the die and spin the cutter handle a few times.

Precision loads with jump-fussy bullets are a pain as you have to seat all the bullets long, then adjust the seating die for every individual round to seat each bullet to the same ogive measurement. Measure the ogive, determine how far you need to seat the bullet, adjust the die that far, seat the bullet - for every round. Or make a seating stem to fit the ogive of each bullet you use.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by Oldbloke » 27 Sep 2022, 4:05 pm

"No, that's the opposite of what I do. I want all my cases to be charged with powder before I start seating any bullets. I want to look over them and see that all of them have powder charges, and all are filled to similar levels, only then do I start seating the bullets."

Same here. But usually 20 at a time.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by b066y » 03 Oct 2022, 12:12 pm

Oldbloke wrote:Old thread.

b066y, what do you want to reload?

How many rounds?

And why?



9mm for now. Shooting's a new hobby for me and I just want to get into every aspect of it. Just learning about reloading has already taught me so much. Like before, I thought a bullet was a bullet. I knew it had different jackets but I wasn't aware that it also had different weights (115, 124 etc). I used to think those numbers represented how many grains of powder it had! Never knew bullets affected accuracy that much either. Cool stuff.

How many rounds? Not many I would suppose? Enough to shoot 1500 every week? I'm not concerned about accuracy or cost savings at this point. Efficiency is more important. Rounds/min.

I've been reading up and watching youtube vids every chance I get and it seems, the ideal set up is a progressive press with case and bullet feeder plus an electronic powder check. Also carbide dies to eliminate the lubing phase. Does that sound about right?

Would you recommend wet or dry cleaning? I'm inclined to wet since I won't be cleaning them in an open area and dry is quite dusty? Do you absolutely need a dryer or is leaving them in the open for a few days enough?

Also, I've seen some people polish their brass in some kind of media. I'm assuming that's not a critical process? I don't really care how my brass looks.

Thanks everyone. Sorry if I'm not responding individually.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by b066y » 03 Oct 2022, 12:22 pm

Oldbloke wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:https://ssaa.org.au/stories/reloading-reload-the-centrefire-cartridge.html

Links and info here
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13453


https://www.rcbs.com/rcbs-downloadable-guide.html


Did he bother to download and read the rcbs guide.
Far better than a 200 pge manual full of stuff that will just confuse a newby


Yes I did. Thank you for the resource. I'm happy to read anything I can get my hands on at this stage. I got a lyman only because it was referenced in one of the youtube vids.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by Oldbloke » 03 Oct 2022, 12:28 pm

1500 a week...truck loads. Lol

Obviously pistol. Not my area TBH. Suggest you ask for guidance from a few pistol club members.

Have you considered a turret press. They were popular yonks ago.
There are a few brands out there.

https://simplexreloading.com.au/presses/

NFI where you will get the materials/components to load that many ATM.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by bladeracer » 03 Oct 2022, 5:19 pm

b066y wrote:9mm for now. Shooting's a new hobby for me and I just want to get into every aspect of it. Just learning about reloading has already taught me so much. Like before, I thought a bullet was a bullet. I knew it had different jackets but I wasn't aware that it also had different weights (115, 124 etc). I used to think those numbers represented how many grains of powder it had! Never knew bullets affected accuracy that much either. Cool stuff.

How many rounds? Not many I would suppose? Enough to shoot 1500 every week? I'm not concerned about accuracy or cost savings at this point. Efficiency is more important. Rounds/min.

I've been reading up and watching youtube vids every chance I get and it seems, the ideal set up is a progressive press with case and bullet feeder plus an electronic powder check. Also carbide dies to eliminate the lubing phase. Does that sound about right?

Would you recommend wet or dry cleaning? I'm inclined to wet since I won't be cleaning them in an open area and dry is quite dusty? Do you absolutely need a dryer or is leaving them in the open for a few days enough?

Also, I've seen some people polish their brass in some kind of media. I'm assuming that's not a critical process? I don't really care how my brass looks.

Thanks everyone. Sorry if I'm not responding individually.



To shoot 1500rds every week you really will need to move fairly quickly into a progressive, maybe even an automated press. I don't shoot much pistol ammo but I could probably load about 200rds per hour on a single-stage press, from prep to finished. Rifle ammo is probably closer to half that. To load 1500rds of 9mm or .38 Special on a single-stage press is going to be pretty much a day's work, every week, for a few hours of shooting.

The cost of that much ammo is likely going to rapidly lead you into casting your own bullets as well, and probably powder-coating them. Even the cheapest jacketed bullets are going to be around fifty cents apiece ($750 per week - plus primers and powder), commercially-cast bullets will be around $100/400 or twenty-five cents apiece (still over $400 a week). Casting your own could be virtually free if you have a supply of free lead. For example, do a _lot_ of .22LR rifle practice at home and recover your bullets for casting free pistol bullets. If you have to buy your lead or alloy it's around $11/kg at the moment, or about $10/100 bullets. But you'll probably spend another day casting your bullets for the weekend of shooting.

The time outlay you'll be putting in every week for a few hours shooting you may want to consider just ordering bulk ammo from your dealer for the best price he can give you. He should be able to do a decent price on a 75,000rd order to cover your year of shooting.

I don't clean any of my brass, just look after it. Shoot them, deprime them, size them, trim them (only first prep with straight-wall brass), prime them, charge them, seat the bullets, crimp them (pistol ammo), go shooting.

When you're working up a load make sure you try the ammo in the firearm to be sure that it does cycle before you load up a thousand rounds that won't chamber. If you're going to use a progressive press I would also inspect every round at the end to ensure it is primed, and shake it by your ear to ensure it has powder in it.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by bladeracer » 03 Oct 2022, 5:21 pm

Note Oldbloke's comment about components, there is no pistol powder available in Australia currently - none at all. Pistol primers are almost as scarce.
The best you can do is order a ton of 12ga. ammo and strip it down for the powder, but you can also cast your bullets from the shot. You'll still have to find primers somewhere.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by Oldbloke » 03 Oct 2022, 5:34 pm

bladeracer wrote:Note Oldbloke's comment about components, there is no pistol powder available in Australia currently - none at all. Pistol primers are almost as scarce.
The best you can do is order a ton of 12ga. ammo and strip it down for the powder, but you can also cast your bullets from the shot. You'll still have to find primers somewhere.


Yep, my understanding is it's scarce as hens teeth.

How do you actually shoot that much ammo in a week? I know pistol shooters burn a lot but bloody he'll.

What about cost and time to do that?

Perhaps a typo ,,,150?
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by bladeracer » 03 Oct 2022, 5:51 pm

Oldbloke wrote:Yep, my understanding is it's scarce as hens teeth.

How do you actually shoot that much ammo in a week? I know pistol shooters burn a lot but bloody he'll.

What about cost and time to do that?

Perhaps a typo ,,,150?


When I was shooting IPSC I would try to get through 200rds on a comp day, 100rds in the comp and another hundred practicing before and/or after the comp. But the comps were once a month I think, occasionally more often or if I attended other club comps. I think the National titles was 500rd.
But if I went up on my own during the week I could get through 500rds in a few hours practicing. But the ammo was very cheap reloaded for me by a club member that reloaded for a lot of other members, many, many thousands of rounds. It was cheaper than I could load it myself, I think it was cheaper than I could even buy the bullets for.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by b066y » 06 Oct 2022, 12:43 pm

bladeracer wrote:
b066y wrote:9mm for now. Shooting's a new hobby for me and I just want to get into every aspect of it. Just learning about reloading has already taught me so much. Like before, I thought a bullet was a bullet. I knew it had different jackets but I wasn't aware that it also had different weights (115, 124 etc). I used to think those numbers represented how many grains of powder it had! Never knew bullets affected accuracy that much either. Cool stuff.

How many rounds? Not many I would suppose? Enough to shoot 1500 every week? I'm not concerned about accuracy or cost savings at this point. Efficiency is more important. Rounds/min.

I've been reading up and watching youtube vids every chance I get and it seems, the ideal set up is a progressive press with case and bullet feeder plus an electronic powder check. Also carbide dies to eliminate the lubing phase. Does that sound about right?

Would you recommend wet or dry cleaning? I'm inclined to wet since I won't be cleaning them in an open area and dry is quite dusty? Do you absolutely need a dryer or is leaving them in the open for a few days enough?

Also, I've seen some people polish their brass in some kind of media. I'm assuming that's not a critical process? I don't really care how my brass looks.

Thanks everyone. Sorry if I'm not responding individually.



To shoot 1500rds every week you really will need to move fairly quickly into a progressive, maybe even an automated press. I don't shoot much pistol ammo but I could probably load about 200rds per hour on a single-stage press, from prep to finished. Rifle ammo is probably closer to half that. To load 1500rds of 9mm or .38 Special on a single-stage press is going to be pretty much a day's work, every week, for a few hours of shooting.

The cost of that much ammo is likely going to rapidly lead you into casting your own bullets as well, and probably powder-coating them. Even the cheapest jacketed bullets are going to be around fifty cents apiece ($750 per week - plus primers and powder), commercially-cast bullets will be around $100/400 or twenty-five cents apiece (still over $400 a week). Casting your own could be virtually free if you have a supply of free lead. For example, do a _lot_ of .22LR rifle practice at home and recover your bullets for casting free pistol bullets. If you have to buy your lead or alloy it's around $11/kg at the moment, or about $10/100 bullets. But you'll probably spend another day casting your bullets for the weekend of shooting.

The time outlay you'll be putting in every week for a few hours shooting you may want to consider just ordering bulk ammo from your dealer for the best price he can give you. He should be able to do a decent price on a 75,000rd order to cover your year of shooting.

I don't clean any of my brass, just look after it. Shoot them, deprime them, size them, trim them (only first prep with straight-wall brass), prime them, charge them, seat the bullets, crimp them (pistol ammo), go shooting.

When you're working up a load make sure you try the ammo in the firearm to be sure that it does cycle before you load up a thousand rounds that won't chamber. If you're going to use a progressive press I would also inspect every round at the end to ensure it is primed, and shake it by your ear to ensure it has powder in it.


Apologies for the confusion. The general event is called WA1500 and it has 48 shot, 60 shot and 150 shot events. I shoot anywhere between 100-200 rounds a week.

Are we allowed to store 75000 rounds? I'd think the police would get quite concerned with such an order!

Cleaning the brass isn't mandatory?
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by bladeracer » 06 Oct 2022, 1:08 pm

b066y wrote:Apologies for the confusion. The general event is called WA1500 and it has 48 shot, 60 shot and 150 shot events. I shoot anywhere between 100-200 rounds a week.

Are we allowed to store 75000 rounds? I'd think the police would get quite concerned with such an order!

Cleaning the brass isn't mandatory?


That makes more sense :-)
No, no issue with ammo, you can own as much as you like. Only SA has a law that restricts you to "no more than you use in a year". I would be around that figure with everything combined - rimfire, shotshell and centrefire.

Up to you whether you want to clean brass. I prefer not to toss it around to get it dirty so it would need cleaning. IPSC tosses it around the range so it does tend to dirty it, and my 9mm brass got pretty filthy but it never got cleaned, I still have some of it more than thirty-years old and been loaded dozens of times.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by b066y » 06 Oct 2022, 2:20 pm

bladeracer wrote:
b066y wrote:Apologies for the confusion. The general event is called WA1500 and it has 48 shot, 60 shot and 150 shot events. I shoot anywhere between 100-200 rounds a week.

Are we allowed to store 75000 rounds? I'd think the police would get quite concerned with such an order!

Cleaning the brass isn't mandatory?


That makes more sense :-)
No, no issue with ammo, you can own as much as you like. Only SA has a law that restricts you to "no more than you use in a year". I would be around that figure with everything combined - rimfire, shotshell and centrefire.

Up to you whether you want to clean brass. I prefer not to toss it around to get it dirty so it would need cleaning. IPSC tosses it around the range so it does tend to dirty it, and my 9mm brass got pretty filthy but it never got cleaned, I still have some of it more than thirty-years old and been loaded dozens of times.



Brilliant! Time to get a bigger ammo safe :D
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by yoshie » 08 Oct 2022, 7:19 am

"Apologies for the confusion. The general event is called WA1500 and it has 48 shot, 60 shot and 150 shot events. I shoot anywhere between 100-200 rounds a week.

Are we allowed to store 75000 rounds? I'd think the police would get quite concerned with such an order!

Cleaning the brass isn't mandatory?"

If your shooting that much a week you should really be looking at a progressive press like a Dillion

I went from a single stage to a lee load master progressive, every pull on the handle drops out a cartridge. I'm all set up with red reloading stuff so I've just got a new breech lock pro semi progressive press. I can comfortably reload 500 cases in the evening after the kids have gone to bed. You have to manually prime each case on the press which is why it's not fully progressive. If you are stating out go straight for the blue reloading gear, it's good gear. However a brand new lee pro 1000 with 9mm dies is the same price as a Dillion 650 conversion kit.....

As for cleaning cases, I use a vibration tumbler, it takes about 2-3 hours to clean 200 9mm cases. I just leave it running while I'm reloading. Because it's dry, when you dump them out you can put them straight into the press. Cleaning the carbon off the cases saves the wear on your dies. They don't need to be spotless, just clean. You could even just wipe them with a rag.
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Re: Preferred reloading kit?

Post by phill55phill » 08 Oct 2022, 8:36 am

Supersimplex has served me well and Ozzie made
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