What's YOUR Reloading Process/Ritual?

[Gwion]

Personally, i try to make every round as consistent with the last as i can. Once sitting at the press i try to get a set rhythm into the process to tick things along.

I'm sure everyone has a slightly personalised approach to reloading in order to give them their own desired results. As i've only been at it for a little under 2 years, i'm interested to get an idea of different "styles". Not talking about weird and wonderful practices of questionable safety, rather, what practices have you developed for yourself to produces consistent quality ammo with out screwing up with missed, under, over or double charges, etc, etc.

Mine goes something like this:

1/ Do all my case prep and what ever other pedantic case and bullet sorting i deem necessary for particular load,
2/ Prime all cases,
3/ Rack up primed cases,
4/ Pick out first case,
5/ Throw charge into pan,
6/ Weigh/trickle to weight
7/ Re-balance scale to check weight
8/ Funnel into case and place in press,
9/ Throw next charge into pan and place on scales
10/ Seat bullet into previous case while scale balances,
11/ Trickle charge on scale,
12/ Re-balance scale to check charge weight,
13/ Pick out next case,
14/ Funnel into case and place in press,
REPEAT steps 8 through 14.

Once i'm up and running charging and seating each round takes about 30 seconds.
Probably too long and painful for most but makes me confident of consistency. Only had one screw up since starting and loading well over 1000 rounds. One shot went subsonic at 300yd and key holed through a paper target. Buggered if i know how but must have under charged it; must have forgotten step 7 or 12.

[brett1868]

Very similar process for myself

For the big guns >100 rounds
Ensure wife isn't home to disturb me or is otherwise occupied.
Fire up the powder throwers / scales (RCBS Chargemasters)
Have dinner / lunch / breakfast
All cases prepped and ready to prime
Prime cases - I like to do this while I wait for the scales to warm up (I like them to be on for at least 2 hrs before calibrating)
Calibrate both scales with the same set of weights
Throw 233Gr with each thrower then swap pans to verify weight is same (sort of a double check of the calibration)
X-Check every 10th round
Throw & charge placing a projectile pointy end down on each case as it's charged
Once I have 50 cases charged I get busy on seating so as the last charge is thrown I'm ready to seat it.

Smaller rounds I essentially use the same process but only use the 1 thrower. Will be loading 25 different loads of 5 rounds tonight in 300Win Mag as part of my load development for the Steyr I was given. Yet to find a good load after 9 attempts

[handofcod]

1. FL Size if new, neck size if already fireformed
2. Deburr flash hole (if new)
3. Trim to uniform length
4. Deburr neck
5. If new, weight sort to within 1gr and separate into different lots to remain together until they get retired to the 'plinking bucket'
6. Prime cases to be fired in lots of 40-50
7. Calibrate digital scales, zero and record weight of pan, zero again (I use the weight of the pan to check if re-calibration is required along the way)
8. Charge cases, and recalibrate scales every 20-25 throws
9. Plug charged cases with unseated projectiles (if they are boat tail)
10. Seat projectiles and place completed cartridge directly into ammo case

I used to charge and seat each case instead of charging all 50, then seating all 50, etc. It cuts down on time but if you get distracted you can make mistakes.

I'd be interested in finding out if there are steps that people feel I should include. I don't uniform primer pockets or scrub necks with a brush. I also don't have a concentricity gauge.

[Chronos]

Smaller rounds I essentially use the same process but only use the 1 thrower. Will be loading 25 different loads of 5 rounds tonight in 300Win Mag as part of my load development for the Steyr I was given. Yet to find a good load after 9 attempts

GIVEN???

my process varies depending on the cartridge, the dies i use and the kind of rifle it's for

for service rifles i generally tumble cases when i get around 100 fired cases. then i'll resize and decap then prime in one go and either throw powder directly into the case and seat bullets all in one night ready to shoot or put the cases away to do later.

hunting ammo tends to be the same but i'll normally clean primer pockets every time, weigh and trickle every powder charge and be a bit more fussy with seating lengths and i generally seat the bullet twice, turning the case 90deg between as i feel this helps with concentricity


For target ammo i use straight line dies a bit now so i usually don't tumble. just decap and size in a bushing die in an arbor press, prime and put them away. now i have the harrell thrower i usually throw straight into the case with finer powders like 2219 and BM8208 that meter well and seat in the arbor press too. this is often done the night before or the day of the shoot, sometimes at the range because it's so portable and easy

Chronos

[bigfellascott]

Mines:-

Deprime
Clean cases (if needed but often just reload em again)
Necksize and trim if needed (I generally check that when they start to get a bit tight to close the bolt on) or I reckon they need it
Chamfer/debur
Prime
Charge
Projectile in
Seat

Go hunting.

I use a chargemaster so the process is pretty automated when it comes to charging, I only put a case in the reloading block one at a time (once charged they go into the reloading block and projectile inserted upside down) once the tray is full I then seat the bullets and straight into the ammo box ready for action.

I only hunt so I don't go into all that target shooting mumbo jumbo (really isn't needed for hunting IMO)

[tom604]

1..full re-size (i don't have a neck die )
2..tumble until shiny
3..trim and de-burr neck/primer
4..brush neck,just to make sure its clean and smooth
5..prime and put upside down in ammo box,why upside down? just in case there is a grain of corn media that's sticking inside
6..plug in digital scale,wait a while,calibrate
7..charge cases,checking the charge every 25 cases if i remember,if not every 50
8..i seat as i go, by the time i put the pan back on the scale and seat the bullet its thrown the next charge
9..i may start weighing the cases and put in batches, never thought of that, i just kept brands separate

[on_one_wheel]

I still use a Lee loader for all my reloading, just love the simplicity of it and the low cost and it's more than good enough for hunting.

my method is

De prime and inspect all brass
trim necks
de burr / chamfer
clean primer pockets and flash holes
wash brass
Blow dry with compressed air ( sometimes oven dry at 80 Or let air dry for a day )
neck size and prime all brass
Add powder. Weighing every charge with a beam scale using a scoop and trickler
seat projectiles

every 3rd reload of a batch I aneal my brass after de buring / chamfering

[brett1868]

:wtf: GIVEN???

Yep, a gift in lieu of compensation for the grief I had with the HS50-M1 which was returned for full refund due to quality control issues. Going to try 3 different projectiles seated .001" off the lands with 5 different amounts of powder and hopefully find that "Magic" load. These are the cheap end of the Steyr range and retail for around $1100 so not one of their high end products.

Brass prep routine
LR Target
New - Neck turn, Neck ream, FL Resize, Ultrasonic clean, Dry, Primer pocket uniforming, Flash hole uniforming, Trim, Chamfer, De-burr, Tumbled, Weight sort, Case wall thickness tested and indexed - Loaded and concentricity corrected - Labelled and boxed.

Used - FL Resize, Ultrasonic clean, Dry, Inspect, Trim, Chamfer, De-burr, tumbled, Weight sorted (Every 5th reload I anneal the case) - Loaded and concentricity corrected - Labelled and boxed.

Hunting - FL Resize, Ultrasonic clean, Dry, Inspect, Trim, Chamfer, De-burr, tumbled - Loaded, Labelled and boxed.

I'm loading between 500 & 1000 rounds a month at the moment so I've got myself into a nice routine and I've invested in the gear to do it fast and properly.

[Gwion]

Good to see my OCD isn't as bad as i thought it might be!

Will soon be adding to the case prep. At the moment i only neck size and trim then deburr. Flash holes are deburred. I started weight sorting the cases a while back into +/-0.2gn. Also similarly sort bullets. I onlu full length size when i feel they need it.

Getting a Forster trimmer and neck turning kit along with an annealer and stainless steel tumbler.

Picked up a couple of things from you guys already.

Cheers.

[bigfellascott]

Good to see my OCD isn't as bad as i thought it might be!

Will soon be adding to the case prep. At the moment i only neck size and trim then deburr. Flash holes are deburred. I started weight sorting the cases a while back into +/-0.2gn. Also similarly sort bullets. I onlu full length size when i feel they need it.

Getting a Forster trimmer and neck turning kit along with an annealer and stainless steel tumbler.

Picked up a couple of things from you guys already.

Cheers.

You're on the slippery slope now G - the wallet is in for a severe hammering from now on with all the gadgets that one collects in the pursuit of accuracy

[Gwion]

Yep. I get the feeling you may be right, Bigfella!

[Farmjer]

Get the other half out of the house so she won't bother me the whole time.

Then usually decide I just want a beer and a movie instead of reloading

[bigfellascott]

Yes I must admit I'm not overly fussed on reloading these days, I find it a bit boring but it does save me money so I do it only for that reason.

[Lorgar]

Also just about the same.

I like to all of one thing at once instead of complete 1 cartridge at a time.

De-prime all the brass

Tumble it all

Trim it all

Prime it all

I have the 50x slot RCBS case holder tray (or whatever it's called). Sit 50x primed cases sitting in that.

I use the RCBS chargemaster combo to dispense and a funnel for filling cases. Fill them all.

Seat all the projectiles by hand for a full tray.

Move each cartridge with the lose seated projectiles to the press, squash it and box it.

[North East]

I can't be bothered with the whole process. I don't target shoot except for sighting in the rifles....not the slightest bit interested in target shooting. The accuracy with factory ammo is good enough for me. My .204 and .30-06 are fine shooters and the .22 is just that....a .22.

[Gwion]

Get the other half out of the house so she won't bother me the whole time.

Then usually decide I just want a beer and a movie instead of reloading

Bah-ha....

Common theme... wife or girlfriend too distracting.

I close the door to my "mess room" but she still butts in.

I try to do it when she's not around, but doesn't always work that way.

[Gwion]

Yes I must admit I'm not overly fussed on reloading these days, I find it a bit boring but it does save me money so I do it only for that reason.

Gotta say, i find it tedious as well but the performance gain and cost saving is well worth the monotony.

Case prep and sorting i do while watching a movie; it's the mind numbing 'throw, weigh, seat' when you just have to focus on not missing a thing that gets my goat a little.... especially when wifey dearest keeps wanting to talk about what's happening in August 2017!!!

[tom604]

i find it soothing, you get into a rhythm and just plod along

[brett1868]

i find it soothing, you get into a rhythm and just plod along

Same with me, it's my mental therapy, relieves stress and gets the mind off work problems.

The wife / girlfriend / partner interruption give's me an idea for a thread....

[rsj223]

I didn't see anyone using ultrasonic cleaning just tumbling any reason?

[sandgroperbill]

I'll exclude the basics that we can take for granted.

Before I start I always check and cross check my load data across a couple of manuals (even though I remember the load).

When I start, I'll individually weigh each charge, check case and overall length for the first three or four rounds, make sure everything is perfectly consistent.

I'll then check again every 7-10 rounds.

I use a turret press, and I full length size (yes, I know the arguments for and against, but I'm comfortable with full length sizing).

Checking everything manually as often as I do takes a bit longer, but I'm not in a position where I'm shooting hundreds of rounds every week, and I'm OCD when it comes to safety and consistency.

[brett1868]

I didn't see anyone using ultrasonic cleaning just tumbling any reason?

Brass prep routine
LR Target
New - Neck turn, Neck ream, FL Resize, Ultrasonic clean, Dry, Primer pocket uniforming, Flash hole uniforming, Trim, Chamfer, De-burr, Tumbled, Weight sort, Case wall thickness tested and indexed - Loaded and concentricity corrected - Labelled and boxed.

I have 2 ultrasonic cleaners, a 4L one for small batches of brass and a 15L for the bigger batches. Brass is very good at absorbing the ultrasonic waves so it's important to keep the case quantity down when cleaning. I generally do 20-25 50BMG cases at a time in the big cleaner running a 40:1 mix of water to Hornady Ultrasonic case cleaner. Does a good job inside and out though I still need to clean some primer pockets. Looking to invest in a rotary tumbler some day and switch to stainless pin method as it's better with primer pockets. Ultrasonic is good for cleaning and I still tumble the brass to essentially polish it.

[bluerob]

A lot has been discussed on rifles, so, I'll throw in my procedures for handguns (I'm loading .38sp, .9mm and .357 mag). I'm using a Dillon 1050 and exclusively using ADI powder. I'll be loading .44 mag once the paperwork is dealt with.

1. Check brass for splits/cracks
2. Throw them into a 1000 capacity tumbler with a bit of Dillon case polish - 3 hours later, shiny & sparkling brass
3. Throw brass into media seperator
4. Check brass again
5. Throw clean brass into brass hopper on the 1050
6. Check that primer tube is full and enough powder in place (I don't leave powder in the hopper).
7. Start playing the poker machine for 1-2 hours (depending on back pain levels) with all brass going through the various stages for each die installed (deprime and case form, etc through to bullet seating). I manually seat the bullet. Not worried about using a bullet feeder as I can see into the case from where I'm sitting.

With the 1050, I check each case (powder amount) on every 10 round, just to make sure. I've got the no powder/double charge alarm station/die, but, I still like to make sure that the Dillon is on the mark. Best auto (as such) press I've ever used.

As for rifle, basically what the other posts have said, except I'm not using any ultrasonic cleaning on brass (until funds are available for decent unit) and powder throwing is via a Redding 3BR until I can afford the RCBS charge master.

[Usurper]

I close the door to my "mess room" but she still butts in.

That's why they invented locks

[Gwion]

Been thinking a lock on that door wouldn't be a bad thing.

[AusC]

I didn't see anyone using ultrasonic cleaning just tumbling any reason?

Just a bit newer in the scheme of things I think, not as much pickup yet.

I don't use one myself but you can see from other guys experience/pictures that they work.