slow loading but still fun

[Steve]

Got a new set of dies to load some hunting rounds for my Henry 45 Colt. I plan on continuing to shoot target rounds loaded by a friend.

Because a hundred hunting rounds will last me a year I thought I would just load them on the single stage press. (load development will take more) Because I'm used to getting a loaded round every time I pull the handle on the Loadmaster I couldn't believe how slow I'm going. (but enjoying the time) I have pulled the handle 200 times and have only sized and flared the cases. My hat is off to you guys that load all your ammo this way.

[daboone]

........ I couldn't believe how slow I'm going. (but enjoying the time) I have pulled the handle 200 times and have only sized and flared the cases. My hat is off to you guys that load all your ammo this way.

When I was young and had the wife, kids, dog, house, yard, boat and at least one full time job reloading speed was an issue. Now that I'm an old ornery ugly man I find the single stage (SS) press is relaxing and as fun and as it was when my dad was first teaching me. I still like to use the progressive for banging out plinking fodder. However the SS press get all my under 100 round handloading done. It is a very satisfying way to craft reloads because I have the time to devote to it.

[RBHarter]

I guess I don't load enough all the time to fully appreciate the progressive press ,it was nice to knock out 100 Colts in 30 min last yr .

I can't say that I enjoy the prep work but it's pretty easy to take a family movie day ,like Jaws 1-4 and grind out the 1000 223 ,1x . Size ,decap ,trim , deswage pockets ,debur ,flair and sort . With the work ups out of the way I can just prime 50 at a time in 9mm trays ,check the powder drop ,dump it in a case drop 9 , check 1 ,drop 9, check 1 drop 29 and confirm the drop.
When it's all past the prep I can knock out about 100 an hour. I actually enjoy the whole thing .

Now if I were shooting competition and 500 plus per week 30-40 weeks a yr ,yep that wouldn't be fun for long . I think a master caster and automated presses ,sizers etc would be the order of the day .

[akuser47]

I need to upgrade to a turret press, to pump out higher volumes of plinker rounds but target and my ccw ammo. I'll stick to weighing everything out. The trick to singles stage loading is to break up the session. I do it by parts spend 1 day brass prep that's deprime trim clean. Then next is sizing and flareing, next time powder n bullets. I don't count priming I do that with the Lee hand primer n enjoy it. I weight all my non plinking components n separate into batches. So consistency helps me accept the madness. Lol

[mr surveyor]

Yep, I "batch load" also. Come in from the range and within a day or so that batch of brass gets deprimed with the universal die and dropped in the ultrasonic bath. Since there's plenty of brass already for a load session, I'll leave the fresh washed brass to air dry. Then when I have a few idle minutes and notice the clean brass waiting, I'll stand by the table it's on, grab the Hand Press, and hit it with the sizing die. If there's enough idle time, it all gets the flair die. After every step I mark off the items completed for that batch of brass .... cleaned - check, resized - check, flaired - check ... and if I've had time to prime it, then it gets the additional notes of primed - check, and "ready for powder/bullets" and bagged. Heck, it's all in my office, so often while I'm discussing work related stuff with my Son, I'll be sizing brass or some other semi-mindless brass prep function. Loading day though is serious business. No visitors, no distractions, and a sufficient block of time to enjoy the real event.

No fuss, no muss, no stress.

jd

[Steve]

Before my serious leg problem hit last year I was shooting at least 500 rounds a week, often double that so I really make use of the loadmaster for pistol rounds. It has been nearly 4 months since I lost my leg and I'm starting to shoot more again so the progressive will soon be really appreciated again.

I like reloading nearly as much as shooting so it is fun loading these 45 Colt rounds on the single stage. I plan on weighing each charge and am in no hurry with them. The friend I get the target rounds from loads them on a 1050. The Dillon 1050 is nice but I enjoy my Loadmaster. Would be nice to have the Dillon case collator feeding my Loadmaster case feeder. But that's not going to happen.

[mr surveyor]

for some reason, about the time I started reloading for the revolvers, I almost completely lost interest in shooting 200-300 rounds per trip through the "bottom feeders". Even though I have a couple of buddies that tried for several years to get me involved in the weekend competition shoots with them at the local range, I valiantly resisted (I know my "limitations" ). If I were into the friendly match shoots like a lot of y'all, I'd certainly be clearing out a bedroom to set up a progressive press, and probably take up casting, then have my electricity and water cut off, then the house .... No doubt it could easily become a real addiction. Even though I do load 9mm and .45 acp occasionally, it's just not the same (for me) as working with my revolvers and lever guns. Slow reloading generally can keep up with slow shooting

Not to get off topic, but how's the progress with the replacement limb, Steve? Your predicament has made me recall a lot of fond memories of a late uncle from California that lost a leg about mid-thigh. For his last 30-40 years or so, there wasn't much he couldn't do. He was well known for his show and tell routine (when they came for their Christmas visit) for all the family kids when they reached age 5 or 6. He'd go back into the bedroom where he was going to sleep and "get ready", then call his newest victim into the room, at which time he'd pull that leg out of his pajama pants leg and raise it up and cackle. I suppose you could say our family has a (insert your own word here) sense of humor . Anyway I hope all is working well for you, Brother.


jd

[Steve]

Thanks for asking JD, my leg has been feeling better and I can have the prosthetic on for several hours at a time now. I can walk a couple blocks without stopping. I thought I could stop taking the pain killers, found out that I was really wrong on that idea but the dosage is cut back a lot at least. It is going to be quite a while before me and uneven ground will get along, but I'm not complaining.... When I see how bad some people have it with different problems I feel pretty thankful to get around as well as I do. So I guess the way I look at it is "life is good" and I'm thankful for what I can do.

[Steve]

I picked up powder and primers today for the 45. Primers cost $32.00 for a thousand, 1 pound of IMR 4227 powder was $25.00.

I got out the hand primer to take care of these cases. I'm a Lee fan but in this case I have to go with preferring the "RCBS Universal Hand Priming Tool". I think the word universal refers to the chuck on it. It has spring loaded jaws that accept any size case. I had primed a lot of cases with this tool before getting their bench mounted tool, both perform flawlessly.

[mr surveyor]

I've been thinking about getting the RCSB Universal myself and keep it dedicated to small primer needs. Even though I use the round "old style" Lee primer tool, I still occasionally have problems with small primers flipping or getting sideways on the ram. I don't recall having too many issues with large primers, but have taken a liking to using the ram prime with the hand press for large primers. But it's getting to where handling even the large primers into the cup on the ram prime isn't so easy. I dropped one last night and spent 20 minutes under desks, tables and cabinets searching for it, but haven't found it yet. Mainly don't want it picked up by the vacuum cleaner and risk a detonation .... aeriated dust in confined spaces mixed with a high ignition source just normally don't play nice


jd