Reloading is like cooking Chinese food

[Winchester67]

What I mean by that is preparing to reload takes a bit of time, like chopping all the vegetables and meat when cooking Chinese food. But the actual reloading, like the cook time after everything is prepared, goes fast. Here is how I have done it for years. I am almost 60 but have only been married for 12 years. That means there was a LOT of time without adult supervision. It also means I spent a lot of time waiting for my date at the time to get ready. Rather than sit in front of the TV, run a batch of brass thru the sizing and depriming die. Since I am mainly a revolver reloader, case trimming is not typically required. Flare the cases and you can use a hand priming tool to prime while watching TV. By this time you have a ton of prepped brass ready to go. Sit down, drop the powder and seat the bullet...100 rounds goes fast when all you do it like this. I have a Lyman Turret Press, so the dies for .44 Magnum and .357 Magnum were always set up. Just rotate to whatever die you need to do whatever task you have a few minutes for.

Once your brass is primed and prepped, you are ready to reload at an impressive rate for a single stage press.

 

[youngolddude]

How long did it take for the Thanksgiving or Christmas meal to prepare? How long did it take to eat? I'm done in 15 minutes or less. I see the wife or a handful of women prepare for hours. Dessert is typically later, but I may not have any. We eat Chinese at a restaurant or buffet, so that takes a bit longer.
I'm too impatient to load on a single stage, but I can see the value in load development.

 

[Old_Me]

What I mean by that is preparing to reload takes a bit of time, like chopping all the vegetables and meat when cooking Chinese food. But the actual reloading, like the cook time after everything is prepared, goes fast. Here is how I have done it for years. I am almost 60 but have only been married for 12 years. That means there was a LOT of time without adult supervision. It also means I spent a lot of time waiting for my date at the time to get ready. Rather than sit in front of the TV, run a batch of brass thru the sizing and depriming die. Since I am mainly a revolver reloader, case trimming is not typically required. Flare the cases and you can use a hand priming tool to prime while watching TV. By this time you have a ton of prepped brass ready to go. Sit down, drop the powder and seat the bullet...100 rounds goes fast when all you do it like this. I have a Lyman Turret Press, so the dies for .44 Magnum and .357 Magnum were always set up. Just rotate to whatever die you need to do whatever task you have a few minutes for.

Once your brass is primed and prepped, you are ready to reload at an impressive rate for a single stage press.

i only been reloading now for over 3 years. with the help and great advice from many here like @TEXASforLIFE , @youngolddude , @jumpinjoe , @shanneba, @Pitdogg2 , and i am certain, i am missing others who helped immensely..........

i learnt to not be distracted, and check each step carefully.
(i also got great advice from other gunsites i belong to)

unlike you, i have 2 progressive presses, and i do it all at one time, rather than to "stock up" on pre-assembled brass.

i find that (on average) i can reload 200 rounds in about 1 hours time. which is fine with me, considering i actually use my progressive presses as a single stage, but doing one round at a time, and not have any auto feeder for the brass(or bullets) to continually drop.

once i get into my rhythm, with a talk radio program on, i just move along nicely, carefully checking EACH round for powder with a real slick light set up for each press.

i wish to not get into any "speed loading", to make xxx number of rounds per hour.....speed is not my thing, but quality and safe reloading is.

 

[Shibadog]

What I mean by that is preparing to reload takes a bit of time, like chopping all the vegetables and meat when cooking Chinese food. But the actual reloading, like the cook time after everything is prepared, goes fast. Here is how I have done it for years. I am almost 60 but have only been married for 12 years. That means there was a LOT of time without adult supervision. It also means I spent a lot of time waiting for my date at the time to get ready. Rather than sit in front of the TV, run a batch of brass thru the sizing and depriming die. Since I am mainly a revolver reloader, case trimming is not typically required. Flare the cases and you can use a hand priming tool to prime while watching TV. By this time you have a ton of prepped brass ready to go. Sit down, drop the powder and seat the bullet...100 rounds goes fast when all you do it like this. I have a Lyman Turret Press, so the dies for .44 Magnum and .357 Magnum were always set up. Just rotate to whatever die you need to do whatever task you have a few minutes for.

Once your brass is primed and prepped, you are ready to reload at an impressive rate for a single stage press.

I’ve got an ancient Lee Turret press I use as a single stage. I like batch prep, do very frequent powder Checks for consistent loads. When I was into long range rifle I’d weigh/sort bullets for maximum consistency. If you take your time you can create some darn accurate loads.

 

[powerboatr]

not sure if it matters

however,
when i plan to run rounds
i plan for at least a 500 round run
i get the brass out and lay it in the tray to inspect one more time since cleaning
then i load up my primer tubes (200)
i set up/inspect/dry run machine and fill powder feeder, this could take 10 minutes or longer if i have to change calibers
load up bullets in the tray
its a process and then i run 100 at a time, followed by cleaning them and inspecting then clean machine, put unused powder back into the container.

so 500 rounds takes me about 3 hrs
including coffee

 

[Winchester67]

And after I drop the powder, I examine the rounds 50 at a time in the loading tray. All the powder should be at the same level, and it will jump out at you if they are not. Then just add the bullet and pull the lever!

 

[Old_Me]

And after I drop the powder, I examine the rounds 50 at a time in the loading tray. All the powder should be at the same level, and it will jump out at you if they are not. Then just add the bullet and pull the lever!

yes, even though my Dillon (for .45 ACP) is all setup, i will also check the first 10 rounds for correct powder, by scaling each case.

then measure seating depth for the same 10 rounds. then check taper crimp. then check OAL, and plunk test.

after those first 10 rounds have been checked on the Dillon, i go ahead and reload a full 100 rounds

then the next 100 rounds, i start the re-checking the 1st 10 rounds again

same process with my Lee Pro-4000

i very rarely have to re-adjust the powder drops on either press, or any other adjustments, but i still go thru the re-checking process all the same.

 

[Winchester67]

Smart. I never get in a hurry when reloading. Very safe if you respect the process.

 

[Recusant]

For general information, at my first Chinese cooking lesson I was taught how to wok the dog. Needless to say, I lost interest in attending another class.

 

[powerboatr]

yes, even though my Dillon (for .45 ACP) is all setup, i will also check the first 10 rounds for correct powder, by scaling each case.

then measure seating depth for the same 10 rounds. then check taper crimp. then check OAL, and plunk test.

after those first 10 rounds have been checked on the Dillon, i go ahead and reload a full 100 rounds

then the next 100 rounds, i start the re-checking the 1st 10 rounds again

same process with my Lee Pro-4000

i very rarely have to re-adjust the powder drops on either press, or any other adjustments, but i still go thru the re-checking process all the same.

me toooooo
1st ten get eyeballed and measured. once my dillion powder measure is set
its checked on 1st 5 then after i reload a load of 100 primers
dillion powder dropper is uber steady, it never changes unless i bother it

 

[Old_Me]

Smart. I never get in a hurry when reloading. Very safe if you respect the process.

that's what the guys here told me, when i started to get into reloading.

i keep that in mind, with the great advice i got.

goes to that Paul Harrell video on "fake experts" about guns.

if anyone said anything different than what i was told here in the reloading thread, i'd run away.

never take any advice for a "know nuffin reloader".....

we NEVER stop learning

 

[Winchester67]

That is another thing. Know it all reloaders in the gunshop or interweb talk about "working up a hot load" that exceeds the current reloading manuals, and claim how the Lawyers lowered the limits over the years. FALSE! I was in the industry for over 20 years. The manuals have backed down on some of the previously published loads not because of Lawyers concerned about liability, but rather advances in technology that allow them to measure pressure accurately! If Sierra or any other of the big boys says it is safe, it is. If some knucklehead on the interweb exceeds their recommendations, they are wrong. Period.

 

[Old_Me]

That is another thing. Know it all reloaders in the gunshop or interweb talk about "working up a hot load" that exceeds the current reloading manuals, and claim how the Lawyers lowered the limits over the years. FALSE! I was in the industry for over 20 years. The manuals have backed down on some of the previously published loads not because of Lawyers concerned about liability, but rather advances in technology that allow them to measure pressure accurately! If Sierra or any other of the big boys says it is safe, it is. If some knucklehead on the interweb exceeds their recommendations, they are wrong. Period.

i started reloading at the minimum charge, and have done so for the first 3 years.

now, into my 4th year, i have gone up to a grain or 2 under max charge.

i have no desire to mess around with "hot loads"

and even though i have several books, i still re-check updates on the Hodgdon website, since i use Titegroup.

 

[Grayfox]

I've been reloading on the same old RCBS single stage Rockchucker press for over 40 years. I've considered going to a progressive press many times, but just never bothered with it. Now that I'm retired, I got all the time in the world.
I tend to reload in large batches. 500 or 1000 at a time. I generally spread it out over several days. Size on day one, bell day two, prime day three and so on. That helps keep me from getting tired or bored.
I might prep brass or prime while watching TV. But when it comes to pouring powder, no distractions. Maybe a radio, but that's all.
And like Winchester 67, I visually check the power level in all cases before seating bullets.

 

[powerboatr]

i started reloading at the minimum charge, and have done so for the first 3 years.

now, into my 4th year, i have gone up to a grain or 2 under max charge.

i have no desire to mess around with "hot loads"

and even though i have several books, i still re-check updates on the Hodgdon website, since i use Titegroup.

i did the same
ran 20 or so at min charge, then another 10 at bump up
until i was well within max grains of powder...
ended up about mid level to give me no cycle issues or ftf issues
i have used same brand of powder and bullets almost exclusively
i tired a few others to see . but now after so many years its same same so i get repeated results over and over
primers are only variable and i cant tell the difference in magnum primers vs regular

i never get in a hurry, its mind therapy for me...my quiet time as it is

 

[TEXASforLIFE]

That is another thing. Know it all reloaders in the gunshop or interweb talk about "working up a hot load" that exceeds the current reloading manuals, and claim how the Lawyers lowered the limits over the years. FALSE! I was in the industry for over 20 years. The manuals have backed down on some of the previously published loads not because of Lawyers concerned about liability, but rather advances in technology that allow them to measure pressure accurately! If Sierra or any other of the big boys says it is safe, it is. If some knucklehead on the interweb exceeds their recommendations, they are wrong. Period.

I don't know for sure about Sierra, but nosler and Berger (maybe others) don't do physical shooting, they use quick load. Not sure how long those 2 have been using ql?

 

[TEXASforLIFE]

I use to churn out 1k an hour doing 44mag. That was a loooooonnnnnngggg time ago. This was done on a 550 w/o any prep work. Reloading the 264wm with imr4831 it was way slower! I've slowed down as I reload more than my share of various cartridges as some with new powders are a learning curve. I also slowed down because of interpretations, but I do finish and X amount before dealing with said interruption.

 

[Winchester67]

Sierra has a ballistic lab and a shooting tunnel. John Nosler would be spinning in his grave if they are not actually shooting the data...and yes, I knew John Nosler. In the 90's they were still shooting/recording. If you know more than I do about more recent developments, I concede to your knowledge. But would would ask you to offer some proof.

I retired with over twenty years in the industry...I am lucky enough to know most of the players.

 

[TEXASforLIFE]

Sierra has a ballistic lab and a shooting tunnel. John Nosler would be spinning in his grave if they are not actually shooting the data...and yes, I knew John Nosler. In the 90's they were still shooting/recording. If you know more than I do about more recent developments, I concede to your knowledge. But would would ask you to offer some proof.

I retired with over twenty years in the industry...I am lucky enough to know most of the players.

I haven't got a statement from nosler or Berger about this, but there were several reports about both using ql. I'm not sure how they know (or claim to). I'm sure they would do actual shooting and adjust ql to show parallel results. Nosler post in each of their sections per weights h2o. Berger doesn't as they only have 1st edition. I don't fully trust ql as of yet as I haven't chronographed any thing yet to adjust imput as needed. On ql you can input your case capacity if you know it. The only thing i wouldn't change is the burn info of the powders. I would hope these companies would check, recheck and check several more times to stand behind their data. Even when I adjust for their case capacity (Nosler especially) it'll still (in most cases) show way over pressure. Part of that problem is powder info. Some brands give info about their powders freely and some don't. So, ql test to TRY and provide best they can.

I still don't trust ql 100%, but do use it to compare until I know i CAN fully trust it! There are some people who use it exclusively along with grt (Gordon's reloading tool) to produce reloading info. I haven't gone that far.

Just remember the rules of reloading and stay safe!

 

[powerboatr]

as far as loads in the big books of what can or will work...
i have never tested a pistol round at full powder... i sneak up on powder a few at time to see what works best and flies the bullet where it needs to go at the range

imo the books are SMART, and physics is COOL but nothing beats an actual test of your own work to confirm the load