RocketCity1911

The single tube test was a success. I'm going to build a prototype of the 10 tube design and see how it performs. Will try to put up a video when I have it working. With no matches this weekend, maybe I can get it done. As always, ideas for other design concepts or recommendations for the current design are welcome.

Sorry the gun is so dirty, but hopefully you can see what the ejector looks like. Probably won't take you long to get this solved -- be patient, you've got a good gun;)

I went through this when I got my Steelmaster over 2 years ago. Two things I did that fixed it: 1. I shortened the ejector and put a slight downward angle on it (this makes the spent case stay down vs going up) 2. Put more tension on the extractor (are your spent cases just falling beside the gun or flinging out several feet? You want more fling.) I'll try to post a picture of my ejector later tonight so you can see what the angle looks like. I think putting more tension on the extractor was very significant for fixing this problem. I don't have an AFTEC, just the standard 2011 STI extractor. For a standard extractor, just pull it out about halfway and apply some pressure to the outside edge (basically, bend it a little), then re-install, test fire and see where the spent cases are landing.

After kicking around the gate idea for a bit over lunch, a Eureka moment occurred -- the tray is the gate! Check out the attached design and let me know what you think. Plan to do a test using a single tube to see how it goes. Can it be this simple?

That is largely dependent on what tools and materials folks have laying around but if you have access to a mill it would be pretty easy. Your 9mm round is tapered, just mill a bunch of slots into something wide enough for the nose to fall down through but the base of the case catches. Then you just need enough slots long enough to hold enough ammo for your tray, make one end open like an E or a comb so once the tips are in the tray you can slide your "jig" out. Find an old ramline 10-22 mag loader and take a look at it, worked pretty much the same way. Except you dumped in a box of ammo and shook it side to side and they all fell in nose down to load the mag. Good idea. I was going to put some thought into the "Gate" mechanism over the next few days and post some potential designs here. All contributions from forum members for this "jig" are welcome We're not ready to cut and bend metal just yet, but maybe getting closer.

The angled design could take a bit of finess to get it to work consistently. The advantage would be that the jig would be stationary, but could require a vibrator or perhaps a tie in to the stroke action of the press to get some vibration to keep the ammo moving along. Design #2 eliminates those "finess" complications but requires moving the jig as each tube fills up, which could get messy if one forgets to move it. I thought about the one long tube design. Problem there is I think even for a 50 round capacity tube, it would be a long tube and possibly difficult to keep the bullets moving along as you tried to fill up the trays. I like the idea of filling up 10 slots at a time so that all you have to do is activate the gate 5 times and you have a full tray. It seems like it would take up less space on the work bench. One downside is that the tray's vary in size even in the same caliber, so you would have to stick to one size of trays or possibly make the tube spacing adjustable. Feel free to through out a sketch of any ideas you or anyone else out there might have. The more ideas the better

Clean up of previous design and addition of another design idea... These designs seem fairly simple. The gate at the bottom will require some more thought, but a buddy of mine thinks it would easily doable.

I'll through out one design idea...Thoughts?

I appreciate everyone's input. I think if the basic problem can be solved, the add-on's and nice-to-have's will really juice up this project.

More often than not, rounds fail the casegauge because of the rim. A U die won't help a bit in this area. Well, I've reloaded over 20,000 9mm with that U die and never had a problem in my guns with FTF. But, perhaps a design for this "jig" could incorporate a case gauge. If an automated solution can be found, it should be something that forum members can easily build/modify for their needs and feel comfortable using. The Quality Assurance of your reloaded ammuntion and what you want to do with the design if you choose to build a "jig" is up to you. I want to keep the discussion focussed on finding a DIY automated way to transfer loaded rounds from a bin/press to trays/boxes. I was thinking about having the rounds exit the press and flow down a trough or tube either standing up vertically or laying down horizontally. You could image ammo "marching" along the trough/tube and winding up at a collection point. The collection point could simply stack up the rounds or maybe get them lined up for a 50 round tray form factor or possibly hold 100 rounds so that when you refill the primer tube you can inspect/package the finished ammo. Thoughts? Hey, at least it gives us something to do during the off-season

I use an EGW U die for resizing, which goes nearly full length of the case and eliminates the need to case gauge. On my Dillon 650 I noticed the finished round exits the machine bullet end down practically every time. Maybe a design that could take advantage of that would be possible. I'm going to think on that some more. P.S. I tried using the case feeder just to see if would pick up and drop a finished round. It wouldn't.

Check the disconnector for wear, especially on the top edge. I've had issues with it getting "hammered" by the bolt during recoil and causing it to develop a grove which grows in width over time until the gun won't fire anymore or won't fire on the first shot, but will work on subsequent shots.

Cool video. This is sort of what I had in mind. Perhaps a scaled down version that would fit on the average reloaders bench maybe filling one round at a time or even just getting the rounds oriented the same and lined up for manual transfer to the trays would be a reasonable solution. Any more ideas out there?

What I did.....I had 3 kids!!! Those boxes fill up like magic!!! That might work when they are little. My kids are 20 and 18. They want to be paid and do it on their schedule -- not an optimal solution. With primer tube fillers, case feeders, bullet feeders, and presses capable of doing many 100's of rounds an hour, it sure would be nice to feed the bin of loaded ammo into some jig that helps complete the process.

Agree. I just want to automate getting them in the trays, not the inspection. Obviously the bullet end is the heaviest. So, seems like gravity combined with some way to funnel the rounds and keep them moving ought to be possible. The manufacturers must have a slick way to do this that could be scaled down for us home gamers. Thoughts?

So, you've loaded hundreds of rounds, the bin is full and you need to get the rounds boxed up. Anybody figure out a way to automate this process? I like to put my loaded ammo in trays so I can then inspect the primers all at once plus it makes keeping an inventory count easier.

Well, it's been just over a year since I posted that video. I was B Class then and just made Master this month. The problem has mostly gone away for me over the past year (I don't even think about it anymore). The main thing I learned to do was to slow down during pre-stage walk-through. Before, I had a tendancy to run through the walk-through, which I believe was causing poor programming of the stage (i.e., a speed focus). I found that doing walk-through in slow motion has promoted the visual patience I needed for proper programming and shooting the stage. It may be a "trick of the day", but it just feels right -- quite relaxing actually. All of the suggestions in this topic have been great and I hope others learn from it as much as I have

Try putting more tension on your extractor. Also, I shortened and put a slight downward angle on my ejector.

I run a 95gr MG over 4.3gr of Hodgdon Clays -- very soft shooting (almost like a .22). I also shoot major using 115gr MG CMJ over 8.6gr of Silhoutte -- snappier, but very manageable. I shoot with the light recoilmaster in both. After 3 years and over 23,000 rounds, I still love my Steelmaster;) How is the dot tracking on that major load. Right now the gun flips more than I am used to for an open gun. The recoil is soft but the dot bounces way up compared to my 38 super comp caspian. Pat With the major load, the dot stays in glass for me. There is some bounce, but I can still shoot .20 splits with decent accuracy. My grip has to be firmer with major versus when I shoot minor loads.

I run a 95gr MG over 4.3gr of Hodgdon Clays -- very soft shooting (almost like a .22). I also shoot major using 115gr MG CMJ over 8.6gr of Silhoutte -- snappier, but very manageable. I shoot with the light recoilmaster in both. After 3 years and over 23,000 rounds, I still love my Steelmaster;)

I've used the Race Master for over a year now and love it. Definitely the way to go. You won't have any regrets;)

I plug with Hear-Pro. Brad does a great job. Plus, he's a Vet with the battle scars to prove it!

this is perfect! thank you sir. So i had a steelmaster earlier this year, sold it and decided i just wanted to focus on iron sights. Six months later I want to shoot open again. So i'm getting another one. The previous gun I had tried some major pf 9mm that my buddy loads and I vaguely remember the gun being much more violent but not much more than that - dont remember if it was a bad violent or just violent and I shoot the same. DC ammo sells Major PF 9mm I believe but i'm so used to shooting 9 minor that i'll just stick with it. If I come in 2nd in open high overall - then next year i'll shoot major until then i'll just go to shoot it and enjoy the experience. I shoot major and minor loads in my Steelmaster. Probably have run 8k or so rounds of major through it in the past 2 years. My major load is 115 gr FMJ Montana Gold over 8.6 gr Silhouette which makes about 170 PF. Haven't seen any problems. The primers don't even show signs of over pressure.

This seems to have cured my windage drifting problem. Thanks XRe

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