RudyVey
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Posts posted by RudyVey
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2 hours ago, boatdoc173 said:
funny that you brought that up @ddc.
I have my eyes out for a lightly used 650 or might go with a 750xl.
I wa s looking into a case feeder for the 550 but I am a bit confused as to the stations. the manual discusses using station #1` for a powder drop. I am still trying to figure out what station the primers are loaded and how a 4 station loader can use a case feeder. Obviously Dillon had this figured out
Forget the casefeeder for the 550. I have one, the DAA, and took it off after a few weeks. Was great for 357 mag, but slowed me down with 9 mm. You always have to look that the case is properly aligned in shellplate and not tipping, and it was a pita every time to make sure that was the case (pun intended), and often I needed my fingers to clear things. Took it off and be back to my normal speed. I can do easily 500 rounds an hour, and have done this. But, I do enjoy reloading and it relaxes me, so if I do 400 I am happy.
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2 hours ago, ysrracer said:
Full disclosure, I use two shots of one shot, but yeah.
I also use two shots One Shot to be honest. Any special recommendation on the type of plastic bag?? I use original ziploc baggies only....
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40 minutes ago, Boomstick303 said:
Just curious, why do you treat S&B and PPU like stepped brass? I have not found any issue loading this brass.
Just do not like them, that's all. No special reasoning. S&B can be sometimes harder to resize, at least that's what I feel on my 550.
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14 hours ago, ysrracer said:
Has anyone mentioned One Shot yet?
Glad you mentioned it.....its all I use. It's called One Shot....
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Still worth for me, just opened a box of primers I got in 12/2018, I had loaded up with powders when Vectan's were on sale. Only bullets are now more than before. So, I think my loads for 9 mm are something like 16 cents a pop (bullet 12, primer 3 and powder 1 cent - Prima V gives me approx 2000 rounds per bottle, $20 a bottle at 500 gram weight). And .45 is about 23 cents (17 cents a bullet, primer 3 cents and powder 3). Should be good for a few years with my stash.
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13 minutes ago, Farmer said:
Don’t know if it’ll help but when I sort brass I set up several boxes or plastic tubs for each headstamp. I put a name tag on each and just sit back and toss them in the appropriate tub. Usually I’ll have a WW, Fed, RP or whatever is the majority tagged tub, and then one that’s miscellaneous. Later I can sort the misc into sub groups if there’s enough or a good headstamp, ie Starline, Speer, ect. Once you get rolling it goes pretty quick and you can even watch TV while sorting although that slows things down.
That's what I do: three tubs to sort them pretty much like you do. FED,WIN and RP goes in one; Blazer, Speer, Fiocchi, PMC in the second one, and in the third one goes the brass i do not care to loose (Aguila, CBC, S+B, PPU, NNY and all the other odd stuff). And the rest goes to the recycling bin...like all the stepped stuff.
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I had a couple of SQD's but never recall any primer issues. As far as I recall, the primer system is similar to the one of the 550's I have now.
If you install a new blue tip on the small primer tube, and when you insert it, you must align it so it slides into the primer housing system.
Here is what the manual says:
"The tab on the plastic Magazine Tip, red or blue, must be gently aligned with the slot down in the Primer Feed Body Housing and then should slide down about a 1/4” more."
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1 hour ago, boatdoc173 said:
@GrumpyOne--very good suggestions. for me 200 rounds/ hour is an improvement. one time eater is checking each casing to be loaded . I am focusing on keeping the good headstamps(ones that work all the time) win=90% of what I load( all 9mm), some federal,speer, S+B. no issues with them. no depriming pin sticking either
the depriming pin only sticks( now that I use the undersized ones @HOGRIDER suggested) in odd headstamped cases. that is my fault for using them. some headstamps are just hard to read. those cases will be recycled to my shooting club from now on. that will allow me to keep loading at a much better pace
in the past year or 2, my biggest problems were caused by the priming system and the slide torquing. i WAS NOVICE AND DID NOT REALIZE HOW THAT ISSUE SLOWED ME DOWN( ADJUSTING PRIMER TOWER SCREWS ALL THE TIME, LOOSE USED PRIMERS BLOCKING THE SYSTEM....) NOW THAT i HAVE FIXED THaT MESS, i CAN JUST CRUISE ALONG AS FOLLOWS;
3 SEC TO CHECK HEADSTAMP WHILE LOADING NEW CASE( sorry just noticed the caps--my bad),
2-3 sec to place a bullet on the case in station 3,
2 sec to primer and index the plate for the next load. doing the math, I SHOULD be loading 6 or more rounds per minute= 360 rounds/hour.. Obviously my rate is way off of that.
the case check is a time eater but is necessary to prevent loading bad cases or 380s. IF I sorted the cases before loaded, that would speed up my loading rate BUT it would take HUGE amounts of my spare time --I used mixed range brass including my own cases. I am considering doing this.
I admire you and the others who can load faster than I can. I am striving to load faster in the near future. I would be happy with 250-300 rounds per hours. more is even better. 8-10 rounds/minute would be great.
I will consider every tip you provided. thanks for the consideration and thought put intothe reply
I sort my brass as soon as I come from the range and have it cleaned, so no need to check it when I reload. My personal system is:
WIN/FED/RP is the better brass and I try to get them all back
Blazer, PMC, Speer, Norma, Fiocchi, Geco and such is the second grade for me, not a problem if I loose some.
The last sorting is the one I call "shoose and loose" (shoot and leave at range): Military, Aguilla, CBC, S&B, PPU (or the cyrillic version NNY), and all kind of odd brass that is not stepped inside (these go straight to the bin for the metal recycling yard) - and there is a lot of crap out lately. Just make sure to put a magnet through your cleaned brass (I do it before I clean) and sort steel (sometimes coating with nickel or brass!!) and Aluminum, goes straight to the garbage bin.
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34 minutes ago, Zachjet said:
Where’d you get the ss weight for the powder?
"These weights were precisely machined by the late father of a friends friend, and I am glad I have three of them. He also precisely drilled the holes into the powder measure caps so the rod that holds the weight is not binding."
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1 hour ago, GrumpyOne said:
I reload on a 550B, and have for years. If you are only getting 200 an hour on yours, then something, either in your process or in your press, is wrong. Running wide open, I can get 600 an hour...that is with primer tubes pre-filled. Without much effort at all, 400 is easy to get per hour (9mm or 40s&w), with 500 per hour being the norm.
As for de-capping pin getting stuck, are you saying it gets stuck in the flash hole of the brass, or it is pulling the primer back into the primer pocket?
Get a clamp type LED desk light, screw it to your bench, with the light shining down into the case. Get a 1.5" parts mirror with a telescoping handle. Remove the mirror part, and place it on the press to where you can see into the case. The 550 has some casting holes almost directly above the seat station, use that hole with some hot glue to hold the mirror in place. With the mirro and light, you can glance into the case when you seat the bullet by looking at the mirror.
When reloading, when your right hand picks up a piece of brass, your left hand picks up a bullet head. Always try to have a bullet head in your fingers, except after setting the bullet in the seat station. Index the press using your thumb, place the bullet, pull the handle...picknup brass and bullet, repeat. The key is movement. Put your brass and bullets so that they are accessible with the least amount of movement from your hands. This means the brass on the right side of the press, in a low walled, large area open top container, just to the right and in front of the completed round chute. The bullet heads are on the left, again in a low walled, large area open top container, maybe 2" from the shellate.
For primer issues, replace the plastic primer rod with a brass rod with the end bent at a 90° angle. Cut the brass rod long enough that the primer slide locks back when the last primer is used and the bend is resting on the top of the knurled nut on top of the primer feed tube. This will serve as your primer warning. You can mark the rod, if you wish, to show how many primers you have left. The brass rod will slip down into the primer cup and the primer slide will not go forward, and the brass rod provides weight to help force the primers down. This makes it virtually impossible to load a round without a primer, as there will be zero resistance when trying to seat the primer (and the press will sound different).
Tighten the shellplate down tight, but where it spins freely, then lock the set screw. Should be little to no wiggle in the shellplate.
Trust your press. In 100k+ rounds I have loaded, I have never loaded an unintentional squib.
You can easily double your production just by the hand movements I mentioned.
Absolutely correct my friend!! I use two 550's, one for large and one for small primers. Have several caliber conversions (complete tool heads, set-up with dies, powder measure, light module etc) ready to go. Two are for 9 mm, one each for 357 mag and 38 spl. . 400 rounds per hour is easily doable, I have done 500 per hour in 9 mm which is totally possible if you have primer tubes filled on hand.
I just use the standard Dillon primer rod, on top is a large case in which I have pressed in a 45 ACP 230 gr bullet = enough weight to hold the rod and push a primer down. Rarely do I have a up-side-down primer, just check when you load your tubes (I use a PAL filler for this, and never had a wrongly placed primer).
Lube your brass!! A couple sprays squirts of One-Shot into a zip-loc bag and then pour in your clean brush, close the bag and massage the lube onto the cases. I had last year a DAA small casefeeder installed, but I took it off again as it did not help at all. Took too much attention and often I had a case tilted, worse with 9 mm, longer, like 357 mag was not bad. But in total a pita for me.
Have your bullet tray filled, put your lubed cases in the blue bin and you are ready to go.
Install lights, I use and highly recommend these:
https://reloadinginnovations.com/products/starlight-press-lighting-system-for-dillon-550
Have a light module mounted to all caliber conversions, just pull the plug out of the light, change to your next caliber and put the plug back in - ready to go.
The benefit of the ready to go caliber conversion is that when you have dialed in your powder throw, you never have to change it or re-adjust.
I also use a stainless steel weight (about 20 oz) in the powder measure; this gives me a extremely small deviation in my powder throw.
For example for my 45 acp, I "shoot" for 5.7 grains, the other day I loaded some 200 rounds and checked my weight 5 times during these 200 rounds; the throw was 5.68 grains consistently. Loading today 357 mag, I want 5.2-5.3 grains, and got 5.24 in all the tests I did. This is very consistent.
These weights were precisely machined by the late father of a friends friend, and I am glad I have three of them. He also precisely drilled the holes into the powder measure caps so the rod that holds the weight is not binding.
I would not go for any reason to automate my process. I do really enjoy my manual reloading, it gives me peace, like others get in meditation. Just relax and reload...
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17 hours ago, GigG said:
I was looking at the Vectan chart. They didn't even have a load for 147. Just 135, 155, 170, 180 & 200.
The chart I found listed 145 grains as max weight for 9 mm, I did not see anything above (you list 155-200), and the start load is 3.1 grains and the max is 3.8 grains for the 145 bullet. But, there might be other charts out there.
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On 10/17/2022 at 10:53 AM, Ssanders224 said:
Using lube is the route to go on all brass, all the time.
+1!!
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13 hours ago, 36873687 said:
Shot 20 k of s&b primers they all went bang
Oh the good old days....used to buy S&B form $25/k at Cabela's. Had points so they went down to $17/k. Loaded up then, but this was some 5/6 years ago. Wish I find them for $50 now...
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Don't kid yourself if you think you get non-US made primers cheaper. Everyone sells primers now at highest price, filling their pockets, independent where the primers are coming from. And, you will see high prices for a long, long time - we have to get used to it.
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As long as it falls out of the front of your barrel, the crimp is fine......
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Anyone ordered from 209primersammoshop??
Their prices are extremely low, but the way of payment is typical for a scam out fit?
Although they offer some kind of paypal payment, but they have a weird way to process pp payment, so this seems fishy to me.
Asking for a friend (really), I am good on primers for a longer time.
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The pink hue comes from the copper in the brass when the zinc is removed by chemical attack of an acidic product (lemishine, I guess is citric acid). Cartridge brass is a mix of 70% Copper and 30% Zinc.
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12 hours ago, loubob said:
does anyone know where a pin could be purchased for a dillon square deal ?
Only at Dillon I would guess. They may even send you one for free.
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52 minutes ago, MJC082581 said:
Definitely sounds like primer drawback or the die is not set properly. When using the RCBS, try adjusting the pin further down. You can’t do that on the Dillon die. Also, try cutting a 45 degree angle on the tip then smooth up the edges. This has worked for me in the past. If you wanted to switch to a universal decapper, look into the FW Arms popper die. It’s the best out there and you will never have drawback issues again
I think SDB dies are unique for the press, other company's dies will not fit it.
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Since you are located in Europe, you may be able to find Nobel Sports powders there easier than US powders. I use a lot of Vectan Prima V and also Ba 9 1/2.
The first one for 9 mm 124 gr and the latter for 357 mag. Use CFE Pistol for 45. Unfortunately, the Nobel Sports powders are now hard, if at all, to find here in the USA.
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16 hours ago, Woodhog said:
I use Sierra #9924 134 grain and 3.8 grains of titegroup in a 9 mm
14 years dude...and this is about 124 gr bullets....
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Tried to order some from KrArmory, but they do not sell to NJ.
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Let's see: I have primers from the past for 3 cents a piece, and some from the times after the increase, they were about 8 cents a piece. Got a lot of powder from the before time, and depending on the caliber and load, powder is somewhere from 1.5 - 2.5 cents per round. Bullets - I use Precis1on Delta JHP and FM, about 10 cents for a 9 mm and 12 for 45 - these prices were before, but now they are a bit higher, 12 cents for 9 and about 15 cents for .45.
So, lets sum this up before my cost was approx 14 cents for a round of 9 mm or 38/357 mag and 17 for .45' now it is about 22 cents for 9 and 357 and 26 for .45.
Actually not that bad. My powder and primers (before and after) should last me a few years, then I buy a bow...
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11 hours ago, xrayfk05 said:
If you are just looking at getting a few more rounds loaded per hour maybe a case feeder will help. DAA makes a mini case feeder which is not too expensive. You still have to manual load the cases in the tubes but you can keep your right hand in the handle at all times.
Otherwise something like a Pal filler or perhaps the Hornady/Frankford Arsenal versions might be worth checking out. All depending on how quick you are at filling tubes at the moment.
And in fighting?
It's a forum, people post there opinions and arguments for them. That's what forums are for
Yes, people call you crazy for buying a 5K pistol, but if you go on 5K holiday for 3 weeks no-one blinks an eye.
I have the case feeder for the 550 from DAA. Initially I liked it, but it did not give me any advantage of making more rounds. It kinda slowed me down as I had to make sure the case is not anyhow slanted, crooked etc and goes in the first stage without a problem. With 9 mm it is very bad, my speed was actually slower than hand feeding. Longer cases like 357 mag were fine.
After getting a few cases not straight and not looking at them and then causing problems, I took it off again. My speed is back to normal and I have no issues. If someone wants this casefeeder, contact me...
Can someone help me with the finer points of brass cleaning?
in General Reloading
Posted
.."eliminate the pins in my FART".. glad you did, must be hurting like hell....;>)