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How many rounds can you load per hour


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1000+ rounds per hour...i'd like to see video of this. What do they have hooked up to the Press Arm..a Turbo Mazda RX7 engine?

Doug,

With knowing you don't need a 2 second dump with pistol rounds, (math 2 second pause per 4k rounds = 8000 seconds = 133 minutes = 2.22 hours) you would been at about 1200 rounds per hour (more math 5.5 hours - 2.2 for 223 powder pause = 3.3 hours, so 4000 rounds/3.3 hours = 1212 rounds an hour) which is the same rate I get loading pistol rounds. So, I think Emerson is correct, that was the correct rate, even with all the extras you did.

Hmmm, 2 million + rounds a year rate, yes, not many people load that much.

Edited by Loves2Shoot
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1000+ rounds per hour...i'd like to see video of this. What do they have hooked up to the Press Arm..a Turbo Mazda RX7 engine?

Starting with bullets in the tray and cases in the Casefeeder, and with the RF 100 Primer Filler filling primers, I once loaded 1000 rounds in 33 minutes (on a 1050). That included occasional pauses to replenish the bullets and the cases.

be

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I have done 110 rounds of .40 in 3 minutes, which is about 2200 an hour. But I would never call that number a "rate". 110 because that is how many fit in the small primer tube, so I always load that many.

On balance I find the numbers cited on Dillon page quite accurate.

The speed is also caliber-dependent. .40 goes the fastest, in my experience.

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650

Casefeeder: Yes

Experience: 18 yrs

Average rounds/hour, pistol: 750 - 800. (practice ammo only, I load much slower and visually check powder on every round for match ammo.)

That includes filling primer tubes, adding powder, and filling the bullet tray. And I just dump my ammo into a box, and I never organize my bench (and it shows ). So an hour in the basement produces 750 - 800 rounds for me.

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With the right setup 1000 rounds/hr is easy. With the 1050, case feeder, and bullet feeder you're just pulling the handle. The Dillon RF-100 is filling up the primer tubes, and you need to keep the case feeder and bullet feeder loaded up.

With fired cases you can crank out 100 rounds every 3 minutes. With new cases its possible to break 3 mins/100.

Of course what slows you down is when crap flies off the shell plate or won't go on, or you break a decapping pin because that 9mm case didn't quite get on the shell plate completely, etc...

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Holy crap!!!

:surprise:

I'd go broke just trying to feed that machine :roflol:

Thanks guys, I figured it was a machine helping of some sorts.

I counted 26 bullets in 84 seconds..so yeah 1050 an hour or so

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Holy crap!!!

:surprise:

I'd go broke just trying to feed that machine :roflol:

Thanks guys, I figured it was a machine helping of some sorts.

I counted 26 bullets in 84 seconds..so yeah 1050 an hour or so

The bullet feeder makes sustained loading easier but not faster, and the automatic arm puller is slower than doing it by hand, but again it makes longer runs easy AND you can manage components while it loads and you can visually inspect the powder easily. I figure since upgrading from the square deal to the 1050 I've saved 6-7 weeks of time, so if I load another 10-20 years that is 18-21 weeks not standing behind a press, so cost is relative to need and time.

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XL650

Roller handle

Strong mount

Bullet tray

Tool holder w/wrenches

Case feeder = Yes

Experience - 1 year on 650, 2 years on Hornady LNL, 20 years on single stage.

Machine new to me last year, bought from Brian. :cheers:

Pistol - Average 400 rounds per hour. I load a lot of lead bullets and I'm pretty OCD about lining them up so they don't shave probably don't need to be, but jacketed is faster for me.

Rifle - Average 600 rounds per hour and that's easy to increase.

Trimming .223 with RT1200B trimmer - 1000 rounds per hour is no problem, keeping lubed cases in the feeder is. :roflol:

Edited by Shadowrider
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Not a Dillon but this is my machine running 4,500 rds / hour. Doesn't even make your arm tired.

On average I will get 3,000 rds / hour

How long it takes to change the caliber? :)

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I loaded 500 rounds of 9mm (minor) this morning a decided to time it using the timer app on my my phone to figure out how much time I was spending actually loading vs. doing other things.

RL550B, strong mount, bullet tray, roller handle

Casefeeder: No

I started with the press clean, lubed, and completely empty. The powder, primer, and scale was on my bench, the bullets were in a box underneath the bench.

So it went like this:

6:58 - loading 5 small primer tubes

7:38 - verifying powder charge, lubing & binning cases, filling powder, primers, and bullet tray

46:21 - loading (500 rounds) - I added primers every 100 rounds and topped off anything that didn't look like it would last another 100 rounds at that point.

10:00 - clean up - re-verify powder charge, remove powder from measure, put unused components away, load rounds into tumbler, dump rounds from tumbler when finished, etc.

I also timed myself pulling the handle and found I could comfortably load 12-13 rounds per minute

So depending on how you care to measure it:

cyclic rate of press: 720-780 rounds per hour

rounds per hour loading: 647

rounds per hour loading including prep:492

rounds per hour loading with both prep & cleanup:423

It would be more efficient to load more rounds at a time. If, for example,I had loaded 1000 rounds instead of 500 the cleanup and prep would be about the same. So if you take the loading time and priming filling time and do the math it comes out to 555 rounds per hour. Surprisingly close to the model number (550). If you extrapolate that (2 primer fills, 2 loading sessions, 1 setup, 1 cleanup) - the total rounds per hour goes up from 423 to 483. If I had the desire and endurance to keep it up without a break for 1500 or 2000 rounds I would probably hit 500 rounds per hour.

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Not a Dillon but this is my machine running 4,500 rds / hour. Doesn't even make your arm tired.

On average I will get 3,000 rds / hour

How long it takes to change the caliber? :)

3 hours

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Just did a session on my SDB, with preloaded primer tubes. It took almost exactly 99 minutes for 800 rounds of 9mm match ammo, start to finish. That included, per the timer, 15 minutes on the first 100, which required a couple minor press tweaks, and then a nice even pace of 12 minutes +/- a few seconds for the other 700.

It's kinda like good shootng - smooth, rhythmic movements. Good flow without jerky stops/starts. Lead with the eyes. A relaxed mind observing. Nothing forced.

Too bad I don't shoot that way... :D

Edited by kevin c
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Just did a session on my SDB, with preloaded primer tubes. It took almost exactly 99 minutes for 800 rounds of 9mm match ammo, start to finish. That included, per the timer, 15 minutes on the first 100, which required a couple minor press tweaks, and then a nice even pace of 12 minutes +/- a few seconds for the other 700.

It's kinda like good shootng - smooth, rhythmic movements. Good flow without jerky stops/starts. Lead with the eyes. A relaxed mind observing. Nothing forced.

Too bad I don't shoot that way... :D

It's never to late to start!

:D

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  • 3 weeks later...

I get about 150-200 per hour on the 550, and about 500-600 per hour on the 1050. That includes loading primer tubes.

I wonder what other folks' techniques are that they can double my productivity, but I like to take my time.

Edit: ~10 years experience

Recently switched from loading mostly 9 Major to loading 40, and now I'm getting 800 per hour on the 1050.

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550B

No case feeder

14 years loading on a 550, around 400K loaded

Still using the ball handle

Fastest time for 100 rds is 5 min 15 sec, I know I can get under 5 min if I practice!

I'm usually in the 750-800 rph range but I only load 300-400 per session

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  • 9 months later...

Super 1050 (bought two weeks ago)

5 years experience (with rcbs rock chucker and xl 650)

No bullet feeder

Primer tubes filled

Average about 800 rounds per hour.

I used it only three times, 1st and 2nd 200 rounds in 14 minutes, the 3rd 400 rounds in 27 minutes.

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650

Roller Handle/Bullet Tray

Casefeeder: Yes

Experience: 5 yrs

Average rounds/hour, pistol:

800 .40 S&W (pre-loaded primer tubes

400-500 9mm Major (compressed loads/paranoid loading makes me go slower)

I prep everything before I start to load. Primer tubes loaded, brass ready, bullets sitting right next to the press. Every time I run out of primers, I have a process for filling more brass, primers, and bullets to keep the press fed. Once I figured out my process, I was able to seriously increase my load time. Basically, I hate reloading, so I try minimize the amount of time I spend loading.

Just got the Dillon primer filler which has so far made me load much slower due to being mesmerized by the dancing primer parade taking place on my loading bench, but will hopefully make things faster once the novelty wears off.

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Dillon 650 with case feed.

Only had the Dillon maybe 8 years.

Have the primer filler.

Alone, I usually load 7-800 rounds/hour.

If I am loading with my buddy, who keeps bullets, primers, powder filled, I can get 11-1200/hour, all day long.

We usually load up 5-10k rounds at a sitting.

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  • 4 years later...
2 hours ago, Livin_cincy said:

 
I loaded a lifetime of ammunition on a Dillon and returned the press before the end of the 30 day trial period...

Now I can just relax...

:bow:     Hope you ran The Plunk Test, checked for accuracy and velocity, and don't decide to change bullet weight or powder.

BTW, a "lifetime of ammo" would fill my house ....    :blink:

Edited by Hi-Power Jack
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On my old 550, not B, and my SD, about 250 rounds per hour, inspecting each case. I hate re-loading as much as cleaning guns, the only thing that matters is what happens after the beep.  Doesn't matter to me anyway,  I'm retired.... I was already tired, but now I have all the time in the world.  Only enough for the next 2 matches....

 

image37461.jpg

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