manaul vs auto reloading

[GrumpyOne]

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. 

 

[HOGRIDER]

36 minutes 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. 

 

@GrumpyOne

Sounds like a great time to make a video of your process!  I’m sure it would benefit other 550B operators!

 

[RudyVey]

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...

 

[Zachjet]

34 minutes ago, RudyVey said:

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...

 

Where’d you get the ss weight for the powder? 

[RudyVey]

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."

[BigHand]

3 hours ago, HOGRIDER said:

@GrumpyOne

Sounds like a great time to make a video of your process!  I’m sure it would benefit other 550B operators!

 

 

This is my process, which is similar to the above comments. The biggest thing is to find a process that utilizes every second of your time to speed it all up, WITHOUT sacrificing safety. A few things I do:

-I look into every case for powder as my body comes forward to prime the case

-My left hand has a bullet and puts the bullet on the case as I'm looking into it for powder

-Left hand progresses the shellplate as I put the bullet on and my right hand is grabbing a new case

-Repeat. 

 

If I have primers ready to go, I can pretty easily do 400rds an hour at a casual pace, 500rds If I speed it up and concentrate on the movements. Thats checking powder weight a couple times every 100rds too. 

 

This is a video of me doing 9mm on a 550. Its not the best as I'm not in a huge grooved, but you can start to see my process and how there isn't a lot of wasted movement.

Dillon 550 - 9mm Reloads

[boatdoc173]

@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

 

[boatdoc173]

@GrumpyOne--  you  could be a youtube star if you make that video..inquiring minds want to know

 

@RudyVey--  you and  grumpyone  are providing  good  suggestions. I will consider each one

[boatdoc173]

@BigHand-nice video.   I am as  efficient as I  can be when you consider  my checking  cases, placing bullets, verifying  new primer is  being  placed.  best I can do is about   8-11 seconds per  round.

 

thanks for the  reply and video

[RudyVey]

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.

[GrumpyOne]

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

 

Go back to the larger depriming pin. Most brass has the larger flash hole. Bevel (chisel tipl the end of the pin. Toss the small flash hole brass.

 

For 9mm, find a 50 round PLASTIC tray from a box of 40 S&W or 45ACP. Take your brass, put it into a large box (like a medium flat rate box), put the 50 round tray in the middle of the box. Grab a double handful of 9mm brass and dump them over the tray. 99% of the brass will fall case head down into the tray. This makes it extremely easy to see 380, 38S (or variants), and stepped cases,  as the 380 or 38S will be taller or shorter than the 9mm. Separate those out.

Stop checking headstamps...not becessary for what we do (for the most part). 

 

Why does it take you 2-3 seconds to place a bullet in station 3? It should take a second or less. Please post a pic of your case in station 3, showing the bell/flair of the case. You should be able to just drop the bullet head onto the case and move on...the seater die does the rest (lines it up and seats it).

[GrumpyOne]

1 hour ago, boatdoc173 said:

@BigHand-nice video.   I am as  efficient as I  can be when you consider  my checking  cases, placing bullets, verifying  new primer is  being  placed.  best I can do is about   8-11 seconds per  round.

 

thanks for the  reply and video

Why / how are you verifying a new primer is being placed? Again, trust your press. You can FEEL when a primer has not been seated. If the case has been deprimed, if there is no primer in the cup, you can feel the primer punch go into the case with little to no resistance. If the case did not de-prime and the de-prime pin pulled the old primer back in, then you can feel the new primer not going into the case (press handle will not go all the way forward). 

 

As for checking brass, either stop completely checking it all, or sort before loading. I don't sort brass at all...the only time i pull cases is when I check using the ammo tray, and then it's only 380, 38S or stepped brass that I pull. I rarely see split 9mm cases, but if there are, the tray lets you see them in a quick glance while looking for 380...

[GrumpyOne]

2 hours ago, boatdoc173 said:

@BigHand-nice video.   I am as  efficient as I  can be when you consider  my checking  cases, placing bullets, verifying  new primer is  being  placed.  best I can do is about   8-11 seconds per  round.

 

thanks for the  reply and video

8 seconds per round is 480 rounds per hour. 11 seconds per round is 327 rounds per hour.

 

200 rounds per hour is 3.33 rounds per minute, or, about 18 seconds per round.

[BigHand]

7 hours ago, boatdoc173 said:

@BigHand-nice video.   I am as  efficient as I  can be when you consider  my checking  cases, placing bullets, verifying  new primer is  being  placed.  best I can do is about   8-11 seconds per  round.

 

thanks for the  reply and video

 

A lot of good advice by @GrumpyOne. 

 

I do not sort cases at all, I just tumble them and go. I may be lucky or just have a good eye, but I can usually spot 380 cases on the shellplate. 380 also RARELY can get primed fully without popping off the shellpate or "feeling" wrong. I cannot stress paying attention to the "Feel" of your press like GrumpyOne said. 

 

Its ok to go slower to feel more confident about your loading but it seems like there are definite improvements you could make that shouldn't affect that.

 

Best of luck, alot of good advice on here. 

[boatdoc173]

@grumpyone--yeah the headstamp checking is because I did NOT sort the range  brass when I came home with it. never thought   about   sorting  9mm  brass before the depriming pin was getting  stuck in the firing holes.  now  it is obvious what to do.

 

 

Out of habit, I can see a primer in the  cup as the slide moves  forward.  Yes I can feel it  as I seat it.  It doe s  not take any time at all  during loading. I see the primer,seat it in one  move, index the case to station 2 while placing a bullet on the filled  case in station 3. my  flare is minimal. 99.9% of  the bullets  stay lined up ready to seat. . It takes  2 seconds or so to pick up the bullet(located in a wide  bin on the left side of the loader,place it on the  case( usually), then 3 sec or more to check the headstamp with my right hand and place  the case in station 1.

 

I  need to find time to  clean a lot of brass and  sort it by headstamp.   get rid of the  other calibers(  380, 40 s+w).   I also need to find time to sort   freshly shot  brass when I come home. small batches are much easier than buckets   full( what I am facing. )

 

THanks to the posts  from you and  a few other helpful members, it is obvious that head stamp/case checking is my bottleneck. placing bullets and cases for each round  should take only 2 seconds  each and then 2 -3 more  to load and start the next. I  can see how I should be able to load at least 8-10  rounds/ minute. ..like you more experienced  reloaders.

 

thanks to you and to all who have taken he time to make suggestions.

 

I will try to add pics later this week.

Edited October 24, 2022 by boatdoc173

[boatdoc173]

@BigHand-- agreed and  I will try.

[boatdoc173]

 just to touch on the sorting of brass.  If 9mm was like  45 acp. there would be no issue as my large primer  45 acp cases load without issue

 

most of my  9mm brass is winchester and it works  great  with my redding deprimer/ siziing die. federal,blazer,speer and S+B  do not  cause issues either.

 

 odd headstamped brass  need to be pulled. they will be  brought to my club so they  can get the  $$ when they turn it in.

 

 

[Racinready300ex]

On 10/22/2022 at 1:47 PM, HOGRIDER said:

@Racinready300ex  Been loading with nothing but Federal Match SP primes for MANY years, and in my experience, they are without fault in the RL1100 or previous XL650s.  I usually load in passes of 500-1K; and just load up however many I need using Dillon PPU tubes with my PAL Filler.  If my machines priming system is clean, I have "0" upside down primers............

 

 

Note that I said it's not the press and I'm not using a PAL filler. But, I'm glad your system works for you. 

[HOGRIDER]

1 hour ago, Racinready300ex said:

 

Note that I said it's not the press and I'm not using a PAL filler. But, I'm glad your system works for you. 

Yes, I noticed you stated it's not the press.............

 

Quote

It also depends on the primers. CCI run amazingly through that thing. Right now I'm loading Federal and they kind of suck. I had to adjust it a lot, now it's running but getting the upside down primers here and there. 

I was simply addressing my experience with Federal primers and that I did not think they suck............

 

[Racinready300ex]

8 minutes ago, HOGRIDER said:

Yes, I noticed you stated it's not the press.............

 

I was simply addressing my experience with Federal primers and that I did not think they suck............

 

 

By suck I meant they don't feed as smoothly as the CCI primers do. I realize lots of guys need there super light triggers and love them some federal primers. 

[HOGRIDER]

3 hours ago, Racinready300ex said:

 

By suck I meant they don't feed as smoothly as the CCI primers do. I realize lots of guys need there super light triggers and love them some federal primers. 

Ah.....now I understand your displeasure with Federal primers not working in your primer equipment!

 

Yea, must be a lot of shooters that like Federal...........I noticed they were the #1 used primer in Production and Carry Optics for the last 2 years as reported in the USPSA Equipment Surveys.

 

I apologize to @boatdoc173 for taking the thread off-subject.........

 

[boatdoc173]

no harm --no foul @hogrider.  all posts are welcome

[ddc]

On 10/23/2022 at 12:20 PM, GrumpyOne said:

For 9mm, find a 50 round PLASTIC tray from a box of 40 S&W or 45ACP. Take your brass, put it into a large box (like a medium flat rate box), put the 50 round tray in the middle of the box. Grab a double handful of 9mm brass and dump them over the tray. 99% of the brass will fall case head down into the tray. This makes it extremely easy to see 380, 38S (or variants), and stepped cases,  as the 380 or 38S will be taller or shorter than the 9mm. Separate those out.

 

 

I also use the "plastic 40 s&w tray trick" for sorting.

I saw a guy doing it on Youtube quite a while back.

It really works well.

 

 

[boatdoc173]

 had an "ah-ha moment today.  I did a marathon head stamp sorting session today.  It really showed me why my reloading is so slow when I check each case headstamp( one  by one as I load).  It took HOURS to sort through a few thousand pieces. leaves ya pretty sore too 

 

looking forward to the next  loading session. cannot wait to see the increased  #s of rounds made/hour  using  the sorted brass

[Farmer]

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.