Biggest reloading project!

[Bajadoc]

What was your biggest reloading project? I just finished 900 rounds. I was trying for 1000 but could not make it. Six hundred .38 special (+P) and three hundred .357 magnum (max load with 2400). I used a progressive press for the .38's and did the .357's with a single stage. I think that is the most I have done in one day. I have a blister on one of my fingers and smell like Winchester 231. Going shooting soon.

[Collo Rosso]

This is my biggest project so far.

[Bajadoc]

How many grains of powder to make that a +P? The primer is the size of a tuna can. Where can I get a set of dies? Too bad you can only use a single stage press. Where can you get a speed loader for that?

[Wee Hooker]

Your going to need a bigger press!

[AveragEd]

I know that some of you will think I'm exaggerating but in 1972, when I had only recently started handloading, I loaded 80 boxes - that's 4,000 rounds - of .38 Special ammo for a local police department's annual qualification shoot and did it on an RCBS Junior single-stage loader.

Yes, really.

It took me every evening after work for three weeks plus a few weekend days. And no, I would never do it again!

My arthritic shoulder hurts just thinking about it. Come to think of it, maybe that's what caused the arthritis...

Ed

[Nevada Ed]

I don't care what you guys say......................

That's going to need a lot of "Brasso" to clean it up like new......
don't think a tumbler will work?

[Twoboxer]

Congrats on your new record!

On a single stage, I've never done more than 200 rounds in one sitting, and most often only 50.

Saturday I ran the LNL AP for only ~850 rounds of 45ACP to run out the last of a batch of HP38. Normally on the progressive my run size for 9mm or 45ACP is over 1,500 rounds, almost always done in one sitting. I hate changeovers lol. With those batch sizes I only reload pistol ~6 times a year.

[rwsmith]

Originally Posted by AveragEd

I know that some of you will think I'm exaggerating but in 1972, when I had only recently started handloading, I loaded 80 boxes - that's 4,000 rounds - of .38 Special ammo for a local police department's annual qualification shoot and did it on an RCBS Junior single-stage loader.

Yes, really.

It took me every evening after work for three weeks plus a few weekend days. And no, I would never do it again!

My arthritic shoulder hurts just thinking about it. Come to think of it, maybe that's what caused the arthritis...

Ed

Isn't it amazing the energy you can put into products when you are young and working on a novel project? I think I COULD do some of those over again, but I sure don't want to.

[ameridaddy]

Originally Posted by Collo Rosso

This is my biggest project so far.

How ya gonna tumble that? In a cement mixer or with a belt sander? The admiral insists on shiny brass, so better get started. ;>)

[ameridaddy]

About forty years ago I deprimed and loaded 500 rounds of .38 wadcutters on a Spar-T press, essentially a single stage. I would have done more, but was out of brass.
Ahhhh, youth.
All those nice heavy boxes of loaded ammo felt good. Substantial. Satisfying.

[Bajadoc]

Originally Posted by ameridaddy

About forty years ago I deprimed and loaded 500 rounds of .38 wadcutters on a Spar-T press, essentially a single stage. I would have done more, but was out of brass.
Ahhhh, youth.
All those nice heavy boxes of loaded ammo felt good. Substantial. Satisfying.

I also like the heft of an 100 round bag. Brass, lead and gun powder. Not many people even know what that is anymore.

[Tom S.]

When shooting with a group of friends every week, I was doing 300 9mm and various amounts of 357 each week. Since I got a Dillon 650, runs vary from as few as 100 (.308 Win) to as many as 1,000 45acp at a sitting.

[muddocktor]

About 2 years ago, after getting my 223 dies in, I loaded up 1400 rounds of 223 on my old single stage Pacific 007 press in about a day and a half. The brass was deprimed and the primer pockets swaged, but not resized. I haven't done that much since, but still will do 300 rounds or so at a sitting of 223. All my pistol stuff runs on my old Dillon 450 and it's not uncommon for me to load 500-1000 rounds at a time of pistol ammo.

[gjamison]

I did 1000 .223 on my Dillion 650 a month ago for a friend. Once I got everything up and running it went smoothly. Some of his brass was junk so I replaced with better stuff.

If anyone does a large amount of reloading at one time here are couple things I would recommend.

1. Good CLEAN brass
2. A tidy work area
3. Lots of patients
4. Never volunteer to reload for a friend lol!!

[raisedin99]

Originally Posted by Twoboxer

Saturday I ran the LNL AP for only ~850 rounds of 45ACP to run out the last of a batch of HP38. Normally on the progressive my run size for 9mm or 45ACP is over 1,500 rounds, almost always done in one sitting..

My least favorite part of the LNL AP is filling the primer tube… fifty seven, fifty eight, fifty nine, sixty. I'll never know why I count as I do it.

terry

[fredj338]

Before i had a progressive, i loaded 300rds of 45 colt every other weekend on my ss press. That is what got me into a progressive. The speed of the Dillon allows me to load in smaller batches, less time. I rarely do more than 500rds of anything at one time.

[SMSgt]

I do my reloading in stages: resize/ deprime as needed one day, flare/prime another, stuff them another. Breaks up the monotony for me. I usually limit myself to 100 rounds or so. Works for me.

[Tom S.]

Originally Posted by gjamison

I did 1000 .223 on my Dillion 650 a month ago for a friend. Once I got everything up and running it went smoothly. Some of his brass was junk so I replaced with better stuff.

If anyone does a large amount of reloading at one time here are couple things I would recommend.

1. Good CLEAN brass
2. A tidy work area
3. Lots of patients
4. Never volunteer to reload for a friend lol!!

5. Turn off the radio and/or TV.

[oldman10mm]

my biggest 'reloading' project was to redo/rebuild my reloading area wall. 1/6th of my basement is for reloading and everything else that goes along with reloading.
In mid 70s' I had this to accommodate 38sp,357M,44sp,44M,17Rem,6mmRem.

With the addition of 9mm,40S&W,10mm,41M,223,300AAC,35Rem I had to change things. Between Christmas and New Years I constructed

[arjay]

Cleaned up my bench and loaded 300 rounds of 45 acp on my ss last week,but I spread it out over two days

[italiansport]

Originally Posted by SMSgt

I do my reloading in stages: resize/ deprime as needed one day, flare/prime another, stuff them another. Breaks up the monotony for me. I usually limit myself to 100 rounds or so. Works for me.

I do essentially the same particularly with pistol ammo such as 9mm. I try to keep around 1000 primed cases ready to go at all times so if I need some in a hurry it's basically charge with powder and seat the bullets and I'm good to go.
Jim

[Argonnakid]

I shoot on private property so I know the source of all the brass, but I'm not the only person who shoots on the place. I am the only one who reloads. Several different calibers and 8 5 gallon buckets of brass six hours of sorting later. That's something I won't let pile up again. My eyes were cris crossed by the end. Staring at .380 and 9mm headstamps for more than 3 hours only.

[Vortec MAX]

Over this last winter, I sorted through all the 9mm brass I picked up at the range last summer and reloaded a large portion of it. I kept a few sets of 100 that I knew were once fired separate, but most of the brass went into the ammo can below after reloading. There are 1,087 rounds in there.



I am currently working on 497 more that I picked up over the last few weeks. All have either a Berry's 124 GR FP or THP. I used CCI 500 primers and 5.0 grains of CFE-Pistol in these.

Oh... and I did all this on a Rockchucker single stage.

Mike

[Granddad]

Pretty impressive! I tend to load no more than 300 (usually 200) at a single time on my LNL AP. Although I may do that 2 - 4 times a week, depending on ammo needs.

[H Richard]

On my Dillon 550 I will normally load in batches of around 500 rounds. My small batch loading for the odd stuff, such as 32 Long, 32 H&R Mag, 44 Special and 44 Mag, and my varmint rifle loads, 22-250 and .222 get done on my old Texan turret (single stage), but I seldom load more than 50-100 rounds at a time of those.

[Thomas15]

It took me over a month to complete but in September 2014 I loaded 6000 rounds of 9mm. This on an RCBS turret press and using separate seating and crimp dies. My goal was to load 8000 but I just couldn't go past 6K. I sized/primed and belled the 8K cases of brass and still have about 1000 of those waiting for a bullet. Used almost 4 pounds of American Select powder. I think I bought the last 6 pounds of that powder ever made.

I will never take on a project that big again.

[Mad_Charlie]

Originally Posted by raisedin99

My least favorite part of the LNL AP is filling the primer tube… fifty seven, fifty eight, fifty nine, sixty. I'll never know why I count as I do it.

terry

That's OK, I do it too...

[Mad_Charlie]

To be honest, I don't think I have ever loaded more than 700 rnds at a time, case prep to finished cartridge.

I get tired more easily now, 64, than I did when I was 24, and tired people are much more likely to make mistakes.

[Just another 22 shooter]

In 2003, I took my son along with me on my annual prairie dog shooting safari. I took a 223 Remington, a 221 Sako. a 22-250 and a 6mm Remington. Can't remember exact numbers, but I know I had at least 800 rounds each for the 223 and the 221. Probably 500-600 for the 22-250 and 300 for the 6mm.(no factory ammo) From the time I confirmed the trip with the rancher in February to Memorial day weekend, I spent a lot of time in front of my single stage presses. Not complaining at all; it turned out to be the best pd shooting I've ever experienced and to have my son with me made it even better.

[S&WIowegan]

Back in '01 I signed up to take a 3-day personal defense course at Thunder Ranch when it was in Texas. I was still working full-time and found myself needing to make 1000 rounds of 45 ACP quickly on my Dillon 550. I got it done but my right arm felt funny. I had apparently irritated a nerve in my right elbow and during the drive down I-35 the arm went partially numb. I was able to do the course....barely. I learned a lesson....get a large pistol primer 650!!

As a side note: Driving on I-10 in the very early morning in April is an experience I hope to not repeat. The ground fog was so thick I could not see past the hood of my car. I drove right by Thunder Ranch.

[Engineer1911]

In 2014 during the week of Thanksgiving, I cast 5,800 Lee 200 gr semi-wadcutters using a 6 cavity mold. After the sizing and lubing was done, I started loading 45 ACP on my Dillon 550B. I started casting Monday morning, and finished loading on Saturday night. Still managed to eat too much and gain 2 more pounds.

Just found another full 50 cal ammo can, time to go to the range.

[SweetMK]

Close to 20 years ago, a neighbor and I used to fire 900 rounds of "mild" 44 MAG about once a month.

We would ALWAYS reload right after shooting. using a Dillon SDB.

We could load the 900 rounds in well under 2 hours,,
he inserted the brass...
I inserted the bullet and actuated the lever.

That went on for at least 3 years,,,

I shot a 4" 629,, he had 3 guns, a 6" Model 29,, a SA Ruger, and a DA Ruger,,,

I still have about 4K lead bullets from that era,,, I shoot WAY less now,,,
BUT, I still have that 4" 629!!

[BC38]

I recently loaded 700 rounds, which is my highest number at one time.
150 each of 44 mag & 44 special (300 total)
100 each of 4 different loadings of 357 (400 total)

[wrangler5]

I've loaded over 1K of 9mm and 38 Special on different occasions, but it always took a couple of days. When I shot IDPA with a 9mm I would tumble the empty cases and save 'em until I had emptied out the large MTM "ammo can" that I keep loose, loaded rounds in. (I have about a dozen of the 100 round MTM ammo boxes that go to the range - I fill these from the "bulk" ammo can as needed. When the bulk can is empty, I start reloading to refill it.) Then I'd sit down at the Square Deal press, load up 5 primer tubes, pull up the big box of Montana Gold bullets, fill the powder measure and start cranking. I think the big ammo can would hold about 1600 9mm rounds.

When I switched to shooting a revolver in IDPA I got another Square Deal presss in 38 Special and basically followed the same procedure. I think the big MTM ammo can holds about 1100 38s.

Although I've used a Lee Loadmaster for decades, and still use it for pistol rounds other than 38 and 9mm, I found that for the really high (for me) volume work I prefer a dedicated Square Deal to the Loadmaster. I've made brackets that hold bins of cases and bullets on the appropriate side of the SD, so it's just insert a case with the right hand and place a bullet with the left, then pull the handle. Repeat until a warning buzzer goes off, at which point I refill primers, or powder, or both. Perhaps not quite as fast as using the Loadmaster case feeder, but I never put a case in a Square Deal upside down.

I don't shoot that kind of volume any more, and haven't done any heavy reloading for several years. I have recently discovered the joys of 32 caliber revolvers, and have several hundred S&W Long and H&R Magnum cases on hand, but do not expect to load more than a hundred or so at a time. For that, I'll use the Loadmaster.

[Doubless]

I have had at least a couple:

I used vinegar and salt (I know, I know...) to clean over 5K 5.56 cases that were allowed to get wet, as well as about 1200 pieces of 7.62 X 51 that were used on a Coast Guard vessel, so coated with some sort of petroleum product to preclude corrosion.

I have loaded 1400 rounds of 5.56 at one stting using my Piggyback II...

400+ rounds of "fire-forming" loads to convert 22 Hornet to 22 K-Hornet

And many years ago, I filled an order for 3K 250-grain cast SWCs for a friend. I used a Lyman four cavity #429421 and a Lyman #45 sizer. Took for blooming forever, but I got it done.

I have also cast and sized 1K of cast projectiles on several occasions, but Hensley and Gibbs "gang moulds" and a Star sizer make significantly shorter work of it. (I got smarter...)

[Ivan the Butcher]

In 1984 I bought my Dillon 450 (before they went customer direct). I did a few thousand 223's in small batches of 500 to 800. Then the US Army changed the 5.56 from 55 gr FMJ to the Green Tip steel core. Winchester had 10's or 100's of millions of 55 gr FMJ bullets they let go of cheep! Something like $8.99 a thousand retail. I bought between 20 and 30 thousand1 I accumulated brass and primers for a few months , and started de-capping and swaging the primer crimps. I didn't trim to length! Once I started loading I would do 2000 a night and around 5000 on Saturday. Sunday and Wednesday off for church. I ran out of brass around 20,000 plus. I was sick of loading for about 2 months. Then my full auto MAC-10 9mm needed fed, I did three 10,000 round batches over the next 12-18 months.

I never load quite like that anymore! I do batches of Cowboy ammo of all I can in the winter and shoot it up in the summer. My Dillon got several upgrades and it is a 550b now. I found a rotation for loading that has the least amount of changes: starting with 45LC, 45 Scofield, 44-40WCF, 44 Special, 44 Russian and ending with 38/357. Then I usually set up for 45 ACP (4-5000 rounds). Every few winters I load 32ACP, 32 Long and 32-20, I just load up everything that is empty.

Now days, I load rifle in batches of 100 to 200 on a turret press (I still have about 4000 of my 223's) It is just plain hard to find a quantity of used brass that isn't trash! I have been looking for M-1 Carbine brass in a quantity of about 5000 for 15 to 20 years!
Ivan

[glenwolde]

I've never loaded more than 1,000 in one session, but I've done that several times. With my Dillon 450convertedtoa550 (should I call it a 500?) that's just a morning's work though.

[BigBill]

I ran 6k of 45acp. We just shoot then reload in the winter.

[Engineer1911]

The "old" Dillon 450 progressives are still cranking!

Only option we need is "Auto Operator".

[fredj338]

Originally Posted by S&WIowegan

Back in '01 I signed up to take a 3-day personal defense course at Thunder Ranch when it was in Texas. I was still working full-time and found myself needing to make 1000 rounds of 45 ACP quickly on my Dillon 550. I got it done but my right arm felt funny. I had apparently irritated a nerve in my right elbow and during the drive down I-35 the arm went partially numb. I was able to do the course....barely. I learned a lesson....get a large pistol primer 650!!

As a side note: Driving on I-10 in the very early morning in April is an experience I hope to not repeat. The ground fog was so thick I could not see past the hood of my car. I drove right by Thunder Ranch.

I am not sure a 650 saves that arm, same number of handle pulls. 1004??

[Bkreutz]

Originally Posted by fredj338

I am not sure a 650 saves that arm, same number of handle pulls. 1004??

But you have add the extra right arm movements to put the case into the press. (assuming he didn't have a case feeder).


just pulling your chain, I thought the same thing.

[GypsmJim]

I load 26 calibers. I won't tell you how many guns. I shoot a lot during the year, but not as much as I like because of my affliction....I have to go to work.....LOL.

I load in the Winter and into the Spring. By July 4th I don't have time to reload since the boat is in the water so they all sit until after Deer season. After Cristmas I start reloading again and usually have about 3000 rounds ready to go. I usually knock them off in about a week, working evenings and one Saturday. In a Saturday I can reload 1000, not working too hard.

I have 4 single stage presses, each set up for a different die.

[AveragEd]

Originally Posted by Bkreutz

But you have add the extra right arm movements to put the case into the press. (assuming he didn't have a case feeder).

I use my left hand by reaching across and through the loader. My right hand never leaves the handle.

Ed

[Frank46]

If you need some powder for that shell casing come on down to Louisiana. They are still trying to figure out how to safely dispose of a huge amount of cannon powder. Seems the original company couldn't handle all that they had and after a lighting strike had set some on fire the authorities were stunned to actually how much they had literally stacked up. Last I heard the state was going to hire another company to build an incinerator to start burning it up. Frank