I bet almost everybody has little things they do to make their own life easier when reloading.

I have a few little things.

I have a used ammo box that I made a small parts tray out of.
I dump the bullets I'm loading with into it for easier access.


The ammo boxes I reuse for handloads I mark with a piece of orange duct tape. That lets me know right away whether I'm grabbing factory ammo or reloads.


Another thing I do is tear the back off the primer packages.
They make handy (and free) notecards to write load recipes on and put it in with the ammo.



Anybody else feel like sharing their tips or tricks?

I hand load single primers into the primer cup of my turret press. To make picking up a single primer easier, I turned a small shallow wooden bowl (think a wooden saucer) with a thin lip.

I turn the box of primers upside down on it, and gently slide the cover back dropping rows of ten primers at a time onto the bowl. Unless I get clumsy, they are lined up in nice neat rows. I can easily put a finger on a single primer and slide it to the side and pick it up to place in the primer cup.

I think I can load them almost as quickly as I would be able to use the funky safety prime that Lee makes for their presses. I think this is mainly because I can slide one off as I am rotating the press. If I were using the safety prime, I would have to wait until the turret was stopped before starting with the safety prime.

I made one for my buddy who primes the same way, and he really likes it as well.

Nothing ingenious but when I have powder in the powder measure, I put a label on the cap with the powder inside. Pretty hard to mix stuff up that way.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

The closer it is to the pure KISS method, the better I like it.

I use a lot of masking tape for labels on my units and then targets.

Some think it not worth the trouble, but I do save all the flat
primer trays for when I but the Federal "Jumbo box's".
It is either 5 federal or 10 "skinny trays on a shelf, for me.

Children from the age of 5 to 10 can watch and ask question for
15 minutes, before it is "TV" time.................

and NEVER ice cream cones, allowed !!
At ant time.........

I throw a used dryer sheet in the tumbler. It keeps dust down, and keeps the media cleaner longer.

Based on what I've learned here, I've stopped segregating my 9mm, 38 Spl , 380 and 45 ACP brass by head stamps. Heck, I even mix the occasional nickel plated ones with all the others; of the same caliber persuasion, of course.

My loading practices include checking the powder throw weights every 10 rounds for my plinking loads. When I come across one of those nickel plated cases, I'll check it's throw weight regardless of where I dig it out of my bag of cleaned brass. I'll also run it through one of those Lyman SAMMI case checker dies, and measure its OAL just to make sure that nothing on the turret press has changed. I'm using the nickel plated cases as sort of an arbitrary QA check.

Range pick-up brass is stored in an old clear, plastic nut jar until it's filled. When full the range stuff gets soaked in a brine, vinegar, lemon and Dawn water solution, then rinsed and dried before dry tumbled for several hours, usually over night (or until the boss objects to the rattling noises emitted from the basement).

After tumbling I'll sort the cleaned brass by caliber, while doing a visual inspection for casing cracks, small primed 45 ACP's, and such. After sorting, the cases are put into clear, zip-lock freezer bags ready for loading whenever I get around to it. I'm usually reloading small lots of 100-200 rounds a couple times a week; not a major production operation here.

Completed rounds are mostly stored in smaller, clear, heavyweight plastic bags (50 per bag) and labeled with load data and date of completion, written on 1x2 sticky labels. The small, heavyweight plastic bags are used for my own used cases at the range and then recycled with new labels for new reloads. Unless my shot cases wind up in the mud, I don't subject them to the acid-water wash treatment; just tumbling.

I use a grease pencil aka China markers, to write the powder and weight of the charge on the clear plastic of my powder dribbler. If I stop loading or come back later I know the what and how much.
SEMPER PARATUS

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NRA Life Member
CPO

Nothin' special.

I leave the bullets in the original boxes, and mark "deductions" on the inside of the lid. That way I know how many bullets I have. And I know which casters short me, and which actually give me a few extra.

When I mark labels for my ammo boxes, I don't just mark the load, I also mark the powder measure settings I used to dispense that charge. When I go to replicate that load later, all the information is right there.

On the subject of labels, it turns out that old floppy disk stick-on labels are exactly the right size, and mostly useless today!

I drew simple lines on my seating and crimping knobs, to make it easier to fine-tune those settings.

I made this up the other day. Wanted a place to store my dies for easy access. I also use them for brass storage. Say cheese

I keep all my used brass in old one gallon ice cream buckets, When I go to the range I make sure to take plastic bags for each caliber i pick up my brass when I change guns and caliber so it is easier to clean. I use the plastic trays that store bought ammo comes in as loading blocks,
When at the press all my bullets and brass are in throw away pie plates so it easier to pick them up. because primers come in trays of 100 I load a hundred at a time.

My ammo is stored in plastic boxes I get at Wal-Mart depending on caliber they hold 200 to 500 rounds.

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Carpriver.

Noosa yogurt containers are the perfect size to hold:
* 50 .223 empties
* 50 .38 Spcl empties
* 100 9mm empties

I do everything in large batches until my brass reaches the "ready to prime" stage. That is the time I count them out per the above amounts and store them in yogurt containers. Then it's easy to grab just 100 cases when I prime - so I always know I won't have a partial primer tray sitting around. Tonight, for example, I wanted to prime some .223. Grab a tray of primers and two yogurt containers and I'm good to go. I know from the outset I'll use the entire tray.

Primed cartridges are stored in the containers as well - so it's easy and I know I'll be completely filling either my 50 rnd or 100 rnd ammo boxes I have for completed ammo.

I got some plastic dog treat containers--jar-like--that are great for holding a set of dies in a plate, with a shellholder.

They also work great for brass, holding ~250 pieces of .45 with ease.

I store individual die sets, the respective shell plate and associated dummy rounds (each case marked with bullet type, size, weight and cartridge OAL) in a 4 cup clear plastic kitchen container. The caliber contained in each is marked on the lid.

I use steel #10 cans to keep brass sorted. With the plastic lids they stack nice.
5 gal buckets for fired brass

I keep an Excel spreadsheet for my loads in each caliber and one for loads that didn't work, so I can reference them in the future.

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an actual conservative

Spreadsheets. Spreadsheets for everything!

I use the outer boxes formerly holding a dozen golf balls to hold cases during each stage while they are lubed, decapped, resized, primer pockets cleaned, trimmed, deburred, chamfered and primed. I also use one to hold projectiles while seating. The boxes generally hold (100) .223s or (200) .45s or .38s.
I don't use dryer sheets in general, but I cut pieces of single socks which seems to reduce dust in the tumbler
I use pieces of old office paper which was only printed on 1 side to log the components in my reloads. Hotel note pads also work well.
I wrapped the handle of my press with soft tennis racket tape to make it softer while still giving a good grip.
Not really a reloading trick, but I use the low-sided cardboard trays which formerly hold bottled drinks with a few sheets of newspaper when I clean my guns. It is cheaper than a gun cleaning rug and disposable.

Gallon folgers cans marked with silver sharpie on top and black on sides for brass.
Old CD holders for completely set up Redding TR7 turrets.
Gallon ziplocks for loaded rounds marked with sharpie for specs.
Old cloth bag with handles for fired brass.

I save take out plastic bowls (soup, mac and cheese) from restaurants that we frequent. They make great ammo boxes if you don't over load them. I had paid too much for plastic ammo boxes from the LGS that cracked to pieces after about a year of use. Now I save anything sturdy that holds cartridges or components. One thing that I like is Tupperware. Don't get to big of a container because it gets HEAVY, but smaller ones hold a hundred or so rounds of ammo without breaking and not be too heavy to tote around in your range bag.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I use 3 pound metal coffee cans to hold the over-flow rounds I load. I do have plenty of plastic and cardboard boxes but I load in bulk so I do not have to do so again for a while. When I go to the Range I load guns out of the boxes and refill them from the cans when I return. Works for me.

I know a guy, says he hates reloading, but has to do it to keep the guns fed.

He owns two Dillon 650s and a 550, and his basement is lined with 5-gallon buckets, full of ammunition.

i dump a few hundred BB's in with my cleaning media, to really clean those nasty range pick ups, or to give the brass an extra good cleaning.

i like to use the cardboard boxes that contained 500 bullets for loaded handgun rounds. They are sturdy, a good size, and not too heavy.

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

I use empty tennis ball cans (tubes) for storing bulk brass. Waste baskets at your local tennis court are full of them. Free, transparent, un-breakable, and immune from corrosion. They stack nicely on limited shelf space.

I use old coffee cans to store used brass under the bench.Once it's been cleaned and resized,it goes into ziplock bags up on a shelf.

Plus, the closer to K.I.S.S. the more likely to be safe...

When I handle primers individually, I dump some on a paper towel. Much easier to pick up. I use Avery labels for my load data (2"x4"). Free instructions/forms online and they stick on my plastic ammo boxes or zip-lok bags just fine. At the range I can peel a label off and stick it to a "good group" target...

FWIW and an aside; I reload all my ammo as if I were in world competition shooting matches. I see some folks talk about "plinking" ammo with less regard for good reloading practices and kind of "Oh well, it's just plinking ammo" attitude. I like to hit what I'm shooting at, whether it's a 15 point buck at 500 yards or a beer can at 12 feet, and sloppy, less than the best I can do ain't good enough...

I think "plinking" ammo refers to components used, not altering the process. If I were shooting for a world class record I wouldn't use mixed range brass or bullets not culled by weight. Maybe semantics, but it doesn't have to be perfect for a beer can @ 12ft. Perfect ammo or **** ammo isn't making a diff at 12ft. To each his own on the amount of time spent making their ammo, but calling it sloppy or what ever, not really an accurate description IMO.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Well, I like to keep shell holders, puller collets, etc for a particular cartridge right in the die box with the die set. Also, I know some folks don't get too concerned with case trim length, but I like to keep them consistent (another conversation for another thread). That being the case, I keep a "master" case that is trimmed to length perfectly in the die set box as well for quick and easy setup on my Hornady bench mounted case trimmer.

Range scavenged brass lives in coffee cans until it's time for processing.

I also take advantage of the many labels that come with ammo boxes to label the load recipe of all of the ammo I make, bullet make/model/weight, powder type and charge weight, and in cases of custom COL of my rifles I include that as well. After all, what good is it to make your own ammo and come up with a recipe that works great if you don't know what it is.

When doing work-ups I use the colors of the labels that come with the MTM Case Guard ammo boxes as a visual aid in telling me what level I am. Starting with darker colors at starting level ending with a red label for the highest. No it's not a fail-safe system, but just another little visual hint that accompanies the load recipe written on them
'

I eat WAY too much peanut butter--always have. My health is very good for my age, but it still may kill me someday. Anyway, I'm loaded with a never ending supply of medium and large peanut butter jars. All my brass (in all the various stages) and often loaded rounds are in those surplus containers. Some are labeled with masking tape, but most are obvious (at a glance) what they hold.


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Plinking is supposed to be inexpensive, both in components and time. If I have one load that costs $7.50 a box, and another load that costs $5.50 a box but is less accurate, why would I spend $2 a box extra for accuracy I don't need? Bonus points if the cheaper load is a bit more mild and stresses the gun less.

Similarly, if I have one loading procedure that lets me produce 100 rounds an hour, and another that produces 200 rounds an hour, why would I double the time I spend loading just to sling lead at 7 yards?

The truth of the matter is that even my most casually-produced ammunition is still better than most factory swill.

My brother is big into weightlifting and gives me his empty protein powder jugs. I use them to store empty brass thats been tumbled and ready to load. Works great for that purpose. They hold a ton of brass, are made out of a pretty heavy duty plastic and have a screw down lid.

I try to minimize touching primers as I have had two ftf I have attributed to primer failure and traced to different brands. Since I stopped touching primers I have had none.
I keep my cast bullets in temp controlled environments and store them in zip lock bags, I can easily reach in and grab one when seating and the bag sits flat.
Our bank changed names a while back and I got 10 of the old bank bags for commercial deposits. I use those for non competition range loads to carry back and forth. I just throw in the data or use on of the small stick on labels on the inside of the bag.
Ace hardware has Craftsman small tool bags on sale 3-5 times a year for $5. I keep them full of loaded ammo by caliber. They are labeled and I can pick up a bag of 38, 9, 357, 40, 44 etc and know I have my loaded ammo of different weights all in that range bag. I can add to it or take some out but it is ready to go shoot.
When loading on a single stage or turret I invert every piece of brass before charging it.

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Front sight and squeeze

If I use less than a full sleeve of primers or box of bullets, I write the quantity left on the container where I can easily see it from where I sit at my bench. When more of the item is used, I mark through the old total and write the new quantity.

I've found this useful when actually reloading, as well as for general inventory purposes. It is a little tedious, but the benefits far outweigh that slight disadvantage.

I do this also. In addition, I have many 1 pound canisters of powder, when I open one I put a tape note on the lid so that I don't open another one and have two cans of the same powder opened at one time.

You reminded me, i date all my powder & primers when purchased. So i pull out older stock to use first.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Lot of good pointers here. Good thread Hillbilly!

I switched from round to square buckets and I get 20% more (by weight) in the same storage footprint.

I use a Sharpie marker. It will clean right off with denatured alcohol.

No you don't. :-D

Peanut butter is one of those foods that, if that is the only thing I could eat to survive for the rest of my life - I'd be completely content.

Yep, peanut butter makes a good "survival food" too. Many tons have been sent to famine stricken African countries as a good nourishing "emergency" food. Nuttin' better than a 'nanner and peanut butter sammich on a hot summer day...