How long to reload a box of shells?

[sean79]

I've never reloaded, but I'm thinking about starting. A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of a Lee starter kit with an "O" press (I think that's what it was).

I've been told that reloading is pretty slow with an "O" press. How slow is slow? How long would it take to reload fifty .45 ACP in that kind of press? Thanks.

 

[Beans]

IMHO I beleive that the production rate for a single stage reloading press would range from 40-60 rounds pr hour.
That including starting with fired brass.

Quick overview

1. deprime and size
2. bell case mouth for bullet insertion
3. Prime case
4. insert powder, if using a preset powder dump. If not then weight each powder charge before putting it in the case
5. seat bullet you may or may not crimp at this stage.

With some experience you might be able to jump that to 75 rounds per hour.

 

[epj]

Been a long time since I reloaded on a single stage press, but I think you're looking at well over an hour. By contrast, I can load 50 rounds on my Dillon 550 progressive in 7-8 minutes if I take my time. Less if I'm in a hurry. A cost effective alternative is the Lee turret press. Not nearly as fast as a progressive, but much faster than a true single stage. I don't have one and have never used one, but the guys on this forum generally give it fairly high marks.

 

[Hunt200]

I actually get that question a lot, but I never really timed it. A single stage is going to be slower than a progressive, but it is all relative to how much time you have on your hands. If you want to pump out a lots of rounds in a short time get a progressive, if you are just making up a few boxes at a time the single stage will be fine.

The Lee press with the quick change bushings actually speed up the process, I have each die set up in its own bushing so the set up time is greatly reduced and I produce quality rounds. I go for quality over quantity.

 

[sean79]

Thanks, everyone. I think I remember seeing that those progressive presses were a lot more money. I'll check out the turret press and the quick-change bushing option. Depending on price, I may just stick with the single stage press - at least for starting out. Appreciate all the input.

 

[45cal]

The only thing I reload now days on a single stage is a few hunt loads for rifle.
I think it depends on what your goals are,if you shoot or plan to shoot very much,progressive is the way to go.
Personally I have two Dillon 550-b ,one set for small primers and one for large primers,plus a rock chucker supreme and a cheap lee that goes to range for setting oal on new workup load for rifles.

 

[cp1969]

Thanks, everyone. I think I remember seeing that those progressive presses were a lot more money. I'll check out the turret press and the quick-change bushing option. Depending on price, I may just stick with the single stage press - at least for starting out. Appreciate all the input.

That is good thinking.

There seem to be two types of people--those who don't mind or even enjoy reloading and the other type for whom speed is the most important factor.

If you look around on this board and others, you'll see many examples of handguns blown into twisted hunks of worthless steel. Almost without exception, these accidents are caused by overloads. Again, almost without exception, those overloaded cartridges were loaded on a progressive press.

If a person's time is too valuable to spend much of it reloading, maybe he should consider just buying factory ammo and be done with it. That's not meant as a disparaging comment because I realize some people's time is more valuable than mine. That person can recover some of the cost of shooting factory ammo simply by picking up the brass and selling it to someone who reloads.

 

[Revolver-time]

That is good thinking.

There seem to be two types of people--those who don't mind or even enjoy reloading and the other type for whom speed is the most important factor.

If you look around on this board and others, you'll see many examples of handguns blown into twisted hunks of worthless steel. Almost without exception, these accidents are caused by overloads. Again, almost without exception, those overloaded cartridges were loaded on a progressive press.

If a person's time is too valuable to spend much of it reloading, maybe he should consider just buying factory ammo and be done with it. That's not meant as a disparaging comment because I realize some people's time is more valuable than mine. That person can recover some of the cost of shooting factory ammo simply by picking up the brass and selling it to someone who reloads.

Excellent post! I do not think speed should factor in to safe reloading. Even when I know that things are set up correctly on my reloaders, I check and check again. I want to produce the best ammo I can, not the most ammo I can.

 

[NMPinNYC]

I've never reloaded, but I'm thinking about starting. A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of a Lee starter kit with an "O" press (I think that's what it was).

I've been told that reloading is pretty slow with an "O" press. How slow is slow? How long would it take to reload fifty .45 ACP in that kind of press? Thanks.

Sean, to get you into the half-hour for a box of fifty reloads, I've got to suggest to you a turret press - not necessarily a progressive, too much to keep track of for a new reloader, but the beauty is that you can set your dies up, do a bunch of depriming and sizing for example, a bunch of priming, and a bunch of bullet seating at once. After you've set your dies once, you keep them there, no screwing and in screwing them every time you change a function, and checking for accurate setting each time. I would suggest a Lee cast iron turret press as your first press. About a hundred bucks from Graf's, Midway, etc. Extra turrets are about $10-$12 each.

I like this method as you can be very careful, and you'll enjoy your reloading a lot. I'm not about production numbers, but I like the "extra care" I perceive I give to my reloads.

 

[MakeMyNight]

Thanks, everyone. I think I remember seeing that those progressive presses were a lot more money. I'll check out the turret press and the quick-change bushing option. Depending on price, I may just stick with the single stage press - at least for starting out. Appreciate all the input.

I've been loading with My RCBS Rockchucker single stage press since the early '70's, and I load thoudsands of rounds per year.

Nothing wrong with a single stage press, and a turret press is not necessarily worth the extra dollar outlay.

My method is to resize/de-cap all mtys, then bell the case mouths, followed by 4 to 6 hours cleaning in the tumbler.

I generally load all the cases during another session, as I load significantly more than 50 pcs at a time.
Lee's reloading dies btw, are an absolute bargain.

Worth mentioning; buy a Lee Auto Prime for $15, because using the single stage or turret press for priming, can easily crush a primer.
Lee's Auto Prime allows You to "feel" the primer being seated properly.

The Auto Prime uses it's own dedicated shell holders, and that's the only down side to this particular tool.
RCBS, Lyman, and other suppliers build a hand priming tool which uses regular shell holders, though higher tool cost.

Pick Your poison, and good loading!

 

[Dave T]

Although I am a big advocate of progressive reloaders I still have the RCBS Jr. I started with in 1971. I have long since developed a familiar rhythm and technique and can load a box of 50 in 30 minutes or a little less. Once dies are adjusted and you are familiar with all the steps it really isn't to difficult, just tedious.

Back in 1977 I went to Jeff Cooper's Gunsight for his 250 Basic course. They recommended students bring 1000 rounds of ammunition. I reloaded 1000 rounds of 45 ACP on that RCBS Jr. I ordered my first progressive press the week before I left for Gunsight so it would be there when I got back. (LOL)

Dave

 

[sean79]

I appreciate all the replies. A couple more questions...

Is it "better" to start out loading .45 ACP instead of .40 S&W?

I'm asking because I won a pistol in a raffle. The pistol I won is a 40 caliber, but I can exchange it for any other gun - I've been thinking of getting a .45.

I've read that there have been some problems with .40 S&W cases and reloading (something about the higher pressures - especially when fired out of a pistol without full head support for the cases). Would it be safer for a newbie to reload .45s? Is there a limit to the number of times one can reuse brass? If so, is that number different for .45 v. .40?

Right now, I'm leaning toward purchasing the Lee Challenger single stage kit from Midway. I'm not sure how much I'd have to shoot to recoup startup costs, but it's not a lot of money to get started.

Thanks, again, for all your help.

 

[GypsmJim]

I started with a Lee Reloader Press for about $23, then quickly upgraded to a Challenger when I started reloading large rifle calibers. I bought a second Reloader just for priming, and just last winter bought a third so I could load pistol with all my dies mounted and adjusted. So, I don't really have a progressive press, but certainly "progressive" loading. I prefer my method because I get to inspect each round at every step, so no chance of missing a powder charge or a badly seated primer.

The Challenger is strong enough for sizing ANY cartridge, and the little guy works fine for priming, charging and bullet seating.

In any event, I load between 200-225 rounds per hour. Not a record, but keeps me happy.

Lee only offers their Challenger with QC bushing now. It would be my opinion that if I had the Challenger "kit" and only that 1 press, I could load a box of 50 in about 45 minutes. If it were me, I wouldn't buy the kit. I'd buy the press, a second Reloader press, an AutoDisc Powder dispenser and and AutoPrime II. Use the little press for priming and expanding/powder charging. With the 2 presses I bet I could load a box in 30 minutes or less. The hand primer that comes with the kit is great, but any time you can do 2 steps without setting the cartridge down you save a lot of time.

I don't load .40, but I can't imagine there is any difference vs. 45 acp. I get 20+ reloadings from my 45 acps.

 

[sean79]

I get 20+ reloadings from my 45 acps.

How do you know when to stop? Are there telltale signs that it's time to move on, or do you just keep track of how many times you reload them?

 

[OKFC05]

How do you know when to stop? Are there telltale signs that it's time to move on, or do you just keep track of how many times you reload them?

Sure signs its time to retire the brass:
1. It split
2. The primer falls out
3. The head is bulged
4. I stop when I can't read the headstamp, even if it looks OK otherwise. Pistol cases are usually pretty obvious when they are done if you have been shooting them in your own gun.

Rifle bottleneck cases ae a whole different game, as they stretch just ahead of the web with repeated firings and have to be discarded before they come apart in the gun.

As to loading pistol ammo in new brass, it's all about the same with the different straight-walled calibers. If you pick up range trash brass like I do, it's necessary to inspect carefully. I have a push-through die for .40 to take care of "Glocked" cases (swolen brass near the head).
By the way, I recommend starting with a turret press for pistol ammo, since it can also be operated as a single-stage until you get more confident. If you want to load more than a box an hour of cartridges, a single-stage will seem slooow.

 

[rburg]

Lots of telltale signs. Like the case mouth spliting, the primer pockets not holding primers, or the cases getting significantly longer or shorter. Its why most of us reload in a batch system. We don't load 50 cases, we load 500 or a few thousand. All as a single batch. Then we reload those same cases again and again. As we accumulate more empties in the same caliber, we don't intermix them, we box them up and put them aside. It generally keeps the target rounds together in a guessed at number of cycles. When trouble starts, we pitch them as a group.

I've done that for 40 years. But I've had some parallel groups, too. Like when I score enough nickel cases, they become a separate group. Usually loaded moderately warm, not like the brass wadcutter loads.

Asking the question kind of made me smile (and remember my early days). Once I managed to get enough 38 brass, I went to the batch method. Then when I took up 9mm, I was off to the races. But I only rarely loaded a box of ammo, and then for a specific purpose, usually hollow point ammo or similar. When I got going, I'd spend a few hours decapping and sizing the entire lot. Then I'd take a hand tool (lee is OK, but I prefer a Lyman 310 in front of the TV.) Then back to the press for neck expansion. Then a combined step of powder and bullet seating, no distractions. I was the one responsible for it, so it had to be right.

There are other steps, like final inspections. With 9mm, I wanted each to chamber, no exceptions. So I field stripped the gun and test chambered each in the barrel (no gun around it.) Surprising how many would fail that test. Not a lot, but if I was loading a 1000 rounds, maybe as many as a dozen would be a problem. I was happy to toss them out. Better in my living room than somewhere else.

There are other steps you can add in as you progress. I don't mind using a single stage press. I really think you make better ammo that way. But there is no question it takes you longer per round. Which is a nice way of saying I have no idea how long it takes per round.

 

[BobB257]

Single Stage First

I still work my RCBS junior and it does many little jobs on the side. Dont own a progressive metalic reloader but have MEC 9000 for shotgun along with two single stages for same.
For bulk amo the Dillon or others are very nice. But I would feel a lot better about running one after I got my feet wet doing things one step at a time.
All the basic equipment is available used at a nice discount and it generally does not wear out. It is then an easy matter to move it along if you progress at the price you paid. Or keep it for small jobs.

A good book and a lee is not a bad place to start to see if you like it.

 

[GypsmJim]

How do you know when to stop? Are there telltale signs that it's time to move on, or do you just keep track of how many times you reload them?

Now I DO keep track of the number of times they are reloaded, but I admit I wasn't that disciplined 40 years ago when I started.

If I feel that the primer pockets are getting loose, I dispose of them. This year I trashed 2 boxes of .38 specials from 1971.

When I start to get split cases, I look over the box a little closer. If I lose more than 1 case each reload, I trash the box. This year I replaced some .45 Colt cases (Ruger high velocity loads) that I bought back in about 1980.

My 45 ACP cases seem to last longer than the rimmed pistol cases, but I do load them a little mild.

My range is rented periodically by the police and Border Patrol, so at times I find a lot of once fired in the brass can. That's the only "used" brass I will use. I leave normally disposed range brass behind.

 

[leas327]

Last year all I had was a single stage. With the dies and powder measure already set I could do 50 rounds in a half hour or 100 in 45 or 50 minutes. Any more than that and I would just do a big coffee can in stages. If I had to mess around with setting the powder measure. It would easliy take 30 to 45 minutes to load 50. Whenever I change the settings or powder I check a lot more charges. I picked that habit up when I was using a lee powder measure. It seemed to always need 5 or 10 throws to settle into a final weight. Not so much with the Honady I use now.
.45 acp brass is a very good round to start reloading on. A short case with a big mouth makes it easy to look into and verify a correct charge. It also has a max pressure of 20k psi. Where .357 mag and .40S&W have a max pressure of 35k and a 22-250 is around 65k. Lower pressure contributes to longer case life.
But what has easily killed more .357 cases of mine in a single stage is the length of the case/fit to the shellholder. I would get in a hurry to get through the size/deprime die and ding the mouth of the case on the die and ruin the case. I have done it a lot to .357 and a few times to .45. But I probably load 4 times as many .45 than .357.
I also like .45 because once fired .40 brass has a lot higher chance of having been shot out of a department glock. At least that is what i have seen in the boxes of once fired friends a I have bought. Once fired .45 brass is still plentiful and cheap. Having to do an extra sizing step adds a lot more time when you are cranking the handle on a single stage.

 

[Smith357]

50 .38s for plinking on the Lee progressive under 10 minutes.

50 .45 acp for plinking on the Dillon 550 about 10 minutes.

20 .30-06 for targets or hunting on the single stage take well over an hour sometimes two.

The plinking loads are done on progressive, I don't worry too much about the minor variables and just do a spot check every 10 to 15 rounds.

My rifle loads on the other hand get a whole lot more attention to detail. Each and every case is closely inspected, sized, measured, trimmed and chamfered to the particular rifle (I load for 4 different 06s). The primer pocket is cleaned and the primers are set with a hand priming tool. Every powder load is trickled to weight, and each bullet is inspected and seated carefully then crimped as required. The finished cartridges are measured, logged in the data book and labeled. The performance at the range or in the field is also recorded.