Is there any other way?
Have to agree with previous posts. I find it therapeutic, satisfying, relaxing, and just plain enjoyable, mostly because I like being a part of the process. Sometimes I can't decide what I like best reloading ammo or shooting it. it takes my mind off things too, I look at it as if it were just another hobby like building bird houses or something, not something that is attached to or that I have to do because of my other shooting hobby.
I am just now getting around to setting up a proper reloading bench, almost done but, even that will just be a little Tru-Line Jr. Turret and a couple of single stages.
Up to now I've been literally hand loading everything with a hand tool. Mostly it was due to my living arrangements. I live in an apartment and when just starting out with reloading I both wasn't sure which way I wanted to go and didn't really have the space to dedicate to a full on reloading bench.
What I decided I wanted was something simple and small enough that would make reloading convenient and compact, even if not all that fast. I wound up putting together a "Bench in a Box".
I keep all my extra brass, components, scale, casting stuff, and other stuff in a cabinet but, really only regularly need to use whats in the box. The box easily holds everything I'd need to load up to 500 rounds of 45 Colt in one sitting but, I usually limit it to 250 as it gets a bit hefty with 500 cast bullets in it.
At first it was just something to tide me over until I setup a bench and even maybe got a progressive. I know guys that have them and have watched them in action and they are really slick and can crank out the rounds.
However, now that I've been doing things this way for a while I think I've ruined myself for anything but slow single stage batch reloading. Being able to pull the box out and reload just about anywhere at anytime is great and convenient but, it also is tremendously satisfying to be so closely involved in each step. I like to see and handle each round as it goes through each step, double check powder in the blocks, and look over each round when its complete. Thinking about using a using a progressive now just doesn't appeal to me. It seems almost alien to just pull a handle and be so far removed from it all no different than if I was working an assembly line or stamping machine.
I batch stuff together much like geddylee10002000 does. I'll de-prime a bunch (100-500), come back later and give it a LemiShine bath, rinse and let it dry, tumble it, then later size it, and then prime it yet on another day. Then it goes into coffee cans where it waits to be loaded with what ever load and bullet I might be in the mood for. If its a rainy weekend or over the winter I might just do it all the same day.
Nice thing about breaking up the case prep and the first few steps of reloading is it can be done when I've got a bit of time to kill here and there. Since it's all done when I do go to finally put in the powder and add the bullet I can easily put out 100 rounds in an hour at that point.
It's plenty fast for me and the amount I shoot, and I shoot almost every weekend.
I may change my mind someday and decide I need to go faster but, I doubt it. For now, I like it slow, and simple. I still really like using the "Bench in a Box" and I've probably loaded ~1600 rounds at this point. In a week or two when the bench is up and running I'm sure that'll keep me happy for a long time.
Pop in the bullets, seat them, crimp them and put em in their little boxes.
