What are the benefits of using a progressive reloader for rifle rounds

[kearchery]

OK, I've chunked ammo out of my Dillon SDB for my 45acp for quite sometime now. I love the speed and reliability that the SDB has, so recently I purchased a 550 to reload .223 for my M&P 15.

Now I am discovering that brass prep is a huge part of the time consumption for rifle reloading. Does everyone decap/resize then pull the cases out of the 550 to tumble the lube off and trim the case? A friend has suggested getting a inexpensive single stage to decap and resize with, then finish them in the 550. Case trimming seems to negate the benefits of having a progressive press. Any Thoughts?


Thanks for any suggestions you might have

 

[PH-2]

kearchery,

I don't own a progressive. I do own a turret press, upon which I load around 9 different handgun calibers.

I use a breech lock single stage for the three rifle calibers I load. As you have discovered, case prep takes a lot of careful effort. The single stage, I believe, is an extension of the more methodical approach that is necessary, for me, to produce quality long gun rounds.
If you spend the time on prep, the rest is a relative breeze.
For your process on the progressive, I don't know if there is any better way than that which you have described.

Mike

 

[Canuck223]

I look at reloading as a balance. There are the variables you try to eliminate, and those that you have to accept and live with.

For my type of rifle shooting, a progressive loader is perfectly fine, even preferable.

I use a Dillon 1050. For loading .223 Rem, I set up two toolheads. One was just used to process fired cases. Starting with cleaned brass lubed with Dillons spray lube, the first pass through the press would size the case, swage the primer pocket crimp, and trim the case with the Dillon RT 1200 trimmer.

Once processed, I'd retumble the cases to get the lube off. To ensure there wasn't any tumbler media in the flash hole, I used a Lee collet die with an undersized mandrel in the first station when loading.

By processing on a progressive in large batches, usually during the slow season, my shooting season wasn't spent at the press.

Since I tend to reload by the 5 gallon pail, I upgraded the 1050 with a wee bit of automation...
http://s455.photobucket.com/albums/qq274/Canuck223/1050/?action=view&current=306.mp4

 

[DEG]

I measure and trim fired brass as necessary then tumble to clean with the spent primer still in the case. When I'm ready to reload I lube 50-75 cases at once using Hornady One-Shot case lube. I then run through the progressive until the completed shells falls in the bin. After loading a few hundred, I wipe the shells with a damp cloth to remove the lube.

 

[Frank46]

I deprime separately in another press, clean and swage primer pockets, imnspect cases. I use the lee case trimmer, and reprime cases. Then using the 550B first die is the sizing die cases have been lubed separately, size the cases, seat the bullet and then crimp the case. It sounds like a lot of work. I have a bunch of rubbermaid tubs. One will get the cases that have to be swaged and tossed into the next tub, when all have been swaged,then the next step is clean the primer pockets rubbermaid to the rescue. any trimming is done next, then reprime the cases. Think of it as like working in batches. But when the case gets to the 550B it's ready to be reloaded. It might take a few days to work though the various batches, but don't forget that those cases have been in your hands 5-6 times and you have had plenty of time for inspection. Frank

 

[kearchery]

Thanks for the great information. Going to the gun show in Indy Saturday to pick up some more components and hopefully be reloading 223 next week.

 

[MichiganScott]

Thanks for the great information. Going to the gun show in Indy Saturday to pick up some more components and hopefully be reloading 223 next week.

I don't buy components from gun shows. Almost all the "kabooms" I've heard of have been with gun show components. You have no guarantee the powder is fresh or even if it is what the can is labeled. Same thing with primers and bullets. Once the show is closed, you can't find the vendor and will have no recourse.

Gun show deals aren't really deals and your LGS deserves your business.

 

[xICEMANx]

OK, I've chunked ammo out of my Dillon SDB for my 45acp for quite sometime now. I love the speed and reliability that the SDB has, so recently I purchased a 550 to reload .223 for my M&P 15.

Now I am discovering that brass prep is a huge part of the time consumption for rifle reloading. Does everyone decap/resize then pull the cases out of the 550 to tumble the lube off and trim the case? A friend has suggested getting a inexpensive single stage to decap and resize with, then finish them in the 550. Case trimming seems to negate the benefits of having a progressive press. Any Thoughts?


Thanks for any suggestions you might have

I have a Hornady progressive. I decap, resize, and measure. If needs trimming they go into a bin, if not another bin. I then tumble to remove lube. Once lube is removed I clean out the primer pocket and put those into my ready to load bin. If they need trim, trim then repeat above.

I don't see how buying another press will speed things up
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[David Sinko]

I don't like to resize rifle cases in my 550B. There is just enough flex in the shellplate that the rims may bend slightly. This was not really a problem with .223 but it was a big problem with .30-06. I now do all my rifle sizing on a single stage Lee. Yes, case preparation is a chore, but it's a necessary evil.

Dave Sinko

 

[TwoPoundPull]

I recently converted a RL550 to a BL550, much more user friendly when it comes to feeding several rifles......

 

[medalguy]

I load rifle on a 550. I start, like many others, by sizing and trimming on a Rockchucker with a 1200 trimmer mounted on it. I generally use military brass. Then I deprime using a RCBS Universal Depriming die, remove the crimp from military cases with the Dillon Superswager, then tumble the cases clean in fine grained cob. I don't need to check primer holes because of the small grain size-- I haven't had a clogged flash hole in years. I reprime using a bench mounted RCBS Autoprime. Only then do I put the brass into the Dillon, charge it, seat the bullet, and crimp very slightly with a Lee FCD.

I don't think I could eliminate any of the steps I go through. I use the RCBS Autoprime because I like the feel of seating primers this way, and I can tell immediately if I ever fail to fully seat a primer. Can't say that for press priming, I found out.

Yeah, brass prep is a bi*ch, but it has to be done to get the most out of your ammo. If you're just wanting blasting ammo, buy the cheap surplus stuff, but if you want the most out of your ammo, reloading is the way to go.

 

[358156hp]

I load 223 on a 550. Mostly, anyway. I tumble my brass, then lube it & size it on my single stage. Then I tumble it again to remove all traces of case lube, then I trim it on a Gracey, ream the primer pockets if necessary, and start loading. My first stage is a universal decapper die, it's sole purpose is to make sure there is no tumbling media in the flash hole. I seat the primer normally on the down stroke. Stage two is powder, the bullets are seated at stage 3, and any crimping to be done is handled at stage 4. I almost ever crimp anything. It's a pretty simple system.

 

[TheTinMan]

I deprime separately in another press, clean and swage primer pockets, imnspect cases. I use the lee case trimmer, and reprime cases. Then using the 550B first die is the sizing die cases have been lubed separately, size the cases, seat the bullet and then crimp the case. It sounds like a lot of work. I have a bunch of rubbermaid tubs. One will get the cases that have to be swaged and tossed into the next tub, when all have been swaged,then the next step is clean the primer pockets rubbermaid to the rescue. any trimming is done next, then reprime the cases. Think of it as like working in batches. But when the case gets to the 550B it's ready to be reloaded. It might take a few days to work though the various batches, but don't forget that those cases have been in your hands 5-6 times and you have had plenty of time for inspection. Frank

Respectfully, I think that you need to re-size your cases BEFORE trimming because re-sizing lengthens cases.

I don't like to resize rifle cases in my 550B. There is just enough flex in the shellplate that the rims may bend slightly. This was not really a problem with .223 but it was a big problem with .30-06. I now do all my rifle sizing on a single stage Lee. Yes, case preparation is a chore, but it's a necessary evil.

Dave Sinko

I noticed a big difference in the amount of effort needed to re-size .223 vs. .308. I could do .223 on my turret press but would only use a rigid single-stage for .308 to avoid deflection.

 

[wheelgun28]

Something I feel thats important is to keep your brass separated.

I do things similar to what others have posted, decap, primer pocket crimp removal, size, trim, reload. However, crimps only need to be removed once, you dont always need to trim.

I trim to minimum length and can get several firings with out needing another.

So if the brass has been decrimped, sized after each firing it needs inspection then it might just get tumbled and reloaded, no extra work involved.

However if you mix up your brass, old and new its a problem. I know this can be difficult with things like 223 where it might be in piles on the ground but 30:06 is easy not much laying about.

Food for though I hope

 

[arizona98tj]

For .223, try the RCBS X-Die for depriming/resizing. After an initial trim, the X-Die does a great job of resizing without allowing the brass to grow....thus no further need for trimming. It allows you to use a progressive press in the manner it was intended.

 

[Ethang]

Timely post. I bought my 650 way back in 1993 to reload 223. I loaded a 1000 and really never used it for rifle loads since then.

I recently borrowed the Dillon trimmer from a buddy and this weekend set to getting all of my 223 brass trimmed and sized. I now have several thousand trimmed and sized pieces of brass ready to run through again and load up. I could not imagine doing this much brass on a single stage press to trim or to load.

I would look into the Dillon and another tool head for your 550. You will have to run them through twice but it will still be way faster then using the single stage.

If I win the lotto I will upgrade to a 1050. Still have to run them twice but that would size, trim and swage all in one run, and then load on the other.

 

[TheTinMan]

RCBS X-Die

For .223, try the RCBS X-Die for depriming/resizing. After an initial trim, the X-Die does a great job of resizing without allowing the brass to grow....thus no further need for trimming. It allows you to use a progressive press in the manner it was intended.

I use an RCBS X-die for both .223 and .308. It makes an even bigger difference with .308. With a Hornady sizer, I had to trim virtually every case every time (M1A which is hard on brass). .223 out of an AR didn't seem to stretch as much and almost not at all with X-Die.

 

[TaxPhd]

As has been mentioned, the RCBS X-Die is the way to go for loading .223 in quantity. Whenever I read about the gyrations that people go through every time they load rifle rounds on a progressive press, I'm amazed.

This is my process.

First set of steps only happens once. Brass is split or lost before this needs to be done again.

Start with a large batch of .223 brass. Several thousand at least, if you have them. Lee universal decapping die in its own toolhead on the Dillon 650. Every case goes through this step. Very important, because if you don't do this, you will most assuredly get a piece of berdan primed brass mixed in with yours, and you will at a minimum, bust a decap pin, or worse, bend the stem in your X-Die.

After decapping, all brass goes through my RCBS power trimmer. This will trim to length (slightly undersize as described in the instructions for the X-die), and also inside and outside deburr. Very slick.

Then, every case goes through the Dillon Super Swage to swage the primer pocket (those with a 1050, save your gloating).

As mentioned, these previous steps only have to be done once for any piece of brass. After this, load on the 650, all steps start to finish, with no intermediate cleaning, or other steps on a single stage, or any of that nonsense.

Admittedly, the initial brass prep takes time. Biggest time saver is the power trimmer. I consider this a must have for doing .223 in quantity.

And remember, again, all the brass prep is done once, then never again for that piece of brass.

 

[WR Moore]

Yes, brass prep takes more time with rifles, especially if you're feeding semi-autos where chambers may not be on the small side and trimming becomes more frequent.

If you're looking for speed, I'd suggest the following: tumble to clean grit from the case that will damage dies over time. Then, lube, size & deprime, wash the brass in detergent & water to remove lube and dry. After the brass is dry you can proceed with trimming, deburring the case mouth, cleaning the primer pocket & swaging the crimp where necessary. You can do other parts of case prep on a dry lot of brass while another is drying.

The secret to speed here is to do have a large lot of brass prepped for loading before you start. Then the loading moves at speed.

If I was using a progressive to load match ammo, I'd replace the size die with a Lyman "M" die to set the case neck to a uniform tension before priming.