You're welcome, Sean. The work you do is well worth it.
I mostly use my 550 for 45 these days. I think loading 9 efficiently requires sorting brass and I'm too old for that stuff. Back when I shot a G19 a lot I ran it with a broached barrel and resized my own 125 grain lswcs from .358 to .356. Pretty holes in the paper and the GLOCK gobbled them like pez.
Ignore Alien Orders
I don't sort my 9mm brass and I load on 2 550 B's with no issues. One press is set up for large primers the other for small primers. I reload 9mm, 38 super comp, 38 special, 357 mag, 40 sw, 10mm, 44 mag, 45 acp, 45 colt, 223, .308 and 45-70.Originally Posted by doctorpogo
Pat
I find 9 to be less work. If you're talking about .380s, the Midway USA .380 insert for their shell sorter system works well. If you're talking about crimped primer military brass, I found most of them prime without issue on my 650, and the few that don't just take a few turns of the primer pocket reamer.
.45 ACP has the dreaded small primer .45s which seem to be about 2% of the .45 brass that I pick up.
I go through all my .45 brass by hand and separate out the small primer brass and load them separately. I don't want to risk trying to jam a large primer into one of those and setting it off.
I load my pistol ammo on a 550 with a case feeder. The equipment to load my rifle ammo is also sitting on the loading bench but I don't shoot as much rifle and have just been buying it since putting the case feeder on the 550.
Plan to purchase another press to handle rifle ammo as soon as I decide between another 550 or a 650.
+1 Sean. Rock on with it.
Struck a deal with a friend of mine - he has a press and no garage, I have a garage and no press ;-) Works out pretty well.
Been reloading .38 special for a while. Just started on .45... and I don't know how people pay for it. A big pile of loaded .38 feels like money burning a hole in my pocket. The same pile of .45 feels like I need to save it for a rainy day. I'm dealing with the "small primer .45" issue by trying to collect/trade for only small primer .45, since no one else wants them anyway. Makes keeping track of components simpler, too.
We've been using Bayou Bullets lately and are pretty happy with them, although wait time for orders is a bit much. I get the impression that nearly everyone is that way these days, though.
I've got a turret press and a bunch of dies, but I haven't set it back up since I moved up to Indy. I used to use it mostly for turning out cheap .38 practice.
I never thought I'd see the day when I'd consider reloading 9x19; up until six years ago or so, 9 was just "too cheap to meter". Unless you had a buzzgun or were a seriously high-volume shooter, loading your own nine was... a little eccentric.
I agree, back when WWB was $10.99 or so per 100 at Wally world it just wasn't worth the time to pick up brass. My father would gladly pick it and save it. Twenty years latter, I am very glad my father did that, and he is very quick to remind me that the old man was right.
Participation does not equal Proficiency
- Mike Pannone
It is my understanding that one of the reasons Molly bullets were developed was to reduce the lead exposure. I have recovered several expended Bayou bullets from the berm and can say that the coating was still fully on the base of the bullet and no lead was exposed. I believe it is extreme bullets that on their website has a video of them appling a torch to the bullet and the coating staying intact even though the lead melts.
Just had my lead level checked and it was low in the acceptable range for Adults. And I do shoot at indoor ranges.
Using Bayou Bullets my costs are as follows:
45's - $145 per 1000
40's - $122 per 1000
9MM- $113 per 1000
38 spl - $125 per 1000
The secret is to purchase in bulk to spread the Haz Mat charge for primers & powder as far as possible. I find that a 5000 piece order for primers to be the smallest and still be affordable to purchase over the net vs the local shop.
Scott
Only Hits Count - The Faster the Hit the more it Counts!!!!!!; DELIVER THE SHOT!
Stephen Hillier - "An amateur practices until he can do it right, a professional practices until he can't do it wrong."
I'll provide the other side of the argument.
Factory 9 mil is, say $200. Reloaded is, say $100. That is a $100/k savings. That figure goes up quickly for 45 or 10mm. It takes me 1hr to churn out 1k on my Super 1050 (granted, an expensive press, but 600/hr on a Hornady LNL is reasonable too). It takes me 90min, if I rush through my guns store to buy a couple cases of ammo. It takes me 5 min to go to Steele or Powder Valley to lay in the supplies needed. You can be paying yourself, after the ROI on the press, $50-$100/hr tax free.
That said, I load my own because I can determine what is made. And the finest 45 load isn't, for all intents and purposes, loaded commercially - 200g LSWCs over Bullseye.
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