Great inventions/techiques you have for reloading???

[Pugsbrew]

I looked around the web site here and didn't see any area for really neat and practical ideas that people have come up with in the reloading arena. I have been on another forum and they have a sticky'd post that people continually add their inventions/techniques at making reloading, and other things, easy.

I don't know if that would be appropriate here, but there is a lot of great info stored in the minds of you all. It might be nice to have one area to share it under the reloading area.

This is what I am talking about. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=218188

If this is inappropriate, then please moderators delete my post.

Oh, and if I missed the one on this forum, sorry. Please direct me to the correct place.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

OK, I got one. Instead of just tumbling my dirty brass and having all that dirt and stuff get into my media I first wash the brass in a plastic tub with dish detergent and then drain the water off and put a few drops of Hornady water soluble case lube on them and mix before drying in the oven for 1 or 2 hour at 250F. They are easy to de-prime and size. Then tumble bright & shiny but remember to clean the flash holes.

I also store the sized and flared brass in clear containers sorted by caliber ready for reloading. Saves a whole lot of time that way. 8) 8)

...Jimbo

 

[toysoldier]

OK, I got one. Instead of just tumbling my dirty brass and having all that dirt and stuff get into my media I first wash the brass in a plastic tub with dish detergent and then drain the water off and put a few drops of Hornady water soluble case lube on them and mix before drying in the oven for 1 or 2 hour at 250F. They are easy to de-prime and size. Then tumble bright & shiny but remember to clean the flash holes.

I also store the sized and flared brass in clear containers sorted by caliber ready for reloading. Saves a whole lot of time that way. 8) 8)

...Jimbo

Good practice. I use an empty Folgers coffee plastic "can" with snap-on lid, and add some vinegar to help brighten the brass, especially stuff I've scrounged off the range.

 

[Donaldjr1969]

I also store the sized and flared brass in clear containers sorted by caliber ready for reloading. Saves a whole lot of time that way. 8) 8)

...Jimbo

I do the same thing. It is a GREAT time-saver! Since I use a hand primer to prime my cases, I store them sized, primed, and flared. I understand that there is an potential issue of forgetting which primer one has in the cases. But since I only use two primers, Winchester LP and CCI 350, forgetting which one is which is not an issue. Obviously the WLP and the CCI 350 are different colors and that is how I differentiate the two.

When it is time to load, I need only charge, seat, and crimp. What could be easier?

 

[Mobuck]

I use a homemade powder checker in hole #2 of my 4 hole LEE turret press when loading .223 prepped (sized, trimmed,swaged,primed) cases. It's only for assuring that there is enough powder to get the bullet out the barrel, not for a specific amount. I've loaded 5000 rounds and it provides confidence and a wakeup if I let the powder measure run out.

 

[Iron Mike Golf]

I also store the sized and flared brass in clear containers sorted by caliber ready for reloading. Saves a whole lot of time that way. 8) 8)

...Jimbo

I do the same thing. It is a GREAT time-saver! Since I use a hand primer to prime my cases, I store them sized, primed, and flared. I understand that there is an potential issue of forgetting which primer one has in the cases. But since I only use two primers, Winchester LP and CCI 350, forgetting which one is which is not an issue. Obviously the WLP and the CCI 350 are different colors and that is how I differentiate the two.

Depends. I have some sleeves of WLP that are nickle plated. They cam in a mostly white box. You've even shot some.

When it is time to load, I need only charge, seat, and crimp. What could be easier?

 

[Cherokee]

I also store my brass sized & belled with a lot already primed. I process my brass right after use/acquisition, hand prime when time permits. Saves a lot of time when I need to load, even on the Dillon.

 

[Donaldjr1969]

I do the same thing. It is a GREAT time-saver! Since I use a hand primer to prime my cases, I store them sized, primed, and flared. I understand that there is an potential issue of forgetting which primer one has in the cases. But since I only use two primers, Winchester LP and CCI 350, forgetting which one is which is not an issue. Obviously the WLP and the CCI 350 are different colors and that is how I differentiate the two.

Depends. I have some sleeves of WLP that are nickle plated. They cam in a mostly white box. You've even shot some.

I thought those were CCI primers.

Now I already planned to never mix the cases with the different primers in the same tub. And I still can tear up a sleeve label and put them in with the cases that use that primer. Admittedly, all the WLPs I have bought are brass colored. Are yours of an earlier manufacturing run?

 

[Donaldjr1969]

1. Ask questions before I blow myself up.
2. See number 1.

CDFingers

After I seated a bullet on an empty case because I set my tub of primed cases that I did not need too close to my loading block (which resulted in my grabbing an empty case rather than one from the loading block), I now follow that line of thought. I visually look inside each case after charging all of them. Not once, not twice, but three times.

 

[Iron Mike Golf]

I do the same thing. It is a GREAT time-saver! Since I use a hand primer to prime my cases, I store them sized, primed, and flared. I understand that there is an potential issue of forgetting which primer one has in the cases. But since I only use two primers, Winchester LP and CCI 350, forgetting which one is which is not an issue. Obviously the WLP and the CCI 350 are different colors and that is how I differentiate the two.

Depends. I have some sleeves of WLP that are nickle plated. They cam in a mostly white box. You've even shot some.

I thought those were CCI primers.

Now I already planned to never mix the cases with the different primers in the same tub. And I still can tear up a sleeve label and put them in with the cases that use that primer. Admittedly, all the WLPs I have bought are brass colored. Are yours of an earlier manufacturing run?
I dunno. The blue sleeve ones are plain brass. The white sleeve ones are nickle plated. +1 on putting the 100 pack cover in the box of primed cases.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

1) Don't put powder in a case until you have primed it. Makes a mess.
2) Don't drop an open pack of primers on the floor.
3) Check, check again, and then triple check that you have your scale set right. 13.6gr is 10gr + 3gr + .6gr.
4) Don't get distracted when loading.
5) Best to keep on the safe side when loading.
6) Enjoy and take pride in loading.

...Jimbo

 

[Bryan]

1) Don't put powder in a case until you have primed it. Makes a mess.
2) Don't drop an open pack of primers on the floor.

...Jimbo

Been there done both.

 

[Jbrown75]

I do most of my loading over the winter but I do deprime and tumble during the shooting season. What I have found is that using a simple plug in lighting timer I can 'forget' the brass in the tumbler. Once it's clean and shiny I use the wife's food vacuum sealer to keep it looking nice while stored in the cabinet.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Once it's clean and shiny I use the wife's food vacuum sealer to keep it looking nice while stored in the cabinet.

Hi,

I hadn't thought of using a food sealer: my brass goes in plastic tubs w/ lids like Jimbo and a couple of others have mentioned.

However, if one wants to seal 'em and doesn't have a vacuum sealer, I picked up a tip for "The Poor Man's Vacuum Sealer" from a client who does a lot of deep sea fishing and learned it from a deckhand:

Put your items (fish in his case, brass in ours) in a strong Ziploc-type bag (freezer bags were recommended.) Close it except for a tiny little opening.

Fill a container w/ water deeper than the top of the bag (deckhands used five gal plastic buckets, my guy uses the kitchen sink) and submerge the bag w/ that little opening at the top. It will bubble until all the air is out. Seal it immediately while it's still under water.

Works well on fish and other foodstuffs. Might be worth a try for brass...

Rick C

 

[Pugsbrew]

First, I got a lot of my ideas from the following link. There was another, but I can’t seem to find it.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=218188&page=31


First, the items I used. 1 ea Lee FCD for 40SW, 1 ea 40SW shell holder, 1 ea door hinge pin, 1 fired 40SW case, piece of plastic brass drop tube from the Lee Load Master, JB Weld, and a piece of construction fascia (for the chute).

I use a single stage RCBS for the process, so I made sure everything was cut to the correct length for my press.

1. Cut the door hinge pin to a length that will allow you to place empty cases on top of the pin to push through the die.

2. Grind the head of the hinge pin so that it will fit inside a 40SW case. Be sure you grind enough off so that the pin head is actually against the inside face of the case. I did this so that I can push the brass through base first. Even if you will push the brass through mouth first, you will still need to grind some of the pin head off.

3. I resized my piece of 40SW brass and run it up into the FCD. Then I took my ground/cut hinge pin and JB Welded it in to the case. To ensure proper alignment, I put the case/pin in the shell holder, placed another case, upside down, on the pin, and run it up to the die. It held the pin in the proper position until the JB Weld hardened. Be sure to get ALL/ANY JB Weld off the outside of the shell case.

4. Cut a piece of the plastic drop tube to fit inside the FCD. The plastic keeps the brass from catching on the inside threads of the die. The plastic tube fits perfectly inside the FCD.

5. I inserted the plastic tube and cut 1/3 of the side out. This allows for the brass to fall in the direction I want it to.

6. I took the piece of fascia and fabricated a chute. I used a step drill bit and drilled the 7/8 hole for the die to fit through. I ground down the sharp edges for obvious reasons. The tab I bent up to set above the die was done to push the brass in the direction I wanted it to go.

7. Use ATF to lightly lube brass. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=218188&page=16


8. Bulge buster away!!!

 

[sp]

Once I had a 5 gallon bucket of .223's, .308's and .45 autos and I sorted all of this into 3 other buckets over one week while watching tv (by myself).