What did you do at your reloading bench today?

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  • ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,500
    God's Country
    Worked up test loads for 5.56 match ammo using AA2230 and some 69g Nosler CC's.


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    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,500
    God's Country
    Braved the 28° temps to test my first subsonic 300ACC loads from post #390.

    My challenge was that I really couldn't find and good reloading data my setup. I had to extrapolate the available data for 208gr A-Max and IMR 4227 in a 16" barrel to guesstimate a good subsonic load for 200 gr ELD-X shooting from my 10.5" barrel.

    I calculated that my load of 9.5 gr IMR 4227 should yield a muzzle velocity of 1050fps.

    My test yielded a Mv of 946fps SD:8 and ES:22. I'm not sure how much the temperature plays a role in velocity but I'm satisfied with the results.

    I was even more surprised with the accuracy which was about 1.5 MOA and the range was windy as hell today with my target frame flapping all over the place.

    8c7f818c8b417d1e38753157e3e76c76.jpg


    I'm probably going to bump the charge up to get me around 1080fps.

    I think the next logical step is to start casting bullets for Subs.



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    StickShaker

    Active Member
    Mar 3, 2016
    888
    Montgomery
    Hey can you take some more photos of that machine. Did you build it?

    a6b5e819128c064c5bcbdeb84f30710f.jpg


    Does the other side of your basement look like this?

    :lol: Guilty :o

    It's not as bad as it looks. In reality it's just a motor bolted to a thick piece of aluminum. I used the spindexer because I had it and didn't want to built something else. It just sits on the plate by its own weight and gets removed when I'm finished. All it does is align the case to the cutter for a perfect chamfer and I grab the large diameter indexing plate between my thumb and forefinger to feed it into the cutter.

    Here is the thread with more pics of the machine which also shows how I trim the cases. https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=196028

    I'm trimming the cases at the moment on my mill with the Forster cutter that also chamfers the inside and outside of the neck at the same time with a profile carbide cutter. The mill setup looks over the top too, but again they were things I already had from previous production jobs and it makes trimming extremely fast.
     

    Up_in_BoCo

    Dedicated plinker
    Oct 22, 2014
    37
    HZ
    Not my bench but, we ran off a few hundred .223 using a friend's new Hornady Progressive Reloading Press. Good Times.
     

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    EKing

    NRA Benefactor
    Aug 12, 2016
    192
    Sykesville
    Had some extra time with the snow to work on filling some plastic boxes.
    45 Auto with Bullseye and Xtreme 230.
    357 Mag with Bullseye, Berry's bullets and Xtreme bullets.
    30-30 with 165 Cast RNFP, Hornady 140 MFTX and Shooter's Supply powder.
    IMG_20170315_183306_477 (1).jpg
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    I began cleaning and boxing everything up. I"m moving so looking for the opportunity to set everything up now that I have an idea on what I will want.
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,500
    God's Country
    I began cleaning and boxing everything up. I"m moving so looking for the opportunity to set everything up now that I have an idea on what I will want.



    Good luck with the move. You know were going to want to see a detailed floor plan before hand.
     

    PowPow

    Where's the beef?
    Nov 22, 2012
    4,712
    Howard County
    Finished a batch of 7.62x54R today. That Norma brass is beautiful.

    I threw in a clip of surplus to spruce up the photo. Actually, its been on the bench from when I first set up for the load. I put a red sticker on one round that's a bit different than the others. :D

    The 550 is converted back to 9mm now.
     

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    Seagrave1963

    Still learnin'
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 6, 2011
    10,003
    Eastern Shore
    Cleaned, prepped and primed ~70 308 pieces. Also finished up the "powder and primer locker." Had a small "fire" safe sitting around that I had picked up from a fellow MDS member and found I had enough room in the original safe to make use of this one. It might be hard to see, but the holes where the locking bolts seat have been filled in with pennies to prevent the door from being inadvertently locked.

    Looking forward to some warm/calm weather to hit the range again with the recent reload recipes.
    .
     

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    PowPow

    Where's the beef?
    Nov 22, 2012
    4,712
    Howard County
    Those Sentry safes are notorious for accumulating moisture. Are you putting desiccant in with the contents or is there enough airflow with it not latched? The reason I ask is that I have one of those that could potentially be re-purposed. :innocent0
     

    Seagrave1963

    Still learnin'
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 6, 2011
    10,003
    Eastern Shore
    Those Sentry safes are notorious for accumulating moisture. Are you putting desiccant in with the contents or is there enough airflow with it not latched? The reason I ask is that I have one of those that could potentially be re-purposed. :innocent0

    Have a 14 oz. container filled with silica (it's the blue lid thing in the top, right corner of the last pic).
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,500
    God's Country
    Got some range time to test some 5.56 match ammo with AA2230 at what I thought was a good node. Mv: 2630 fps and SD: 26.9 was great but sadly the precision was worse than my H355 match loads. Back to the bench.
     

    StickShaker

    Active Member
    Mar 3, 2016
    888
    Montgomery
    Loading 9mm and I wanted to use up some Accurate #5 which I have never worked with before. Heard comments about fine powders leaking in the Lee Auto Drum and they weren't kidding.:( I had to get the Hornady measure back out of storage, which isn't a bad thing, but the Lee sure has me spoiled with how easy it is to empty and use in general.
     

    toolness1

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 5, 2014
    2,723
    BFE, Missouri
    After getting tired of having issues with Lee bullet molds, I finally got a nice one. I went with a custom NOE mold, had them do plain base and a 3 cavity aluminum. It's amazing the quality difference between it and the cheap molds.

    The bullet is: 314-202-RN 314299. Lyman originally made this bullet design I believe.

    I cast them with wheel weights and powder coat them with Ford Light Blue from Eastwood. That powder/color is great. It applies very easily with the dry tumble method, and it's very durable.

    I tried them first in two of my Argentine Mausers and they shot great sized .312 with 25gr of Reloader 7. Besides some powder fouling the bores had no sign of leading or residue from the powder coat. I have had issues with powder coated bullets leading badly if the diameter and load isn't just right. (Mostly in 8mm and 8x56R and that was with Harbor Freight red)

    Next I will be trying them in the Type 99 and Mosin rifles. I might give it a go in the Swiss 1889 as well.
     

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