What did you do at your reloading bench today?

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  • erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    This happened. 20210331_204126.jpg

    Sent from my SM-G981U1 using Tapatalk
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,590
    Glen Burnie
    This happened. View attachment 310368

    Sent from my SM-G981U1 using Tapatalk
    Wow! That's a serious piece of gear. I can't even talk myself into upgrading to a Dillon 750. Nicely done.

    Tonight I did some fiddling, sorting, consolidating, and kind of figuring out what I have, mostly in terms of empty brass.

    At this point I'm behind the curve when it comes to components, and I'm afraid to do much more reloading because I can't seem to find anything out there to replace what I've currently got when it comes to powder and primers. Bullets don't seem to be an issue for the things I want to load - just powder and primers.

    I'm on a couple of mailing lists, but no joy so far. If anyone has a source and they are feeling magnanimous, send me a PM - I'd be very very grateful.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    Wow! That's a serious piece of gear. I can't even talk myself into upgrading to a Dillon 750. Nicely done.
    First, talk yourself into a 750, it's a game changer compared to loading on a single stage or a turret. I think I could make a very rational argument that while I did not "need" the Mark7 Evolution, I sure as hell did need the Dillon 650 right next to it.

    Mark7 managed to ship my press and MrBF. They somehow did not manage to ship my die set, which means I can't load on it yet. I set up the press and have been dialing in the case feeder and bullet feeder while I wait for the dies to come.

    Some initial thoughts:
    1. The majority of my time was spent just bolting it to the bench. I really wish they would have included a diagram blueprint paper to tape to the bench to map the holes.
    2. I had some issues with indexing after installing the primer assembly. Turns out you can crank one of those screws down hard enough it won't index! Backing it out a touch resolved that.
    3. The (original-style) case feeder seems OK. I had to adjust/close the "mouth" of it slightly for 223, but once I did, it was reliable (ran about 50 cases through as a test, nothing upside down or jamming). I would have preferred an insert solution instead, but it'll do. (Not sure if the Apex case feeder resolves this.)
    4. MrBF is being troublesome with my short 55gr 223 bullets. I am pretty good with my 3D printed bulletfeeder for 9mm, so I think I'll sort this out eventually, but not super impressed out the gate. DAA's online guide seems to have some recommendations I need to try.
    5. Quality is impeccable. There were a few sharp edges, but they managed to squeeze 10 stations and what seems to be a more robust system into a space that's comparable to my Dillon 650 - maybe smaller. Operation without dies is very smooth, and the return spring is pretty sweet.

    I am pretty excited to get loading with this... if I can get it dialed in, I'm hoping to go to autodrive next year. Got big plans for 9mm and 300 loading, too.
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,590
    Glen Burnie
    First, talk yourself into a 750, it's a game changer compared to loading on a single stage or a turret. I think I could make a very rational argument that while I did not "need" the Mark7 Evolution, I sure as hell did need the Dillon 650 right next to it.
    I've got the Dillon 550, and already it's slick enough that I'll crank out 100 rounds of something and think, "gee - am I done already?"

    I've got a couple of tweaks on it - I picked up the Entirely Crimson tweaks/upgrades to the powder measure and failsafe rode - the quick nut at the bottom of the rod is SO much better than that stupid little blue wing nut that it comes with, and the quick disconnect has made it much easier to swap out calibers. I've also got the roller handle, Inline Fabrication stand, and the bullet tray - all of those upgrades I think have helped to turn the that Dillon 550 into a pretty nice setup.

    But....

    With the 650, the added stations would give me a chance to add a power-check die, and a bullet and case feeder - from what I've seen the 550 platform doesn't lend itself well to adding either a case feeder or bullet feeder.

    I don't know that I "need" them - my rate of production is already at a place I like. I like the fact that once the dies are set, I can rip through several hundred rounds an hour. I think a single stage press would still be good for things like precision rifle rounds, but anything a person might shoot in larger batches - 9mm, 40, 45 ACP, etc - the thought of trying to keep up with that on a single stage press is almost depressing. But so is trying to get anything loaded when you can't find components too, so there's that.

    Mark7 managed to ship my press and MrBF. They somehow did not manage to ship my die set, which means I can't load on it yet. I set up the press and have been dialing in the case feeder and bullet feeder while I wait for the dies to come.

    Some initial thoughts:
    1. The majority of my time was spent just bolting it to the bench. I really wish they would have included a diagram blueprint paper to tape to the bench to map the holes.
    2. I had some issues with indexing after installing the primer assembly. Turns out you can crank one of those screws down hard enough it won't index! Backing it out a touch resolved that.
    3. The (original-style) case feeder seems OK. I had to adjust/close the "mouth" of it slightly for 223, but once I did, it was reliable (ran about 50 cases through as a test, nothing upside down or jamming). I would have preferred an insert solution instead, but it'll do. (Not sure if the Apex case feeder resolves this.)
    4. MrBF is being troublesome with my short 55gr 223 bullets. I am pretty good with my 3D printed bulletfeeder for 9mm, so I think I'll sort this out eventually, but not super impressed out the gate. DAA's online guide seems to have some recommendations I need to try.
    5. Quality is impeccable. There were a few sharp edges, but they managed to squeeze 10 stations and what seems to be a more robust system into a space that's comparable to my Dillon 650 - maybe smaller. Operation without dies is very smooth, and the return spring is pretty sweet.

    I am pretty excited to get loading with this... if I can get it dialed in, I'm hoping to go to autodrive next year. Got big plans for 9mm and 300 loading, too.
    I've done some reading on the Mark 7 presses, and they are functional pieces of mechanical art IMO. Dillon does a great job and they keep prices reasonable for the average schmo, but the Mark 7 stuff is truly a cut above. I'll keep a lookout for things you post about using it.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    Just dialed in my new MrBF collator. Not really the greatest experience in the world, but it seems to work acceptably now. Spring seems too long (bullets piling up in it), but I think the natural movement of the press SHOULD get it angled low enough to move the bullets as required. Worst case, I'll shorten it a touch. TBH, I think the AmmoMike83 3D printed bulletfeeder has some pretty substantial design improvements over the MrBF.

    I also had a chance to test out my 5.56-pressure reloads with 27gr TAC. DEFINITELY some spicy ammo compared to the relatively mild CFE223 loads I had been using previously. I need to do another run of them for velocity testing in a couple rifles, but I am certainly giving some thought as to how much velocity I really need.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    Well, today I fixed the loads I put together last night. Did a small batch of 50, 9mm using RMR hollow point bullets for the first time. Loaded them at 1.150" COAL and they all passed the gauge plunk test, but when I tried chambering a round from a magazine, the gun locked up solid just out of battery. I finally got the slide pulled back and ejected the case spilling powder everywhere.

    Yup, bullet was stuck in the barrel but was removed easily using a wooden dowel and small hammer.

    I then checked my other builds and found that two of the three barrels would not allow the cartridge to chamber completely. Using after market barrels was intentional since I wanted a fully supported chamber which would leave the brass in better condition for reloading than a standard Glock OEM barrel.

    After pulling them apart and loading again using a little less powder and COAL of 1.065", they run through all of my builds perfectly.

    Lesson learned: Best to check newly developed rounds in the chamber from which they will be fired.
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,590
    Glen Burnie
    I loaded up 100 rounds of 9mm - nothing fancy - just 124 gr plated round nose over 4.2 gr of Bullseye.

    I've really got to find some more components

    I've also been running my tumbler almost nonstop - if it needs to be cleaned, it's getting a turn in the tumbler. This is part of the reorganization I've done of my reloading bench over the last few days. I've found all kinds of brass that needed to be sorted and tumbled. Once I get done with the regular stuff, I'm going to get going on the bucket of military brass. At the very least I'll have it clean by the time I get my Lee APP press so that I can roll through it to decap it and swage the primer pockets.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I’ll let you know!

    My wife gets a look of fear when I talk about welding.

    Tell her to look at all the honey projects you can do (only took me a year to get around to replacing the plywood seats that rotted out of her chairs).
     

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    missedthebarn

    Member
    Jan 1, 2021
    76
    Ran another test run for all around plinking 9mm 124 for both pistol and PCC. Last batch worked but cycled too slow in a carbine.
     

    missedthebarn

    Member
    Jan 1, 2021
    76
    I have noticed that I can actually out finger some loads in my 9mm carbine. If I use WW231, I have to slow down or will get jambs as the bolt cycles slower than if I use Powerpistol. Very inconvenient what? :lol:
    What I get for being lazy and not wanting to have different loads during the shortage!
     

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