Thread: Not new but starting again....

Hi Guys
well I ve come full circle. After owning a 223 for varminting and reloading I swore I wasn't going to do anymore. Sold the 223 and brought a nice little .17HMR and then moved to Central Otago from the BOP and suddenly the 17 didn't have the legs for the long range stuff. Back to a 223 and the boring core that is reloading, frankly I'd rather mastubate with a hand full of sand and 80 grit sandpaper.
So last time I used a Lee handpress and despite people saying you won't load consistent quality ammo I produced excellent ammo with rabbits shot out to 450mtrs.
However it was very very slow, 50 rounds took over an hour and it was very tedious.
This time round I want to reduce the boredom factor while still producing a good batch of ammo. I liked the hand press but it's to slow so do I go single stage, turret etc and while I can buy a shit hot setup I like the idea of getting alot of bang for my buck.
Ive learned lessons from my first experiences but wonder what your guys thoughts are with a lot of rounds under your belts. What would you do differently , what gear would you get or not get again. Small electronic scales instead of beam scales etc. There must be ways to up the speed while not sacrificing quality.
Iam not looking at becoming an ammo factory but would like 50 - 100 rds not taking hours and hours.

know the feeling, reloading 223 on single stage lee! makes factory ammo more apealing when you dont have to 'waste' your time especially when you find a good brand of factory ammo, in my case american eagle (wtf!!)

For high round usage. I'd still use a chargemaster. And I wouldn't bother cleaning brass except bore brush in neck and primer pockets.

I have never reloaded and now after your description regarding the hand full of sand, I am quite confident I never will.

A electronic dispensing powder measure seems (to me) to be the niftiest way of speeding up the making of decent ammo in reasonably small quantities, used in conjunction with a single stage press.

I still use a Lee single stage for 223



But I process everything in batches, and got some stuff to speed up some elements of reloading. WFT trimmer, Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler, Lyman Gen6 powder dispenser - all have make the task less tedious for me.




Still got to shoot them all over Easter. Would I ever change to a progressive/multi-stage press for this ? Probably one day if I won lotto, but still happy with a Dillon for 9mm, and spending the time crafting 223 for some longer range, and competition stuff.

@viper

Stick with your single stage press.

You can speed up the process considerably with the addition of two simple bits of kit

One is a hand primer
LEE AUTO PRIME XR

And the other is a powder thrower.
LEE PERFECT POWDER MEASURE

Or a powder dispenser
LEE AUTO-DRUM POWDER MEASURE

Cheers
Pete

If you find reloading so tedious you would be better off just finding a factory load and buying bulk imo.

It will take a while to make back the money of a reloading setup anyway.

I admit to finding elements of reloading tedious but I am sure I remain married and sane because I always have some to do😆

I actually enjoy producing ammo that suits my guns. That is better and cheaper than anything I could buy off the shelf.
If I didn't reload I would probably be super human fit for my age or something like that. No fun in that either😆

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

a powder thrower will speed up process no end. I have one and only use it if doing more than 30 rounds,preferring to use lee spoons and scales for smaller lots.
if you find it such a chore try the hornady bulk and barnaul trial pack etc till you find one you like and just buy that in big amount and save $$$$$$$

Single stage press
powder thower
balance scales
a tricker
and look at some hand priming unit , like lee etc

I use a Lee 4 stage turret, once I've worked out a load, easy/quick enough once setup to "mass" produce that round,

I resize/deprime/trim using lee dies, and the lee quick trim, wet tumble with stainless media, dry with a dehydrator,

I prime on stage 1 (and flair neck if using cast lead),
powder throw stage 2,
bullet seat on stage 3,
crimp on stage 4,

bullet done,

most of what i do only has to be service rifle quality, and work well out to 300m,

but i do my "hunting" ammo the same way, and have had no problems with it

+1 for the electronic dispensing powder measure