The Reloading Bench is DONE!

Pat and I spent a bunch of time the past couple weekends building a reloading bench and I think it turned out pretty awesome! The first load to get worked up will be for my 280 Ackley. I do expect a new 300 PRC from TS Customs to arrive some time later this summer as well. The hunt for reloading supplies was a bit of a hill to climb but with a little effort we’ve been able to locate just about everything we had our eye on, including some of the hard to find powders and Federal 210/215 primers.

How many guys here reload? I’m new to the hobby but I’m doing everything I can to sponge up as much knowledge as possible!

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It is a hell of a slippery slope, for sure, but the proof is definitely in the pudding.

I had always shot Federal Fusion 150s in my Tikka 270 and they would always shoot slightly sub moa, but the first workup I did with 130 TTSX and Ramshot hunter got me down to under 1/2 MOA and low teens ES…..good enough for a 450 yard load, and way better than I was expecting.

I’ve had my eye on one of those FA Intellidroppers for a while now, and that will probably be my next upgrade.

waldo9190 wrote:

It is a hell of a slippery slope, for sure, but the proof is definitely in the pudding.

I had always shot Federal Fusion 150s in my Tikka 270 and they would always shoot slightly sub moa, but the first workup I did with 130 TTSX and Ramshot hunter got me down to under 1/2 MOA and low teens ES…..good enough for a 450 yard load, and way better than I was expecting.

I’ve had my eye on one of those FA Intellidroppers for a while now, and that will probably be my next upgrade.

It’s really pretty amazing what handloads can do to improve accuracy. I blame Pat for getting me hooked. He built a 6.5 PRC this spring and dove head first into reloading. Watching him shoot 2″ groups at 500 yards pushed me over the edge!

I was able to pick up those Intellidroppers for 50% off earlier in the summer. Pat speaks highly of his so I thought it was a no-nobrainer.

I’m waiting on a case trimmer before I can complete my first batch of 280 AI.

I load for about 25-30 different rifles. I’ve asked my agent a few times when we need to have haz-mat insurance. As late ng as he laughs and I have his emails that say I don’t, I don’t worry too much about it.

I think as time constraints impact me, I buy more/upgrade to be more efficient. Very rewarding though. The self satisfaction that comes with making an average rifle something spectacular never gets old

That’s an awesome reloading set-up. Mine isn’t quite that nice but it gets the job done. It’s pretty cool when you work up your own load and it becomes a tack driver at incredible distances or performs outstanding on game. It’s a great rewarding “hobby”. Enjoy!!!

Yup started reloading in September.
What I’ve noticed so far is it has quickly become my most expensive hobby.

SQ FT the hobby has taken up is growing rapidly!

Bought a dresser two weeks ago at a garage sale thinking…”That would hold a lot of reloading supplies”…AND…its already full.

Ammoseek alerts is your friend and worst enemy!

Only reloading 5.56, .308win, 45acp, and soon to be 9mm.

Looking forward to ignoring the next ammo shortage.

Best initial investment: Wet Tumbling Process.
2nd best initial investment: FAST trimming process.

There might be an automated DILLION in my future.

James Holst wrote:

Intellidroppers

Two things swayed me away from those.
1) Can take a long time to drop a charge
2) They’re still only as accurate as a $30 scale at a 1/10 grain.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

What I’ve noticed so far is it has quickly become my most expensive hobby.

The running joke around here is that after each purchase we say “that’s it, now we’re going to start saving some money on ammo!”

Ammoseek alerts is your friend and worst enemy!

I’ve got two pounds of H1000 hitting my front door tomorrow from one of those alerts. You’ve got to be FAST with the keys once one of those alerts hits your inbox. The one item I want that I CANNOT find is Berger 215 Target Hybrids. They’re impossible to find unless you’re willing to swallow your pride and pay gunbroker $$$. Which I’m not.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

James Holst wrote:

Intellidroppers

Two things swayed me away from those.
1) Can take a long time to drop a charge
2) They’re still only as accurate as a $30 scale at a 1/10 grain.

I’m saving for a Prometheus. https://www.prometheustoolcorp.com/

Kidding, of course.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>James Holst wrote:</div>
Intellidroppers

Two things swayed me away from those.
1) Can take a long time to drop a charge
2) They’re still only as accurate as a $30 scale at a 1/10 grain.

That’s why having 2 is nice. You can throw two charges at a time. 1/10 of a grain is literally a grain of powder in most cases and it sure beats throwing powder and using a manual trickler. I didn’t have very good luck with extruded powder in a manual powder measure to begin with.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

2nd best initial investment: FAST trimming process.

I went with a LE Wilson manual case trimmer. https://lewilson.com/stainless-case-trimmer-kit-with-micrometer-adjust-stop

There’s no right tool, just the one right for you.

I have a very fast process for lubing cases.
Put on some gloves. Put a little unique case lube on your gloves. Grab some cases, rub hands together, grab more…add lube…etc etc. Can do a 1,000 in a short order.

Wet tumbler can do 750 5.56 cases in a shot. Media sorter is likedy split! Add a SMALL amount of lemi shine and dawn soap in your wet tumble and your brass look like new.

I’ve got the lyman xpress trimmer. I load a case with left hand. Trim with right, deburr and chamfer with right while left is grabbing another case. I bolted the deburr and chamfer tools right next to the trimmer so i don’t have to lift elbows off the bench and can GO GO GO.
Keeping both hands moving you can fly through the brass. BUT you are trimming off the neck and not Case Length. I’m not a handloader and not looking for handload accuracy so it is a step in efficiency i can utilize. Again, no one tool fits all.

I have found my Lee power measure throws extruded powder very well. So far the chronograph shows absolutely zero difference between trickle charged and the powder thrower. This surprised me. This is with H322 which is small extruded.

I can see with the large grain size you are using how you might say a 1/10 is a single grain of powder.

One nice thing about ammoseek is you can seek for anything you’d find on those sites, not just powder, primer, etc.. When i needed Lee 4 turrets, it took a few weeks and BAM, got two when they were in stock.

I had 10 LB accurate 2015 delivered last week.
Have another 3k in primers showing up this week.
There is probably close to 15,000 pills in the drawers ready to be loaded.

James Holst wrote:

The running joke around here is that after each purchase we say “that’s it, now we’re going to start saving some money on ammo!”

Rabbit holes!!

1/10th of a grain of powder equates to roughly .15% in your average non-magnum centerfire rifle cartridge….chasing a higher level of precision (in my opinion) is better spent on quality components and quality measuring tools (comparator set(s), good calipers, chrono, etc.).

waldo9190 wrote:

1/10th of a grain of powder equates to roughly .15% in your average non-magnum centerfire rifle cartridge….chasing a higher level of precision (in my opinion) is better spent on quality components and quality measuring tools (comparator set(s), good calipers, chrono, etc.).

I believe all that stuff matters when chasing a high level of precision for sure!

That bench looks great! Mine is about 1/4 that size and set up in a closet. Other than a digital scale its all manual with a lee 3 hole turret. I have dabbled a little with 44mag 500mag and 308 and I have had a bunch of 45 colt prepped and primed for a year now and haven’t gotten back to them. I haven’t done it enough to work up any loads that are as good as factory ammo and im not entirely sure I ever will. My 308 shoots 1/4 moa with federal powershock at 200 yards. I should go sit in my closet now.

waldo9190 wrote:

.chasing a higher level of precision (in my opinion) is better spent on quality components

I agree, if handloading is your goal (Ultimate Precision).

Having good cases and consistent cases is very important if you are HANDLOADING.
I’m just reloading though, there’s a drastic difference separated by a rabbit hole a mile wide and 8 miles deep.

Using various cases I’m happy with ammo that is more precise than the best i can purchase at a price point that is lower than what i can purchase. Takes a lot of work-up-loads and various components to do this, but that’s the name of the game.
Currently I have roughly 200 samples of various recipes that to see paper before i can decide what recipe goes into production. Probably have produced 500 rounds that were samples. I think i have 7 production recipes at the moment just for 5.56 and it keeps growing. Long term goal is to stick with 1, but supply has this as a not option at the moment.

James & Pat,
You boys loading for big game hunting, competition shooting, entertainment?

That’s a sweet setup! My only recommendation is to have some sort of tool or gadget to make brass prep/trimming a lot easier, Like the brass boss rcbs makes. maybe im not seeing it in the picture but man do I hate brass prep work

Youbetcha wrote:

James & Pat,
You boys loading for big game hunting, competition shooting, entertainment?

I would say all of the above for me. Not that I’m a “competition shooter”, but I have shot a few and enjoy learning new skills.

I reload as did my father, he got into it in the 1950s and I’m still using some of his equipment.

I reload for myself for varmint hunting big game hunting and testing purposes. I also reload for friends who want to achieve better accuracy than is available with factory loads.

I dont have a bench anywhere near that pretty. My reloading setup nests in the bench dogs of my woodworking workbench.

The best reloading gadget I have tried and still use is the Rapid Case Kicker. This device kicks the brass out of the single stage press after each press stroke operation is performed. This was a terrific upgrade myfor the single stage press guy. I will not be moving on from my original RCBS Rock Chuckers anytime soon.

The biggest time saver I have encountered and reloading has been to upsize my brass prep capacity. I have a bigger tumbler and a faster trimmer set up and that has done more to increase capacity than anything.

I briefly tried wet tumbling and while the results are pretty I couldn’t stand all the putzing around with having to dry the cases. I used the gear for about a month and then sold it on ebay and went back to dry tumbling.

Components can be very difficult to find at times. This is the fourth blitz on reloading components in the last 20 years. I have pretty much everything I need in significant volume but testing new loads grinds to a halt because I need small quantities of components that I don’t normally stock.

To all those new to reloading I will just repeat the safety advice that was given to me. Pay attention! Use a thorough process and do not deviate from it!

I actually had to stop a guy at the gun club once after he fired a squib load. My guess is that the load was primed but did not receive a charge of powder. The primer drove the bullet about halfway down the barrel. I heard the strange sound and immediately stopped him. He had not realized what had happened and was preparing to fire another round which could have been deadly. He was shooting handloads made for him by a friend.

In my opinion the scenario above is the most dangerous part of reloading. Inspect every case after the powder charge cycle. Use a light to make sure you visually see a proper level of powder in each case. If you are using a progressive press make sure the missed powder charge stop is in place and working. After seating bullets shake each case to make sure there is powder in each one. Obviously this does not work with compressed loads.

Be safe.

My setup is not nearly as nice as yours James nicely done.

I have the Hornaday Lock and Load really like it I can use it as a single stage or progressive. I use the progressive for my 357, 45 and AR 223 loads can turn out enough loads very quickly to keep my trigger pulling satisfied. Then turn around and load for .243, 7MM, 30-06 and .223 accuracy loads.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

I briefly tried wet tumbling and while the results are pretty I couldn’t stand all the putzing around with having to dry the cases. I used the gear for about a month and then sold it on ebay and went back to dry tumbling.

Here’s what i do. It is very fast. To clean ~750 5.56 cases it takes about 15 minutes of MY time and a running time of 2.5 hours.

Put HOT water into tumbler with brass and SST Dowel media. Add small amount of dish soap and a very small amount of lemi shine. Tumble for 1.5-2 hrs. LEMI SHINE IS AN ACID AND WILL EAT THE ZINC OUT OF YOUR CASES IF YOU USE TOO MUCH. Less is more! (No impact to case life, they just have a copperish color if you use too much).

Dump out dirty water from tumbler, rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat, until water in tumbler is fairly clear.

Dump brass into hornady rotary media separator. Have water level in separator high enough that the brass rotates through water as you spin for 1 minute. Switch rotation direction during that minute. The water is necessary as the SST dowel pins have a high water tension and they stick to brass, unless there is some water, then they fall right out.
Remove water from separator.
Spin rotary media separator for another 30 seconds to remove a lot of water from cases.

Take a bucket, put a towel in the bucket. Dump wet brass into towel. Shake brass within the towel. This takes 30 seconds.

Have oven preheated to 300 degrees.
Put brass in baking pan.
Bake 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and let rest until cool, then store brass.

Air drying brass is just fine as the rest of the drying process is purely cosmetic (no water spotting, especially doing the step with the towel).

In all, i think my hands on time is at MAX 15 minutes of effort for that many cases. I’ve NEVER had a dowel pin stay in a case and i’ve cleaned 6,000 cases this past few months.

I started by removing the primer first, and i’m currently cleaning with primer installed to eliminate a step in the process. Removing the primer does result in super clean pockets though.

Grouse i thought this process easy enough that i’d share what you may have missed. No cob media to fud with!!! Media lasts forever. Lowest cost cleaning process AFTER initial purchase.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

James & Pat,
You boys loading for big game hunting, competition shooting, entertainment?

For me it is a combination of preparation for big game hunts, I have tags for elk and mule deer in Montana for this fall, and the desire to expand my knowledge of ballistics and to try to control as best I’m able the variables that go into producing consistently accurate handloaded ammunition. I’m incredibly intrigued by the blend of math, chemistry and physics that all have to work together to achieve highly accurate handloads!

In the future I plan to do a LOT more hunting out west so what I’m doing with the handloading is largely in support of my desire to effectively and humanely hunt elk and mule deer all in as many states as possible before my legs and lungs give out.

I do also plan to attend a couple long range shooting schools next summer and I’m sure I’ll end up doing a few competitions with Pat but those activities are secondary to the hunting.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

The best reloading gadget I have tried and still use is the Rapid Case Kicker. This device kicks the brass out of the single stage press after each press stroke operation is performed. This was a terrific upgrade myfor the single stage press guy. I will not be moving on from my original RCBS Rock Chuckers anytime soon.

I really need to get one of those for my rock chucker. The Hornady press James bought has that functionality built in.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

I briefly tried wet tumbling and while the results are pretty I couldn’t stand all the putzing around with having to dry the cases. I used the gear for about a month and then sold it on ebay and went back to dry tumbling.

Same reason why I quit wet tumbling! I could see still using that method for doing high volume range brass that is incredibly dirty, but the only high volume reloading i’m doing is 9mm, and the cases are so small you can fit a lot of brass in even the smallest vibrating tumblers.

Another con for wet tumbling in regards to accuracy is bullet seating pressure and how clean the inside of the neck gets.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

To all those new to reloading I will just repeat the safety advice that was given to me. Pay attention! Use a thorough process and do not deviate from it!

I remember when I first started a friend of mine asking me if I owned a bullet puller yet and I responding with “No why would I need that if I always pay attention to what i’m doing”. he just laughed. I’ve pulled hundreds of bullets since

Pat McSharry wrote:

I remember when I first started a friend of mine asking me if I owned a bullet puller yet and I responding with “No why would I need that if I always pay attention to what i’m doing”. he just laughed. I’ve pulled hundreds of bullets since

So, what I’m hearing is once I buy a bullet puller THEN I can start saving money on ammunition?

IT NEVER ENDS

You guys probably have already thought of this but your handloads POI will change a decent amount at those higher elevations out west. both drop and wind holds. Just a reminder!

Youbetcha wrote:

You guys probably have already thought of this but your handloads POI will change a decent amount at those higher elevations out west. both drop and wind holds. Just a reminder!

Absolutely, we’ll definitely factor in elevation, temp, humidity, shot angle, and of course WIND. We appreciate the reminder.

Youbetcha wrote:

You guys probably have already thought of this but your handloads POI will change a decent amount at those higher elevations out west. both drop and wind holds. Just a reminder!

A plus to a lot of the technology available now days, is there are some really good ballistics apps where you can plug in your load data for a certain elevation, and they will correct for those differences.

waldo9190 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Carter Johnson wrote:</div>
You guys probably have already thought of this but your handloads POI will change a decent amount at those higher elevations out west. both drop and wind holds. Just a reminder!

A plus to a lot of the technology available now days, is there are some really good ballistics apps where you can plug in your load data for a certain elevation, and they will correct for those differences.

I’ve been using a Kestrel 5700 with applied ballistics. I’ve had great luck with it so far.