Reloading Clinic

[ceh383]

Another thread brought up this subject, so why not do it here.

The basics are pretty simple, but it can be intimidating.
Things you will need to start out:
1) A press, single stage or progressive
2) A scale
3) A suitable work space
4) Hulls
5) Wads
6) Powder
7) Primers
8) Shot

The steps involved are:
1) Size and deprime the hull
2) Prime the hull
3) Drop the powder
4) Insert the wad
5) Drop the shot
6) Pre-crimp
7) Final crimp

For the beginner a single stage press is the best way to learn, as the steps are done one at a time. You can see how each step is done, and learn the process. If you plan on loading a lot of shells a progressive machine will get it done faster as all steps are done at the same time. There's a lot going on at the same time and it's easy for the beginner to become overwhelmed.
No matter which type of machine you choose, READ THE MANUAL, this is necessary to not only understand the machine, but to also get it adjusted properly.

Once have your machine you need to figure out what you want to load. I load target shells, 1oz #7.5 shot at 1200fps. To find a recipe to match what I want, I go to the various powder manufactures web sites to see what they recommend.

I ended up with:
1) Remington Gun Club hulls
2) Cheddite primers (not recommended, but all I can get)
3) 18 grains of Clay Dot powder
4) Claybuster CB-1100-12 wads
5) Eagle Magnum #7.5 shot

I load on a MEC 9000E machine and can do about 400 per hour.


I'll add more later...

[W.R.Buchanan]

I started in on this subject above, but I will help you complete this if you don't mind.
Size and Deprime:


Prime:


Drop Powder:


Insert Wad:


Drop Shot:


Continued vvvv

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

Precrimp:


Final Crimp: Done ! See it ain't that hard?


These pics were of .410's being loaded. All the other gauges are done the exact same way.

Randy

[ceh383]

OK, WRB gave some info and pictures on his single stage. Yes, it really is that easy!
A progressive loader is just as easy, but there is a lot more going on with each pull of the handle.
Here's my machine with station and component indicators.
Machine.jpg

Left_Side.jpg

Right_Side.jpg

Here's what happens with each pull of the handle:

Station 1, hull is de-primed and resized
Between Station 1 & 2 new primer is dropped
Station 2, new primer is seated and the powder is dropped
Station 3, wad is seated and shot is dropped
Station 4, pre-crimp is applied
Station 5, final crimp is applied
Station 6, final sizing

A lot going on for 1 pull of the handle. On a MEC machine, watch the primer drop, I can not stress this enough.

What you get is 1 finished shell for every pull of the handle. Well, my machine is the "E" model, so I don't actually pull a handle, I push a button.

Any way, here is the machine in action...

[W.R.Buchanan]

CEH: Your Pics don't show up.

Randy

[pacrat]

CEH: Your Pics don't show up.

Randy

I see them

[sigstroker]

You don't really need a scale do you? When I used to load shotgun shells way back when, the press used bushings for the powder. We just looked up which bushing to use in a chart. Same with the shot.

[ceh383]

You don't really need a scale do you? When I used to load shotgun shells way back when, the press used bushings for the powder. We just looked up which bushing to use in a chart. Same with the shot.

I would say yes, you do.The MEC uses bushings for the powder but they throw lite charges. If you are working at the lower end of the pressure range a lite charge can cause a dud/squib load. On the other end of it, if you are doing high pressure hunting loads you really don't want to over charge a shell, excessive pressure is not good for the gun.

Powder densities can, and do change from lot to lot. So if you don't weigh it, you have no idea what is being dropped.

[sigstroker]

A bushing works exactly the same way as a powder measure does. It fills an empty space with powder. Once I set a powder measure, I never had to change it. How much could it vary? A tenth of a grain, or two at the most? I've been using powder measures since the 1970's and never seen it. Shotgun loaders aren't dropping 30 grain charges, it's in the single digits.

[ceh383]

Clay Dot with the recommended bushing from the chart was throwing 2 grains lite on my machine. With a low pressure load, 2 grains is a lot and can cause issues. I had to go up 2 sizes to get the proper drop, would have never known without a scale.

[newbutold]

Hodgdon Universal and Longshot in Rem hulls work well for me.

[W.R.Buchanan]

You still need a Powder Scale to check your work. Flying blind in the reloading room is a good way to become one of those "idiots" I talked about in the other thread.

Just like you are responsible for every round you send down range, you are also responsible for every round you load. If you don't know for sure what is happening when you charge a case, then you really need to reassess your skillset.

When I said there is alot of room for substitutions in lite loads I didn't mean Substituting "poor workmanship" for acceptable safe behavior.

There are two components to Craftsmanship.

Attention to Detail and Personal Responsibility.

Not checking your work violates both of these and when loading Ammo you can't really violate either one or sooner or later it will bite you.

As a machinist I have to follow those two rules every minute of every day. My bottom line depends on it. When loading ammo your life depends on it!

If you aren't willing to follow those two rules then don't reload anything because you will just hurt yourself.

Sorry but, the truth is a evil mistress sometimes.

Randy

[tanks]

I prefer Spolar Gold. So far loaded thousands and thousands of shells since I got it. Though I am going to have to take a break soon as about to run out of Clays.

One advantage was it was set up from the factory for a 1oz 7.5 shot at 1200 fps using AA hulls, clays powder and Winchester 209s. No further adjustments needed.

[ceh383]

I prefer Spolar Gold. So far loaded thousands and thousands of shells since I got it. Though I am going to have to take a break soon as about to run out of Clays.

One advantage was it was set up from the factory for a 1oz 7.5 shot at 1200 fps using AA hulls, clays powder and Winchester 209s. No further adjustments needed.

I was looking at those, beautiful machines, but I went with MEC for two reasons.
1) It will produce equal quality shells once setup properly, yes, it doesn't come from the factory dialed in but it's not that hard to do.
2) It has the option of both hydraulic and electric drives for it. I went with the electric option, it's quieter and has no possibility of oil leaks.

You might want to look for some Clay Dot, it's the Alliant equivalent of Clays. Loads nearly identically...

[JagerDog]

A bushing works exactly the same way as a powder measure does. It fills an empty space with powder. Once I set a powder measure, I never had to change it. How much could it vary? A tenth of a grain, or two at the most? I've been using powder measures since the 1970's and never seen it. Shotgun loaders aren't dropping 30 grain charges, it's in the single digits.

12g target loads with fast powder is 15-20 grains.

12g hunting loads with slow powder are often 30 and more.

I have some with 40 gr of Blue Dot.

A little digital scale is $30.

FWIW, you'll find a significant difference on what a bushing throws based on machine and technique.