Progressive reloading of tall cases

[soldierbilly1]

I am loading 38 special on a Lee Progressive 1000. I try to peek inside the case, like a 38 special, to ensure there is powder in the case before I place the bullet on top and seat.

Not so easy as the case is tall and the powder volume is small! I am using an inexpensive dental mirror to spot the powder level.

Is there an easier or quicker way to do this? this works but it is slow as all hell!

how do you all do this? (I dont like shooting "no" fills!)

bill boy

[oteroman]

Many use an endoscope camera
Do a search on this forum and also on Amazon.
Hook to smartphone or old laptop.



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[Baltimoreed]

I made a cardboard prop that attached to the turret to hold a small purse mirror on my turret press so that I could look through an empty hole in my turret to verify a powder charge. I would turn the turret past the seating die to look and the back up to the seater die to seat my bullet. Now days I use the Dillon 550 auto measures so all I have to do is work the ram to dump a charge. I also have the manual Dillon 450 measures on my turrets and have gotten into the habit of not picking a bullet out on the box until I dump a charge of powder. Knock on wood, I’ve never not charged a case or worse-doubled one.

[Conditor22]

I use an endoscope with a tablet or an RCBS powder check die.

you could get/build a flexible stand/arm and attach mirror and a light to it (I like the 12V led's, small and bright.

[XDROB]

Depending on the press you have. Inline Fabrication has an Led light that goes in the middle hole and a side Led that lights up the whole inside of the press. Get that and you might not need a mirror. First pic is lights off. Second one leds on and third and fourth pic is of what they call their skylight.

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[Kenstone]

I have come across a couple of things that have helped in checking for powder during my reloading process.
Wet tumbling brass cleans/shines the inside of a case so it's not like peeking into a black hole when doing the powder check.
Whether you stand or sit reloading, adding A Bigger MIRROR (I use a bicycle mirror) and bright light will change the powder check from a peek to a full-on inspection.

I have this goose-neck light, it has a mag base that I snap onto the cap of an empty powder jug/filled with bullets/with the cap taped shut so I can move it to anywhere on the bench:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are bigger/brighter ones one Amazon too, for just a few bucks more.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FSPJKWQ...detail_2?psc=1

Also, you can take another/last look into the case for powder as you place the bullet into it.
That, and any turret or progressive with auto index can be short stroked to index/skip a station, not a good thing.
good luck,

Edit: I have more than one press but only one on the bench at any one time, the reason I use that generic sewing machine light rather than stick-on LEDs. Stick-ons for every press would total over $100.

[redsandbox44]

Are you familiar with Hornady’s “Powder Cop”? It requires placement into your turret, if you have an empty station. It probes the casing for powder. Still requires visual check to see if the dipstick rises to the expected height.


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[Taterhead]

The Pro 1000 does not have a spare station for powder check or powder cop dies.

[turtlezx]

on my pro 1000 attached a small pen light to the round upright posts and shines into the case on station 3 to check powder level

[David2011]

There's a company called KMS Squared that has some very nice and reasonably priced LED strip lights available for many different presses. They're made specifically to fit various popular presses. I just learned of them and will be getting them for my Dillon 550 and 650. They also have a more generic one that will fit single stage presses which has an annular ring of lights around the die hole. I've been using a single flashlight and a gooseneck light that's mounted on my casefeeder. The strip lights will be far better for seeing down inside cases.

They don't list a light specifically for the Pro 1000 but several of them may work: http://kmssquared.com/products.html.

[LenH]

I found a couple of LED lights in the automotive dept. at Walmart. I think they were less that $10, I found a 12 volt phone charger and wired the light to that. They had a magnifier lens
that I pulled off, it fits in the middle hole on a Dillon tool head, makes things easier to see especially down into a case at the powder station.

[soldierbilly1]

Some great recommendations here! Got some research to do. Thanx to all. Bill boy