Loaded 150 45 Colts .Powder coated 250 40 cals.
Loaded 150 45 Colts .Powder coated 250 40 cals.
I am simply refining my casting techniques. Trying a bunch of different temperatures and pace. Cast up some bullets, inspect and weigh, make notes. Toss bullets back in pot. Change something. Repeat. Once I get my technique where I want it will cast up some more bullets.
Reminder, have to order some more lead
I have been going back and forth with trimming 223, shaking boolits, baking boolits, sizing boolits, loading 45 ACP, and 300 BO. If I ever get through all that I have more brass and bullets to combine and I just ordered a new mold to replace one I wrecked....so plenty to do! Still working but with a limited schedule so not getting cabin fever yet.
"Yes or no will almost always suffice as the answer"
Did 600 or 700 32 acp .800 45acp .600 9mm. 800 40s@w now prepping 1000 223 brass. Iam almost getting tired of reloading .almost just like work. I was laid off work form a hotel. Then working one day a week now two.Iam only using my lee single stage press and lee anniversary kit. So that amount of ammo on a single stage press keeps me busy. Got my press bolted to a school desk top in the living room. My wife keeps asking me when Iam going to put my stuff up. I loaded this all up the last two weeks. More to go
Actually, I've been reorganizing my ammo shelves and cabinets. I found 3 boxes of ammo for a gun I no longer have. Salvaged the primers and powder. Melted down the bullets for recasting. Tossed the brass in the scrap bucket. I've got a 5 gal. bucket nearly full now. I'm waiting for things to settle down before I take the brass in for recycling. By that time, I may have a second bucket full. That should be enough to pay for a keg of powder.
I had a batch of bullets that I got back the first week in December that needed to be sized and lubed. I got the solids sized and lubed and even added beagle's special gas checks for plain base bullets to 50 hollow points. I'm trying to build up my supply of loaded 32 S&W Long ammo for the range. I have several revolvers that use this caliber but my little I-frame 32 HE snub and my recreated K-32 are especially begging for some serious range time. Beagle sort of threw me a little curve when he suggested WW 231 for these bullets (now that it's been discontinued) but I found a pound of HP 38 which is the same and almost half a pound of the actual 231. This doesn't sound like much powder, but these little 32s only take 3.2 grains of powder per round, so even a half pound goes a long way!
I also tried to load some 38 Spl HBWCs with my old Dillon 550. It was acting cranky, so I may break out my old StarProgressive to continue loading the 38s, then when I get around to it, I'll tear the Dillon down for a much deserved and needed cleaning, I'll probably set it up for 45 ACP.
This enforced home time will give me the opportunity to do a lot of stuff I've been putting off.
Froggie
"It aint easy being green!"
Loaded 1000 each of 9mm, .38 special and .357 in the last week. Change the press to large primers then .45ACP, .41 mag, .44 special and .44 mag.
I cast over 1,000 32 and 38 bullets. I'm trying my hand at powder coating for the first time. It went OK. I plan to hone the skill a little more tomorrow night. The powder came from Smoke4320 in record time. I had some nice talks with them. They're great people.
Cleaning and organizing, moving my setup mostly.
Boy did I have a collection of junk.
Just loaded around 500 380’s from various batches of boolits laying around, some of which I normally would have remelted.
But I didn’t cast or reload much last year, low on ammo and my 380 is a pocket gun so as long as they don’t lead and leave the barrel straight they will be fine for holster work and instinctive shooting under 20yds.
Planning on shortening one bench tonight to bring it down to a better casting height, finishing up some leftover plated 380’s and resetting to load a couple hundred leftover 55gr Hornady SP in 223.
Then calibrate a new thermometer, check my convection oven temp and start casting and coating.
And if it ever dries out some berm mining is in order to further test out my new to me turkey fryer. My lead supply is down to just a few hundred pounds.
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I'm pulling down about 600 8mm turk rounds to download 10%. glad I bought the forster collet puller!
Page 1,I was yappin about a NOS Lyman 225415.
The dang sprue plate holes are the same size(huge in 22 terms) as their .30 cal moulds. So took a little time and made 4 replacement plates.
Used 3/16",ground steel a bud gave me. Don't know the particular metallurgy but will ask when I see him. Machines sweet though. The Lyman's are "punched" 1/8" so,a little improved there.
Cutting,and finishing 4 took an hour. Then instead of just diving in on the holes,took a break from the shop and did laps mowing the grass. I "was" going to make a drilling fixture to use now and in the future but after thinking about it..... there's no real guarantee Lyman's fixturing is perfect and me basing another fixture off that is just begging for trouble.
Decided,each mould needs to be dialed in and have the plate holes to match. Takes longer to describe than laying out. We have surface plates,and a wheelbarrows worth of metrology tools. Anyway,layout was simple and drilled/countersunk the holes. Much smaller holes than factory. Only did the one,here it is back on the loading bench. Ran out of cold blue so left it in the white.
Those of us who have used Lee molds know that the sprue plate is one of the more important parts of the mold (the place where Lee is a bit too cheap). Nice work and a good idea.
Maybe I've just been lucky with Lee molds. The only thing I do to the sprue plates is polish the bottom side when I first get them and add a screw to lock the pivot screw in place. They work fine after that.
Loading 44-40 w/ 215 gr. ( 427098 ) & 40-60 win. ( 403168 , copy) w/ my new BACO 2- cavity mould , Beautiful mould,, @ 11-13 BHN,, did 400 40-60 & ( already have 500 cast ) 300 44-40,, rain'n like crazy here ,, oh! well just have to cast more,, whaahaaaa!!!
coffee's ready ,, Hootmix.
Casting and loading 69 cal round ball 12ga plinker loads for my son to burn up in his Komrade semi auto.
Casting 60 round balls and trying to work up a feral pig load for my Mossberg 500 20ga. Also loading and testing 20ga slugs from Fury Custom Bullets for the hogs.
BB
Making an upstairs bedroom into a bathroom so don't have a lot of time for reloading but while drywall mud and paint and such are drying I have been cleaning and prepping 22H, 22KH, 25/20, 256Win and 223 cases. I traded places with the wifes laundry room and my gun room this winter and I'm still trying to organize brass ,bullets, primers, powder, dies and all the other loading stuff that I've stuffed into the new smaller loading room.
What is this "bored" thing. I haven't seen such a thing since I got married 47 years ago.
I don't ever recall being bored. I can always find something to do.
Today I ground off the welds on the picatinny rail and removed it from my home built 50 BMG rifle.
Now I need to clean it up, make some kind of a jig to hold the rail in position and reweld it, hopefully straight this time.
I cast a bunch of Lee 358-105-SWC and powder coated them, then brought them inside and let them cure for a week. Then I ran them through the .357 sizer (the original style) and started loading them with my Lee Classic Cast Turret. They look so nice. Hopefully the weather will clear up so I can go shoot them, if not I will make some more.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |