A loading question

[Beekeeper]

May sound dumb but when you are reloading do you use a single stage press or turret?
I am starting to get more into black powder and have always loaded smokeless one cartridge all the way at a time( if that makes sence).
With black you are changing dies all the time as you need to compress the powder, change dies, seat boolit , change dies and crimp if you do one at a time.

Sure slows the process down and leaves room for error.
Thought I would as and see how others do it!


beekeeper

[drcook]

I use a Redding T7 turret. I also have 2 extra top plates, due to the fact that I reload more than a couple different cartridges.

For me, it depends on what operation that I am doing, as to whether I will do it in batch or one at a time. I resize the cases in a batch. I expand the necks in a batch. And seat primers in a batch. It is faster for me to take cases in and out of the shell holder than it is to change the turret head position.

When I load, lately I have found it is just as fast to weigh and drop the powder through the drop tube, compress the powder, insert the wads and bullet, then index the press to the seating die.

However, I have put powder and compressed in up to 50 cases at a time before seating the bullets.

I guess it depends on how many I am loading. When getting ready to go to a match out west where I needed 150 of each cartridge, I tend to batch the operations up more.

The best answer is to experiment. See which motion is more comfortable and efficient for you to do.

However, with a single stage press, you can get pretty efficient doing them in batch especially if you get a wood loading block that holds 50 or so cases and is thick (holes deep enough) that you won't knock the cases over. Then you would only be changing the dies after doing x number of cases (ie: 50 sizing, then 50 expanding, etc).

Keep in mind, you can't double charge a BP load, so it doesn't hurt to do it this way with BP. Smokeless I would insert powder and seat the bullet, but that is me.

[Don McDowell]

I use a single stage. After prepping the cases, then while charging the cases I compess and seat the wad as they are filled and then place back into the loading block, also if just slip fitting or thumb seating the bullets do that right after compressing.
If it's bullets that are using neck tension and or possibly a small amount of crimp then after all the cases are charged and compressed, change the die and do the seating.
Doesn't take very long to load 50 rounds.

[John Boy]

... when you are reloading do you use a single stage press or turret? Beekeeper, old habits are hard to break, but if it works - keep doing it

I load all BPCR and smokeless on the Lee 3 Hole Turret press except for CAS 45 Colt's on the Dillion 550B. Spinning the turret to any of the next dies is effortless.

The rest of the setup is the Lee Perfect Powder measure - a digital scale the reads to xxx.xx and the Lyman powder pan with the round pour spout

Why the Lee Perfect Powder Measure?
Grain Weight Statistics Between 4 Different Powder Measures
(http://www.shilohrifle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7037)

For 22LR black powder reloads - the old Lyman No 5 does the job. Both for the size of the drop tube and consistency for 4.5gr FFFFg charges

[montana_charlie]

I use a Lee three-holer turret press, but only because it is 'what I had' when I took up this BPCR thing. I actually use dies in a manner appropriate for a single stage press.

The advantage of the removable turrets is ... for BPCR ... that a variety of special purpose dies can be permanently mounted, and installed in a matter of moments.

For instance, one turret holds the Lee hardness tester, a wad punch, and a Lee push through sizer die. When I need any one of those tools, it's quick to throw the turrent in.
Another turret holds my standard, Lyman, three-die set for .45/90. I very rarely use any of those dies, but they are ready to go if a case needs full-length sizing.

The turret that stays in the press holds a universal deprining die, an expander die with a compression plug installed, and a Lee Factory Crimp Die modified for 'ironing' case mouths.

Depriming and compression make 95 percent of the motivation for stroking the handle on that press. Those two dies would be quite happy if used in a single stage press.


Of course, if you're looking for 'justification' for acquiring a turret press, don't let anything I said hold you back ...

CM

[boommer]

batch- rock chucker

['74 sharps]

I use a single stage Redding I bought when I was new to reloading and knew little about the processes. If I had to do it over, I would get the Redding turret; however, I do batches and it goes quickly. You may consider doing batches rather than swapping dies out for every stage on a single cartridge.