Lessons learned in large volume progressive reloading

[omgb]

I recently dusted off my L-N-L presses after maybe 5 years of disuse. I had accumulated thousands of rounds in components and decided it was time to reload them all, and I mean all. There were multiple calibers to be considered. 3006, 5.56, 38 sp 40 S&W, .357 mag and 32-20. I was doing a minimum of 1K rounds on all of them and in some cases like 38SP, .357 mag and 3006, I was doing several thousand rounds. In doing all of this I learned a few things I'd like to share. Some are obvious, some not so much but all are critical to successful reloading.

1. Clean everything on your press to the point of NIB. Nothing stops a session faster than dirt.
2. Lube the parts that require lube and use only enough to get the job done. Less really is more.

3. There are two enemies of progressive presses, spilled powder and those dang corn cob and walnut chunks left over from case cleaning. Everyone knows that spilled powder can screw up indexing, cause the primer feed system to go Tango Uniform and prevent cases from sliding into shell plated deeply but what goes un-noticed is that crappy chunk of corncob that hangs up in your shell drop tube and stops the shells from falling through the tube. You must clean everything and then only feed your progressive clean cases.
4. Tighten everything that might come loose every time you begin a reloading session. I had an issue this morning when cases refused to drop onto the shell plate from the feeder. The pivot was just not moving correctly. I took it apart and found some kind of spooge had built up on the under surface of the pivot. I cleaned that and retightened the pivot pin. Bingo, full movement but no joy, still no case drop. Then I noticed that the cam lifter had backed off a few turns and was not pushing the pivot all the way to one side. I adjusted it and was back in business. I don't think I'd ever checked that since I installed it 10 years ago. I will before each session now.
5. Keep your cases clean. I decap using a universal decapper and tumble clean before each session. I also wipe out the tubs I store the cases in and I wipe out the case feeder hopper. Everything gets cleaned.
6. Set up a reasonable rhythm to your reloading. Each machine has a cycle speed at which everything harmoniously balances. Exceed that or run under it and things begin to jam, fail etc. Remember, consistency is the key to accurate reloading.
7. Concentrate. Keep clear of distractions and run in batches with a rest period between runs. I do 500 and quit for a while. I'm fresher and much more attentive that way.

Those are my tips. If you can afford a bullet feeder for .223, buy it. Those tiny bullets re a bear to pick up and orient under the press.

[Artful]

All very good advise! Only thing to add is a tip for reasonable rhythm, I find that if you play music in the background and pick the songs to the same tempo as your desired rhythm it helps maintain that magic cadence.

[MrWolf]

I deprime off the machine with a Harvey Deprimer for just that reason. I don't need to add more gunk.

[omgb]

Depriming off cycle so that I can tumble the cases is a huge deal. Clean, dirt free cases and clean primer pockets are essential to successful progressive reloading. Think of it this way. Single stage reloading is like dancing with yourself. Call any tune, do any step and it all works out because you are the only person in motion. Progressive reloading is more like ball room tango. You have to move in lock step with your partner and every move has to be smooth and as planned or everything derails.

[troyboy]

In addition to your advice,I sort the cases by headstamp.

[pretzelxx]

Wait. You reloaded that many and you didn't have a collator? I give you mad props for that alone! And very good info. Especially since I haven't reloaded in a while, I didn't think to clean everything again when I start up in fall/winter!

[ProfGAB101]

When my arthritis first flared up I could not do a 1K run anymore. So I took a recommendation I had heard elsewhere and went the slow and steady route.

Start the coffee in the morning and while its brewing park your half awake butt at the loading bench and tube up 200 primers then start pulling the handle... The coffee will be ready shortly before you are. If your really pushed for ammo tube up another hundred primers to get a jump on tomorrows lot while sipping your coffee. This will allow you 1K rounds or more ready by the weekend each week.

Not to much later I revisited my bench from an ergonomics perspective and replaced all press ball or straight handles with roller or extended handles, adjusted chair height, press height, bullet pickup tray location etc until everything was optimal for ease of repetitive motion. With things the way they are now I can sit through a nearly 2K session, but with the prices of components today a 2K session causes sever pain in my backside in the general vicinity of where I carry my wallet.

A small painters trim brush is great for spot dust offs while you are loading - keep it clean/dry so dirt and powder won't stick.

[nicholst55]

Sticky!

[omgb]

I have a case feeder and I use Hornady bullet feed dies and tubes for jacked pistol bullets. Rifle bullets however are seated by hand.

[runfiverun]

I like to put a cover on my machines when they ain't in use.
a small brush like for cleaning electric razors or a tooth brush is handy to sweep things away without interrupting your cadence.
primer pick-up tubes?
I bought 2 primer tube fillers and fill 10 at a time [15 minutes max]
motor mica/graphite for stuff that slides or rubs [they don't attract dirt] oil the ram and the pivot pins.

keep your bench mounted priming tool ready [with the right shell holder] so you can catch those not quite seated 5.56 type primers and move along without delay.

champher your case mouths.

[soldierbilly1]

1. Keep the powder hopper as full as possible. Minimizes bridging and no fills!
2. Put a dab of case sizer on the base of the clean cases. Inside case neck helps too. Rough sizing disturbs the entire system.
3. As mentioned, deprime beforehand. The filth goes elsewhere!!
4. Sturdy mount. nothing less.
Bill boy still learning

[dogmower]

I do sizing and depriming on an old progressive I have (especially the lubed cases, use a Dillon 1200 trimmer). clean, then load the sized cases (and flare the mouths on straight walled and pistol cases) on a projector.

[Walter Laich]

Mine is 'sorta' along these lines.
I am using a SDB and that doubles as my deprimer. I take the primer assembly off (3 screws)
remove the tool head (4 screws) and take out the three dies.
replace the tool head with one that just has the depriming pin. (4 screws back in)
.
now i can load a case, pull the handle and continue. After three pulls I get a deprimed case as I add another.
.
do a great job of cleaning the press before putting it all back together and get back to reloading

[Iowa Fox]

1-Don't try to push production rate right off the bat. Settle into a nice steady rythm and the rate will follow.

2- If you leave spent primers in the brass no matter how squeaky clean the case, if it gets deprimed on the progressive the primer grit still makes makes a mess. Even if they are washed in liquid. I deprime and wash the brass in lemi-shine. End of grit.

3-Use case lube. Carbide dies still need lube.

4-If you use range pick up brass check a few after the resizing stage in a case gage. Too many stinking pistols with unsupported chambers these days.

5- If you buy cleaned or processed brass look into every single case before you dump it into the case feeder. Last winter I purchased a bunch of squeaky clean 45acp brass from a seller on this forum to give to my son for X-mas. When I received it it looked really good in the plastic bags. For some reason I opened one of the bags and scooped a handfull out for a look. Low and behold one had a long sliver of brass with a live primer in the bottom. Not sure what happened there but I know he had kids helping him sort and package. I saved the brass sliver and the primer in a clear bottle just to remind myself and my sons the importance of looking in each case when its brass new to you.

[Lloyd Smale]

some of you go through a lot of bother. Im not going to deprime separately or clean primer pockets or even sort brass. I tumble it use my Dillon media separator to get the media out of the brass. dump it in the collator and load. After every session I give the machine a quick cleaning and its good to go. If my machine wouldn't handle being used like that id be shopping for a different machine. Ive probably loaded a million rounds of ammo like this throught the years and it all ran just fine and shot just fine. Only exceptions I make to this is with 223. IF its not swaged I run it through the case feeder and just use a sizing die and deprime and size it all. I mount my Dillon power trimmer in one station to trim it in the same operation. then I swaged it, tumble it and load it. When I do this I replace the sizing die with a decapping die. the brass is already sized so all im conserned with is shoving out and media stuck in the flash hole.

[jmorris]

I am with Lloyd, depriming first only doubles the work, not something I do for bulk loading (with the exception of automated presses where It doesn't add any more work for me).

Tips I have learned over the years.

Get comfortable, you are going to spend a lot of time I front of the press over the years so make it a spot you don't mind being.

Have your cases sorted perfectly. No machine is going to like the wrong case getting to it.

Bullet and case feeders are your friend, reduce the work you have to do and speed up the process (at least good ones do). Also allows you to concentrate on everything else that is going on.

Put witness marks on the dies, lock rings and tool head (bushing and top of the press too for LNL) will be obvious if anything has moved just by looking.

Reloading is not a race, while it can be done quickly with great results, if speed is your concern bad things generally result.

[baogongmeo]

All very good advise! Only thing to add is a tip for reasonable rhythm, I find that if you play music in the background and pick the songs to the same tempo as your desired rhythm it helps maintain that magic cadence.

There are metronome web sites that allow you to set a cadence

[HGS]

Just the info I was looking for, quick tips from auto and progress reloading press users.

Thanks

HGS