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Ramslammer
04-24-2008, 09:01 PM
G'Day All
Here in Australia we don't have much experiance with the 310 tool and I was wondering how good they are?
Juddy

HeavyMetal
04-24-2008, 09:14 PM
It depends on what your loading.

I've had a 310 and realized it only neck sized cases. If your loading big black powder rounds, with little or no neck tension, these are great, if your loading 44 mag and want to make sure each case goes in the gun maybe not so great.

These tools really shine when your away from home and want to be sure you have ammo for a hunt. I can't imagine loading more than 20 or 30 rounds on a hunt simply because of the logistics of carrying powder, primers and bullets.

They were never ment to replace a press, although many have done just that, and as long as your willing to live with the limitations a 310 can provide good ammo.

So yes they are quality tools but no you won't want to make a 1000 rounds with one some Sunday afternoon!

floodgate
04-24-2008, 10:23 PM
Ramslammer:

Good enough that back in the '40's and '50's at least (according to Phil Sharpe and others) some ballistic labs used them routinely for test loadings. Slow, to be sure, but if you can get by with neck sizing only, they work just fine - and faster and safer than the Lee Loaders. Besides, they're CUTE!

Floodgate

Le Loup Solitaire
04-24-2008, 11:57 PM
They've been around a long time and were made in most popular calibers. They only neck size and are slow in producing a lot of ammo. But you can put the whole deal into a good size coat pocket and it goes anywhere. A lot of guys learned how to handload with them and produced perfectly good ammo. They were also nicknamed "the nutcracker" (and would probably serve as one, as well). The Lyman corporation still manufacturers and sells them including dies for only a few of the calibers, but nothing on the scale of what used to be. A gentleman in Arizona, named Randy Davis...at WWW.The310Shop.com mailing address P.O. Box 835 48 S. 10 th Street, Tombstone AZ 85638 ....maintains and sells a wide inventory of 310 tools and replacement parts for 310s including sets/calibers that are no longer produced, handles, dies, accessories and all sorts of related stuff. I managed to save the original ones that I started out with a long time ago and have a set for each caliber I load for. I still use them quite a bit. To answer your question...they are good. If you use them often you also get to develop a very respected handshake that you will be remembered for.

gcf
04-25-2008, 01:30 PM
I used a small one recently to size about 125 45-270-SAA's down from .453" to .452".

Worked OK, but the alignment angle of the punch, left a little to be desired. Would it work in a pinch, to load limited amounts of ammo? I suspect so.

floodgate
04-25-2008, 02:27 PM
gcf:

Was that a modern 310, with the special, separate screw-in bullet sizing die and plunger; or was it one of the older nickeled tools with the built-in sizing hole in the handle and a swinging plunger pinned on the opposite handle. Those WERE pretty sloppy as to alignment, but worked in a pinch (so to speak...).

Floodgate

gcf
04-25-2008, 03:15 PM
gcf:

Was that a modern 310, with the special, separate screw-in bullet sizing die and plunger; or was it one of the older nickeled tools with the built-in sizing hole in the handle and a swinging plunger pinned on the opposite handle. Those WERE pretty sloppy as to alignment, but worked in a pinch (so to speak...).

Floodgate

Floodgate -

Worked in a pinch... Whoo Hooo! Believe it or not, that was entirely unintentional!

New style, I think. On loan from a pal that could not bear my whining about .001" oversized bullets. I've been looking around for a decent used sizer, but no luck yet. Gent was good enough to loan me his 310, & hand lubing the bullets aside, it is a pretty nice little unit.

Black coating, & possible aluminum construction, w/ a nice hinge. The punch was concave to fit a round nose - for base first sizing. Ended up sizing nose first anyway, as it allowed for more of a straight angle on the punch.

A mist of Dillon case lube on the bullets before sizing was helpful, as well.

Got to thinking after, that assuming I was using this tool correctly, the large (rifle cartridge) size tool, might actually work better - for bullet sizing, at least.

beagle
04-25-2008, 04:18 PM
If you don't shoot a lot and you're on a limited budget or you don't have the space, a 310 tool works pretty good. I fed a 1903 Springfield for a while and a .38 Special M & P when I was younger. It made pretty good ammo especially when my limited budget limited my shooting to almost nothing considering store bought ammo.

The bullet sizing operation worked pretty well and last yeat, I went back and did a few .38s with the hand tool just for old time's sake.

Is it perfect...No. It's better than nothing and you can turn out enough ammo for hunting or light varmint shooting and the occasional box of pistol ammo for an afternoon's plinking./beagle

Bent Ramrod
04-25-2008, 09:27 PM
With the way the 310 sets cost anymore, the main advantage they provide is portability. The design was frozen in an era when the extent of one's personal property was often limited by what one could carry on a horse, or his own back. I like to use mine as a nostalgic exercise, or when I reload one shell over and over at the range.

A box of 50 rounds, from fired shells to fully loaded ammo, is a reasonable evening's work.

The ammunition made by the tools is good, as long as you are not feeding an autoloader and don't insist on an endless series of top loadings in the same batch of shells. In the latter situation, the cases will eventually be difficult or impossible to chamber until they are full-length sized again. For that, of course, you need the Ideal drive-in and-out FLS die to fully maintain the flavor of the good old days.

Alchemist
04-25-2008, 09:28 PM
Ramslammer,

As others have said, it's a small scale type tool. I started out with one back in the 70's when I couldn't afford anything else. Got mine as a pkg deal with a S&W M28, holster, primers, powder, bullets, Lee powder scoops and maybe a few other goodies for the staggering sum of $250. My how prices have changed.

The only "problem" I encountered was that brass fired in the S&W wouldn't chamber in my Ruger BH, due to the neck sizing only.

Sadly, I sold it to get other reloading gear once I got my Rockchucker. :(

It would make a great piece of kit for a walkabout, mate.

Cheers :drinks:
Alchemist

floodgate
04-25-2008, 09:57 PM
Ramrod:

Yeah, it really takes "nostalgia" to justify the effort of loading with the 310. Cost- and practicality-wise, the Lee hand press and a set of their RGB dies has the 310 beat in all other respects. But I still love 'em!

Doug

Ramslammer
04-28-2008, 08:24 AM
G'Day All
Thanks for your varied opinions. I was asking as I thought one with a lee dipper of the right size would be the ulimate in compact gear. Don't need it and when we go out wallabying we generally get 100+ so it would be a bit slow. But they just have some strange appeal that I can't explain. Maybe I want to get back to basics, buggered if I know.
Juddy

gcf
04-28-2008, 10:44 AM
.... But they just have some strange appeal that I can't explain..... Juddy

Just gettin' older mebbe? As time goes on, I find myself losing interest in firearm things "modern", & eye balling things from a different era.

Sold my custom AR's & FAL's, to pursue bolt action rifles. The bolt actions went down the road for Ruger No.1's, & S&W N Frames. Lately I've been developing an unexplained obsession for a blued 4 5/8" Ruger Bisley, in .45 Colt...

;=]

Old Ironsights
04-28-2008, 11:06 AM
Ramslammer:

Good enough that back in the '40's and '50's at least (according to Phil Sharpe and others) some ballistic labs used them routinely for test loadings. Slow, to be sure, but if you can get by with neck sizing only, they work just fine - and faster and safer than the Lee Loaders. Besides, they're CUTE!

Floodgate
Explain please... :confused:

Alchemist
04-28-2008, 01:40 PM
G'Day All
Thanks for your varied opinions. I was asking as I thought one with a lee dipper of the right size would be the ulimate in compact gear. Don't need it and when we go out wallabying we generally get 100+ so it would be a bit slow. But they just have some strange appeal that I can't explain. Maybe I want to get back to basics, buggered if I know.
Juddy

Years ago, Shooting Times had an article by Skeeter Skelton about just this topic, and a photo in the article showed Skeeter sitting out in the brush with a 310 loading up some handgun ammo (probably .44 specials). All the required items fit in one side of a saddlebag. Can't remember all the details, but the gist was how compact a loading kit could be.

Cheers :drinks:
Alchemist

floodgate
04-28-2008, 01:53 PM
Ramslammer:

If it is my comment about safety you are asking about, it is with respect to the older "whack'em" Lee Loaders, which will occasionally pop a primer when driving them in. I've never heard of anyone actually being hurt when this happens, but it is distracting and hence - to me at least - a safety issue.

They also seem a bit more "fiddly" than the 310, and require a good working surface and mallet; but that may be because I am more used to the tong tools.

YMMV.

floodgate

Old Ironsights
04-28-2008, 03:02 PM
Maybe I'm just lucky and haven't ever detonated a primer in my LL.

As for speed: I loaded just under 100 .45-70s, with a dipper, in just over an hour.

Once you get the rhythm down it's no biggie to get near to 2 per min... at least on the bigger cartridges.

Where I have questions about the 310 is in the same realm as the Lee Hand Press:

You have to change out dies between operations rather than making one complete round at a time... which could more easily lead to mischarged loads (if you aren loading to 75%+ density...

Ah well. To each his own. I DO like the old 310s with the built in mould though. THAT is nifty. :mrgreen:

Ramslammer
04-28-2008, 07:05 PM
G'Day
Floodgate it was not me questioning your statements. gcf I think maybe you are right of late when we head bush I find myself picking up a lever and closing the safe door on all the bolt guns. Strange behavior but it's happening. My favourite at the moment (with no disrespect to the big guy) has been nicknamed The Fist of God or Fog for short, it's a 16" 44mag 1894P and when it hit's a wallaby it's like they have been stuck down by the fist of god.
Juddy

Old Ironsights
04-28-2008, 10:21 PM
Yeah, sorry RamS... it were prolly me he was responding to.

But then, I'm a Whackem at heart and Flood is a Squeezem... it's kinda like Sprinkle vs Dunk. ;)

Rodfac
11-15-2008, 09:06 PM
Went through college using one in the late 60's. I shot .243 in the rifle, and .38 spl in my blackhawk. Two powders, bullseye and H-380; no measure just a scoop and a dribbler and scale. Got me through and I killed a lot of deer with the loads. I've still got the outfit and have added a half dozen rifle calibers. In .30-06, it will load nearly MOA ammunition for me with jacketed and 2 MOA with cast (Lyman's 311291 GC). Taught my sons to reload with it and they both took one to college. Regards, Rodfac PS: Still the best way to 'feel' a primer seating is with the old 310 tool.

Doug Bowser
11-16-2008, 03:40 AM
I bought my first Ideal tong tool 51 years ago. It was for the .45-70 ctg.. The bullet mould was for the 405 gr carbibe bullet.

In 1966, I bought a Lyman 310 Reloading Kit in .270 WCF. It had a single cavity bullet mould, .280" bulle sizer, a small lead pot, a dipper and gas checks. I loaded a lot of ammo with that rig, before I bought an RCBS press. As a matter of fact I still have the tools. I also bought dies for the .303, .300 Savage, .38 Special, .30-06 and .30-30.

At the time I bought these tools, I was living in a mobile home and did not have the room for a reloading setup.

I do believe a Lee hand press would be a better option.

Paul Tummers
11-16-2008, 05:25 AM
It is my range tool for developing loads;A wooden box containing the powder bottle, a box of primers, my 310 tool with dies,calipers,a powder trickler, bullets and a powder dispenser and the small Dillon electronic scale is all I need.
I start with home loaded ammo and take a 50 sized and primed cases to the range just in case I want to try something different on the spot.
I like the tools, bought several from Randy Davis, great guy!!

hydraulic
11-17-2008, 12:05 AM
I worked for the Forest Service in Wyoming, summers, for many years, and carried a 310 in .222 with 500 bullets, primers, a can of AA2200 and a dipper in a cigar box. Saturdays, on the way into Sheridan to buy groceries, I'd stop and shoot 100 rds. at prarie dogs and the rest of the week I sat out by the campfire in the evening and loaded shells. I still use a 310 set for .30-06 and load for both my M1 and my 03A3. Shells fit in both rifles, but I have to use Lee 200 gr. bullets for the M1 and 311413 in the 03A3. I have one of the older ideal #4 tools with the bullet mould in .38-40 that I use for my 1898 single action.

MtGun44
11-17-2008, 10:02 PM
I learned with a friend loading with a Lee loader. I didn't have a good
bench and knew the noise of hammering would never work out in our
TINY house (~400 sq ft, Mom and 3 kids) so I saved up for a Lyman 310
to feed my NEW 1895 Mauser in 7x57 - I was about 17. Worked great.

That was 40 years ago, I still have it and it works great.

Buy the Lee hand case trimmer, a Lee inside/outside chamfering tool
and either a scoop (works really well if you will run the scoop ONE pass
through a significant sized container of powder and strike off with a
business card or similar) or a good scale. I used a scale and the scoops,
depending on what I was shooting. All the necessary stuff except for
the scale will fit in the original box - about 2x2x9 inches. The Lee scoop
set is a good deal.

Quiet and kinda theraputic to sit down and process a can of cases through
each of the dies.

Bill

akraven
11-25-2008, 12:22 AM
Years ago, Shooting Times had an article by Skeeter Skelton about just this topic, and a photo in the article showed Skeeter sitting out in the brush with a 310 loading up some handgun ammo (probably .44 specials). All the required items fit in one side of a saddlebag. Can't remember all the details, but the gist was how compact a loading kit could be.

Cheers :drinks:
Alchemist


That is a favorite article of mine. He used it for a 357 magnum Model 27. He found a surplus army bag that fit all of it.
akraven

StrawHat
11-25-2008, 01:06 PM
I have a couple of the 310 tools and dies for my 405 and 45-70.

A great set up for loading a few shells at a time but if I had to try to reload for one of my 38s when I was in competition, I believe I would have quit.

I have progressive loaders and single stage presses available to me but I still grab the 310 for those two rifle cartridges.

Sometimes slowing down is not such a bad thing.

Green Frog
11-30-2008, 12:11 AM
I shoot mostly breech seated anymore when shooting at schuetzen matches, so it actually seems "high tech" when I get out my 310 tool and dies to load "fixed ammo" in .32-40 for a Ram Bash or whatever. Sometimes when I decide at the last minute to go to a shoot, I have to do some loading at the match. That gets me some funny looks, don'cha know! I've never felt disabled, only slow using my 310 tools.

Froggie

mousegun
12-10-2008, 04:16 PM
First reloading outfit was a 310 Tong Tool for a .357 Blackhawk -- later a .44Mag SBH -- while in the USAF in '65 - '68. It worked, but there are limitations.

First, the 310 is not an "inline" press. It'll cock the case a bit and make bullet seating and cartridge chambering problematical. Rotating the case 180 degrees and resizing will iron out some of the offset, but not all. If this isn't done, bullet seating will cause a "hump" on one side of the cast making cartridge insertion hard.

Second, stiff loads are not a good idea since neck sizing won't take the head diameter down and sooner than later the case just won't fit the gun anymore.

Third, the bullet sizing die has a shoulder rather than a taper which shaves the bullet rather than sizing it. Honing it down inside with a rod and emery cloth helps.

The rim hook snaps against the case and makes ugly dings. No big deal, but noticeable.

The collet screw is the exact color of dirt.

Other than that, the 310 is a neat field loader. Not as good as the Lee Loader, but serviceable. And it doesn't need a hammer.

Green Frog
12-11-2008, 09:42 AM
Mousegun, although the 310 is truly not an inline press, the problem you mention is rather easily overcome by using the proper handles and adjusting the dies properly. Then, when you insert the bullet into the slightly belled case mouth and put the whole thing into the seating die, the slight angle of pressure when the handles are closed becomes less of a problem. I have found this to be the case up through .45-70 cartridges, so I assume it will work with smaller/shorter ones as well.

Froggie

Catshooter
12-11-2008, 02:07 PM
I agree Green Frog, they work fine with proper adjustment.


Cat

Paul B
12-14-2008, 05:50 PM
There are times when I prefer to "time travel" to a less hectic time. That's when a bunch of Lyman #311291 boolits that I cast, lubed and sized get loading into a couple of boxes of good old 30-30 brass. A few slow leisurely hours of pure reloading fun. The loads shoot good too and take deer down nicely.
Sometimes, I shoot my cast boolits in competition with a few shooting buddies with the low man buying lunch. my friends are shooting condom bullets and I, my cast loaded up with tender loving care and a Lyman 310 tool.
I have two #311291 molds, one a single cavity and the orher a "two holer". Plinkin' loads come from the two holer but the "match" grade bullets from the single cavity.
Paul B.

TAWILDCATT
12-15-2008, 07:05 PM
You youngsters like to play.[smilie=1:when I started reloading there were no 310s.my first tools were a Win 32/20 tong tool and mold.and a win 73 that went with them.then I got the Modern Bond tong tool which had ajustable dies.and made 45 acp 9mm and 8 mm mauser.I had a commander and luger and a WW1 mauser.I still have the win tools but not the 73. and I still have the M-B tools and dies.
remember one thing the depresion was still on and no one had alot of money.
besides few shot more than they needed to. to see someone shoot 500 rds at one time would give them a heart attack.:coffee: [smilie=1:

TAWILDCATT
01-04-2009, 10:22 PM
deleted

mousegun
01-04-2009, 10:42 PM
Mousegun, although the 310 is truly not an inline press, the problem you mention is rather easily overcome by using the proper handles and adjusting the dies properly. Then, when you insert the bullet into the slightly belled case mouth and put the whole thing into the seating die, the slight angle of pressure when the handles are closed becomes less of a problem. I have found this to be the case up through .45-70 cartridges, so I assume it will work with smaller/shorter ones as well.

FroggieI only loaded .357/.38 and .44Mag/Spl (a thousand rounds or so over two and half years) so I can't account for 310 tool performance on longer cartridges. Only reporting what I found on those two numbers.

Since that time I've used Lee Loaders, the Lee Hand Press and sundry other tools for field loading including a drilled out pair of gas pliers. I like the 310, which is why I still have it, but would only use it if something more convenient or appropriate were not available.

Hang Fire
01-04-2009, 11:17 PM
Ramrod:

Yeah, it really takes "nostalgia" to justify the effort of loading with the 310. Cost- and practicality-wise, the Lee hand press and a set of their RGB dies has the 310 beat in all other respects. But I still love 'em!

Doug



The wife has a Lee hand press and will use nothing else. (I have a couple of Dillions) For me, the Lee hand press really shines when working up loads on the tail gate for testing when out shooting.

For the price, it makes a great light weight portable loader, with the Lee bullet sizing dies, would make it even more versatile.

Racer X
02-20-2009, 09:38 PM
I had one when I was 14 years old. I used to load 38 and 357 for my Security Six. A neighbor had a press and casting setup. I would full-length size on his press and use Lee scoops and the 310 at home to finish.

Never wanted for bullets either. I would ride my bike to gas stations nearby and collect free wheel weights. Had all of the Lyman 358429s I needed.

Gerry N.
02-21-2009, 01:18 AM
A few months ago I found a .300 Savage 310 kit on CL for $10. With a little patience and ingenuity seasoned liberally with blessed ignorance, I can now load .300 Sav. (If I ever get one) .30-40 Krag, .308 Win., 30'06 and .30-30 win. I figured that all out before I read that you were supposed to have dies for each caliber.

The kit, a canister of Unique a few trays of primers and a Lee C309-130R mold along with a British Army issue lead ladle and a tube of mule snot now live in a plastic tray under the seat of the dinette in my camper. Now I can hunt, fish, camp, cast and load until H#ll freezes over and never go into town. That's what the 310 tool is good for.

Gerry N.

trooperdan
02-21-2009, 03:22 AM
Gerry, glad you mention the multi-caliber use of the 310 dies, since it only neck sizes, you can often use a sizing dir for several calibers in the same "family".. $10 was a heck of a deal, just what IS "CL"?

missionary5155
02-21-2009, 06:30 AM
Good morning
I still use my 310 for my 45-70 Roller. It is real handy at the range when I want to try some new loads / Boolit combination. I regularly shoot off cross sticks at 100-300 yards and if I can hold my wobbles bowling pins at 200 yards with my hair front post are tough but I hit-em.
So yes.. a 310 tool will load ammo as well as I can shoot.
God Bless you.

Gerry N.
02-21-2009, 07:13 AM
Gerry, glad you mention the multi-caliber use of the 310 dies, since it only neck sizes, you can often use a sizing dir for several calibers in the same "family".. $10 was a heck of a deal, just what IS "CL"?


Sorry about that, CL is craisgslist.

I go there every day looking for things I had no idea I couldn't live without. Yesterday I got a pretty good 3.5 HP Eska outboard the seller couldn't start. Paid $25 . Took it home, pulled the plug, separated the anode from the electrode by .018" and fired it right up. Someone had gapped the plug by dropping it on the ground. I buy a lot of components and toys with money I make off craigslist that way. I'll put that motor up for $150 and sell it within a week. I have to pay off the shiny new .45/70 Handi Rifle I have on layaway.

Gerry N.

ktw
02-21-2009, 11:05 PM
I have 310 dies sets for most of the cartridges that I load. I have four of the Trueline Jr presses, one set up for each of the handgun cartridges I load for, and do almost all of my handgun loading with them. I have been loading all of my 32 Win Special with 310 dies and a tong tool, just for grins.

-ktw

TAWILDCATT
02-27-2009, 11:12 AM
I have 5 and load odd cal.mine have been tapped for 7/8 in one hole for PISTOL dies.[smilie=1:

stillhunter
03-21-2009, 10:11 PM
I'll go with KTW. We started (1957) with 310s in 30-06 and 45 Auto, scoops, and cast bulletts. I often loaded the next days shooting around the fire. We went to Trueline JR's as we could use the dies in them. I still have the familys collection, but am Spar T based nowadays. I think highly of the Lee Scoop Set for midrange loads, though. You can't beat the concept, Mine go to the range with me ocasionally. Go Lyman..!!!

inuhbad
03-26-2009, 09:20 AM
I think 310's are a very nostalgic classic!

I've gotten to try one of the older antique Ideal Casting/Sizing/Reloading tools for the .32-20, and I thought it was the F(_)#%!NG COOLEST THING EVER!!! I didn't get to use it for casting, but I got to try loading a cartridge with a pre-made lead bullet, and I must admit that was a truly COOL tool!

Being able to cast your own bullet, lubricate it, size it, and then reload a cartridge ALL WITH THE SAME TOOL was waaaaaay beyond cool!

In the same sense, I think it's pretty sweet how the modern 310 works so incredibly well, and I think someday I will definitely own one for .45 ACP! It's pretty cool to have a PORTABLE reloading tool...

Green Frog
03-26-2009, 10:30 AM
Inuhbad,

If you want a .45 ACP die set for the 310, it would be good to look for one now and buy it ASAP. They were discontinued several years ago and are one of the more popular sizes to buy, so they are getting harder to find all the time. If I were you, I would also look for one of the "push through" sizing dies, since the 310 just neck sizes cases, a fact that may become important in an auto pistol. Lyman also made a full length resizer for the Tru Line Jr dies of the same size, but I'm not sure the 310 has enough leverage to make that work. :?

"Back in the day" the early generation of survivalists wanted a .30-06 set and a .45 set to be ready "when the big one comes." I guess the Obama-phobes of us will want a 9mm set and a .223 set for the same reason. I'm not sure that reloading of those types of rounds will be much help in making it through tough economic/political times, but they sure make it possible to do more recreational shooting in marginal times. :-)

You've probably figured this out already, but be very sure you have your hands well insulated from the metal handles when you use the old tong tool for casting. Wrap the handles thoroughly, wear heavy gloves, or both. You can see why this is very important. :shock:

Froggie

Cherokee
03-26-2009, 11:19 AM
Started with 310 for 30/06 in 1950's, then went to TruLine for 30 Carbine, later to RCBS & CH presses. Still have the stuff.

winshooter
03-29-2009, 02:21 AM
I have a 310 in 30/30 in my BOB along with a home made scoop, powder and primed brass. It's "just in case".

Mike

bobkk
04-01-2009, 08:30 PM
Bought a Win 243 in the early 70's with 310 dies. Bought a set of scales and used the 310's for a year. You could say That got me into reloading. Lyman makes a bushing to use them on a press same as regular dies. Still have them.

dukenukum
04-02-2009, 07:39 PM
My Dad taught me to reload on the 310 tool told everyone it was the " manly " way to reload even have the tap in full length size dies for 30-06 .45 and 8mm Mauser .