reloading job from hell

[Lloyd Smale]

With all the scare about ammo i got it in my mind to stock up on 223s. Ive got about 4k loaded allready and figured that may not be enough. So i started ordering brass and bullets. I found 4000 ball bullets and about 2000 soft points so i started ordering once fired brass. Over the last two days ive sat in the living room with a lee hand press and decapped 3000 rounds of brass and then ran them through a small base sizing die. I like to decap seperately with a decapping die as it allways breaks normal decapping pins punching out crimped primers. Well i finished up yesterday morning. Just waiting now for my buddy to get my primer pocket swadger back to me. Then the mail man came knocking on the door and what does he have but another 1000 rounds of brass. I dont even remember buying this. I wanted to stick it in the garbage and pretend it didnt even come. I know one thing. I will have a 1050 set up in .223 when i next have gun money to spend!!

[GabbyM]

Decapping mil brass trick.

Deburr the flash holes on the inside of case before decapping. I have an RCBS deburr tool with it's #1 center drill point ground short with negative angle on drill point to ride on primer anvil.

Those pesky burrs are what catches the decap pin to break them off. Pins will be pushed to side to miss hole or push a burr in with them to seize and snap. After I started deburring flash holes first. Breaking a pin became a very rare occurrence.

I also use a primer pocket uniformer chucked in a power screwdriver to clean up all the primer pockets.
Great fun.

[felix]

It's like money, Lloyd, you never have enough. ... felix

[Sprue]

That ain't enough. Better get more, that 1050 otta have an appetite.

[Leadforbrains]

I got a XL650 set up for .223 sitting on my bench back home now. I also have a Giraud trimmer right next to it. I never expected that I would run through all my available components so fast.

[hpdrifter]

May I ask a question? I own guns, am a gun nut, etc.; so this isn't an anti asking a question that you cannot answer properly. I just wanna know.

Are you stockpiling ammo for the day all hell breaks loose, or just to be assured of having some if thangs get shut down?

I got a little ammo for my rifle. I figure if I have to use that much, I'll prolly get killed before I use it all up. Now if it's just to have, why reload all at once?

Just some questions.

[Scrounger]

HPDrifter, paranoia is it's own reward. Chicken little is alive and well...

[home in oz]

Were the boxes of jacketed bullets dust covered and sitting under your bench since Reagan was President, or did you recently find a good source for FMJ or SP .223?

Thanks,

[fivegunner]

Lloyd are you saying that you have less than 10,000 rounds loaded for your 223`s??? shame on you!! now go get that Dillon 1050 and get to work.:drinks::twisted:

[Leadforbrains]

HPDrifter, paranoia is it's own reward. Chicken little is alive and well...

Killjoy!:kidding:

[Leadforbrains]

May I ask a question? I own guns, am a gun nut, etc.; so this isn't an anti asking a question that you cannot answer properly. I just wanna know.

Are you stockpiling ammo for the day all hell breaks loose, or just to be assured of having some if thangs get shut down?

I got a little ammo for my rifle. I figure if I have to use that much, I'll prolly get killed before I use it all up. Now if it's just to have, why reload all at once?

Just some questions.


Some folks like myself like to shoot alot, and it doesn't hurt to have extra. I have a 15 yr old son and he loves to go to the range too. Shooting is fun so therefore more ammo is more fun

[acemedic13]

Who cares why he is reloading that much ammo?? He is smart thats why!! Never enough ammo........Never... Can always use ammo. At the range or whatever. You can always use more ammo...... I just did the same thing except with 308. Mil brass is a real process.I used a deacpping die set up in a seperate press, then ran everything through a fl die then an sb die in my 650. Then tumbled and loaded. that once fired mg brass is even worse than regular 223. I have a bunch of it now and am loading more this week. I am also in the thousands of loaded rounds. Was super cheap to load. The same ammo for sale is over 39.00 for a box of 20!!! I am not even close to that. It is definately worth the extra "work".

[Catshooter]

May I ask a question? I own guns, am a gun nut, etc.; so this isn't an anti asking a question that you cannot answer properly. I just wanna know.

Are you stockpiling ammo for the day all hell breaks loose, or just to be assured of having some if thangs get shut down?

I got a little ammo for my rifle. I figure if I have to use that much, I'll prolly get killed before I use it all up. Now if it's just to have, why reload all at once?

Just some questions.

drifter,

I'll answer in the same vien as your question.

Possibly you haven't been paying attention, but we are in danger of some serious attack from the left as of late.

A heavy tax on components/ammo has been discussed for years by the enemy, to the tune of 5000%. That would put shooting out reach for a large percentage of the population, which of course is the idea.

Don't feel bad, guys like me think that guys like Lloyd are behing the curve.[smilie=1:

Then again, the only use I'd have for .223 is as a varmit round. Looks like fed for a girl's gun to me.

Having stirred the pot, I'll run away now, laughing like a fool!

Don't shoot me Lloyd!!! :mrgreen:


Cat

[hpdrifter]

I know what's going on. I've been buying components with all extra money that I can afford. I don't think I have enough yet, but I can have thousands of primers, pounds of powder, and stacks of boolits and not feel compelled to load them all up at once.

I'm not knocking anyone for doing anything. I just ask why load up 3000 rounds, then another 3000 rounds, and keep going. I'm just curious. If you like to shoot ALOT, I certainly understand. Heck, I understand even if ya don't shoot THAT much. I just load up a couple of hundred, shoot em up, and reload some more. My curiosity was just talkin to me.

Like I stated earllier, I have many, many rounds for my AK, but I believe if I have to use them for defense, I'll probably be kilt meself before I run out and I don't wanna leave too many rounds around for whoever kills me.

I shoot a lot myself. Of course my "a lot" maybe and probably is chicken feed to most of you, so I just can't see the need for thousands upon thousands of rounds, but if you shoot that much, I understand. I's just curious.

[runfiverun]

components are useless if you "need"them.
i try to have enough "stuff" on hand to re-load each piece of brass 5 times.
and i also try to have 3-500 pieces of brass on hand for each gun [not caliber gun]
boolits is easy it's the other stuff that is hard.
even before this crunch hit, it was hard.
but empty brass is just that brass.
itwould certainly suck to need 10 more rounds and have 1,000 bullets etc sitting on the shelf.

[No_1]

In my location you can only have so much stuff on hand. So much powder, primers and loaded ammo. With careful planning you can max all items. I think it is 10k primers, 50lbs of powder and 10k of loaded. By "storing" 10k of primers and some of the powder in brass cases (aka loaded ammo ;) ) I can still have the max primers and powder available for reloading. So you KNOW what I am doing...

Robert

[acemedic13]

Drifter has a point on the "if I am shooting that much I aint alive no more" argument.....But...... I am not planning on a massive standoff with "THE MAN". You really cant. He has Bradley's ,tanks, that sorta stuff. Your rifle, whatever it is aint gonna be worth a damn against that. The cops...another story.... It is just good form to be prepared for any situation, wether it be legislation, manufacturing shortage's, govermental upheaval, or a zombie takeover. I like loaded ammo and lots of "spare parts" on hand. I also like just making bullets.....and boolits...... I like the whole process of manufacturing my own stuff and looking at the consistent quality I can produce by my own hands.
Not looking at brass as something to throw away, but seeing it as a commodity. Thats what makes guys like us different than other firearms owners. We enjoy making the ammo as much as shooting it. Thats why we have so much of it, and have as much money wrapped up in tools for its production as we have wrapped up in gun's to shoot it (some of us) The process of making it is fun to us. So it's natural to wanna load a lot of ammo, and natural to want to have a lot of components on hand. So lets embrace our addiction and fill the world with more ammo...Lots of it!!! take care folks I gotta go....Working early for the man today.

[Leadforbrains]

Drifter has a point on the "if I am shooting that much I aint alive no more" argument.....But...... I am not planning on a massive standoff with "THE MAN". You really cant. He has Bradley's ,tanks, that sorta stuff. Your rifle, whatever it is aint gonna be worth a damn against that. The cops...another story.... It is just good form to be prepared for any situation, wether it be legislation, manufacturing shortage's, govermental upheaval, or a zombie takeover. I like loaded ammo and lots of "spare parts" on hand. I also like just making bullets.....and boolits...... I like the whole process of manufacturing my own stuff and looking at the consistent quality I can produce by my own hands.
Not looking at brass as something to throw away, but seeing it as a commodity. Thats what makes guys like us different than other firearms owners. We enjoy making the ammo as much as shooting it. Thats why we have so much of it, and have as much money wrapped up in tools for its production as we have wrapped up in gun's to shoot it (some of us) The process of making it is fun to us. So it's natural to wanna load a lot of ammo, and natural to want to have a lot of components on hand. So lets embrace our addiction and fill the world with more ammo...Lots of it!!! take care folks I gotta go....Working early for the man today.


You have hit the proverbial nail on the head. I enjoy shooting and I do enjoy casting boolits and reloading as much as I enjoy going to the range. A couple of lifes simple pleasures that I just want to do over and over again.:drinks:

[Lloyd Smale]

lots of reasons for doing it. I have 6 ars and a mini 14 and i do shoot them quite a bit. As to having more ammo then needed if #### hit the fan. I dont believe thats possible. One thing to keep in mind is that it will be as valuable as water and great trading material. Another good reason is with the price of ammo and components going and thats just if you can find them, what does it hurt to have a 5 year stash? I agree with the statement that the only good components are ones that are put together into usable ammo. A pile of brass does nothing if you dont have time to load it. As to the sky is falling. I think anyone who doesnt have at least some ammo dry food and water stashed in these times is an idiot. The food and water should be there even if its for just a small crisis like a tornado or huricane or even a power failure. Personly i live up in the sticks and if #### hit the fan this would be one of the last effected areas but if i lived in the citys or near them right now in my opinion you couldnt have enough ammo loaded.

[cajun shooter]

First thing is if you own any of the so called BLACK GUNS you need lots of ammo as they use it in huge lots. It's just to hard not to let a few rip. I will say that some of the panic buying has put a huge dent in the supply line. And as stated by another member you should add food and water. I'm surprised every hurricane in Louisiana by the amount of people who go without making any preps and wait for someone else to help them.

[unclebill]

May I ask a question? I own guns, am a gun nut, etc.; so this isn't an anti asking a question that you cannot answer properly. I just wanna know.

Are you stockpiling ammo for the day all hell breaks loose, or just to be assured of having some if thangs get shut down?

I got a little ammo for my rifle. I figure if I have to use that much, I'll prolly get killed before I use it all up. Now if it's just to have, why reload all at once?

Just some questions.

i like the comfort zone of having about 3000 rounds per gun.
that way i can shoot whatever whenever i want and not have to do some reloading first.
BTW
most of my guns are either S.A. or bolt actions so i am not going to win any zombie wars anyway.

[Agent Ronin]

With all the scare about ammo i got it in my mind to stock up on 223s. Ive got about 4k loaded allready and figured that may not be enough. So i started ordering brass and bullets. I found 4000 ball bullets and about 2000 soft points so i started ordering once fired brass. Over the last two days ive sat in the living room with a lee hand press and decapped 3000 rounds of brass and then ran them through a small base sizing die. I like to decap seperately with a decapping die as it allways breaks normal decapping pins punching out crimped primers. Well i finished up yesterday morning. Just waiting now for my buddy to get my primer pocket swadger back to me. Then the mail man came knocking on the door and what does he have but another 1000 rounds of brass. I dont even remember buying this. I wanted to stick it in the garbage and pretend it didnt even come. I know one thing. I will have a 1050 set up in .223 when i next have gun money to spend!!

I hear ya man! I got about 10,000 Lake City 5.56mm cases waiting to be processed :confused: Got half of them decapped and tumbed. Just need to size, trim, and swage that primer pocket. While i dont have a fancy Dillon 1050, my Dillon Super-Swage and XL650 will suit me fine, assuming i ever get all those cases done. :mrgreen:

[acemedic13]

Food and water is on point. I think ammo in popular calibers will be better than money in a lot of ways in times of crisis and duress. I have seen what a father with hungry kids and a gun is capable of.......Better have some rounds. I have a LOT of mre's and bullets. I live so far in the country they pump sunshine in. I raise a lot of my own food. I have my own livestock and a garden that looks more like a farm. Everyone I know says they will "go hunting" if #### gets solid. If everyone goes hunting year round they will wipe out the game populations in a year or less.I think those city guys will come to the country hunting more than deer. Thats what all of us folks here in the country have to worry about more than anything else.... Them.....Thats cool, I am tired of shooting paper anyways. I will have the old lady loading mags in a bikini and the kids dropping shells!! lol...lol.. You guys are right though, better to have food, water, a decent power source, and a lots of ammo/components. I also highly reccommend getting a kick ass first aid kit and learn some skills in that area,( I have the grand daddy of all first aid kits). Find some people who are highly skilled in that arena and put them in your pocket...... Here's to the #### hitting the fan!!!

[be603]

Food and water is on point. I think ammo in popular calibers will be better than money in a lot of ways in times of crisis and duress

Not to mention alcohol and tobacco.

I work with some Eastern European engineers who lived through rough times at end of Soviet Union before coming to the USA. They say "Forget gold. Stock up on alcohol and tobacco. That's the real currency of TEOWAWKI"

[acemedic13]

Gotta grow, still, and roll your own.

[Lloyd Smale]

I did some of that growing and rolling my own when i was younger. I guess if a guy took back to it he wouldnt care if the world was falling down around him. But youd have to grow twice as much food and i still havent figured out how to grow doritos!!! ;)
Gotta grow, still, and roll your own.

[madman]

Look at the parable of the virgins waiting for the bridegroom. That is meant for the whole world to be prepared. Some latter day profits have said "that there will be gold and silver lying in the streets for want of a loaf of bread". Take a look back at the LA riots. I have Highway Patrol and local Cops in my family. They advocate that only you can protect your self 24 hrs a day 7 days a week, and not to rely on the Government for any thing. The gang punks and crooks care nothing about the laws. Laws were designed for the law abiding citizens.

As for stockpiling, get it while you can. Join the National and local gun rights groups. Support the people that are for your rights. Email and write letters to your representatives. Do a youtube search for England's gun rights. Look at Australia! How could have any gun owners in America have voted for the current Pres of USA. If you blink your rights will be gone.

If you don't believe me just do a Google search for FEMA Camps.

[acemedic13]

I was talking about tobacco, and whiskey lloyd.....but you got a point..........lol..

[LAH]

I dont even remember buying this. I wanted to stick it in the garbage and pretend it didnt even come.

Geez Lloyd, throw that Lee away, you got better things to do. Those big hands gotta be wore out............Creeker

[sg5054]

May I ask a question? I own guns, am a gun nut, etc.; so this isn't an anti asking a question that you cannot answer properly. I just wanna know.

Are you stockpiling ammo for the day all hell breaks loose, or just to be assured of having some if thangs get shut down?

I got a little ammo for my rifle. I figure if I have to use that much, I'll prolly get killed before I use it all up. Now if it's just to have, why reload all at once?

Just some questions.

Some months ago, I woke up in the middle of the night being told to clean my guns, buy all the ammo I could and await further (quiet dammit!, can't you see I'm trying to type!), instructions. :twisted: Now they're telling me to stockpile reloading components (I said, leave me alone!) I hate when they all start talking at once. Now my head hurts. I need some aspirin....

[boommer]

I have alot stock piled but this from years of buying, But last few years I've been thinking that if I have a fire and starts on one end of the house and it makes it to to powder and primers what are in a heavy heavy large steel cabinet in the basement and ammo in another and some how it goes (mind you if I'm home I don't think will matter, possibly) my house insurance is VIOD!! NO MATTER WHERE IF IT STARTED IT(if contribute) the theory I use here is that it's like the difference of having 10 gallons of gas in the garage opposed to 5000 gallon tank. I would ask my insurance man, I think I KNOW HIS ANSWER. The other thing thought about a was maybe I'll dig and build a bunker of the side of the house but connected earth covered but cutting for a door in the foundation. Then I can call it a wine cellar for the YUPI'S a lot of work and money. This is something to think about guys my house is dang near paid for and my family would NEVER forgive me or myself if something happened to any of us.