What did you do in the reloading room today?

Tumbling 3 one gallon zip lock baggies of brass one bag at a time. All my 308 and 6.5 CM brass that I pickup I run through a small bass die the first time. I had one 6.5 CM brass that got stuck in the die. Talking about a bitch to get out is putting it lightly. When I get a 223 stuck, I have a spacer that I use to force it out but that spacer was not wide enough so had to use a 3/8" dive socket. The it bottomed (really topped) out. Ended up putting the die in a vise and using a set of channel lock and an claw hammer to beat it out the rest of the way. Truly a pain in the ass.
 
Someone gave me a bunch of brass when they found out I load my own, so I spent some time sorting it. Lots of 44 and 357 mag brass! I decapped all the 44. The 44 was more than would fit in my wet tumbler, so I ran two loads, and included some other 44 and 45 caliber brass I had laying around.
 
Tumbling 3 one gallon zip lock baggies of brass one bag at a time. All my 308 and 6.5 CM brass that I pickup I run through a small bass die the first time. I had one 6.5 CM brass that got stuck in the die. Talking about a bitch to get out is putting it lightly. When I get a 223 stuck, I have a spacer that I use to force it out but that spacer was not wide enough so had to use a 3/8" dive socket. The it bottomed (really topped) out. Ended up putting the die in a vise and using a set of channel lock and an claw hammer to beat it out the rest of the way. Truly a pain in the ass.
Don't know if you are using a progressive or single stage but, I had a similar issue with sizing 308 with a small base die. I used liquid lanolin from online and it fixed all my issues. I also mix the lanolin oil with isopropyl alcohol 99% and make my own case lube. Have not had a stuck case since I switched 16054602368239175097265202155703.jpg
 
Don't know if you are using a progressive or single stage but, I had a similar issue with sizing 308 with a small base die. I used liquid lanolin from online and it fixed all my issues. I also mix the lanolin oil with isopropyl alcohol 99% and make my own case lube. Have not had a stuck case since I switched View attachment 266017

@Tekypv thanks. I was using the lanolin oil and 99% alcohol but found it too messy. Sill have maybe 3 spray bottle mixed up on the shelf. I switched to Hornady Unique wax and really never has a problem. This case was the expander ball got stuck in the the case mouth and when I tried to lift it out the rim of the brass got stuck. If you have not tried the Hornady wax or the Imperial was, give it a try. No waiting time for it to dry and a little bit goes for every.
 
@Tekypv thanks. I was using the lanolin oil and 99% alcohol but found it too messy. Sill have maybe 3 spray bottle mixed up on the shelf. I switched to Hornady Unique wax and really never has a problem. This case was the expander ball got stuck in the the case mouth and when I tried to lift it out the rim of the brass got stuck. If you have not tried the Hornady wax or the Imperial was, give it a try. No waiting time for it to dry and a little bit goes for every.
I have done the same thing with a 9mm case. In fact that SOB is still stuck in the die but for good measure I decided to get a screwdriver stuck in it as well. I gave up....
 
Just finished about a 1.5 gallon baggie of 223 brass. Tumbled them and deprimed them. 99% are once fired which is good until you go to prime them.
 
Someone gave me a bunch of brass when they found out I load my own, so I spent some time sorting it. Lots of 44 and 357 mag brass! I decapped all the 44. The 44 was more than would fit in my wet tumbler, so I ran two loads, and included some other 44 and 45 caliber brass I had laying around.
Well, I finished sorting that free brass, in which there happened to be maybe 150 pieces of 30 carbine. My spider senses were tingling and told me to look a little closer at the 30 carb brass. Sure enough, about 1/3 of them were Bedan primed. :mad: What’s more, they had LC headstamps! I did a quick search and found out that some Chinese manufacturer made them, with magnetic bullets and corrosive primers - a no-no for M1 Carbines.

http://gunlore.awardspace.info/rifledarms/ammunition/ChinaLC52.htm
 
Researching 38 special loads. Bought some 158gr LSWC and plan on using titegroup. Haven't loaded 38spl before and trying to read up on it
 
I loaded 400 9mm Luger rounds. I still have the Dillon set up for it and should load several hundred more this evening.

I figure if the commie maggots actually get into office, I might not be able to get many more and will be glad I have them. I also figure that Donald has not really shown his hand, and it could possibly be a winning hand in the end. If that happens, I may need those loaded rounds. Either way, having several hundred more rounds never hurt a thing.

I also have 2,000 ,357 bullets, 1,000 9mm bullets, and 1,000 bullets for 45 Auto in the mail heading my way. I have plenty of primers, powder, and cases and plan on pulling the handle quite a few times in the coming days.
 
Decapped a bunch of range pickups in 9mm, 30carbine, .308

Dumped them in the FART for 3 hours.

Dried them in the oven @170 for 2 hours.

Tomorrow I'll sort by headstamp and bag em
 
Finally got back there and did some organizing. I’ve basically been on hiatus since my little girl landed almost 2 years ago (obligatory pic, with her birthday/Christmas present). Started cleaning and sorting brass that has accumulated. Packed up the LNL AP with all the 9/40 stuff. Loaded through all the primers I had at the beginning of 2019 but haven’t shot much of it. I was complaining about that at the end of last year but am happy about it now. Hope to get back to some 309/6.5 loading here soon and doing some mid range shooting after deer season is over. 434D713E-9AFF-4462-8599-DFBD43544BC6.jpeg
 
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I was loading some 9mm Luger when I noticed an unfamiliar headstamp. It looked as if it was some writing from some strange language. I was about to put it in the scrap bucket but took out my magnifying lens to give it a closer look. It turns out it is the Browning trademark. I went ahead and loaded it.

Yeah it is Browning which is made by Vista. So basically the same as WInchester brass with a different head stamp.
 
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I loaded 400 rounds of 9mm which should be enough for about a month of shooting. I managed to get a 9mm case stuck in my Lee resizing and decaping die. The first time that has happened to me. Had to crank it out with some vise grips. Replaced the decamping die from the parts set as it was a little bent and back to the bench I went. I had not loaded in a while and spent a lot of the time retweaking the press. How i miss the days of $150 cases of 9mm.
 
I have been extremely busy on other projects that has taken me away from loading the last few weeks. I have a lot of projects to continue in the near future. I still have to load some on the shelf ammo for some of the big bores, I still have 500 or more Lehigh Extreme Penetrators to load in 9mm, have to try out my new size die in 9mm as well, then I have another 500 or more Lehigh Extreme Penetrators to load in 45 ACP at some point as well.

Last week Layne Simpson touched base and wants to do some of the B&Ms in his Cartridge article for HandLoader Magazine. At first he wanted to do 475 B&M, 9.3 B&M and 500 MDM. I nixed the 475 in favor of the 458, he went along with that. I am not a fan of the 475 B&M, its a troublesome cartridge, and I really should take it out of the group. I have just been lazy and have not updated the website in a couple of years now. Then as I started getting dummy rounds loaded, selected load data, and other things for him, he decided that 416 B&M would be nice too. So last week I spent my spare time getting a package ready to send to Layne for the various articles. I finally got everything put together yesterday and boxed up going out today if Fed Ex picks it up!

HandLoader magazine was always my favorite gun rag, however probably about 8-10 years ago I let most of my subscriptions to all gun rags go. I got sick of the same old same, and how many articles can you read about loading 9mm or 45 ACP, or how many articles can you read 308 vs 30/06 and crap junk like that, over and over and over. My interests run much deeper than that sort of same old same. I am life member of Safari Club and DSC as well, their magazines are even worse, have some chap talk about hunting something or other, and not a damn word about the rifle, cartridge or the bullet! I don't give a rats A$s about hearing about the hunt, I want info on rifle, cartridge and bullet, and most of these numbn$ts don't have a clue. Great White hunters. So, anyway, those things find the trash and don't even get opened. Need to stop them from sending. I had a friend that used to write some articles for Safari Magazine, he would turn them in, then they would get back and tell him to re-write so it sounded more dangerous............. No thanks.............

Anyway I like Layne and most of his articles, I know he is a straight shooter no doubt and does a good job with most of his stuff. He says that 500 MDM is slated to be in HandLoader #333. #331 has just been published. I suppose I will have to find a copy for the files........ LOL...........

Here are some of the Sample rounds and bullets I sent for the 500 MDM.........

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Maybe now I can get back on some of those real loading projects...............
 
Added a Frankford primer tool, tumbler, and 200 magnum small pistol primers...local gun store has 200 limit....

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Ive been working on my 7.62x25mm Tok project... processed 150-200ish brass, and made a couple dummies to test crimp, coal, and feeding.... got it calibrated, so next step will be to prime and load the cases.

Quite satisfying!
 
Cut down some 223 brass to convert to 300 blackout. Loading some 220 grain fmj in these. I got caught with my pants down not having much subsonic 300 blackout when my suppressor cleared. Working on fixing that.
 
Had to use all my reloading tools today.
Had 40 cases of 6.5 CM that I shot last week in my bolt gun. Did the priming, charging and loading as normal. I check every now and then if the loaded case fits into the case gauge. After doing 10 rounds I was having some where the rim was above the gauge. When back a checked the first 10 and 5 were that way. Had another 30 to load. Checked each one and no problems. Pulled the 6 bad rounds and ran the case through the FL die. Again would not fit in the gauge so the SB die came out and still did not fit into the die. All were below OAL for the case. Scrape bin and grabbed 6 more cases.

I have no idea what was up with those cases. I was thinking that the first time decapping them, my die might have backed out but rerunning them through the FL and SB die should have corrected that.
Also, I was using H4350 powder and after tricking the powder and dumping back into the case I noticed that some powder fell out of the case. Reweighted that round and found that .2 of a grn did not go into the case. I might need a better funnel then the green RCBS funnel.
 
Loaded 100 7.62x25mm Tok rounds, I seem to be having an issue with bullet seating though.... Ive got a few that arent quite straight.

The Lee seating die seems to have a rep for allowing bullet tilt, and can only be mitigated to a degree.

Oh well, learning as I go.

(From my research it sounds like I need a Hornady .30 luger seating die, as those dont have a side-to-side floating guide!)
 
Dumped the media and refilled with 223 brass. Running out of coffee cans to put clean brass in. This is a first world problem.
 
Got a bunch of 223 brass rough cut for 300 blackout I’m about to start sizing everything and then tumble it again for an hour or so. I ordered the Franklin Arsenal case prep center that should make trimming faster and hopefully more accurate as well.

I’ve been too lazy to load rifle ammo because of the trimming but with the way the prices are now on ammo you don’t have much of a choice but to load it yourself.
 
Loaded 100 7.62x25mm Tok rounds, I seem to be having an issue with bullet seating though.... Ive got a few that arent quite straight.

The Lee seating die seems to have a rep for allowing bullet tilt, and can only be mitigated to a degree.

Oh well, learning as I go.

(From my research it sounds like I need a Hornady .30 luger seating die, as those dont have a side-to-side floating guide!)
I had the same problem with the Lee 30-30 seating die. The floating seating stem works well with pointed bullets, not so much with rounded or flat nose bullets.
 
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