On 3/30/2013 7:46 AM, J.B.Slocomb wrote:
On Sat, 30 Mar 2013 01:28:43 -0400, Tom Gardner Mars@Tacks wrote:

On 3/28/2013 10:40 PM, Richard wrote:
On 3/28/2013 10:39 AM, Tom Gardner wrote:
On 3/27/2013 9:45 PM, RogerN wrote:
Possible metalworking content!

Ammo's difficult to find and usually expensive so any thoughts on
taking a
progressive press and making it as automatic as practical?

I saw some interesting videos online of presses, some homemade case
feeders,
bullet feeders, etc. Some you only had to pull the handle, some had the
handle attached to a gear motor crank.

Any thoughts on suitable presses to start with?

I've been looking at Lee load masters, they are cheaper but maybe fore a
reason. Can you use a better quality powder measure with the Lee load
master?

Or would I be better off starting with the Hornady Lock N Load or a
Dillon?

My goal is to reload for now and further automate (case & bullet
feeders(homemade?)) later.

RogerN



How many rounds a month do you use and how much money is your budget?

Buy a single stage press and learn the basics until it is second nature.
(you will ALWAYS have use for it in the future) All progressive presses
have their twittles and need constant TLC. Don't worry about speed,
worry about all the things that can kill or maim you or anybody in the
vicinity, AND ruin your firearm! I'm an NRA Certified Reloading
Instructor, I recommend you find one in your area and take the course,
the best money you'll spend in your reloading budget. The next thing you
WILL buy is a bunch of reloading manuals. I'll help you any way I can.


Well, obviously the more they cost, the less I can shoot.
(I hate when that happens)

I asked at the range today about a reloading instructor.
The gentleman who owns the place said they used to have all the le
equipment on site to reload and an instructor to supervise.
(not the past tense)
He referred me to "the manual".

Tom, your advice, plus being certified, carries a lot of weight.
More so than the rest of the thundering herd, any way.

Out of 18 rounds, two failed to go into full battery today.
They were two of the four reloads I shot.
I'm curious as to why, of course.
But more interested in how to avoid that situation.






Make and model of gun and history? Bullet style, powder and weight, OAL
amd headstamp of brass and finished round, dies used? Lots of causes.
Auto reloads are trickier than revolver reloads. It took me months to
get a 1911 to be 100% reliable with semi-wadcutters.

But that is usually (at least partially) a mechanical problem. Usually
you need to reshape the feed ramp a bit and polish it. and, of course,
your recoil spring needs to match the loads which, if you shoot
"hardball" out of a wad cutter gun (to use bulls eye terms) or
vis-versa you'll figure out right smartly :-)



I do have the right compromise, i use bot hardball and SWC's with equal
reliability. Any gunsmith will cringe when ramp work is
discussed...unless it's obvious. In my case it was a SA Loaded 1911
that should NEVER need smith work for tens of thousands of rounds. I do
have a knock-off that spent a lot of hours on my bench before I liked it.