The Real Shortage In Reloading....

[arakboss]

I have lots of brass, bullets, primers, powder, etc but the real shortage I have is time. It's mind boggling to think of all the different loads I could try, simply with the components I already have on hand.

Supreme accuracy is not a huge driver for me. I am more interested in whether a load combo will function in my firearm with a plinking level of accuracy and not blow up me, the gun or stick a bullet in the barrel.

I have not been attracted to progressive presses and I think that is because I like trying a wide variety of loads vs banging out thousands of the same recipe.

Do you find that time is the biggest restriction in your reloading adventures?

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[red442joe]

No. "Unloading" reloads. For that, time has been the restriction.
I tend to be compulsive-when I get on the press, I want to go until I can't go no mo'.
I have four progressives, a turret, and three singles.
Progressives take plenty of fiddling to get running, or make changes. Once set, I tend to go until I run out of something.
The turret is great for making lots of different test loads.
Single stage is great for working up carefully. Along with a really good scale. Like 26.5gr H110, 230gr XTP, 1600fps outta 6-1/2" barrel.

Joe

 

[P7M13]

As with most things in life, time is a precious commodity.
I like accuracy with my odd load cartridges. Though, I'm not a fan of the time it takes for work-ups.
Ragged hole for pistols, very small groups at 100+.
Loading for accuracy does not take much more time.
Part of the satisfaction of reloading is the consistency and predictability, knowing where every round I load will go when I shoot it.

 

[Nosferatu]

Since I don't compete anymore, I don't shoot for volume.

My reloading now is with a Lee hand press and usually no more than 50 rounds at a time. I'm reloading and shooting with a specific purpose in mind.

Large rifle and large pistol primers seem to be the biggest component crunch right now.

 

[RVTECH]

Do you find that time is the biggest restriction in your reloading adventures?

Not really, as I have always 'included' time required for reloading into my gun interests however in my life of reloading I have learned a few things.

Always try to have a system, or procedures that work for you to try to reduce, or to 'streamline' reloading.

One thing I started doing long ago was to have pre prepped brass ready to go, IE cleaned, sized, trimmed, chamferred/deburred' flared and primed.

This way when loading 'standard' loads, or experimenting all need to think about is bullet/powder combo.

Another thing I discovered. If you are a SS press user, and plan to stay with SS only, adding a 2nd one to your bench can really speed things up - especially if it is a press with some helpful qualities such as a quick change die system and a universal shell holder - like the CO-Ax press I have added as my 2nd press. My RC still gets used but the Co-Ax does about 75% of the loading now.

I was originally going to add a turret as my 2nd press but the Co-Ax came to me free gratis and works better than I expected.

 

[arakboss]

Not really, as I have always 'included' time required for reloading into my gun interests however in my life of reloading I have learned a few things.

Always try to have a system, or procedures that work for you to try to reduce, or to 'streamline' reloading.

One thing I started doing long ago was to have pre prepped brass ready to go, IE cleaned, sized, trimmed, chamferred/deburred' flared and primed.

This way when loading 'standard' load, or experimenting all need to think about is bullet/powder combo.

Another thing I discovered. If you are a SS press user, and plan to stay with SS only, adding a 2nd one to your bench can really speed things up - especially if it is a press with some helpful qualities such as a quick change die system and a universal shell holder - like the CO-Ax press I have added as my 2nd press.

I was originally going to add a turret as my 2nd press but the Co-Ax came to me free gratis and works better than I expected.

I have a very small workspace and an even smaller bench but I did pick up some extra used presses including a Lyman T-Mag 2 press. If I ever want to do a higher volume I could mount that one in place of Lee SS press. I have the breech lock press so die changes are pretty quick, if I have enough collars. I agree having prepped brass is a good idea. I enjoy tinkering with small batches more than pumping out high volume batches.

 

[RVTECH]

If I ever want to do a higher volume I could mount that one in place of Lee SS press.

If you can mount the 2nd press permanently so it is always ready to go.

Being Right handed I mounted the Co-Ax to my right as it is my 'primary' press, but then fabbed a heavy aluminum plate and mounted my RC to the left of me at about a 45 degree angle so all I need to do is swivel to my left to use it when necessary.

My point being try not to have to 'swap' things around. Have them established and ready for use.

 

[oremike]

Time or rather time management is the key. I have AADD so can get overwhelmed with having too many things going on at once. I have learned to focus on a single task and then find reward in the dot at the end of the sentence so to speak. Case in point I have three presses but only run one at a time and don't switch over to the next one until all of whatever is done. As far as a single stage vs progressive press. If you are wanting to make a bunch of test loads or small runs stick with the single stage. The set up and adjusting is much faster and easier. Once you find the a load you want to make a lot of a progressive is the way to go. I try to not make any less than 500 rounds at a time on my progressives. I do all my load testing and development on my Rock Chucker.

 

[Catfishmoon]

Do you find that time is the biggest restriction in your reloading adventures?

Time is one of them, finances and the amount of available space to setup reloading equipment and store components also matters.
One of the most time consuming aspects for me is using a new projectile for the first time, weight, manufacturer, profile, coating all affect the dimension of the bullet. Every time I use a new projectile I "plunk test" rounds into every firearm that I own in that caliber to find the longest over all length each will accept, I have a data base with that information gathered over the years.
Then follows a ladder test with various loads of powder to determine what I believe is the powder load that results in the best shot grouping of that powder - projectile combination. It is a time consuming process, but I am target shooting for reasonable accuracy.
Bottom line, now that I have data on multiple projectiles, I try to look for sales and purchase in bulk those that I prefer and I avoid using small batches of something new.

 

[JRuby]

Time is scarce resource this year. Most of my free time has been spent at the doctors. Hoping to change this sooner than later.

 

[Koda]

Do you find that time is the biggest restriction in your reloading adventures?

Not so much the time but the load development part...

 

[arakboss]

Not so much the time but the load development part...

Load development seems like an impossible task without endless amounts of time.

If you think about all the different factors that could make or break a .25 MOA group, it could overwhelm a person. Different combinations of brass, bullets, powders, primers, environment, seating depths, crimp level, etc etc, etc. Then you have the firearm itself and the shooting techniques, etc....

I will have to settle for being able to knock over some silhouette targets at 200 yards or less and doing it on a budget with the many different firearms I already own.

 

[quneur]

I have an 'eyes are bigger' problem. I spend too much time looking for things I need and I need a lot of new shiny things. What I should spend my limited resources on is a range membership, reloading books, more components, etc. rather than, "Oh, look a new caliber!"

 

[Nosferatu]

Load development seems like an impossible task without endless amounts of time.

If you think about all the different factors that could make or break a .25 MOA group, it could overwhelm a person. Different combinations of brass, bullets, powders, primers, environment, seating depths, crimp level, etc etc, etc. Then you have the firearm itself and the shooting techniques, etc....

I will have to settle for being able to knock over some silhouette targets at 200 yards or less and doing it on a budget with the many different firearms I already own.

It depends on what your goals are.

ie: When developing my hunting load for the 30-06, I made 3 different loads and fired a total of 9 rounds before picking one. I was looking for 2800fps+ in 1MOA or less @ 100 yards. All 3 achieved the goal, so I picked the one that used the least amount of powder.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Wait till you retire, you'll have all the time in the world to get stuff done. NOT…
There's so much to do so at times you're struggling to do it productively.

 

[arakboss]

It depends on what your goals are.

ie: When developing my hunting load for the 30-06, I made 3 different loads and fired a total of 9 rounds before picking one. I was looking for 2800fps+ in 1MOA or less @ 100 yards. All 3 achieved the goal, so I picked the one that used the least amount of powder.

I guess I don't really have any specific goals when it comes to reloading. Since I don't hunt or shoot for a living, it's just fun time for me. I enjoy the novelty of putting together unusual loads, the anticipation of whether they will pan out or not, tweaking the loads that don't work, the discovery of unusual loads that do work, etc.

 

[Nosferatu]

I guess I don't really have any specific goals when it comes to reloading. Since I don't hunt or shoot for a living, it's just fun time for me. I enjoy the novelty of putting together unusual loads, the anticipation of whether they will pan out or not, tweaking the loads that don't work, the discovery of unusual loads that do work, etc.

Sounds like a goal to me: make something weird: Throw some 4150 into a .45ACP case and see if I have a face or a barrel left.

 

[umrek]

Time to shoot is the precious commodity.

I can crank out an awful lot of plinking rounds on my progressive very quickly and I try to minimize changes in bullets and powders once I find something that works so caliber changes are super quick. Components and work space are not an issue anymore, but shooting space still is which alao factors into the time aspect.

You can always run a progressive press as a "single stage," but running a single stage press as a progressive is a bit more difficult.

 

[Whisky Tahoe]

Do you find that time is the biggest restriction in your reloading adventures?

Time, Knowledge, my own OCD, and justifying equipment expense when it comes to getting things better. Simplify where possible has helped.

To reduce time I have shifted focus somewhat.
Lately I have focused on more varmint hunting and less F-Class style.
I can live with 1 or two "9"s out of 20 shots while Varmint hunting. That switch helped with time management along with shorter distance.
300 yards is easier than 600 yards.
New barrels take the most time, Brass prep and load development is where the time goes.
My accuracy tolerance seems to start small and as the caliber gets bigger so does my tolerance for group size.
I'm not shooting my .338 hunting rifles for extreme long range accuracy like some do.

Load data knowledge takes time to acquire but I'm motivated by wanting to use the powder and components I have on hand where possible.
Over pressure loads are sneaky easy and challenging to catch. I found that measuring the base of the cartridge for expansion has helped detect high pressure loads but is somewhat subjective.

In my quest for knowledge, I resurrected the Gordon Reloading Tool software (free version similar to QuickLoad's $159 SW) to research some possible load combinations that are not published. The challenge is to take the time to get accurate measurements to make the SW more accurate. You can get data from the nominal values in the software but it isn't "your" data without your measurements. This can be a real time sink till you have the measurements.
For example, Cartridge Length, Bullet Length, Seating Depth are pretty easy but case volume takes more effort.
Different brass manufacturers means different case volumes which means multiple measurements
Temptation is to do it once but changes in case volume, seating depth etc greatly affect pressure. Loads on the edge deserve the time.

For 223, I back off the max pressure loads so I can use multiple brass vendors and not worry. Running load SW is not for everyone but when it's calibrated, it is like having a super computer. My 22BR load data matches my chronographed test loads exactly. For the real scientists, calibrating the actual powder is the next level time sink. I'm not going there...yet.

OCD when it comes to testing is big time variable. Finding a load with consistently low extreme spread can be a time sink and you go through a lot of components as well as shortening your barrel life. I've settled on a range of powder jumps with 3 shots each and multiple 10ths steps as a compromise. Using the new Garmin Chronograph has made it easy to get data even when hunting. It enables me to catch temperature sensitivity issues that really affect accuracy. This is acceptable for hunting from a platform or a bench but not stalking/walking.

Using Temp stable powder is probably the most import thing to base your loads on if you don't do a lot of testing.
Nobody develops loads at 20 degrees yet hunting often happens when it's cold. a 75fps shift could make that crucial shot miss the mark.

Cost vs time saving equipment choices.
As for progressive presses, I have found that the ammo I want to shoot in large volumes is generally affordable and doesn't require reloading.
I'll buy 9mm ammo but will reload 10mm 40SW 45acp 44mag 38/357 etc using a Turret press. Having multiple dies in the press is a time saver.
I'll weigh every charge for rifle but will throw for most pistol cartridges when I'm not on the max load.

Who knows maybe a progressive press is the ultimate time saver but like the OP, I'm wary of constant setup changes. Another choice for press is the Forster Coax. Once set, the dies are inserted and removed without moving the lock ring. Here's where spending a little up front saves time down the road.

Though not required I use the Coax for Rifle, Turret for pistol, and a Summit press with Horndady LnL bushings for common prep like depriming expanding and bullet pulling. These are all bolted down. 2 to the Right, the Summit to the left. The space in-between is for brass prep.

Simplify. Learning through experience has been a big help. Instead of making every 223 Varmint round possible, I settled on a few. Less data required.
I lean on rimfire as much as possible. 22LR and 17HMR are huge time savers. While 17HMR is more expensive, you can have one zero @ 100 yds that covers 25 - 150 yds since it is flat shooting. 22LR requires scope adjustment every 50 yds or a graduated scope.

Shoot slower with bolt guns. Save the semi-auto for 22LR and 50 yd shots. I'll get around to developing loads again for the AR but haven't had the time

 

[arakboss]

It may seem simplistic but the end result of firing a round is hitting an object and maybe putting a hole in it. If all I use are cookie cutter loads, I miss out on the discovery aspect of reloading. I do use reloading books for inspiration but sometimes I like to color outside the lines or take the roads less traveled.