Progressive versus Manual...

E

Expatmedic

Inactive
In the eyes of a few people I am "anal" and "uptight" about my reloading practices.

I hand prime, hand trim, Rockchucker press each projectile, hand chamfer and debur, powder is measured once on an RCBS electronic scale then once on a 5-0-5 scale. No, not in that order.:)

Right now, I am loading for 6.5mm Creedmoor, for shots out to 1k.

But...

I plan on loading for pistol soon.

I see no need to change at this point, for no other reason than I can "feel" and/or "hear" what is going on with the components.

Anyone else in the same boat?

Since this is one of my first posts, it is posted with a bit of humor.
 
Accuracy is the reason for being "uptight" about reloading for a rifle. With each little step we hope to gain a fraction of a MOA.
If your 6.5 only shot 3 MOA groups you would get rid of it but for a handgun 3 MOA would be very accurate.
To get accuracy from a handgun time spent shooting, perfecting trigger pull, sight picture, etc. will produce far better results than nit picking while reloading.
 
I reload to put holes in cardboard at 5-200 yards at the moment, so no, not nearly that anal, dont want to be until I get into stretching the legs of some riffle rounds. :cool: But to each, their own.
 
There is nothing that says you cannot use a progressive and a single stage press, just install the die you wish to use and leave the other spots open.
When I load pistol rounds I the press as a progressive, when I load rifle, I will cap and resize and trim in one session, then prime and load in another. I do not use the progressive powder measure when doing rifle load, I use a electronic powder dispenser.

I have a Hornady L-N-L.
 
That's what I like about the 550b. Use it like a single stage, progressive or something in between. Use it as a priming tool. It's really quite flexible.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I am assuming a 550B is a progressive? I know not one single thing about progressive systems.

Right now I am consistently seeing SD's of 5 FPS. Can I expect the same with a progressive?
 
Yes and no about the 550. It can be used as a progressive but you have to index manually after each pull of the handle. It doesn't advance automatically.

When I first started reloading I was a bit "anal" about not blowing myself up. After I got used to the basics I was anal about the components I was using, then the preparation of the components, then about getting one hole five shot groups. I finally got to the point where I wanted to make a lot of cartridges so I got a 550. I was anal about getting it set up just right and then I was pulling each cartridge to make sure it was primed properly, and then to check the powder level and then the seated length of the bullet. I realized it was taking more time and causing more stress with the 550 than it was with my Rock Chucker. I sold the 550 cheap and went back to doing it the way that made me comfortable. I never did get five bullets through one hole and finally figured out what I was doing that made no difference and stopped doing that and just did what made my ammo as good as I needed. I did get quite a few groups where there was no paper left between the five shots in a group but never the way I wanted to see it. Now I am relaxed when I am reloading and trying to stay relaxed when I shoot. Maybe by the time I reach 80 I will be relaxed doing it all. ;)
 
Shootist, I'm happy with those types of 5 shot groups as the only person I ever compete with is myself.

I make it a point to never let any stress into my shooting hobby. Just want it to be fun.
 
You have to be a 'Gadget' guy for a progressive press to crank out really high quality rounds...
If you aren't mechanically inclined it can be a real challenge to get a lot of the progressive presses working correctly,
And some it won't matter how mechanically inclined you are, they just don't work worth a crap no matter what...

I actually aim... so I don't burn through ammo like a lot of people, even when speed shooting.
I've stopped going to public ranges most times, built my own at home.
Can't take those guys dumping an entire magazine at every target and hitting nothing.
You don't get points for how many brass you have in the air at any given time!

The 'Odd' calibers, the hyper accurate loads all still get done on a manual press.
It's too hard/expensive to get a progressive set up for my oddball calibers I don't shoot a lot,
And the hyper accurate calibers I'm pretty fussy about, so they get hand loaded.

The 9mm/45ACP practice ammo, the .223 practice ammo gets cranked out on a progressive.

It's up to you, for me and AR practice ammo and semi auto handguns, I thought I'd hate a progressive, but I don't, it's actually pretty great to crank out weeks worth of ammo in the same time it used to take for one range day.
I just wish I hadn't wasted time/money on progressives like Lee Load Master before I got a Dillon.
 
Same here, I compete with myself and not at match's. It's just for fun. For me, the reloading process is relaxing, especially the drudge work of case prep, but I tune out most things and I am in my quiet little zone.:)

I am very much a methodical, slow-paced person. I do brass prep first then come back another day for priming and so on and so forth.
 
^^^ me too! Reloading is one of the most relaxing things I do.
Even relaxing I can turn out more than I shoot in a day at the range.
I joined the range to meet people when I moved here and now I am an RSO and a member of the board. I show up at the range work days and sometime I work just because I see things that need it. I never actively compete with others - even at silhouette matches but I still stress out when I am not doing me best.

I am sometimes so hard on myself I am forced to take a time out. :)
 
A competitive shooter named Lester Bruno has a shop near Ben Avery range where I often shoot. I bring targets to show him and he says "Well, if that makes you happy..." :D

It does. I refuse to fall victim to the sickness. :D
 
The 550C would be a great choice for a progressive press. But having both a progressive press plus a single stage is the way to go.
 
Pistol ammo volume

It sound like you have OCD, like 90% of Benchrest shooters. And that's a good thing for that game.

Typically when shooting handgun, I shoot 150 rounds. Loading this amount of ammo in BR method is too slow.

I have used a Lee Turret press for the last 25 years. It can load up to 200 rounds an hour. It is very safe to use, as the head and powder thrower rotate with every pull of the handle. The ammo it produces is very accurate.
Also it is not expensive.
I have never really had the urge to upgrade to a Dillon or any other progressive press. Even if I could load 600 rounds an hour, I can't afford to shoot 600 rounds in a session !!
 
I can turn out accurate ammunition with both single stage and progressive presses.

Dies make a bigger difference than the press. I can put crummy dies in a Co-ax and good ones in a progressive and the progressive press with produce a round with less run out.

If you have the ability to measure the finished product and tests them you too can figure out if all the extra time you spend is wasted or not. Some people "feel" that spending hours making a few rounds somehow makes them better and if that helps their mental management in competition, it might actually be worthwhile, even if it really is no more accurate.
 
I should have been a bit more clear about "feeling" and "hearing". I can close my eyes and tell by sound and resistance when a case has been properly trimmed. I can feel when neck tension is not right when seating projectiles. So, I wonder if I can do the same with a progressive system.


More OCD I measure my trimmed cases with calipers, the drop it into a Wilson case gage.
 
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