automatic relaoding

Hamburgler

Hamburgler

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Hey all,ive been shooting for a while now and find ide like to compete in either IPSC or IDPA but ammo aint cheap.I dont want to spend large amounts of time reloading and so im willing to shell out the cash for a high end setup like a dillon 650.Question is what do i need to make it fully automated.

I guess my first question should have been ,is it worth it to reload 9mm and 5.56?What i meant when i ask that is ,what kinda prices am i looking at for one round?Im sure my noob question has been asked before and i have checked the dillon site but it doesnt get me all the info i need.Thanks
 
.50 cents a round for the 5.56 about .30 cents a round for the 9mm not including the press and scales round about maybe about $10 to $14 a box of 20 for the 5.56 my 7.62 cost me about $12 a box of 20.Just add the price of one pound of powder,one box of 100 projectiles,and one box of 100 primers and divide by 20 [per box]then 20 divided by that number [each].
 
Hamburgler said:
Hey all,ive been shooting for a while now and find ide like to compete in either IPSC or IDPA but ammo aint cheap.I dont want to spend large amounts of time reloading and so im willing to shell out the cash for a high end setup like a dillon 650.Question is what do i need to make it fully automated.
Click to expand...

Dillon Super 1050 $1750
Ponsness Warren Autodrive $1000
Mr. BulletFeeder $600
Dillon primer tube feeder $350

It still ain't full auto, but it's close. In my experience it's best used for large batch processing.

I tend to process my brass by the 5 gallon pail. I run it all through the sizer and swager in one pass. (usually when I have work to do at the bench)

When I have time to be more actively involved, I pre-prime the cases.

When I load ammo, all I have to do is sit back and keep the powder and bullet hoppers topped up, and visually check the powder level.

There is no reason I couldn't do it all in one pass. I choose not to just because I find with range brass or new brass, there can be a higher rate of bent rims, ringed primer pockets, etc. When I'm putting components on the line, I hate wasting them.

http://s455.photobucket.com/albums/qq274/Canuck223/?action=view&current=306.mp4
 
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sweet rig canuck.Your input was very valuable .Couple questions.

1.Can what i want be done with an xl650?
2.When you received all the components did you assemble that machine yourself?
3.How long would you figure it takes of making ammo to recover the costs of the machine if you shoot approx 500rnds of 9mm a month?
4.Whats a sizer and swager,are these components ill need?

Maximum armor,umm not that i doubt you but those numbers sound nuts.I buy 9mm for cheaper than that at lebarons(.28$) and way cheaper across the border,same for 5.56.Its gotta be cheaper to make my own.
 
Canuck223 said:
Dillon Super 1050 $1750
Ponsness Warren Autodrive $1000
Mr. BulletFeeder $600
Dillon primer tube feeder $350

It still ain't full auto, but it's close. In my experience it's best used for large batch processing.

I tend to process my brass by the 5 gallon pail. I run it all through the sizer and swager in one pass. (usually when I have work to do at the bench)

When I have time to be more actively involved, I pre-prime the cases.

When I load ammo, all I have to do is sit back and keep the powder and bullet hoppers topped up, and visually check the powder level.

There is no reason I couldn't do it all in one pass. I choose not to just because I find with range brass or new brass, there can be a higher rate of bent rims, ringed primer pockets, etc. When I'm putting components on the line, I hate wasting them.

http://s455.photobucket.com/albums/qq274/Canuck223/?action=view&current=306.mp4
Click to expand...

Damn,

That's some setup you have going there......nice socks btw... :D
 
ya, maximumarmor's costs seem to be quite high, unless he is loading up some sort of specialty ammo.

For .223, I sit right around $.25/rnd, not including cases. For 9mm, right around $.18/rnd.

If you use the 0.18/rnd, vs the .28/rnd you buy at Lebaron's, you would be saving yourself $50/month, so at that rate, it would take you approximately 6 years to pay it off, if you account for just the 9mm you would reload.

You will start to get into huge cost savings when you start reloading more expensive facotry loads, ie .308, .223, etc, etc. Also, if you buy in bulk, you can generally shave some cents off per round.

Since you are only shooting 500 9mm per month, I would have to say that you shouldn't need to automate everything. With pistol, 500 rounds would take me, at most 3hrs to load up on my 650. I have the case feeder, but no bullet feeder, or primer feeder tube. Works all right for my requirements.
 
Hamburgler said:
sweet rig canuck.Your input was very valuable .Couple questions.

1.Can what i want be done with an xl650?
2.When you received all the components did you assemble that machine yourself?
3.How long would you figure it takes of making ammo to recover the costs of the machine if you shoot approx 500rnds of 9mm a month?
4.Whats a sizer and swager,are these components ill need?

Maximum armor,umm not that i doubt you but those numbers sound nuts.I buy 9mm for cheaper than that at lebarons(.28$) and way cheaper across the border,same for 5.56.Its gotta be cheaper to make my own.
Click to expand...

P/W do sell the autodrive kit for the 650. The MrBulletFeeder works perfectly on it as well. The main reason for choosing the 1050 is it's ability to process crimped brass in process, instead of as a seperate manual operation.

The Dillon comes assembled. You just need to figure out how to operate it.;)
To install it on the P/W, you should know the press well before hand. It does take some adjusting to set the autodrive up, and if you don't know what's normal for the press alone, it's damned hard to troubleshoot a problem.

I don't think the payback arguement applies in this case. The money I save from reloading is somewhat a moot point. I'm not wealthy. There is a fixed amount of money I can spend on this sport per year. Reloading to me means I get the most quality ammo possible within that budget. I view the tooling as a one time investment. If not abused, it doesn't really depreciate, and will largely last for life.

What it saves me is time and aggravation. I am not dependent on the whims of the manager of the local store or CBSA on getting the ammo I want, when I want it.

The sizer is the first die used on the press. It sizes the fired case to slightly below chamber size. The swager is a tool used to remove the crimp used to secure the primers in the cases of some ammo. 9mm and .223 are commonly crimped. Until the crimp is removed, re-priming the case is difficult. The Dillon 1050 includes a swager between the sizing and priming stations, so mixed range brass is not an issue.
 
For loading 9mm using quality components;

Brass $40/k
BDX 124gr $125/k
Primers (fed) $38/k
Powder (VVN320) $30/ (3/4lb)

So $233/k taxes included if you have to buy brass.

If you load using S&B primers, plated bullets, and cheaper powder, you could easily cut $60 from that total.
 
I can load 500 rounds in 2 hours easy on my Dillon 550. For the amount you shoot that is all the press you really need. If you go up to 2500 rounds plus per month than consider the autodrive 1050
 
Hamburgler said:
Where do you get your reloading supplies Canuck?Im trying to price out rnd parts to make the cheapest rnd since its mostly for plinking.
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You have two great sources nearby. Marstar stock the Frontier bullets, which I used until recently. Higginsons Powders is also relatively close and stock powder, primers, and bullets.

I buy most of my supplies locally, as Cedar Valley Hunting is just down the road from me. I've also bought primers from SFRC as he shows up at IPSC matches in Kingston.
 
Keep in mind that Dave has the 1200 rounds per hour PW Autodrive on his 1050. If you want to load .223 you will need the 900 rounds per hour version.

Money well spent...you won't regret it

Hamburgler said:
sweet rig canuck.Your input was very valuable .Couple questions.

1.Can what i want be done with an xl650?
2.When you received all the components did you assemble that machine yourself?
3.How long would you figure it takes of making ammo to recover the costs of the machine if you shoot approx 500rnds of 9mm a month?
4.Whats a sizer and swager,are these components ill need?

Maximum armor,umm not that i doubt you but those numbers sound nuts.I buy 9mm for cheaper than that at lebarons(.28$) and way cheaper across the border,same for 5.56.Its gotta be cheaper to make my own.
Click to expand...
 
My reloading cost for 9mm is
$95.00/1000 Zero brand 125gr jhp-c projectiles
$27.00/1000 CCI small pistol primers
$17.00/ 3/4lb Titegroup powder

Total cost $139.00/1000 or $0.139 per round.

As far as presses go I'm running the Hornady LnL AP Progressive press with the case feeder and bullet feeder.

If you're not running an automatic primer tube filler you need to calculate 3 minutes per primer tube.
 
Hamburgler said:
one time?Im looking at the "once fired" brass on marstar and im thinking that has about 4-5 more uses,no?How many times can brass be fired?
Click to expand...

I have some 1xf at 20 times fired..... Commercial LEO range stuff, I know a guy who knows a guy, who knows a guy....... :D

That said, for a budget you should price it in for 10 firings. so if you have 1000 pcs of 1xf brass you should be able to load 10,000 rnds from that.

When I first got started shooting ALOT 9mm I bought 3K from Cedar valley (he was just Sam Mcdonald then), cost was $110 shipped (08 or 09 if memory serves).

I use a lee 1000, I have 17K ish through it, so far no REAL problems. The only real jam-ups I have had were when I got some crimped primers mixed into the non-crimped brimers bin.......

Cheers!
 
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