1st 100rds

waepek

waepek

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Location
Vancouver
Finally had some time to build the work bench last weekend and had it stained, clearcoated during the week. Still missing plywood/pegboard backing and proper wiring for the lights and power bar. Found a :DGREAT:D deal on the XL650 from Vancouver craigslist. It came with 4 kit dies, 5 conversion kits, 2 extra quick change, small/large pistol plates for the case feeder, tools, storage bins, etc and a Dillon precision scale. Last night I visted Henry (budgetshootersupply) for supplies and bombarded him with questions.

Today I reloaded my 1st 100rds and have a couple of questions to ask. Mainly loading 45acp for now. Using Berrys 230gr RN bullets, 300CCI small pistol primer and Winchester 231.

1. I went through three books and a number of websites trying to figure out a starting point for powder recipe. All three books had different values along with Winchesters 231 loading data so I made 50rds with 5.0gr and another 50rds with 5.2gr. Are these values safe for a newbie like me??

2. I'm using small primer once fired Blazer brass. I noticed a handful of the rds primers were seated deeper than others, roughly around 0.008"-0.009". Will my 1911 have issues striking the primers??

oh another thing, I screwed up on one round and had the primer on backwards. luckily the primer didn't go off when i seated it in the brass. is it safe to use the kinetec bullet puller??

specs
powder: winchester 231
primer: small pistol CCI
brass: blazer once fired
bullets: 230gr Berrys RN
powder level: 50rds 5.0gr , 50rds 5.2gr
oal: 1.270"
neck dia: .472"

thanks
here are some pics
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I use 5.0 gr as an accuracy load in one of my guns. Good medium power load.

You can pull bullet and decap as normal on the backwards.

I f your are new at loading, the 650 is a tough way to start.
 
Ganderite said:
I use 5.0 gr as an accuracy load in one of my guns. Good medium power load.

You can pull bullet and decap as normal on the backwards.

I f your are new at loading, the 650 is a tough way to start.
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It is a tough machine to work on. Took me 4hours validating, measuring and adjusting the dies to get it where i wanted. Also checked everthing a million times. Measured every round I made. Mind you its my first time so I'm quite happy and have been very patient. =o) Then I spilt some powder, one large primer brass snucked up with my other brass.
 
yes you can use a bullet puller on the flipped primer round. if your really worried, safety glasses, gloves, hearing protection, etc when pulling it.

then to remove said primer, i put mine back into the resize/decap die and SLOWLY pull the handle to pop it out. people go so far as to reuse them, but i tend to find they are dented enough that i don't care about 2 cent primers.
 
If you ever need to remove a live primer always put a couple drops of G96, or any oil really, and let it sit for a few days. The oil will turn the primer into a dud and it will be safe to remove.
 
Looks good, I'm not sure why but I always hear people say how hard progressive presses are.. I have whats commonly refereed to as a pile of crap, took me 20 minutes to completely set it up out of the box.. so long as you don't force anything you will be ok.

...I never re-use primers.. there cheap.

Keep in mind, you don't ever save money reloading.. you just get to shoot more for the same price lol.

Have fun and stay safe.
 
Thanks for the comments and tips.
Now should I be concern on my primer depth?? Like I mentioned I have a few that are seated around 0.008"-0.009".
 
kamlooky said:
Don't forget some sort of eye protection if you're playing with primers.
Nice job on the bench.
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The plan was from familyhandyman.com. Bought all the parts from HomeDepot and had them cut the plywood. Built it by section with 3" framing nails and assembled inside the house with screws incase I have to move. =o)
Now if only it stops raining then I can go get some plywood for the backing. :(
 
Dont worry about seating depth of primers, its basically irrelevent. AWESOME bench by the way!!! Oh and one piece of advice, put your new rounds in with the bullet down lol Makes them easier to pull out while loading and also allows you to check to make sure they all got primed. I've caught a few that way myself.
 
waepek said:
The plan was from familyhandyman.com. Bought all the parts from HomeDepot and had them cut the plywood. Built it by section with 3" framing nails and assembled inside the house with screws incase I have to move. =o)
Now if only it stops raining then I can go get some plywood for the backing. :(
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Nice Bench!! Thanks for the link, I know what I'm doing next weekend :)
 
cam1936 said:
If you ever need to remove a live primer always put a couple drops of G96, or any oil really, and let it sit for a few days. The oil will turn the primer into a dud and it will be safe to remove.
Click to expand...

This is pure legend and fantasy. Try it, then put the round in a gun and snap the trigger. 99% of them will go bang. I have tried this with oil, grease, WD40, water, Hoppes 9 and a whole raft of other liquids. ALL the primers I tested went bang after being soaked. Try it yourself

That said, it is a primer, not a hand grenade. Personally I would use a singles stage press, even a $29 Lee for this kind of work rather than the progressive for fear of powder being in proximity, especially spilled powder. Just use the decapping rod to gently deprime it, you will have no problems.

Congrats on the new setup. Nice looking setup. You have all the gear to get started but would suggest you get an inexpensive single stage, even if you just G clamp it to the top when you need it for pulling large numbers of bullets, depriming brass to clean and trim it etc.
 
I picked up a lee cast press and a lee decaping die and use it only for decaping, keeps all the primer crud off the progressive. Plus having the primers out when tumbling gets the primer pockets clean.
 
Great setup! Looks like you'll really be enjoying reloading with a setup like that. Btw, the press itself seems high. Is it setup for operation whilst standing up? Ive been considering doing something like that for myself.

I sit all day a work and when I reload I wonder if I'll be so much more comfortable standing and doing it. I know I can stand all day at my shed bench tinkering with stuff and not have any fatigue at all.
 
Bigbubba said:
WOW ! Nice bench. When is mine being delivered?
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Get the plan online, drop by homedepot 3hours of hard work and you got yourself a bench =o).

OEM said:
Great setup! Looks like you'll really be enjoying reloading with a setup like that. Btw, the press itself seems high. Is it setup for operation whilst standing up? Ive been considering doing something like that for myself.

I sit all day a work and when I reload I wonder if I'll be so much more comfortable standing and doing it. I know I can stand all day at my shed bench tinkering with stuff and not have any fatigue at all.
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I find standing up to be more comfortable than sitting down loading rounds. If need be I can take out the stand anytime,use a 12"x14" plywood and mount in the same location. Only issue I have is reaching for brass in the casefeeder. =o/

Dean2 said:
This is pure legend and fantasy. Try it, then put the round in a gun and snap the trigger. 99% of them will go bang. I have tried this with oil, grease, WD40, water, Hoppes 9 and a whole raft of other liquids. ALL the primers I tested went bang after being soaked. Try it yourself

That said, it is a primer, not a hand grenade. Personally I would use a singles stage press, even a $29 Lee for this kind of work rather than the progressive for fear of powder being in proximity, especially spilled powder. Just use the decapping rod to gently deprime it, you will have no problems.

Congrats on the new setup. Nice looking setup. You have all the gear to get started but would suggest you get an inexpensive single stage, even if you just G clamp it to the top when you need it for pulling large numbers of bullets, depriming brass to clean and trim it etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip! I might just do that.
 
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