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  • Deavis

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    We processed 9 and 45. Loaded those and 223. Converting over to 380 for tomorrow.
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    Target Sports
     

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    Deavis

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    That's just the 380 we need to process, looks more impressive in the drum. Fiber drums are full too, it will take a few days to run it all.

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    Wish I had three machines to run it like 9mm.
     

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    rp-

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    That's just the 380 we need to process, looks more impressive in the drum. Fiber drums are full too, it will take a few days to run it all.

    View attachment 191425
    Wish I had three machines to run it like 9mm.
    Do you have many issues loading 380? Out of all the calibers I load I seem to have more crushed cases with 380 than everything else put together.

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    Deavis

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    Do you have many issues loading 380? Out of all the calibers I load I seem to have more crushed cases with 380 than everything else put together.

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    It's not really fair to compare, I'm running on a Camdex with processed brass. I run the 380 just slightly slower than 9mm just due to powder slosh in the short case. The better question is probably processing for me. I see about the same number of dented casings as I do with 9mm but 380 holds 32, which is hard to get out despite how hard we try.

    On a small loader, I'd day 380 is slightly worse than 9mm but mainly because the bullets stink to feed/handle. 45 is the worst for crushed casings, that fat mouth and shoes don't mix. I get far more case fault bin outs from that one than 380 or 9mm. Plus 380 doesn't bulge like 9, thanks to the low pressure.
     

    rp-

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    Further testing the 450bm and 45acp with the 230gr HAP today.

    This morning I loaded 25 of the 450s at 41.0gr to test out with a new red dot and I worked up a few more 45 rounds in the comfort zone. As I was leaving though, my wife decided she wanted to come with.

    Accuracy wise, I found a good load each with the small mag and the large primer 45s so they're set to start cranking out now.

    The 450 bm had feed issues from the mags but that's common for standard AR mags. What I did find though was that 2 rounds wouldnt fire and wouldn't extract. I was able to free them and we kept shooting. When I got home I tried the 450 rounds again but they wouldn't eject. Finally figure it out. The crimp was too tight and they didn't headspace right. Sure enough the first 2 rounds I loaded I didnt have the crimp set right. Lesson learned. Just glad it didn't end bad.



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    avvidclif

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    Stood up as opposed to sitting down and got started on the new to me Dillon RL550B. Ran thru a little over 200 rounds with only 2 hiccups. One my fault (didn't seat primer) and the other a case fault (primer would not seat all the way). Didn't get in a hurry just going slow and figuring out how to do it and get a rhythm going. So far pleased. I was wondering how the manual indexing would work as opposed to automatic and I think I like it. It's not much slower but allows you to back up the cases in case of gotchas. There were several as I got used to it.

    Standing because with the Strong Mount the loader is in the clouds. My head is just above the main part and no way to check the powder in the case visually. My bench is a standard workbench 36" tall and great for working on but the Strong Mount raises the loader 8.5". Minor problem for the convenience of having the bullet tray, case tray, and loaded round tray all attached to the loader.
     

    TxStetson

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    I have a tall Craftsman stool at my workbench, but honestly I hardly ever sit down out there. I did put one of those foam rubber mats in in front of my bench and it definitely feels better on my feet at the end of the day. I think I paid $5 for it at Harbor Freight.
     

    rp-

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    My daughter gave me a heart shaped pillow to stand on.

    When I built my new bench I was red it higher than my last house. I wanna say the top is at 43 inches. At the old place it was 3-4 inches lower and I would have to slump a little when running the presses and it hurt my back.

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    ed308

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    Stood up as opposed to sitting down and got started on the new to me Dillon RL550B. Ran thru a little over 200 rounds with only 2 hiccups. One my fault (didn't seat primer) and the other a case fault (primer would not seat all the way). Didn't get in a hurry just going slow and figuring out how to do it and get a rhythm going. So far pleased. I was wondering how the manual indexing would work as opposed to automatic and I think I like it. It's not much slower but allows you to back up the cases in case of gotchas. There were several as I got used to it.

    Standing because with the Strong Mount the loader is in the clouds. My head is just above the main part and no way to check the powder in the case visually. My bench is a standard workbench 36" tall and great for working on but the Strong Mount raises the loader 8.5". Minor problem for the convenience of having the bullet tray, case tray, and loaded round tray all attached to the loader.

    I like my 550C which I acquired only recently. I'm use to a 650 and miss having the Powder Check system on the 550. I find it's easy to screw up on the 550 when you get distracted. I sit when I reload so can't see in the case. I've already caught one squid where I advanced the shell plate before dropping powder. I caught it after weighing completed rounds. I'm thinking I need a cameras to see the powder in the case and get in the habit of advancing the shell plate only after confirming powder in the case.
     
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    rp-

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    I caught it after weighing completed rounds

    I'm glad I'm not the only one that does this. When on the pro1000 presses I run about 50-100 at a time between chores and activities. I take my catch pan and put it in a bucket with the rest of the rounds. I like doing them in smaller batches because I pop in and out of the garage a lot instead of loading 2k in one go. This also lets me have a smaller batch to sort if something goes wrong.

    I've had more issues with 223 not triggering the auto drum powder measure until I figured it out. I weighed ever round I made and anything outside a 10 grain window would be pulled out. I found some of it was just brands of brass that weighed less but also found some half charges and no charges.

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    ed308

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    rp-

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    My old garage had florescent lights galore. My new garage only has on incandescent fixture. I upgraded to bright bulbs and it's helping. The problem is that I like to look into the case and see the powder when setting the bullet on the case. I don't have power at my bench so I'm gonna go buy a long power strip and see if I can steal one of the wife's LED lights she got from IKEA.

    In the mean time i couldn't find my load pan I use to catch rounds coming off the presses. I had a piece of pipe laying around so I bent it and cut it to catch and drop the rounds in a buck under the bench. Nevermind all the burn marks... I was using a small propane tourch which is usually only good for bending .5-.75" pipe, maybe 1". This was 1.5" and there was like 15 separate bends so it burnt a few time... Gonna need a coat of paint!
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    rp-

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    Well I asked my wife about the lamps and she said they were on sale so she bought an extra. It's perfect. It's light, flexy, and super bright.
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    Deavis

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    I ran a 9mm machine while I finally swept, mopped, and organized all my spare parts. Amazing how much stuff you can build up in no time, especially when you buy other peoples stuff when they close the doors. Even more amazing is how little space a conversion kit takes up and how much it costs, sigh... should be making parts!

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    rp-

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    Probably could make a killing selling turrets and caliber conversions if you had the right stuff. Charge 10% less than Dillon and everyone would buy them.

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    dee

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    Mixed up a few 6 creeds over the weekend.
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    Deavis

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    Probably could make a killing selling turrets and caliber conversions if you had the right stuff. Charge 10% less than Dillon and everyone would buy them.

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    Yeah, it sounds good in theory but so far the few guys I know making toolhwads are having a tough time of it after you look as t the investment in tooling. The CNC toolheads we have for use on the 1050 are awesome but will the average guy buy one? Just remember next time you complain about the cost of Dillon conversion that a Camdex conversion is over $6k!

    Let's see, having fun processing 380. Found this beauty in the crack check binout!

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    New control box working great and giving us good info for the processor on a single screen now with some resizing and shuffling.

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    rp-

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    I ordered a scope lapping and mounting kit as well as some rings for my wifes rifle. While I wait for it to show up I loaded about 375 HAP 45s with small mag primers and another 100 rounds with large primers. Surprisingly both primers liked the same charge so that made it easy.

    I also found about 45 XTP rounds I forgot about. They're out of a batch that had 2 squibs so I set them aside. Pulled them all and found no more squibs surprisingly. Either way, I reloaded with new powder so I know what they're gonna do. Cleaned up my bench a bit. Got a few more things ready to load. Just waiting on the scope kit and rings.

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