Reloading out of a storage unit?

There are a couple of ways I would approach the situation, if I were you.

It rather depends on what you want to achieve and with which rounds.

The actual space requirements are pretty limited if you pack your bits and pieces in nice ammo cans, which are stackable anyway. All my reloading gear fits into a corner of a closet once it's put away.

If you can't install a bench but you want to use a bench mounted style of press, try this:
http://leeprecision.com/product.php?pro ... 247&page=1

You can also avoid the whole bench mount thing and build skills and experience with this:
http://leeprecision.com/breech-lock-hand-press.html
or in kit form:
http://leeprecision.com/breech-lock-hand-press-kit.html

Aside from the press itself, nothing else takes up a huge amount of space. The dies are small. A priming tool is small. Calipers and trimming and case prep in general is small unless you're trying to do it on an industrial scale. A powder scale and measure are pretty small. The biggest other thing is likely to be the reloading manual.

I'd save the money you'd spend on a storage locker for more powder, primers and bullets.

I'm no reloading guru, but I've found practical solutions to a lot of problems. If you have more questions, just ask.

rowlock said:

Interesting. I didn't even realize there were such beasties. Thanks for the heads-up.

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No problem. It's a cheap, small, but admittedly slow way of doing kitchen table reloading. If you do use such a press, I strongly recommend adding several reloading trays to your setup so that you can conveniently put cartridges down, put powder and bullets in them, and not risk knocking them over. On the other hand, reloading trays are as vulnerable as the rest of the industrial world to the power of a labrador's tail. I leave the management of that risk to you.

rowlock said:

I'd mostly want to do .45ACP and .223 Rem really, and given the amount I shoot I always assumed I'd need a progressive setup of some kind just for volume's sake. But with the .308 coming, the hand press might work well for developing my own target loads in smaller batches. Nice idea.

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Admittedly the hand press is a lot slower than a massive progressive press. The intermediate solution would be a turret press.
http://leeprecision.com/reloading-presses/turret-press/

Granted, I'm point out the Lee tools, but that's because I know them, I use them, I trust them, and they work. And as for the hand press's speed, it's not all that slow. In fact it's great for depriming and sizing a few hundred .45ACP brass cases while watching a DVD.

I'm no bodybuilder, but the hand press will work on everything I've tried as long as I lubricate the brass carefully before sizing it. If it's too much like hard work, you need more lube. (This is probably a fine guideline for life in general.)

rowlock said:

I wonder whether I could use a hand press for .480 Ruger? That would also save a buck or two, and again, it's not a cartridge I shoot in near the volume I consume for .223 and .45.

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I would say that you could, as long as you used plenty of lube. There's no mechanical reason why not - it just depends on your ability to work the arm of the press. The Lee classic turret press has a nice, long lever arm, so that's a good solution along with their three legged reloading barstool style bench. I know that their picture shows it with a hefty chunk of concrete in the bottom to keep it stable, but I just use an ammo can full of unloaded lead. It works just fine.

Things I wish I had thought of earlier (although I had the foresight to obtain excellent advice at the time):

• Get the reloading manual first, and read it for likely recipes so that you know which powders are on your short list when purchasing
• Lube. More lube. Good lube. Hornady One-Shot is not a bad choice.
• Reloading trays are cheap and great. Get a few. There are some good things you can do with them like visually inspecting your brass after charging it with powder to make sure that the cases all have similar levels of powder in them, rather than missed cases or double charges. You can put them in upside-down after priming and visually inspect them quickly to see that all the primers are well seated. You do believe in quality control where explosives are involved, right?
• Get both an inertial and a press mount bullet puller. You will make mistakes, you will wish you had them. They meet slightly different needs, so get both. They're cheap.
• For the inevitable bullet which gets stuck in a barrel when your quality control is inadequate, or your test load didn't work out the way you planned, get some dowels in suitable sizes for your barrels so as to gently tap stuck bullets back out. Cheap, and great to have when testing loads.
• You don't need batteries in anything. Lee makes a great balance beam style powder scale. It works fine. Similarly, you don't need a digital caliper. Dial or vernier based calipers are wonderful and work fine.
• If you're going to cut corners anywhere, the place to do so is case prep. Yes, your cases should be generally clean and whole and conform to specification but they don't all have to shine like the sun. As long as there's no additional grit or crud stuck anywhere and the brass isn't too stretched out (usually not a problem with pistol loads anyway) the sizing die will take care of the rest.

Plan on having fun with this. Yes, starting tiny will be slow but there are two major advantages. The first is that you will get a real, hands-on grounding in how the whole thing works. When you have personally, painstakingly measured every grain of powder after individually seating that one primer, and carefully seated a bullet, measuring everything with calipers, the process will become ingrained. When you have done it in five different test loads and seen and felt the difference at the range, you will start to develop a feel for what actually happens. Then you can start to daydream about all the fancy toys you can buy to make your process better. I would bet that one of the first would be one of those hand lever primers, because they make priming a much less fiddly job, and much faster. A cheap, simple, single upgrade which you will appreciate and understand because you started small and understand what role it plays in the process.

But, I'm rambling now ...

So I took out the new Sig on Sunday. Had to re-mount the scope for better eye relief, but fortunately I had my bubble level and torque wrench with me at the range so that wasn't a problem.

First impressions are excellent. The trigger is really, really nice right out of the box. About a 3.5 lb pull, 2-stage, breaks like glass. Lovely. It shoves as hard as one might expect from a .308, but the weight of the gun keeps felt recoil very comfortable. And it's definitely a shooter. I'll make a proper write-up some time soon and post up in the firearms subforum.

Back on the topic of reloading though, an old friend just moved back to California from Oregon, and she came to the range with me. Went to dinner with her family afterwards and got talking to her dad - turns out he's been reloading for over 40 years, and has a garage full of presses and all the necessary gear. He and a few friends have "reloading parties" some Tuesday nights, so I think I might be getting a very thorough hands-on introduction to the hobby some time soon.

I added the other dies sets per your suggestion, also. I probably won't be able to cater to my full volume using the hand press, but I guess you're right that any savings is probably worthwhile, and the experience and equipment will carry forward nicely. Now it's just time to sit and wait for the brown truck of happiness...

Well, here they are. The first products of a new hobby.



.308 Winchester brass from Magtech factory loads, CCI large rifle primers, Hornady A-Max 168 grain bullets over 39.6 grains of Alliant Reloader 15. Measured COL 2.79 inches.

Thanks again for all the advice! I shall be trying these out in the next couple days.

Things I learned:

The little plastic powder dippers that come with Lee dies are quite useful, and relatively consistent if you use them right. But they do hold a static charge if you're not careful, that can make pouring a little wonky.

The Lee beam scale is super easy and very sensitive. Nice recommendation. I used it to confirm every pour this time around, just for the sake of caution and practice.

Very glad I got the breech lock kit version of the hand press, and a bunch more breech lock rings. Made swapping dies much easier, and I shouldn't have to re-adjust them next time.

This didn't really require much space at all. Just a relatively clean desktop and a little organization. I should be able to fit everything into an old toolbox in the bottom of a closet. Perfect for apartment dwellers.

To paraphrase O_P: Reloading stuff is fun! :lol:

I don't know what other answers you've gotten, I didn't read it all. myself, I have used all sorts of methods, and in reality, you can reload in as little as a 2*2 space. I have a friend who uses a workmate sawhorse. He clamps a board on it that his press is mounted on. All other equipment is just put into place as he needs it.

If you really want to become a dedicated reloader, it's going to be hard to do that without a genuine work space of at least 3-4 feet of counter space to permanently install a press and some work space, along with a shelf for materials.

I can't think of anything at all that would be much worse than reloading in a storage shed, or at any other location that isn't your own property. If you have an outdoor shooting range, you may be able to get permission to set up on a bench to do small batch reloading; it's been done at my range for many years by people who carry in test materials.

Before anyone gets all bent out of shape about loose powder being handled where others are shooting, please explain why loose black powder in primitive weapons is safe, but a few ounces of smokeless in a measure or cannister would be hazardous?

Just returning to this briefly, to talk about productivity.

Over two days this weekend I reloaded about 550 rounds in .357 and .45.

I used the hand press while in front of my computer, doing other stuff. To hold the brass while I got productive, I used ordinary plastic case holders.

The actual press work I did with a Lee hand press and Lee dies.

I primed the brass with an RCBS hand prime tool.

I calibrated my RCBS powder thrower with a Lee perfect powder scale. I find that those tools give very consistent results.

A few hours of work, at a desk, and everything tidied up into a few ammo cans when I had finished. For my work and my patience I now have hot loaded, very consistent ammunition ready for whatever evils come my way. Or shooting bowling pins, whichever comes first.