Between yesterday and today:

Cleaned up the bench a bit. Got my Lapua brass ready to load. Scored 4 pounds of Varget. Remeasured the throat on my 5R. Got the measurements for 175smk, 168amax, and 178amax I'm going to start loading. Reviewed the Newberry OCW technique for the above. Realized I have no .40sw practice ammo.

Steadily depriming my bucket of 9mm. May have a line on a keg of green dot.

Finishing up my 45acp for this summer, have about 750 rounds of 200gr. SWC's with 5.0gr's. of W231. Living in Maine and only having access to the range for a limited time during the year, I don't shoot nearly as much as I would like. After I finish up with the 45acp, I have a big batch of 9mm that I cast. Will be loading up 800 or so to get me started this year.

Have test loads for several rifles to try out: 25-35 WCF for family heirloom Winchester 94, some .223 for my Mini-14 that was passed down from my Grandfather, some 30-30 WCF for my Marlin 336, and some 308 Win. for my newly acquired Remington 700 VLS.

Slowly filling up the safe I converted into an ammo locker this winter.

quote:

Originally posted by novalty:
Finishing up my 45acp for this summer, have about 750 rounds of 200gr. SWC's with 5.0gr's. of W231. Living in Maine and only having access to the range for a limited time during the year, I don't shoot nearly as much as I would like. After I finish up with the 45acp, I have a big batch of 9mm that I cast. Will be loading up 800 or so to get me started this year.

Have test loads for several rifles to try out: 25-35 WCF for family heirloom Winchester 94, some .223 for my Mini-14 that was passed down from my Grandfather, some 30-30 WCF for my Marlin 336, and some 308 Win. for my newly acquired Remington 700 VLS.

Slowly filling up the safe I converted into an ammo locker this winter.

Check your local fire ordinances, but I wouldn't be storing powder and/or primer in there. Loaded rounds, ok, but powder/primer has the potential to turn that into a bomb. Just like all those guys that store them in sealed ammo cans. Again, bad plan.

Flammable contents storage containers are vented to prevent them from turning into a bomb. Pressure can escape. Wooden crates generally work well.

If you're concerned about safety or access to the flammables, you can get one of the lockable storage cabinets.

Just my $.03.

Thanks for the heads up exx1976. I will pull the primers out tonight, didn't store any powder in there. The gun cabinet is vented with about 6 or so holes for bolting it down from either the floor, back or side.

Wouldn't contact my useless co-enforcement officer, as he didn't even have the ambition or decency to call me back or come over to check our house for an occupancy permit after we built it--after 3 weeks of waiting we just moved in.

My replacement 45ACP taper crimp die from Dillon showed up today. I emailed them about it last week and let them know I was having an issue with it, they emailed back and said a no charge replacement was on the way.

Tonight I need to trim .223 brass. I have a bucket full that is already swaged & sized, needs to be trimmed & chamfer/debur then it's ready to load.

Also have to finish sorting some 30-30 brass of unknown provenance. It's all been cleaned, sized & trimmed. Needs to be evaluated for case head separation with the paper clip trick, then what's left needs chamfer/debur and loaded. Not sure when I'll get to that.

Need to load 45ACP now that the crimp die is here.

Need to load 300BLK.

Need to size, tumble, trim, chamfer/debur 308 brass, then load that.

Good thing there's at least 2 months of winter left.

quote:

Originally posted by rduckwor:

quote:

Originally posted by exx1976:
I love wst in 45. What's your load?

4.5 grains under a 200 grain LSWC. Perfection!

RMD

Same load I use and I agree.

Made some stops at several tire stores and picked up ( barely ) two five gallon buckets of wheel weights to smelt into ingots. Will eventually use them to make 185 gr. swc 45 cal bullets.

Loaded some 380 to test and then had to call it quits. Was going to load 357 but static got so bad that the h110 was clinging to the side of the cases and I couldn't get an accurate measure of my powder throws. GRR!

quote:

Originally posted by billnchristy:
Loaded some 380 to test and then had to call it quits. Was going to load 357 but static got so bad that the h110 was clinging to the side of the cases and I couldn't get an accurate measure of my powder throws. GRR!

Rubber band a new dryer sheet around the outside of your hopper.

Problem solved.


ETA: Trimmed ~400 pieces of LC .223
Thought about working on something else, but too tired. Work has been kickin my ass this week.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: exx1976,

I put 2 used dryer sheets inside my powder measures and rub them around a bit. I leave them there until I load the next time, then use them in the tumbler.

Thus, I get 3 uses out of each sheet.

I guess I truly am a cheap SOB.

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:

I guess I truly am a cheap SOB.

That is the nature of the hobby.

Decapped, swaged, cut, stainless tumbled, and annealed ~400 pieces of LC. Leave that to dry overnight.

Tomorrow will be size, polish, trim, chamfer/debur.

Still working on trim/chamfer/debur that 5-gallon bucket of LC .223... I have about 2/3 left. Ugh.

Found that wearing leather gloves while trim/chamfer/debur leaves my fingers in much better shape.

Last night, I finished up what I expect to shoot for 45acp for the summer, and switch my RCBS Case Activated linkage over on my Uniflow to start reloading 9mm, and primed 100 pieces of 9mm to get me started.

Press arrived Tuesday. Made a temporary set up for it. Living in an apartment until we close next month on the new house. Since then I have loaded 20 7mmRemMag, 300 9mm, 39 38's, and 42 30carbine. Making case lube tonight with Iso and lanolin.

Polished up my brass for loading some .300 tonight.

3 rd day in a row , wet and cold. Stayed home and got 400 45 ACP loaded and decapped 300 .40 and they are in tumbler now

Loaded another box of 38 spcl plinking loads for the boys...one of these days I'll tackle working up a load for the 357 Mag with the Montana Gold projectiles.

Got home from work late, sized that ~400 piece pile of 300BLK from yesterday. It's in the tumbler now, I'll pull it out and trim/chamfer/debur in the morning.

Loaded 10 140gr FTX 357 Magnums in 3 different powder weights to test.

Loaded 5 (one bullet seated way deep and wouldn't come out grumble grumble) 22TCM in 3 weights to test.

Loaded 6 223 Fusion bullet loads in 3 steps to test.

I have at least a full day of shooting and evaluation to do and then I can start loading some of these legit.

So far to test:

380 FMJ and JHP
9mm plated
22 TCM JHP
357 JHP
223 Soft point
308 soft point