how long are your sessions?

troy_mclure · November 11, 2009, 12:22 AM

how long are your standard reloading sessions?

i just seized/deprimed 2213 .32acp with a single stage press. took me 4 1hr TV shows, and an hour for dinner.

much too long.

now i have to expand them all.

Christchild · November 11, 2009, 12:33 AM

I try to keep REloading down to 1-2 hours, but Case Prep.......

I've had Case Prep last upwards of 6-8 hours or better, but NOT in one sitting. 2-3 hours in a sitting is about all I can manage. I've got to put it down and take a breather after so long...ReGroup.

**Unclenick** · November 11, 2009, 12:47 AM

Sound's like you're learning what progressive presses are for? You'd probably begrudge the process your time less if 2213 completed cartridges had resulted from the investment rather than just decapped and sized cases.

dmazur · November 11, 2009, 01:15 AM

I realize you weren't throwing powder charges while watching TV...

Nevertheless, if the time involved is hurting you, you might consider a progressive. Especially for pistol, which can be done with very little case prep.

(Request -- I'm going to mention a press color, but I want to state that there is a nice red trimmer next to it, and a green scale on the other side. So far, the various colors seem to be working well together. So, please. No "blue Kool-Aid" comments.)

I've been really happy with a Dillon 550B for the amount I can turn out in a relatively short time. I don't meet the mfgr's claimed hourly rate, but it is fast enough that I feel I can give reloading 100% attention without feeling like I'm sacrificing something.

And they're not hard to learn to set up, either.

Ifishsum · November 11, 2009, 01:24 AM

My back hurts after an hour or so (chronic problem) so that's about how long my sessions are. I may do a couple sessions in a night though if I can get some rest in between

darkgael · November 11, 2009, 05:56 AM

Progressives - the only way to fly.
My own sessions are rarely more than an hour, and rarely that. The cartridge that I load the most is .45 ACP and I can do 100 rounds, enough for a practice, in a few minutes with a progressive.
Pete

Qtiphky · November 11, 2009, 07:13 AM

I can handle about 1-2 hours and then my ADD kicks in. I usually don't do more than 20-40 rifle rounds in a sitting or 50-100 pistol rounds. I start with the empty brass, lube, size, trim, prime, clean, powder, and then seat bullet. I don't do a whole ton of brass ahead of time due to space constraints so I prep what I load.

CPTMurdoc30 · November 11, 2009, 07:26 AM

I too have the ADD problem. I can load 50 rifle or 500 pistol in about 1 to 1.5 hours give or take. After that I am exhausted and tired so I stop.

Foxbat · November 11, 2009, 07:59 AM

Well, I go through about 800 rounds each week, which means less than one hour of straight loading time per week, or just a few minutes a day.

That is loading time. I don't need more than that. But since I enjoy the equipment and process, I spend considerably more time around it... adjusting... doing test loads, moving stuff around, organizing and just looking at it.

Uncle Billy · November 11, 2009, 08:10 AM

I do them in lots of 50, from deprime to loaded and in the box in the ammo cabinet.

I used to tumble them after depriming, but getting the medium out of the primer pockets was a pain in the butt. Tumbling the empties happens as soon after they've been fired as is practical, and I won't begin reloading them until I'm pretty sure I can complete the job, for 50.

I'm retired so I can pass the time in any fashion I choose; spending a couple of hours at the reloading bench is pleasurable and productive, and infinitely better than cruising cable TV channels looking for something (anything) worth a damn. Like Foxbat said, "But since I enjoy the equipment and process, I spend considerably more time around it... adjusting... doing test loads, moving stuff around, organizing and just looking at it."

Inspector3711 · November 11, 2009, 10:51 AM

I reload for an hour sometimes. Other times I pull "an 8 hour shift". It all depends on motivation and how much needs to be done.

margiesex · November 11, 2009, 11:29 AM

OK - I've had 5 back surgeries over the years - disability and all that - live by the motto "better living through chemistry" - have the day to day responsibility of watching, feeding, cleaning my mother-in-law, etc. so I long for how ever long I can.

I love it - been a fan since 14. Started on the sly - hoping my brother didn't see that I had used his stuff.

I've been known to decap, size, prime 1000's at a sitting. Then tumble a bunch - then primer - Lee auto primer - well over 1000 at a time. Then, seta all the bullets I have and box them all up.

Basically - I'll load until my back screams and the morphine doesn't cut the pain any more and I have to quit!!!!

And, yes, I enjoy loading more than shooting!!!!!!

God bless you all - this Veteran's Day - too many of my friends died in Vietnam and on Godforsaken lands!

Praise God for them - and all of you who served.

Margiesex

And remember: Hug your God and your guns - 'cause he's coming for them both, and soon!

reloader28 · November 11, 2009, 12:28 PM

I like loading every bit as much or more than shooting so I'm in the reloading room every day. Sometimes for only 20 min. If I'm working up a load for a gun, I could be all day. I would say the average is 1 - 1 1/4 hours EVERYDAY, not every session.

jal5 · November 11, 2009, 12:39 PM

I try to do 1.5-2.0 hrs. max per session. Sometimes it is just all case prep in one session, then several days later the actual loading. I have been spending a lot of time just with load development lately so that always takes more time than just reloading 50 or 100 cases with a standard charge. I am using a single stage press and the handprimer by Lee. Priming is almost always done in front of the TV

But the rest of the steps are done at the bench with no/little distractions, sometimes background music.

Joe

Kawabuggy · November 11, 2009, 12:46 PM

I have all of my reloading equipment here at the office. I often reload while at work. Depending on how busy we are at the shop, dictates how much reloading I get done. I generally break the process down in steps and do what I can when I can. It's nice hearing the tumbler running in the background while I'm dealing with customers.

My sessions because of the interruptions are normally 30 minutes max. But I may have 2-3 sessions in a day.

BigJimP · November 11, 2009, 01:13 PM

I use a progressive press - capable of easily turning out 1,000 rounds in an hour - so it doesn't take much time.

But loading time - is quiet time in the shop - so its not a chore either ( but I have used single stage presses for years too - and single stage presses make it a chore for any high volume shooting like a .223 or in handguns ).

Kyo · November 11, 2009, 01:18 PM

depends on how much I shoot. I like to think 30 min for every 50 bullets if I am alone. longer if I am with others.

mongoose33 · November 11, 2009, 01:40 PM

My sessions run 1-2 hours depending. Early on, with my single-stage, I was almost in a race to see how much I could do, especially with the sizing/depriming steps (which don't require a great deal of focused attention).

What I learned is that i was heading toward some sort of repetitive stress injury if I continued that.

So now, I break it up. I might look to load 300-400 rounds, and however long it takes me, it takes me (I have the LNLAP). I'll probably load a couple hundred, then putter around my reloading area doing something else, then come back to finish the other couple hundred.

Field · November 11, 2009, 01:50 PM

oh i wont ever load more than 300 rounds at a time on an LNAP

Quote:

use a progressive press - capable of easily turning out 1,000 rounds in an hour - so it doesn't take much time.

if you got odd things happening like cases tripping, primers not seating and little malfs happening it slows you up quite a bit. i think i might do half or 40% of that number. lol. still alot faster than a single stage though.

i think i might have slightly better results if my press was bolted really really solid to a big thick bench or something like that where the thing doesnt move around whatsoever. i rigged this table up which works pretty good but when working the action i can see that case feeder tub shaking around.

Sidewinder72 · November 11, 2009, 04:46 PM

I don't have a everyday schedule for reloading. I work on brass prep more than loading. Prep work sucks, but it has to be done. I average about 12 hours a week in the shop. It gives me the opportunity to try other bullets. It is just a hobby that can suck you in for life. But I love it.

Foxbat · November 11, 2009, 05:04 PM

Quote:

i think i might have slightly better results if my press was bolted really really solid to a big thick bench or something like that where the thing doesnt move around whatsoever. i rigged this table up which works pretty good but when working the action i can see that case feeder tub shaking around.

Precisely... and that is the reason I anchor all my presses to the floor. Not the bench, which is already anchored, but I put a metal bar under each press. The press mounting screw goes into the threaded hole in the bar, and its bottom screws into the anchor in the floor. Makes amazing difference not as much to the process itself, but to your enjoyment from the same.

darkgael · November 11, 2009, 05:07 PM

Quote:

capable of easily turning out 1,000 rounds in an hour

I've gotta get me one of those presses. That's a round every 3.5 seconds steady for 60 min. Gotta be an automated press with a lot of room for cases, heads and primers. Who makes that?
Pete

BigJimP · November 11, 2009, 05:12 PM

I agree with Foxbat - and I rigged up some braces from the case feeder into the wall studs as well ( to keep the case feeder on top of my Dillon 650 from moving at all ) - and used 4 X 4's to support the corners of my loading bench.

Any flex in your table or workbench is a bad thing ....

Speed capability is one thing / but you need the quality there or speed is irrelevent.

Winterhawk56 · November 11, 2009, 05:38 PM

I guess this is my relaxing time and I normally spend about 2 to 4 hours at a time. Their is alway something in various stages of reloading from cases cleaned needing triming, cases cleaned with new primers and expanded ready for reloading and cases in the cleaner.

Being this is my time and I enjoy it so much the time is of no consequence to me. Although I have been scolded by the wife when she does not see me most of the day and complains about the mancave (garage)!

medalguy · November 11, 2009, 11:10 PM

I have several Dillons always set up in my common calibers so I can walk in and load whatever I need/want to load without having to change over a press. So I generally load up about 1,000 primers in tubes and that is what I load at one setting, usually about an hour or so. Then I prep another batch of brass and go out and do something else to get the cobwebs out before I sit down to another batch. In the winter sometines I will load several batches of 1,000 at one time.

Lately I've been sending a lot of my military brass out to Custom Brass Processing and letting him process the once fired military brass the first go-around. Saves more time for loadaing.

November 11, 2009, 12:22 AM	#1
troy_mclure Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 2008 Location: gulf of mexico Posts: 2,716	how long are your sessions? how long are your standard reloading sessions? i just seized/deprimed 2213 .32acp with a single stage press. took me 4 1hr TV shows, and an hour for dinner. much too long. now i have to expand them all. __________________ There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time."

November 11, 2009, 12:47 AM	#3
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	Sound's like you're learning what progressive presses are for? You'd probably begrudge the process your time less if 2213 completed cartridges had resulted from the investment rather than just decapped and sized cases. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

November 11, 2009, 01:15 AM	#4
dmazur Senior Member Join Date: July 5, 2007 Location: Pacific NW Posts: 1,310	I realize you weren't throwing powder charges while watching TV... Nevertheless, if the time involved is hurting you, you might consider a progressive. Especially for pistol, which can be done with very little case prep. (Request -- I'm going to mention a press color, but I want to state that there is a nice red trimmer next to it, and a green scale on the other side. So far, the various colors seem to be working well together. So, please. No "blue Kool-Aid" comments.) I've been really happy with a Dillon 550B for the amount I can turn out in a relatively short time. I don't meet the mfgr's claimed hourly rate, but it is fast enough that I feel I can give reloading 100% attention without feeling like I'm sacrificing something. And they're not hard to learn to set up, either. __________________ .30-06 Springfield: 100 yrs + and still going strong

November 11, 2009, 05:56 AM	#6
darkgael Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2006 Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania. Posts: 5,473	sessions Progressives - the only way to fly. My own sessions are rarely more than an hour, and rarely that. The cartridge that I load the most is .45 ACP and I can do 100 rounds, enough for a practice, in a few minutes with a progressive. Pete __________________ “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ... NRA Life Member

November 11, 2009, 07:13 AM	#7
Qtiphky Senior Member Join Date: December 11, 2008 Location: Upper Michigan, above the Mackinac Bridge Posts: 568	1-2 Hours I can handle about 1-2 hours and then my ADD kicks in. I usually don't do more than 20-40 rifle rounds in a sitting or 50-100 pistol rounds. I start with the empty brass, lube, size, trim, prime, clean, powder, and then seat bullet. I don't do a whole ton of brass ahead of time due to space constraints so I prep what I load.

November 11, 2009, 12:33 AM	#2
Christchild Senior Member Join Date: June 19, 2009 Location: Loadbenchville, Bolt 02770 Posts: 544	I try to keep REloading down to 1-2 hours, but Case Prep....... I've had Case Prep last upwards of 6-8 hours or better, but NOT in one sitting. 2-3 hours in a sitting is about all I can manage. I've got to put it down and take a breather after so long...ReGroup.

November 11, 2009, 01:24 AM	#5
Ifishsum Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: Oregon Posts: 1,033	My back hurts after an hour or so (chronic problem) so that's about how long my sessions are. I may do a couple sessions in a night though if I can get some rest in between

November 11, 2009, 07:26 AM	#8
CPTMurdoc30 Senior Member Join Date: February 27, 2008 Location: Stafford VA Posts: 969	I too have the ADD problem. I can load 50 rifle or 500 pistol in about 1 to 1.5 hours give or take. After that I am exhausted and tired so I stop. __________________ Solving Virginia's Ground Hog problems 50gr at a time.....

November 11, 2009, 07:59 AM	#9
Foxbat Senior Member Join Date: January 13, 2008 Posts: 367	Well, I go through about 800 rounds each week, which means less than one hour of straight loading time per week, or just a few minutes a day. That is loading time. I don't need more than that. But since I enjoy the equipment and process, I spend considerably more time around it... adjusting... doing test loads, moving stuff around, organizing and just looking at it.

November 11, 2009, 08:10 AM	#10
Uncle Billy Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2009 Location: Small city in New York Posts: 482	I do them in lots of 50, from deprime to loaded and in the box in the ammo cabinet. I used to tumble them after depriming, but getting the medium out of the primer pockets was a pain in the butt. Tumbling the empties happens as soon after they've been fired as is practical, and I won't begin reloading them until I'm pretty sure I can complete the job, for 50. I'm retired so I can pass the time in any fashion I choose; spending a couple of hours at the reloading bench is pleasurable and productive, and infinitely better than cruising cable TV channels looking for something (anything) worth a damn. Like Foxbat said, "But since I enjoy the equipment and process, I spend considerably more time around it... adjusting... doing test loads, moving stuff around, organizing and just looking at it." __________________ Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?

November 11, 2009, 10:51 AM	#11
Inspector3711 Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2008 Location: Puget Sound Washington Posts: 1,553	I reload for an hour sometimes. Other times I pull "an 8 hour shift". It all depends on motivation and how much needs to be done. __________________ "If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." The Dalai Llama (5/15/01, The Seattle Times) "That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there." George Orwell

November 11, 2009, 11:29 AM	#12
margiesex Senior Member Join Date: June 5, 2009 Location: Levittown, PA Posts: 210	However long I can!!! OK - I've had 5 back surgeries over the years - disability and all that - live by the motto "better living through chemistry" - have the day to day responsibility of watching, feeding, cleaning my mother-in-law, etc. so I long for how ever long I can. I love it - been a fan since 14. Started on the sly - hoping my brother didn't see that I had used his stuff. I've been known to decap, size, prime 1000's at a sitting. Then tumble a bunch - then primer - Lee auto primer - well over 1000 at a time. Then, seta all the bullets I have and box them all up. Basically - I'll load until my back screams and the morphine doesn't cut the pain any more and I have to quit!!!! And, yes, I enjoy loading more than shooting!!!!!! God bless you all - this Veteran's Day - too many of my friends died in Vietnam and on Godforsaken lands! Praise God for them - and all of you who served. Margiesex And remember: Hug your God and your guns - 'cause he's coming for them both, and soon! Last edited by Shane Tuttle; November 12, 2009 at 10:08 PM.

November 11, 2009, 12:28 PM	#13
reloader28 Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2009 Location: nw wyoming Posts: 1,061	I like loading every bit as much or more than shooting so I'm in the reloading room every day. Sometimes for only 20 min. If I'm working up a load for a gun, I could be all day. I would say the average is 1 - 1 1/4 hours EVERYDAY, not every session.

November 11, 2009, 12:39 PM	#14
jal5 Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2009 Location: NE Ohio Posts: 419	I try to do 1.5-2.0 hrs. max per session. Sometimes it is just all case prep in one session, then several days later the actual loading. I have been spending a lot of time just with load development lately so that always takes more time than just reloading 50 or 100 cases with a standard charge. I am using a single stage press and the handprimer by Lee. Priming is almost always done in front of the TV But the rest of the steps are done at the bench with no/little distractions, sometimes background music. Joe __________________ We live in the greatest country on Earth- always be thankful!

November 11, 2009, 12:46 PM	#15
Kawabuggy Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2008 Posts: 224	I have all of my reloading equipment here at the office. I often reload while at work. Depending on how busy we are at the shop, dictates how much reloading I get done. I generally break the process down in steps and do what I can when I can. It's nice hearing the tumbler running in the background while I'm dealing with customers. My sessions because of the interruptions are normally 30 minutes max. But I may have 2-3 sessions in a day.

November 11, 2009, 01:13 PM	#16
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	I use a progressive press - capable of easily turning out 1,000 rounds in an hour - so it doesn't take much time. But loading time - is quiet time in the shop - so its not a chore either ( but I have used single stage presses for years too - and single stage presses make it a chore for any high volume shooting like a .223 or in handguns ).

November 11, 2009, 01:18 PM	#17
Kyo Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2009 Posts: 897	depends on how much I shoot. I like to think 30 min for every 50 bullets if I am alone. longer if I am with others. __________________ 1. The gun is *always* loaded. 2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. 3. Keep your finger off the trigger unless you are ready to shoot. 4. Be be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

November 11, 2009, 01:40 PM	#18
mongoose33 Senior Member Join Date: June 23, 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 228	My sessions run 1-2 hours depending. Early on, with my single-stage, I was almost in a race to see how much I could do, especially with the sizing/depriming steps (which don't require a great deal of focused attention). What I learned is that i was heading toward some sort of repetitive stress injury if I continued that. So now, I break it up. I might look to load 300-400 rounds, and however long it takes me, it takes me (I have the LNLAP). I'll probably load a couple hundred, then putter around my reloading area doing something else, then come back to finish the other couple hundred.

November 11, 2009, 04:46 PM	#20
Sidewinder72 Senior Member Join Date: November 25, 2008 Location: Kansas Posts: 130	I don't have a everyday schedule for reloading. I work on brass prep more than loading. Prep work sucks, but it has to be done. I average about 12 hours a week in the shop. It gives me the opportunity to try other bullets. It is just a hobby that can suck you in for life. But I love it.

November 11, 2009, 05:12 PM	#23
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	I agree with Foxbat - and I rigged up some braces from the case feeder into the wall studs as well ( to keep the case feeder on top of my Dillon 650 from moving at all ) - and used 4 X 4's to support the corners of my loading bench. Any flex in your table or workbench is a bad thing .... Speed capability is one thing / but you need the quality there or speed is irrelevent.

November 11, 2009, 05:38 PM	#24
Winterhawk56 Senior Member Join Date: March 9, 2008 Location: Southern California Posts: 228	I guess this is my relaxing time and I normally spend about 2 to 4 hours at a time. Their is alway something in various stages of reloading from cases cleaned needing triming, cases cleaned with new primers and expanded ready for reloading and cases in the cleaner. Being this is my time and I enjoy it so much the time is of no consequence to me. Although I have been scolded by the wife when she does not see me most of the day and complains about the mancave (garage)! Last edited by Winterhawk56; November 11, 2009 at 05:55 PM.

November 11, 2009, 11:10 PM	#25
medalguy Senior Member Join Date: August 31, 2009 Location: New Mexico Posts: 1,033	I have several Dillons always set up in my common calibers so I can walk in and load whatever I need/want to load without having to change over a press. So I generally load up about 1,000 primers in tubes and that is what I load at one setting, usually about an hour or so. Then I prep another batch of brass and go out and do something else to get the cobwebs out before I sit down to another batch. In the winter sometines I will load several batches of 1,000 at one time. Lately I've been sending a lot of my military brass out to Custom Brass Processing and letting him process the once fired military brass the first go-around. Saves more time for loadaing.