So I'm sizing a 3 gal bucket of .38 Spec cases...

Poodleshooter · January 25, 2011, 02:24 PM

...on a single stage Classic Cast, and it occurs to me that this tedium would be much relieved by a novelty press cover that turns my press into a fake slot machine.
Insert brass, pull handle, reel spins, shows fruit, spits out sized case(s). Winner!

Nevmavrick · January 25, 2011, 03:02 PM

Just a thought, but anything that would take your attention away is a bad thing.
What you might do is to split the job into sections, ie size 100-200 cases and throw 'em into the polisher, then size 100-200 more and set them in a ...shoebox? maybe, then size 100-200 MORE, THEN take the 1st group from the polisher, insert the second, bell the first group, and continue overlapping as you go....
This way you don't have a BUNCH of one thing to do, to get so tedious. AND, as you go along, you'll end up with a group that are ready to be loaded, whenever you want. You're not likely to need to shoot 1k-2k at a time...are you?
Have fun,
Gene

rdmallory · January 25, 2011, 03:07 PM

Ya think that is boring. I am working on doing the same thing to a 5gal bucket of 9mm. You have any idea how many rounds are in a 5 gal bucket?

8k+ or 32,000 pulls on a turret press...

Going to have to order some more primers....

Doug

Poodleshooter · January 25, 2011, 04:40 PM

I can size .38 in my sleep. I'll check them more carefully when priming. I think I can count on one hand how many .38s I've ever had to dispose of. I don't load 'em like old 38/44s,which helps with brass life.

8k Doug? I thought I was getting tennis elbow!

I still want my slot machine cover.

howlnmad · January 25, 2011, 06:51 PM

That's what I really love about having grandkids.

700cdl · January 27, 2011, 02:11 AM

I can't fathom doing that many 9mms. I recently resized about 1500 of them and it felt like I would never get to the end. The biggest issue is the 9mm case it finicky about feeding into a Lee sizing die, especially with a Hornady shell holder. I actually don't mind doing revolver brass as much as the smaller shorter auto loader brass.

Jim243 · January 27, 2011, 02:38 AM

Hey, quit complaining. I have 1,000 .223 cases to trim, they have been cleaned and resized now I have to trim them. I am really thinking about getting an electric trimmer (big bucks for me).

I'll resize your cases if you trim mine!.

Jim

chris in va · January 27, 2011, 03:18 AM

Quote:

Hey, quit complaining. I have 1,000 .223 cases to trim, they have been cleaned and resized now I have to trim them.

Ouch. I hate trimming.

Quote:

I am really thinking about getting an electric trimmer (big bucks for me).

You tried using an electric drill yet?

Try doing all that stuff on a Lee Hand Press. At least I get to watch Sons of Guns while doing it.

Dr. Strangelove · January 27, 2011, 04:02 AM

I load single stage, and like it that way, but I've often thought if I could automate the deprime/resize, and bell process for pistol cartridges, I'd love it!

Wiskey_33 · January 27, 2011, 08:00 AM

Yea, I do all mine on an RSBC single stage.

Did about 200 44's last night. I thought it was funny when the clink,clank, tink, tank started making a beat in my head.

Kinda like the opening part to Pink Floyd's "Money".

rdmallory · January 27, 2011, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Try doing all that stuff on a Lee Hand Press. At least I get to watch Sons of Guns while doing it

I do mine is stages, like eating an elephant.

1. Size and de-prime about 1,000 cases.
2. Sit in front TV and prime with hand primer while watching Myth Busters the 1,000 cases.
3. Load 1,000 cases.
4. Check supplies and reorder or go back to step one.

I am not getting in any hurry because these are not saving me much money. With my brass it costs me about $6 a box to reload and now 9mm is down to $9 a box at WalMart. And if I subtract the price I could get for my brass it would bring the cost even lower.

Primers $30
Bullets $80
Powder $15
Brass $25 (price if sold)

Price per 1k $150
Price per box $7.50

So I am saving about $1.50 a box over the WalMart ammo. It takes me about 2 hours to clean and load 1000 rounds.

Guess I should not of added this up.....

Anyone need some 9mm brass???

DiscoRacing · January 27, 2011, 08:32 AM

mallory...

... if you figure the cost with considering that you can use the brass more than once tho... i figured mine with reusing like five or six times and it really changes the price per box.

but its true... ya cant save as much on the smaller calibers... but when you get to 45acp,44mag,500mag, 460mag....then you can really see the savings.

spacecoast · January 27, 2011, 08:44 AM

The savings can be as high as 75% for .380, although that is an exception due to the high price of the ammo on the shelves.

jmorris · January 27, 2011, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Ya think that is boring. I am working on doing the same thing to a 5gal bucket of 9mm. You have any idea how many rounds are in a 5 gal bucket?

About 8500-9000

If you would like to know how many rounds of brass you have lying around, as I did, you can use the information below. If anyone wants to count them out to see how close my calculations are let me know what you find out.

9mm, 59.46gr/ea, 117.7cases/#, 8.5#/1000

38spl, 68.06gr/ea, 102.8cases/#, 9.7#/1000

40s&w, 70.1gr/ea, 99.9cases/#, 10#/1000

.357mag, 78.3gr/ea, 89.4cases/#, 11.2#/1000

.45acp, 89.58gr/ea, 78.1cases/#, 12.8#/1000

.223, 95.28gr/ea , 73.5cases/#, 13.6#/1000

.44mag, 114.38gr/ea, 61.2cases/#, 16.3#/1000

50bmg, 865.26gr/ea, 8.1cases/#, 123.5#/1000

All weights are uncleaned fired cases with the primer remaining.

Individual case weights were derived using an average of mixed brass weights (except 50bmg)

So, if you picked up 8#s of 45 brass: 8# X 78.1cases/# = 625 cases+/-

If you use 1gal ziploc freezer bags to store your brass, each (full) bag contains:

9mm, 15.6#, 1836cases

40s&w, 12.2#, 1219cases

45acp, 11.4#, 890cases

223, 11#, 809cases

If you use 5gal buckets each full one will have

9MM = 8500-9000 pieces

.40 S&W = 7000-7500 pieces

.45 ACP = 3800-4000 pieces

a few more

CASES per POUND:

.380: 145

.357 Sig: 96

.45 GAP: 86

.32: 168

10mm: 96

FN 5.7: 124

.25 acp: 260

.30 Luger: 120

.38 S&W: 120

.38 Super: 104

9mm MAK: 124

.45 Colt: 60

.30-M1: 100

.308: 40

.30-06: 35

7.62x39: 54

.50 AE: 48

.30-30: 52

Quote:

Hey, quit complaining. I have 1,000 .223 cases to trim, they have been cleaned and resized now I have to trim them.

With a progressive and Dillon trimmer it takes an hour to size/deprime and trim 1800 cases.

armoredman · January 27, 2011, 09:07 AM

I deprime/resize on a single stage RCBS press that just turned 30 years old.

I also trim and chamfer with the Lee hand tools - 50 rounds at a time and my hands are done. No, I don't have a drill, I'll; get one someday. My concession to modernizing is I bought the RCBS universal hand priming tool, instead of using the press arm. That speeds things up a bit. Last night I started with tumbled brass, resizing to putting the loaded rounds away, and not counting interruptions, probably took 1.5 hours for 100 rounds. I enjoyed it, though - it's a productive hobby, not a job.
You want to send me 9mm brass, mallroy? I have a bunch but I'll always take more. A guy once sent me 32 pounds of 9mm brass - took me about 3 months just to sort it all. Finally finished using all of it at least once about 2 years later - I am what you might call a "low volume" loader.

BTW, I can load 9mm a LOT cheaper than WalMart, since I cast my own bullets too. That's a cheap secondary hobby, really.

rdmallory · January 27, 2011, 09:09 AM

Quote:

The savings can be as high as 75% for .380, although that is an exception due to the high price of the ammo on the shelves

Yes but the .380 brass is very hard to come by. I purchased 400# of range brass last year and only managed to get 2000 .380 cases out of it.

New brass when you can find it is $13 for 100. Used is going for about $75 a thousand.

But .380 is still about $14 a box so there is some savings.

45acp. 22-250, 45-70 and 5.7x28 is where I save the most money.

Doug

DiscoRacing · January 27, 2011, 09:10 AM

Quote:

I can load 9mm a LOT cheaper than WalMart, since I cast my own bullets too. That's a cheap secondary hobby, really

No kiddn there..

I can load mine(if I use the brass six times) for $4.25 a box.

Clark · January 27, 2011, 12:36 PM

I processed 7 gallons of 223 brass.

I set up a reloading station in front of the TV in the living room.

These days, we watch TV on our computers, and I set up a press in front of my keyboard.

Poodleshooter · January 27, 2011, 01:27 PM

Ugh.
.223 brass used to be terrible for case prep. Thank goodness for the X-die. I don't plan to trim .223 more than once from now on.
Luckily the rest of my cartridges are for use in bolt actions, so I can neck size them, or I simply don't shoot them in enough volume to care one way or another.

FWIW, I actually found a split .38 Special case last night while belling. I think that's the first .38 that I've ever split. It was nickel of course...

January 25, 2011, 02:24 PM	#1
Poodleshooter Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2000 Location: Floating down the James River in VA Posts: 2,599	So I'm sizing a 3 gal bucket of .38 Spec cases... ...on a single stage Classic Cast, and it occurs to me that this tedium would be much relieved by a novelty press cover that turns my press into a fake slot machine. Insert brass, pull handle, reel spins, shows fruit, spits out sized case(s). Winner!

January 27, 2011, 02:38 AM	#7
Jim243 Senior Member Join Date: January 5, 2009 Location: Just off Route 66 Posts: 5,067	Hey, quit complaining. I have 1,000 .223 cases to trim, they have been cleaned and resized now I have to trim them. I am really thinking about getting an electric trimmer (big bucks for me). I'll resize your cases if you trim mine!. Jim __________________ Si vis pacem, para bellum

January 27, 2011, 08:00 AM	#10
Wiskey_33 Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2007 Location: The South Posts: 1,084	Yea, I do all mine on an RSBC single stage. Did about 200 44's last night. I thought it was funny when the clink,clank, tink, tank started making a beat in my head. Kinda like the opening part to Pink Floyd's "Money". __________________ "I don't like repeat offenders, I like dead offenders"-Uncle Ted

January 27, 2011, 08:32 AM	#12
DiscoRacing Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2008 Location: milton, wv Posts: 3,640	mallory... ... if you figure the cost with considering that you can use the brass more than once tho... i figured mine with reusing like five or six times and it really changes the price per box. but its true... ya cant save as much on the smaller calibers... but when you get to 45acp,44mag,500mag, 460mag....then you can really see the savings. __________________ Desert Eagle Alliance Group Launcher Extraordinaire ______ ----Get Busy Live'n.....Or....Get Busy Die'n......Red -------They call me Dr. Bob,,,, I have a PhD in S&W

January 25, 2011, 03:02 PM	#2
Nevmavrick Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2010 Location: Sparks, Nevada, near Reno Posts: 183	Just a thought, but anything that would take your attention away is a bad thing. What you might do is to split the job into sections, ie size 100-200 cases and throw 'em into the polisher, then size 100-200 more and set them in a ...shoebox? maybe, then size 100-200 MORE, THEN take the 1st group from the polisher, insert the second, bell the first group, and continue overlapping as you go.... This way you don't have a BUNCH of one thing to do, to get so tedious. AND, as you go along, you'll end up with a group that are ready to be loaded, whenever you want. You're not likely to need to shoot 1k-2k at a time...are you? Have fun, Gene

January 25, 2011, 03:07 PM	#3
rdmallory Senior Member Join Date: February 10, 2009 Location: Deltona FL Posts: 953	Ya think that is boring. I am working on doing the same thing to a 5gal bucket of 9mm. You have any idea how many rounds are in a 5 gal bucket? 8k+ or 32,000 pulls on a turret press... Going to have to order some more primers.... Doug

January 25, 2011, 04:40 PM	#4
Poodleshooter Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2000 Location: Floating down the James River in VA Posts: 2,599	I can size .38 in my sleep. I'll check them more carefully when priming. I think I can count on one hand how many .38s I've ever had to dispose of. I don't load 'em like old 38/44s,which helps with brass life. 8k Doug? I thought I was getting tennis elbow! I still want my slot machine cover.

January 25, 2011, 06:51 PM	#5
howlnmad Senior Member Join Date: April 29, 2009 Location: Harriman Tn Posts: 424	That's what I really love about having grandkids.

January 27, 2011, 02:11 AM	#6
700cdl Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2010 Posts: 216	I can't fathom doing that many 9mms. I recently resized about 1500 of them and it felt like I would never get to the end. The biggest issue is the 9mm case it finicky about feeding into a Lee sizing die, especially with a Hornady shell holder. I actually don't mind doing revolver brass as much as the smaller shorter auto loader brass.

January 27, 2011, 04:02 AM	#9
Dr. Strangelove Senior Member Join Date: August 1, 2008 Location: Athens, GA Posts: 1,436	I load single stage, and like it that way, but I've often thought if I could automate the deprime/resize, and bell process for pistol cartridges, I'd love it!

January 27, 2011, 08:44 AM	#13
spacecoast Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2009 Location: Sunshine and Keystone States Posts: 4,461	The savings can be as high as 75% for .380, although that is an exception due to the high price of the ammo on the shelves.

January 27, 2011, 09:07 AM	#15
armoredman Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 5,299	I deprime/resize on a single stage RCBS press that just turned 30 years old. I also trim and chamfer with the Lee hand tools - 50 rounds at a time and my hands are done. No, I don't have a drill, I'll; get one someday. My concession to modernizing is I bought the RCBS universal hand priming tool, instead of using the press arm. That speeds things up a bit. Last night I started with tumbled brass, resizing to putting the loaded rounds away, and not counting interruptions, probably took 1.5 hours for 100 rounds. I enjoyed it, though - it's a productive hobby, not a job. You want to send me 9mm brass, mallroy? I have a bunch but I'll always take more. A guy once sent me 32 pounds of 9mm brass - took me about 3 months just to sort it all. Finally finished using all of it at least once about 2 years later - I am what you might call a "low volume" loader. BTW, I can load 9mm a LOT cheaper than WalMart, since I cast my own bullets too. That's a cheap secondary hobby, really.

January 27, 2011, 12:36 PM	#18
Clark Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 1999 Location: WA, the ever blue state Posts: 4,678	I processed 7 gallons of 223 brass. I set up a reloading station in front of the TV in the living room. These days, we watch TV on our computers, and I set up a press in front of my keyboard.

January 27, 2011, 01:27 PM	#19
Poodleshooter Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2000 Location: Floating down the James River in VA Posts: 2,599	Ugh. .223 brass used to be terrible for case prep. Thank goodness for the X-die. I don't plan to trim .223 more than once from now on. Luckily the rest of my cartridges are for use in bolt actions, so I can neck size them, or I simply don't shoot them in enough volume to care one way or another. FWIW, I actually found a split .38 Special case last night while belling. I think that's the first .38 that I've ever split. It was nickel of course...