Best Ideas to Make Reloading Safer and Simpler?

[6MMsteve]

I put the powder jug on my bench that I’m using. Once I’m done with that powder, I put it back in the jug and then back on the shelf. Didn’t do that one time and wasn’t 100% sure what powder it was. Had to throw it out. Lesson learned.

that's what I do, after I dumped powder in the wrong jug yrs ago

 

[HardwoodPro]

Sticky note on hand primer tool saying what primers are in the hopper. Powder can beside thrower to show what powder is in hopper.

1 powder at a time on bench. Added a tube style LED light right over the bench so I can easily see if cases are overcharged or missed charging.

I try to work brass in large stages when possible to limit the need to multitask. I had to trim 1700pcs of dasher brass a couple months ago. That wasn’t fun but on the bright side I don’t need to trim for a while!

Post it notes in cardboard boxes with brass in various stages. Labeled “annealed, need to size” or “trimmed, ready to prime” helps a lot when you have a lot of brass and gaps in time available to loading room.

Notes per barrel, caliber, rifle, round count, etc on data are vital. I have an excellent memory but no need to rely on it when a simple note will be on paper forever!

 

[foxguy]

I strongly suggest-Perform reloading when you won't be interrupted.

Whatever I'm doing, I do it to all cases so that every case has had the same reloading step completed before going onto the next step. (In my case it's 50 cases).


Reloading Steps, after returning from Shooting.

Case Preparation.

Measure the Case Length to insure it's with in Spec's- if you find a few that are out if spec, it's best to trim all 50 to the same Trim Length, chamfer and debur the case.

1. I clean off every case's neck of the carbon/powder fowling (all 50 cases completed). I use 0000 Steel wool to clean all powder/carbon fouling. Wrapping a small piece of the steel wool around the case's neck/shoulder and twist the case until the powder/carbon fouling is removed.

2. I lubricate the case, Size and De-prime, then I wipe all of the lubrication off of the case- for me it's- 1 at a time. (I do this to each of the 50 cases until all have been sized and de-primed).

3. I clean the primer pockets and brush the inside of the case neck, (I combine these prep steps because I'm handling the case and feel it's a good time to complete both operations).



The Cases are now ready for Reloading.

Identify the Load you wish to Reload.
Select the primers, the Powder and the bullets you are going to use. Get them out. Verify this with your Load Data.

When I select powder, it will be the only powder I will have on my reloading bench. This is done so that I know I have the correct powder on the bench only having one powder on the bench. There has been more than one rifle blown up because the wrong powder was used, even by an experienced reloader.
I cannot emphasize enough, verify your powder selection for your safety!

1. I Prime all 50 cases. 1 at a time placing the primed case in the reloading block. I verify all have been primed before going to the next step.

2. I verify my powder scale is calibrated - the 50 cases are sitting in the reloading block, I drop and weigh check the powder charge for each before dropping into the case. When the 50 cases are completed, I verify the 50 cases have powder in them.

3. I place a powder charged case in the press and I seat the selected Bullet to the desired seating depth and place into my 50 round bullet storage case. After all 50 have been completed I record all of my reloading information and place into my 50 round bullet storage case with the now loaded rounds.

There are several ways of doing reloading, this is just the way I do it, trying to have safe reloads that will go bang when i pull the trigger.

Good luck - be safe.


I don't hunt anymore, but I do enjoy shooting some local competitions.

 

[D-4297]

You're old school. Most music is on phones these days.

Can't get the "tones" or quality from a phone to hear all the beautiful notes the Lady sings on a phone . I have every CD the Lady ever made . Even the ones in French .

 

[bobcat93]

What a brilliant topic that can never get enough discussion..
This is where the roads of reloading branch all over the map..
Use your heads!..this is no place to be stupid lazy careless sketchy sleepy drunk high..questioning your decisions ..
First thing i do when I sit down at my reloading bench is pull my head out of my ass if you want the gut level truth.
My days and weeks blur together like a skidmark life is moving so fast..
Reloading gives me the ability to stop..focus and meditate on the perfection on one task.
Slow it all down..basic building blocks and extreme consistency one process mirrors the last and so on...its like a slow dance...very romantic if I say so my self..
Always remember what works for me may kill you..what works for you..may kill me..
Just because it's different doesn't make it wrong..
Just like life you find what works best (for you)..
Then shut up and keep going untill you made it into an art form..a thing of beauty...
Great topic...you can do what ever the hell you want when it comes to reloading..the sky is the limit..providing 2-3 reloading manuals say its ok before you do it....hahahaha
That is my guard rails- boundaries with in reloading to keep my beautiful face and hands just how Momma made them
I ( never..ever) venture out side of the reloading manuals information or procedures with out first doing a lot more home work..then proced at own risk...
You gonna travel off the res. Don't bring your buddy along..you go alone when you pull that trigger...your load..your cheek on the rifle..
That has kept me safe..and aging like fine wine..
God bless and safe shooting friends

 

[JMayo]

My biggest deal is powder. Only one powder out at a time.
Pistol reloading is more prone to error imo. Check Every round.
Doing things the same way every time cuts down on the work process.

When i first started i had the steps written down and I'd check them off.
Now it's "just the way i do it"

 

[Rocketvapor]

Want to be totally anal about it?
For 600yd load development, practice and matches,
Brass, presorted to +/- 0.5gr,
Primers sorted,
Bullets measured and sorted,
Total cartridge weight checked (not for plain ol trigger time rounds),
Rounds in pic:
Cases 125 +/- 0.5gr,
Berger 85.5, 85.4 to 85.6,
Primers 3.68-3.70gr
Charge 31.35 +/- 0.05gr (very conservative estimate),
Total cartridge weight ends up +/- 0.4gr.
For the wife's 600yd load we have found 31.3- 31.4 gave best results.
Have to pinch out a little (about 4 granules of SB 6.5), too much powder.

This one goes in the "light" bin,


Lightest cartridge for this trip.

Hoping for NO 8's, and more 10's than 9's.

 

[R.Morehouse]

When I prime the brass I put it back in the loading block primer end up.

Regards
Rick

 

[natdscott]

I keep a separate bottle for every powder, cut off one of the labels from the jug, and stick it to said bottle.

 

[Cecil S.]

What free tv? I’m tired of paying $100+ for satellite. It just keeps going up and up. About ready to ditch them. Heck, I haven’t watched local news in 3 years.

Nothing is free today.

 

[kiwijohn]

I pre prime the brass and store it in sealed containers . When I add powder, I use a funnel on a stand.
Powder filled cases go into loading tray directly from the storage box via the funnel. No cases without Powder are allowed in the loading block ever.
From the tray a visual Powder inspection, bullet on top and under the arbor

 

[Tesoro]

When you anneal double check to make sure you dont have any cases with live primers! ( dont ask me why I know this)

 

[searcher]

The thing that is going to most often be a safety issue is not filling a case and getting a bullet stuck in the bore. I don't worry about overcharging a case (unless it was done to see new heights) as I have a good dispenser and I weigh each charge. But before I seat those bullets - I look over each row of filled cases with a small LED flashlight that is on the bench at all times. I went decades without a squib (was in a handgun loaded on a progressive before they had powder indicators) and I just spotted an empty rifle case yesterday. Made all those checks worthwhile. I dropped the funnel and put it on the next case in line, skipping one.

 

[Rocketvapor]

I pick up a case (primer up) from block, hold case and funnel, pour in powder, pinch up or down to get to target weight, insert bullet, and seat.

 

[Fairchaser]

One operation at a time with that operation face up. When you try to drop powder, insert bullet and seat, it’s easy to miss one. Instead, drop powder in all cases, inspect, place bullets, then seat all bullets.

 

[MSS]

One powder at a time.
A flashlight for powder before seating checks. Even on my Dillon.
For non Dillon loading, I batch things one action at a time. So 50 sizing, 50 priming and so on and so forth.

 

[Rocketvapor]

With all your cases charged and in the loading block, one mistake, bump a case spill a little, contaminate all nearby cases with a little spilled powder.

Here's my charging process, 9 pictures, pointed security cam to reloading area, low resolution to save bandwidth.
Charge, cap, seat, next. The goal for this batch is enough for a sight-in/practice session and 60+sighters for a 3 X 20 match. 22 Nosgar, 31.35gr SB 6.5, WIN 41, 85.5 Berger, CBTO 1.910".

Pic 1: starting with scale zeroed, seating die set to desired CBTO.
Pic 2: pick empty from block
Pic 3: dump charge from Lyman Gen 5, add/subtract to get target wt. 31.35gr.
Pic 4: funnel over case
Pic 5: dump powder into case
Pic 6: visual of charge
Pic 7: immediately cap case with bullet
Pic 8: seat bullet, and into block
Pic 9: start over, empties primer up, charged have pointy end up.
Load some, take a break if necessary, all cases are either empty with primer up, or charged/seated.


I need to be finished today, match tomorrow. Stopped at 80 rounds loaded.
This is my Pinch Up/Down method. Hard to see but Dispenser reads 31.3gr.
Just happened to be pretty close this time.

 

[Subrosa]

Avoiding distraction for me is key. I tend to do things like prep brass in stages, so I always leave a note where I left off. I also avoid long sessions so my attention to detail stays fresh.

I only keep the powder container of the powder in my dispenser/ trickler on my bench. For the Dillon progressive, I label it with blue tape and sharpie since the load seldom changes.

If you load on a Dillon long enough (or other progressive) you may experience a primer detonation in the vertical primer feed tube; they are designed to absorb this, but I have made a habit of wearing eye and ear protection when running the Dillon and it helps avoid distraction also.

When I was beginning reloading, I double charged a .45 for a 1911; thankfully it was a supported barrel and no damage was sustained. Since then, I visually inspect cases after priming and charging to avoid powder variation.

 

[marchx]

1. I double check my powder charge by RCBS Chargemaster on a second-more precise- scale.
2. I after throwing in the powder I seat the bullet, I measure my CBTO of every finished round.
3. I double check the CBTO of every round before a match for consistency.

 

[Downeast]

I generally spend about an hour in a reloading session. Once it becomes "work" I quit. I have 100 once fired cartridges sitting in an ammo box on the bench right now. This is a likely scenario.
1. Check brass and pop out primers, usually on all 100. Place in one of those chinese take out plastic bins. They work great for sorting stuff. Quit and go enjoy life.
2. Next day, play around with annealing. Quit and go enjoy life.
3. Next day, size brass. Quit and go enjoy life.
3. Next day, trim brass, check it again, wipe off. Quit and go enjoy life.
4. Next day, complete brass prep. Seat primers. Quit and go enjoy life.
5. Next day, decide whether to load brass or put it away. One of the simple joys in life is finding a 100 rounds of prepped and primed brass on a shelf that you forgot about.
6. Next day, If I decide to load I pull out the appropriate powder and place it on the bench. No other powder in sight. Decide in my mind to load 10 rounds and quit. Pour powder charge by hand one at a time and weigh, then seat bullet, place loaded round back into ammo box which has all of the load info on a sticker, including times reloaded.
After loading 10 rounds I decide whether I feel like doing another 10. If so, I load them one at a time. If not, I pour the powder back into the bottle, quit and enjoy life.

Sometimes if I'm really in the mood I may, for example, size and trim and seat primers on all 100 cases in one session, or load 40 or 50 cartridges at a time, but those times are rare. It works for me and right now I have several hundred loaded rounds for 4 or 5 calibers sitting on the shelf. And several hundred cases prepped and primed and ready to be loaded. It's a steady almost daily routine of an hour or so in the reloading room at my pace. If I want to quit, I simply get up and leave. It will be there when I get back. I'm not going to be rushed and possibly make a stupid mistake. To me it is enjoyable (and I would say, relaxing) to "piddle around" as my wife would call it, in the reloading room for an hour or so every day or so.

I think most reloading mistakes are caused by folks getting rushed, or loading to the point of getting tired and just want to get it over with. At that point it has become work, not fun. That is easy to fix. Set a goal of only going to load or prep X rounds at a session. If you complete that, then decide whether to move forward or call it quits and go enjoy life. I learned a long time ago that if something is not fun, and there is no money to be made, I try my best not to do it.