Charging and seating at the range, need ideas.

[BowWow]

I have to commute a little bit to test my loads, and in order to save some time, I'm trying to charge and seat at the range. Anyone willing to share some pics of their set up / toolbox/ rig or however you do this. I'm under an open shelter, so I'm thinking about some type of modified toolbox to shield me from the wind for charging. I'm also looking into an arbor press with the die for seating. We have electricity but I might consider some type of battery pack for the Chargemaster Lite.

 

[RegionRat]

I use a K&M arbor press with a Wilson Seater.
I have used many different charge methods over my lifetime, but if you have a Chargemaster and battery pack, those units have a built in windscreen that takes care of the issue.
ETA: the K&M has a force pack option that I use as well. It can help flag a brass prep issue with seating force.

You will be far better off doing this at the range and leaving with confident answers, rather than the need for more round trips.

 

[762plinker]

ya did not say what type of shooting..competition hunting plinking ..what
the lite is good in most applications with a batt pack.
simple seater and press, but will need a small press and a sizer die...fl no neck only
hand priming tool

 

[Bat Rastard]

Buy light stuff.

 

[BowWow]

ya did not say what type of shooting..competition hunting plinking ..what
the lite is good in most applications with a batt pack.
simple seater and press, but will need a small press and a sizer die...fl no neck only
hand priming tool

Just load development only.

 

[JimSC]

I gave up on weighing powder at the range, the wind kicked my tail. I tried various home built boxes and once I set up my RCBS Chargemaster in the men's room. It was way too much hassle for any perceived gains. What I do now is load my ammo for powder charge testing at home then once I find my node I load up 25 or 50 at that node at home, seat the bullets all the way out and just work on seating depth at the range with a Lee single stage mounted to the bench with a clamp.

 

[Shooter13]

I use a chargemaster at the range with a battery pack, set the chargemaster on "manual" so that you can close the lid each time before you hit enter (or whatever) to load the next round. Even with "some" wind works pretty well, if you have it on auto you're screwed. So, chargemaster, battery pack, primed brass, powder, bullets, arbor press, seating die, and measuring tool. Oh, and good luck!

 

[DaveTooley]

PM sent

 

[chop house]

here is what works for me. i have an rcbs uniflow with micrometer adjust that i 'calibrate' at home with the powder i am working with. i keep a notebook of that data with me and carry a cheap electronic scale for a sanity check. i have fastened a swing away mounting plate to the top of an ammo can. the uniflow is carried in a separate case, along with arbor press and measuring tools. i have my brass prepped and carry wilson seater, powder, bullets, etc. inside the can.

of course, this all presumes either ball powder or short cuts like lt-32 or 8208. it gets me enough accuracy (+/- 0.05 grain) to build a ladder and find node endpoints.

 

[JFrank]

Im trying this method to save pulling bullets later, make up my test rounds at home and take pre weighed charges in dram vials and prepped brass.

 

[Rat Rifle]

Im trying this method to save pulling bullets later, make up my test rounds at home and take pre weighed charges in dram vials and prepped brass.

I agree that this is the solution to loading at the range.

 

[JFrank]

I agree that this is the solution to loading at the range.

I’m not smart enough to come up with this alone, blame Jeff @newbieshooter

 

[quest450]

I use 4ML plastic vials with preloaded charges, hand prime prepped cases and seat bullets at the gun range

 

[choprzrul]

Here is my setup: https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/powder-vials.326784/#post-2774052

Just used that method a week ago to find a load for my niece's 7mm RM.

Sinclair arbor press
LE Wilson chamber type seating dies
Lee hand press
Lee factory type crimp die

.

 

[quest450]

Borrowed it from my wifey

 

[OmegaRed]

I bring primed cases, battery pack/chargemaster lite, press/die/caliper. Depends where you're going, but if you're outside I just bring extra cardboard pieces and clamp them to the bench for a wind break. I have a cap on the truck too if I had to.

Some of the bench rest guys have nice acrylic enclosures. I think Bart sells them on his website.

All of my totes are from Home Depot (Husky Brand). They are strong, cheap, stackable. I have 6 different sizes depending on what I'm doing, but you never have to worry about forgetting stuff at home this way.

 

[AlNyhus]

It doesn't need to be real sophisticated to get you loading at the range. Early on, I'd size and prime the cases at home, weigh powder and put it in plastic camera film containers. At the range, a cheap little Lee 'C' style press clamped to the rear bumper of my little Mazda pickup was all that was needed.

Over the years, it's evolved. The tool box contains everything needed to shoot an entire two day, two yardage per day tournament. Home brewed mounting brackets hold the Redding measure or the B&M.

 

[BoydAllen]

Years ago, I came up with this. The first version had a plexiglass front panel but after I discovered that it was building a static charge that influenced the scale, it was replaces by tempered plate glass. These days I would just set my Chargemaster Lite on manual and use the wind shield that comes with it. You can mount a press to a piece of plywood and use C clamps to have a portable press, so that you can load like you do at home. I have fitted my Rock Chucker with a loc-n-load conversion so that I can switch from sizing to seating dies without loosing their settings.

Wind Box Shelters Scales When Reloading at Outdoor Ranges « Daily Bulletin

Shooters who reload at the range, during the course of benchrest matches, or during load development sessions, can benefit from having a portable scale to weigh charges. Even if you throw charges, using click values, a scale allows you to double-check the accuracy of your throws.

bulletin.accurateshooter.com

 

[762plinker]

Just load development only.

for what ???really
just buy a lee loading tool nd use their powder scoop

 

[BowWow]

Man you guys are creative!

I'm 100% with you on prepared brass. I'm doing all the brass prep and priming at home. I just want the ability to change my charge and seating depth while I'm there. When starting out with a new component, I err on the side of caution by starting with a light charge. If I had the ability to do this at the range, I would save me some time, money and life on my barrel and brass. I started with 59.0 grains of a new powder, and after shooting 3 rounds I was more than confident I could jump to 59.8 or so. But, I had already loaded 59.0 - 60.2 in .1 grain increments. I worked up to 60.2 grains and I was still well within safe pressure limits and wanted to continue working my way up. I don't really know for sure what the results will be until I try it, so while at home I stopped at 60.2 grains. So I have to pack up, go home and charge some more rounds to finish my testing. If I had a nice little set up at the range, I would have probably at least gotten to a couple of consistent charges that day and I would have been happy. Then my next trip would have been just trying seating depths with those charges.