I'm going to be moving away from my current reloading setup (at my Dad's) and I'll be living in a camper trailer for the summer while on an internship. So now I need to rebuild my setup to a higher level than before, AND I need to make it fit in the tight confines of a camper trailer. To give an idea of where I want to go with my setup I'll share a little about where I've come from. We'll do this through the prism of my most used precision rifle, my 260.
I started loading for this rifle on a Lee 4 Hole Auto Turret. This thing is not the picture of quality, but it has produced some fine ammo. I resize with a Forster FLS die (non-bushing, using expander button). I trim/chamfer/deburr with a Lee Case Trimmer and the drill chuck and follow that with a VLD chamfer, but I lose a lot of time in switching cases in the chuck. I prime with an older Lee Auto Prime. I then throw the charge with a Hornady powder thrower to about .2 grains under weight to account for the precision of the thrower using H4350. I set that pan on my tuned beam scale and hand trickle up the last few kernels of powder. I seat my bullets with a Forster Benchrest Micrometer Seater and the sliding alignment sleeve really seems to get great results where runout is concerned. This process has yielded consistent results with only 2 out of 40 rounds exhibiting a runout of more than 1 thou. Standard Deviation is holding at 6 FPS or so.
Now that I am basically forced to replace some of these tools I plan to take advantage of the opportunity to make upgrades in the process. If you have any suggestions or tips I'm all ears...
The press: At this point I have half a mind to go to the Lee Classic Cast Breech Lock due to it's ability to switch out dies quickly and also the large bearing surface of the main shaft which should mean a greater chance for high concentricity.
Dies: The dies I have used up to this point will stay with me and I really have no chance to change them after the great results I have achieved so far.
Trim/Chamfer/Deburr: There has to be a better option than switching cases out in this dumb drill chuck. Don't say Giraud, because I don't shoot the volume to justify the expense over a system that currently works and is just slow/tedious.
Priming: Here is an area I can see room for improvement. I hate hand priming on the Lee. Maybe it's all the thumb exertion, maybe it's the jam-o-matic primer lifter, maybe it's the poor fitting plastic lid, or maybe it's all the above. But I definitely would like to replace it with a better mousetrap. Are the new Ergo Primes much better? Are the 21st Century units worth the price they want? Should I just get a benchtop primer?
Weighing Charges: I'm actually fairly happy with my charging method so far. After working with an auto dispenser (Lymen Gen6) and being unimpressed with it's speed and accuracy I went to this method. I can beat the auto dispenser handily as far as accuracy is concerned, and am a bit faster, but I can't be doing something else unlike when the charge is trickling, so I consider the speed to be a wash. Maybe I could see small gains in accuracy going to an Omega Trickler.
Seating: Generally should remain unchanged.
Random Other Stuff: I've always had comparator inserts and calipers on hand. What are some good recommendations for replacements for these staples? Does anybody make a static neutral powder funnel with a minimum four inch drop tube that tapers to 6.5mm?
As far as the physical setup goes there is still a lot of uncertainty as to the physical limitations of the space available. But at this point I could see going with something like The Cameron Mobile Reloading Bench. Suggestions in this area will be VERY helpful. I really don't have much of a clue when it comes to trying to make this whole thing mobile.
I'll try to update this main post with any conclusions that I have reached, as well as any more good (or bad) ideas that surface. Please try to keep in mind that I am a student on somewhat of a budget. That being said the plan is to procure equipment that will last me the rest of my shooting career.
Thanks for reading my lengthy post and also for your input.
I started loading for this rifle on a Lee 4 Hole Auto Turret. This thing is not the picture of quality, but it has produced some fine ammo. I resize with a Forster FLS die (non-bushing, using expander button). I trim/chamfer/deburr with a Lee Case Trimmer and the drill chuck and follow that with a VLD chamfer, but I lose a lot of time in switching cases in the chuck. I prime with an older Lee Auto Prime. I then throw the charge with a Hornady powder thrower to about .2 grains under weight to account for the precision of the thrower using H4350. I set that pan on my tuned beam scale and hand trickle up the last few kernels of powder. I seat my bullets with a Forster Benchrest Micrometer Seater and the sliding alignment sleeve really seems to get great results where runout is concerned. This process has yielded consistent results with only 2 out of 40 rounds exhibiting a runout of more than 1 thou. Standard Deviation is holding at 6 FPS or so.
Now that I am basically forced to replace some of these tools I plan to take advantage of the opportunity to make upgrades in the process. If you have any suggestions or tips I'm all ears...
The press: At this point I have half a mind to go to the Lee Classic Cast Breech Lock due to it's ability to switch out dies quickly and also the large bearing surface of the main shaft which should mean a greater chance for high concentricity.
Dies: The dies I have used up to this point will stay with me and I really have no chance to change them after the great results I have achieved so far.
Trim/Chamfer/Deburr: There has to be a better option than switching cases out in this dumb drill chuck. Don't say Giraud, because I don't shoot the volume to justify the expense over a system that currently works and is just slow/tedious.
Priming: Here is an area I can see room for improvement. I hate hand priming on the Lee. Maybe it's all the thumb exertion, maybe it's the jam-o-matic primer lifter, maybe it's the poor fitting plastic lid, or maybe it's all the above. But I definitely would like to replace it with a better mousetrap. Are the new Ergo Primes much better? Are the 21st Century units worth the price they want? Should I just get a benchtop primer?
Weighing Charges: I'm actually fairly happy with my charging method so far. After working with an auto dispenser (Lymen Gen6) and being unimpressed with it's speed and accuracy I went to this method. I can beat the auto dispenser handily as far as accuracy is concerned, and am a bit faster, but I can't be doing something else unlike when the charge is trickling, so I consider the speed to be a wash. Maybe I could see small gains in accuracy going to an Omega Trickler.
Seating: Generally should remain unchanged.
Random Other Stuff: I've always had comparator inserts and calipers on hand. What are some good recommendations for replacements for these staples? Does anybody make a static neutral powder funnel with a minimum four inch drop tube that tapers to 6.5mm?
As far as the physical setup goes there is still a lot of uncertainty as to the physical limitations of the space available. But at this point I could see going with something like The Cameron Mobile Reloading Bench. Suggestions in this area will be VERY helpful. I really don't have much of a clue when it comes to trying to make this whole thing mobile.
I'll try to update this main post with any conclusions that I have reached, as well as any more good (or bad) ideas that surface. Please try to keep in mind that I am a student on somewhat of a budget. That being said the plan is to procure equipment that will last me the rest of my shooting career.
Thanks for reading my lengthy post and also for your input.
