Reloading press @ the rifle range

[bobcat93]

Ive always wanted a small press to keep in my range gear .
Something i can clamp or screw to the tables at the gun club. A few screws with a screw gun zip zip may be easier.
I want to spend some time sitting at the bench, shooting groups, while experimenting with bullet seating depth.
I want to seat, measure, shoot.
I had an old challenger press i sold about 15yrs ago..because it sat around collecting rust. And i was sick of taking care of something i didnt use..
Well i could use it now.
Hahaha..go figure..(never get rid of a damn thing, keep it all)
I know lee makes a hand press..that may work
Lee makes a light single stage press
Rcbs
Lyman
Do any of you do this? If it wouldnt get trashed i build a table mount the press and just leave it at the gun club, i bet other guys would love it, and move it all over the gun club hahaha
You guys are not taking your home press to the range are you?
Most folks do this at home..i want to do it when everything is fresh in my head and i can take notes and measurements, before i forget what i wrote, it was this one or that one..ugh!
Get it.?
I use all Redding dies..if i remember correctly Lyman press have off threads and redding wont work with Lyman press..is that old information and now inappropriate?
Here are a few press i deas

 

[Rat Rifle]

Seat, measure, shoot. All You need is an Arbor Press, since Your cases will be pre sized at home. Pre measure Your weighed powder into Vials, at home. The sizing press does not need to go to the range. And, seating with an arbor press and in line die is very accurate. Just My Arrogant Opinion

 

[209jones]

Lee hand press works good for lots of lighter duty stuff, hard to FLS with though. Lee C press is great for lots of lighter duty apps at home too, better if you want to FLS occasionally on it. Partner is a bit nicer, little stronger for FLS, reasonably light for travel, lot more money though. Lyman is heavy for portability, close to same price as Partner IIRC. Lee C press on a pc of plywood and a couple of 12" jorgensen clamps will mount anywhere. may wind up rusting up if left at the range, or just disappearing.

 

[jackieschmidt]

I rarely load anywhere EXCEPT at the range.
That includes in testing, practice, and Matches.

Short Range Benchrest Shooters perfected this years ago. It seems we are the only shooting Discipline that learned the advantages of being able to load at the range under Match Conditions.

For what it is worth, this is my range set up for 6PPC. The three little Partner Presses decap, full length size, and seat the bullet. I have a similar set up for my 30BR.

For years, I used a powder thrower, as did most Short Range Shooters. I have since got hooked on the little ChargeMaster Lite, using a small battery pack.it is plenty good for Short Range needs.

At Match’s away from my home Club, I have a small loading table made from 3/4 plywood with folding legs.

 

[Jud96]

If you’re not loading at a match then you don’t need to worry about sizing brass. In that case, I’d get an arbor press and/or a smaller single stage press. I’m a fan of the old RCBS JR presses. I have a small Lee C shaped press and it’s not good, too much flex in my opinion. I’d look at the RCBS Partner like Jackie suggested, or an older RCBS JR. I’m currently transitioning everything to arbor dies, and in that case I like my K&M arbor press, but they all do the same thing.

 

[64Rambler]

I just take my RCBS RS5 and a couple of C-clamps. That way I don't have to readjust the dies for a different press. Having a T-slot on my home bench makes this easier.

 

[AlNyhus]

Long before I began shooting BR and was just working to load the best ammo for my fox and coyote guns, I used a cheap Lee press clamped to the rear bumper of my pickup so I could work with seating depth. I seated the bullets long and adjusted the seating depth at the range. Crude, but effective. More importantly, it opened my eyes to possibilities.

Pretty soon, I had a loading box, built a bracket to mount my powder measure on it, graphed measure setting to charge weights and taped that to the powder bottles, got a Partner press....and it was off to the races.

With very few changes, that's what I still use to this day. All my dies are set up for that Partner press. At home, there's an RCBS quick change plate bolted to my work bench that the Partner press bolts to. The Partner breaks down and fits into a small plastic case.

Loading at the range...even just being able to tinker with seating depths...will save more in time, gas, and components than you can imagine. You can come with sized and primed cases and different powder charge weights in vials, for example. Dump powder in a a few cases, seat the bullets and shoot. Then repeat the process with a different charge weight.

Hope this helps. -Al

 

[choprzrul]

I do all of my brass prep ahead of time, measure out powder charges into glass vials, and then use a small arbor and L.E. Wilson seating dies at the range. I also have the Lee factory type crimp dies that I use in a Lee hand press. I've never had to pull a bullet since I started using this setup.

 

[SSchnd]

Sometimes I just take the whole enchilada, but it is mounted to a 1" oak step and using a Inline Fab Quick Change plate for the Coax works, I can pull the press off the mount. I do like the idea of a Arbor Press, much lighter for sure. This was just a service rifle loading day, not benchrest LOL

 

[gpoldblue]

Ive always wanted a small press to keep in my range gear .
Something i can clamp or screw to the tables at the gun club. A few screws with a screw gun zip zip may be easier.
I want to spend some time sitting at the bench, shooting groups, while experimenting with bullet seating depth.
I want to seat, measure, shoot.
I had an old challenger press i sold about 15yrs ago..because it sat around collecting rust. And i was sick of taking care of something i didnt use..
Well i could use it now.
Hahaha..go figure..(never get rid of a damn thing, keep it all)
I know lee makes a hand press..that may work
Lee makes a light single stage press
Rcbs
Lyman
Do any of you do this? If it wouldnt get trashed i build a table mount the press and just leave it at the gun club, i bet other guys would love it, and move it all over the gun club hahaha
You guys are not taking your home press to the range are you?
Most folks do this at home..i want to do it when everything is fresh in my head and i can take notes and measurements, before i forget what i wrote, it was this one or that one..ugh!
Get it.?
I use all Redding dies..if i remember correctly Lyman press have off threads and redding wont work with Lyman press..is that old information and now inappropriate?
Here are a few press i deas

I hope you don't forget the wind flags.......all that stuff won't buy you much if you don't use wind flags.
Wind flags are by far the most important things to have at the range. There's absolutely no other way to compensate for the wind than by wind flags because sometime,somewhere along the way you're gonna have to learn to dope the wind.....that's what wind flags are for.

 

[Syncrowave]

I’m a fan of the old RCBS JR presses....

I've got a Rock Chucker from ~ 1981 ... it has the (very) compound leverage linkage, the turquoise green crinkle paint, the green bike handle grip and a threaded steel bushing where the die screws in.

I see that (at least some of) the RC Jr. presses don't have a threaded steel bushing...I guess it's just the cast iron (or cast steel) press itself that is threaded to receive the dies. Is that ever an issue? I know cast iron doesn't have anywhere near the tensile strength of steel, and when in tension, it can crack...is this ever an issue, for example when doing heavy FL resizing of big cases?

Seems like RCBS was constantly changing stuff without changing model names or numbers, and it's a challenge to figure out the specifics of any particular item unless you have it in hand...

 

[bobcat93]

I rarely load anywhere EXCEPT at the range.
That includes in testing, practice, and Matches.

Short Range Benchrest Shooters perfected this years ago. It seems we are the only shooting Discipline that learned the advantages of being able to load at the range under Match Conditions.

For what it is worth, this is my range set up for 6PPC. The three little Partner Presses decap, full length size, and seat the bullet. I have a similar set up for my 30BR.

For years, I used a powder thrower, as did most Short Range Shooters. I have since got hooked on the little ChargeMaster Lite, using a small battery pack.it is plenty good for Short Range needs.View attachment 1725915

At Match’s away from my home Club, I have a small loading table made from 3/4 plywood with folding legs.

Partner press looked like a nice one.
It has the prettiest paint job

Good to know im not out of my mind with wanting to reload this way. Well play with seating depths
But i definitely want a range press again..
Its a luxurious tool to keep around if ya got one

 

[AlNyhus]

I hope you don't forget the wind flags.......all that stuff won't buy you much if you don't use wind flags.
Wind flags are by far the most important things to have at the range. There's absolutely no other way to compensate for the wind than by wind flags because sometime,somewhere along the way you're gonna have to learn to dope the wind.....that's what wind flags are for.

Amen. I'm guilty of taking certain basic things for granted when replying. Flags being used is a prime example.

Good shootin' -Al

 

[bobcat93]

Its like were getting it from every direction.
I dont even feel like its safe to buy anything over 100$ now.
They say Nike on the side, but you put them on it feels like convers All stars . same label same price but they fall apart and feel like garbage
You buy your favorite cookies and because surgar prices when up they add apple sauce instead of sugar.
Same label, same price but they taste like crap
And lord only knows what hornady is doing..
That is one slimy company
(Lee never claimes a thing, other then- were inexpensive, and yes it works ) thats about the most honest company to ever evolve .
Im all to familiar with the corporate slight of hand
Best believe the savings is not passed along to the consumer

 

[jimmymac]

I reload at the range all the time. Started doing it when I started shooting SR Benchrest. It is clearly not for the guy who insists on tumbling brass, annealing after every firing, etc.

I use a Partner press mounted to a RCBS mounting plate, then clamp it to my range table. Works great for me because I like to have the ability to adjust on the fly when practicing and it is a necessity for a two day match.

Reloading is a walk in the park compared to flag reading. Takes quite a bit longer to get the hang of that one.

 

[bobcat93]

If i was using my reloading press, and it broke i would flip out. SNAP!
Big old pot metal cold joint just snaps in half
That would be the last straw

 

[DaveTooley]

I use a 50+ year old Rockchucker that hasn't been bolted down in probably 30 years. Nothing but C-clamps makes it portable. I either clamp it to an adjoining bench or I have a Z shaped bracket that fits in the receiver hitch on my truck. I show up with sized and primed brass, throw powder with a measure and play with seating depth. I have a custom press that fits in my loading box for my BR rifles.

 

[Bronsin]

There are lots of RCBS Partner presses at Benchrest matches, including mine. I did cut the die locking surface square to the ram. It's got 30-35 matches on it and is still going strong.

 

[Jud96]

I've got a Rock Chucker from ~ 1981 ... it has the compound leverage linkage, the turquoise green crinkle paint, the green bike handle grip and a threaded steel bushing where the die screws in.

I see that (at least some of) the RC Jr. presses don't have a threaded steel bushing...I guess it's just the cast iron (or cast steel) press itself that is threaded to receive the dies. Is that ever an issue? I know cast iron doesn't have anywhere near the tensile strength of steel, and when in tension, it can crack...is this ever an issue, for example when doing heavy resizing of big cases?

Seems like RCBS was constantly changing stuff without changing model names or numbers, and it's a challenge to figure out the specifics of any particular item unless you have it in hand...

My Pap and Dad reloaded on one JR press for 40+ years and ten of thousands of rounds and never had an issue. The Partner presses are aluminum and don’t have issues. I wouldn’t worry about it

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I've got a Rock Chucker from ~ 1981 ... it has the compound leverage linkage, the turquoise green crinkle paint, the green bike handle grip and a threaded steel bushing where the die screws in.

I see that (at least some of) the RC Jr. presses don't have a threaded steel bushing...I guess it's just the cast iron (or cast steel) press itself that is threaded to receive the dies. Is that ever an issue? I know cast iron doesn't have anywhere near the tensile strength of steel, and when in tension, it can crack...is this ever an issue, for example when doing heavy resizing of big cases?

Seems like RCBS was constantly changing stuff without changing model names or numbers, and it's a challenge to figure out the specifics of any particular item unless you have it in hand...

I have the regular Redding Boss press and it is threaded just in the cast and I haven’t seen any problems with that design. It is a very nice smaller type of press.