What did you do in the reloading room today?

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cleaned/organized shop some more today… little by little after this massive buyout
 
Spent time in Gila Bend while stationed in Phoenix AZ .

Working on the flight line was tough but I was young.

They did have lots of quail and dove around there.

@Ex E6

You haven't lived until You've been in Bisbee , Douglas , Congress or San Luis . Yes Yuma Big Bend Dove hunts Spragues have commemorative Tee shirts from 80's through mid 2K's . Nothing like enjoying one's self hunting Dove in 118 F. heat ,thankfully at O Dark hundred it's only 97 F. My pickup left permanent tire impressions in the Super 8 motel parking lot and that's NOT a joke !.
:cool:
 
Tested some Sako Arrowhead II 180gr cartridges in my Tikka .308 last week. Only 3 rounds, but it had an ES of 60fps and group just over 1 MOA. Also showed ejector marks and heavy bolt lift.

Today I pulled the remaining 17, averaged the load and reduced the charge by 0.2gr. Then reloaded them all again. Still was a mighty compressed load. Those bullets are long!
 
I spent way too much time trying to find the best powder to use for subsonic loads using Hornady 190gr Sub-X bullets to shoot from a 16" 1/10 twist 308 rifle.

Outcome: Trail Boss and its Vitavuori equivalent are optimum but unobtainable. Will try 8208XBR since it is close in burn rate to a published load from Hornady.
 
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That place saved my ass once,
riding bikes down in desert

:ROFLMAO:

Last century ( feels like it anyway ) when Phelps Dodge owned and operated the Queen . The company I was employed by had contracts for blasting as well as drilling ,with several mining venues in Western States . We didn't drill there but did Blast there on more than a couple of occasions .

That place was a blessing during the summer ,as long as one was INSIDE the original mine shaft ,it was 47 F. . Way before My time ,we blasted the strip pit .
 
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One of these days I'll start sorting brass BEFORE cleaning.

Got lucky, though, was able to recover all the stuck cases.
The small stainless media had the stubbornly wedged together.

It took a ridiculous amount of time to get the .45/70 cleared out.

Lesson finally learned.



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Uggh....that sucks. I was using stainless pins and wet tumbling. Problem was that the pins were cut the perfect length to wedge across the case mouth of my 6.5 Grendel, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 6.5 SAUM brass. Had to use pliers to remove pins on every affected case and then manually shake out all the pins stuck in the case that were captured by the wedged pin. The tumbling media you are using would have avoided that.
 
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One of these days I'll start sorting brass BEFORE cleaning.

Got lucky, though, was able to recover all the stuck cases.
The small stainless media had the stubbornly wedged together.

It took a ridiculous amount of time to get the .45/70 cleared out.

Lesson finally learned.



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Not just stainless pins, I had this with walnut media when there was mixed 25-20, 38/357, and 44 mag. Definitely a painful reminder to sort brass.
 
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Uggh....that sucks. I was using stainless pins and wet tumbling. Problem was that the pins were cut the perfect length to wedge across the case mouth of my 6.5 Grendel, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 6.5 SAUM brass. Had to use pliers to remove pins on every affected case and then manually shake out all the pins stuck in the case that were captured by the wedged pin. The tumbling media you are using would have avoided that.
I went to SS Chips. Now I am going with a short hot water bath with out the chips. I will drain and wash them again for several hours with soap and hot water only.

I will let you know how that works.
 
I went to SS Chips. Now I am going with a short hot water bath with out the chips. I will drain and wash them again for several hours with soap and hot water only.

I will let you know how that works.
I’ve been wet tumbling without any chips or other media for some time now. Hot water, a little dawn and a pinch of citric acid (lemishine, etc.) for 20-30 minutes. Works for me…
 
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Another outstanding feature along with benefit of Ultrasonic cleaning . NO media separation . Solution run 3.5 Minutes ,rinse dry and ready to process in as little as 1.5 hr. . If one wants Jewelry case shine ,then walnut/corn cob rouge after ultrasonic processing ,using a vibratory or tumbler for polishing .

I rarely bother polishing cases any longer ,since perfecting Ultrasonic cleaning solution , MY chambers can't see diamond shiny brilliance and only ask rounds be clean :)

Before and after extreme case visual , 1942 once fired . Cases left to the weather for 60 + years before I received them and proceeded to clean and then restore ductility to case neck & shoulder . Old brass far superior to newer commercial or even current Military .

Have in excess of #40 firings on Same 7.62X63mm cases and the " ONLY ONE " I've lost is , the one I cut in half so as to measure case stretch aka wall thickness . So hopefully to stay ahead of case separation issues IF they should occur before MY 50 Th. reload . I will then retire those old war horses . The M1 Garand gas and extractor cycling takes a toll on cases as does any Auto or Semi auto .

The #4 .30 Cal M2 cases are after their 27 Th. firing . All started UGLY but came away performing admirably and shine almost like New brass ,Never polished only cleaned .
 

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Neck and shoulder turning 6.8X51 or 277 hybrid cases to 308 Win, to load some Berger 208 gr and 215 gr. bullets in the 9 and 8 twist 308s 22" and 30" bolt guns.
 

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pulled 20 bullets loaded 20 bullets then just for fun converted a 308 brass to 6.5 creedmore . much easier than doing 3006 to 308
I went the opposite way, converting hybrid 6.8X51 to 308 win. necking up!
Result is hybrid bullets and hybrid cases.
500 208 hybrid Bergers and 51 grs of powder, with hybrid cases...also running a bunch of 215 gr Bergers.
 

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organizing reloading equipment
cleaned/dried 10 gallons of 40 S&W
rollsized 5gal of 40 S&W
compiled a list of all the powders I want to sell, so I can finally post it
worked a spreadsheet for a massive sale for the Dillon 750, toolbox, bullet feeder, and tons of stuff
 
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organizing reloading equipment
cleaned/dried 10 gallons of 40 S&W
rollsized 5gal of 40 S&W
compiled a list of all the powders I want to sell, so I can finally post it
worked a spreadsheet for a massive sale for the Dillon 750, toolbox, bullet feeder, and tons of stuff
Dang man, wanna come over and do mine? Are you retired ?
 
nope.. 41, still active duty, and working a night security job, and home depot, while working through a divorce

get the hustle in!!!
Respect.

My hustle is about 65 hours a week plus coaching plus reg kid stuff so I'm hustled out but the biden economy has about caught up with my business and it will slow down some soon so I will have a little more time. Another month and it will slow a little .
 
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Last three days ; Now the first day I stared at the overwhelming task which has greatly overshadowed my enthusiasm. :eek::eek::eek:

Day two I began the mind numbing task of separating a pallet of bullets, #18 calibers lord only knows how many weights and styles and manufacturers !. Yes 2488 lb. pallet give or take an ounce or 5 . I also blew out a tilt cylinder seal and promptly shut down my forklift ,so as to remove those 1972 Toyota Grey market suckers and attempt to source parts . The Toyota forklift dealers service men are STILL laughing ,as in you want WHAT ??????. Another tale another time !.

Day three I'm about 1/4 the way through this disorganized chaotic reassembly ,aka organized cluster fuk and asking myself ,WHY I even started this harebrained nonsense . I'm going fishing tomorrow and hopefully forget where I reside :cool:

Fyi : I started this because I reorganized My computers their accessories and My desk . In other words CLEANED UP the pig stye ,aka reloading computer abode .

Oh and prepped and primed #500 , 5.56X45mm cases that was the EASY part ;) . I suddenly realized WHY all those old British Gents in the movies ,always had house keepers instead of WIVES . :ROFLMAO:
 
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my current dilemma
It is still ugly here today, but SWMBO and I turned out 1k 38 Special, 500 357 Mag Cowboy Loads, and 50 38-55 so we can shoot the SASS Western Regional next weekend. I love Dillon Precision when this happens!

Yeah the 5 P’s Rules, but life happens.

Next are the hunting loads that I have been avoiding doing because of temperatures, 105-125 F will make you not want to reload.
 
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Loaded 500 6mm ARC Starline brass with Hornady 105 BTHPs and 29.2 leverevolution with CCI200s. My general purpose ARC load.

And loaded some test loads in 6.5 creedmoor Hornady brass, 41.3 RL17, Lapua Scenars.

I like these ammo boxes from Costco. Hold 350 6.5 creed/308, or 500 6mm arc, or 600 5.56.

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