reload party
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Pretty much. Once I get it processed and in a ready to load condition I box it up until I need it. Bulk, plinking ammo I'll dump it out without much concern but if I'm loading match ammo I'll sort through them usually for headstamps first then cull from there. Most of this was (and will be!) cheap 55gr or 62gr plinking fodder.
The 1050 has a been the rockstar of the operation. With the 1200B trimmer I can FL size, trim, and swage primer pockets at the rate of about 1K an hour without much effort at all.
The 1050 has a been the rockstar of the operation. With the 1200B trimmer I can FL size, trim, and swage primer pockets at the rate of about 1K an hour without much effort at all.
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2,791 Posts
Joined
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1,586 Posts
I started w/ a little Lee Reloader press bolted to a 2x4 that I could clamp onto my desk in the apartment (when I got hooked it got bolted down). A collection of other Lee tools; scale, dies, trimmers rounded out the rest of the kit. I didn't know how I would take to it so my initial investment was modest in every sense of the word. I loaded everything on that little press, in between deployments of course, for about three years. Tons of 308 and 223 cases were made to go "boom" again. I inherited an old RCBS RockChucker from the apartment fix-it guy of all people and that was real nice. (and still have it ten years later!) My roommate and I loaded 1K of 9mm on it one weekend. That was tedious but was fun at the time.
The 9mm experience made me want to dabble in progressives. I turned to Lee once again and picked up a couple Loadmasters, one for 45 the other for 9mm & 38 Super. For $300 give or take they were actually pretty good loaders though I never could make the primer feed work no matter what I did. I used one of their handheld priming tools with the primer feed and that kept the speed up. From tumbled brass to loaded round I was still able to do several hundred an hour.
When I started tagging along with one of my friends who does action pistol competitively I was shooting more than I could keep up with. I had always wanted a Dillon since seeing their gear at the SHOT show. Looked at the 650's but then found a great deal on an RL1050 (before the Super 1050) from a Ma & Pa commercial reloader for less than the 650 press w/ all the bells and whistles I wanted; case feeder and all that. Other than one incident with a disgruntled worker, getting parts or conversions from Dillon has been easy even though the 1050 isn't part of their "No BS" guarantee.
If there is one thing that I don't like about the 1050 is that if I want to change over from small to large primers, or change shell plates, I have to darn near take the whole machine apart to do it. What I'm thinking of doing is leaving it set up for small primers, getting one more tool head (almost $200 for the 1050--ouch!) and set it up for 9mm. Those are the two rounds I shoot the most of, as well as my friends that borrow time at the bench. Then I'd like to get a basic 550 that I can set up with cheaper tool heads and still be able to churn out a reasonable amount for the rounds I don't shoot that often. It's hard when you've been spoiled by the progressive!
The 9mm experience made me want to dabble in progressives. I turned to Lee once again and picked up a couple Loadmasters, one for 45 the other for 9mm & 38 Super. For $300 give or take they were actually pretty good loaders though I never could make the primer feed work no matter what I did. I used one of their handheld priming tools with the primer feed and that kept the speed up. From tumbled brass to loaded round I was still able to do several hundred an hour.
When I started tagging along with one of my friends who does action pistol competitively I was shooting more than I could keep up with. I had always wanted a Dillon since seeing their gear at the SHOT show. Looked at the 650's but then found a great deal on an RL1050 (before the Super 1050) from a Ma & Pa commercial reloader for less than the 650 press w/ all the bells and whistles I wanted; case feeder and all that. Other than one incident with a disgruntled worker, getting parts or conversions from Dillon has been easy even though the 1050 isn't part of their "No BS" guarantee.
If there is one thing that I don't like about the 1050 is that if I want to change over from small to large primers, or change shell plates, I have to darn near take the whole machine apart to do it. What I'm thinking of doing is leaving it set up for small primers, getting one more tool head (almost $200 for the 1050--ouch!) and set it up for 9mm. Those are the two rounds I shoot the most of, as well as my friends that borrow time at the bench. Then I'd like to get a basic 550 that I can set up with cheaper tool heads and still be able to churn out a reasonable amount for the rounds I don't shoot that often. It's hard when you've been spoiled by the progressive!
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2,791 Posts
Progressive is the only way to go with pistol stuff. I got my hands on 2 star progressive reloaders years ago (one large primer, the other small 
)and was able to crank out 600 per hour from tumbled brass to complete rounds. Sadly, star is no longer and parts for those machines have all but gone away. So I sold 'em for a heafty profit when I back off shooting due to external issues. Now that I'm back into it full steam, I really miss'em. I have to admit, I peeked at the Dillion square deal presses for pistol stuff, but have held off for the time being. I do have an old dillion 500 laying around here some where, but never pulled the trigger to upgrade it.
Like your 1050, the star presses were a pain to switch primers, I was lucky to have 2 of them. I'm sure I will get back into reloading, but have to get over the shock of how high components have gotten. Back then, I was paying $5 per 1k for primers and $8 per pound of powder, now, OUCH!!! But I was only paying $3 per 20 rnd of WWB 5.56. So it's all relative.
Reloading is very addictive!!
)and was able to crank out 600 per hour from tumbled brass to complete rounds. Sadly, star is no longer and parts for those machines have all but gone away. So I sold 'em for a heafty profit when I back off shooting due to external issues. Now that I'm back into it full steam, I really miss'em. I have to admit, I peeked at the Dillion square deal presses for pistol stuff, but have held off for the time being. I do have an old dillion 500 laying around here some where, but never pulled the trigger to upgrade it.Like your 1050, the star presses were a pain to switch primers, I was lucky to have 2 of them. I'm sure I will get back into reloading, but have to get over the shock of how high components have gotten. Back then, I was paying $5 per 1k for primers and $8 per pound of powder, now, OUCH!!! But I was only paying $3 per 20 rnd of WWB 5.56. So it's all relative.
Reloading is very addictive!!
cjt50 >>>Interesting comment regarding Star product... I just sold my father lube and resizer to a Gun Club in German for $350! I have a RCBS reloader 5 and I have been doing fine for 20 years reloading everything. I do reloading and stages/batches. Auto reloader... and I can only speak to reload shotgun shells can sometimes have a issue here and there. Auto reloader for rifle cartridges are very expensive. The ROI is lengthly.
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As is buying the gear to do it according to my wife. I don't know what she's talking about though...
Yep, when I really got into shooting a case of 1K of WWB 223 was $189 shipped to your door. I remember paying that. The 300rd battle packs of South African 5.56 (non-reloadable) were $30 at the fun show. I'd get 8# of WC844 for loading 223 for around $70, minus HAZMAT. I hear that prices will be going up again because of metal prices. It'll make it harder to get mil-surp brass since the scrappers will be competing harder for it.
For anyone out there that doesn't reload, there is no time like the present to get into it. If you invest in a simple kit like that Lee Reloader kit I got so many years ago you'll be better off than having nothing. You can still load quantity on single stage. I used to do a handful of cases every day after work. Size, trim, prep and then prime so they were ready to go. Takes no more than 30 minutes out of your day and once it's a habit it gets a little faster. By the end of the month you've got a grip of brass ready to go. You don't need a lot of space to do it either.
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2,791 Posts
The guy who bought the ones I had told me he was going to use the best parts from both and sell whatever was left for parts. He implied that some parts were really getting hard to find he was going to make money on the parts left over to cover what he paid me. (capitalism at its finest
)I was really shocked to learn how much Star Manfu Products go for n the open market considering the company has been out of business for a long time, but I guess there are a lot of units installed out there and the replacement cost for new equipment is costly.The guy who bought the ones I had told me he was going to use the best parts from both and sell whatever was left for parts. He implied that some parts were really getting hard to find he was going to make money on the parts left over to cover what he paid me. (capitalism at its finest
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