Happy Birthday JohndeFresno.

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gamekeeper
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Happy Birthday JohndeFresno.

Post by gamekeeper »

Have a GREAT DAY......... :D
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Blaine
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Re: Happy Birthday JohndeFresno.

Post by Blaine »

Happy Birthday Sir 8)
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Re: Happy Birthday JohndeFresno.

Post by Griff »

BlaineG wrote: Thu Jun 29, 2017 1:52 am Happy Birthday Sir 8)
+1!
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Re: Happy Birthday JohndeFresno.

Post by GunnyMack »

Have a great day John! Hope you send it at the range!!
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Re: Happy Birthday JohndeFresno.

Post by JohndeFresno »

Thank you all! Even if I can't remember how old I am, I can still do the math. Wow. I'm old.

As a matter of fact, I am taking a breather from some extensive family matters. This morning I am loading up some .45 Colt 255 grainers - a "Cowboy" and target load, and then I will be putting the new RCBS Chargemaster Lite digital scale to work with some stick powder to finally load up some "mystery" obsolescent Trophy .270 bullets that I got from GunnyMack. It's a very good day.

Love that tuba, Blaine - your trademark!

Yesterday I tried out that amazing green device with my first load, and learned some lessons. The first load safe enough to post here, even for "Standard" .45 Colts -
255 gr. Hornady #12458 FP Cowboy Swaged, COAL 1.58"
5.6 gr. Alliant Red Dot, CCI 300 Lg Pistol Primer
QLoad Estimate (for my 4.63" Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt / ACP Convertible): 779 fps
I call it a Best and Target load - one that I will use for target, if it performs as planned. And it would work as a defense load, probably equivalent to some of the historic loadings in this caliber.

Red Dot powder has given me a lot of trouble, both with my RCBS Uniflow dispenser and even with the Lee AutoBar device on a Lee Autodisk Powder dispenser.
Image
(Lee AutoDisk Powder Measure with an AutoDisk installed -
Fits into top of a Lee Expander die and saves a station.
Preset, it saves time and trouble, like a Dillon Toolhead
setup but cheaper.)


So I tried the electronic device. Due to the very small amount of powder, and the way that the Chargemaster slows down to carefully dispense the last few tenths of a grain, it takes a full minute for each 5.6 grain dollop of Red Dot. Way too much time; I can use a dipper and trickle charger in much less time.

So I tried it again with my Lee AutoBar set up after reapplying some pencil lead along the top of the slide and carefully tightening (but not overtightening) the screws that old the plastic hopper onto the base. It works perfectly almost always. Using a powder cop die right after the expander/charger die, I can now reliably use Red Dot, very quickly, on my Hornady Lock N Load progressive press.
Image
(Lee AutoBar accessory that replaces the AutoDisk -
allows for precise incremental adjustments)


Gunny Mack's bullets - original Trophy brand 100 gr. Spire Points, are very similar and almost identical in length to the Hornady #2720. I will be using IMR 4831, a stick powder that is one of Jack O'Connor's favorites for his beloved .270 Winchester cartridge. That powder gets crunched and has a few problems in a metered dispenser.

Here is where that Chargemaster shines. It takes just a little longer than using a scoop and trickler, but is a lot less tiring, and in the long run faster because its pace never varies.

That's my day as planned. Tomorrow will be the family get together and dinner somewhere.
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Re: Happy Birthday JohndeFresno.

Post by JohndeFresno »

This is what I am doing today. Unless I start casting (very doubtful), this will probably be my last revision of the humble DeFresno family bullet factory.

Image
The reloading bench in its hiatus



Image
Covers removed;
* Lift-off hinges allow removal of cabinet doors;
* LED work light turned on;
* Drop-down table used for accessories and RCBS Chargemaster Lite dispenser
(Eliminates electrical interference and vibration from the press)




Image
Closeup of the press, an amalgamation of Hornady AP press, RCBS and Lee dies,
Lee Auto-Disk powder dispenser with Auto Charge Bar improvement,
Hornady Powder Cop die after the Lee Expander / Powder dispenser station.


For loads requiring the digital powder dispenser, i.e. stick powder that does not
play nice with a mechanical dispenser, I remove the Auto-Disk powder dispenser
and pour the measured powder through the top of the Lee Powder-Through Expander.



Image
These are the individual powder dispensers, all microadjustable.

So... my setup does not involve the excellent Hornady Powder dispenser that comes ith the press. Caliber
changes involve a lot of fiddling that does not suit me. Instead, I purchased a powder dispenser and mated
expander die for each caliber.

My setup allows the absolute quickest changes using a progressive press in the handgun calibers and a few rifle loads:
* Hornady Twist-Lock setups are saved for the one Sizer, Expander, Seater and Lee Crimp Die (if needed)
* Each caliber's Hornady Shell plate has one center screw knob and a retainer spring - changes in about one minute.
* You drop in the preset dies and change the bullet seating height, powder amounts for each load.
No setting, then crimping, then re-setting the seater height, since I have room for a crimp die that is constant.
At most, some calibers like .44 Mag use two crimp dies (preset) - Taper for jacketed rounds, Roll crimp for Lead.

After more than a dozen years figuring out what I want to do, and trying and piecing together various systems,
I am happy with this (most likely) final setup.

I looked at Dillon. Very complicated maintenance; Toolheads alone are around $30 each, changeover is a bit
of a hassle and not timely. My most expensive add-on components with these approximate costs, are:
Lee Auto-Disk Powder Measure (with a set of disks) - $25.99
Lee Auto-Disk Adjustable Charge Bar - $10.99
Lee Powder Through Expander die (allows Powder Measure on same station) - $10.46
Hornady Powder Cop die (only one needed - you adjust height for each load) - $33.49

And of course the digital scale is another thing for those troublesome powders.

With my extremely limited time - I rarely have a full day to play - I want lightning quick
changeovers between calibers and cartridges so I can reload and shoot a few different
firearms and make my trips to a field or the range worthwhile. Or, if I load a large
amount of one round, I still want to maximize my time. This setup works well for me.
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Re: Happy Birthday JohndeFresno.

Post by JohndeFresno »

Follow-up on my Birthday Project:

The RCBS Chargemaster Lite too around one minute to mete out 5.6 grains of Red Dot, consistently. This was apparently owing to too small a charge and possibly the very fine grains that come out of the dispenser; the weight change on the digital scale drives the mechanism to slow down with the last few tenths of a grain to avoid an over charge. The good side of this - no overcharges at all, a commonly posted complaint with the other digital powder dispensers. Since the Lee dispenser works so well with the Red Dot load, no problem.

As for the Lee dispensers working with Red Dot: There was one light load out of 100. This load error was avoided by the action of the Hornady Powder Cop die, which obviously did not pop up high enough on the next station, indicating the light load. That case was pulled out, emptied, and run through again.

With the rifle load, satisfactorily short cycles unerringly produced 55.2 grains of IMR4831 for a Trophy brand 110gr. .270 Winchester load. These are the times, in seconds:
28, 29, 23, 24, 19, 28 seconds. Every load was right on the nose with the RCBS 5-0-5 scale.

Eureka! A perfect birthday gift - the DeFresno reloading ensemble is now complete.
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Re: Happy Birthday JohndeFresno.

Post by Ysabel Kid »

Happy belated birthday John! :D
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Re: Happy Birthday JohndeFresno.

Post by JohndeFresno »

Thank you, YK!
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Re: Happy Birthday JohndeFresno.

Post by Ysabel Kid »

BTW, that is a GREAT reloading set-up. What a fantastic idea too on the different Lee Auto Powder dispensers. I have used one for years, either with the disks (usually) or with a charge bar. Problem is when changing these frequently that the plastic hopper where the base screws in just gets worn out. It should be a metal part. Having several of these with a micro charge bar solves that problem lickety-split! :D
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Re: Happy Birthday JohndeFresno.

Post by JohndeFresno »

Thanks, YK.

Yes, I am reluctant to undo the hoppers - unless absolutely necessary. So I have one, mated with its Lee Powder Through Expander die, for each caliber. Saves me time and trouble, too.
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