[mikana]

Here's my set up (read as PO' Man's set up) for reloading when I'm not using the Lee loader...

 

[broom_jm]

I'm trying to think of a gentle way of saying this. Instead of taking the time to set up a camera and film a "less than ideal" reloading area, why wouldn't you try to improve that into a more permanent, stable bench? I like the way you have things right at hand, so you can be efficient, but it's all just slapped together. It seems to me like you are ingenuous, but maybe not looking at a long term reloading setup?

 

[mikana]

well, that's true. It's not that I am not interested in a more permanent set up, it's that I don't have the space or the resources to do it. I have to have a set up that is inexpensive, portable (can be taken down), and still does the job. That's the purpose and the reason.

Thanks for being gentle, btw...

Here's the bottom line. I am able to make ammo that it extremely consistent and fairly quick, despite being confined to a cobbled up space. It's not much, but it works and it's what I have.

 

[41 Mag]

well, that's true. It's not that I am not interested in a more permanent set up, it's that I don't have the space or the resources to do it. I have to have a set up that is inexpensive, portable (can be taken down), and still does the job. That's the purpose and the reason.

Thanks for being gentle, btw...

Here's the bottom line. I am able to make ammo that it extremely consistent and fairly quick, despite being confined to a cobbled up space. It's not much, but it works and it's what I have.

I don't knock anyones set up as long as it provides the necessities, and is safe. There are a million different ways to set up and load great ammunition, sometimes looks aren't the important part, its the end results.

This is my traveling set up. It will load just as accurate of ammunition as the sturdy wall and floor mounted heavy bench and presses I have at the house. Makes it nice to sit at the range or in the country or anywhere it can be clamped down for that matter, I have even used the top of my receiver hitch after removing the ball to mount the press on. It all will fit in the grey box in back with enough room for cases, powder, and primers.

 

[broom_jm]

I didn't mean to knock his setup, per se, it just seems like he has the creativity to come up with something equally effective, without being so rickety. The video where he uses the Lee Loader was very cool.

 

[MikeG]

I've clamped presses to countertops when living in an apartment. Sometimes you do what you have to do!!!

 

[kdub]

Then..................how come you don't shoot bigger hawgs, Mike?

 

[41 Mag]

Then..................how come you don't shoot bigger hawgs, Mike?

The bigger ones are smart enough not to get in my sights....

 

[MikeG]

Then..................how come you don't shoot bigger hawgs, Mike?

Cause I don't want to clean them!!!!!

 

[mattsbox99]

Nice video, I have 4 presses right now that keep me pretty busy. I have no idea how I'd handle doing everything with the Handpress.

 

[Big Z]

I saw the power screwdriver in the clamp and bout pissed myself hahaha

 

[mikana]

Yeah, I use it because I saw this:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...abelas/en/common/search/search-box.jsp.form23

and about pissed myself.

$5 trimmer and an old power screwdriver in a hobby vice I already had versus a $200 power trimmer to do EXACTLY the same job= a lot of "Depends" Undergarmets


Sorry to offend anybody's sensibilities, but I just gotta ask... Why spend so much for something that does the SAME EXACT THING? This is a serious question and not meant to rangle or offend.

 

[mattsbox99]

Look at how long that takes you versus how long it takes me.

I have a single stage 20 gauge press, that produces 4 boxes of shells per hour, and I have a progressive 12 gauge press that produces 15 boxes of shells per hour. The equipment is pretty cheap when you factor in the huge savings over buying factory.

 

[unclenick]

Some things are truly helpful and innovative. Others are a solution looking for a problem or a life to complicate. Just the way the world is and always will be.

 

[Big Z]

Seriously.. Time after time, quality comes through. If you don't shoot much, Lee is great, just cause it's so cheap. But do some more loading, and compare it to RCBS, and you will easily watch it fall short in a variety of ways. Quality makes reloading way more enjoyable.

 

[mikana]

Seriously.. Time after time, quality comes through. If you don't shoot much, Lee is great, just cause it's so cheap. But do some more loading, and compare it to RCBS, and you will easily watch it fall short in a variety of ways. Quality makes reloading way more enjoyable.

Thanks for the replies. I guess in my situation, what I have come up with something that works for me. On the other hand, if I were trying to do more volume or trying to shoot 3/4's of a mile, I guess I might have to upgrade.

Mattsbox99, I don't know. I have never used the more expensive trimmer. I just know mine seems to get the job done and when I pull out the calipers, I have brass that's the right size and consistently so. (I could run the screwdriver faster, if that would make it better, lol)

BigZ, thanks for the information. I guess I will have to get with someone with the other equipment and just see what those ways are. I would be very interested in some definitive data showing Lee Reloads to be less accurate than other brands. I don't know. I just know my stuff seems to work. I am certain most set ups are more user friendly than mine tho!

Anyway, I'm not here to challenge anyone or anything of the sort. I just thought maybe someone would find it somewhat ingenious for what I had to work with. (I know, that's pretty weak-sister of me )

 

[41 Mag]

Yeah, I use it because I saw this:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0003056210553a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Products&QueryText=case+trimmer&sort=all&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23

and about pissed myself.

$5 trimmer and an old power screwdriver in a hobby vice I already had versus a $200 power trimmer to do EXACTLY the same job= a lot of "Depends" Undergarmets


Sorry to offend anybody's sensibilities, but I just gotta ask... Why spend so much for something that does the SAME EXACT THING? This is a serious question and not meant to rangle or offend.

Well I have the hand powered version of the one you posted, as you can see in the picture. I also have the motorized RCBS unit, as well as two others. They each have a use.

When I process cases I generally will do 500 or more at a time. The motorized job gets it done quickly and accurately enough for my hunting loads and general shooting. If i am looking for extreme precision I use the Forster or Wilson depending on which caliber, rifle or process I am working with.

No biggie on what you, or anyone else uses, it is your personal choices, needs, and budget, and desire that determine what you use, and the level you need it to perform to. If your only looking for ammo to shoot holes in paper, and drop a deer out to 2-300yds, and only shoot a hundred or two rounds a year, simple is great. Heck once upon a time, if cases got too long, too dirty, or had more than 5 or 6 loads on them, I simply chunked them. Trim, clean, count load, naaaa too much trouble. Then you get a new rifle that has a custom chamber in it, and you find you have to upgrade in order to trim the necks not only on the ends but the sides as well. Or your shooting several hundred rounds a month, or you get into competition and want to squeak out the utmost accuracy of your total package. There are many circumstances or situations in which either end of the spectrum works for one person and not another. Just like driving a car verses a truck. I could easily get by driving a car if all I did was go to work and general around town stuff. However having two places in the country to look after, I need a ruck to haul stuff, pull the trailer, and sometimes just to get around up there.

Nowadays I have LOTS of cases, in several calibers, that have over 15 loads through them. All have had their necks trimmed, some reamed, some the outside trimmed, some the bases squared, and some all of the above. So like I said depending on the need of the total outcome of what your looking for, a trim die and file could get you through a lifetime of loading.

I think your stuff is set up nicely for what your accomplishing. Like I said though, once your needs outgrow your system, in one or more ways, you will eventually add to or modify what you have, in one or more ways.

 

[UnderDawgAl]

Mikana,

Great setup! Thanks for showing us. What do I like about it? It fits your needs, it's simple, it's creative, and it's perfectly functional and useful. I really like the case trimmer setup.

 

[T Pearce]

Years ago when living in a townhouse prior to the purchase of our home, I bolted a press to a 20.00 Wal Mart bar stool........ It's still there Very portable, I can grab a cup of joe and go out on the deck early and watch the sun come up while sizing brass. Just be comfortable and you will enjoy things no matter how ugly. NOTE: I wish I had a dedicated reloading bench in a corner of the house somewhere but I dont see it happening anytime soon.
Enjoy the sport.
T

 

[pmeisel]

T, what a fine attitude. I will stop whining about no air conditioning in my workshop now....