Guy B. Meredith
New member
What is reasonable standard and average deviation and hi to lo spread in terms of bullet velocity when bulk loading on a progressive press?
I cranked out my first 200 rounds today after carefully assembling, testing and adjusting my new Hornady Lock-N-Load Auto Progressive. I am using RCBS dies and lockout die (never too cautious) to load .38 spls with West Coast's copper plated 158 gr bullets.
Some of my experiences and lessons during the process:
1. The lockout die is a life saver--I messed up several times while distracted by this or that detail and failed to do a full stroke to activate the powder measure. Hard to double load on the auto indexing Hornady, but several cases came up empty.
2. Learned importance of locking everything down TIGHTLY. And then checking periodically. Shellplate and two or three dies loosened up without my notice.
3. Cleanliness will prevent you from coming next to Godliness before your time. Primer mechanism bound up and could have caused accident. Appears to have been a couple of grains of powder jamming the works.
4. Don't get distracted. Had one primer load in anvil side down. (What do I do now, Ma?)
5. Hornady powder measure appears to maintain accuracy very well. Deviation amounted to thickness of the line on the pointer on the scale's beam.
6. It's a lot easier than I thought to reload a couple of hundred rounds. Will do a few more hundred tomorrow and then go out and "test" them, but not before putting in an order for another one or two thousand bullets. Dirty job but someone's got to do it.
I cranked out my first 200 rounds today after carefully assembling, testing and adjusting my new Hornady Lock-N-Load Auto Progressive. I am using RCBS dies and lockout die (never too cautious) to load .38 spls with West Coast's copper plated 158 gr bullets.
Some of my experiences and lessons during the process:
1. The lockout die is a life saver--I messed up several times while distracted by this or that detail and failed to do a full stroke to activate the powder measure. Hard to double load on the auto indexing Hornady, but several cases came up empty.
2. Learned importance of locking everything down TIGHTLY. And then checking periodically. Shellplate and two or three dies loosened up without my notice.
3. Cleanliness will prevent you from coming next to Godliness before your time. Primer mechanism bound up and could have caused accident. Appears to have been a couple of grains of powder jamming the works.
4. Don't get distracted. Had one primer load in anvil side down. (What do I do now, Ma?)
5. Hornady powder measure appears to maintain accuracy very well. Deviation amounted to thickness of the line on the pointer on the scale's beam.
6. It's a lot easier than I thought to reload a couple of hundred rounds. Will do a few more hundred tomorrow and then go out and "test" them, but not before putting in an order for another one or two thousand bullets. Dirty job but someone's got to do it.