how long are your sessions?

[troy_mclure]

how long are your standard reloading sessions?

i just seized/deprimed 2213 .32acp with a single stage press. took me 4 1hr TV shows, and an hour for dinner.

much too long.

now i have to expand them all.

 

[Christchild]

I try to keep REloading down to 1-2 hours, but Case Prep....... I've had Case Prep last upwards of 6-8 hours or better, but NOT in one sitting. 2-3 hours in a sitting is about all I can manage. I've got to put it down and take a breather after so long...ReGroup.

 

[Unclenick]

Sound's like you're learning what progressive presses are for? You'd probably begrudge the process your time less if 2213 completed cartridges had resulted from the investment rather than just decapped and sized cases.

 

[dmazur]

I realize you weren't throwing powder charges while watching TV...

Nevertheless, if the time involved is hurting you, you might consider a progressive. Especially for pistol, which can be done with very little case prep.

(Request -- I'm going to mention a press color, but I want to state that there is a nice red trimmer next to it, and a green scale on the other side. So far, the various colors seem to be working well together. So, please. No "blue Kool-Aid" comments.)

I've been really happy with a Dillon 550B for the amount I can turn out in a relatively short time. I don't meet the mfgr's claimed hourly rate, but it is fast enough that I feel I can give reloading 100% attention without feeling like I'm sacrificing something.

And they're not hard to learn to set up, either.

 

[Ifishsum]

My back hurts after an hour or so (chronic problem) so that's about how long my sessions are. I may do a couple sessions in a night though if I can get some rest in between

 

[darkgael]

sessions

Progressives - the only way to fly.
My own sessions are rarely more than an hour, and rarely that. The cartridge that I load the most is .45 ACP and I can do 100 rounds, enough for a practice, in a few minutes with a progressive.
Pete

 

[Qtiphky]

1-2 Hours

I can handle about 1-2 hours and then my ADD kicks in. I usually don't do more than 20-40 rifle rounds in a sitting or 50-100 pistol rounds. I start with the empty brass, lube, size, trim, prime, clean, powder, and then seat bullet. I don't do a whole ton of brass ahead of time due to space constraints so I prep what I load.

 

[CPTMurdoc30]

I too have the ADD problem. I can load 50 rifle or 500 pistol in about 1 to 1.5 hours give or take. After that I am exhausted and tired so I stop.

 

[Foxbat]

Well, I go through about 800 rounds each week, which means less than one hour of straight loading time per week, or just a few minutes a day.

That is loading time. I don't need more than that. But since I enjoy the equipment and process, I spend considerably more time around it... adjusting... doing test loads, moving stuff around, organizing and just looking at it.

 

[Uncle Billy]

I do them in lots of 50, from deprime to loaded and in the box in the ammo cabinet.

I used to tumble them after depriming, but getting the medium out of the primer pockets was a pain in the butt. Tumbling the empties happens as soon after they've been fired as is practical, and I won't begin reloading them until I'm pretty sure I can complete the job, for 50.

I'm retired so I can pass the time in any fashion I choose; spending a couple of hours at the reloading bench is pleasurable and productive, and infinitely better than cruising cable TV channels looking for something (anything) worth a damn. Like Foxbat said, "But since I enjoy the equipment and process, I spend considerably more time around it... adjusting... doing test loads, moving stuff around, organizing and just looking at it."

 

[Inspector3711]

I reload for an hour sometimes. Other times I pull "an 8 hour shift". It all depends on motivation and how much needs to be done.

 

[margiesex]

However long I can!!!

OK - I've had 5 back surgeries over the years - disability and all that - live by the motto "better living through chemistry" - have the day to day responsibility of watching, feeding, cleaning my mother-in-law, etc. so I long for how ever long I can.

I love it - been a fan since 14. Started on the sly - hoping my brother didn't see that I had used his stuff.

I've been known to decap, size, prime 1000's at a sitting. Then tumble a bunch - then primer - Lee auto primer - well over 1000 at a time. Then, seta all the bullets I have and box them all up.

Basically - I'll load until my back screams and the morphine doesn't cut the pain any more and I have to quit!!!!

And, yes, I enjoy loading more than shooting!!!!!!

God bless you all - this Veteran's Day - too many of my friends died in Vietnam and on Godforsaken lands!

Praise God for them - and all of you who served.

Margiesex

And remember: Hug your God and your guns - 'cause he's coming for them both, and soon!

 

[reloader28]

I like loading every bit as much or more than shooting so I'm in the reloading room every day. Sometimes for only 20 min. If I'm working up a load for a gun, I could be all day. I would say the average is 1 - 1 1/4 hours EVERYDAY, not every session.

 

[jal5]

I try to do 1.5-2.0 hrs. max per session. Sometimes it is just all case prep in one session, then several days later the actual loading. I have been spending a lot of time just with load development lately so that always takes more time than just reloading 50 or 100 cases with a standard charge. I am using a single stage press and the handprimer by Lee. Priming is almost always done in front of the TV But the rest of the steps are done at the bench with no/little distractions, sometimes background music.

Joe

 

[Kawabuggy]

I have all of my reloading equipment here at the office. I often reload while at work. Depending on how busy we are at the shop, dictates how much reloading I get done. I generally break the process down in steps and do what I can when I can. It's nice hearing the tumbler running in the background while I'm dealing with customers.

My sessions because of the interruptions are normally 30 minutes max. But I may have 2-3 sessions in a day.

 

[BigJimP]

I use a progressive press - capable of easily turning out 1,000 rounds in an hour - so it doesn't take much time.

But loading time - is quiet time in the shop - so its not a chore either ( but I have used single stage presses for years too - and single stage presses make it a chore for any high volume shooting like a .223 or in handguns ).

 

[Kyo]

depends on how much I shoot. I like to think 30 min for every 50 bullets if I am alone. longer if I am with others.

 

[mongoose33]

My sessions run 1-2 hours depending. Early on, with my single-stage, I was almost in a race to see how much I could do, especially with the sizing/depriming steps (which don't require a great deal of focused attention).

What I learned is that i was heading toward some sort of repetitive stress injury if I continued that.

So now, I break it up. I might look to load 300-400 rounds, and however long it takes me, it takes me (I have the LNLAP). I'll probably load a couple hundred, then putter around my reloading area doing something else, then come back to finish the other couple hundred.

 

[Field]

oh i wont ever load more than 300 rounds at a time on an LNAP

use a progressive press - capable of easily turning out 1,000 rounds in an hour - so it doesn't take much time.

if you got odd things happening like cases tripping, primers not seating and little malfs happening it slows you up quite a bit. i think i might do half or 40% of that number. lol. still alot faster than a single stage though.

i think i might have slightly better results if my press was bolted really really solid to a big thick bench or something like that where the thing doesnt move around whatsoever. i rigged this table up which works pretty good but when working the action i can see that case feeder tub shaking around.

 

[Sidewinder72]

I don't have a everyday schedule for reloading. I work on brass prep more than loading. Prep work sucks, but it has to be done. I average about 12 hours a week in the shop. It gives me the opportunity to try other bullets. It is just a hobby that can suck you in for life. But I love it.