[aht_six]

No reloading tonight, but stripped and cleaned a couple Ruger .22 pistols. I also gathered up all my .45 Colt brass and bullets to make room for other things, I don't have any .45 Colts anymore.

 

[aht_six]

Hope this isn't a hijack, but got a question:

I don't reload. Is it worthwhile to collect and ship the used cases for any of the folks that do?....

Depending on the caliber of your brass, some of it is much more sought after than others. However, there is almost always somebody looking for even the most common sizes.

If you save it, I'm sure you'll find reloaders that would be delighted to take it off your hands. The brass from some of the less common calibers can actually be fairly valuable.

 

[aht_six]

Loading .45 acp. Our combat league starts tomorrow night and I'm going to use my new 625 PC revolver. I'm using 200 grain Hi-Tek coated SWC's from Bayou Bullets. Its incredible how much cleaner the coated bullets are to shoot compared to the plain lead with wax ring lube.

 

[aht_six]

Cleaning out all the brass and bullets I don't have need for anymore. Getting a bunch of WSSM brass ready sell.

My new Hornady 10th edition and Lyman 50th edition arrived today. I think I need to try out the new Hodgdon Superformance powder in the 6.5 Creedmoor and .300 WSM.

 

[aht_six]

getting close on the shot shell stuff.
I got 8 more flats of AA's loaded and boxed.
it took forever for me to box them yesterday, I don't really care for the new hulls.
for some reason American hull lengths are all over the place.
the STS hulls are still good and the federal brass head plastic base hulls are okay.
the gold medal hulls sometimes have an issue with the hull getting cut right above the brass head.

I'm about ready to stick to the foreign made hulls at this point.

I think Winchester has now remedied the issues with their AAHS hulls. I haven't loaded any of the AAHS hulls in 12 ga recently, but I very please with new 28 ga AAHS hulls I've been reloading.

My favorite hulls are the Remington STS, they reload great and seem to last about forever.

 

[aht_six]

Trimming 270's tonight. I've got 6.5 CM in the tumbler. Loading .270 WSM later.

 

[aht_six]

The Grandson came over this morning to help empty my cases. It was about 10 degrees, so I put him to work loading .223s until it warmed up a little.

 

[aht_six]

Straightening things up, getting ready to load up a bunch of .410 skeet shells and 12 gauge trap loads.

 

[aht_six]

410s are done. Tucked away the 410 Loader, mounted the 28 gauge loader in it’s place. Looks like I have 3 or 4 cases of empty 28 gauge AAs to fill.

I had to start pouring the shot out of the bag into a small container to fill the tall shot bottle. I can’t hold a full bag over my head and pour it into a funnel without spilling anymore. Guess I need more exercise.

 

[aht_six]

Double teaming the shotgun shells today. My grandson JP is working the 12 gauge loader. I’m doing 28 gauge.

 

[aht_six]

Just threw out 100 Rio once fired 28 gauge hulls. Every one of them was split open in the crimp folds. I bought four boxes because they were cheap, but they're no deal if they can't be reloaded even once.

 

[aht_six]

dang.
I have about 8-9K Rio 12ga. hulls I load and shoot pretty regularly. [alternate with Cheddite 8 point hulls]
I get 3-4 loads out of them without even trying.
I usually toss them at 3 and just pick up more off the ground at the club.

I've never tried reloading the Rio 12 gauge hulls. We sell a lot of the Rio shells at our gun club. Now days with price of shot as high as it is, and cheap shells
available. Not as many people reload anymore. We don't even save the 12 gauge hulls people drop, can't give them away.

 

[aht_six]

everyone complains about the cost and how they can buy them cheaper.
they do have a point depending on what you buy.
some of the lower priced shells are just that,, lower priced and should be priced even lower than they are.
and some of them are a pretty good bargain for what you get.

I have a pretty good thing going on for shot prices and do my best to pick up a bag every month sometimes two or more if I have the money.
I'm getting reloads that are just below premium antimony percentage shells but keep the costs down by picking up those discarded hulls, and some pretty judicious shopping for wads and powder.
I'm matching the federal Grand's pretty easily with my reloads for about 1/2 their cost.

plus what else am I gonna do with 3 Ponsess Warrens?
they are paid for so I might as well use them.

With the .410 and 28 gauge shells the saving are well worth the time.

For the 12 gauge, I have many thousands of Remington Premier, STS and Nitro 27 cases I've collected. I too look to get the best prices on components. Right now it's costing me about $3.80 a box for 1.125 oz 12 gauge loads with hard shot.

 

[aht_six]

I finished loading all of my empty 28 gauge hulls. Ended up with 45 boxes of skeet loads.

 

[aht_six]

Added a E-Z Prime and Pro Check bracket to an old Mec 600 jr. The Pro Check attaches to charge bar, and when the handle is lifted after the powder is dumped, holds the wad fingers down on top of the shell until the shot is dumped. It makes it quicker and easier to put the wad in place. I found the E-Z Prime on Amazon for $43.

This is a well worn 12 ga 600 jr I had under my bench. I replaced the 12 ga dies with some used 20 ga dies I got from a friend, then made a couple repairs and replaced a couple parts. Seems to work as good as new again.

 

[aht_six]

Loading .45 acp for the Colt Gold Cup. Using HiTek coated 200 grain SWC bullets over HP-38.

 

[aht_six]

Loaded .38 spl tonight. 148 grain DEWC's over Bullseye.

 

[aht_six]

Loaded up a couple hundred .45 ACP's with 200 grain HiTek coated SWC's. Resized a bunch of the .300 Blackout cases I got from Brother Bob.

 

[aht_six]

Sizing, tumbling, trimming .270 Win. The son and grandson both need ammo for our upcoming Montana mule deer hunt.

 

[aht_six]

H110 is one of my favorites. Works great, I use it for .357, .44, .500, .22 Hornet and .410.