rcbs progressive.

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15 years 10 months ago #884 by foxhunter
rcbs progressive. was created by foxhunter
Since I got my ar10t in Oct and ammo was so high, I decided to get back onto reloading. I had reloaded with a rockchucker from the 1970'-1990's for .243 and .300 wm, 44mag, then got rid of it when I didn't have time to shoot anymore(mistake). I decided to go with the rcbs progressive reloader so I ordered one in late Oct and it was backordered till I finally got it last week. Definite learning curve.
I already have bent two decapping pins ( more on order), ruined a bunch of cases when they didn't line up correctly under the powder dispenser and bent the rims, loaded a couple shells only to find out the priming step didn't insert a primer, and loaded about 6 rounds before I realized I'd run out of gunpowder.
On the bright side I think I have worked out most of these issues, mostly it is just slowing down and being more careful, making sure the rotary shell holder cycles fully and clicks into place. Also, the small size resizing dies are working very well, as some Winchester ammo that wouldn't consistently eject the first time around are ejecting fine as reloads.
This first go round accuracy is not as good as with my best factory ammo(1.5-2 in groups at 100yd for reloads and .5-.8in match factory ammo), so I will work on more consistency with the powder measure (seems to be pretty good though when I weighed several samples).
I loaded the first batch with 41.5 grains imr 4895, with 42.1 grains being the rated max load for the molycoated 168 gr hornady boattail bullet I am using. I am going up a little on the powder for the next loading, probably 42gr even and I suspect that is about as much powder as the case can hold.
Any suggestions appreciated, especially on loads for this powder and bullet.

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15 years 10 months ago #890 by Policeman
Replied by Policeman on topic Re:rcbs progressive.
I do not mean to be a downer for you but if I was you I would not load and shoot anything for your AR just yet. I would load but pull everything until I got it perfect every time. Reloading can be fun and a great way to customize your ammo selection BUT until you can do it by the numbers you are taking an extremely large gamble.

Also did you use small base dies?

I have been reading that TAC powder has been giving very good results in both the AR platforms.

po-po

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15 years 10 months ago #893 by foxhunter
Replied by foxhunter on topic Re:rcbs progressive.
I am using the small base dies, and they work fine. every round I have reloaded has loaded and ejected perfectly. better than some factory ammo. Now that I am double checking alignment of cases, going more slowly, double checking powder dispensed more frequently with the scale, inspecting every finished shell, I think things will be fine. If I had anything to do over, I should have stayed with the good old single stage rock chucker reloader for this gun. There is no doubt in my mind that this gun will not tolerate mistakes very well, and I will be careful. I just stocked up on IMR 4895, but I will try some tac powder if I can find it locally. thanks

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15 years 9 months ago #900 by featherblue
Replied by featherblue on topic Re:rcbs progressive.
Please keep posting reloading info! I am just getting into reloading and appreciate the tips, etc. I will be doing loads for my bolt gun first and learn how to do precision work.

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15 years 9 months ago #902 by donkey1984
Replied by donkey1984 on topic Re:rcbs progressive.
same here please.

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13 years 5 months ago #7740 by foxhunter
Replied by foxhunter on topic Re:rcbs progressive.
I regret the day I traded in my rockchucker for my rcbs progressive reloader.
The progressive is great for pistol ammo, where less care has to be taken during the process, but I have found that brass preparation and priming need to be done in seperate stages, so I don't really use the progressive features except on the last two steps, loading the powder and seating the bullet.
These plastic priming strips that the reloader uses gives me fits, so that I end up putting the primer in the slot by hand half the time. When I got on line I found out that I am not alone. In fact Rcbs now has a different priming system that can be attached to my progressive as a modification, that apparently works great, but for another $119. Not asking for feedback. just blowing off steam. Shoulda gone with Dillon I guess.

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13 years 5 months ago #7760 by LebbenB
Replied by LebbenB on topic Re:rcbs progressive.

...but I have found that brass preparation and priming need to be done in seperate stages...

Concur wholeheartedly for fired brass. I size/de-prime on a Rockchucker then transition to my progressive for priming, powder, seating and crimp. The only time my sizing die goes on my progressive is when I'm dealing with new, unfired brass.

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