1 hour ago, Ray Ray said:

Out of stock, damn shit's flying of the shelves 

I highly recommend creating an account for that website, uploading your FPID to your account. I bought some stuff back in January from them, and last time i order ammo 2-3 weeks ago i was able to dump a case into my cart and check out in under 10 seconds. 

I kept a MEC 600 in my dorm room in college*, in my closet with my shotgun and a Colt revolver.  I’d C-clamp the press to my desk when I needed trap loads.  

*This was some years ago, and in a state not rabidly anti-gun.   Buncha guns and a few other reloaders in the dorms then.  Never a problem.  Imagine that. 

On anther world, in a universe far, far away!

1 hour ago, njJoniGuy said:

It doesn't take up much space at all. I have my single stage RockChucker mounted to a folding Workmate here in my 1 bedroom apartment. When I'm not using it, the whole deal folds up and leans against a wall.

When I'm sizing/depriming or dispensing powder, I unfold a cloth painters tarp in the area beneath the press and where my chair is to catch 'flying' spent primers or powder spills so they don't end up in the carpet.

Don't let 'lack of space' prevent you from reloading!

I have one of these, but I don't think it's sturdy enough. My father stopped reloading so I have a new to me Dillon XL650. 

 

Cut a length of 2x6 or 8 or 10 to match the width of the workmate top. Lag screw it to the top from underneath. That's your press platform.

You'll need a chair or stool to match the working height. I lower my desk chair so that the top of the operating handle is level with my outstretched arm.

You'll probably need to keep your feet on the lower cross-piece or otherwise weight the workmate down to counteract the torque you're going to put on the entire assemble as you cycle the press.

Here's the important question:

Will ammo manufacturers spin up more production? Or will they just carry on as they can, which will extend the price inflation.

1 hour ago, Sota said:

Will ammo manufacturers spin up more production?

They will produce as much as they can, for as long as they can.  Doing otherwise would be foolish.  Many Mfgs supplemented their output capacity after 2013.  I'm sure all the post Newtown extra production will be in use.

4 hours ago, ChrisJM981 said:

I have one of these, but I don't think it's sturdy enough. My father stopped reloading so I have a new to me Dillon XL650. 

 

Dunno about that one, but a workmate 550  was my reloading bench for several years. I made an mdf top for it. 

1 hour ago, Sota said:

Here's the important question:

Will ammo manufacturers spin up more production? Or will they just carry on as they can, which will extend the price inflation.

New machines maybe not. But they will definitely spin up any capacity they turned down due to the glut. 

4 hours ago, njJoniGuy said:

Cut a length of 2x6 or 8 or 10 to match the width of the workmate top. Lag screw it to the top from underneath. That's your press platform.

You'll need a chair or stool to match the working height. I lower my desk chair so that the top of the operating handle is level with my outstretched arm.

You'll probably need to keep your feet on the lower cross-piece or otherwise weight the workmate down to counteract the torque you're going to put on the entire assemble as you cycle the press.

Who needs a gym? Legs and arms! I definitely think it won't hold up. I don't see a Workmate 550 anywhere other than in the UK. The 425 holds up to 550 lbs., and I have enough Amazon points to get it for free. 

Looking at the workmates online, it's an older version of the 425 that I use.

I fold all 4 legs under so that I've got a pretty decent sized footprint on the floor and it gives me a nice plate only an inch off the ground to put at least 1 foot to keep it down.

The workmate 125 was the one I used to use in the office. It stands taller as the legs don't fold under, but it worked just as well as long as the chair was high enough and it had a wall behind it.

2 hours ago, Scorpio64 said:

They will produce as much as they can, for as long as they can.  Doing otherwise would be foolish.  Many Mfgs supplemented their output capacity after 2013.  I'm sure all the post Newtown extra production will be in use.

When the start up production again................most ammo manufacturers are shut down for now.

Harbor Freight has a workbench that is popular among budget minded and space limited reloaders that want a dedicated work area.  It's cheap, and it is stable.  Most put a plywood or some other surface over the top.

2 minutes ago, Oakridgefirearms said:

When the start up production again................most ammo manufacturers are shut down for now.

Are they? They are pretty much exempt everywhere. 

I know the component manufacturers I deal with aren't shut down. 

 

2 minutes ago, raz-0 said:

Are they? They are pretty much exempt everywhere. 

I know the component manufacturers I deal with aren't shut down. 

That's what I've been told by my distributors - Glock, CZ, Remington, Winchester are shut down for now. Not sure if they were forced to or decided to do so on their own. Smith & Wesson is still operational from what I read.

22 minutes ago, Oakridgefirearms said:

 

That's what I've been told by my distributors - Glock, CZ, Remington, Winchester are shut down for now. Not sure if they were forced to or decided to do so on their own. Smith & Wesson is still operational from what I read.

I was referring to ammo manufacturers, but gun makers should be exempt as well. Didn't mean they didn't sir down in their own though. 

8 hours ago, raz-0 said:

I was referring to ammo manufacturers, but gun makers should be exempt as well. Didn't mean they didn't sir down in their own though. 

My understanding is that Remington and Winchester ammo plants are idle right now and there were some others as well but I'm not sure about CCI and Federal. My guess is this is primarily voluntary.

 

Bottom line is that both guns and ammo are likely to be in short supply in the coming months.

18 hours ago, ChrisJM981 said:

If I had room for a reloading bench I'd be in good shape.

Lee hand press

works great 

used it years ago when I was an apartment dweller

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Lee-Hand-Press-Kit/1172297.uts

12 hours ago, ChrisJM981 said:

Who needs a gym? Legs and arms! I definitely think it won't hold up. I don't see a Workmate 550 anywhere other than in the UK. The 425 holds up to 550 lbs., and I have enough Amazon points to get it for free. 

I believe the 425 and 550 are the same. 

1 hour ago, W2MC said:

Lee hand press

works great 

used it years ago when I was an apartment dweller

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Lee-Hand-Press-Kit/1172297.uts

Or you can go even cheaper........the basic Lee loader is about $30

 

1 hour ago, W2MC said:

Lee hand press

works great 

used it years ago when I was an apartment dweller

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Lee-Hand-Press-Kit/1172297.uts

And a video of how to use the hand press:

 

46 minutes ago, W2MC said:

Or you can go even cheaper........the basic Lee loader is about $30

 

Wow!  WAY too much work for one lousy round!  The thing I like least about this method is the inaccuracy of those powder measures. 

1 hour ago, JohnnyB said:

Wow!  WAY too much work for one lousy round!  The thing I like least about this method is the inaccuracy of those powder measures. 

Yes...its a bit of work. 

Also....how do you think most powder measures work?  Do you think they weigh each charge on a scale? 

 

1 minute ago, W2MC said:

Yes...its a bit of work. 

Also....how do you think most powder measures work?  Do you think they weigh each charge on a scale? 

 

No, but I weigh every powder drop then every 4th, then 10th until I am 100% sure they remain accurate.

22 hours ago, ChrisJM981 said:

If I had room for a reloading bench I'd be in good shape.

My reloading bench is an old Craftsman grinder stand... 16" x 18" including the shelf in the back for the additional turrets, small digital powder scale and caliper.

I have 3 turrets pre-setup for 45 acp, 38 special and 9mm, I also have one that is dedicated with a generic primer removal die so I can bulk remove primers before cleaning cases. I can swap between calibers in maybe 3 - 4 minutes including verifying the bullet seating and OAL.

You don't need a lot of room to reload.

-Jim,

 

I totally respect people who reload, and I can see how one could save money, and create more accurate rounds for those into precision shooting.  But what I don't get is just as ammo becomes scarce during crisis times, isn't the same true for bullets and primers?

Call me lazy, but I would rather work a little harder at my job, put the funds into buying factory manufactured ammo when it's relatively inexpensive, and store it for a figurative rainy day.  

 

1 hour ago, Old Glock guy said:

isn't the same true for bullets and primers?

Not as true.  During the shortages, you may have trouble getting the exact primers you want, you may have to wait a week or two for the exact bullet you want, but you will get them, and the prices will be decent compared to panic inflated ammo prices.  Reloading supplies don't seem to be as affected by panic pricing.

If there is something occurring in the world that causes me to expend all my store bought JHP and I need to make reloads for purposes other than training, that'd mean we are all pretty much all screwed and won't be purchasing ammo from anywhere anyway. I tend to think of it as practice ammo during regular times and something to fall back on if we are all the way in the fire but everything is a finite resource at the end of the day, both bought ammo and reloading supplies.

JMHO

-Jim

50 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

Not as true.  During the shortages, you may have trouble getting the exact primers you want, you may have to wait a week or two for the exact bullet you want, but you will get them, and the prices will be decent compared to panic inflated ammo prices.  Reloading supplies don't seem to be as affected by panic pricing.

POWDER!!! That is the limiting factor i have found. 

1 hour ago, Old Glock guy said:

I totally respect people who reload, and I can see how one could save money, and create more accurate rounds for those into precision shooting.  But what I don't get is just as ammo becomes scarce during crisis times, isn't the same true for bullets and primers?

Call me lazy, but I would rather work a little harder at my job, put the funds into buying factory manufactured ammo when it's relatively inexpensive, and store it for a figurative rainy day.  

 

This is my Pet Peeve. 

I have conversations with people about this and they always seem to incorporate the one side to reloading... cheap plinking rounds. 

 

A) All of my rifle rounds are loaded beyond "match performance" accuracies... 

To buy that off a shelf would cost $1 per round just for .223,  so i can cut those cost down almost 70% The only thing that costs slightly more is the bullet. an 10c bullet vs a 20c

B) those cheap plinking rounds actually become semi-match grade.. I can put out a lot of cheap 9mm rounds with a far greater level of accuracy than cheap manufactured rounds

16 hours ago, Scorpio64 said:

Harbor Freight has a workbench that is popular among budget minded and space limited reloaders that want a dedicated work area.  It's cheap, and it is stable.  Most put a plywood or some other surface over the top.

Does that come with a side of the wuflu virus?

2 hours ago, JohnnyB said:

No, but I weigh every powder drop then every 4th, then 10th until I am 100% sure they remain accurate.

That's fine, but we're talking about getting into simple reloading; these aren't precision loads.  The recommended numbers from Lee are well under max pressure loads, and the little scoop is not an adjustable powder measure; it doesn't change size.