Anybody reload at the range?

[Willys]

Prep 50 cases with a base charge. Carefully Store in you transport box with foil cover so no powder spills out.

Now just weigh and add the pinch or so powder needed for your charge and use arbor press to seat bullet. Work???

 

[emp1953]

Load development is a pain. I don't mind the process, but I am not a huge fan of the driving. 1:30 drive each way and a minimum of 4 trips (if everything goes well). Does anybody bring their press and scale out and reload at the range?

Trip 1… ladder
Trip 2… Ed/sd test on best nodes
Trip 3… bullet seating depth test
Trip 4… final test and start to doping.

Would sure be nice to find that mode then load up a couple 5 shot groups, then play with some seating depths all in the same trip! Would make for a long day but it's spring in Colorado. It's beautiful outside!

I have a "portable bench" that fits into my trailer hitch. I have found the need to adjust seating depths at the range. That is all that I will attempt with my reloading equipment at the range, too much dust and dirt in the air as well as too many distractions.

 

[dan belisle]

I have a range loading setup I use. Basically a Lee turret press mounted to a 2x6, and a few c clamps to attach it to the bench. Scales in box to keep the wind out. Works fine, just another box to carry to the range though. - dan

 

[Wrenches]

I do it a lot! I have a tandem axle enclosed trailer I use for gun shows to transport my inventory. So on range days I put my B&D Workmate in the trailer with my T7 press attached and beam scale. plus any components I need for that days testing. When weighting powder I just close the doors to stop the wind. I can ladder test one or more rifles each day. I also clean my firearms before leaving the range. No mess at home to deal with. YMMV

 

[epoletna]

I tried it. Once.

Pre-weighed powder charges and took them to the range, then deprimed, primed, charged and seated right at the bench. I guess I wasn't well enough organized to do it well, so I never tried it since then. I'm moving to a place with a 100 yard range adjacent, so perhaps I'll try again.

 

[LRNut]

In Colorado I can load, step out the door, and shoot. In Arizona, I have a range out to 500 yards about 10 minutes from the house.

 

[Allen Lone wolf]

I am fortunate to have a 100yds range in my back yard. I can walk out of my house, make 10-12 steps sit down at my shooting bench right behind my garage. My loading room/man cave is upstairs in my garage. I have a huge hill probably 200 -250ft high for a natural burm. Blessed to live the country life!

 

[1yotedog]

Load development is a pain. I don't mind the process, but I am not a huge fan of the driving. 1:30 drive each way and a minimum of 4 trips (if everything goes well). Does anybody bring their press and scale out and reload at the range?

Trip 1… ladder
Trip 2… Ed/sd test on best nodes
Trip 3… bullet seating depth test
Trip 4… final test and start to doping.

Would sure be nice to find that mode then load up a couple 5 shot groups, then play with some seating depths all in the same trip! Would make for a long day but it's spring in Colorado. It's beautiful outside!

I do load development at the range. Like you, my range is far from home but it's a good range so that's where I go for load development. One range trip is enough to ladder up powder charges, find max, then go back to promising nodes and do seating tests. Different bullets can also be tested. Brass is prep'd and primed before-hand. I experimented with how to weigh charges using several different portable scales that had little holes to drop powder through but wind affects always caused problems. If a load acted "funny" there was always the question of whether or not the charge weight was accurate. What works is an RCBS Chargemaster Lite powered a 115vac output laptop computer battery pack (easy find on Amazon). The Chargemaster Lite has a windscreen that with no holes and dispenses powder with a button press. There are no wind effect on the scale. The scale is frequently tested with check weights but is almost never off. Bullets are pressed on an RCBS Summit press which is small, not too heavy for transport, and easily mounted to an aluminum plate clamped to the adjoining bench. I like the Redding seating die with the sliding case alignment sleeve. Runout checks of ammo loaded this way is as good as anything done at home. No load is "good" until its shoots well again so confirmation loads are done on my setup at home for retest at the range. Load development done this way results in almost no powder/bullets/primers wasted on bad loads.

 

[Garry J]

A day of testing at the range is great take the reloading equipment and the little barbecue grill and make a day of it. It's good to take the wife and let her log all the results. Being retired and able to do this on a weekday and not on a weekend with 250 people running around, when they're running A match.

 

[chav0_12]

I've definitely considered getting a small press to take with me, my beam scale, trimmer, etc. basically everything I would need to do load development at the range. Would be nice to shoot 3-5 rounds, go load some more while the barrel cools and do it again. We have an office/shack at the range that I could set everything up in if I wanted to. The range is only 20 minutes away though. I'll usually do load work up for more than one rifle at a time. Bring some pistols and/or rifles that already have loaded developed for them to shoot while barrels cool. When I'm done with the data gathering, which can take the majority of the day when you're doing it for 2-3 rifles, I'll load it all up and go home. Clean brass, prep brass, load it all up based on the data I gathered and spend the majority of the day shooting the next time too. If I was doing one rifle at a time it might be beneficial to just have stuff there but I try to make sure I have enough new blood in the safe that I always have something to work on. Or, with components the way they are now I might have to work up a new load for an existing rifle because I can't get a bullet or powder for it. Before I got married (again) and had a baby I'd be at the range at least once a week over the summer. Now I have to fight just to get time to load.

 

[Lionel Boyd Johnson]

Load development is a pain. I don't mind the process, but I am not a huge fan of the driving. 1:30 drive each way and a minimum of 4 trips (if everything goes well). Does anybody bring their press and scale out and reload at the range?

Trip 1… ladder
Trip 2… Ed/sd test on best nodes
Trip 3… bullet seating depth test
Trip 4… final test and start to doping.

Would sure be nice to find that mode then load up a couple 5 shot groups, then play with some seating depths all in the same trip! Would make for a long day but it's spring in Colorado. It's beautiful outside!

Yes. I have an RCBS Partner press bolted to a piece of 1x6 that I can C-clamp to the bench. The dies and components fit in a Plano toolbox with lift-out tray. A small battery powered electronic scale completes the kit, or I sometimes just take a powder measure with calibrations for the powder(s) I'm using. -Ed

 

[Sargesniper]

Used to years ago at the hunting camp… so much more efficient particularly when you're first starting out with a new load and trying to find peak pressure

Hey Boss.

 

[gator378]

Load development is a pain. I don't mind the process, but I am not a huge fan of the driving. 1:30 drive each way and a minimum of 4 trips (if everything goes well). Does anybody bring their press and scale out and reload at the range?

Trip 1… ladder
Trip 2… Ed/sd test on best nodes
Trip 3… bullet seating depth test
Trip 4… final test and start to doping.

Would sure be nice to find that mode then load up a couple 5 shot groups, then play with some seating depths all in the same trip! Would make for a long day but it's spring in Colorado. It's beautiful outside!

Our Benchrest range has tables for you to reload if you desire Quite a few people do but so far I have not

 

[floyd kittrell]

Yes you can easily with L.E. Wilson Dies I have seen this done at our range by bench rest shooters when testing for accuracy . Weigh your powder loads at home and put them in marked plastic vials. Take a box of primers . Depending on the bushing size you use you might be able to seat the bullet with your hand pressure . If not the press is very small , light and portable . I have seen this done and have all the equipment but have never done it myself. I normally take 2 different powders with five rounds and 5 powder loads each . when I go and it is normally 15-20 minuets between each round so I'm there all day and most of the time can not finish one of the 2 powders I take. A barrel cooler ( RIFLEKUHL by MAGNETOSPEED) does help to shorten down time but not a lot .