SmallCaliberCentral

How many of you reload at the range? I currently load all of my rounds at home but when doing load development it has its downsides. Loads that are too hot need to be pulled later and I've found myself wishing I had a higher or lower load than what I brought with me.

All I'd really need to do at the range is throw & weigh powder and seat bullets. I'd bring sized & primed brass to use. I have a spare Rock Chucker that I reconditioned that I can use. Problem with that is of course the weight of the press and seating dies would need to be adjusted for the dfferent press. Maybe buying the most inexpensive Lee and making something to fit on gate of my pickup is the way to go since the dies need to be adjusted anyway? I've seen several ideas for a "bench" on the internet that I could use with my old Workmate.

Just curious to see how others have resolved this issue or if you even have it.

I believe Hornady makes a small hand press that sounds like it's just what your looking for - portable and minimal set up.

I set up a rig for it but it always was windy enough when I tried to use it that I was never overly confident of my charge weights.

I bought one of these at Home Depot specifically to turn into a portable reloading bench:



I mounted a press to a 1'x2' piece of 3/4" plywood (a 2'x2' cut in half), sanded and min-waxed and clamped to the bench with four quick-grips. And I made a simple wooden 4"Wx15"H box frame to bring my scale up to eye level. The frame is clamped to the back half of the X-Workhorse's deck with a fifth quick-grip. The whole rig can be put together or taken apart in two or three minutes.

As it sits on my "permanent" reloading bench, the board and press is held at the front by two quick-grips and two bolts running through the bench and board at the back, so there's no loss of functionality from the modifications to make it "portable." I don't take it to the range any more but it wasn't a complete loss because use my bench is in a utility room with no HVAC. When it's too hot or too cold, I just take the portable bench into the kitchen and put in my ear plugs (to block the ear-piercing noise coming from the general direction of my significant other).

It's raining here now but when I get a chance, I'll set it up outside and take some pics.

Check out Harrel's measures,and other items that bench rest shooters use.No scale needed,just click up or down,for the powder charge.Harrels also has small clamp on presses as well.Sinclair carries adjustable powder stand clamp ons.Just $$$

I agree that in my case as well, the wind was almost always a problem....and except for benchrest, don't really see the need for loading at the range.

Anyway....Sinclair sells this, and might be of interest to you....

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think iI'll make something similar to the Sinclair "stand". No major force required, just seating. The scale could be an issue. Need a way to shield it from the wind but still have it accessible...

All the guys I see loading at the range are using Wilson dies and an arbor press, along with a Harrell measure.

If I am serious I will reload at the range. I use a Harrell measure and no scale. Before reloading (while at home) I throw different charges of powder with the Harrell, weigh them and record the info to take with me. I always make sure that I use a powder that either fills the case or is close. That way I can visually inspect each load to make sure I don't get either a double charge or a drastically reduced charge.
I hate to load up a bunch of different loads to test to find that I have a pressure problem way too early and have to take a bunch of reloads back home and pull the bullets.

As promised, I finally got round to hauling my rig out into the sunlight to take some pics (but they're still pretty poor). Anyway, FWIW, here's the pieces parts, ready for transport:



It's held up here by QuickGrips but I keep a milk crate in the bed of my Outback Wagon that I rest the press in.

And here it is set up:



It works well enough but you can't get too rambunctious pulling on the handle.

I just have an RCBS scale, so wind is the killer for me.

Fred_C_Dobbs wrote:As promised, I finally got round to hauling my rig out into the sunlight to take some pics (but they're still pretty poor). Anyway, FWIW, here's the pieces parts, ready for transport:



It's held up here by QuickGrips but I keep a milk crate in the bed of my Outback Wagon that I rest the press in.

And here it is set up:



It works well enough but you can't get too rambunctious pulling on the handle.

SWEET!!!

bow shot wrote:I just have an RCBS scale, so wind is the killer for me.

I drop and weigh inside the car. YMMV