I'm reloading 9mm Bayou Bullets (coated lead) and want to add a bullet feeder to my press. RCBS, Hornady and Mr. BulletFeeder(sp?) seem like candidates. Hornady doesn't recommend lead bullets, but from what I've read I believe I could get it to work with the coated lead. Any recommendations?
Ideally I would replace my lockout die with the bullet feeder, but this position (immediately following my powder die/PTX) probably wouldn't work due to proximity with the powder die and the difficulty of doing a visual inspection on that side of the press.
I say stick to your fingers. The more automated you get, the higher the risk of something bad happening. Besides, they're free and I bet you already have some laying around .
Absolutely true! Once I have primer tubes ready and the press configured I'm good for 400+ rounds/hour. I'm loading 3000+ rounds/month of 9mm and I'd like to load 800 rounds during a session. I'd like to cut the time down a bit and save wear and tear on my left shoulder which I dinged up lifting an 18"x24" steel plate during match setup.
I do have some skepticism about a throughput increase, however, since you can only move the press lever so fast: any faster an powder will start departing the small 9mm cases.
The only bullet feeder experience I have was bad. I bought RCBS manual feeders for 9mm, .40 smith, and .45 ACP and none of them were reliable. Sometimes they would feed one bullet at a time like they were designed then other times they would not feed any or drop four or five at a time. I talked with RCBS several times and they sent me new insets and new rubber bands but that didn't help. I finally quit using them.
Hmm. Pending something approaching acclaim for a BF I'm going to experiment with the Hornady Bullet feeder die on hand. My original thought was just a single tube feeder, but my first attempt to get the die alone working with my 9mm coated lead wasn't promising and I really don't feel like inventing a fix. I do have a case feeder and it's working extremely well - not perfect mind you, but very satisfactory. I would hope that those who shell out big bucks for a Dillon Super 1050 get a good bullet feeder!
I have an Hornady 9mm bullet feeder on mine and it works great for FMJ en thickly plated bullets, not so for thin plated and I would hesitate to even try lead or plated.
Otoh, if I had a casefeeder I would not use the bullet feeder and vice-versa. You can only pull the handle so fast and in between there is plenty of time to place a bullet/case.
Otoh, if I had a casefeeder I would not use the bullet feeder and vice-versa. You can only pull the handle so fast and in between there is plenty of time to place a bullet/case.
That's my underlying feeling. A bullet feeder would have to be flawless to make any significant gain in my press. In that regard a "flawless" bullet feeder would make more sense than a case feeder since 9mm cases are easier to pick up than 124/115gr bullets and if I rush too much the cases have a tendency to trip on their way into the shell plate: a smooth stroke keeps the powder in the case and the empty cases flowing (most of the time).
I don't have any experience with 9mm but I do load 40 S&W. I agree with being steady and deliberate with reloading. I use the bullet feeder die with a brass tube. I bought a 36" long brass tube (7/16" OD and .410" ID) along with a 1/2" ID and 1" OD steel setscrew collar. The setscrew collar sits flat against the top of the die and provides a firm base support for the tube (no wobble) I did have to wrap some electrical tape around the end of the tube to get it to fit snugly in the Hornady bullet feeder die and snug up the setscrew collar. Drilled some hitch pin holes and set it in the die. No other support was needed. I can load 60 bullets in the tube along with 10 in the die itself and it fed perfectly. The weight of the bullets did seat the bullets firmly into the case, which was belled to .430. I use the RCBS lockout die and have room left for the seater die. This actually gives me one less operation to hand feed the bullets and more time to eyeball the powder level and primer operation. I actually crimp the bullets separately on the LNL press after finishing the initial process. Maybe not power loading but works at a comfortable pace for me. All supplies were bought at Amazonsupply.com. Wasn't too sure how this would turn out but I did not want to have to build a tube support system like the ones I have seen using the Lee's Rigid plastic tubes. The brass tube is expensive ($18) but extremely strong and rigid. The setscrew collar was only a couple of $.
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