Reloading Tips & Suggestions on TriggerMeister.com

Mr. BulletFeeder adapter for bullet feeding die

Sat, 20 Feb 2016 20:48:46 -0500

If someone builds a bullet collator, most likely they will opt for the cheaper $30 Hornady bullet feeeding die, but if you do end up buying the excellent bullet feeder die from Mr. Bulletfeeder you will need an adapter. Here is a way you can quickly make the necessary adapter.

Materials needed:

1 x 3/4" to 1" PEX hose adapter
1 x 5/8" tap or a heated screw
1 x 8-32 tap and screw

I think the pictures say it all:

Tri-Standard In-line Reloading Press

Sun, 05 Jan 2014 02:26:22 -0500

As a competitive shooter I see reloading as a necessary evil and not as a hobby. This is contrary to other family members and friends that see reloading a hobby in itself and have no problem reloading 500 rounds on a single stage press, which will last them through the entire nice weather season here in Michigan. Then there is us, the competitive shooters, that blow through 500 rounds in a weekend between practice and competition. Last year, my friend Craig and I rescued (for a price) 4 Tri-Standard reloading machines from a barn. At the time I knew nothing about them, besides that one was set-up for .45ACP another for .38 Special, one for .357 Mag and the last one for 9mm. A internet search provided little results. However, the thought of possibly reducing the pain of reloading made the purchase so enticing. This article will hopefully assist someone else in their search for answers of the Tri-Standard.

S&W 625 Moon Clip Loader / De-Mooner

Mon, 25 Nov 2013 20:12:17 -0500

Here is how to make a inexpensive Smith and Wesson 625 Mooner / Demooner. As noted in the video, this is a update, so it shows an enhancement to the one I made previously.

Items needed:

1/2" ID brass tube
Small screw and nut
Soldering iron or torch
Solder
Pipe cutter, dremel, file (something to cut the pipe with).

Benefits:

Tube holds all the brass in the tube when de-mooning and one can quickly dump them into a bag.
Holds the round in place for quick loading of the moon clips
Provides extra leverage and is faster than the other low cost tools.

Mr. Bulletfeeder on a Hornady LNL

Sat, 03 Aug 2013 16:59:40 -0400

The Mr. Bulletfeeder is setup for a Dillon reloading press such as the 650 or the 1050. However, I have a Hornady press, so this post is focused on what one needs to make the Mr Bulletfeeder work on a Hornady LNL-AP. This will hopefully get the next reloader going faster with the Mr BF & LNL-AP combo.

What you need:

First, order your Mr Bulletfeeder directly from Rick (the inventor) @ RAK Systems
Tell Rick that you need a Hornady powder funnel with your order.
Then visit your local hardware store and buy a 3' pre-cut 3/8" solid aluminium rod to extend the hanging rods ($6)
Also buy a light long spring from the Hardware store. I found a Utility Ext Spring (1/4" x 2" x .018") that works well ($3)
...and you need a zip tie that you hopefully already have at home.

First, unpack your new Mr. Bulletfeeder. Before you assemble the hanging system completely, you will need to replace the vertical rods with two rods that you need to cut to length from the 3/8" rod purchased above. Replace the shorter rod with a 9.5" rod. Then replace the longer piece with a 12" rod. See the picture below for reference. This will allow the Mr. Bulletfeeder to hang low enough to still utilize the spring shaped bullet tube without interfering with the bullet seating die's action.

Rob's 1911/2011 USPSA Limited Gun Build

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 03:31:52 -0500

There is a custom gun and a "C U S T O M - G U N". Many believe that if you swap out a couple of parts that you have a custom gun. Well, not really. You may have customized it a bit, but at the end of the day you still have an off the rack gun.

So here is the pictorial of my gun build that Craig and did. Enjoy!

How to make a cheap digital trigger pull gauge

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 20:49:30 -0500

Really, not a whole lot to this project. I bought a $4 dollar electronic hanging scale from Amazon. This one does not have a MAX memory button so you just have to watch the scale when testing.

All you need to do is take a old plastic hanger that has a metal hook. Take the hook off and straighten it out. Then shape it like in the picture above. The little bend in the hook locks onto the trigger of the gun.

Hornady LNL Progressive Press: Casefeeder and Bouncing / Falling Brass

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 11:55:21 -0400

If you are reloading some shorter pistol brass you may have experienced you brass bouncing or falling off the shell plate holder. When this happens it slows down your ammo production. The fix is so simple and very cheap. All you need is:

A paperclip
A piece of heavy duty tape (Gorilla tape, Duck/Duct tape, etc)

Check out the video on how to implement the fix:

Hornady LNLP: Quick and Easy Reloading Tips

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 03:10:46 -0500

We all have our little tricks and sometimes they seem so simple we forget to share them. Here are a couple of mine that cost less then a dollar combined. How good could they possibly be? You be the judge....

Things needed:

2 x ZipLock Bags
1 x Paper Clip
Some good tape, like duct tape

Reloading Stand: No shake, rattle or roll

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:48:59 -0400

So, this weekend I fixed another issue that had been bugging me for a while. For my reloading area I have a wooden bench that was sturdy but would still flex under the pressure of the press when cranked. I see this issue often on Youtube videos and it leads to spilled powder and cases falling off the feed platform.

I decided to weld up a stand similar to the one on "Ultimate Reloader", but I wanted to integrate it into the bench so I would have still some surface to place various items on. So lets get started. Here is your list of required items

UPDATE: Making the Hornady Case Feeder "GLOCK FRIENDLY"

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:23:00 -0400

At first I was going to just modify my original post, but then I figured this deserved it's own post. If you find yourself in the situation where your .40 cal Glock brass will not fall down the small clear tube, you have an alternative now! While some of us have come up with different solutions to make it Glock situation work by either expanding or replacing the feed tube that holds the aligned cases, Hornady has responded with a official solution. The fix for the .40 cal Glock brass is to use the large clear tube, with a "medium" drop tube. This was posted by one of the guys on my blog.

Make your own Hornady EZject Sub-Plate

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 01:31:44 -0400

Hello, again. 'tis is the season for reloading once again! I've probably run about 8000 rounds through my Hornady LNL Progressive Press since the last major reloading post and shot about 6000 rounds in that time, excluding .22's of course. Now, it is back to bulk reloading for the winter to get me caught up for next competition season. It's always nicer to enjoy the sunshine vs. reloading in the basement. Winter reloading? ...I love it.

The "Hostage Shot" with a .25 ACP!?

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:10:10 -0400

...is something probably most people would not consider. Let me back up. Let me back way up.

Last week I decided to clear out every gun that I have never shot. This included 2 rifles and 1 pistol. All of these guns were "impulse purchases" that I *never* shot, breaking my long term rule of "never selling a gun". One gun I sold outright and the others I traded. In this horse trading, I ended up with a Beretta 950 also known as "Jetfire". Here is a picture of the mini James Bond gun:

Review: Glock 27 Advantage Arms .22 conversion kit

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:08:36 -0400

Last weekend my daughter and I entered a local non-sanctioned IDPA match at a local sportsmen club. While that may not seem impressive, I should mention that my daughter is 9 years young and she out-shot some adults.

The nice thing about doing a non-sanctioned match is that there are some liberties that one generally does not have in sanctioned events. This played in my daughter's favor, because she was able to use a Advantage Arms .22 conversion kit on my Glock 27 lower. I had used the conversion kit only about 3 times previously and then it started collecting dust until this spring when I dusted it off for my daughter to take to the range.

Cheap S&W 625 Moon Tool

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 01:25:24 -0500

I recently purchased a very nice S&W 625 Performance Center from a colleague of mine. When I purchased it, I actually knew very little about that model; the only thing that I was sure of is that he has very nice taste in guns and that whatever I buy from him is always a great shooter. OK... on this one I was not quite sure, since he had never fired it. Long story short, he shot the first clip through it since one should shoot each gun one owns at least once, and then I had the honors. Behold! It was an awesome shooter. I would generally consider myself a "semi-automatic" guy, but this revolver can probably sway anyone's mind.

Making the Hornady LNL Case Feeder .40 cal/Glock friendly

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:50:39 -0500

What came first? The Glock's unsupported .40 barrel (KB) or the Hornady Case Feeder? Well, it does not really matter because the problem remains the same. Unexpanded .40 cases will slowly slide down the nice clear tube, although it is still a little tight IMHO. Expanded cases, like the ones fired out of a GLOCK, will most likely get stuck in the nice clear tube. Just seeing a case stuck in the Case Feeder Tube can cause one to go bonkers. So after you cleared your 3rd stuck case, you consult the internet and find that Hornady is aware of the issue and has offered some individuals a custom made adapter that will allow you to use the large tube on the .40 cal brass. According to the same forum the individual was waiting for more than 2 weeks for the miracle part. On ultimatereloader.com, I found that a guy (Rob, his comment below) that used two copper fittings and a pex water pipe to replace the clear tube.

Hornady LNL Die Conversion Bushing - Installation

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 16:04:44 -0500

Here is the scenario: I have a Hornady LNL Progressive Press and a RCBS single stage Rock Chucker. Interchanging the dies between the two is a pain, since you have to remove them from one press and screw them into another. This takes time a fiddling to get them adjusted just right each time.

Thanks to some forums, I stumbled across this Hornady product: Hornady Lock-N-Load Press and Die Conversion Bushing Kit

Hornady Progressive Press Shell Plates (old vs. new) - Part 2

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 15:00:56 -0500

Life was great with the new press after I had "fine-tuned" it with the new Ez-Ject base plate and the #45 shell plate I ordered from Midway. A couple of issues had disappeared, with the new system. The retainer spring would faithfully drop into the "eject groove", which is the area where the retainer spring ducks out of the way of the incoming brass and allows the finished round to eject. Previously, there were occasions where the spring would just continue to ride on the rim of the baseplate, causing the round not to eject properly and me loosing my rhythm and therefore the efficiency that this press is supposed to provide.

Hornady Progressive Press Shell Plates (old vs. new) - Part 1

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 07:59:06 -0500

Recently, I acquired a brand new Hornady Lock-n-Load progressive press from "Phil" a guy that was "getting out of it". He purchased the press a couple of years earlier and NEVER USED it. It was sold to me with the comment: "I hear it requires some tinkering." Having never reloaded before, all I knew I was getting a good deal on the press. However, I did pay the price in the aftermath, as I found out that Hornady made significant design changes to the press while this thing had been sitting there unused, anti-tarnish and all.