apartment reloading

Stupid · Post by **Stupid** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:57 am

I live in a quite small one bedroom apartment with no intention to move any time soon. The whole thing is carpeted for one thing; another thing is that I don't have much room.

Does anybody have any idea how I can start? The price of ammo is killing me. If I have to name one thing that I hate about this war, that is the price of the ammos!!!!

TX Rancher · Post by **TX Rancher** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 7:42 am

Are you planning on reloading one caliber or multiple calibers? Will you be reloading rifle, pistol, or both? And lastly, how much do you shoot?

A reloading setup doesnâ€™t have to take a lot of room. For years I reloaded in a walk-in closet, and I was reloading several rifle and pistol calibers.

Iâ€™ve never found a rug on the floor to be that big a deal. Just donâ€™t try to clean up with a vacuum that has a beater barâ€¦it tends to sound like itâ€™s coming apart when it picks up a primer, and if the primer gets stuck in the bar, it can tear the rug up.

I used a 1 gal shop vac to clean up the floor. Worked great, and it did a good job on cleaning the bench too.

At one place, I put plastic floor covering down. It was the same stuff movers use to keep from marring floors and rugs. It worked great but I had to replace it 2-3 times a year.

flintknapper · Post by **flintknapper** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:23 am

TX Rancher wrote:Are you planning on reloading one caliber or multiple calibers? Will you be reloading rifle, pistol, or both? And lastly, how much do you shoot?

A reloading setup doesnâ€™t have to take a lot of room. For years I reloaded in a walk-in closet, and I was reloading several rifle and pistol calibers.

Iâ€™ve never found a rug on the floor to be that big a deal. Just donâ€™t try to clean up with a vacuum that has a beater barâ€¦it tends to sound like itâ€™s coming apart when it picks up a primer, and if the primer gets stuck in the bar, it can tear the rug up.

I used a 1 gal shop vac to clean up the floor. Worked great, and it did a good job on cleaning the bench too.

At one place, I put plastic floor covering down. It was the same stuff movers use to keep from marring floors and rugs. It worked great but I had to replace it 2-3 times a year.

I started reloading when I was 17 yrs. old, I set up my few supplies in my bedroom (even though Mom wasn't that keen about it). I came home one day from school only to have our maid meet me at the door with 5-6 primers in her hand..and a not so understanding look on her face.

She had been vacuuming around the desk where I reloaded and said the vacuum starting making the most "God-Awful" sound.

She thought it was BB's or Pellets AGAIN, I just told her those were primers, and that I was sorry (again).

I'm just glad one didn't go off (I know its unlikely).

Carpet and small objects just don't mix IMO. To make matters worse....I had "Shag" carpet in my room (don't laugh, this was 35 yrs. ago).

I know I have posted absolutely NO useful information here, but seeing that carpet thing, kinda took me down memory lane, and I have to use what memory I have left.

Houston1944 · Post by **Houston1944** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 9:20 am

One option would be to find a shooting friend that has more room and split the cost of the equipment.
When space is a big issue the turrent presses are a good option. They take up less space than the progressive machines but save you from setup changes. The table is a very important part of the equipment. It does not have to be big but it does need to be sturdy. Everything else can be stored in a closet shelf or on the closet floor. If you have room for a 2x3 table then you have room to reload. You also could use clamps for mounting the press and when not reloading you can remove it, cover the table with cloth and use it for other purposes.

gmckinl · Post by **gmckinl** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 10:06 am

I started reloading in a walk-in closet in a one-bedroom apartment. I used metal workbench legs that I screwed a double sink cutout onto. Used that setup for many many years.

Stupid · Post by **Stupid** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 11:32 am

I want to load .45, .223, and .308. probably shoot 3000/year in total.

where can I get a small metal bench? Oh, how heavy is the 550B?

nuparadigm · Post by **nuparadigm** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:16 pm

Sears Hardware sells a folding bench for a table saw. I have two Dillon Square Deal B's on strong mounts (one on either side of the bench) in a walk-in closet in my house. I can't say how much the 550 weighs.

When I want to load something other than .45 ACP or 9mm (the two SDB's), I just clamp a small RCBS single-stage press to my kitchen table.

Venus Pax · Post by **Venus Pax** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:11 pm

Does reloading equipment require a climate-controlled environment?
I ask b/c it would be easiest for me to set a system up in our portable building, which my husband uses as his shop.
Sturdy bench-tables, nasty plywood floor, and shop vac come standard in this particular shop.

Stupid · Post by **Stupid** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:26 pm

Not really as long as you can take the heat and cold - not much of cold here, but heat is hard to tkae.

Venus Pax wrote:Does reloading equipment require a climate-controlled environment?
I ask b/c it would be easiest for me to set a system up in our portable building, which my husband uses as his shop.
Sturdy bench-tables, nasty plywood floor, and shop vac come standard in this particular shop.

jhutto · Post by **jhutto** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 10:32 pm

I would think the Humidity would be a big factor in powder and primer relliability... But I am just a newbie to reloading

Jeremae · Post by **Jeremae** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 4:31 pm

As to table, from Midway:

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... mid=155024

As to non climate controled shed, I would hesitate to store powder or primers in a shed where temps may exceed 100.

Venus Pax · Post by **Venus Pax** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 10:14 pm

Jeremae, if I stored the powder & primers in the house, only taking them to the shed when reloading, would the press and larger work items be okay in the shed?

Houston1944 · Post by **Houston1944** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 10:42 pm

Unprotected metal in a Houston area garage will rust. You would need to keep the dies inside a tool box or something simliar. A plastic cover over the press would probably be good enough. I would keep powder and primers inside the house. I think the largest issue would be the heat. I don't recommend reloading with a fan blowing so hopefully you are a early riser and would get the loading in before it gets too warm. Getting up at 5:00 AM on a Sat to reload may not be for everyone.

TX Rancher · Post by **TX Rancher** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:02 pm

Venus Pax wrote:Jeremae, if I stored the powder & primers in the house, only taking them to the shed when reloading, would the press and larger work items be okay in the shed?

You can load in a non-climate controlled environment, but I donâ€™t recommend it. My current reloading are is external to the house, and does not have air-conditioning. The net result is I do a lot of reloading in the winter, spring, and fallâ€¦but only under duress in the summer.

I keep my primer and powder stored inside, and the loaded ammo also. Iâ€™m more worried about the heat then I am humidity, and itâ€™s impact on the powder.

I keep my press/dies clean and oiled, so I donâ€™t really have any problems with rust.

I agree with the comment about not loading with a fan blowing, unless you can truly keep the â€œbreezeâ€? off your workspace. It can blow the powder around (possibly out of a case), and give you erroneous readings on your scale.

If you can get your reloading setup inside, go for it. But if all you have is outside, thatâ€™s still better then not reloading at all.