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I spent maybe an hour and a half working on reloading today, and that’s all I can take. I had to quit.

I got the dies set up the way I like them. That meant the next job was fixing the powder measure. The manual is a pamphlet. Naturally, it’s useless. You have to look at the powder measure and figure out how it works.

The one thing the manual is good for is reminding you to clean out the copious film of grease Hornady puts on things to prevent rust. This stuff will prevent powder from flowing. So you have to completely disassemble the measure and clean each individual part. With what? Why, with a Hornady product that doesn’t come with the press or the measure, of course! Some crap I would have to mail-order, taking a week and costing ten bucks in shipping. But they suggest alternatives, right? Uh…NO.

I tried what I had on hand. Carb cleaner and brake cleaner left a residue that took forever to evaporate, so I followed up with acetone, which seems to remove it. They even have grease on the funnel part of the measure, which is painted. Go figure. I wish I could describe how hard it is to get a swab into this part of the measure. I’m contemplating duct-taping a shotgun swab to the end of a gun-cleaning rod.

I thought I had the whole thing clean, but when I tried using the measure, my weights went 5.4, 6.1, 5.9…

I took everything apart again, and while I was wiping the little tiny funnel that puts powder in the cartridge, it slipped out of my hands and hit the concrete floor. Naturally, it’s dinged up. Will it affect the powder flow? I’ll find out soon. Maybe I can find a way to buff it out. This is one more occasion for kicking myself for not having a drill press.

Another fun problem has developed. Sometimes the shell plate refuses to drop into place after an operation. It goes about halfway down. The manual–here is a shock–doesn’t address this in its tiny troubleshooting section. There is some vague language about indexing and pawls in there. When the plate doesn’t register correctly, adjust the pawls! How? Hmm…just ADJUST those boogers! So I may have some more trial and error in front of me. I may have to call Hornady.

I can’t find anything in the manual about installing the spent primer tube. I keep looking at the press, trying to find a nipple to attach it to, but I haven’t found it. I guess I’m going to have to start running brass through it to see where the primers squirt out.

I hope the press is durable, because it’s taking a monstrous beating already, and I haven’t loaded a single round.

The recipes are confusing. I keep reading warnings. “Don’t switch primers!” But when I got my loading info from Laser-Cast, it listed a bunch of primers as though they were interchangeable. Hope they’re right. If they are, I paid WAY too much for my primers. I couldn’t get them locally.

Here’s the plan. Laser-Cast 230-grain round-nose bullets. OAL: 1.260″. Charge: 5 grains Unique. Primer: Federal 150. Oddly, another recipe says 5 grains and an OAL of 1.190. That seems like a big difference. The second recipe is from the Alliant Powder site. But it doesn’t specify the type of bullet very well. It just says lead 230-grain target. For all I know, they mean wadcutters.

Here is good news. You don’t really have to seek prompt medical attention when you get brake cleaner in your eye. Don’t ask me how I know.

I’m wondering if I have to measure all my brass. I was hoping the resizing die would make it uniform, but I don’t know. Guess I’ll find out.

The really maddening thing is that I have to test the ammunition, and I can’t do it without a trip to the range. I think I should go ahead and make 50 rounds. I would rather disassemble them and start over than waste a trip to the range. And the damned things ought to work, shouldn’t they? A low-pressure round, in a standard barrel? I don’t think I’m tempting fate, here.

Maybe tomorrow my first completed round will roll into the collection bin. But I would not bet the rent on it.