American Handgunner March/April 1981

worked strenuously; hence; it doesn't splitafterjust a few reloads. Indeed, most pistolreloaders bell the mouth far too much,thus sacrificing case life.As the accompanying photos show, thepowder measure sits squarely atop stationNo.2. This works on a push-knob basis,the powder being measured by a bushing ala the shotshell press. The C-H No. 333-Xhas the same setup; various bushings areavailable and listed in the C-H literature.The powder drops directly through thebelling stem; hence, belling and chargingare accomplished at virtually the sametime. The operator merely pushes thepowder measure's knob while the case is atthe top of its belling stroke.BULLETS TO THE LEFTIf the handloader has his box of bulletssitting directly to the left of the press'sbase, he can pick'up a bullet and have itpropped in the case mouth immediatelyafter releasing the powder charger's knoband lowering the slide plate a mite.The next step is removing the powderand-bullet-chargedcase to the middlefront station, which is the bullet seater.Variously shaped punches are availablefor the different nose' configurations, andlowering the handle merely forces the bulletto a desired depth.The round is then taken to the finalstation at the extreme right of the slideplate, at which point the taper crimp isapplied. In general, the taper crimp ishighly desirable for cartridges which headspaceon their ·c.ase mouths in semiautomaticpistols, meaning the 9mm ' Parabellumand the .45 ACP. Ditto for the .30MI Carbine in either a rifle or the Rugersingle-action revolver. Putting a roll crimpon rounds like the 9mmP or .45 ACPmerely invites problems due to improperheadspacing because of reduced caselength and the absence of a case mouth tosquarely abut the chamber's shoulder.150-200 ROUNDS PER HOURAlthough reading the above sounds involved,one can actually load 150-200rounds per hour with the No. 444-X. Oncea reloader gets the feel of the press, he'llnote that a full-length stroke ofthe handleisn't needed for each operation, and thatall case movement and bullet seating canbe done with his left hand while the righthand remains glued to the handle. A sessionof two will teach each handloaderhow to conserve motion and position hisbullets and boxes for utmost efficiency.I've been using a No. 444-X in.38-.357, and it's been a smooth, slick rig. Ifind that if the powder hopper is kept atleast half full, the charges are quite uniformwith practically all powders; andwhen one uses Bullseye or ball powder,uniformity continues easily to the onethirdlevel. However, the fluffier flakepowders like Red Dot, Green Dot, or "Hi­Skor n700-X need more weight on top todrop continuously uniform charges, andAMERICAN HANDGUNNER· MARCH/APRIL,1981Matchll5,A&BStage A . 7 yards 12 ROo. 25 sec.Stage B,· 25 yards 18 ROo. 90 sec.6ROo. Kneeling6 ROo. Standing Barricade, LH.6 ROo. Standing Barricade, R.H.25X, 5-161J1rrlla