I bought a single stage press. Plan on reloading 45 Auto.

I don't have a brass tumbler yet. Obtaining brass isn't a problem as I have a friend that owns an indoor range.

Is buying brass online a good solution instead of preparing my own brass? Does it cost that much more?

How about bullets? I plan on loading FMJ for range use. Where do you buy?

Any other tips?

Thanks in advance.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

You will have to prep any brass you get - that is a large part of the reloading process. Best tip I could give is the most common - start with a reloading manual and study it well before pulling the handle!

I bought this tumbler about a year ago when I started reloading: Vibratory Case Tumbler by MIDSOUTH RELOADING & ACCESSORIES

For under $50 it does a great job and has cleaned a ton of brass and it's still going strong.

For corn cob media, Midsouth also has this: Untreated Corncob Media 10 Lbs by MIDSOUTH RELOADING & ACCESSORIES

10lbs of corn cob media for $10. So for $60 plus a little shipping that should last you a long, long time and clean a ton of cases. I'm somewhere around 8k cases now and still have several pounds of media left. Plus in the long run it will be cheaper to clean your own brass rather than buying it already done for you, especially when you have a source for free brass. It's sime too. Just throw it in the tumbler and turn it on. I usually tumble overnight and the brass comes out cleaner than factory ammo.

For bullets, I've bought a bunch from Everglades Ammo and it has always been good. I mostly use jacketed but they also have leads hitch is a little cheaper. They also sell brass both processed and unprocessed. Prices are good and shipping has always been fast. I've always received my order 2 to 3 days after I place it.

I have used a great deal of once fired brass over the years. I especially like sources selling from police ranges, as there is far less likelihood of hard-use brass or multiple brands. There are usually several lots offered on GunBroker.com, and prices have been pretty reasonable over the past few years.

That said, .45ACP brass will usually provide a long service life. I have several hundred that I have been using for nearly 40 years, probably loaded at least 30 times. Moderate pressures and straight wall cases requiring relatively little sizing effort contribute to longevity, so the up-front cost of the brass is of less concern than with some calibers that wear out brass more quickly.

You can buy brass online that has been prepped first and start there. In the long run you are going to want to get yourself a cleaner or tumbler so you can do your own prep work. I have purchased new brass, prepped brass on line and fired brass especially when I first started loading a new caliber. Just keep in mind that if you pay $0.15 each for new brass and reload it, the first reload drops the price of the brass down to $0.075 and it keeps going down anytime that you reload it. I actually like gong into the gun room and hearing the tumbler running. Plus as you pull the brass out of the tumbler, it gives you a chance to look at each case and sort out and damaged ones. You can reload the FMJ but you will find that you can get cast and lubed bullets a lot cheaper than FMJ. Take a look at Montana Bullet Works or Dardas or any of the other suppliers and compare pricing. Most of the will ship to you in the standard rate postal service boxes.

Another quick comment: As you may be aware, .45ACP headspaces on the case mouth, so a taper crimp is highly preferred. Before you purchase a taper crimp die have a look around your shop for a .30-06 family (.308, .243, etc) sizing die which, with the depriming rod removed will perform a perfect taper crimp with very little effort (just run the die into the press until the die wall contacts the case mouth, then add 1/8 turn or so to perfectly form the taper crimp without affecting neck tensioning on the bullet).

If you have a source for free brass, take advantage of it. If you start buying brass, it won't take long to spend more money on brass than if you just bought a tumbler instead.

If you do buy brass and have it shipped to you, it's still a good idea to run them through a sizing die first before you do anything else, just in case they get bounced around or slightly dented/deformed during shipment.


I'll tell you the same thing they told me when I started loading:
Welcome to your new obsession.


Some online bullet sources (just to name a few):
Berry's
X-Treme
Everglades
RMR Reloading
Precision Delta

If you shop around, many online sources offer special sales, free shipping, etc.

Heck ya Learn something new everyday! I want to try this soon!

Tumbling your brass is not necessary. Brass need only be free of dirt and grit. A little soot, or discoloration will not affect the completed ammo. I got by for years hand washing my brass when it got really grungy looking, usually about 5 loadings. Last year I finally got an inexpensive vibratory tumbler and while I really like having shiny brass, it is only cosmetic.

I use scrounged brass almost exclusively. Range pickups, and friends once fired work well for me. You must carefully inspect them, and be willing to toss any that are suspect. You will have failures with your brass at some point, normally mouth cracks. How many loadings you get depends on lots of factors. Size of your gun's chamber, how hot your loads are, quality of brass, how much crimp etc.

+1 on doing a lot of reading prior to your first loading. If you can get someone local to do a little mentoring, that would be ideal.

As a last resort, you can ask questions here. Seriously, this, and other forums, are a great source of help.

Good luck, have fun, be safe.

New brass costs a fair amount more than once fired brass (which can be bought very cheaply)and you'll still need to bell the case mouth before loading it.It can be reloaded quite a few times before the primer pockets get loose.The cheapest way to clean brass I've found is to add some barkeepers friend to a bucket of water,swish the brass around for awhile,rinse it off a few times and let it dry in the sun.Vibratory cleaners and lizard litter are pretty cheap and not as messy though.

Why buy brass if you can get all you want for free from your friends range??

The only thing to watch for is some of it has small primer pockets and some may be steel case (use a magnet to pull that out)

To clean the brass just wash it in a 5 gal bucket with some dish soap and some Lem Shine (citric acid) or a cup of vinegar and a tbs of salt, Rinse well and let dry.It will be clean enough, No it will not blind you but works fine until you get a tumbler.

Brass can be loaded many many times.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I thought by buying it would save me time form having to size and trim.

I have reloaded but it has been a LONG time. But then I only did what my dad told me to do. We reloaded shot shells and rifle calibers.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

[QUOTE=Rule3;139429267]
To clean the brass just wash it in a 5 gal bucket with some dish soap and some Lem Shine (citric acid) or a cup of vinegar and a tbs of salt, Rinse well and let dry.It will be clean enough, [/QUOTE}

this, ain't used a tumbler in years for my .45 and .38, plenty clean and runs fine

Can anyone recommend a good carbide die set? RCBS? Hornady?

The press I bought is a Hornady Lock and Load kit.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

I only have RCBS and Lee carbide dies.Both work fine,but the Lee's are cheaper and come with a shell holder.

Cost isn't a huge concern as I will buy as I go. I first have to make a place to put the press and go from there. So it might take a little while. Now that I think about it, my dear ole dad will probably give me all of his straight wall case dies except for 44 mag.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

I would encourage you to invest in a carbide die set from any reputable manufacturer.

Before I bought my Dillon 550, I was using their die set for .45 acp and a number of other pistol calibers.

I also used a set of RCBS carbide dies that were given to me for my .40 S&W and they worked very well for me as well.

Might be solution for you as well!

Were it me....I would not pay extra for processed brass when you have such a great source available to you.

Although it is a controversial topic....I have never trimmed to length any straight wall pistol casings as I saw NO increase in performance and as such consider it a waste of MY time. Do what YOU think is best.

Randy

I don't have a potential source of free (or nearly free) brass courtesy of a friend, so I buy previously fired brass. I've used a lot of places, but I have had good service from

• rangebrass.us
• leobrass.com
• aardvarkreloading.com

I have also seen posts from people who like Diamond K. I have not used them myself, but apparently you can pay to have the brass cleaned, polished and resized (everything except having the primer pockets on military brass swaged).

I prefer reasonably clean brass. I just throw it in the tumbler after returning from the desert. Comes out (with corn cob media) nice & shiny. You can get a Franklin Arsenal tumbler for less than 40 dollars, and a kit with a separator for around $65.

Aaardvark documents their preparation process (wet tumbled with stainless steel pins in dawn and citric acid) on their web site so I will buy processed brass from them, but otherwise all of the bras i buy is straight off the range and I process it myself.

Having the equipment to tumble brass will become handy when you move into rifle cartridges as bottlenect cases have to be lubricated to be resized and it is much easier to tumble it off than have to remove it by hand.

I like Hornady dies. They work well and you get free bullets.

You're going to buy dies anyway, why not get a $20-$25 box of bullets for free? (You do pay a few bucks for shipping.)

Plus, don't forget that you get 500 bullets for buying the press kit.

You resize the brass every time you load it, the same step as depriming the old primer out.

As to trimming, I and others have never trimmed a handgun brass, Maybe once if you want all you crimps to line up perfect but that's it.

Rifle brass will stretch(grow) when resizing) so it needs trimming but again it is almost every time.

If you bought a Hornady press may as well just get the Hornady dies with the quick attach rings. Saves time rather than screwing them in ad out every time.

Have fun, do some reading before buying stuff, like a Hornady Manual

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Still Running Against the Wind

No reason to buy exPensive new brass for any service caliber. Lots of places sell once fired reasonably priced. Imo, 230gr fmj are your best bet starting out. Lots of data & easy to get good results right away. Lead & plated can be finicky.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

First, I second those who said that you should get a tumbler. Pick up your brass from the range, and clean it. Its just part of reloading and being thrifty.

Second, read a good reloading manual. People recommend the Lyman manual.

Third, find a mentor to walk you through the first few rounds. Its easier to learn to reload "hands on". Also, do not learn to sky dive from a book. Just saying.

I am a newish reloader by forum standards. But it does change the way you look at shooting, when you make your own ammo, weigh each charge, and measure each round.

45 ACP brass does not have to be trimmed. Brass coming out of an indoor range doesn't need to be tumbled or cleaned because there is no sand present.

Back in the mid-1980's I owned a M52 S&W target gun that fired uncleaned / untumbled brass resized in an RCBS carbide die set for more than 10 years. I sold the M52 20 years ago, but I'm still using the same die set. I shoot home cast bullets (with home made lube) 99% of the time. I never found that shiny, gleaming brass shot better scores than stained, tarnished brass. Cleaning primer pockets is another activity that consumes vast amounts of time better spent shooting.

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S&WHF 366

Kanew, You mentioned you need to find a place to put your new press. Wherever you put it, make it solid...really solid. A press puts an unbelievable amount of torque on the edge of a bench.

Also, Range, or once fired brass, as others have said is the way to go. I got a tumbler from Harbor Freight, and use 3/4 to 1 inch pieces of copper wire, dawn and lemmyshine, and wet tumble.

....And read manuals, at least twice.

Be safe and enjoy

Did you get Hornady's auto-prime for your single stage

Hornady Lock-N-Load Classic Single Stage Press Automatic Primer Feeder

It's nice to have a stack of primers, instead of feeding them one at a time

It also saves brass handling time, compared to a off press primer. It's a little finicky setting up, but once you figure it out...it's a piece of cake.

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I'd like to agree with you BUT

No. It came with a hand primer tool.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

I know many military members that cannot have a permanent set up that attach their press to a Black & Decker Workmate....plenty solid and portable at the same time.

Might work for you as well.

Randy

The one topic not yet discussed is health concerns associated with cleaning brass. If tumbled then the dust associated with that process is highly toxic. Large quantities of lead (if the brass was loaded with lead bullets) and large quantities of toxins such as mercury from the primers, are present and can be both absorbed through the skin and through the lungs. Wearing masks and rubber gloves is critical if you intend to stay healthy over the long run. Regularly washing your clothes is just as important as is washing all exposed skin. If you are going to process brass don't do it without taking the proper steps to protect yourself. Liquid cleaners help reduce the airborne risk but if used without proper protection INCREASE the risk of absorption through the skin. Properly disposing of the contaminated liquid is also an issue. Flushing it down the toilet or pouring it down the sink is NOT an appropriate option.
Keith

Here is a good thread to show you how to spend all your money. It never ends!!

So you're thinking about getting into reloading...

Research and do more research before you go buying stuff.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Clue me in here. When I tumble brass, the container is sealed. Very little dust. Very little ! I don't see toxic dust clouds during this process.

Works fine for a ss or turret, but problematic with progressives.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

It's emptying the tumbler where the toxic dust comes into play. Though some tumblers have open tops, not recommended.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

It is really not to difficult to figure out how to pour out the brass and media and avoid any dust.

Kinda like not spitting into the wind.

Most media separators like the RCBS are made by Berrys. Theirs also will sort brass by caliber.

Only Dillion was not smart enough to put a lid on theirs.

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Still Running Against the Wind

We better start wearing gas masks, along with protective eye & ear ware, when firing our semi-auto rifles & pistols. All of those toxic gases are escaping right past our noses!

Just thought about that, thanks to this thread.........if there is any scientific credibility to live small arms, firing emissions.

BTW-- I do use those used dryer sheets to soak up part of the toxic emissions.

i am using a workmate knockoff & it works well for my single stage press but I do have 2 pieces of 2'x2' 3/4" plywood bolted to the top - solid & am able to take apart easy enough

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Steve

Simply answer this question. When you open the tumbler and pour the brass through a strainer or some other separating tool, what happens to the media? If you do it like most folks it falls through into another container and in doing so clouds of dust are created. Breath it in and the toxins come with it.
Keith

Strongly disagree with your comment, and I have to wonder how useful it is to new shooters or new reloaders who are wanting good, accurate advice on how to minimize the negative side effects associated with shooting and reloading. In my case frequent blood tests that monitored the level of lead in my blood convinced me of a need to be far more careful with things that I had given little thought to over the previous 50 years. In my particular case it was a direct contributing factor to contracting a chronic but treatable form of leukemia. My advice I think may help others from contracting the same disease.
Keith

Strongly disagree with your comment, and I have to wonder how useful it is to new shooters or new reloaders who are wanting good, accurate advice on how to minimize the negative side effects associated with shooting and reloading. In my case frequent blood tests that monitored the level of lead in my blood convinced me of a need to be far more careful with things that I had given little thought to over the previous 50 years. In my particular case it was a direct contributing factor to contracting a chronic but treatable form of leukemia. My advice I think may help others from contracting the same disease.
Keith

No clouds of dust. If this was the case, I'd be wearing something over my face. I own a business in the industry, that requires some breathing protection sometimes.

Here's one thing I do to make my own life easier.
I don't have a permanent space to reload in so my presses need to be portable and not bolted in place.

To solve that, I mounted them to 2x6 stock and I use c-clamps to secure them.
Plenty strong enough so there's no flex in the base, and it only takes seconds to move them.



It's a little cluttered, but I make it work.

OK, Maybe you are a visual learner, Yes you need to be careful with the debris in the cleaning media, One does not "dump" the contents but pours it gently so as to not make a cloud of dust.

In the article below most lead poisoning is due to shooting indoors in poor ventilation. Also most people do not change out their cleaning media enough. It should be done regularly not when it's black and filthy, It is cheap and costs pennies.

Lead poisoning is from inhalations, ingestion or through the eyes. Not from touching it. It is not absorbed through the skin So if one washes their hands before eating, gloves are a waste even if you see the dark color on you skin.

Never tumble indoors. Do it out in the garage (if you have one) or on a nice day if you do not. Keep the lid on. Use a separator that also has a lid. Then the brass comes out and the media stays in the separator. Then pour the media it back into the tumbler. Wash your hands and you are done.

Blood lead levels

Some visuals

Stand with your back to the wind

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Still Running Against the Wind

Precision Delta bullets jacket 230 grain bulk 1000 at around $125.00 fine bullets

Vibratory tumblers are not all that expensive and media is pretty cheap also. If you really want your brass to blind you, add a bit of Flitz or a car polish. 45acp brass can be reloaded many, many times. Check for cracks and you should be fine. As for bullets, the best prices I have found for really good plated ones are Xtreme bullets. For best overall price you can't beat Summers Enterprises in Mississippi. Donny makes a really good lead bullet at $30-$34/500 plus shipping you can't go wrong. Shipping is also FAST, 2-3 days from order to your door.
I usually just rinse off the brass if it's really nasty then add it to the tumbler, turn it on and go about my rat killing. Good luck and have fun.

When inspecting brass---Make sure you separate large and small primer pockets.