Just Bought A Press - Questions

[Kanewpadle]

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.

 

[Mistered]

Is buying brass online a good solution instead of preparing my own brass?

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!

 

[Ballistic147]

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.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

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.

 

[Bob L]

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.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

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).

 

[Hillbilly77]

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?

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.

 

[Mistered]

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

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

 

[Clovishound]

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.

 

[arjay]

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.

 

[Rule3]

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.

 

[Kanewpadle]

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.

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.

 

[imakmst]

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

 

[Kanewpadle]

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

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

 

[arjay]

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

 

[Kanewpadle]

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.

 

[growr]

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

 

[hdwhit]

Kanewpadle wrote:
Is buying brass online a good solution instead of preparing my own brass?

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).

 

[LAA]

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.

 

[hdwhit]

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.