New to reloading

[Funflyer]

Yes, you might say I'm starting at ground zero. Decided I've had enough of paying for factory ammo so I am jumping in with both feet.

I've read all the reloading forums and watched youtube videos until I couldn't see straight, then ordered a Hornady progressive press with all the parts/pieces to do 380, 45ACP and 9mm. Already had a wet tumbler and a huge collection of brass to keep me in business for years.

First, I'll be fabricating a few bench mounts while I wait for the rest of my equipment and by next week I should be ready to roll, slowly and patiently of course. More to come...

 

[Nevada Ed]

I have the style equipment and powder scales.
Built a shelf to where the scale was at eye level for easy reading.
Now that I am older, the reach up to the scale is getting old and
I wish that I could lower it about 6" but that would mess up everything.
However there is the new fancy , powered, automatic dispenser
type units out there that might work later on.

Good planning for now and later helps in the long run.
Have fun.

 

[oddshooter]

a mentor will save you years of hard lessons.


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[mikld]

Many think it's better to start off learning how to reload vs. learning how to operate a reloading machine, big difference. For beginners, a single stage teaches the basics and an important fact often overlooked; frequent die adjustment practice.

Personally, I'd stay out of youtube as I've seen too many BS and really questionable videos there (a new reloader's "BS filter" isn't developed enough to spot poor reloading practices). I would suggest you find a good reloading text, The ABCs of Reloading is probably the most popular, and use that as your only reference. (often if a simple, basic question is asked by a new reloader on a forum, the thread morphs quickly into a "discussion" of advanced reloading techniques and theory.). Get a couple good reloading manuals that have "how to" sections, Lyman and Hornady are excellent.

In that same vein, I suggest new reloaders pay very little (no) attention to any forum expert, range rat, gun counter clerk, well intentioned friend, pet loads website, or gun shop guru when it comes to load data. Get your data from a published reloading manual, start at the starting loads. Find a load with in your manual before you buy any components, many fewer headaches and unused components that way.

K.I.S.S.. Go Slow. Double check everything. And most important, have fun...

 

[HorizontalMike]

+10 for mikld Suggestions

Bingo! on what mikld recommends. The only thing that I might suggest is to add to the list LEE Modern Reloading.

I started out with a LEE Classic Turret system & Dies about 4-years ago and am happy with it. Not wanting to start a "discussion", just offering another source of reading material to consider.

Above all K.I.S.S. and enjoy the trip/adventure!

 

[dr. mordo]

I did the same thing just over a year ago - bought a Hornady LnL as my first press and dove in.

I'll offer some tips:

1. Medium speed powders are a good place to start - Unique, Universal, Herco, others in that range. Many folks only use medium powders.

2. I had metering issues with the Hornady powder drop, and it is slow to adjust to different shell lengths. I switched to an inexpensive Lee Auto Drum and absolutely love it. You do have to use Lee powder thru expansion dies, though. It is the perfect powder drop if you plan to load multiple powders on the same press. If I were you, I'd sell the Hornady drop while it's new in box and use the money to finance the Lee and dies.

3. For that matter, I initially started off with RCBS dies but have fully transitioned over to Lee. They are great.

4. I've had issues with seating large primers. It's been pretty frustrating. I disassembles the little plunger that pushes the primer into place and ground it down a tiny bit to extend the plunger further, which fixed it for a while but it's acting up again.

5. The shell plates work their way loose after a few hundred rounds. I bought a lock washer which greatly helped but didn't cure the problem.

6. I suggest you track down small primer 45 ACP brass so you only have to mess with small primers. That said, I have some Winchester Train small primer 45 ACP where the pockets are so tight it's impossible to seat a new primer in them. I typically buy used brass, but it's probly worth splurging for Starline to get small pocket 45 ACP that you can actually load.

7. People who use single stage presses have to check powder weights very carefully, but *one advantage* of a progressive is to take human error out of the equation, so a lot of checking powder weights is just a waste of time and increases the likelihood of a double charge. So, once you get the weight set and it's reliably dropping your desired powder weight, stop weighing and just look down into the shells to be sure about the same amount is being metered.

8. To see down into the shells, you need good light, and they make a led strip that fit perfectly into the LnL. It's sticky but mine had to be zip stripped on. This makes it much easier to visually verify you have powder in the shell.

That's all I can think of right now.

*= edited to add a bit of clarity

 

[bigggbbruce]

a mentor will save you years of hard lessons.


prescut

I've spent hours at others homes going through the basics..It was much appreciated.

 

[Jeff423]

a mentor will save you years of hard lessons.


prescut

I agree with that. I am a self taught reloader and a mentor would have been a big help.

After several years of straight wall cartridge reloading YouTube and this forum were great resources when I got into bottleneck cartridge reloading and precision reloading for bench rest. But I was able to sort the "wheat from the chaff" because I already had reloading experience.

 

[mikld]

7. People who use single stage presses have to check powder weights very carefully, but the whole point of a progressive is to take human error out of the equation, so a lot of checking powder weights is just a waste of time and increases the likelihood of a double charge. So, once you get the weight set and it's reliably dropping your desired powder weight, stop weighing and just look down into the shells to be sure about the same amount is being metered.

I rarely criticize other member's posts bit I'll take exception with this item. First sentence is waaaaay out of line. The purpose of a progressive press is to make ammo faster. I seriously doubt if any "human error" is removed, but there is a greater possibility of "mechanical error" when several operations are taking place at the same time, and "separated" from the user. Checking powder weights is a waste of time? Seriously? Routine checking of powder charges (some say "throws") is an important method for consistent, safe powder charges (very few if an powder measures are a "set it and forget it" tool, as too many variations during a session are possible so checking often is essential.).

I don't mean to be offensive to the above poster, but I would warn any newer reloader to completely ignore that post, and after reading #7, all credibility is removed from the entire post...

 

[dr. mordo]

I rarely criticize other member's posts bit I'll take exception with this item. First sentence is waaaaay out of line. The purpose of a progressive press is to make ammo faster. I seriously doubt if any "human error" is removed, but there is a greater possibility of "mechanical error" when several operations are taking place at the same time, and "separated" from the user. Checking powder weights is a waste of time? Seriously? Routine checking of powder charges (some say "throws") is an important method for consistent, safe powder charges (very few if an powder measures are a "set it and forget it" tool, as too many variations during a session are possible so checking often is essential.).

I don't mean to be offensive to the above poster, but I would warn any newer reloader to completely ignore that post, and after reading #7, all credibility is removed from the entire post...

We're going to have to agree to disagree.

The whole point of a progressive press is speed and quantity, and weighing every other charge would cut the hundreds of rounds per hour down significantly. I carefully set up the drop and measure many loads to be sure it's dropping consistently, then I turn out 200-300 rounds. If I think about it, I might check my powder weight once or twice in that run, but I might not. I have loaded several thousand rounds on this press, and so far the drop weight has not changed a single time after I set it.

However, in the beginning when I was following internet expert advice and constantly checking my charge weights, I almost double charged a few times after checking my weight. I ultimately realized the threat of a double charge due to excessive weighing was far more real than the threat of my powder drop somehow suddenly changing the amount it is dropping.

 

[Funflyer]

Thanks for the tips guys. I have a good friend who's been reloading for decades so, I have all the mentoring I can ask for in that regard.

 

[tlawler]

Thanks for the tips guys. I have a good friend who's been reloading for decades so, I have all the mentoring I can ask for in that regard.

I'm only about a year ahead of you and I wish I had a mentor to get me started. I went out and bought a Lee Classic Turret and read the book that came with it, then just started putting it together and using it. I did go to youtube a few times for good setup videos for the press when the instructions weren't that clear. I get all of my load data from Lee's book and websites of the various manufacturers. So far so good. I've loaded a couple of thousand each of 10mm, .40, .357sig, and .45acp. I just got the dies for .357 mag and .41 mag and will start doing them soon. I think the Classic Turret is a great learner press. Maybe in a year or so, I'll graduate to a progressive.

 

[gwpercle]

Invest in several reloading manuals , cross checking data really helps. You will find conflicting data and with so many variables all the information for every variable could never be contained in one book.

Start off with a single stage press to learn . Progressives are for the advanced loader and most useful for reloading mass quanities of one caliber , with one bullet and one powder charge.
Get your feet wet with a basic before getting into the more complicated machines.
You will always have a need for a single stage , the little odd jobs that pop up and small lots of tests loads will save you time...adjusting and readjusting a progressive loader just to do 10 or 20 rounds with a new bullet or powder charge gets old quick !
Trust me on this one.
The measuring and dispensing of powder is the one place you can be anal and OCD about . You must have the correct type and weight powder and every case must have only one charge in it. Two charges and no charges will all cause problems. Check, double check and triple check the charge before seating a bullet.
Progressives do not eliminate the powder dispensing problems , most of the time progressives are the reason a new reloader has 500 rounds loaded up and then realizes at some point in the run his powder measure ran out of powder....the only way to fix this is pull all 500 rounds and start all over. Trust me on this one too !

You might want to pick up a bullet puller...sooner or later you will need to take a few apart....trust me on this one also .

Gary
Loading since 1967

 

[Twoboxer]

We're going to have to agree to disagree.
. . .

You really should re-read . . . or perhaps read for the first time . . . what you originally said. Because you are now disagreeing with yourself, starting with "the whole point" and ending with "stop weighing".

 

[tlawler]

..the only way to fix this is pull all 500 rounds and start all over. Trust me on this one too!

OOF...I can only imagine. In a year of reloading I've only pulled maybe 20 bullets. Screwed up a lot more than that, but gave up on pulling most of them when they wouldn't pop loose after a few good whacks and just tossed them. Thank goodness I was using cheap bullets and in most cases, the brass was mangled. Pulling bullets is definitely the worst part of reloading, IMHO.

 

[DWalt]

My suggestion is to limit propellants to no more than two. There is virtually no handgun caliber which cannot be loaded satisfactorily using Unique and/or Bullseye, and they can be used to make good loads for .380, .45 ACP, and 9mm. Also, try to limit yourself as to bullet styles and weights. I'd suggest also that unless there is a very good mitigating reason to the contrary, stick to using lead bullets only. Don't believe much of the uninformed and erroneous information you might read here and elsewhere about primers. In your case, all you need are standard small pistol and large pistol primers. Any brand, repeat, any brand, of primers will be OK.

In my case, I have used a Posness-Warren MetalMatic press for all my handgun loading for many years and it has been highly satisfactory, even though not a progressive press. For rifle calibers I have always used a RCBS single stage press. Don't overlook eBay and gun shows as sources for reloading tools, dies, powder scales and measures, and other reloading knick-knacks. My opinion on reloading dies is that all of them are good, but Lee dies are usually the least expensive and work well for me. I personally have over 40 die sets (many of which get little use), most fairly evenly split between Lee and RCBS, with a few other brands included like Lyman, C-H, and even a few old Herter's die sets.

I am a firm believer in safety, and to do that, I always charge primed cases with powder in batches before bullet seating. I then visually check and double check the powder level in every case using a flashlight or bright sunlight to ensure there are no double charges or empty cases.

 

[kbm6893]

I've only been reloading for 5 years and learned what I know from YouTube videos, reading some manuals, and most importantly, members here. But I am still very basic in my reloading.

I use a Hornady single stage press and Lee 4 die sets for the crimping die. I use Hornady lock and load bushings so I don't have to unscrew the dies. I set them while watching videos on the Lee website. Members here talked me through a few problems. I loaded up a few dummy rounds, did the plunk test, and called it done. I've reloaded and fired probably 6000 rounds and have not had one squib or any other Malfunction.

So I'm very basic and by no means an expert. I read guys on here talking about medium burning powders and my eyes glaze over. I've settled on HP38 for all my calibers so no need to worry about mixing them up. I have the loading data for each of my calibers (.38, 9MM, and .380) on the wall above my bench. I verify the data, weigh every charge, and just keep cranking them out. Last night, I hand primed 400 .38 cases as I watched Jack Ryan on Amazon. Good show, by the way. I look down into the primer to be sure the primer is properly seated before I insert the case. One time, early on, I squeezed the handle without looking and the primer wasn't seated right. It got squashed into the case. Didn't detonate, though. Never make that mistake again.

There is a real science to reloading if you care to get deep into it. I don't. I don't own a chronograph and never will. I just want to reliably and safely produce my own ammo at a much reduced cost.

 

[oddshooter]

Besides recommending to find a mentor;

I am a member of the cry once club. Pay the money once and get the best.
Hassles abound with a newbie in handloading. Changing out dies and re-adjusting is at the top of the PITA list.

Many progressive presses can do single stage. I started with my Dillon 550 by making one round at a time, one stage at a time. It was a great experience using it as a single stage.

This is the fastest, easiest way to do single stage handloading. A great way to get started.


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[mikld]

I carefully set up the drop and measure many loads to be sure it's dropping consistently, then I turn out 200-300 rounds. If I think about it, I might check my powder weight once or twice in that run, but I might not.

I'm speechless...

 

[castleadslinger]

I carefully set up the drop and measure many loads to be sure it's dropping consistently, then I turn out 200-300 rounds. If I think about it, I might check my powder weight once or twice in that run, but I might not.

I'm speechless...

I agree...wooow. 200 to 300 rounds is allot. People just don't understand things can go wrong real fast when it come to reloading. Inspecting each and every cartridge case to insure powder is "present"....is paramount (high priority). Not checking you're cartridge cases is something that shouldn't be taught to new reloaders.

Dr. Mordo...my advise, you shouldn't be giving advise to new reloaders cause you, sound just like a newbie yourself. SMH

 

[rwsmith]

Now they have two more resources......

a mentor will save you years of hard lessons.


prescut

I learned mine out of a book, but with the youtube videos (be careful, some are better than others) and this forum to ask questions, new reloaders today have it a lot better than we did back in the 'old days'. Whippersnappers.And I walked to school in knee deep snow 10 miles uphill in both directions.

 

[SMSgt]

I started reloading on a single-stage press in 1975 and still follow the same standard procedures. In all those years of reloading rifle, handgun, and shot shell rounds, I've had exactly two dud handgun rounds, both CCI primers from the same package, none since. I've never had a squib, overload, double strike, nor any other failure.

I'll stick with my SS press and procedures. Reloading is a past time for me, not a production number.

 

[dr. mordo]

I agree...wooow. 200 to 300 rounds is allot. People just don't understand things can go wrong real fast when it come to reloading. Inspecting each and every cartridge case to insure powder is "present"....is paramount (high priority). Not checking you're cartridge cases is something that shouldn't be taught to new reloaders.

Dr. Mordo...my advise, you shouldn't be giving advise to new reloaders cause you, sound just like a newbie yourself. SMH

Please note that I originally posted:

"7. People who use single stage presses have to check powder weights very carefully, but *one advantage* of a progressive is to take human error out of the equation, so a lot of checking powder weights is just a waste of time and increases the likelihood of a double charge. So, once you get the weight set and it's reliably dropping your desired powder weight, stop weighing and just look down into the shells to be sure about the same amount is being metered.

8. To see down into the shells, you need good light, and they make a led strip that fit perfectly into the LnL. It's sticky but mine had to be zip stripped on. This makes it much easier to visually verify you have powder in the shell."

I absolutely agree that checking each case is critical - but a visual inspection is sufficient on a progressive once it is set up.

I was just googling how often folks check weights on their progressives, and the most common response I found was that folks check at the beginning of a session then do not check again for the rest of the session. At the other extreme, one gentlemen has multiple presses and leaves them set for the same caliber all the time. He rechecks every pound of powder.

So, I seem to be checking more frequently than the average progressive user. I've loaded several thousand rounds at this point, so I'm pretty comfortable with it.

In any case, I'm done arguing about it. I don't want to hijack the thread.

 

[tlawler]

Changing out dies and re-adjusting is at the top of the PITA list.

I realized early on with a Lee Classic that buying extra turrets at $12 each made life so much easier, so I bought a bunch. Now the only adjusting I have to do is between .40/10mm and .38/.357. Changing between calibers is pretty quick and easy. I usually stick with one caliber for awhile anyway. I stick with the tried and true, following the tables...no experimenting here. When I first start out, I'll weigh several charges to make sure they're consistent, then when I'm cranking out rounds, I visually check each shell to make sure it got a drop. I'll weigh about every fifth charge through the first fifty or so, then maybe every eight or ten. I still continue to visually check each one. Right now, I'm still using the disk powder measure and I've noticed that in the Lee tables, using the corresponding disk orifice usually gives a light charge, about 0.2 grains below the starting load. I will go up one orifice and it puts me midway between starting and do not exceed loads. Has anyone else experienced that with the disk measure? My next upgrade is going to be a Lee drum measure and an electronic scale to back up the Lee safety measure.

 

[kbm6893]

I realized early on with a Lee Classic that buying extra turrets at $12 each made life so much easier, so I bought a bunch. Now the only adjusting I have to do is between .40/10mm and .38/.357. Changing between calibers is pretty quick and easy. I usually stick with one caliber for awhile anyway. I stick with the tried and true, following the tables...no experimenting here. When I first start out, I'll weigh several charges to make sure they're consistent, then when I'm cranking out rounds, I visually check each shell to make sure it got a drop. I'll weigh about every fifth charge through the first fifty or so, then maybe every eight or ten. I still continue to visually check each one. Right now, I'm still using the disk powder measure and I've noticed that in the Lee tables, using the corresponding disk orifice usually gives a light charge, about 0.2 grains below the starting load. I will go up one orifice and it puts me midway between starting and do not exceed loads. Has anyone else experienced that with the disk measure? My next upgrade is going to be a Lee drum measure and an electronic scale to back up the Lee safety measure.

My experience with electronic scales has not been good. The one that came with my Hornady lock and load kit and another Frankford Arsenal. Weigh a charge, take it off, put it back on and always fluctuated .1-.3 grains. Beam scale from then on. Never a shift.

 

[DWalt]

While I have a Lyman digital scale with powder dribbler, about the only time I use it is if I am attempting very uniform rifle loads, and in such situations, I weigh and sort cases and bullets also. Otherwise I use my old Redding single beam magnetically damped balance. I also occasionally use an Ohaus quad beam lab balance capable of weighing to a precision of 0.01 grams for weighing and sorting cases and bullets. Every so often I check the accuracy of all my balances with standard weights.

Most of my powder charging is done manually with a pair of Lyman 55 powder dispensers which I have equipped with home-made internal powder reservoir baffles. I never use the knockers, in fact I removed them. For a long time I used the knockers and found that charge weight uniformity was better without them. I am also of the camp that once I have carefully adjusted the Lyman 55 to throw the desired powder charge, I usually do not check-weigh the powder charges after that. I used to many years ago, but found that once the Lymans are properly adjusted, confirmed, and locked, they do not change. I will typically reload in batches of at least 200 rounds, sometimes considerably more, up to 500. And as I previously mentioned, I always visually check and recheck the powder levels thrown in each and every case prior to bullet seating, normally 50-60 charged cases at a time.

I have always adjusted my Lyman powder dispensers for handgun loads by throwing multiple charges totaling at least 20 grains. For example, if I want a 5.0 grain charge, I set up my Redding scale for 25.0 grains. I throw 5 charges onto the balance pan and see if it is over or under 25.0 grains and adjust the Lyman dispenser accordingly until I throw 5 charges which weighs in aggregate 25 grains +/- a few tenths of a grain. I confirm that several times and then I am good to go.

 

[HorizontalMike]

Lee Adjustable Charge Bar

...[snip]...
...I'm still using the disk powder measure and I've noticed that in the Lee tables, using the corresponding disk orifice usually gives a light charge, about 0.2 grains below the starting load. I will go up one orifice and it puts me midway between starting and do not exceed loads. Has anyone else experienced that with the disk measure? My next upgrade is going to be a Lee drum measure and an electronic scale to back up the Lee safety measure.

May I suggest trying/adding the Lee Adjustable Charge Bar to your existing Classic system, in place of using the discs. I find them extremely accurate and repeatable. I now have three of them though they have no slop and very easy to adjust. And at $10 you can't go wrong.

 

[Funflyer]

Finished the mount plates and got the small Lee press mounted. Tomorrow I'll get the big one done. I even found the time to de-prime a few hundred cases.

 

[Forrest r]

You should really put a lot of effort into how to adjust your reloading dies. Take some time and measurements to see/learn what the different dies are actually doing and learn how those changes actually affect your reloads.

Too many (actually 99%+) reloaders screw the sizing dies down with pistol calibers until the die either touches the shell holder or cams over in the press. Cams over ='s pressure on the handle when it bottoms out from the ram pressing the shell holder tight against the sizing die. Take a little time and measure your fire formed cases. If you have several different firearms with the same caliber, measure all of them. Most mfg's make their sizing dies small. The end result is oversized/cases that are sized to small. I've seen sizing dies size the cases down 4/1000th's+, way too much. I like to adjust mine so that they are no more than 2/1000th's less then the fired cases. Use your bbl/bbl's as a guide. You don't need a bullet in a case to test it in a bbl. Typically when a case is sized down 2/1000th's less (max) then the fire formed case it will sit +/- 10/1000th's below the hood of the bbl.

pistol sizing dies:
I've had to open up factory sizing dies before with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper, oil, wood dowel with a split in the middle and a drill. The same setup also works to remove junk in them that causes scratches on the cases.

Under sized cases will work but the extra slop when they are used/chambers puts extra strain on the extractors, slide faces and will affect accuracy. This is with the semi-auto's, but it will also affect the accuracy of revolvers.

Take a little time and measure/tinker with sizing dies. What you learn will pay off in spades at the range with not only highly accurate reloada. It will teach you how to identify issues that come up with cases, fliers on targets, group size, etc.

 

[2152hq]

I'd suggest using either the powder measure or even powder scoops to charge a case and then immedietly seat the bullet.
I still use this method for my rifle & pistol reloading. It's not lightning fast as there's no progressive motion of charging a block of 50 or so cases all at once involved., But the back and forth about wether a powder measure and the use of one may have led you to double charge a case is out of the picture.

I use powder scoops as they are simple and convenient.
The old orange Lyman powder dispenser is still there on the shelf but to set it up each time for a different caliber would take more time than worth it for the amt of ammo I'm loading.

I should set it up for my often used 12gr of RedDot. I use that load in many different cast bullet loads in CF rifle. Just can't seem to find the time.
I'd still charge a single case, check the level,, and then immed seat the bullet.