Posted on 03/31/2008 9:13:02 PM PDT by Andonius_99
Lee loaders will certainly get the job done, but it's somewhat unsettling to be tapping a bullet home on a loaded round with a mallet. A small mallet, mind you, but still...
However the Lee loader rounds work just fine. Whatever you get, just focus on the task at hand and don't be distracted by the phone, the dog, etc. You don't want to end up with one uncharged round with nothing but a primer, or much worse, with a double-charged round. (That disaster won't happen on my .45-70 rounds because only one charge will fit in the case).
The most wonderful thing about reloading isn't the economy, but rather that now you can brew up exactly the custom ammo YOU want. You don't have to compromise.
I started with a lot crummy loaders and now, I have two Dillon 550’s in my gun room. You can’t go wrong with a Dillon. When they say they have a no BS repair policy, they mean it. That doesn’t mean you have to send the old part back. You call them and tell them you broke a part probably through negligence. It’s replacement is shipped that day.
We had a gunclub where five out of the six top shooters were reloading on 550’s.
My son is working on his first rifle reloads on his Dillon. He’s loaded thousands of rounds of .45 Auto on his Dillon. This is his first attempts with .308 for his AR-10.
My input would be to NOT expect to save money. The money reason one reloads is to be able to shoot more, for less than it would cost the same amount of factory ammo - but that's not saving money.
There are other reasons too, of course, none having to do with money.
Also stay with common, ubiquitous calibers at first, for example .38 special, 30-06, .45 ACP, etc.
Enjoy!
Go straight to DillonPrecision and take a look at the RL550b press. It will take about 20 boxes of ammo to break even.
If you shoot primarily one caliber, consider a Square Deal B press. It comes set up for one round and it works great. You don’t change it over to another caliber, however. If I didn’t already have a 550b and my budget was unlimited, I would have a square table with a different Square Deal B press on each side. One side would be .45ACP, another 9x19, another 38 Special and the last side would be .40. Perhaps a round table that spins would do the job.
You won’t save any money. You will just shoot 4 times as much for the same money.
Cuz no matter how cheaply you get started, that first reloaded round is still pretty expensive!
Reloading for shotguns?
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Well this advice was for the guy who started the thread but I do something actually in between your two reloading jobs. I reload 45/454 so I follow your high volume method (Lee single stage loader) with measuring every 5th charge to ensure accuracy with the dispenser. 50 rounds at a time and it's relaxing.
You're right about custom ammo. My own home reloaded rounds are much more accurate than the store bought stuff. I started out with a Lee Loader and graduated to a used Lee turret press (pictured below on the kitchen table; the little woman was out of town.) bought on eBay for $30 bucks. I can turn out a box of 50 cartridges in just under an hour at a cost of about $7.00 per box instead of $25.00 a box at the gun store or even on-line. P.S. Lee dies are the best, no matter what press you buy.
You are going to NEED to get at least some advice from an experienced reloader, and reloading itself is 50% experience. You will make every kind of mistake before you will be doing it the right way all the time. Hopefully you won't double charge a case - or stick a bullet in the bore with a squib load - things that can blow up your gun. Just be alert, aware, and don't do anything you are not sure of.
Most places that have handgun courses also can refer you to a reloading course. I didn't take one, but I did spend hours reading reloading info and some time going over my press with an experienced reloader before I attempted my first loads, which were shotgun shells.
I got into reloading because I collect old military guns and I like to shoot them. Sure anyone can buy an m-1 and walk into Wal-Mart for a box of 30-06, or even ordering a case of surplus stuff - but try to get Hungarian, Jap 7.7, French 7.5, 9mm Steyr or 6.5 Carcano. The fun of getting an old gun for $110 bucks is tempered when you are spending $1-$2 per round to shoot the thing, reloading makes that into affordable fun.
Reloading has vastly improved my experience with surplus arms, and it is fun showing up at the range with one of these odd-ball rifles. I now reload for Martini-Henry, 45-70 and 43 Spanish with black powder or BP substitute. Gives a whole new dimension to the black power experience. I spent a couple of weeks alone learning about paper-patched bullets.
Anyway, reloading it fun. Many people find it relaxing.
It is a blast (no pun intended) isn't it? I reload black powder too for my old guns; '73 Winchester 44-40 rifle, .45 & .38 cal. revolvers and 16 ga. outside hammer shotgun. Is your 43 Spanish a Remington rolling block? Patched bullets increase accuracy like mad and improve bore performance.
are wheel weights the base source for hand castings ???
Yes, when I wanted to get a rolling block, I noticed that the Number 5s in 7mm were going for $400-500, but the Number 1s were only $200-300. I figured the availability of the ammo was a big reason for the difference. I paper-patch the Martini because that is the historical round for that gun. It is neat ending up with rounds that look like pictures of the old rounds with the little white band just above the brass. The shoot as smooth as silk, too. My 43 spanish keyholes wickedly, but I haven't tried paper-patching that yet. Were the original rounds for that paper-patched?
This is one of the best set of advice I have ever seen on reloading.
When I started two years ago, I paid back the cost of the equipment (Lee Challlenger Anniversary Kit) at 110 rounds. That 110th round gave me quite a buzz!
One of the reasons to spend very little on the equipment is just that, the equipment is free very early in the process.
Another tip. John Lee in the book “Modern Reloading” makes the point that the starting load will frequently be your best shooting load and I couldn’t agree more. I shoot within a grain of the starting load for my .45-70 and I recently put ten rounds of .45-70 thorugh the same hole at 100 yards. Maximum loads are not the end all and be all of reloading.
“are wheel weights the base source for hand castings ???”
I ran into this by accident, but due to the consolidation of tire operations there are fewer that are willing to sell you lead wheel weights. Many reloaders now use lead shot for reloading shotguns and apparently it works well and is about half the cost of raw lead. I do have a source for wheel weights but that can end at any time.
thanks, I couldnt remember if there was an ‘impurities’ problem using weights...I worked a few diff tire stores and still have contacts there, so hopefully I can get em...
REasons for reloading:
Cost:
Currently, a box of twenty .45-70 at Midwayusa.com is $34.00 plus shipping, or about $1.70 per round. I currenlty reload for about .40 per round and later this year when I start casting my own bullets it will drop to .16 per round.
Savings for other calibers will be more or less depending on the cost of components.
Accuracy:
Factory rounds are compromises. With reloading you can get the exact load that works best with your rifle. The difference is stunning.
Fun:
It allows you to “shoot” during the week when you cannot get to the range. I regard this as an important advantage for shooters. It is also just flat out fun and the excitement you get from shooting your own homebrew cartidges is wonderful.
Simplicity:
It is very simple to reload well. Just follow the instructions.
There occasionally is a purity problem that is generally related to zinc in the weel weights. I don’t think it is a big problem, however.
Wheel weights are generally lead, tin, antimony and trace amounts of arsenic and they generally cast well. I will be trying to remove the antimony when I start casting as I need a faily soft lead bullet. Should be very interesting.
Get a catalog from www.dillonprecision.com
They have everything one needs to reload just about anything. Also, those good folks will help you ressurect old dillon presses and get them ready to work again.
I reload 45 acp and 9mm.
One last post:
Types of presses, in decresing order of cost:
1. Progressive Press. Expensive. Has a turret with four or five dies mounted. The bullet moves to a new die on each pull of the lever and you get one finished round for each lever pull. Very popular with pistol shooters who crank through large quantities of ammunition, but not suitable for beginners as the set up is lengthy.
2. Turret Press. Has four dies and you turn the turret for the next operation. Not bad, but basically single stage press. Suitable for most shooters.
3. Single stage press. Cheap as dirt. The normal press. You do one function at a time and then mount a different die to do the next function. This is the press you should start with as it will teach you your craft.
4. Handpress. Somehwat cheaper than dirt. A single stage press that you hold in your lap as you reload. This is the one that really taught me my reloading craft as you can feel everything that is happening, such as a bullet seating.
5. Lee Classic Loader. A hammer press that is extremely simple to use and is actually cheaper than dirt. My favorite press. It also imbues you with “beeeeg Juju” when you reload at the range. Extremely accurate rounds and it saves on brass because it only neck sizes. Suitable for single shot rifles as semi-autos generally you to resixze the round which this die does not do.
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