reloading press

[pgg]

Does anyone here reload? I just bought a Lee reloading kit so I'm going to be trying it. I'm reading all I can now so I don't F up. 45 ACP first then move onto other calibers. Any help would be appreciated.

[MacLean]

I'm going to learn with you - my new home has a garage and a workbench, so I plan to start too!

Maybe we can keep in touch with tips, etc.

I was looking at a Dillon press, but have not made any decisions.

[Pinki]

Congrats Pgg!! I really need to considering all the matches I shoot, but I'm skeeeeeered to.

[pgg]

I'm going to learn with you - my new home has a garage and a workbench, so I plan to start too!

Maybe we can keep in touch with tips, etc.

I was looking at a Dillon press, but have not made any decisions.

I bought mine from Cabelas. It is a Lee 50th anniversary. It came with everything you need to start (minus dies, you pick what caliber(s) you want). It will reload both rifle and pistol rounds. Total cost was $85, pretty good deal I thought. They should have it in Lacey WA also.

[sgtbear111]

Been reloading for many years, many rifle and hangun calibers, but dont do shotgun. PM me for any questions about gear, how to..., etc.

[MacLean]

Sweet!

[DIESEL326]

I have been rolling my own for a while too... Feel free to ask any questions of me as well. A lot of people trash the Lee equipment, but that is what most of my stuff is, and it does just fine for me. You'll start to look at those big piles of brass on the ground in a whole new light now too!!!

[RJSims]

i sold all my realoading stuff a couple of years ago. Cant wait to get back into it. I plan on picking up a dillon 550b progressive after I pay off my ar and all its accesories! feel free to ask me any questions as well. I'll help as best I can!

[narcodog]

I have been reloading for about 35 years. Get yourself the proper loading manuals. Also if you are going to load 45 get a case trimmer. 45's as well as 9's headspace on the mouth of the cartridge so you will have to trim those cases that are to long. Also if the kit did not come with a primer pocket reamer to clean the powder residue so you get a good solid seat on the primer. If you don't do that when the firing pin strikes the primer the primer will move forward and you might a have a malfunction.

[Checkman]

I reload 38 special and 45 acp. I use my dad's Dillon Progressive. Been into it for about six years now. It keeps me in ammo.

[TXCharlie]

I've been reloading for a couple of years. I have a Dillon 550B, which I've been very happy with, but I use Lee dies on it - The Dillon dies are rather expensive. I've mostly reloaded 357 Magnum and 9mm, but I'm about to try .40 S&W. Always get carbide sizing dies - They don't require lube.

The primers are the most dangerous component - A whole tray or tube of those little buggers can explode all at once from handling them roughly. A friend of mine has a hole in his ceiling where a primer tube went off all at once while they were in his Dillon (he tried to force a primer that didn't want to seat right). It shot the whole heavy-wall primer tube into the ceiling, where it hit a rafter and bent like a snake. Comparatively speaking, the powder is pretty hard to ignite.

One thing I've found with 9mm is that it doesn't matter much if you re-use the brass a bunch of times until the necks crack - Which you can find because the cracked ones ring like little bells when you shake some in your hand. Of course I don't push my luck - A dozen reloads are about the limit for me.

But .40 S&W and .357 Magnum is an entirely different story because of the pressures involved - If a case blows, it could cause burns and injury (I've seen other people's .40 S&W blow), so keep track of the number of times you re-use the brass on rounds like that. I've heard a lot of people say that they shouldn't be reloaded more than 3-4 times with a Glock, because a Glock doesn't fully support the rear of the case very well. People who shoot a lot of reloads in their Glock usually opt for a barrel that fully suports the cartridge.

The other critical things are bullet seating distance and weight of the bullet as well as the amount and type of powder.

Speaking of powder, watch out for double-charges and no charges! If you're interrupted by a jam or the wife or something, it's very easy to double-charge or no-charge a load even on a progressive press. If in doubt, just throw it away. On .357 Magnums, I always use a little depth gauge made from a cut-off Bic pen to gauge the level of the powder right before I seat the bullet, because there's plenty of room for a double-charge of powder, which would explode the gun.

A load without powder is extremely dangerous too, because the primer might drive the bullet only halfway down the barrel. Then if you pull the trigger again, the next bullet can explode the barrel, although it usually just puffs the barrel out like a snake who ate an egg.

A bottle of power shouldn't be stored in anything that might hold pressure (like a safe) - If it ever ignites inside a safe it can explode the whole safe, but if it ignites in a weak wooden box or something that will allow pressure to escape, it won't explode. I keep mine in one of those Fire-Boxes like you get at Wal-Mart in the office supply section, but I don't lock the lid, so the lid will blow off and relieve the pressure. In fact, I removed the catch so it CAN'T be locked.

Other than those few precautions, have fun! It really isn't as dangerous as people think, because smokeless powder is pretty safe - but Black powder is something that I'd never keep in the house, because black powder can explode even in a weak container and can be ignited by static electricity.

[mtaylor]

I thought about getting into reloading as .357 sig ammo is expensive however since the round is necked down and goes through much greater pressures I'm a little worried that I could be pulling the trigger on a bomb.

[TXCharlie]

A friend of mine has reloaded a limited amount of .357 Sig with no problems so far... I'm like you though, I'd be a little afraid of it (especially after reloading the brass more than a few times). I'm sure there's some stories floating around on the Internet about people's experiences with it, but you never know whether they're boasting or not.

[armsmaster270]

Been reloading for many years, many rifle and hangun calibers, but dont do shotgun. PM me for any questions about gear, how to..., etc.

That goes for me too. reloading 40+ years

[armsmaster270]

Another thing you can get a bunch of reloading info on the web from the bullet and powder company's web sites. I use the Dillon 550B and have dillon, RCBS, and Lee dies they all work good. I like the dillon for the slide in die plates set em & practically forget them.