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Thread: New to reloading

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    tinbum's Avatar
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    New to reloading

    Due to a crazy law I can only buy 2k factory centre fire rounds per gun per annum, but reloading is unlimited. So rather than limit myself to 40 shots a week I have decided to start reloading.

    I had a play with a friend's progressive press at the turn of the century, but the memory is hazy. I have a couple of guys at the club who will coach me at the outset of this venture.

    I have no equipment, no literature and a very slim grasp on what I may need. I have looked in sales and see I missed on a couple of bits that might have been useful, but knowing how things build up in unused drawers I thought it worth mentioning here in case anyone has stuff to offload. I will be starting with 9mm, but will also be looking at other cals over time.

    Advice, comments and criticism welcome
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    PM me your address I've got a 9mmP taper crimp die lying idle, I came across it last week whilst tidying up.
    Pistol & Rifle Shooting in the Highlands with Strathpeffer Rifle & Pistol Club. <StrathRPC at yahoo.com> or google it.
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    Lee stuff is great- Henry Kranks is the main supplier in UK- might be worth a look. Get the Lee reloading manual- it has loads of great data. Lee scales are not so great- I like RCBS ones.

    Stay within published data and check everything.

    Pistol calibres are easy. Definitely go for a progressive press for pistol calibres. Just watch out for things that might do a double or zero charge.

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    Mark 7 is the way you go. Pricey but you get what you pay for. They are owned by Lyman now.


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    Thanks all. I will hunt that book down and take a look at the lee stuff. A "beginners set" appeals for the obvious reasons, but I'll try and hold off any decisions until I've done a few loads through other peoples equipment
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    Quote Originally Posted by tinbum View Post
    Thanks all. I will hunt that book down and take a look at the lee stuff. A "beginners set" appeals for the obvious reasons, but I'll try and hold off any decisions until I've done a few loads through other peoples equipment
    I bought a Lyman Turret press over 40 years ago & it's still going strong and is still my main "go-to" press. I leave it set up for .223 & .308. ( I have since acquired a further two presses, a Lee Loadmaster & a Lee Progressive 1000 turret which I only use for .357mag nowadays.) The Lee Loadmaster is actually a beast of a machine that will handle most cartridges you'll ever want to reload.
    We've also got a Lee Classic Turret press at the club; which is more than adequate.
    Pistol & Rifle Shooting in the Highlands with Strathpeffer Rifle & Pistol Club. <StrathRPC at yahoo.com> or google it.
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    If you are only going to load pistol rounds then I would suggest starting with a lee turret press and once confident then to one of their progressive ones (or Dillon).
    Or get a Dillon and use it initially as a manual progressive (slower but safer to start with)
    You’ll probably find that you shoot one cal more than others (9mm?) and the dies will fit both and most likely end up on the progressive.
    If you decide to start rifle reloading then you are probably looking at a single stage press - slower but safer as if a rifle round goes wrong it’s a lot more dangerous’’
    Hand loading for competition by Glen Zediker is the book I recommend on reloading - more for rifle cartridges but explains all the basics and equipment relevant to all.

    ATB
    James

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    Quote Originally Posted by JB101 View Post
    slower but safer as if a rifle round goes wrong it’s a lot more dangerous

    Now that isn't a theory I would like to test.......

    People who have been there focus on the fundamentals. People who sit at keyboards all day focus on the trivial and inane.

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    If Reloading 9mmP maybe stick to powders like Red Dot or Unique, they will just about fill the case easily, virtually impossible to double charge.
    Pistol & Rifle Shooting in the Highlands with Strathpeffer Rifle & Pistol Club. <StrathRPC at yahoo.com> or google it.
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  10. #10
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    The Lee Progressive will not try drop powder if there is no case in the stage and I believe the newer ones also will not feed a primer either so it is entirely possible to operate it by feeding only one case at a time and thus allowing you to focus completely on each stage until you feel you have it mastered.

    WRT the Lee Progressive press itself, it is certainly excellent value for money but IME they all need a bit of tinkering to get them working well. You certainly have the tinkering skills (not everyone does) so it's just a matter of carefully attending to each area one at a time. This might be dangerously unconventional but take some time to CAREFULLY RTFM to understand it all and do not skip over bits which might seem unimportant or unclear. As it the norm with 'merkin manuals, it is not written very well and easy to miss something important.

    If you are going for multiple different cartridges then get extra die plates so you can avoid the tedious die set up process each time you want to change cartridges, just swap the entire die plate, and if necessary the shell holder, and crack on.

    I think that there is now a four stage version so that the bullet seating and crimping stages are separate - this is a godsend - I found that with the combined seat/crimp die as used on the three stage version there is a tendency for it to shave bits of lead off the bullet as the crimp compresses while the bullet is still seating.

    I would also avoid the standard powder dispenser plates - they obviously only have discrete sizes and it seemed to me that the ideal loads were always somewhere in between, particularly if you want light target loads. I believe it is possible to mount a Lee Perfect measure instead and again with a bit of fettling it works very well.
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  11. #11
    tinbum's Avatar
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    Wonderful info, thanks! The Lee Classic Turret is looking favourite at the moment, Mrs Bum is keen to try it as well and wants a .45 cos the bullets are cute and tubby. Just like me

    I will need a tumbler, is there a preferred one, or are they all much of a muchness?
    Better to admit you walked through the wrong door than spend your life in the wrong room

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    Quote Originally Posted by DedIdick View Post
    If Reloading 9mmP maybe stick to powders like Red Dot or Unique, they will just about fill the case easily, virtually impossible to double charge.
    as above

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    I preferred .45s as the recoil was less snappy than 9mm (I had a S&W 645 which was huge).

    They are really easy to reload.

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    I had a Colt Gold Cup, Series iv. As above very easy to reload and recoil not as bad as you may think. Mine worked well with 200gn swc bullets.
    Pistol & Rifle Shooting in the Highlands with Strathpeffer Rifle & Pistol Club. <StrathRPC at yahoo.com> or google it.
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  15. #15
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    The best advice I believe (and others may well disagree) about starting reloading and buying new kit is don’t bother with cheap stuff to start out, just buy good stuff in the first place. If you’re confident it’s something you’ll be doing long term then it makes sense. Why buy twice?

    Lee do make some good stuff, but they make some pretty nasty stuff too which wouldn’t be ideal for a new reloader to try to learn on.

    Cheers
    Greg

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