Getting into Reloading, suggestions

[Palladin]

+1 on that ^

[CowboyT]

I think the truth of the matter is the underlined point. As hand loaders we do a great many things factory's would not consider doing because we can tune it to one specific firearm while theirs must work in all firearms. Of course that requires the utmost in caution and a experience.

+1 to that, for sure. Caution = Ingredient #1.

[ShadowByte]

I will hopefully be able to start putting together my supplies/equipment in the next week or two and I have been researching the components lately.

I was looking at going with CCI #500 primers, Hodgdon Titegroup powder and Precision Delta 9mm 115 gr FMJ bullets.

I was mainly curious about people's experiences with Titegroup and 9mm performance and if anyone here has used Precision Delta's bullets (quality/performance, etc).

It seems like they are one of the best deals I could find on the web at $74 shipped per 1000 for a FMJ bullet. Though a bargain price wouldn't be worth it if the performance isn't there.

Thank you all again for the excellent information and suggestions.

[gunderwood]

I will hopefully be able to start putting together my supplies/equipment in the next week or two and I have been researching the components lately.

I was looking at going with CCI #500 primers, Hodgdon Titegroup powder and Precision Delta 9mm 115 gr FMJ bullets.

I was mainly curious about people's experiences with Titegroup and 9mm performance and if anyone here has used Precision Delta's bullets (quality/performance, etc).

It seems like they are one of the best deals I could find on the web at $74 shipped per 1000 for a FMJ bullet. Though a bargain price wouldn't be worth it if the performance isn't there.

Thank you all again for the excellent information and suggestions.

Personally, I never stress over pistol reloading. Yes, certain powders, primers, brass, bullet combos will yield better results, but IMHO it isn't like rifle precision. Unless you are competing at a national level I bet nearly any by the book pistol load will have sufficient accuracy. Of course you may run across a bad load or two, but in my experience it usually doesn't matter. My number one rule for reloading pistols is versatility, then cleanliness. The less powder/primer combos I have to buy and the better prices I get for bulk lots the better pistol reloading is. I shoot a lot of titegroup and HS-6 for exactly those reasons.

[CowboyT]

Titegroup is a very good all-around handgun powder in my experience, as it's done well for me in rounds ranging from 9mm para all the way to .45 Colt. Bullseye, for me, has been King for .38 Special, and it's also a long-time favorite for 9mm. Those are my two "non-magnum" powders.

In the lighter loads, I've found that Titegroup can slightly dirty the cases a bit more than, say, Bullseye will. But it's not that bad, it doesn't really bother me, and that's what case tumblers are for anyway.

[ShadowByte]

Well most of the supplies are in. I went with the Lee Classic Turret press and their deluxe pistol die set. I have a few other odds and ends in and most of the supplies, so hopefully this weekend I'll be able to try it all out. I am glad I checked on here first for suggestions, I think I am much happier I went with the turret press vs the progressive. It seems like a nice press to work with that will grow with you and I can set it up as single stage for the first few hundred rounds to get the practice in.

In the mean time I've been reading plenty of sites and watching some good Youtube videos on how to set the whole thing up and what to look for in the various stages of the press. I also cracked open the first reloading manual last night too

I'll let everyone know how things go as I make some live rounds and get to test the whole thing out. Thanks again everyone!

[Palladin]

Nothing quite like busting that first cap when you've never done it before...

The pucker factor is way up there.

[zephyp]

Nothing quite like busting that first cap when you've never done it before...

The pucker factor is way up there.

Yeah, I was thinking about that pucker factor this morning reading about another ammo recall...makes a guy want to shoot nothing but his own loads...

[Palladin]

After I settled in with my first couple of hundred rounds, and getting the overall length right with my cast bullets, I'd just as soon shoot my own as anything. When I pull the trigger I know exactly where they're going. When I buy a box of (insert your choice here) and the groups jump to four and five inches when my loads will print 1" at the same distance, I agree with you - I wonder why their QC isn't better.

[Tweaker]

I just wanted to recommend some suppliers that I have had great experience with.

Montana Gold bullets
T&T Reloading (call before the RIC gunshow and he will have your order under teh counter - NO HAZMAT, NO SHIPPING)
Grafs - best backorder policy, but you pay more for every item than elsewhere.
Lee - great customer service, counter to someone above. Great value as well

[ShadowByte]

Nothing quite like busting that first cap when you've never done it before...

The pucker factor is way up there.

lol, yeah I can definitely foresee that I am planning on loading a few rounds on the low side up to a medium load at first and the Glock is a pretty sturdy gun, so it should go well. I am curious to see how my groupings do too.

I've been tweaking the setup of the press and have run about 10 "dummy" rounds through just to get familiar with the setup. Hopefully this week I'll be able to make some live rounds and test them out this weekend. I can foresee my friend standing quite a distance from me at first...he already flat out refused to take the first shot and doesn't want to start reloading until he sees how this goes hehe.

My first impressions of the Lee Classic Turret press are pretty good, I really like the setup of that press and I am very happy with it. Has a nice feel to it and it is built like a tank.

For those out there who use the lee dies with the FCD, do you do any crimp at all on the seater die? I have seen mixed comments on this...some use it to just get the flare out and then a slight crimp on the FCD to tighten it snug, then others completely back out the crimp portion of the seater die and use the FCD to remove the flare and make it flush again.

One thing regarding the turret press I haven't seen much on is the primer seating. Is it pretty much a full push of the rod to seat the primer, or is it pretty evident when its seated? I know there isn't an adjustment for the depth with this press, so I was curious how to know if/when the proper depth has been reached? I want to try my best to try and not crush a primer in there, that is the only thing that makes me a little leery of this whole process.

All in all, this looks like it is going to be quite a fun hobby. Now to acquire some different caliber pistols/rifles to really make reloading interesting

[t33j]

One thing regarding the turret press I haven't seen much on is the primer seating. Is it pretty much a full push of the rod to seat the primer, or is it pretty evident when its seated? I know there isn't an adjustment for the depth with this press, so I was curious how to know if/when the proper depth has been reached? I want to try my best to try and not crush a primer in there, that is the only thing that makes me a little leery of this whole process.

On my Dillon it's takes a full push and is pretty evident. There isn't a whole lot in the way of adjustments that I can make but it came set perfectly from the factory. If the primers are being pushed in too much, Dillon recommends,

Measure from the underside of the primer slide to the top of the primer cup. It should measure 1.410”, +/- .003”
If too tall, use a clamp or vise to reseat.

^measurement presumably appropriate only for a SDB

I suppose you could partially depress the lever incrementally until you're satisfied you're not going to mess anything up.

[gunderwood]

Its pretty clear when the primer is seated. if you reload long enough you will eventually get a primer which goes in upside-down. You can just push it out like you would a fired primer. Do it slow and a live primer will just pop out. To set primers off you need a pretty good impulse, not just pressure.

[Palladin]

I prime as a separate operation w/ the Lee auto prime. I feel like I have better control with less leverage, and it's easier to feel the primer bottom out and then stop as the anvil contacts the primer pellet. (Primers are shipped with the anvils slightly forward of the pellet - seating it arms the primer, readying it for the firing pin /striker blow)

As for seat and crimp in one stage, I have not had good luck with my Hornady New Dimension dies w/ this process (.45 ACP) (I either get crushed cases, or no goes when I drop the finished round in my overall case gauge - no happy medium)
I remove the flare with a separate step.

Disclaimer - I am not an experienced reloader!

[gunderwood]

As for seat and crimp in one stage, I have not had good luck with my Hornady New Dimension dies w/ this process (.45 ACP) (I either get crushed cases, or no goes when I drop the finished round in my overall case gauge - no happy medium)
I remove the flare with a separate step.

Disclaimer - I am not an experienced reloader!

I too like seat and crimp as separate steps, but either can work.

[ShadowByte]

I see what you mean about seating the primers. It was pretty easy to tell when everything is set properly. I loaded the first 50 and reprimed another 50, so I should have about 100 test loads this weekend to try and find one that feels friendly in my Glock 26.

For this first 100 I am doing it in single stage to get a good feel for the press. I really like the turret press for that reason, it gives me a nice chance to really learn each process.

The safety prime worked pretty good for me...every now and then it would have a hiccup, but that was less than 5% of the time, so I am pretty happy with that. I have heard various issues and modifications with that thing people have had to make. It seems like once you get the right motion down, it is very consistent and easy to use.

I also I checked each primer after each seating and then measured every 5th bullet when doing the powder (and eyed the entire set of 50 once all was said and done, just to make sure I didn't get any with low/no powder). The lee auto disk is pretty consistent, though the chart appears to be off by one for titegroup. I did the various "formulas" in sets of 15 to get a good feel for how they cycle and perform. I am going to make sure to check the casing after the first couple of shots to make sure nothing funny is going on either.

Once I nail down the formula I like for the 115 FMJs and the 124 gr JHPs I have, I'll put the press to work in auto-index mode and have some fun

[ShadowByte]

Things went well this weekend, no mishaps out of the first 200 rds loaded. The glock handled everything from the min load to the max load without any cycling issues what so ever. I could definitely feel the difference as I tested the loads nearing the mid/max powder load range, but things seemed to go fine. Post brass inspection didn't show any anomalies on any of the brass/primers, so all seems to be in order.

Out of the various loads I found two that "felt right" to me when shooting, and I will probably stick with those for a bit and see how it goes. They were right in the middle of the min/max load data and had a nice feel when shooting them.

Thank you everyone for the helpful tips and insight. I think I am finally off and running on a new fun and productive hobby!

As a bonus, I was able to shoot an AK for the first time this weekend. I had never had the opportunity to shoot any assault style weapon before. As much as I enjoyed it, I still think I prefer a bolt action rifle. I probably had the most fun shooting milk jugs at 100 yds with the .22. I had a nice competition going with my nephew, much to his frustration....the Savage Mk-II vs. Ruger 10/22, the former won out each time within the first 2 shots

[SgtBill]

SB, it sounds like you had a great time. I will say that now that you have found a load that is comfortable for you to shoot see if you can match up a load of the better named factory rounds that you will be carrying as far as speed and weight of projectile are concerned. A service load that feel's the same when you shoot as your reloads do is the ultimate. Your brain will NOT go oh crap what was tha in the heat of a shoot out and cause a time lag even if it is a split second it could cost you dearly.
I have spent many hours matching my practice loads to my carry loads and always will no matter what it cost as it can't cost more then my life or my family's lives.
This is not an option for everyone but for thoses that can should if possible.
Just my opinion
Bill

[gunderwood]

SB, it sounds like you had a great time. I will say that now that you have found a load that is comfortable for you to shoot see if you can match up a load of the better named factory rounds that you will be carrying as far as speed and weight of projectile are concerned. A service load that feel's the same when you shoot as your reloads do is the ultimate. Your brain will NOT go oh crap what was tha in the heat of a shoot out and cause a time lag even if it is a split second it could cost you dearly.
I have spent many hours matching my practice loads to my carry loads and always will no matter what it cost as it can't cost more then my life or my family's lives.
This is not an option for everyone but for thoses that can should if possible.
Just my opinion
Bill

+1

Having practice loads that duplicate the actual SD loads is great for training. It doesn't prove the reliability of your particular firearm with factory SD loadings, but it does allow you to train your body correctly.

[tyler6971]

HI all tyler here in VA,. Iam reloading .223 win.brass and was using my old LEE scale! # one i have been reloading for years ok.i got a ROCKRIVER.223 AR 15 CAR RIFLE.ADDED FREE FLOAT TUBE / 3" TTI FULL MUZZLE BRAKE. THE RIFLE IS KICK ASS.THE RELOADING WAS ALL MESSED UP.MY SHOTS WERE ALL OVER THE PAPER AT 100 YARDS.SO I WENT LOOKED AT SCALES.ALL GOOD BUT HI$$$.189.00 TO 300.00 SO I WENT TO THE INTERNET,AT NATCHEZSS.COM I GOT A RCBS RANGEMASTER 750 ELECTRIC SCALE 99.00 .MEN THE LEE IS GONE.I AM USING IMR 4198 POWDER WITH 20.2 GRS. .50 GR BULLETS T-T GREEN AND .50GR VARMENT GRNEADE .ALL SHOTS ARE RIGHT TOGETHER NOW.IF YOU ARE RELOADING 1 LOAD ALL YOU NEED IS THE REANGEMASTER 750.DOING MORE THEN 1 OR 2 AMMOS GET THE 1500 MASTER .WITH THE MASTER IF THE POWDER DROPS TO MUCH USE THE LEE DIPPER TO TAKE OUT OR ADD.OR TO ADD JUST USE A .47 CENT SALT SHAKER TO PUT A LITTLE IN TO MAKE IT RIGHT.HAVE FUN.