Who Reloads?

[GSXTacy]

OK, a couple of us local are talking about getting into reloading together. None of us have experience with it and shoot a variety of weapons. Ive heard the Dillon presses are good but that was only one persons opinion. Show me your set ups (pics are great!). Where should we start. I'm really interested in the "rotating" presses where its basically one pull, one round. Keep in mind were new to this stuff!

 

[Busanova]

My buddy has been reloading with a Lee Loadmaster progressive press that he is very happy with. Some of the feeding accessories are plastic, but the press itself is built like a tank and very reasonably priced with a two year unconditional warranty. when out of warranty if you should damage any accessories replacement cost is peanuts.
I just purchased the same press for myself because Midway USA had it on sale in December. I won't be using it for a little while because I still need to build a bench. I was going to buy the press later but couldn't pass up the sale price. Good Luck!

 

[craigntx]

i've had a couple lees.
the nylon nut the shaft goes thru strips out easily, then you either turn it yourself or stop till you can get another. but at a hair over a c-note it's a good starter rig

 

[NIGHTFLIGHT]

I WAS JUST ASKING ABOUT THIS.
9MM like $20 a box of 50.I was told that after like 10-12 times should no longer do it because case gets thin.Did hear about a girl getting her hand burned by a clock that misfired with reload.I know they sell them @ gun shows.We have them here all the time.

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

First NIGHTFLIGHT I reloaded for many yrs.
I never used a case more than 4-5 times.
Some low pressure black powder loads you can use the case more but with modern cartidges that brass goes thru a lot of 'flattening' from the pressure. After the 3rd or 4th time you will have trimmed so much off the top from stretching it will be out of spec as far as case wall thickness goes. Case wall gets too thin your gonna have probs.

GLOCKS BECAUSE OF THEIR POLYGONAL RIFLING ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR AND SHOULD NOT BE SHOT WITH LEAD LOADS. RELOADS ARE OK BUT THEY NEED TO BE FMJ OR JACKETED HOLLOWPOINTS.
I HAVE SEEN RELOADS LEAD UP A GLOCK BARREL AND HENCE THE BARREL BLEW BECAUSE THE NEXT ROUND COULD NOT PUSH ALL THAT LEAD OUT OF THE WAY.
TRADITIONAL RIFLING IS CUT WITH ANGLES AND WHILE IT WILL GATHER LEAD AND NEED CLEANING IT IS NOT AS BAD AS A GLOCK.

I used a Dillon Progressive press. One pull , one round but it takes time to set it up so it will do that. You have to load primers, cases, powder,bullets check your dies and a few other things. One of the nice things about Dillon is that they have a quick change toolhead. By that I mean their presses are set up to change calibers quickly. You leave all dies and powder bottle in tool head and simply swap it for another with dies for a diff cal. The dies and powder charge stay adjusted in each toolhead. This is nice if you do diff cals. but you still have to load the other things I mention.

It aint easy. Easier to blow yourself up. Nothing an intelligent person can not do.
You simply need time, good memory and a lot of common sense.
The diff of 1 grain of powder in some loads can be drastic.

If you are thinking about doing it to save $ forget it.
In the end the rounds you make will cost 60-70% of store bought and you will have spent hrs working yourself.
If you are a hobbiest and will get satisfaction from the fact that the round you just bulled at 1000yds is one you made then go ahead.
Nothing is more satisfying than seeing your own round in the black.

Depending on the cals you shoot my suggestion is to buy Military surplus by the case.
Split it with someone if you cant afford a whole one.
Buy non-corrosive ammo and you should be fine if all you want to do is kill dirt clods.

I personally think I can make a more accurate round than any factory like Winchester,Rem, PMC or any other but I dont think I can make a more reliable round for long term storage.
These factories have million dollar equip that is highly specialized and can factory seal the round and primer.
If your looking to store ammo for 'a rainy day' then spend the extra and buy new fresh American made.
If your looking to blast away cheaply at the range buy Mil surplus.
If your going to Perry to compete than make your own.

The ammo coming out of Serbia Prvi Partisan is some really good stuff. I have been to the factory. In many ways it is more modern than some of our own.

Prvi Partizan Ammunition

First thing you should do is buy a reloading manual before you buy any equip. Read it.
If it makes sense to you and seems like something you want to do then go ahead.
I miss it. It was great mental release to sit at the bench and concoct new rounds, then go to the range and see what diif a 1/2 grian makes !
Only reason I dont do it now is becasue of the time involved.
Your first 1000 will cost more than the next if you keep using the cases over but again watch the case wall thickness !

I think Dillon is the Brock's of the reloading world.
They can and will sit on the phone with you and walk you thru your first round for as long as it takes.

 

[NIGHTFLIGHT]

wow thanks man

 

[Acehole]

I started out with a single stage press and all the stuff that goes with that. ie: powder measure, loading blocks, scale, set of dies, and a primer seat.
Best suggestion so far is to get a reloading manual. Lyman is a good one. They give details on all the aspects of reloading as well as reloading spec data for all caliburs for handgun and rifle.

Here is my 2 cents. Start with a single stage press! You will see first hand exactly what has to be done to complete a single round. Progressive presses are great once you know how to build a round. There is many things to watch as each pull of the handle is doing 4-6 different things at the same time. If you have no idea what each stage is actually supposed to do, then you wont know if something is wrong.

Reloading is a hobby and an art. I take great pride in my completed rounds that i work up for each gun i shoot. Reloading data is subjective to many factors. It takes alot of time to develope a load that shoots acurately in your gun. I have pages and pages of data taken 5 shots at a time for several guns measureing not only accuracy, but wind, temperature and bullet speed.

A progressive will churn out plenty of plinking and practice rounds. I have 3 Lee Pro 1000's and 1 Lee Load master. Both have their faults, but i get better service out of the Lee Pro 1000's. A plus for Lee's progressive presses is that they use standard Die sets. So if you start out with a single stage press of any manufacture, you can use those dies in a Lee Porgressive. Dillon dies are proprietary.

My last word to you is this; Find someone that already has been reloading, have them go thru the steps with you. Have them show you all the tricks and tools they use. I have been loading for 20 years and hav helped many people get started. I was started out by a friend and then read all i could about the process. It's interesting and a great hobby. Reloading led me to shooting competition. Just local stuff, but i loved every minute.
Good Luck and enjoy.

 

[StromBusa]

MY buds reload, I'm planning to start soon. It's something else to DIY.

 

[Haya01B]

I WAS JUST ASKING ABOUT THIS.
9MM like $20 a box of 50.I was told that after like 10-12 times should no longer do it because case gets thin.Did hear about a girl getting her hand burned by a clock that misfired with reload.I know they sell them @ gun shows.We have them here all the time.

Yeah those clocks are picky about reloads! I think its something about how the breach is made. More than likely the round was reloaded too hot!

 

[Pardini]

What calibers are you wanting to reload? What quantity do you want to produce?

I started reloading in 1976, 7th grade.

Here's my loading bench. When we built the house I added on about 4 feet to the back of the garage, specifically for a loading area. I cast on the right side and put in a high flow exhaust hood. Have a Dillion 650 progressive, load a couple dozen different rounds on it and cast all the bullets. Have never bought a box of factory ammo, except for 28 gauge, they are almost impossible to find once fired.

Dillion uses standard dies, most of mine are Reddings. You want to buy die sets for a progressive press as you want to seat and crimp in separate steps, so you have no use for an expander die (pistol rounds)as the powder measure expands the case.

Rifle rounds I mostly load on a single stage press. Have two MEC progressives for 12 and 28 gauge.

I shoot the cases till they split (pistol), some have been fired well over a dozen times. Bottle neck rifle cases won't last as long, they stretch when fired and need to be trimmed and split much sooner. They are a little more difficult because they headspace on the shoulder.

Have shot 1000's of rounds of my cast bullets through my Glock .40, my buddy many 1000's more through his Glock .45. Neither lead or have blown up. Both loaded to make IPSC Major.

I cast probably 40 different bullets from .22 to .60 round balls. Most of my guns have never sen a jacketed bullet.

My 1st metallic press was a Lee Pro 1000. Loaded tens of thousands of 9mm on it, tired of cussing it and bought the 650 much more reliable.

The secret is to load for accuracy, not velocity. Costs less, easier on you and the equipment. Some games there are velocity floors and ceilings and you have to work within those parameters. Generally speaking most of my loads are slightly less than the published minimums. Some loads/propellants you can't reduce.

It's relatively easy, the learning curve is not very steep. You just use published data and learn the process to assemble the components.

 

[xc700]

i use rsbs turret press its a single stage press that you can turn to switch dies without resetting dies for different caliber or different die stage such as to deprime,resize case,bullet seat,ect. i can reload a couple hundred rounds a hour if the brass has been cleaned,primed,resized,trimmed and checked over. most of your time in reloading is preping the case,it dose not take that long to put powder in and seat a bullet when the press dies are set. go to rsbs.com they have a lot of info on reloading. getting the brass and bullets is hard to find right now and the cost has doubled from last year.

 

[Acehole]

Dillon must have changed their presses, cuz when they first came out they used their own proprietary dies. they were smaller and wouldnt fit in a standard press.

 

[dmrowe]

Pardini,
Dude you do some serious reloading, I love your set up! I have been using an RCBS "O" type single stage press for the past 22+ years. Holds up to the wear and tear and I use it for pistol, large caliber rifle and primer pocket swaging for primer crimped cases. I have only a small corner of my work bench set aside for press, powder measure, priming tool and case trimer..although my work bench drawer is full of all the accoutrements. It is a worthwhile hobby and I recommend reloading to anyone who wants to spend the time and save some money enjoying the sport of shooting.

 

[det45]

I have a Dillon 550RL Progressive in storage. I don't re-load anymore due to my busy schedule however the dillon is a great set-up. I have reloaded tons of 5.56MM and 45ACP.

 

[Takeuon]

What calibers are you wanting to reload? What quantity do you want to produce?

I started reloading in 1976, 7th grade.

Here's my loading bench. When we built the house I added on about 4 feet to the back of the garage, specifically for a loading area. I cast on the right side and put in a high flow exhaust hood. Have a Dillion 650 progressive, load a couple dozen different rounds on it and cast all the bullets. Have never bought a box of factory ammo, except for 28 gauge, they are almost impossible to find once fired.

Dillion uses standard dies, most of mine are Reddings. You want to buy die sets for a progressive press as you want to seat and crimp in separate steps, so you have no use for an expander die (pistol rounds)as the powder measure expands the case.

Rifle rounds I mostly load on a single stage press. Have two MEC progressives for 12 and 28 gauge.

I shoot the cases till they split (pistol), some have been fired well over a dozen times. Bottle neck rifle cases won't last as long, they stretch when fired and need to be trimmed and split much sooner. They are a little more difficult because they headspace on the shoulder.

Have shot 1000's of rounds of my cast bullets through my Glock .40, my buddy many 1000's more through his Glock .45. Neither lead or have blown up. Both loaded to make IPSC Major.

I cast probably 40 different bullets from .22 to .60 round balls. Most of my guns have never sen a jacketed bullet.

My 1st metallic press was a Lee Pro 1000. Loaded tens of thousands of 9mm on it, tired of cussing it and bought the 650 much more reliable.

The secret is to load for accuracy, not velocity. Costs less, easier on you and the equipment. Some games there are velocity floors and ceilings and you have to work within those parameters. Generally speaking most of my loads are slightly less than the published minimums. Some loads/propellants you can't reduce.

It's relatively easy, the learning curve is not very steep. You just use published data and learn the process to assemble the components.

Damn Pardini! You're not messing around. Nice set-up. You know your sh*t

 

[bigmac0331]

I actully just got all of my dads equipment. I have dies to reload 41mag, 357mag, 30-06, 222, 30-30, 7mm mauser, and 270. most of my die sets are lymann, thats also the make of my powder measurer. I did it a lot when i was a kid with my dad and he said he was thinkin about selling it...i need to buy a .40cal for my handgun....

 

[Spkrdctr]

Reloading is VERY time consuming. I would get a fully automatic loader. Fill it up, plug it in and away it goes. Next best after that is Dillon. The 650 is a great product. Like motorcycling, you need to get out your wallet, shooting can get expensive!! I don't reload anymore as I was using ammo in thousand round cases. Again, big money to buy 5000 rounds of Winchester white box in 9mm. Anyway, enjoy shooting!

 

[craigntx]

Yeah those clocks are picky about reloads! I think its something about how the breach is made. More than likely the round was reloaded too hot!

it's the polyganol rifling.
regular aftermkt bbl's are available.
ck out Glock Talk Home for info

 

[Mr Bogus]

I know where I am going if the chit hits the fan.... never enough ammo...

 

[JINKSTER]

I know where I am going if the chit hits the fan.... never enough ammo...

Mr B...if shtf?...like Sam Elliot said to mel gibson in the movie "Once We Were Soldiers" when mel asked him where his rifle was as they were deploying to the LZ?...sam said...

"There'll be plenty of'em lay'in on the ground when we get there"

i've owned plenty of M1a's, M1 .30 Carbines (sweet little rifle that was btw) ar's, ak's...too numerous to list...but ya know what?..if you ever get in a situation where you need hardware like that?...you already screwed up cause your life expectancy will be measured in seconds...which is why i don't own any of those (primarily offensive rather than defensive by mission design) high cap short range spray guns anymore...just a couple good, well scoped rifles...ones a 30.06 w/ a Baush & Lomb and the other is a heavy barreld FN in .308 w/ a 3-10X42 swarovski bolted on top...and if i have a need for more ammo or a burning desire to lug a spraygun aroud as well?...like sam said...i'll pick it up off the ground...and ther'll be about 500yds of dif between the time i start landing lead and the time they can even start thinking about pulling the trigger...let alone spotting me in the 1st place...lends the option to pick and choose yer fights and?...survive...which will be the name of the game.

urban and suburb areas will be hot zones where no man will last long...i'll be headed out to the wetlands...where i can keep my family safe and see for miles with big glass...the snakes and the gators will be my brothers who will help me demoralize my enemies.

just my thoughts..L8R, Bill.