Ow! Ow! Leggo my arm!

Status
Not open for further replies.
AZAndy

AZAndy

Member
Joined
May 20, 2007
Messages
2,066
Location
Prescott, AZ, USA
Okay, y'all talked me into it. Just ordered a Lee 4-hole Turret kit (Deluxe! Zowie!), dies for .45 ACP and 9x18, an extra turret plate, a set of calipers, and so on. Picked up a used Lyman tumbler last week (it was at the gun store and looked lonely-- and it was only 20$) and stopped by the pet store for some corncob. Now I'm off to the shop for some once-fired .45s (5 cents apiece, does that seem reasonable?), bullets, powder, and primers.

Dang, now I gotta clear out the garage and put together a bench.

Would you folks advise keeping the powder in a refrigerator? I have a motel-room sized one that I'm not using. There's quite a bit of temperature fluctuation hereabouts, and I think I read somewhere (Lee manual maybe?) that powder should be kept at a steady temp.

Curses be upon you for coercing me into yet another expensive hobby, and thanks, too. I'm looking forward to it.

Andy
 
Thanks for giving us credit for twisting your arm. Hold out your other arm and we'll convince you to buy new pistols to shoot those reloads.

Don't ever refrigerate your powder. Moisture will condense inside the jug and wet the powder. Then it won't meter right. Keep it put away safely where it won't explode, and where kids won't get into it.
 
Like ants said, keep powder and primers at indoor temperature and humidity and they will last almost forever. Refrigeration is a "no-no."
 
Congratulations AZAndy. A great hobby to be sure. There's really no such thing as a cheap hobby, is there? Ever see the Robin Williams take on Golf? It's probably on Youtube.

The Lee Turret Press will suit your needs. (I have the Lee Classic Turret Press.) Caliber changeout is literally a one-minute job. 4 pulls of the handle will "build" one round. That equates to 150 to 200 rounds per hour once you get set up and work the bugs out. The learning curve on the Lee Turret is not bad at all. And with a semi-progessive like the 4-hole turret press, you can single stage if you choose to. I also needed a place to set up and didn't want to set up in the utility room because of the heat and humidity in Florida. So, I "squatted" in one corner of The Warden's sewing room. There's no odor associated with reloading, only gun cleaning. I bought a shelving unit from COSTCO for about $75, modified it slightly and have a good-to-go setup. It measures 48in wide x 19in deep x 6ft tall. The mods are mostly adding a little plywood for rigidity and allowing me to screw stuff into it. I do the tumbling in the utility room. If you are going to tumble casings where you can't hear the constant noise that'll remind you that it is running, consider a cheap ass timer for your tumbler. I've read about guys that left their tumbler run for 3 days because they forgot about it. They couldn't hear it.

Take your time. Work up loads carefully. Do not allow anyone to interupt you when loading. Load 5 or 10 rounds of each charge you think will work for you and take them to the range. Load the first rounds on the minimum side of the load charts. Work your way up to wherever you want to be a little at a time. There are recommendations out there on how much to increase each load workup. Keep a paper trail of what you did. I marked my rounds with a different colored Sharpie. I would also recommend setting up your 4 dies without using the primers or powder. I wish I had done that before I got to be an expert with my kinetic bullet puller! :eek: My first round of 45ACP was a "45 Short". I didn't adjust the seating die and it shoved the bullet almost completely into the case! What a classic!

AZ, wait 'til you fire that first round of your own homegrown ammo! You're gonna love it! Ah, the satisfaction...
 
ants:
Hold out your other arm and we'll convince you to buy new pistols to shoot those reloads.
Click to expand...
Oh, I do just fine on that front all by myself. I'm already planning on a CZ82 to add to my Makarov and FEG so that I don't, you know, suffer from excessive 9x18 reload buildup. Wouldn't want to have too much just sitting around, right? Might strain the shelves.

ants and mkl:YOWZA! Thanks for the heads-up on the refrigerator thing. My thinking was off a bit there. Came home from Joe-Bob's Fish Market and Reloading Parlour with a pound each of Titegroup and Universal, put them in the fridge, looked at the computer, and took them right the heck back out of the fridge. Maybe I'll keep them in the little unplugged refrigerator, hmmm? The garage isn't temperature-controlled, so I'm still thinking about this. Not sure I want to keep it in the house, since that would mean carrying it out with me and then having to remember to bring it back, which I find painful.

benzuncle: Thanks for the pointers and the encouragement. The press and dies aren't due 'til Thursday, so I'll content myself to clean brass and set up a bench in the meantime. Then I'll re-read your post (and the load data, of course) before I dive in.

Nice of you to put Lee Turret Press in Lee Red, by the way. :) I got the kit with the scale and powder-measure dispenser thingie and whatnot.
 
While you'll end up going Dillon eventually if you continue, your Lee will serve you well.

Make sure to get a bullet puller, calipers, and a good scale, too. Get a digital scale if you can afford it - much easier and faster than a balance beam.
 
Not sure I want to keep it in the house, since that would mean carrying it out with me and then having to remember to bring it back, which I find painful.
Click to expand...

Well, like my old sadistic football coach said, "No pain, no gain."

You only want to take down and open one powder at a time. Never have several powders open and right in front of you when reloading. Chance of making a mistake and loading wrong powder too great.

Find a high closet shelf in the house and store powder and primers there. All else can take heat/humidity changes.

We are going to remind you of this advice if you post a "My powder won't flow into the cases" question.:evil:
 
I've read about guys that left their tumbler run for 3 days because they forgot about it.
Click to expand...

I don't see anything wrong with that - gets the brass really clean. I often run my tumbler overnight.....
 
Get some case lube,like a tin of Imperial,and lube every tenth round,and the cases will fly thru there as if by magic.It don't take much at all,I pout a thin film only about half way down the case with my finger tips.I do a dozen before I start and just grab one now and then .

Welcome to the madness !!! :)
 
Sass, because of all the glowing words I've read here, I did include a tin of Imperial with my order for the press etc.

As a bald guy, I might even use some on my head. Could make me more aerodynamic, I'm thinking.
 
Yikes!

nambu1 & evan price:
You have just built explosive devices! In the event of a fire, those cans cannot vent the gasses fast enough to avoid explosion! All powder and primers should be stored in unsealable/loose fitting cabinets or something similar. Plastic tubs / boxes would be ok as it takes very little to dislodge the lids.

JM2C, but do as you wish. You have been advised...

Poper
 
Nothing wrong in starting with a LEE Classic Turret. It will serve you well. I just got a kit in 45acp as a gift for my friend, Brian and I gotta say... I almost hate to give it to him. I set it up on my bench after he opened the thing up to see how it works and I gotta say, it is pretty cool...

I have a few blue thingys, some green thingys, a couple of red thingys and my now infamous "Hand held red thingy" but I really would not mind having this LCT around to keep me company.

Food for thought: I have 'em too but guys, please lower the BLUE flag so we don't start a war...Lets allow AZAndy his new found joy...

Cheers...
 
Not sure if this was mentioned yet, if so, I repeat it. Get or build some cabinets for your reloading stuff. You'd be amazed how fast it piles up. Last week I shut down all my reloading until I can get the 2 cabinets built. It was getting really bad in my shop and I was starting to trip over everything as well as not being able to find something I needed. (also damn dangerous too).

I keep everything I have in my basement workshop with pretty normal humidity, 60% summer, 50%~60% in winter. I wouldn't store any of it a refrigerator.
One thing I did get done first is install smoke/gas alarms just to cmy, along with a couple of extra fire extinguishers. (that covered me on my house insurance).
 
AZAndy...I have a simiiar setup down here in Tucson. I have my powder stored in a closet in one bedroom and the primers in the other bedroom. Haven't had any problems. I did have a forgotten box of primers stored in the garage for a year after I moved. So far they are ok.
 
when you get a scale set up, drop your wallet on it and record it's weight, because it will never be that heavy again.... :neener:

on the bright side....your gonna have a lot of fun, learn a ton and put more rounds down range than ever before.

Welcome to the addiction (I mean hobby).
 
That's because

Wow. It took 5 responses before the Dillonites showed up. You guys are slow on the uptake today.
Click to expand...

It was the weekend and we were all out shooting up the ammo we made Thursday night. Single stage guys had to stay home and build ammo so they can shoot next weekend! ;)

Scott
 
It was the weekend and we were all out shooting up the ammo we made Thursday night.
Click to expand...

I loaded up on ammo on thursday too, took about an hour....

200 rounds of 40 S&W with 550B
200 Rounds of 45ACP with 650
200 Rounds of 9mm with 650


then on Friday...
100 x 30-30 on a Redding T7, Brass was already processed, but not primed. This took about about 2 hours + on a single stage.
 
Last edited:
I hate to hijack here, but I have had a question about the OPs recent purchase. I too am looking to get into reloading and that was the kit i intended to purchase. I know that it will be just fine for .45 but will it load .308? It doesn't have to make crazy match loads, but I would like to be able to feed good hunting and range ammo to my rifle.
 
juk:

will it load .308?
Click to expand...
Yes. It will load almost any metallic cartridge except maybe the .50 BMG and a few others. You will have to buy caliber specific dies and other necessities, though.
First thing you should do is read Dave's sticky at the top of this forum. Good stuff in there.
One of your best resources if you are buying the Lee Kit is Richard Lee's "Modern Reloading - Second Edition". Also, I highly recommend you buy and read "The ABC's of Reloading". Before you get started, read, read and read some more. It is the single most beneficial thing you can do. Plus it will give you a good feel for how well you will enjoy reloading. BTW, reloading is a highly addictive activity and will not save you shooting money. On the contrary, it will enable you to shoot a lot more for the same amount. It will cause you to spend more on reloading tools, too! :D

Welcome to our rewarding and addictive obsession! :D

Waddison
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top