Recent content by cottersay

Thanks ArchAngel! I love it how the loading press makers say, "You can start reloading good ammunition minutes after the press is bolted down." Righttttttt....:scrutiny:

Thanks Dan, I had originally bought some 5744 from Bruno's because it is very bulky, but being a reloading noob I didn't realize I needed to check the manuals first to see if there was actually a load for it in .45ACP. There isn't, so now I have three pounds of the most expensive but...

Thanks Tiger. That leaves me out of the wildcatting business. Reloading is a much more complex affair than I had realized, and since all I can find is AutoComp, I guess I'll have to stick with that, at least until I can find Red Dot as catgunguy suggested, since my original intent was to find...

ArchAngelCD, I read everything posted to me, always, there is just so much info to process for a brand-new reloader like myself!

Thanks Potatohead! I hadn't thought of that particular problem at all.

Thanks guys, that is a wealth of information!! Much appreciated. As some of you alluded to, the reason I asked is that I am desperate; except for a pound of AutoComp, I have not been able to find any of the powders listed in the manuals for the .45ACP. I was thinking of ways that I could...

Since most smokeless powders are not very bulky, is it only 'burn rate' that governs what powder you can feed a particular cartridge? Take the .45 ACP. Bullseye, on the Hodgen Burn Rate chart, is number 13; does that mean that you can "safely" use number 12 (Hi-Skor 700-X) and Number 14...

Wow thanks BDS! Great info, and I will be working on each and every one of those mods today, since the primer feeder is the one and only mechanism now that is messing up my reloading. :-)

HeavyMetal, your idea makes a lot of sense, but I have already looked into that aspect and fully adjusted the shell slider for maximum travel. I have also greased all moving parts with a special plastic-to-plastic and metal-to-plastic grease that works wonders (Sil Glyde). Thanks for the pointers!

Thanks BDS -- will do! BTW, the bullet feeder is working like a champ, even with the "too long" 230g .45ACPs lead bullets I had bought from the great Missouri Bullet Co. (I Dremeled a small slot in the Lee bullet die carrier so that the last 30 thou or so of the tip of the lead bullet safely...

BDS, I emailed. Lee finally got back to me a few hours ago, but with nothing you guys hadn't already recomended. However, after taking apart every nut and bolt, and reassembling the press with a "bias" away from where the damage occurs on the case mouth, so far it now seems to be working...

Thanks Goose, but everything is as clean as a whistle. This has taken days of my time (:banghead:), and I haven't come up with any fix that is 100% reliable, but it seems that if I work the ram exactly the same way and with the same rhythm each time, I can get through five or six cases...

Thanks BDS; will do. :)

No joy with any of the above. Darn, they all sounded like a done deal. Now I think I'll try and shim the front interface between the piston and the shell plate carrier so that the shell carrier cants a bit backward, giving the case mouth about 15 mils of backward tilt. I'm hoping that...

Hi BDS, Yes, the shell plate is marked number "2", and it is right side up. Here is a pic of my problem: