Beginner Reloading

[ben293]

Thank you so much- I think that makes total sense on the OAL. I was able to play around a bit this morning. Did small changes to the seating stem until it plunked nicely and slid in and out on its own. Put the gun back together and did a feed test as well. It plunks right at 1.200- and feeds, with this OAL giving just enough room to load in the magazine.

EF3A9A2E-78F3-4763-8A29-6FBC4AD03259

• ben293
• Apr 12, 2019

The data I screen captured before is for W231, I also have data compiled for Unique. Based on numerous recommendations and PMs I received, these are the two powders I picked up to start loading with. I have moved my LED desk light over to the press when I loaded the 38s to see better- I think it’s time to use some credit card points and get the led light kit and a dental mirror to make it easier to see. With the 9mm for sure when I start loads, I am going to start with the unique- with a higher case fill I feel it should give me a better chance to work on process and technique with the press and make it easier to do a visual verification. On the 38s I verified all powder charges with a scale- especially on my first run this made me much more comfortable. I think I will continue verifying all the loads with the scale while doing work ups. I was impressed, however, with how consistent the auto drum was with 231- hoping it stays fairly consistent with the unique- I’ve read many discussions where people reported both excellent and fair metering with unique in the auto drum.

 

[murf]

Yep, even this old man has been doing an Excel spread sheet for a data log for decades.

can you share your excel template with us?

murf

 

[Walkalong]

A very basic one for pistol. First tab has some examples of tweaks. Excel 97-03

 

[murf]

thanks walkalong.

murf

 

[hdbiker]

I think one of the first things a new re loader should buy is a popular reloading manual by mfg that actually makes bullets. Speer, Hornady, Nosler, Sierra. Study the manual and use their bullets.KEEP GOOD RECORDS !!!, that was my mistake. ENJOY hdbiker

 

[Tilos]

I have moved my LED desk light over to the press when I loaded the 38s to see better- I think it’s time to use some credit card points and get the led light kit and a dental mirror to make it easier to see.

You should consider a "portable" gooseneck light over a stick-on as it's easily move around for viewing other things, even another press when you get one .
I have a Mag base light I bought from Amazon for less than $10, sold as a sewing machine light.
I snapped it to the metal cap of an empty 1# powder container that I filled with bullets and taped the lid closed, so I would NOT mistake it for an active powder container while on my bench.
Here's the light and they are many others weaker/stronger on Amazon too...do a search:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FSPJKW...colid=6T86R8UM8FZ3&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
And for a mirror I use Bicycle mirror that Velcro's on for a bigger view:

The light in the pic is not the gooseneck light in the Amazon this link
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FSPJKW...colid=6T86R8UM8FZ3&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[ben293]

You should consider a "portable" gooseneck light over a stick-on as it's easily move around for viewing other things, even another press when you get one .
I have a Mag base light I bought from Amazon for less than $10, sold as a sewing machine light.
I snapped it to the metal cap of an empty 1# powder container that I filled with bullets and taped the lid closed, so I would NOT mistake it for an active powder container while on my bench.
Here's the light and they are many others weaker/stronger on Amazon too...do a search:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FSPJKW...colid=6T86R8UM8FZ3&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
And for a mirror I use Bicycle mirror that Velcro's on for a bigger view:

I like that light- that’s a good idea. Currently I have the gooseneck- however, yesterday I did order the UFO kit with some amazon points- I figure between the two I should have good coverage. I was going to go to Harbor Freight tomorrow for one of the dental mirrors- but I like the bicycle mirror idea also- seems like it would give a bigger, easier sight picture to see with.

 

[ben293]

I believe I am long overdue for an update here- life has been a bit hectic as of late, but I've gotten the chance to return to shooting and get loads tested.

I worked up 38 specials first using DEWC- I've settled on a load of 3.3gr W231 that I am happy with. I also liked them a bit lower at ~3.0, but with my gun these loads were actually a bit too light- it made me nervous when I was hitting the same holes on targets as to whether or not the bullets were actually leaving the barrel. 3.3 is still light shooting, but gives a bit of a pop that I know that leaves me more confident in not sticking anything. These were with Berry's CP- I think in all my time off i've done too much reading on the debating whether to use lead or plated loads, and it made me a bit nervous on these. I have some Unique as well, but have not tested unique in these- and am not sure I will.

In the 9mm front, I did several workups using unique and 231. Bullets used so far were 115gr Acme coated and 124 Berrys RN. Unfortunately, I am not near my notes at the moment, so I can't give exact figures, but with my barrel I had to load both a touch shorter than book data would suggest (taking into account depth of bullet seating in to the case cartridge). I was a touch nervous on this, but there were several threads i was able to get a lot of information out of. BDS especially has a number of posts that came up that gave greater insight into this and made me feel more comfortable I was on the right track.

On the 115gr bullets, I found a load for the Acme coated that worked very well in my gun- as a matter of fact, its definitely the tightest groups I've ever shot using the 231. On the 124gr front- I still have some work to do on these to get some better groupings. I was able to achieve fairly decent groups, on par or a bit better than factory, but nothing that was nearly as tight as the Acme. In these I did workups using both 231 and unique. I am going to do another ladder with my powder load in the middle of the range that worked well for the groups before but varying the OAL- I definitely have room to go longer, my plunk test worked out to 1.2 with that profile, but going off of published data and bullet lengths, I loaded them shorter than that. I am wondering if getting the bullet closer to the leads will tighten these up a bit more- but, I suppose I need to account for powder load changing the depth out much further as well. Part of the fun of all of this =)

Unique- not sure how I feel on this powder at the moment, my results don't seem to quite echo other peoples. I will definitely try it out in 38, but likely not with wadcutters as I am happy with that loading- I will probably pick up some other bullets TBD and try it again there. In 9, it gave me results I was not particularly happy or comfortable with. The ladder I loaded was a .2 grain spread, 10 rounds a piece, starting near the bottom of published data and staying ~ .5 grains from max. Starting low and moving up, it went from coal train starting up at the station to surprisingly loud and snappy- I did not even finish testing my final load. Brass was flinging far, and at that point other people at the range were trying to see what I switched to. When I did the workup loads, I ended up weighing all the charges for each case- I rejected anything more than + or - .5gr of my target weight- so I do not believe it was due to inaccurate throws.

Through the process of doing the load testing and even some production runs on the 38 Special and 9mm 115gr loads, I have definately come to my own feel on the press and how I want to do the operations. I really like the Lee Classic Turret I am using, but am not a fan of the primer system while doing full loads. It itself works great, don't get me wrong, but while loading i feel it is a bit in the way and hampers my visibility and reach at times. What I have settled on instead as a full process start to finish:

-Decap brass w/ universal decapping die
-Clean
-Size/Prime as one operation and have prepped brass ready to go.

When Loading:
-Powder throw/flare
-Seat bullet
-Taper crimp die

Since I am not using only 3 of the four die stations the press allows, I had been kicking around the idea of a powder cop. At the least, it will make me more comfortable getting a double visual on the powder. 3D printing is another side hobby of mine- and I ended up just getting a new printer that is far more accurate than the old. I found a powder cop on Thingiverse, so I am currently printing the body to test fully that it will work in the press (dimensional accuracy more than anything on the threads). The model up there is a simple system that raises a screw up to indicate, but doesn't really give a great indication of actual level so much as go or no go on the powder. I am going to look at this print and see what I can come up with to make it a bit more accurate- not sure how I'll do it yet, but maybe something like the Hornady's ring.

 

[lordpaxman]

It’s nice to hear your loads are shooting, and well.

Since I am not using only 3 of the four die stations the press allows, I had been kicking around the idea of a powder cop.

Always a good thing to have a second check, but, nothing beats the eyeball on the powder before seating a bullet. Just to make sure. Also, you may want to look at a lock out die, it’s similar to a powder cop but will lock up the press if there’s a significant low or high powder charge. I personally like the lock out die better, and the Dillon fans have a similar powder checker that will beep if there’s a large delta.

 

[LiveLife]

BDS especially has a number of posts that came up that gave greater insight into this and made me feel more comfortable I was on the right track.

Glad my posts were helpful.

9mm ... 115gr bullets, I found a load for the Acme coated that worked very well in my gun- as a matter of fact, its definitely the tightest groups I've ever shot using the 231.

That's great!

124gr ... I definitely have room to go longer, my plunk test worked out to 1.2 with that profile ... I am wondering if getting the bullet closer to the [lands] will tighten these up a bit more

There are many reloading variables and one variable can overshadow another variable. While getting closer to lands (longer OAL) can reduce gas leakage as bullet has shorter distance to jump from case neck to start of rifling to start building up chamber pressure, BUT with 9mm 115/124 gr FMJ/RN bullet profile with "relatively" short bullet base, I found greater neck tension from shorter OAL/deeper seated bullets can overshadow benefit of longer OAL.

In the myth busting thread "OAL/COL Long vs Short", 115 gr FMJ loaded to 1.155" was compared with 1.130" and shorter rounds produced smaller 10 shot core group size - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...for-9mm-continues.845981/page-5#post-11034535

So determining the most accurate load is a balancing act between using sufficient powder charge to produce optimal powder burn versus less gas leakage/faster chamber pressure build from bullet base/bearing surface of bullet being closer to start of rifling versus greater neck tension from deeper seated bullet helping initial powder burn and chamber pressure build.

After years of using "hunt and peck" method which was inconsistent and frustrating, I now use the following process to determine which powder charge and OAL will produce the smallest shot group:

1. Determine max OAL that will fall in the barrel freely and spin without touching the rifling
2. Next determine the working OAL that will reliably feed/chamber from the magazine
3. Conduct powder work up to identify most accurate powder charge (reduce start/max charges by .2-.3 gr if using significantly shorter OAL than published)
4. Incrementally decrease the OAL (say by .005") to see if accuracy improves.

This is the process many precision/long distance shooters use to identify accurate loads and we can use the same process for our pistol load development.