ArchAngelCD
Member.
You can also find good deals on this forum in the Buy, Sell, Trade forum.Lots of great info already posted above, so I will just add one thing. For once fired brass, I've gotten some screamin' deals on Etsy.
You can also find good deals on this forum in the Buy, Sell, Trade forum.Lots of great info already posted above, so I will just add one thing. For once fired brass, I've gotten some screamin' deals on Etsy.
Sounds like you're on the right track. A couple of observations/suggestions:
- I love light loads with small charges of fast powder. But for brand new reloaders who are still working out the process, I like powders with a little more case fill. Suggestion: get a pound of Unique. You'll find it a very useful powder for a whole lot of things, and it's a bit bulkier (and needs more weight) than things like bullseye or 231. Being able to easily see the powder in the case will give you some extra confidence in the early going.
- Speaking of seeing the powder, think about how to get light and vision down into the case on the press. There are some inexpensive LED lights that are made to stick to the fixed part of the LCT that are good for the light... and a cheap dental mirror can help get you a clear view to the bottom of a case like .38 spl.
- As others have said, get another manual or two. The reassurance of cross-checking data from multiple sources really helped me in the early going.
- As you dive in, try to minimize/control variables. That way, if you are trying to troubleshoot something, you have less stuff to deal with/sort through on your way to a solution.
- For loading on the LCT, get a digital scale. Once you've sized and primed the case, you can pull it off the press, put it on the scale, and zero the scale. Now, if you put the case back on the press and throw a load of powder through the die, you can put the charged case back on the scale and the weight will be the powder charge. No pouring back and forth. Which is nice.
- The whole heavy-bullet-versus-light-bullet recoil discussion is in the context of achieving a certain power factor (momentum). A 115 grain bullet driven to 800fps will have less recoil in every way than a 147 grain bullet driven to 800fps. It won't feel "snappier," etc. The discussions you're seeing are typically about the choice of driving that 115 grain bullet faster - sufficiently fast to get its total momentum to equal that of the slower moving 147. That's where the interesting discussion begins. For now, no need to worry about it.
Was wondering if anyone has any experience in these arenas that would be beneficial.
ATLDave- Unique was originally at the top of my list due to the case fill properties. However, I had read a ton of stuff about inconsistent metering. I ended up paying a bit extra for the auto drum dispenser after seeing numerous reviews that it does better with bulk powders. Maybe i'll start with that after all. I wonder if I could sneak in a purchase of a chargemaster lite for my scale as a just in case = )
Thanks for the summary of the power factor as well- I think I may have been a bit off in my interpretation of those discussions, and that does make a lot of sense. Total force is limited by mass and velocity clearly- those seem like variables to play with after I get the process down and comfortable with decent starting loads.
So, I still do not see a SCALE; he'll also want a kinetic bullet puller for the OOPS we all have from time to time.
I'll disagree; using some fast powders, the margin of error is tiny. I have some where the difference between min and max loads is .2 grains. You can't tell that using dippers.Bullet puller, yes. Scale... I've never used one for pistol rounds, and only rarely for rifle rounds.
Learning how to use a dipper isn't rocket surgery, and not every reload has to be weighed out on a scale.
Learning how to use a dipper isn't rocket surgery, and not every reload has to be weighed out on a scale.
One thing I didn’t see mentioned is a log book. Either a 3 ring binder or spiral notebook. .
How the heck do you know what weight the dipper is pulling without a scale to check? Tell me you don't trust the Lee charts?! You certainly don't have to weigh every charge, but you need to weigh some to figure out what you're actually putting in the case if you're dipping.
Also, the OP says he's going to be loading on a turret. He's not going to be dipping charges... he'll be throwing them. He needs a way to check the weight of what is being thrown. The scale is not optional. I know the Kempf kits used to come with them... maybe that has changed.
I do both. My loads start in excel, but I have a paper notebook on the reloading bench to track what I do there. Using the excel workbook as a data source I can generate shot lists, targets, and shot sheet logs using word and the mail merge capability. However keeping track of what I do in the reloading area is paper based.Paper databooks? Yuck... it’s 2019 people, you’re either on a computer or smart mobile device to read and post here, get with the times!
Yep, even this old man has been doing an Excel spread sheet for a data log for decades.You don’t have to go full on MS Access database, but at least go Excel!
The links you posted are to your media album and I get the following error:
The High Road - Error
You do not have permission to view media within this album.
Congrats on the initial loads, there’s something so very satisfying about creating your own ammo!
Regarding your 9mm loads at a COL of 1.045, that’s pretty short at least in my book. There’s not a lot of case volume in 9mm and you can get in to dangerous territory pretty quickly when COLs are short.
Your OP indicates to me you want to start with a low recoil/just a nice shooting load. One school of thought is to load as long as possible with the least amount of powder charge that will avoid a squib but still cycle the action. Once you get that you’ll probably find out that’s a bit dirty in that cases didn’t seal to the chamber and the powder burn was incomplete. Increasing the powder charge and decreasing the COL will yield higher velocities (and pressures) so that workup has to be done carefully. A chrono will help keep you out of trouble (and yes, a chrono just measures velocity, not pressure everyone).
A 124gr plated round nose should have a profile that will allow you to load it longer. Even in my shortest barrel I can load those Berry’s at 1.120. I’d suggest you first determine your max COL for your barrel before loading anything.
Yep, even this old man has been doing an Excel spread sheet for a data log for decades.
Anytime you can type once and print many it's worth it just so us carbon based lifeforms don't make more mistakes. Take some time to get your worksheet organized so you'll have all the data you'll need in the future. That first row defining all the columns is very important. My 9mm worksheet's last row is 587. Best of luck!I quickly changed my thoughts on that and went to excel- my inner data nerd loves the ability to sort, filter, and modify as needed.