Beginning with Lee hand loader?
- Thread starter jason70
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Getting ready to start...
Ok,
Order from Midway is in. Still got some reading to do but I am about ready to load some cases. I'll be using Green Dot, 125grn FMJ, and CCI 500 primers in Winchester and/or Blazer brass. In the manuals I have there is no load data for this combo. Anyone have another source. Also, any advice as far as weighing/measuring powder are appreciated. Have the Lee Safety Scale and the dippers. TIA
Jason
Ok,
Order from Midway is in. Still got some reading to do but I am about ready to load some cases. I'll be using Green Dot, 125grn FMJ, and CCI 500 primers in Winchester and/or Blazer brass. In the manuals I have there is no load data for this combo. Anyone have another source. Also, any advice as far as weighing/measuring powder are appreciated. Have the Lee Safety Scale and the dippers. TIA
Jason
walksbyhimself
Member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2008
- Messages
- 112
Loaded my first rounds yesterday myself! Using the hand press, it works well, and it is very compact. I managed to fit everything I use for reloading in a medium size toolbox, sans primers and powder, which I store separately. Did a hundred rounds in one hour, but that includes the trimming I had to do to change a 9x19 to a 9x18. The trimming was easily the most time-consuming part. I can honestly say I am hooked for life!
I did run into an issue with the Harbor Freight Digital Calipers. My set was off by approximately 0.011". I'll be purchasing a different set asap.
I'm using the Lee perfect powder measure and the Lee scale. I also have the dippers, but the powder measure works better for me.
I did run into an issue with the Harbor Freight Digital Calipers. My set was off by approximately 0.011". I'll be purchasing a different set asap.
I'm using the Lee perfect powder measure and the Lee scale. I also have the dippers, but the powder measure works better for me.
Kernel
Member
Can't you just re-zero? Or is it more wrong than that?
My complaint with Harbor Freight Digital Calipers is the fragal plastic hub that holds the thumb wheel. It breaks easy, if you don't baby it (I'm on my second pair, first were replaced for free). On "real" calipers that part would be metal. But, what the heck. Paid less than $20 for them.
walksbyhimself
Member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2008
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- 112
I can re-zero it, but when I measure something with it, it is off. The discrepency increases as lengths get longer. At what should be .710 inches, it reads .699, give or take .001. perhaps the mechanism is calibrated wrong.
On 9mm, I think a huge number of people set their dies so that they expand the mouth just enough to get the bullet to seat without "shaving" the sides, then set their seater or crimp die to JUST take out the expansion. (so that the brass comes back to fit snug on the bullet at the mouth)
I bought EVERY Lee crimper die and tried them, and all they did for me was scuff up the mouth of the brass, so I quit, and just adjusted my lee seater so that it JUST touches the mouth, and smoothes it back to the bullet. You will see a tiny (<1mm) band of bright brass, right at the mouth, when it is set that way.
You can turn the die down toward the brass until you feel it hit the mouth to get a feeling for where it should be, and then fine tune. Sierra manual recommends AGAINST what I am doing, but it sure works fine. I've done hundreds and hundreds of 9mm this way, and I bet I am just a piker. I quit worrying so much about the crimp stuff immediately.
I am using Berry's 124 grain plated bullets for the above. I can't speak for other projectiles, but it has worked well for the Berry's. I only need three dies: full length resize, expand/charge, bullet seat/crimp. Also, I finally went to the lee turret press (4 holer, with auto index) for pistol ammo (still do rifle on single stage press) -- wow, what a nice press.
Have fun and stay safe!
I bought EVERY Lee crimper die and tried them, and all they did for me was scuff up the mouth of the brass, so I quit, and just adjusted my lee seater so that it JUST touches the mouth, and smoothes it back to the bullet. You will see a tiny (<1mm) band of bright brass, right at the mouth, when it is set that way.
You can turn the die down toward the brass until you feel it hit the mouth to get a feeling for where it should be, and then fine tune. Sierra manual recommends AGAINST what I am doing, but it sure works fine. I've done hundreds and hundreds of 9mm this way, and I bet I am just a piker. I quit worrying so much about the crimp stuff immediately.
I am using Berry's 124 grain plated bullets for the above. I can't speak for other projectiles, but it has worked well for the Berry's. I only need three dies: full length resize, expand/charge, bullet seat/crimp. Also, I finally went to the lee turret press (4 holer, with auto index) for pistol ammo (still do rifle on single stage press) -- wow, what a nice press.
Have fun and stay safe!
sniper5
Member
If it helps anyone, I spent a little more money and bought a set of General digital calipers and have been really happy with them. So far right on the money for every known quantity I've measured. And I've heard mixed reviews but the little MTM digital scale has been real good to me as well. I still continuously crosscheck with my Lee scale and known test weights and it seems pretty accurate. There are a couple of glitches in the program that cause it to jump in .2 increments in a couple of measurements instead of .1 (for instance jumps from 21.9 to 22.1 gr., I've heard it's a software issue.) increments but is still consistent from load to load so I can live with that for the price.
For a scale. Ditch the cheap digital, lee safety scale if that is what you are using, and buy at the least a Lyman Pro 500. I had too. I noticed that my Lee Scales and such were way off from round to round. With the Lyman no big deal. It works great.
Another tip for plinking and 9mm loads. I load 9mm, and I use 5.0 grains of Unique for a 125 gran Conical FP. I took a shot primed shell, and loaded it with 5.0 grains of Unique. I then marked where the powder was inside the shell. I took a dremel and cut the shell down. Soldered a brass handle to the shell that I cut to hold 5.0 grains of Unique, and I only use that now to dip my loads, and scrape level. Works great, safe, and checks out every time. Cut my time down a lot. Just an FYI for ya.
Another tip for plinking and 9mm loads. I load 9mm, and I use 5.0 grains of Unique for a 125 gran Conical FP. I took a shot primed shell, and loaded it with 5.0 grains of Unique. I then marked where the powder was inside the shell. I took a dremel and cut the shell down. Soldered a brass handle to the shell that I cut to hold 5.0 grains of Unique, and I only use that now to dip my loads, and scrape level. Works great, safe, and checks out every time. Cut my time down a lot. Just an FYI for ya.
DIV03
Member
Jason, A few things that I have learned over the years reloading straight wall pistol brass.
Cleaning primer pockets is a waste of time.
All ways tumble brass with the spent primer in place.
Clean brass will help your dies last longer.
Cleaning primer pockets is a waste of time.
All ways tumble brass with the spent primer in place.
Clean brass will help your dies last longer.
I agree with all three of those things.
I suspect if you were shooting Bullseye, it would help to clean primer pockets, or shooting very long distance, and had a firearm capable of great accuracy, and were a tremendous pistol shot, and......well, I don't clean mine.
I suspect if you were shooting Bullseye, it would help to clean primer pockets, or shooting very long distance, and had a firearm capable of great accuracy, and were a tremendous pistol shot, and......well, I don't clean mine.
CajunBass
Member
You've got about the same set-up I've got.
Lee Hand press, 9mm (and 38) dies, Lee Powder Measure and scale, chamfer tool, case trimmer and lock stud, primer pocket cleaning tool, auto primer, and Lee's loading manual.
I don't load a lot, and I don't have a lot of room to work with so I like this setup. I can set up on the kitchen table in a couple of minutes, then pack everything back up in the box when I'm finished. (I screw the powder measure to a board rather than the table.)
One thing I do keep handy is a small flashlight. It's probably a result of my lighting, and old eyes, but I find the Lee scale hard to read without it. Shine a flashlight on it, and it's no problem.
Lee Hand press, 9mm (and 38) dies, Lee Powder Measure and scale, chamfer tool, case trimmer and lock stud, primer pocket cleaning tool, auto primer, and Lee's loading manual.
I don't load a lot, and I don't have a lot of room to work with so I like this setup. I can set up on the kitchen table in a couple of minutes, then pack everything back up in the box when I'm finished. (I screw the powder measure to a board rather than the table.)
One thing I do keep handy is a small flashlight. It's probably a result of my lighting, and old eyes, but I find the Lee scale hard to read without it. Shine a flashlight on it, and it's no problem.
qajaq59
Member
Jason, where do you live? One of us might be close enough to help you out.
Thnks for the continued suggestions guys. Didn't want you to think it's not being read. I appreciate all the comments and I've already learned alot from you all.
Today I actually got everything set up for the first time. Experimented with weighing some powder earlier and now i've been loading empties, trying to get the crimp, oal just right. Having the extra press has really been great.
Anyway, not sure if I'll actually charge any cases today but I'm still open to any suggestions of how many grains of Green Dot I should put behind these 125 FMJs. Initially, I'm purely interested in getting something that will hit paper. Will work on tweaking later. Thx again.
Today I actually got everything set up for the first time. Experimented with weighing some powder earlier and now i've been loading empties, trying to get the crimp, oal just right. Having the extra press has really been great.
Anyway, not sure if I'll actually charge any cases today but I'm still open to any suggestions of how many grains of Green Dot I should put behind these 125 FMJs. Initially, I'm purely interested in getting something that will hit paper. Will work on tweaking later. Thx again.
sniper5
Member
According to my Lee manual-
The recipe for a 9mm Luger is:
125 gr jacketed bullet Small standard pistol primer (brand not specified) 5.0 gr. Green Dot starting load, do not exceed 5.2 gr.
Should give you a velocity between 1106 and 1150 with a maximum pressure of 32100 psi.
Make sure you check this against another source.
The recipe for a 9mm Luger is:
125 gr jacketed bullet Small standard pistol primer (brand not specified) 5.0 gr. Green Dot starting load, do not exceed 5.2 gr.
Should give you a velocity between 1106 and 1150 with a maximum pressure of 32100 psi.
Make sure you check this against another source.
Thanks alot Sniper! I got that one from the Lee manual too. Seems high compared to some others I've seen. Some as low as 3.8. Not sure at the moment where that one was from. I am trying to cross reference everything like you suggest.
I tried seating a few rounds today. Most of them had a hardly noticable ring/bulge in the case around the base of the projectile. Never did figure out what exactly I was doing wrong but I didn't have much time to experiment today. I'll get it one of these days, I guess.
I tried seating a few rounds today. Most of them had a hardly noticable ring/bulge in the case around the base of the projectile. Never did figure out what exactly I was doing wrong but I didn't have much time to experiment today. I'll get it one of these days, I guess.
sniper5
Member
Do you shoot a Glock? That bulge is due to the way the chamber is designed and is sort of a hallmark of Glocks. It has to do with poor support around the head. I believe Lee started making a special kit for bulged cases called "The Bulge Buster" but it is not available in 9mm because the case is tapered. They are trying to find a way to get one out for the 9mm. If you're shooting a Glock just go ahead and process them normally and they should work fine in the Glock. The .40 seems to be the caliber that experiences most of the feeding problems with the bulge.
Ranger Green
Member
Another very usefull tool is a case guage. If you get one for each caliber you can "test" your loaded round for proper dimesions ( including proper/acceptable crimp) just by seeing if they fit into the guage. When I started out I loaded a lot of ammo that had a corrdect crimp but a serious mistakle. I caused an bulge below the case mouth which made my rounds unusable. They would not chamber the whole way due to the bulge stopping the round with 1/16" to go. A case guage helped me ensure my cooorect crimping procedure would work. I do not load without one and have never been forced to go home from the range with bad ammo since.
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