New to reloading.

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Tyril

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Greetings, all.


I'm a new shooter and a college student, who got his first firearm merely six months ago. Next November I'm going to hit the big 21, and am planning on purchasing a 1911, probably a Springer Mil-spec. However, finances are a bit tight at the moment, and boxes of the big .45 ACP are ridiculously overpriced in my native land of Maryland. To remedy this, I plan on getting into reloading.

I will most likely reload the .45 ACP, 30-06 (I bought my father a Garand for his birthday, an haven't seen any surplus locally), and maybe 7.62x54R. Will a Lee Four Position Turret loader be able to handle both the necked rifle rounds and the straight pistol? I have heard good things about the durability of Lee's frames, and the price is simply difficult to beat.

I plan on purchasing the press and pistol dies this summer, to learn about the reloading process.

A few questions:
1) Using the Lee Turret press, if I choose not to use any of Lee's automatic powder dispensers, can powder be measured by hand and added with a funnel during the loading process? I am a bit leery about my equipment doing this most dangerous part of the process with little input from me. What parts will not be required if I hand-measure?

2) Scales. Especially for rifle-loading, I would like to be able to create extremely accurate match rounds when desired. Should I spend the additional money to purchase a 1/10 grain electronic scale? Are balances equally accurate? Who makes a quality measuring device?

3) Bench. I will attend college in the fall, and would ideally like to take my press with me. Does anyone have experience solidly seating a press to a cheap plywood desk? I imagine it would be necessary to bolt the press to a heavy block of wood, which must then be clamped to the flimsy desk. Is it worth the trouble, or should I merely make myself a desk out of more solid materials?

4) Purchasing. I have thus far been unable to locate a Lee dealer within a reasonable distance from my residence in Maryland. If I end up ordering the equipment online, what is an excellent website to handle my order? It will probably weigh a large amount... has anyone else ordered a press through the mail? Did you find the experience satisfactory?

5) Steel Cases. I have a large number of once-fired steel cases in 7.62x54R from combloc 80's surplus. I have heard that people generally do not reload the steel cases, as they fail to stretch as well as brass, have shorter case life, and may possibly damage the dies. I find it hard to believe that the cheap steel used in this application could damage carbide dies. Does this happen? Can these cases be reloaded once or twice? Does anyone have any experience reloading steel? They would obviously not be used for precision or max loads, but merely enjoyable plinking.


I thank everyone for taking the time to read this thread of mine, and share your own experiences with me.



Mindful in Maryland,

-Mike
 
Tyril

First welcome to THR. There are lots of good people here to help answer questions. So don’t be afraid to ask.

1 – I have a Rockchucker so I don’t know about LEE.

2 – Balance beam scales are more accurate than electronic scales. My scale is a Redding. Works great.

3 – I’d make a solid bench.

4 – Midway is a good place to buy from online. - http://www.midwayusa.com/

5 - I never reload steel cases, didn’t think you could.
 
I have some Lee odds and ends, don't know about their main equipment but it will probably do ok.

Per Bullet, a balance beam is actually more accurate than a cheap electronic scale. I think the Lee balance is kind of cheesy, look at the low end RCBS.

A good sturdy bench is a big help.

www.midwayusa.com and www.midsouthshooterssupply.com are the best sources of reloading gear I know of. Try to find a local source of powder and primers, the Hazmat shipping ripoff will ruin you, especially in small lots getting started.

Steel cases are hard to resize and are normally Berdan primed; not worth fooling with. A hundred brass cases will last a long time if you take care of them.

Get the Book(s) now. Midway has them.
The ABCs of Reloading is good; and you will need one of the bullet company data manuals. I like the Lyman, now up to a 48th edition. The powder companies all provide FREE data booklets but they are not instructional manuals.
Get the Book(s). You cannot learn to handload one question at a time on the internet.
 
Having a good set of check weights might be more important than which scale you have. More than that last decimal digit of accuracy, you want repeatability. You want 38 grains today to be the same as 38 grains was last week. Check weights are how you get that.

I hear tell that some fellas win competitions using rounds they loaded with a powder measure. It could be that 0.05 grains this way or that doesn't make an appreciable difference in velocity.
 
Hi Mike, save your sanity don't try to reload berdan primed steel cases. Count on lots of extra wear on your equipment, press and dies.
Go to Lee's website,leeprecision.com you can see good pictures and get descriptions of all their equipment plus you can order over the phone. I don't care for Lee's powder scale though, too hard to use, Lyman has a bottom end scale that works well.
Lee's pistol dies allow for a powder measure to fit in the top of the case mouth expander die so you can put your powder in during that step but you can expand the case mouths and then set the brass in a loading block and put the power in that way. I like to do it that way so I can make sure I have put powder in all the cases. Especially with big mouthed cases like .45s you can easily see if you missed any.
You may try mounting your press to a fairly substantial block of wood like a piece of 2x8 that you can then c-clamp to your desk., When I reloaded in a dorm room I built a small table about 40"x 12" out of 2x4s and tall enough to work at standing up.
Hazmat charges will turn you off of reloading right quick. You can burn up alot of gas finding powder and primers for what you would spend on hazmat charges.
I don't know if these guys are still in business but Clark Bros. was a good gun shop in Warrenton VA. 439-8988. I bought a set of dies from them when I was in the area.
Have fun, Joe
 
Mike:

0. The Turret Press will be able to handle pistol and rifle cases. However, if I were you I'd look at the cast iron Classic Turret press too. I think it has enough improvements over the regular Turret Press to make the extra $20 or so worth it.

1. You can put a funnel on top of Lee's powder-through expander dies instead of the powder measure. Then you just drop powder through the funnel. Having said that, there are lots of people using mechanical measures. If you're careful and keep an eye on them, powder measures work fine. Measuring every charge gets old real fast.

2. I like balance beam scales too, especially on a budget. I like the Redding #2.

3. My workbench has a flimsy particle board top. In order to solidly mount a press to it, I've reinforced the top with 2x4s underneath. The 2x4s run front-to-back and the press mounting hardware is screwed into them. You might be able to do something similar with your plywood desk. However, if the structure of the desk is the problem, then you're probably better off with something built stronger.

4. I frequently order stuff from Midway, but for heavy items their shipping prices are a little high. If I can, I order heavy stuff from Cabela's, where shipping charges are determined by the dollar amount of your order and not by weight.

5. I don't think reloading steel cases is a good idea.

I will second the recommendations for the ABCs of Reloading and the Lyman 48th Reloading Handbook. Both are excellent resources.
 
I find fair deals on brass on eBay, and would highly recommend the Lee classic press for starters. I've got one, and it's great! I like the Ohaus 10/10 balance but good reloading manuals such as Sierra, Speer, Lyman, Lee, etc.) are absolutely important to read BEFORE you attempt to load your first round.
 
Ask anyone who does calibration or Test and Measurement for a living... a scale that only covers 0-100grains will be more accurate than a scale that does 0-150.

Actually scales are really only accurate in the middle of thier range (most scales are like that). So to expect an 'accurate' reading from a scale that will weigh 5 grains of powder and a 230 grain bullet is not really accurate. It will do the job but you are not getting the correct weight for either. I have absolutely no trouble with the vernier type readout... put the scale at eye level, make sure the scale (ANY SCALE) is on a level surface, and make sure you have enough light to see the reading.

You can charge your cartridge with a funnel if you like, Look for the Lee Rifle Charging Die.

Lee's dealer plan (i've been told) is so rediculous that most resellers simply drop ship from Lee... I heard that you need to carry quite an inventory to be a Lee authorized dealer.. so most are not.

You may want to call Lee and see if they have any seconds or factory reconditioned presses.. shipping from Lee is only $4!
 
Thanks for the responses, guys!


Regarding the Turret Press: Is 'Classic Turret Press' Lee's terminology for the cast iron frame, and I guess 'Regular Turret Press' has the less beefy linkage?

Truthfully, I did not notice a difference between the two, until it was mentioned. What features does the Classic Turret Press have that the other lacks? I looked on Lee's website, but it looks like the descriptions are more blanketing, describing turret presses in general.


Midway offers a kit with the 'Regular' turret press and all the required goodies for $89.99. Putting together the same order with the Classic Turret Press comes out to $135.44. Is the Classic Press worth $45 more than the Regular?




Other than the press, I've assembled a bit of a list off of midway, am I missing anything important (other than the consumables)?

-Press (either Classic or Regular)
-Autodisk Powder Measure (may or may not include this)
-Scale of some sort
-4 Carbide Die .45 ACP kit
-Chamfer Tool
-Primer Pocket Tool
-Cutter and Lock Stud
-Powder Trickler
-Kinetic Bullet Puller
-Powder Funnel
-Manuals/Literature

I don't plan on getting an automated case shaker, as I doubt those in the apartment below me would appreciate the two hours of hellacious noise.

In addition, I will probably buy these things slowly over the course of the summer, as money becomes available. Right now, pretty much everything is Lee (as a baseline for the prices), but that may change depending on what I learn.



Thanks again, everyone.


-mike
 
One more thing you might want to think about is a Lee powder scoop set. They contain about 15 scoops for something like .3cc up to about 4.5cc and the chart with the set shows how much of most available powders weigh in each scoop. You can use them to measure your powder charge, although I have found them to often weigh lighter than the chart shows but not consistently. I use them to get close to the charge I am weighing on the scale, it saves a lot of powder sprinkling. Joe
 
some help I hope

there are many good scales like rgb lyman etc. midsouth is one resorce
lee make a set of scoops but mesure every load and start with the min load
go to the range and see how your gouping is working out and ajust your powder also make sure your bullet dept remains consitant and watch your over all leanth and what type of powder you use . read that manual for the powder read lees hand loading book .and its not all that hard just pay atention to what you are doing keep records keep your bench clean and uncludered thats it for now
 
Tyril said:
Regarding the Turret Press: Is 'Classic Turret Press' Lee's terminology for the cast iron frame, and I guess 'Regular Turret Press' has the less beefy linkage?

Truthfully, I did not notice a difference between the two, until it was mentioned. What features does the Classic Turret Press have that the other lacks? I looked on Lee's website, but it looks like the descriptions are more blanketing, describing turret presses in general.
Click to expand...

The Classic Turret has the cast iron frame. It also has a much stouter linkage and a larger diameter ram. It has the nice spent primer collection system where the primers drop down a tube that you can route into a trash can. It also has the handle that's adjustable for angle & length instead of angle only. It can auto-index with cases up to 3" long versus 2.3" on the regular turret - for reference, a .30-06 case is about 2.5" long and a .308 case 2.0".

I use the Classic Cast single stage press and I can tell you it's an excellent piece of equipment. The Classic Turret uses a lot of the same parts, so I would expect it to be of similar quality. I think it would be worth the extra cost.
 
Thanks again guys.


I'm going to order the Classic Turret from Midway.


Anyone have a promo code from midway for June?
Looking at $200+.

Thanks!


-mike
 
A few questions:
1) Using the Lee Turret press, if I choose not to use any of Lee's automatic powder dispensers, can powder be measured by hand and added with a funnel during the loading process? I am a bit leery about my equipment doing this most dangerous part of the process with little input from me. What parts will not be required if I hand-measure?
Click to expand...

The more you automate this step the better, You'll make far more mistakes than will the machine. The Lee autodisk powder measure has worked very well for me for many years for all handgun calibers. Only issues is if I try to go below about 3.5 gr with Unique for light .380 loads as sometimes this produced light "squibs" because it didn't always drop a full charge. All the larger volumes have been very reliable.

I think the Lee four hole auto indexing turret press and the Lee four die set (with "factory crimp" die) is a very good and economical way to start. I've upgraded to a progressive press for .45ACP many years ago, but still use my Lee turret setup for all my other low volume calibers, .357, .44 mag, .40 S&W etc. Buying extra turrets and leaving the dies all setup makes caliber changes a snap.

+1 to a good scale being an absolute must.

--wally.
 
I find that it is a heck of a lot easier and faster to use a digital scale than a balance. I also found one for under $30 + shipping on ebay, and it came with two check weights, which I measured at work and they are absolutely on the money. I usually just measure every tenth round and use a Lee autodisk powder thrower. I am getting pretty consistant weights using it (By that I mean within 0.1 grains). When I first started I was just using the Lee funnel and powdwer measures, but it made it too long to charge all the cases.
 
1) If you absolutely must hand measure you will probably want a powder trickler and/or a powder measure to get you in the ball park of what the load is. You can then trickle up to the amount you want while on the scale. Personally I use a Lee Perfect Powder Measure Pro. It seems to do just fine for the charges I want. There are nicer measures but this one seems to work fine (I also am a college student on a budget). Do not buy the cheaper powder measure (the "expensive one" is 30 dollars and some change usually) because the hopper comes on and off the measure by removing two screws that screw into the hopper itself, the hopper plastic cracks with age and wear.

2) I spent the extra money and bought an RCBS 750 gr electronic scale. It came with a set of check weights as well. Like you I wondered was the extra money worth and in a word, Yes. I reloaded on a friends balance beam scale the other day and though it is not that hard to use it does take time and a lot of patience to get the weight just right. scale? Balances are equally accurate. Another note about Lee, though I use many of their equipment and like most of it do not buy the Lee Safety Scale. A friend bought one and it broke in shipment (all plastic). The scale is one place where I would not scrimp money wise.

3) When I lived in the dorms I got a table that one of my neighbors had cobbled together. Roughly waist height with a second shelf below it. 2x4 legs and a plywood top and it works fine. I reinforced the bottom legs of it with some additional 2x4. I have mounted both of my Mec shotgun reloaders and my Lee progressive press.

4) MidwayUSA is the only way to go for supplies unless Grafs just gives you a honey of a deal. I bought all of my presses used on Ebay. The prices on the presses themselves might not be all that great of a savings but you will usually get several extras that help. I bought my press and it came with a second die set, shell plate carrier, and a few other odds and ends.

5) Do not reload Steel Cases. Brass is cheap and should be thought of accordingly. Try to find once fired brass (www.brassmanbrass.com is a good site). If you have to pay full price for new brass look at it as an investment. Most good brass can load 6-10 times easily. For the super accurate loads that you are looking for in a rifle I would get virgin brass from Midway (usually 22-35 dollars for a hundred pieces depending on caliber).
 
YES YOU CAN SAFELY RELOAD STEEL CASES. There is ABSOLUTLY NO PROBLEM WITH THEM. Most people just don't... because, well.. they think they cannot.

The only issue is wheather or not they are BERDAN primed (berdan = two flash holes, and needs a special, not easy to get and EXPENSIVE primer). Most US brass is BOXER primed.. one big flash hole, cheap primers.

Will they ruin your dies? Properly lubed, no.

In WWII there was a brass shortage and MANY US arsenals shipped STEEL cased ammo to the front.
 
Tyril

It seems everyone who replyed offered lee equipment to you, and that is what you seemed to be leanning toward but let me throw a fly in the ointment here, For my money the best reloading machine on the market at a reasonable price that will load ammo in a manner you expressed you were interested in doing, in that some of your operation you thought you would prefer a manual capability, hence let me offer the Dillon 550 loading press it is a manual indexing type machine that you can reload up to 160 different calibers on it takes standard 7/8-14 reloadig dies comes with a LIFETIME No BS warrenty and I can attest to the fact that if it ain't right they will try to make it right, you break it they replace it no charge. The machine is well designed and very simple to maintain, the QUALITY IS THERE.

Sorry guys, I just can not back the lee products, they serve a place and a lot of people have them and for the most part swear eigther at or by them, as a retired toolmaker, I just don't like the product, it leaves a lot to be desired.

NUF SAID.
 
Regarding the Steel Cases:

I cut one open today, and saw that it was indeed Berdan-primed. So reloading them economically is quite out of the question. Oh well.


I am definately looking to purchase a powder trickler, as I have had quite a few unplesant experiences in the Chemistry lab with trying to hit exact numbers by means of scoops alone.

From the Midway reviews, it seems that the Redding #5 Trickler is highly thought-of.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=487186

Has anyone had experience with that particular product?


I'm going to scour ebay to see if I can find a cheap(er) electronic scale. As much as I want the digital readout, $100 is a bit steep to swallow.


Again, I appreciate all the responses here, you guys really know how to help out a newcomer.


-mike
 
I use a Lee 3holer turret press and it works wonderfully for me. I have loaded ~6000 .45s on it, 150 .500s, and a hundred or so .30-06. I don't use the auto index; I like to do things one at a time, especially with the big calibers.

The Lee scale works okay for me. My '06 loads go into .6" @100yds and I mass every charge.

You need a stiff bench to size rifle and big pistol rounds. .45s aren't bad.

Midway USA is a good place to order from, but like they said, find a local to get powder and primers from. Get your .45s here - Magnus Bullets

Good guys to work with.

Anthony
 
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