newbie reloader questions

[blarby]

Fyi, Lee is pretty nice about offering free primer system spring replacement.

Last time I needed them, they sent me three.

It's a safety issue.

 

[Chewy4480]

Fyi, Lee is pretty nice about offering free primer system spring replacement.

Last time I needed them, they sent me three.

It's a safety issue.

Thanks I'll look into that.

 

[matrem]

Don't fret that Lee one bit, Chewy.
I've primed tens of thousands of primers with a couple of em, with no real complaints.

Bought a new hand priming tool a year or so ago, haven't needed to take it out of the box yet, but it says Lee on the box.

 

[therealwormey]

Last night I adjusted the shell plate so the primer pin wouldn't hit it. After that I took apart the primer feeder and found that the spring under it was out of place and got bent by the priming arm. I just flipped it over so the bent part was down in the retaining hole. I wiped the primer feed ramp and put it back together. I primed 100 cases without any problem. In the future I'm going to prime separately as therealwormey suggested.

that spring can be a PITA to get lined up but youll figure out tricks to make it easier the more you mess with it. also some people put a small piece of tape on one side of the plastic primer assy to make it fit more snug and to make it align one way or the other. i have a very small bungee rigged to mine to make it tighter against the notches on the press that make it jiggle to shake the primers. on my pro 1000 i have a micro tingler(a sex toy) that i puchased for the purpose of keeping the primers vibrating down the trough. seen a guy on youtube had a cell phone vibrator rigged on his. buying a tingler seemed easier than tearing down a cell phone.
i find that if im gonna load a lot in one sitting, its faster in the long run to do the priming then the loading seperate like discussed. a couple missed primers can cost a lot of time pulling bullets and any other problems that comes with a missed or crossed up one,,or those damn ringers,when the top pops off the primer but the ring stays in the pocket,,thats a nightmare.
if you start with all primed brass its so much faster. keeping the primer trays full will be the biggest inconvience.

 

[Chewy4480]

I picked up some benchmark and some accurate 2495 today. I'm going to see if the benchmark will meter better (it looks like it will). I have some heavier bullets I'm going to use the 2495 for at some point.

 

[Chewy4480]

My hand primer came in. I primed 20 cases with it. Messed up one but got the hang of it and it works pretty good.

 

[Oldhandloader]

Setting proper resize length

All good advice.
One thing I would encourage you to invest in is the RCBS Precision Mic for your caliber (.223 Rem.) It will help you adjust your setting for the Full Length Resizer Die to exactly where it should be.
Especially helpful for the semi-auto action -- (case stretch). You can use it to give you a factory spec on your die.
I tried to guess at it 30 years ago and had a bunch of near disasters. With the Precision Mic it takes the guess work out.
And keep those safety glasses on !!!

 

[Chewy4480]

Oldhandloader I use the RCBS small base die.

 

[Oldhandloader]

A necessity

A sound choice. But I would still recommend the Precision Mic to get the exact setting on the die. The problem of course with not having the proper "resize" is HEADSPACE. You can have not enough and your round will not chamber properly or not at all. You can have too much (that is, making your case too short) and you may have a problem with a sudden and catastrophic case failure.
The result would be the bottom of the case ejecting (resembling a 9m/m case) and the top half would stay in the chamber---with the next LIVE ROUND being picked up by the bolt and slamming into it. Resulting in a seriously jammed Modern Sporting Rifle. It would make for a very abrupt end to a day at the range---or a hunt---or worse--a defense of life situation.
I hate when that happens. Good luck and keep those safety glasses on.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloadi...n-mic-cartridge-headspace-tool-prod33476.aspx

And:

http://www.rcbs.com/downloads/instructions/PrecisionMic.pdf

 

[Chewy4480]

Thanks oldhandloader I will probably get one of those to be on the safe side. Right now I use that small base die and check the cases with a Lyman headspace gauge. I haven't had any problems yet but anything that can go wrong will.