Not Yet A Player, But At Least Now I'm In The Game

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Sounds like you have a great space to start a great plan, A lot of great advice from this forum, that is how i got my start 9 years ago.

For pistol caliber reloading, i went with a Dillon Square Deal B (SDB), and i use BE-86 powder exclusively for all my pistol loads, 9mm, 38spc, 357mag. Be-86 will work well with 45acp also. I use Trail Boss for .45LC, but could use BE-86 if needed. I have gone thru multiple powders over time, W231, Longshot, Power Pistol, Bullseye, BE-86, Unique, HP-38, WSF and for me BE-86 turned out to be the best all around for my purposes.
Once you decide what you will use, focus on that and move forward. I would recommend you getting a Chronograph to help validate your reloads. And you will start buying little things to help you reload over time, as you become more experienced you will know what works and does not work for you.

I do have a RockChucker that i use for my rifle loads.

As mentioned before, read the ABC's that is a great starting guide, you will learn over time that not everything is set in stone, because not all combinations of Bullet, powder, primer, brass are in the books, you have to extrapolate sometimes to meet your reloading needs. STAY SAFE and jump right in and pay attention to the basic principles. Know what your doing and why your doing it.

The reloading thread, as previously mentioned has a wealth of knowledge in it, read thru when you can.

Leftytsgc
 
Wow! Thank you all for ALL of the responses! @GeoDudeFlorida, LOL! No; Still here. This aggravating work thing keeps getting in the way of me replying and the wife had other plans for me last night (no, not that) so couldn't reply then either.
So much to respond to that I apologize if I miss anyone or a particular point. I will try from memory to cover at least most. I did get a reloading manual when I placed the order. The Lyman 50th manual is what I saw available on the website so that is what I included. The ABC's of Reloading has been recommended several times here so I will go ahead and order that one today. I also found several books on cartridge specific "One Book,One Caliber. Complete Reloading Manual for..." So I thought i would get those as well for all of the calibers that I intend to pursue.
I do intend to start with pistol cartridges, specifically the .45 ACP. as suggested here. Fixing to order powder and primers if I can settle on a powder. From what I can determine, Winchester 231 or 572 seem to be the best choices for me as a newbie. I can order either but I want the proverbial "best" one for my learning curve. Also, how much? 1 lb, 4lbs.? I figure the Hazmat charge is the same for either so might as well make it count when I place the order. As far as bullets go, I haven't thought about that too much as of yet. Certainly FMJ to start with until I get some experience under my belt. Thank you all so much for responding and making me feel so welcome. I appreciate all of the input and suggestions from such knowledgeable people. I hope to one day be able to return the courtesy.
 
Just my two cents worth to add. Your 2 biggest mistakes will be a double charge or a missed charge. I always purposely make one double powder dump just to see what it looks like if there is any chance at all that the case will hold a double charge. Check and recheck. The missed charge will cause a "pop" and not a "BANG". You actually may not notice it that much at a busy range. Most likely the bullet is lodged in the barrel and just waiting for you to fire a second shot. If you don't hear a normal shot or feel a normal recoil......check the barrel carefully before you fire another round.
 
I'm not a fan of the "One Book,One Caliber. Complete Reloading Manual for..." books. They copy old information from other books.

I recommend that you use the Lyman 50th and also cross reference with the bullet and powder manufacturers' website for load data. It is more up to date.

For buying powder, look at the loads and how much powder they use. There are 7000 grains in a pound of powder. You'll get close to 1500 rounds of loaded 9mm out of a single pound of Win231. I don't know how much you plan to shoot, but buying large quantities of a single powder right out of the gate kinda locks you in to that powder for a long time. I started off with a pound of Win231 (will work fine in all three calibers you mentioned). Then research more on the internet and in the load books and maybe you'll want to try something else. Win231 will get you great plinking to mid power loads. Although Win231 is a good powder, it won't get you full power loads (as it is a faster powder) if that's what you're after. I now have a number of different powders on my shelf. I have enjoyed trying different ones work better than others, depending on the caliber and bullet. some powders I will buy more of and other I won't buy again. It's all part of the hobby. The front section of the various loading manuals help describe fast vs slow powders and when to use which.
 
Welcome back!

SWMBO cannot be denied!
Wood in the Woods said:
From what I can determine, Winchester 231 or 572 seem to be the best choices for me as a newbie. I can order either but I want the proverbial "best" one for my learning curve. Also, how much? 1 lb, 4lbs.? I figure the Hazmat charge is the same for either so might as well make it count when I place the order.
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Well, as far as that goes, Yes, the HazMat is the same for 1, 4, or 8 pounds and it NEVER is a bad thing to have plenty of W231 on-hand. BUT, at 7000 grains to the pound, and 5gr. to the cartridge (for a medium 230gr. FMJ/LRN .45ACP) you're talking about 1400 (approx) rounds per pound of 230gr. .45ACP. Get a 1lb bottle to have a nice size container and a 4lb to refill it from = 5lbs total or 35,000grains, which will make 7,000 rounds of .45ACP. Should last a LONG while! ;)
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
Get a 1lb bottle to have a nice size container and a 4lb to refill it from
Click to expand...

This is a good idea and I've considered doing this myself ( I even saved my old empty Win231 bottles). The last time I bought Win231, I bought 2 pounds. I still have 1.5 pounds left. I've since found other powders that work better for my uses. That is why I would shy away from jumping in on a 4 pounder.

I load primarily 9mm and I now cast my own lead bullets. I found that the bullet I use, along with VhitaVouri N320 is an awesome combination. I'll be buying N320 in bulk in the future. I also like CFE Pistol for my higher power hollow point loads. I'll use up the Win231 in my 380, but that's going to take a long while.
 
Wood in the Woods said:
Thank you for the heads up. I've heard the same thing. I'm loading up my cart now. Says available but we will see in a minute.
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Be weary of scammer websites as well. Not exactly handloading advice but good to cognizant of in these shortage times. If it's not a well known vendor and they say they have every kind of primer at $65/1k be very cautious.
 
Cliff6 said:
Just my two cents worth to add. Your 2 biggest mistakes will be a double charge or a missed charge. I always purposely make one double powder dump just to see what it looks like if there is any chance at all that the case will hold a double charge. Check and recheck. The missed charge will cause a "pop" and not a "BANG". You actually may not notice it that much at a busy range. Most likely the bullet is lodged in the barrel and just waiting for you to fire a second shot. If you don't hear a normal shot or feel a normal recoil......check the barrel carefully before you fire another round.
Click to expand...

Thank you for that advice. I ordered the powder check to hopefully avoid that very thing. It was almost a hundred bucks extra but I thought it would be a good thing to have.
 
Wood in the Woods said:
From what I can determine, Winchester 231 or 572 seem to be the best choices for me as a newbie. I can order either but I want the proverbial "best" one for my learning curve. Also, how much? 1 lb, 4lbs.?
Click to expand...
I'd rather not veer off into the weeds by telling you how hard many powders are to find these days. I'd rather just pretend that you can easily find Winchester 231 (because that's the one you asked about).
So, you asked "how much?" Okay, there are 7,000 grains in a pound, and my Speer Manual says that for a typical 230gr 45 ACP bullet you will be using a minimum charge of 5.6grs of 231, and a maximum charge of 6.2grs of 231. Dividing 6.2 into 7,000 shows that you'll get 1,129 230gr 45 ACP loads out of a 1lb can of 231 even if you're using maximum loads - which you really shouldn't be, especially seeing as how you're new to handloading.;)
Anyway, I hope that helps. And I hope you don't have any problems finding powder and primers. This ammo and component draught that we've been in has gone on for far too long.
 
To avoid double charging or loading with no powder charge I developed this habit that may help.

I load with a single stage press so my charging and seating operation is:
1. Weigh charge and funnel into my primed & prepped case.
2. Take that same charged case, grab a bullet and immediately seat the bullet in my press. Return to my loading block.
3. Repeat but with the next case in my block. I move from front to back, left to right.

I find doing this instead of charging a whole block and then seating a whole block of cases all but completely prevents me from messing up charges. Each case with a seated bullet is a reference point for which next case needs to be charged and seated. I even grab that charged case before I even return my powder pan to my scale so I know for certain I have the right one.
 
Wood in the Woods said:
Thank you for that advice. I ordered the powder check to hopefully avoid that very thing. It was almost a hundred bucks extra but I thought it would be a good thing to have.
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This seems to imply you're starting out with a progressive press exclusively?

If so, try to remember to preface your future questions with, "...loading on a Brand Y progressive press and...". This will help route your questions to people using similar equipment and maybe avoid you getting 100 replies about single-stage/turret press specific solutions. The process of using a single-stage vs. progressive is just so very different that much of the advice you get from SS/Turret users may be more confusing than helpful if it isn't understood you're using a progressive.

Just my 2¢ worth. :)
 
one more thing about presses (if you haven't picked one out yet) look at how they prime, and handle spent primers. Single stages for example: the RCBS rockchucker is a wonderful press. well built, nice and smooth operation, plenty of power. And pretty crappy primer handling. Spent primers wind up on the floor, loading primers manually into the primer arm made we want scream. The lee presses handle spent primers beautifully, and the primer feed system, while functional, is a little technique dependent and cheaply built. And the press linkage is a little sloppy. I kept the lee and sent the rockchuker packing. The mec marksman look interesting, but I don't think it will prime.
 
deadeye dick said:
The 380 is 313 dia. while 9MM is 315 dia. also380 uses a lighter buller than 9MM I'm talking lead here.
Click to expand...

What dimension of a .380 cartridge or bullet is .313" diameter or a 9mm at .315"?

This is a great example of why you should not take reloading information from the internet without cross checking against a manufacturer's manual or corporate website. There is a lot of good information on the WWW and YT, but there is a lot of crap, too.

LeftyTSGC said:
i went with a Dillon Square Deal B (SDB),
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I did not see Wood to mention a press. He should know that the SDB has its own proprietary dies and does not use those from RCBS et al.
 
Bearded Phil said:
Be weary of scammer websites as well. Not exactly handloading advice but good to cognizant of in these shortage times. If it's not a well known vendor and they say they have every kind of primer at $65/1k be very cautious.
Click to expand...

Well, good call on the "be careful of scammer websites". Seems they're "having a problem with accepting credit cards at this time but would accept other forms of payment". Imagine that? I hung up, blocked the number on my phone, and blocked the website on my computer. So, thank y'all, again, for that.
Well, that changes things a bit but I guess I will just have to look a little harder and, of course, spend more money. Oh well... better than to be ripped off. Thank y'all, again, for the heads-up.
FYI to all...handloader.com is a no-go!!!
Any suggestions on where to buy that stuff would ALSO be greatly appreciated!

@GeoDudeFlorida and @Jim Watson
I apologize for that oversight. I went with the Dillon XL 750 along with their suggestions on things I would need to go with the basic press. I also added a few upgrades I saw while doing my research that seemed to make sense. I knew I would never get it all at one shot but I did the best I could.
 
Wood in the Woods said:
Well, good call on the "be careful of scammer websites". Seems they're "having a problem with accepting credit cards at this time but would accept other forms of payment". Imagine that? I hung up, blocked the number on my phone, and blocked the website on my computer. So, thank y'all, again, for that.
Well, that changes things a bit but I guess I will just have to look a little harder and, of course, spend more money. Oh well... better than to be ripped off. Thank y'all, again, for the heads-up.
FYI to all...handloader.com is a no-go!!!
Any suggestions on where to buy that stuff would ALSO be greatly appreciated!

@GeoDudeFlorida and @Jim Watson
I apologize for that oversight. I went with the Dillon XL 750 along with their suggestions on things I would need to go with the basic press. I also added a few upgrades I saw while doing my research that seemed to make sense. I knew I would never get it all at one shot but I did the best I could.
Click to expand...
Follow this thread: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ad-link-required.883031/page-63#post-12213382
We keep each other pretty up-to-date and where things are available and mostly at the best possible prices.

You will get LOTS of support for your Dillon on THR. Some of the higher-volume loaders are Dillonistas and are very good about helping newbies out. You may need to cash in your 401K or take out a second mortgage by the time they're done "helping" you - but help they will! Some people call it enabling but, what's in a word, right? ;)
 
Wood in the Woods said:
I went with the Dillon XL 750
Click to expand...

A reasonable choice. I was looking at the 750 as a step up from my 550 but not as expensive as another 1050 before the panicdemic shortages.

I find caliber conversions to be tedious and only do it when necessary. You might consider using .45 Auto Small Primer brass to avoid having to change out the primer feed. Assuming you can find small pistol primers.
 
To the OP, Welcome to The Highroad. Get a book. Also, in addition to books, download the apps appropriate to your devices. Hornady, Sierra, Vihtavuori, for iOS and Android, and a generic app ReloadingAssistant for iOS.
HP-38 and W231 are the same powder. However, I always (in my area) find HP-38 is cheaper than W231 when in stock at the same shop. Thus, I always buy HP-38 over W231. It was my first powder, and I use it for nearly every pistol cartridge I load. I've loaded thousands of 380ACP rounds, using 95gr FMJ, 95gr JHP, 100gr FMJ, 100gr Plated. Don't be concerned with the small spread. Hornady spreads out as much as 0.8gr. Sure, not a lot, except this is a really small case...at maximum charge you CAN double charge the case...but not without noticing. As little as 2.6gr is readily seen as a charged case.

Many will say that this is not the BEST powder for .380ACP. Perhaps, but it's become my favorite for soft shooting loads that readily cycles my 6 .380ACP pistols.
 
I have used W231 or HP38 about 40 years, ever since the rep at CH told me it was what they used to test their powder measures and would not give me the funny results I was seeing trying to use my shotgun's 700X for pistol loading.

I have lights on and behind my presses so I can look for the presence of a powder charge as I set a bullet under the seating die. If you want mechanical support, Dillon sells a powder check and RCBS a lockout die.
 
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