Reloading noob need some advice.

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1TwistedGimp

1TwistedGimp

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As stated in the title, I'm new to reloading and need some advice.

I have wanted to get into reloading for about a decade but have never really had the space or time for it let alone funds. Recently all that changed and I "pulled the trigger" on a Hornady LNL SS as my first press. I realize some presses are better than others but this was available locally and came with an offer for free bullets and the only set of dies I've seen for the last year for 9mm were also Hornady...
Got the press a couple weeks ago and have been sourcing components since, obviously powder is hard to find but finally found some IMR SR4756, 1k CCI 500 primers, and 250 berrys plated rn bullets also a 100 pk of hornady fmj rn. Both are 115 gr.
I have spent a few months reading and trying to absorb as much info as possible, I have the 9th ed hornady manual and the lyman pistol manual and have read both cover to cover as well as forum posts all over the net in an effort to be safe and avoid danger.
Last night I finally set up my bench and dies, I used a factory rnd (Rem UMC) to set my seater die and pressed a dummy rnd with a berrys bullet. OAL is same as factory 1.102. I then seated one of the hornady bullets and measured and got 1.085. Brass is once fired PMC and between .749-.751 in length... what am I missing here? I measured the two bullets, hornady measures .550 and berrys .554... How in the heck can a shorter bullet seat deeper when die is set? Only thing I can think of is the profile is different... Or am I using the wrong seating pin in the die, seating die came with the cupped one installed, I am assuming the flat one is for wc, swc and or fp bullets but as a noob I'm not sure and haven't seen any info as of yet to explain.
I don't mind going painfully slow till I have more experience, I'm not looking to turn out thousands of rounds a week and will be following low end loading data for plinking purposes only for awhile.
As for the proper charge of powder I'll be trickling each load for a bit till I get the proper parts for the powder measure that came with the kit (came with rifle measure)...
Should I load the berrys like plain lead? Big difference in FMJ and lead loading data, I am reading that these need to be kept under 1200fps.

Another question: l was talking to my neighbor last night and mentioned I bought my first press, he loads for rifle and shotgun and used to load for pistol, anyway long story short he sent me home with almost 1k rem 5 1/2 magnum primers and a half box of 44mag hjhp (now I need 44 mag, wife will be perturbed :) )
I am worried I accepted something I have no real use for and the risk of storing on top of that. He just said he had some primers I could have as he doesn't need em anymore and I didn't want to be rude and inspect them at his house, when I got home I looked them up and searched the web to find out if using them is a bad idea and results are mixed, I have no desire to be dangerous nor did I pay anything for them so no biggie if I am unable to use them. If I can't use them what the heck should I do with them? Firepit surprises on my friends sound fun one at a time but that would take years to dispose of them...

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
1TG
 
"OAL is same as factory 1.102. I then seated one of the hornady bullets and measured and got 1.085. Brass is once fired PMC and between .749-.751 in length... what am I missing here? I measured the two bullets, hornady measures .550 and berrys .554... How in the heck can a shorter bullet seat deeper when die is set? Only thing I can think of is the profile is different..."

Profile is different! Do research on the ogive. Ogive diameter easiest explanation is it is that point on the bullet nose where the diameter equals your barrel rifling diameter.

As far as primers - if you have the space to store them cool and dry away from powder, then hold on to them. Sooner or later you might use them, or trade them for the type you use now.
 
Remington recommends using 5 ½ primers in all high pressure rounds including the 9mm. So using them up should be no problem. Don’t let the “Magnum” name through you.
You must reset the seating die for different bullets, no such thing as a die set for all bullet profiles.
 
First of all, forget about that factory round and it's OAL. It means virtually nothing to a reloader. You now have the ability to find an OAL works best for your guns, not what a factory pumps out that has to work in many guns.

Try not to seat less than what is called for in the load data, but if you do, start low and work up the charge slowly and precisely. A chronograph may be a good idea on this case.

A lot of guys seem to settle longer OALs. And yes, different bullets will behave differntly when seating. Depends on the shape of your seating plug. The round seating plug you have should work with most bullets you will encounter in 9mm, but will require a seperate adjustment for each.

Until you get a feel for things I would suggest treating the plated bullets like lead bullets. Use jacketed if you want full power ammo.
 
Wow, thanks for the quick replys!
I'll do some more research on ogive and reset the die for every different bullet from now on.
As far as oal goes is it unsafe to have a longer oal than is called for or is that just dependant on what will cycle reliably?
I'm very happy to hear that I can use the primers!!!
Thanks for the help guys, wife and I will be using what I make at the range and don't want to have any emergencys... I am in no hurry, safty comes first with me...
Again thanks for the quick replys and info , I trully appreciate it!
 
Welcome to THR and the wonderful hobby of reloading.

► As above, ignore the OAL of the factory stuff. You load what OAL works best for you in your gun.The shortest OAL is set by the recipe from your manual. The longest OAL is set by the bullet-to-barrel fit. Since all bullets and all barrels are made differently you'll need to figure out what works for you. Each new bullet is a mystery to be solved. Keep really good notes so you won't have to back-track or repeat hard won lessons. You'll get there.

Not familiar with the Hornady bullet without a part number, but the Berry should give excellent service with an OAL between 1.130" and 1.140". And that OAL should fit any chamber on the planet.

► Your new Hornady dies came with two (2) seating anvils. The Berry RN will work best with the RN anvil. The Hornady XTP (?) may work best with the flat anvil. These push on the nose of the bullet 2 completely different ways, but those bullets NEED to be pushed 2 different ways. Look again in the die box... under the small piece of 1x1/2 foam.

► Your recipe will recommend a primer, either standard or magnum. But you can use magnum primers in target loads (those not loaded higher than 50% of the load range) with no ill effect. The danger is different powders react differently to mag primers when you start to get near ~80% max load.

► I'd rather see you buy a chrono before a magnum revolver. You'll feel safer about your loads with a chrono.

► Trade the 44 bullets in the For Sale - Reloading section of this board 1:2 for the 9mm bullets you need. Someone will jump on that trade.

► Your powder will work OK, but may not burn very cleanly. Check local reloading stores for Winchester 231 (also sold as Hodgdon HP38), Winchester WSF, or IMR 7625. Those are more mid-speed powders and will work in low to mid starter loads much better in 9mm. Go ahead and use it until you find a new powder, just warning you not to expect top-flight results at the lower bullet speeds.

;)
 
Others have answered your first question. Now for your last one concerning the .44 magnum projectiles.

When somebody gives you something for free TAKE IT! It's an item you can use to barter with.

Recently, I recieved a healthy supply of projectiles by trading a lead ingot for it. I've also recieved 100 pieces of 7.62x54r for a few projectiles.

Now, if it gets to the point that your mancave looks like Sanford and Sons... it's time to cut back a bit.
 
rfwobbly,

I will definitely get a chrono before a 44mag or anything else for that matter. I'll keep my eyes open for the powders you recommended but powder is super hard to find around here. 44mag bullets are full factory cartridges so won't be trading unless someone is local...
Hornady bullets part # is 35557.
As for the oal, am I looking to do like the guys that reload for rifle, meaning get as close to the lands in barrel as possible while still being able to cycle reliably?

1TG
 
If you don't mind the flat seating plug leaving a small flat spot on the tip of your plated RN bullet, you can use it. But I agree with previous comments that different profiles will mean different OALs. If you want to be precise in comparing loads, load for an OAL that leaves the same amount of bullet seated in the casing (leaving the same case volume for consistency), so long as they still pass the plunk test. A longer bullet will then have a longer OAL. Don't go under the minimum OAL in your manual, without reducing your load also and working back up.
 
TFflhndn,
I don't mind a flat spot at all, after all they look much worse after fired off.
I knew this hobby had a pretty steep learning curve and that I have much to learn, I'll continue my research with the hope of asking less nooby questions. I intend on going slow for awhile and double checking everything I do to limit any hazardous exposure...

1TG
 
1TwistedGimp said:
As stated in the title, I'm new to reloading and need some advice.

I have wanted to get into reloading for about a decade but have never really had the space or time for it let alone funds. Recently all that changed and I "pulled the trigger" on a Hornady LNL SS as my first press. I realize some presses are better than others but this was available locally and came with an offer for free bullets and the only set of dies I've seen for the last year for 9mm were also Hornady...
Got the press a couple weeks ago and have been sourcing components since, obviously powder is hard to find but finally found some IMR SR4756, 1k CCI 500 primers, and 250 berrys plated rn bullets also a 100 pk of hornady fmj rn. Both are 115 gr.
I have spent a few months reading and trying to absorb as much info as possible, I have the 9th ed hornady manual and the lyman pistol manual and have read both cover to cover as well as forum posts all over the net in an effort to be safe and avoid danger.
Last night I finally set up my bench and dies, I used a factory rnd (Rem UMC) to set my seater die and pressed a dummy rnd with a berrys bullet. OAL is same as factory 1.102. I then seated one of the hornady bullets and measured and got 1.085. Brass is once fired PMC and between .749-.751 in length... what am I missing here? I measured the two bullets, hornady measures .550 and berrys .554... How in the heck can a shorter bullet seat deeper when die is set? Only thing I can think of is the profile is different... Or am I using the wrong seating pin in the die, seating die came with the cupped one installed, I am assuming the flat one is for wc, swc and or fp bullets but as a noob I'm not sure and haven't seen any info as of yet to explain.
I don't mind going painfully slow till I have more experience, I'm not looking to turn out thousands of rounds a week and will be following low end loading data for plinking purposes only for awhile.
As for the proper charge of powder I'll be trickling each load for a bit till I get the proper parts for the powder measure that came with the kit (came with rifle measure)...
Should I load the berrys like plain lead? Big difference in FMJ and lead loading data, I am reading that these need to be kept under 1200fps.

Another question: l was talking to my neighbor last night and mentioned I bought my first press, he loads for rifle and shotgun and used to load for pistol, anyway long story short he sent me home with almost 1k rem 5 1/2 magnum primers and a half box of 44mag hjhp (now I need 44 mag, wife will be perturbed :) )
I am worried I accepted something I have no real use for and the risk of storing on top of that. He just said he had some primers I could have as he doesn't need em anymore and I didn't want to be rude and inspect them at his house, when I got home I looked them up and searched the web to find out if using them is a bad idea and results are mixed, I have no desire to be dangerous nor did I pay anything for them so no biggie if I am unable to use them. If I can't use them what the heck should I do with them? Firepit surprises on my friends sound fun one at a time but that would take years to dispose of them...

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
1TG
Click to expand...
What reloading books are you using?
 
Sorry for the delay in replying, just got back from my daughters parent teacher meeting...
I have the hornady 9th edition and the lyman pistol reloading manuals, I am also looking up loading data on IMRs site and reading lots and lots of old threads here and elsewhere...
 
OAL, or seating depth is specific to each barrel and bullet, so just forget about using a factory round as your seating guide.

Take the barrel out of your gun and seat a bullet long, drop it in the barrel, it should make a nice solid plunk sound, and try turning it while it's push into the barrel. If you feel it scraping on the lands and the bullet has marks indicating it is, then continue seating deeper in .010" increments until you are not touching the lands. Once you have achieved the oal that just clears the lands, this is your zero oal. Then if that oal fits the magazine without binding, and it will feed, you have a functioning oal for that bullet, only that bullet and that barrel. If it doesn't fit the magazine, continue seating in .010" increments until they fit the magazine properly and feed.

Once you've identified the functioning oal for that bullet, write down the measured oal so you don't have to go back through the process with that bullet and barrel again.

Start your loads at minimum charges and work up until the firearm functions properly, slide locks back on last shot, and cartridges cycle properly. As for loading with plated bullets, you can contact the manufacture for load specs, or you can start with data between jacketed and lead. To do this get a few different published sources for both, and then find the average for a start charge and max charge also. But always start with a minimum published average or the bullet manufacturer data.

Don't really know what to tell you as to the primers. I always use components specific to published data. 9mm is a high pressure cartridge as it is, so using magnum primers in my opinion is something I don't do, unless the data specifies such. I know others here do mix and match primers, I'm not them, and reserve the right to follow the published data to a "T".

GS
 
As for the oal, am I looking to do like the guys that reload for rifle, meaning get as close to the lands in barrel as possible while still being able to cycle reliably?
Click to expand...

IMHO, right idea, wrong game plan.

The guys that place the bullet into the rifling are shooting bench rest or 100yds and further. They also lovingly remove each cartridge and take 3 minutes to load each round, kissing each only before they chamber it.

Pistol shooters are at the other end of the spectrum. In the time it took to load one bench rest round, the practical pistol shooter has already emptied 3 magazines and is running to the last target position. Also, the targets in pistol shooting are huge in comparrison to rifle.

That means perfect bullet feeding is the goal in auto pistol reloading. 1 inch groups at 30 feet is great in pistol as long as the ammo doesn't FTF. So its a whole different paradigm.

Get the picture ? ;)
 
rfwobbly,
I am getting the picture now thanks to you and all others responding.
Sat down at the bench today determined to find my max coal with the two different bullets that I have and think I've found what will work with each.
I re-sized and belled a couple cases, placed one of each bullets in the cases as far as I could by hand and cycled them thru the only 9mm I have (sig p938). Measured before cycling and both dummys were around 1.185-1.190, after cycling the hornady 115gr fmj rn #35557 seated itself to 1.130 and the berrys 115gr rn seated to 1.156. When I tried to load them into the mag I couldn't, went back and seated each till they would load into the mag and cycle by hand reliably and found my max oal is around 1.127. The berrys plunked into the barrel and turned easily, the hornady plunked into the chamber but dragged when I tried to turn it untill it was seated down to an oal of 1.10X which is actually what the manual calls for, gave it a slight crimp backed out the die and reset for the berrys which I set to a coal of 1.125 and gave a slight crimp. I cycled each a # of times looking for setback and reliable feeding then took each and pushed hard against the bench and remeasured and found no setback so I'm thinking I've got things worked out somewhat as far as my max oal for MY gun and each respective bullet. I feel like I accomplished something today but please feel free to set me straight if I'm still going about this wrong! I haven't ever been able to know exactly what I don't know and I learn something new every day...
IMRs loading data for 115gr lead rn lists a min of 4.5 gr and a max of 5.2 for the 4756 powder with a col of 1.1... I'm thinking 4.5gr is where I'll start with and make up 5-10 and bump the load up by .010-.020 gr till I find what works... Unless I'm still going about it wrong, will wait for more info from you guys before I proceed... I wrote the bullet type and oal of each dummy round on each dummy round and put them each in their respective bullet boxes with the belief that they can be used to set my seating die...
Hopefully I'm pointing in the right direction now...
1TG
 
Just remember that OAL is merely a proxy for the really relevant measure: The free volume UNDERNEATH the bullet. Of course, you cannot measure that dimension directly, so you use the Cartridge Overall Length as a proxy.

Lost Sheep
 
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