Reloading Pistol Ammo

[308sc]

I have reloaded Rifle ammo with great success, and am now going to start reloading pistol rounds (9mm, 40S&W, .45ACP) are there any tips or tricks that make reloading easier? Who makes good dies? Whats a good brand of Brass, Powder, and Bullets? ....etc.

308sc

 

[janobles14]

stick with lee carbide dies and youll be golden.

most other components are personal choice.

i love HS-6 for autos and blue dot and h110 for revolvers.

 

[Bush Pilot]

The best brass is that which you get free at the range. I use Lee dies on almost all of my handgun loads. The best bullets and powder?, that's like asking how far is up, you'll need to be more specific as to what you're trying to do with the ammo.

 

[Snapping Twig]

+1 on the carbide dies!

Give Dillon a call, they'll set you up. They have dies and brass, also try Powder Valley for your powder and primers.

 

[CatsEye]

Pickup brass anywhere. Not that important for most pistol shooting as long as it's in good condition. For bullets I like the Raineir plated bullets. They shoot well and are reasonably priced. Powder is a personal preference. Unique will work fine and is a good all around powder. W231 and Titegroup are very popular. I prefer Power Pistol in 9mm and .40 but that's just me. A lot of reloading data is available for each of these.

 

[XD-40 Shooter]

I agree with what others have said, Lee Carbide Dies, they are inexpensive and high quality, and I buy my brass at gun show's for cheap, we're talkin' $20/1000. I personally like Ranier bullets and Unique powder, I load 40 S&W. Unique will work great in all three calibers, 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP.

 

[presspuller]

I think the most important is simply paying attention. With rifle rounds a half grain one way or the other is no real big dea. But with handgun rounds it can make a HUGE difference.
Just pay attention to everything like you have been doing and you will be fine.
Oh yeah, throw out any AMERC brass before you even think about reloading it.

 

[putteral]

I love the free range brass, As far as the rest I shop around for the best prices on bullets,primers and powder and just be careful like presspuller said.
Second the get rid of Amerc brass.

 

[308sc]

cool stuff thanks for the help!

 

[DWARREN123]

I use a Lee Anniversary Kit single stage press, Lee dies, powder measure and so on. Carbide dies are great. I use range brass and cheapest primers. I have settled on Rainier 165gr plated 40 cal bullets and 7.5gr of Longshot powder.
Check the powder companies load data web sites for FSP over pressure. Some powders give good speed for the chamber pressure. Find what you want/like and go from there.

 

[308sc]

I think I will pick up a set of Lee Carbide Dies...I have also heard that you have to be more precise when loading pistol ammo...correct seating depth..and powder charge. I am correct?

 

[ranger335v]

"I have also heard that you have to be more precise when loading pistol ammo...correct seating depth..and powder charge. I am correct? "

Not really, unless you are really pushing the pressure limits. Go slow at first, use modest loads until you get comfortable with what you are doing.

Seat your bullets in the crimping groove and ignore the book OAL figures. That's just the setting they used to develop their listed data, it's not a cardinal point that must be adhered to for handguns any more than with rifles.

 

[NuJudge]

For automatic pistol calibers, it is nice to have a sizer that is a bit on the small side, so the case has a really strong grip on the bullet. EGW has some made by Lee:

http://egw-guns.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=40&zenid=e56c3015fadcbd968a4465779ebc4b5e

If you are going to use cast bullets, I sure like the Dillon Seating Die. You can take it apart to clean bullet lubricant out of it without losing adjustment:

http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/24469/catid/4/Dillon_Seating_Dies

It costs a bit more, but try to pick powders that overflow if there is a double charge.

CDD