question regarding price of .45 Colt cowboy ammo

Just remembered....

The other single stage press I had was an Echo. I bought it cheap, rehabbed it, used it, realized single stage didn't work for me and sold it.

It was a real good press.

Also had a Lyman Truline Junior which I liked but the turret was for the 310 dies. I made a turret for 7/8 inch dies and then sold it. Also made a primer holder for large primers for it.

Excellent press and had great fun fooling with it.
 
Gentlemen, thanks for all the great info! I am excited to get into this new realm of reloading. I have hit a snag in a home purchase, and will be directing my time towards overcoming this problem. As soon as that is done, I will renew my pursuit of loading equipment. Hopefully this will be set straight soon. When it is, I will probably be asking a lot more questions. Thanks again for the info and direction. Also, to the member who took the time to PM me about this subject, extra thanks to you!
 
Doc, thanks man. Things are looking better. The short story is, it is a question of home insurance for a home that's being renovated. I believe between the lawyer, the lending institution and the ins company, everything is set to move toward closing.
;)
I also received the R&D conversion cylinder from Taylors. Bolt won't lock up. Contacted Taylors, they said to send the gun or the bolt in. Free of charge they will adjust the bolt.
I'm new to this but I believe the bolt is unable to lock on firing due to the bolt stops in the cylinder being cut less deep than the BP cylinder bolt stops. This is causing the bolt to not lock into place upon bringing the gun to full cock. So a simple small job of grinding of the bolt cam should fix the problem.
 
Sorry to hear about your troubles with the conversion cylinder...

Until you do get reloading equipment, you might check out Freedom Munitions, as I just bought 250 rds of 255gr range ammo for $147 (before shipping)

My LGS has cowboy load 45 for $35 per 50 (ouch...)

I am literally going to get 45 dies and bullets today!

Keep us posted on the Taylor & Co work on your 1858.
 
I also received the R&D conversion cylinder from Taylors. Bolt won't lock up. Contacted Taylors, they said to send the gun or the bolt in. Free of charge they will adjust the bolt.
I'm new to this but I believe the bolt is unable to lock on firing due to the bolt stops in the cylinder being cut less deep than the BP cylinder bolt stops. This is causing the bolt to not lock into place upon bringing the gun to full cock. So a simple small job of grinding of the bolt cam should fix the problem.
Click to expand...


Been there on my Uberti with a Kirst converter .
finally gave up and took the 1851 over to sltm1.
a little work on hand and bolt and she was up and running smooth as silk .

Let me also say that I am also new to revolvers and cartridges. But im also a tight wad when it comes to my money . Until I decided to do the conversion on my Uberti , it had been years since I bought a box of ammo . I about cra%%ed when I saw the prices . But I did end up buying 2 boxes of 38 long colt .
Took one trip to the range to realize that I would be going the reloading route and doing it very quickly .
I bought a lee Turret press and a single stage off of criegs list . The turret press and been used a few time and the single stage was new in the box . Also got 2 cans of A.S and 400 small pistol primers and 500 casings for 38 long colt , , 250 bullets , auto primer , slap hammer and a complete 4 die set for both 38 long colt and 45 long colt , all for 175.00.
I sunk another 140.00 in a mould and dies set for 38 cal heeled bullets from Old west bullet moulds .
A couple reloading manuals for rifles and pistol and I was off and running .

dont know why i didnt in fact go the route sooneras i been reloading my own shotgun shells for years . I guess probably becouse past my HD pistol , i never really had a need to reload enough pistol rounds to make it worth my time and exspence
 
Talked to Tom @ Taylors. Sending bolt out tomorrow. See what happens
:)
Been looking at all the Lee reloaders. Many options, but many are out of stock. The end goal is to reload 45 Colt, .38 Special, 5.56/.223. Which setup is best? I've looked at several products. Being new, I'm not sure exactly what to purchase
:o
A few hundred bucks is the limit for a complete set up. What's my best option?
 
lee handpress for pure price issue. most places will still be charging 40-50 dollars for the anniversary kit witch has a thing of lube, a few quick change collars if it is the new version, powder funnel, ram primer,


most places will still be charging 36-45 dollars for a single lee die set. ive been looking myself.
 
One thing I learned long ago with buy shop equipment is that its most time better in the long run to get something that will do more then what you need right now . The reason is that inevitably you will end up wanting or needing to do something larger and thus have to go out and do another purchase.
You can get a lee turret press for around 120.00 . If you watch they often offer the press in kit form Midday sells the starter kit for 118.00 dies another 40 for 45 long colt dies . For a while they were also offering the start up kit with dies for 138.00

For me that was the cost of buying 4 boxes of 38 long colt . Adding different die sets run about to just a few dollars more the cost of buying one box
 
Around here, it is like $40-$50 per box marked cowboy.

Reloading looks like:(per 100)
Primer: $4
Case: $1
Powder:$3
Bullet: $14

So, $11 per box. These are pretty easy numbers to match. It might go as high as $15 depending on how you buy components. Still, $11 + 1 hour or so of labor beats $45! I won't usually take a day off to reload, but it could pay for itself, especially reloading 12 ga slugs!
 
The bolt came back from Taylors. I installed it and tried both the BP and the center fire cylinder, both lock up tight.:).
Now I have to find my Lee turret loading press and dies.
While waiting for the return of the bolt, I started building a large archery target, almost done. (its 4ft by 4ft, 18 inches deep, stuffed with batting and mounted on a metal stand, sick of shooting out $100 targets, this one is being built like the ones we have on the outdoor archery range at the club). When that is complete, the purchase of the reloader is next in line. Many thanks to all the members for their advice regarding .45 Colt, reloading and all the other questions I've asked on this thread.:cool:
 
Well, I may regret it, but I went cheap. Really wanted the turret press. But I ordered the Lee Precision 45 Colt Loader. $33. Want to try reloading on the cheap. And buy the better stuff when I feel its something I really like. Usually I buy the best stuff and don't really care about price. But, I have so much going on figured I'd try the cheap way. Still going to buy moulds and cook pot though.
;)
If I like doing it, press and dies for .223 and .38 special will be purchased soon.
 
45 Colt is extremely easy to reload with the Lee Handloader (nutcracker) set. I calculated my cost per box at about $9/50. The savings are rediculous when you reload this cartridge. I probably have less than $100 in my reloading set too.
 
Update-

Finally found time to shoot the Pietta with the Conversion cylinder yesterday. She shoots high and right with the Ultramax ammo, I believe the projectiles are 250 gr. High and right didnt bother me as the gun is consistent when I do my part.
So, I tried reloading a few cases with Federal large pistol primers, 777 and .457 round ball last night. Learned a few things:o. #1 thing I learned is that I need to purchase a mould to cast my own bullets. Which size (diameter) is correct for the gun? Also, what weight? I see that some say a lighter round is more accurate and in my mind that makes sense as it was made for RB which is not a heavy projectile.
I found the reloading kit easy to use and truly enjoyed the process.
So, what size die do you guys think is correct for a new (2012) pietta? And what gr bullet is best? As always thanks for any input!
 
Also, while purchasing some .38 special and the pistol primers yesterday, noticed some .45 colt ammo on the LGS's shelf, $59.95 for 50 rounds. Yup, Im gonna be reloading;)
 
Well, the lead arrived yesterday, local plumbing place was to much money. Ordered from Buffalo Arms, good price and real fast shipping. So now I have lead, lube, reloading kit from Lee, new brass, primers and .452 200gr Lee molds. Got the flux, Lee melting pot, primer pocket cleaning tool, etc. Anything I'm missing?
The lead is 40:1. Also bought .457 round ball mold, should the lead be pure for RB?
 
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