I am using a lee hand loader and carbide dies. For compnents i use recycled brass, I have Hodgdon HP-38 powder, cci 500 Small pistol primers and either 158gr LSWC or 158gr Hornady XTP's. this is what I have been able to com up with since I only started reloading about 4 months ago. Right now i am on a quest for some Alliant 2400 or Hodgdon H110 and some Small pistol magnum Primers.
Suggestion on good ammo reloaders needed
- Thread starter AID_Admin
- Start date
Start accumulating components now - get what you can when you can, as they aren't easy to come by (at least around here - my local reloading supplier does have primers, but limits you to 100 per visit.) You have been saving your brass, and you can learn to cast bullets (casting equipment pays off pretty fast if you shoot enough.) But primers and powder can be hard to get when you want 'em, as can bullets if you're not going to make your own. So start stocking up.
As far as reloading equipment goes, you will indeed want a progressive press eventually. But I promise that you will also find a single stage press to be immensely useful, even if only occasionally, so give some thought to them as well. You've got a year to do the research. But start that sooner than later, as sometimes bargains pop up, and you have to know enough to spot 'em.
As far as reloading equipment goes, you will indeed want a progressive press eventually. But I promise that you will also find a single stage press to be immensely useful, even if only occasionally, so give some thought to them as well. You've got a year to do the research. But start that sooner than later, as sometimes bargains pop up, and you have to know enough to spot 'em.
Part of the joy of reloading is you can tailor loads to get the maximum accuracy out of your handgun. Many of us started with a Lyman 310 or Lee Loader, nowadays the Lee or Lyman hand presses let you use carbide dies, and when you do get a bench mounted press you will have already mastered
handloading procedures.
handloading procedures.
Lost Sheep
New member
Check with your local police department to see where they buy their practice ammo. Local (insured and licensed) loaders often do not advertise, as they have enough business simply by word of mouth.
As far as reloading at your friend's house is concerned, that seems like it might be a workable solution. But loading for someone else is generally a bad idea until you are expert enough to be certain that you will have zero defects. Damaging a friend's gun (or a friend) is a severe way to learn a lesson. I suggest you learn together and each load your own.
I disagree with kilamanjaro's advice about a progressive. 200 rounds a week is well within the capability of an autoindexing turret press. When I started loading, I used a single stage and was satisfied with 50 rounds per hour. Ultimately I tried a progressive for a number of years and found that monitoring multiple simultaneous operations drove me crazy. My turret press can do 200 rounds in 90 minutes, including setup and teardown.
I keep all my loading gear (to do 7 calibers) in three toolboxes, the largest of which is 23"x10"x10". (Excluding a case-cleaning tumbler and the folding workbench on which I mount the press and components)
If your friend has a similar impediment to loading, loading at the range might be possible. Or, as you have determined, simply waiting is an option and 22 rimfire is a great way to practice.
In the meantime, I will post some links to some reading to give you food for thought.
Lost Sheep
As far as reloading at your friend's house is concerned, that seems like it might be a workable solution. But loading for someone else is generally a bad idea until you are expert enough to be certain that you will have zero defects. Damaging a friend's gun (or a friend) is a severe way to learn a lesson. I suggest you learn together and each load your own.
I disagree with kilamanjaro's advice about a progressive. 200 rounds a week is well within the capability of an autoindexing turret press. When I started loading, I used a single stage and was satisfied with 50 rounds per hour. Ultimately I tried a progressive for a number of years and found that monitoring multiple simultaneous operations drove me crazy. My turret press can do 200 rounds in 90 minutes, including setup and teardown.
I keep all my loading gear (to do 7 calibers) in three toolboxes, the largest of which is 23"x10"x10". (Excluding a case-cleaning tumbler and the folding workbench on which I mount the press and components)
If your friend has a similar impediment to loading, loading at the range might be possible. Or, as you have determined, simply waiting is an option and 22 rimfire is a great way to practice.
In the meantime, I will post some links to some reading to give you food for thought.
Lost Sheep
Lost Sheep
New member
10 Advices for the novice loader.
I have thought of a few things I think are useful for handloaders to know or to consider which seem to be almost universally mentioned, so I put together this list of 10 advices.
Much is a matter of personal taste and circumstance, though. So, all advice carries this caveat, "your mileage may vary".
So you can better evaluate my words, here is the focus of my experience. I load for handguns (44 Mag, 45 ACP, 45 Colt, 454 Casull, 9mm, 357 Mag, 480 Ruger) a couple hundred per sitting and go through 100 to 500 centerfire rounds per month. I don't cast....yet.
When I bought my first gun (.357 Magnum Dan Wesson revolver), I bought, at the same time, a reloading setup because I knew I could not afford to shoot if I did not reload my own ammo. My setup was simple. A set of dies, a press, a 2" x 6" plank, some carriage bolts and wing nuts, a scale, two loading blocks. I just mounted the press on the plank wedged into the drawer of an end table. I did not use a loading bench at all.
It cost me about 1/4 of factory ammo per round and paid for itself pretty quickly.
I still believe in a minimalist approach and and try to keep my inventory of tools low. I do not keep my loading gear set up when not in use, either, but pack them away in small toolboxes until the next loading session.
Now, here are my Ten Advices.
Advice #1 Use Reliable Reference Sources Wisely - Books, Videos, Web Sites, etc.
Study up in loading manuals until you understand the process well, before spending a lot of (or any) money on equipment.
Read as many manuals as you can, for the discussion of the how-to steps found in their early chapters. The reason you want more than one or two manuals is that you want to read differing authors/editors writing styles and find ones that "speak" to you. What one manual covers thinly, another will cover well so give better coverage of the subject; one author or editor may cover parts of the subject more thoroughly than the others. The public library should have manuals you can read, then decide which ones you want to buy. Dated, perhaps but the basics are pretty unchanging.
I found "The ABC's of Reloading" to be a very good reference. Containing no loading data but full of knowledge and understanding of the process. I am told the older editions are better than the newer ones, so the library is looking even better.
There are instructional videos now that did not exist in the '70s when I started, but some are better than others. Filter all casual information through a "B.S." filter.
Only after you know the processing steps of loading can you look at the contents of of a dealer's shelves, a mail-order catalog or a reloading kit and know what equipment you want to buy. If you are considering a loading kit, you will be in a better position to know what parts you don't need and what parts the kits lack. If builging your own kit from scratch, you will be better able to find the parts that will serve your into the future without having to do trade-ins.
Advice #2 All equipment is good. But is it good FOR YOU?
Almost every manufacturer of loading equipment makes good stuff; if they didn't, they would lose reputation fast and disappear from the marketplace. Generally you get what you pay for and better equipment costs more. Cast aluminum is lighter and less expensive but not so abrasion resistant as cast iron. Cast iron lasts practically forever. Aluminum generally takes more cleaning and lubrication to last forever. Just think about what you buy. Ask around. Testimonials are nice. But if you think Ford/Chevy owners have brand loyalty, you have not met handloaders. Testimonials with reasoning behind them are better. RCBS equipment is almost all green, Dillon-blue, Lee-red. Almost no manufacturers cross color lines and many handloaders simply identify themselves as "Blue" or whatever. Make your own choices.
About brand loyalties, an example: Lee Precision makes good equipment, but is generally considered the "economy" equipment maker (though some of their stuff is considered preferable to more expensive makes, as Lee has been an innovator both in price leadership which has introduced many to loading who might not otherwise have been able to start the hobby and in introduction of innovative features like their auto-advancing turret presses). But there are detractors who focus on Lee's cheapest offerings to paint even their extremely strong gear as inferior. Ignore the snobs.
On Kits: Almost every manufacturer makes a kit that contains everything you need to do reloading (except dies and the consumables). A kit is decent way to get started. Eventually most people wind up replacing most of the components of the kit as their personal taste develops (negating the savings you thought the kit gave you), but you will have gotten started, at least.
On building your own kit: The thought processes you give to assembling your own kit increases your knowledge about reloading. You may get started a couple weeks later than if you started with a kit, but you will be far ahead in knowledge.
Advice #3 While Learning, don't get fancy. Progressive, turret or Single Stage? Experimental loads? Pushing performance envelopes? Don't get fancy.
While you are learning, load mid-range at first so overpressures are not concerns. Just concentrate on getting the mechanical steps of loading right and being VERY VERY consistent (charge weight, crimp strength, bullet seating depth, primer seating force, all that). Use a voluminous, "fluffy", powder that is, one that is easy to see that you have charged the case and which will overflow your cartridge case if you mistakenly put two powder charges in it.
While learning, only perform one operation at a time. Whether you do the one operation 50 (or 20) times on a batch of cases before moving on to the next operation - "Batch Processing" or take one case through all the sequence of operations between empty case to finished cartridge - "Continuous Processing", sometimes known as "Sequential Processing", learn by performing only one operation at a time and concentrating on THAT OPERATION. On a single stage press or a turret press, this is the native way of operation. On a progressive press, the native operation is to perform mulltiple operations simultaneously. Don't do it. While you can learn on a progressive press, in my opinion too many things happen at the same time, thus are hard to keep track of (unless you load singly at first). Mistakes DO happen and you want to watch for them ONE AT A TIME. Until handloading becomes second nature to you.
Note: A turret press is essentially a single stage press with a moveable head which can mount several dies at the same time. What makes it like a single stage rather than a progressive is that you are still using only one die at a time, not three or four dies simultaneously at each stroke.
On the Turret vs Single stage the decision is simpler. You can do everything on a Turret EXACTLY the same way as you do on a single stage (just leave the turret stationary). That is, a Turret IS a single stage if you don't rotate the head.
Learning on a progressive can be done successfully, but it is easier to learn to walk in shoes than on roller skates.
Also, a good, strong, single stage press is in the stable of almost every reloader I know, no matter how many progressives they have. They always keep at least one.
Advice #4 Find a mentor.
There is no substitute for someone watching you load a few cartridges and critiquing your technigue BEFORE you develop bad habits or make a dangerous mistake. (A mistake that might not have consequences right away, but maybe only after you have escaped trouble a hundred times until one day you get bit, for instance having case lube on your fingers when you handle primers; 99 times, no problem because primers are coated with a sealant, but the hundredth primer may not be perfectly sealed and now winds up "dead")
I started loading with the guy who sold me my press watching over my shoulder as I loaded my first 6 rounds to make sure I did not blow myself up, load a powderless cartridge or set off a primer in the press. I could have learned more, faster with a longer mentoring period, but I learned a lot in those first 6 rounds, as he explained each step. I educated myself after that. But now, on the internet, I have learned a WHOLE LOT MORE. But in-person is still the best.
After you have been mentored, mentor someone else. Not necessarily in loading or the shooting sports, but in SOMETHING in which you are enthusiastic and qualified. Just give back to the community.
Advice #5 Design your loading space for safety, efficiency, cleanliness
Your loading bench/room is tantamount to a factory floor. There is a whole profession devoted to industrial engineering, the art and science of production design. Your loading system (layout, process steps, quality control, safety measures, etc) deserves no less attention than that.
Place your scale where it is protected from drafts and vibration and is easy to read and operate. Place you components' supplies convenient to the hand that will place them into the operation and the receptacle(s) for interim or finished products, too. You can make a significant increase in safety and in speed, too, with well thought out design of your production layout, "A" to "Z", from the lighting to the dropcloth to the fire suppression scheme.
Advice #6 Keep Current on loading technology
Always use a CURRENT loading manual. Ballistic testing has produced some new knowledge over the years and powder chemistry has changed over the years, too. They make some powders differently than they used to and even some powder names may have changed. However, if you are using 10 year old powder, you may want to check a 10 year old manual for the recipe. Then double check with a modern manual and then triple check with the powder maker.
Read previous threads on reloading and watch videos available on the web. But be cautious. There is both good information and bad information found in casual sources, so see my advice #10.
Advice #7 You never regret buying the best (but once)
When you buy the very best, it hurts only once, in the wallet. When you buy too cheaply it hurts every time you use the gear. The trick is to buy good enough (on the scale between high quality and low price) to keep you happy without overpaying for features you don't need. "The delicious flavor of low price fades fast. The wretched aftertaste of poor quality lingers long."
Advice #8 Tungsten Carbide dies (or Titanium Nitride) rather than tool steel.
T-C dies instead of regular tool steel (which require lubrication for sizing your brass) for your straight-walled cartridge cases. T-C dies do not require lubrication, which will save you time. Carbide expander button for your bottlenecked cases. Keeps lube out of the inside of the cases.
Advice #9 Safety Always Safety All Ways.
Wear eye protection, especially when seating primers. Gloves are good, too, especially if using the Lee "Hammer" Tools. Children (unless they are good helpers, not just playing around) are at risk and are a risk. Pets, too unless they have been vetted (no, not that kind of vetting). Any distractions that might induce you to forget charging a case (no charge or a double charge, equally disturbing). Imagine everything that CAN go wrong. Then imagine everything that you CAN'T imagine. I could go on, but it's your eyes, your fingers, your house, your children (present of future - lead is a hazard, too. Wash after loading and don't eat at your bench). Enough said?
Advice #10 Take all with a grain of salt.
Verify for yourself everything you learn. Believe only half of what you see and one quarter of what you hear. That goes double for everything you find on the internet (with the possible exception of the actual web sites of the bullet and powder manufacturers). This advice applies to my message as much as anything else and especially to personal load recipes. Hare-brained reloaders might have dangerous habits and even an honest typographical error could be deadly. I heard about a powder manufacturer's web site that dropped a decimal point once. It was fixed REAL FAST, but mistakes happen. I work in accounting and can easily hit "7" instead of "4" because they are next to each other on the keypad.
Good luck.
Lost Sheep
I have thought of a few things I think are useful for handloaders to know or to consider which seem to be almost universally mentioned, so I put together this list of 10 advices.
Much is a matter of personal taste and circumstance, though. So, all advice carries this caveat, "your mileage may vary".
So you can better evaluate my words, here is the focus of my experience. I load for handguns (44 Mag, 45 ACP, 45 Colt, 454 Casull, 9mm, 357 Mag, 480 Ruger) a couple hundred per sitting and go through 100 to 500 centerfire rounds per month. I don't cast....yet.
When I bought my first gun (.357 Magnum Dan Wesson revolver), I bought, at the same time, a reloading setup because I knew I could not afford to shoot if I did not reload my own ammo. My setup was simple. A set of dies, a press, a 2" x 6" plank, some carriage bolts and wing nuts, a scale, two loading blocks. I just mounted the press on the plank wedged into the drawer of an end table. I did not use a loading bench at all.
It cost me about 1/4 of factory ammo per round and paid for itself pretty quickly.
I still believe in a minimalist approach and and try to keep my inventory of tools low. I do not keep my loading gear set up when not in use, either, but pack them away in small toolboxes until the next loading session.
Now, here are my Ten Advices.
Advice #1 Use Reliable Reference Sources Wisely - Books, Videos, Web Sites, etc.
Study up in loading manuals until you understand the process well, before spending a lot of (or any) money on equipment.
Read as many manuals as you can, for the discussion of the how-to steps found in their early chapters. The reason you want more than one or two manuals is that you want to read differing authors/editors writing styles and find ones that "speak" to you. What one manual covers thinly, another will cover well so give better coverage of the subject; one author or editor may cover parts of the subject more thoroughly than the others. The public library should have manuals you can read, then decide which ones you want to buy. Dated, perhaps but the basics are pretty unchanging.
I found "The ABC's of Reloading" to be a very good reference. Containing no loading data but full of knowledge and understanding of the process. I am told the older editions are better than the newer ones, so the library is looking even better.
There are instructional videos now that did not exist in the '70s when I started, but some are better than others. Filter all casual information through a "B.S." filter.
Only after you know the processing steps of loading can you look at the contents of of a dealer's shelves, a mail-order catalog or a reloading kit and know what equipment you want to buy. If you are considering a loading kit, you will be in a better position to know what parts you don't need and what parts the kits lack. If builging your own kit from scratch, you will be better able to find the parts that will serve your into the future without having to do trade-ins.
Advice #2 All equipment is good. But is it good FOR YOU?
Almost every manufacturer of loading equipment makes good stuff; if they didn't, they would lose reputation fast and disappear from the marketplace. Generally you get what you pay for and better equipment costs more. Cast aluminum is lighter and less expensive but not so abrasion resistant as cast iron. Cast iron lasts practically forever. Aluminum generally takes more cleaning and lubrication to last forever. Just think about what you buy. Ask around. Testimonials are nice. But if you think Ford/Chevy owners have brand loyalty, you have not met handloaders. Testimonials with reasoning behind them are better. RCBS equipment is almost all green, Dillon-blue, Lee-red. Almost no manufacturers cross color lines and many handloaders simply identify themselves as "Blue" or whatever. Make your own choices.
About brand loyalties, an example: Lee Precision makes good equipment, but is generally considered the "economy" equipment maker (though some of their stuff is considered preferable to more expensive makes, as Lee has been an innovator both in price leadership which has introduced many to loading who might not otherwise have been able to start the hobby and in introduction of innovative features like their auto-advancing turret presses). But there are detractors who focus on Lee's cheapest offerings to paint even their extremely strong gear as inferior. Ignore the snobs.
On Kits: Almost every manufacturer makes a kit that contains everything you need to do reloading (except dies and the consumables). A kit is decent way to get started. Eventually most people wind up replacing most of the components of the kit as their personal taste develops (negating the savings you thought the kit gave you), but you will have gotten started, at least.
On building your own kit: The thought processes you give to assembling your own kit increases your knowledge about reloading. You may get started a couple weeks later than if you started with a kit, but you will be far ahead in knowledge.
Advice #3 While Learning, don't get fancy. Progressive, turret or Single Stage? Experimental loads? Pushing performance envelopes? Don't get fancy.
While you are learning, load mid-range at first so overpressures are not concerns. Just concentrate on getting the mechanical steps of loading right and being VERY VERY consistent (charge weight, crimp strength, bullet seating depth, primer seating force, all that). Use a voluminous, "fluffy", powder that is, one that is easy to see that you have charged the case and which will overflow your cartridge case if you mistakenly put two powder charges in it.
While learning, only perform one operation at a time. Whether you do the one operation 50 (or 20) times on a batch of cases before moving on to the next operation - "Batch Processing" or take one case through all the sequence of operations between empty case to finished cartridge - "Continuous Processing", sometimes known as "Sequential Processing", learn by performing only one operation at a time and concentrating on THAT OPERATION. On a single stage press or a turret press, this is the native way of operation. On a progressive press, the native operation is to perform mulltiple operations simultaneously. Don't do it. While you can learn on a progressive press, in my opinion too many things happen at the same time, thus are hard to keep track of (unless you load singly at first). Mistakes DO happen and you want to watch for them ONE AT A TIME. Until handloading becomes second nature to you.
Note: A turret press is essentially a single stage press with a moveable head which can mount several dies at the same time. What makes it like a single stage rather than a progressive is that you are still using only one die at a time, not three or four dies simultaneously at each stroke.
On the Turret vs Single stage the decision is simpler. You can do everything on a Turret EXACTLY the same way as you do on a single stage (just leave the turret stationary). That is, a Turret IS a single stage if you don't rotate the head.
Learning on a progressive can be done successfully, but it is easier to learn to walk in shoes than on roller skates.
Also, a good, strong, single stage press is in the stable of almost every reloader I know, no matter how many progressives they have. They always keep at least one.
Advice #4 Find a mentor.
There is no substitute for someone watching you load a few cartridges and critiquing your technigue BEFORE you develop bad habits or make a dangerous mistake. (A mistake that might not have consequences right away, but maybe only after you have escaped trouble a hundred times until one day you get bit, for instance having case lube on your fingers when you handle primers; 99 times, no problem because primers are coated with a sealant, but the hundredth primer may not be perfectly sealed and now winds up "dead")
I started loading with the guy who sold me my press watching over my shoulder as I loaded my first 6 rounds to make sure I did not blow myself up, load a powderless cartridge or set off a primer in the press. I could have learned more, faster with a longer mentoring period, but I learned a lot in those first 6 rounds, as he explained each step. I educated myself after that. But now, on the internet, I have learned a WHOLE LOT MORE. But in-person is still the best.
After you have been mentored, mentor someone else. Not necessarily in loading or the shooting sports, but in SOMETHING in which you are enthusiastic and qualified. Just give back to the community.
Advice #5 Design your loading space for safety, efficiency, cleanliness
Your loading bench/room is tantamount to a factory floor. There is a whole profession devoted to industrial engineering, the art and science of production design. Your loading system (layout, process steps, quality control, safety measures, etc) deserves no less attention than that.
Place your scale where it is protected from drafts and vibration and is easy to read and operate. Place you components' supplies convenient to the hand that will place them into the operation and the receptacle(s) for interim or finished products, too. You can make a significant increase in safety and in speed, too, with well thought out design of your production layout, "A" to "Z", from the lighting to the dropcloth to the fire suppression scheme.
Advice #6 Keep Current on loading technology
Always use a CURRENT loading manual. Ballistic testing has produced some new knowledge over the years and powder chemistry has changed over the years, too. They make some powders differently than they used to and even some powder names may have changed. However, if you are using 10 year old powder, you may want to check a 10 year old manual for the recipe. Then double check with a modern manual and then triple check with the powder maker.
Read previous threads on reloading and watch videos available on the web. But be cautious. There is both good information and bad information found in casual sources, so see my advice #10.
Advice #7 You never regret buying the best (but once)
When you buy the very best, it hurts only once, in the wallet. When you buy too cheaply it hurts every time you use the gear. The trick is to buy good enough (on the scale between high quality and low price) to keep you happy without overpaying for features you don't need. "The delicious flavor of low price fades fast. The wretched aftertaste of poor quality lingers long."
Advice #8 Tungsten Carbide dies (or Titanium Nitride) rather than tool steel.
T-C dies instead of regular tool steel (which require lubrication for sizing your brass) for your straight-walled cartridge cases. T-C dies do not require lubrication, which will save you time. Carbide expander button for your bottlenecked cases. Keeps lube out of the inside of the cases.
Advice #9 Safety Always Safety All Ways.
Wear eye protection, especially when seating primers. Gloves are good, too, especially if using the Lee "Hammer" Tools. Children (unless they are good helpers, not just playing around) are at risk and are a risk. Pets, too unless they have been vetted (no, not that kind of vetting). Any distractions that might induce you to forget charging a case (no charge or a double charge, equally disturbing). Imagine everything that CAN go wrong. Then imagine everything that you CAN'T imagine. I could go on, but it's your eyes, your fingers, your house, your children (present of future - lead is a hazard, too. Wash after loading and don't eat at your bench). Enough said?
Advice #10 Take all with a grain of salt.
Verify for yourself everything you learn. Believe only half of what you see and one quarter of what you hear. That goes double for everything you find on the internet (with the possible exception of the actual web sites of the bullet and powder manufacturers). This advice applies to my message as much as anything else and especially to personal load recipes. Hare-brained reloaders might have dangerous habits and even an honest typographical error could be deadly. I heard about a powder manufacturer's web site that dropped a decimal point once. It was fixed REAL FAST, but mistakes happen. I work in accounting and can easily hit "7" instead of "4" because they are next to each other on the keypad.
Good luck.
Lost Sheep
Lost Sheep
New member
Various web sites
I have compiled a few web sites that seem to have some good information (only some of which came from me).
Go get a large mug of whatever you sip when you read and think and visit these sites.
Sticky-contains much general information.
http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=238214
Sticky-contains much general information.
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230171
New guy considering if/how to get started reloading
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=678589
On the fence
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=678626
"Newby needs help." (A typical new reloader thread). My posts are 11 and 13
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=430391
"Just bought my first press. Needs some info tho." (A typical new reloader thread)
http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=659358
"I am looking at getting into reloading for the first time" (A typical new reloader thread)
http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=658971
"Considering reloading" (A typical new reloader thread)
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=488115
"Interested in reloading" (A typical new reloader thread)
http://rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=13543
"Is the lee classic loader a good starter loader?" A thread from someone considering the Mallet-driven Lee Classic Loader.
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=497313
"Lee Classic Loader Kit" My post, Minimalist minimal is the seventh post down.
http://rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=107332
"45 Colt question-Lee loader" Another Lee Classic Loader thread
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=498638
"Best starter kit?"
rugerforum.net/reloading/33252-best-starter-kit-beginners.html
http://rugerforum.net/reloading/33252-best-starter-kit-beginners.html
Informed by my 2010 repopulation of my loading bench (If I knew in '75 what I know now)
http://rugerforum.net/reloading/293...you-will-never-outgrow-novice-handloader.html
Thoughts on The Lee Classic Turret Press
http://rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=135951
Use what type of scale? (poll)
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=448410
Good luck
Lost Sheep
I have compiled a few web sites that seem to have some good information (only some of which came from me).
Go get a large mug of whatever you sip when you read and think and visit these sites.
Sticky-contains much general information.
http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=238214
Sticky-contains much general information.
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230171
New guy considering if/how to get started reloading
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=678589
On the fence
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=678626
"Newby needs help." (A typical new reloader thread). My posts are 11 and 13
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=430391
"Just bought my first press. Needs some info tho." (A typical new reloader thread)
http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=659358
"I am looking at getting into reloading for the first time" (A typical new reloader thread)
http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=658971
"Considering reloading" (A typical new reloader thread)
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=488115
"Interested in reloading" (A typical new reloader thread)
http://rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=13543
"Is the lee classic loader a good starter loader?" A thread from someone considering the Mallet-driven Lee Classic Loader.
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=497313
"Lee Classic Loader Kit" My post, Minimalist minimal is the seventh post down.
http://rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=107332
"45 Colt question-Lee loader" Another Lee Classic Loader thread
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=498638
"Best starter kit?"
rugerforum.net/reloading/33252-best-starter-kit-beginners.html
http://rugerforum.net/reloading/33252-best-starter-kit-beginners.html
Informed by my 2010 repopulation of my loading bench (If I knew in '75 what I know now)
http://rugerforum.net/reloading/293...you-will-never-outgrow-novice-handloader.html
Thoughts on The Lee Classic Turret Press
http://rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=135951
Use what type of scale? (poll)
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=448410
Good luck
Lost Sheep
The funny part that I did and she kind of liked it. Ever since then I can keep the guns at home, but still no ammo
Hmmm, how do I drag the other one to the range? That may do the trick.P.S. Mean while I kind of resolve the problem differently. I acquired a really nice Model 17 to compliment my Model 66 and today I enjoyed a nice 200 rounds on the range at the cost of 5 cents per round. Of course shooting .22 is not the same feeling. But it's 90% fun for 10% cost
Dave Chuppa
New member
Reloads
I'm in Ohio and just started using www.the-ammo-man.com he reloaded my brass. It was good shooting and I would use him again. I got 1000 rounds of 38spl for my wife to practice for CCW Class. I shoot them also.
I'm in Ohio and just started using www.the-ammo-man.com he reloaded my brass. It was good shooting and I would use him again. I got 1000 rounds of 38spl for my wife to practice for CCW Class. I shoot them also.
With all respect to those who may disagree, but I strongly recommend against starting with the minimal Lee Loader kits, either the original Lee Loader or the hand type. They will turn out ammo, but at a very slow pace and there are too many things they can't do, like full length resize. The inevitable result is that in a short time, the reloader becomes frustrated with the little tools and ends up going to an O tool or a semi-progressive like the Dillon BL550. $250 or so seems like a lot until you consider that the Lee is quickly outgrown and a dead end, where a decent tool like the Dillon will serve for many years.
Jim
Jim
22-rimfire
New member
Try GA Arms. I don't buy 357;'s there, but they are a high quality commercial producer of ammunition. They will even load your fired brass. Most everyone is backed up on orders and some have trouble finding brass. Good time to be in the ammunition business.
Guys, I did not respond to this tread for a while. But I do want to thank you all for your responses. I placed an order with GA. Unfortunately they have a 3 to 6 months waiting period, but I figured that their prices are more then reasonable compare to factory ammo and it's worth waiting for. I also exchanged emails withthe ammo man in Ohio. He seems to have a lot shorter time frame, but needs me to send my used brass. Being stupid (inexperienced?) I have not been saving it of course. However I do have a stash of about 400 rounds. So, I will be ok for at least a few months, but then I should have the brass for the ammo man and afterward hopefully my GA order will be ready. That should take me through the year.
And by then... I should visit back to this tread to take an advantage of all your suggestions on hand loading
)) Thanks again!
And by then... I should visit back to this tread to take an advantage of all your suggestions on hand loading
)) Thanks again!Lost Sheep
New member
Take your time. Women tend to talk to one another. The semi-converted one may bring the other along.AID_Admin said:
In the meantime, LISTEN to the objections. Try to hear what is felt, not what is spelled out.
Some objections are base on fear of fire. Keep in mind that gunpowder is less explosive than gasoline. But the objection is {probably} based less on logic than emotion. So familiarity may be more more important than logic.
How do you drag the other one to the range? Let the one do it for you.
You are half-way there. Congratulations.
Lost Sheep
Lost Ship, thanks for your support. But I don't think your plan worth the effort. I am going to be out of this house in the fairly short time frame.
Mean while I already planned my 38 Special ammo supply for almost a year. I also went ahead with a 22LR "copy" of my Combat Magnum. So now I can spend a few hundred rounds of cheap 22LR on the range and only shoot a box of 38 Special or 357 Magnum for recoil training purposes.
And once I am out of here I will start hand-loading anyway. So, I may as well use my energy on something more productive than convincing a 60 years old woman that guns and ammo in the house are not any more danger than her 20 years old stove))))
Mean while I already planned my 38 Special ammo supply for almost a year. I also went ahead with a 22LR "copy" of my Combat Magnum. So now I can spend a few hundred rounds of cheap 22LR on the range and only shoot a box of 38 Special or 357 Magnum for recoil training purposes.
And once I am out of here I will start hand-loading anyway. So, I may as well use my energy on something more productive than convincing a 60 years old woman that guns and ammo in the house are not any more danger than her 20 years old stove
))))22-rimfire
New member
I have a 20 year old stove. Still works like a champ. Hard to teach old dogs new tricks. You might be surprised what she was like when she was 25.
Yes, Yes to shooting 22LR especially if you have using a similar balanced gun. There is no replacement to actually shooting a handgun. Aiming at the TV does no good
; shooting at your favorite shooting spot does.