Finding a "mentor"?

[AustenW]

There are very very many people on this forum that know more than me about reloading. Especially for rifles.

I don't have any experience with Accurate #7. But I can confirm that flake powders are harder to drop consistently and cylindrical powders I use only for rifle cartridge reloading and use a trickler to finish the final measure.

Powders I have used successfully for 9mm are:

Clays
700X
TiteGroup

Only because it's convenient for me. That's not to say that other powders aren't wonderful choices, but that I can verify that they do work well.

One powder to avoid for 9mm is TiteWad... I use it for .45ACP because it makes a powder puff load with only 2.2grs (very economical) but when used in 9mm it can cause pressure instability.

I was thinking about titegroup as well, as it only utilizes a small charge per case. I'm thinking that may be used during my 2nd run of loading.

 

[AustenW]

Been a long time since I did any serious reloading on a single stage---but I will offer one piece of
advise from my early days on a RCBS 40+ years ago:

Buy two reloading trays. I used (and still do) the MTM red universal. trays. Do each operation
complete from one tray to the other.

If you ever get curious about progressive come on down to Amity and pull the handle on my Dillon
550 for a while---last year was 20,000+ 9mm, I could use a break!



View attachment 637830

I will certainly keep that in mind. And that is an incredible amount of rounds! Wow lol

 

[Caveman Jim]

Good advice here. It's to bad you're way down south from me, I need an apprentice...

 

[bbbass]

There's a Dillon 550B for sale in the classifieds. Buy that and you won't need no stinkin trays!! It's one cartridge finished per pull of the handle on a super sturdy high quality machine with great factory support...

 

[Certaindeaf]

Hellen Keller taught herself to reload using just a potato, a westerly wind and a bonnet.

 

[ron]

I have been cranking out 9 mm on my 550 for +25 years. My favorite 9 mm powders are the ones that produce the best accuracy.
Years ago I used Blue Dot for full power jacketed 9 mm. Tried WW 231 but could never produce the accuracy I was looking for.
Now my favorite powder for 9 mm is Titegroup. Small charge of fast burning powder similar to Bullseye but much cleaner burning.
Bullseye was the go to powder for 45 acp target loads for many years. One pound of Titegroup will load 2,000 rounds of 9 mm
with my 147 bullets. If you want a powder that will fill the case more than Titegroup I will recommend CFE pistol. I have found
that most 9 mm pistols don't shoot lead bullets that well. I have tried lead bullets in over a dozen different 9 mm pistols.
Best I could get with lead bullets was OK accuracy in only a couple different 9 mm pistols. But the 45 ACP pistols love lead bullets
and are the most accurate. Strange anomaly of 9 mm bullets is the 147 grain bullet kicks less than lighter bullets? Opposite of any other
pistol caliber?

 

[Stomper]

No smoking, no drinking, no distractions, keep powder and primers put away, etc.

Well you're no fun.

Wrong, notice he said NOTHING about naked women jumping on trampolines next to you while you're attempting to reload....

 

[Stomper]

Hellen Keller taught herself to reload using just a potato, a westerly wind and a bonnet.

That reminds me... she burned the side of her face because she answered the iron when it rang.... then she burned the other side when they called back!


Bet it was a collect call, too.....

 

[rutilate]

The NRA offers a metallic cartridge reloading course. It is an awesome introduction to reloading. If you can find one anywhere close to you it would be a monstrous help. I'd been reloading for years at my dad's bench, took the class, and learned just how many things I'd been doing wrong.

Right now there aren't any courses, but keep visiting this site and running this search to see if one pops up:
NRA Explore
Check the NRA Basic Metallic Cartridge Reloading Course, then Oregon at the bottom.

 

[AustenW]

Thanks man, I will absolutely look into that!

The NRA offers a metallic cartridge reloading course. It is an awesome introduction to reloading. If you can find one anywhere close to you it would be a monstrous help. I'd been reloading for years at my dad's bench, took the class, and learned just how many things I'd been doing wrong.

Right now there aren't any courses, but keep visiting this site and running this search to see if one pops up:
NRA Explore
Check the NRA Basic Metallic Cartridge Reloading Course, then Oregon at the bottom.

 

[bbbass]

My friend used Unique and Bullseye for almost all his pistol caliber reloads. I don't like them because IMO they are a dirty powder. Same reason I don't use any of the Dot powders in my semis. That's not to say I never use them... I have an 8lb jug of Red Dot for all my .38Spec reloading, and I've played a bit with it for reduced power .308 with a round ball stuffed in the end.... it's kinda fun to shoot but really makes a mess of the barrel and chamber.

 

[Helocat]

@AustenW hay man I am in Dundee, if you have any questions hit me up. Happy to help out. I have been loading 9mm for 30yrs. I started on a single stage at age 18 so been at it a bit. These days I am running twin 1050's with auto drives but, still use my Dillon 550 as two-stage, seat and crimp for my precision .308 rounds. (I measure my precision .308 charges individually)

BTW If your, not a member of CVSC Range in Dundee and want to be, the ONLY new member registration for the year is next week on the 18th in Newberg, at the Police "public safety" resource room at 6:30PM. (Its usually packed so get there early)

 

[AustenW]

@AustenW hay man I am in Dundee, if you have any questions hit me up. Happy to help out. I have been loading 9mm for 30yrs. I started on a single stage at age 18 so been at it a bit. These days I am running twin 1050's with auto drives but, still use my Dillon 550 as two-stage, seat and crimp for my precision .308 rounds. (I measure my precision .308 charges individually)

BTW If your, not a member of CVSC Range in Dundee and want to be, the ONLY new member registration for the year is next week on the 18th in Newberg, at the Police "public safety" resource room at 6:30PM. (Its usually packed so get there early)

I would definitely like to chat one of these days! As for the range, I really would like to, but money is pretty tight right now unfortunately. That's why i am slowly piecing my reloading setup together and getting as much info as possible along the way!

 

[Whisky Tahoe]

Hey all,

New to reloading here. Picked up a tumbler, and ordering a press kit tomorrow. Looking at getting the lee breech lock challenger kit. As of now, strictly looking to load 9mm until I build some knowledge and confidence. Couple of chapters into the "lee modern reloading" manual. I have always been a hands on learner, after learning certain aspects it becomes easier to understand certain terms and processes while reading a textbook.

I'm hoping to find someone in the Yamhill county area, close to Newberg if possible, who wouldn't mind "mentoring" me in the journey of reloading. As in, case inspection through actually loading, trimming cases, measuring charges etc.

9mm is super cheap so blend in some affordable new ammo along your reloads and compare when you go to the range. This helps keep the reloading fun when you aren't depending solely on your output for shooting practice.

One reloading tip for pistol ammo is that carbide dies work pretty well without lube. Helps by cutting down the case lube step.

 

[Whisky Tahoe]

I was thinking about titegroup as well, as it only utilizes a small charge per case. I'm thinking that may be used during my 2nd run of loading.

Tite group is great but like all small charge powders can be double loaded.
You need to really focus on not putting a 2nd charge in a case.
I've done it so I know it can happen. Fortunately I have always caught my mistake before seating a bullet.

 

[tkdguy]

Sometimes there are reloading classes offered through the gun shops? If not look for a step by step dvd?

 

[Mikej]

I don't think anybody trims straight wall handgun brass. EXCEPT, brass that gets a "roll" crimp .38/.357, .45 Colt, .44 sp/mag should be trimmed for a uniform roll crimp. Ask about that later if/when you get into those rounds.

9mm brass is not perfectly straight. It has a slight taper, therefor when sizing/decapping there can be quite a bit of resistance on the up/down stroke. Different 9mm brass makers use different formulas so when sizing used 9mm brass they will feel different between the brands.

Loading straight wall handgun is a breeze. When I got my kit, I was nervous. I read some, and played with the stuff. Wrecked a few bullets/brass playing with the die set up and making some dummy rounds. And pulling the bullets. Read some more. Only flare your brass enough so the bullet barely sits inside the opening. Oh yeah, get one of these...

Amazon.com : RCBS Pow'r Pull Kit : Gunsmithing Tools And Accessories : Sports & Outdoors

Took my time getting a feel for the powder measure and scale. Read the part about working the lever on the powder thrower the same every time.

You have to have a caliper I've been using a Caliper from Harbor Freight. Mechanical, can't bring myself to trust a digital. It works fine.

 

[bbbass]

My digital caliper is plastic, so I gotta think it's not as accurate as my stainless steel dial calipers, tho easier to read. And I have both digital and beam/balance scales that I check against each other... when loading for pistol, I set up the powder measure and once set up, I only use the scale to make sure it is still set for the first load, then every so often after I get going.

A case gauge is good to have... it's a go/nogo check for your completed rounds. Alternatively, one can do a plunk test it the actual barrel to be used. Be sure to look for primers that are sticking up, as that indicates they are not seated all the way. When my brass has been used/reloaded several times, I perform a primer pocket cleaning to prevent this problem.

I keep a small brush/toothbrush on my reloading bench to clear stray powder, and a pair of tweezers for dropped primers. Although I prefer to seat primers with a hand tool while watching TV.

When working a single stage reloader, you should only powder fill enough cases to complete in one sitting. If you have to leave fill cases in the case tray, make sure you cover them so as to avoid contamination.

 

[ageingstudent]

Wrong, notice he said NOTHING about naked women jumping on trampolines next to you while you're attempting to reload....

My mistake. I thought that was while you're attempting to unload.

 

[ageingstudent]

Some of what I was reading, stated the if you can get a slower burning powder that fills a majority of the case, the better chances you have getting decent pressures and accuracy to start. I was looking at Accurate #7 with 124gr jacketed projectiles. It has a nice buffer between start and max at 6.9-7.9gr.

It's a good powder I use it in warmer .357 loads. It's super fine powder you might get a little leakage with the Lee rotary type measures. For 9mm I like be-86. It's a smaller flake and seems to meter well. Always seems to be available lately. Hp-38 and tightgroup are good choices as well. Case-fill in a 9mm usually isn't a huge issue with the shorter case.