Help me get into reloading

[Josh89]

Yea I need a case gauge just couldn't find one.and my overall length varies from 1.24 and 1.26.inthink it was from the mixed brass and I'm using berrys bullets and they all seemed to vary just a bit in size.

 

[Josh89]

I'm really thinking it's my 1911 tho.i was checking the ones I made against factory ones and they were all close to it or just a hair shorter.they were armscor 230 grain and they came in at 1.26 and some change don't have the numbers in front of me right now

 

[jordanka16]

What 1911?

 

[Josh89]

What 1911?

Ruger sr1911

 

[Josh89]

It does it sometimes with factory ammo as well.

 

[Josh89]

But any tips to work it out would be apriciated

 

[bsa1917hunter]

I have. All of my reloads cost me 1/2 the price of store bought ammo. That means for every 1000 9mm I reload I'm saving $120-, every 1000 .40 I'm saving $140, every 1000 .223 I'm saving $200... I'm saving $1 per .308 round that I manufacture, $1.50 for every .300 Savage round.

So somewhere the $4,000+ worth of reloading supplies, gear, equipment and such has to have been paid for right? If I reloaded every pound of powder I have right now I think I would break even.

Truth be told, I reload for my hobby not to save money. I only shoot rounds so I can reload them again.

I love to shoot and I love to save money. 2 of my favorite past times I guess. I'm not going to go into details about how much money some of my hand loads save me, but imagine buying a box of custom nosler ammo for a 9.3x62mm and shooting groups like this:



Ammo like this is roughly $90.00/box if you buy at the store. I like to shoot a lot so I hand load. I like to hunt a lot, so I handload. I like to save a lot, so I handload....





As always, when I suggest reloading equipment I always recommend RCBS. They have the best customer service if you ever end up needing to use it. It seems the op is set on Hornady and I'm sure that is good stuff too. The main thing is getting started and keeping our shooting sports alive. Good luck to the op and his endeavors...

 

[Josh89]

That's some good shooting,I'm hoping I can end up getting accuracy like this when I start rifle rounds.i ended up going with the Lee classic turret press,I like it. It it seems a little loose,but I also am using a hornaday shell holder and rcbs dies.maybe once I have all the Lee stuff it will be better.when i upgrade I'll probably look at all rcbs or dillion

 

[Member 5605]

That's some good shooting,I'm hoping I can end up getting accuracy like this when I start rifle rounds.i ended up going with the Lee classic turret press,I like it. It it seems a little loose,but I also am using a hornaday shell holder and rcbs dies.maybe once I have all the Lee stuff it will be better.when i upgrade I'll probably look at all rcbs or dillion

The turret head has a little slop, always will in that design. Dies and shell holder won't make a difference.

When you load you account for the .008" that the head has anyway. Doesn't effect me in my rounds.

Accurate rifle rounds you will want a single stage anyway.

 

[Josh89]

Cool,glad to know that it's not just the one I got.can wait to get back at it and start trying the other powders I have.

 

[Tilos]

I'm really thinking it's my 1911 tho.i was checking the ones I made against factory ones and they were all close to it or just a hair shorter.they were armscor 230 grain and they came in at 1.26 and some change don't have the numbers in front of me right now

Did you take the barrel out of the gun and do the plunk test?
It's what I'd do, and I usually have just the barrel on my loading bench to random check, sometimes 100% check the fit.

 

[Tilos]

The turret head has a little slop, always will in that design. Dies and shell holder won't make a difference.

When you load you account for the .008" that the head has anyway. Doesn't effect me in my rounds.

Accurate rifle rounds you will want a single stage anyway.

You call it slop, I call it the self aligning feature

 

[Josh89]

Did you take the barrel out of the gun and do the plunk test?
It's what I'd do, and I usually have just the barrel on my loading bench to random check, sometimes 100% check the fit.

I did this with a bunch of them, the 3rd round I did didn't pass but the rest did.

 

[jordanka16]

Ruger sr1911

My sr1911 is pretty reliable, try working up some more powerful loads, and play around with the OAL a little.

 

[ageingstudent]

Cool,glad to know that it's not just the one I got.can wait to get back at it and start trying the other powders I have.

That up and down 'slop' is necessary to allow the turret head to move from station to station. If the dies are adjusted correctly when the ram is raised all the way it pushes up against the lugs with the case centered in the die and there is no slop at that point. It's kind of a nifty little design. Mine has held up a lot better than I expected. No sign of wear yet in I think 7 years of usage. I'm pretty sure I'm around 15,000 rounds with it. Both rifle and pistol.

 

[bbbass]

I did this with a bunch of them, the 3rd round I did didn't pass but the rest did.

#1 I highly recommend doing all of your reloads before you store them away each time you make a batch.

#2 Lube the chit out of the 1911 rails just before you shoot or before you leave to go shoot.

#3 Stiffen up your wrists next time you shoot and really concentrate on it.

#4 Is your SR1911 the original recoil spring?

 

[jrd541280]

This is the time to take your press, your gun and your components and make them work for you. You got a lot of advanced info here, all worthy. It will come into play down the road. Trust your published data. Trust your firearm, confidence will follow. Just me. You did good josh. Don't get discouraged. You're really close. l

 

[ageingstudent]

Yea I need a case gauge just couldn't find one.and my overall length varies from 1.24 and 1.26.inthink it was from the mixed brass and I'm using berrys bullets and they all seemed to vary just a bit in size.

Sort out a few cases with the same headstamp. You might find that it's easier to get more consistent crimp and oal that way. It won't make a noticible difference accuracy wise, but you might notice a difference in feed consistency. The more variables you eliminate during testing usually means more meaningful results. You might even find out your Ruger likes a particular case better. Or not. Welcome to the jungle.

And an oal variation of .02 with .45acp and mixed cases is ok. Go through a box of 50 factory rounds and check their oal.

 

[ageingstudent]

That's some good shooting,I'm hoping I can end up getting accuracy like this when I start rifle rounds.i ended up going with the Lee classic turret press,I like it. It it seems a little loose,but I also am using a hornaday shell holder and rcbs dies.maybe once I have all the Lee stuff it will be better.when i upgrade I'll probably look at all rcbs or dillion

You can make some damned accurate loads for a pistol too...just sayin'

 

[Member 5605]

That up and down 'slop' is necessary to allow the turret head to move from station to station. If the dies are adjusted correctly when the ram is raised all the way it pushes up against the lugs with the case centered in the die and there is no slop at that point. It's kind of a nifty little design. Mine has held up a lot better than I expected. No sign of wear yet in I think 7 years of usage. I'm pretty sure I'm around 15,000 rounds with it. Both rifle and pistol.

Yeah I have mine second hand and it was well worked by the first owner. I have probably around 10-15K through mine and still using the same turret head for each caliber. The steel surround won't wear, the aluminum head will.

@ageingstudent, do you lube your heads where they contact the steel too? I've found a couple drops of (no lanolin) bicycle chain oil (Tri-something) works well. Reduces chatter when it spins around and makes for really smooth cycling. I use that lube because it comes in a really tiny bottle that has a nice small straw to put a few drops out of.