pistol reloading

oldloggerak · Mar 22, 2010

I have taken all the input I received from you seasoned re loaders and purchased a lee 1000. I think this should be sufficient for all my reloading needs most of which will be for a 357 taurus ultra I bought for the wife and a 40 cal xdm for myself. The wife could not pull back the slide on my 40 so we had to go with a revolver. The 357 made since because she can use the lighter 38 loads and it will be alot cheaper to reload for. The brass is more available also. Thanks again for all the info and advice from everyone for making it easier to decide on a reloader purchase. P.S. my replys back were delayed because my computer had to be scrubbed and reloaded. W.F.Neal

Gunner3456 · Mar 22, 2010

oldloggerak said:
I have taken all the input I received from you seasoned re loaders and purchased a lee 1000. I think this should be sufficient for all my reloading needs most of which will be for a 357 taurus ultra I bought for the wife and a 40 cal xdm for myself. The wife could not pull back the slide on my 40 so we had to go with a revolver. The 357 made since because she can use the lighter 38 loads and it will be alot cheaper to reload for. The brass is more available also. Thanks again for all the info and advice from everyone for making it easier to decide on a reloader purchase. P.S. my replys back were delayed because my computer had to be scrubbed and reloaded. W.F.Neal

That's a really good press, if a little "busy" for a new reloader. Please check and re-check the powder weights that your measure is dropping, and don't let it get low on powder. I'd keep it at least half full for consistent drops.

I always punch my primers out before I tumble the cases so the pockets get clean and then check to be very sure no media got stuck in the flash hole or left in the case. Just be sure (at least) that there's no media left in the case - every case. I suppose a guy could blow each one out with a compressor.

Different people have different standards of "good" when reloading and I'll admit I'm a perfectionist. I'm not sure how I'd get my cases, primer pockets and flash holes "good enough" with only a progressive because the old primer doesn't come out until just before the new primer goes in, all on the machine and with no chance to inspect the pocket. Just for me, I'd need a separate small, cheaper press just for punching out primers before I clean brass. This is especially true the first time I cleaned brass if I bought range brass.

Congratulations and please go slow. Again, that's a really busy machine so take your time getting used to it. If you have to stop and change something while reloading, be sure you don't get out of sequence and get a double powder charge in a case. I'd pull all of the cases and double check that they are empty before continuing.

Don't be afraid to throw a round in the trash if you're not sure it's good. That's far better than damaging yourself or the gun.

SSG · Mar 22, 2010

Dillon 550B here...308, 223, and 45...been a pretty good setup...

My advice...reloading is a learning experience, safety issues invovled, and many times your quite literaly on your own when trying to figure something out...having a good press, that you don't have work around, figure out, makes the process much easier...Dillion is pretty solid.

That said, I see the argument for a single stage...very simple..more time consuming but probably less of a chance of screwup, double loads, ect...maybe that's a better way to start.

oldloggerak · Mar 22, 2010

I plan on moving very slowly with the new progressive. I have hand loaded in the past for my hunting rifles but used so few rounds during the season that I never really had a use for a progressive re loader. All caution will be taken when reloading due to the delicate nature of reloading for pistols. Keep the replys coming because I,m a believer in the fact that you can never have to much input especially when doing something that can be dangerous. Thanks fellow reloaders. W.F.Neal

Blitzkrieg · Mar 23, 2010

These should be of assistance

http://www.reloadersnest.com/

<broken link removed>

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve

oldloggerak · Mar 25, 2010

Thanks for the reload sites you sent me. I will put them in a folder I made for all my online reload data . Also I checked out the site on aviation which was in one off the sites you sent me. There was a lot of pictures and video on aviation in Alaska so that site was put in a special folder. I flew on many bush planes while I was logging in Alaska so I really enjoy looking at all that footage. The big game trips and safaris were cool to look at also. Thanks again W.F.Neal

Partsproduction · Mar 27, 2010

I started out with a single stage press many years ago, then stopped shooting for about 15 years and got back into it again big after Obama started his "Change" theme.

There are many things about him I'd like to change.

Anyway, once you load very much in a progressive going back to a single stage will seem like tedium. I still use a single stage for .25 ACP, and it's such a drag that I'm going to alter a shellplate for .25 ACP so I can load them in the progressive press.
I bought an RCBS Pro 2000 and am very happy with it. If I can get a bullet collator setup I like I'm sure I can easily get over 600 rounds per hour with it. My choice was based on my high standards for materials, and RCBS is the only press that's made from cast iron.