# Reloading questions



## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

Cleaning up the basement and came across FILs reloading equipment (missing the press, and a few other bits). All Lee brand; case trimmers, "auto prime", "safety powder scale", and a couple of die sets (.303 brit and .380). Wondering if it would be worth my effort to buy a press and dies for 9mm and 30-06 (FIL had lots of mil-surp, but insisted on using his own loads in his Garand...I always thought mil-surp was better matched for this due to the op rod, but he did have it to the armory, and in the last 9 years, it has only seen 156 rounds).
I don't shoot as much as I used to, but considering the economy and current events, what say you? Perhaps for down the road? Since I will not bear the brunt of cost on all new (new to me) equipment.Maybe to teach our boys?
Thanks in advance,
Matt


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

You should go for it. A new press is about $100. For a particular gun, you can make up a load through trial and error that is more accurate than factory loads. There is a little more satisfaction in shooting a deer with a cartridge you loaded yourself. 

Reloaded cartridges may be less expensive than factory. The components keep for decades if they are stored in a dry place and they make good barter items.


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## BACOG (May 17, 2012)

Roadking said:


> Cleaning up the basement and came across FILs reloading equipment (missing the press, and a few other bits). All Lee brand; case trimmers, "auto prime", "safety powder scale", and a couple of die sets (.303 brit and .380). Wondering if it would be worth my effort to buy a press and dies for 9mm and 30-06 (FIL had lots of mil-surp, but insisted on using his own loads in his Garand...I always thought mil-surp was better matched for this due to the op rod, but he did have it to the armory, and in the last 9 years, it has only seen 156 rounds).
> I don't shoot as much as I used to, but considering the economy and current events, what say you? Perhaps for down the road? Since I will not bear the brunt of cost on all new (new to me) equipment.Maybe to teach our boys?
> Thanks in advance,
> Matt


It is realtively easy to find a reasonable priced press. You can get a new Lee at a reasonable cost or you could go to e-Bay and find a good used one. 

I think your FIL is on the right track. I don't trust mil surp ammo very much my self. I had some .30/06 mil surp that had 3 case ruptures in the first five rounds. When I load I know what my loads are like & I trust them.

Undoubtedly it would be worth it to get a press and lay in a stock of components. Quite often you can find reloading supplies when loaded ammo is in short supply plus you never know what is coming down the 'pike.

If you haven't loaded for an '06 before you might want to look at RL-15 & IMR 4064 powders. They perform well in the 150 & 165 gr bullet weights.

I shoot an Encore pistol in .30/06 and my got to load is 50 gr of RL-15 and a 150 gr Nosler Balistic Tip. It is devastation on deer.

Garands are STOUT! There was a company that used take one & rebarrel it for .338 Win Mag. The design should be able to handle any load in a major reloading manual. As always have it checked by a competent gunsmith before working up any loads.


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## dkhern (Nov 30, 2012)

if your only shooting 156 rd in 9 yr if you have to buy brass and other components and a press it will take a while to recover cost. like said you can taylor to your rifle and reloads are cheeper.


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## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

Well, our 2 boys are getting older (they will be costly as they really enjoy shooting...pellets are cheap, but ammo for the bigger guns isn't), and the 156 is just the Garand. Have primers, bullets, brass tumbler already...just need a press and the two mentioned dies...if nothing else, as a hobby or skill set for the kids.

Matt


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## kkbinco (Jun 11, 2010)

I say set yourself up with the press. Also get a copy of Lyman's Reloading Manual. It not only has recipes, it also has a great section on how to reload.


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## BACOG (May 17, 2012)

kkbinco said:


> I say set yourself up with the press. Also get a copy of Lyman's Reloading Manual. It not only has recipes, it also has a great section on how to reload.


Lyman manuals are excellent. I have also found Nosler, Speer, & Hornady are too.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I recommend the lee classic cast turret press 

it primes on the press with the use of the safety prime 

it allows for an on press powder measure that with rifle charging die , i have found it to meter very well with power pistol an ideal powder for the 9mm
it also does fine with H4895 that is Ideal in the Garand 

the turret holds the dies so switching from one caliber to the next takes 30 seconds , usually takes longer to find the turret/dies on my shelf than change out the caliber 

with each pull of the handle and push back up it indexes the dies around , so you can put in a piece of brass , and size and prime with one stroke , drop powder with the second , seat the bullet with the third and crimp with the fourth 
when you load like this you significantly reduce the possibility for double charges , compared to loading in a loading block you can't forget to move the funnel 
each round goes from clean brass to completely loaded in 4 pulls 
if you get interrupted , you don't have 45 pieces of brass on the table with powder in them sitting open .

there is a lee turret and a classic cast turret both are good but the classic cast is better 
why- classic cast has a longer stroke of the ram allows for the indexing to work while loading rifle rounds 
-classic cast sends spent primers through the ram and out a tube on the bottom into the bucket 

these may seem like small things but spent primers everywhere is a mess , and the ability to index on rifle cartridge is very nice worth the little bit extra


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## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

Sooo, will the Lee dies I already have interchange with other presses, should a deal come along? Or do I need to get a Lee?
Thanks, got some reading to do.

Matt


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

lee modern reloading is good if you have primarily lee equipment it explains it very well , the first 200 pages are the how to the next 500 loads.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

almost all dies use the same thread 

most major names are interchangeable between presses many people use lee dies in a rcbs press or rcbs dies in a lee press

lee tends to be the most reasonably priced for new


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## Silvercreek Farmer (Oct 13, 2005)

I am sure you are aware that we are smack dab in the middle of a semi-auto/ammo/reloading component scare/shortage in many areas due to the horrible event at Sandy Hook Elementry and the subsequent irrational desire for some to pass gun/ammo control legislation. Inventories of powder and primers are lower than normal and may be difficult to find or expensive when found. Where things settle out is anyones' guess.

Rewinding 60 days or so:

Reloading is a great hobby that really allows you to maximize the potential of your firearm or build custom ammo such as light recoil ammo that you can not find commercially. I would never say that it allows you to "save" money because it is terribly addictive and before long you will be "investing" in additional powders, primers, brass, bullets, dies, and maybe even bullet casting molds, because much of it comes in $20-$30 increments that may not be missed too much out of the monthly budget. What reloading does, is allow you to shoot much more for your money, plus make you "earn" your shooting time with (mostly enjoyable) hours spent at the reloading bench. 

That being said, I could never justify reloading for a 9mm (unless you cast the bullets and have the patience/expertise to make them work) as I would be effectly working for about $2 an hour (with a single stage press) when you figure they cost about 15 cents to reload and 20-22 cents to buy. Expect to spend around 40-50 cents a round for full power 30-06 (20-30 cents for the bullet, 15-20 cents on the powder, and 3-4 cents on the primer).


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I like the 60 day rewind 

yes very addictive 

I cast for 9mm , the trick is to size them larger , you need to slug your barrel and go .002 over bore , and make sure your brass and loading process does not swage the bullet down

on a turret it takes me 20 minutes a box of 50 to make them once i get going is it a big savings as most of my lead is scrap i smelt 
it would be less savings if i have to pay full price for my lead 

however i have shot more since i started reloading and i have more loaded rounds than ever before on hand 

currently my cost for 9mm is powder primers and my time so 5.55 the hundred plus my time 

but i now shoot several times what i was shooting so no real cost saving , but i am a better shot 

30-30 loads cost me just a few cents more but i have shot more this month than in the first 10 years i had that gun 

44mag also very close in price which is a huge savings over factory maybe 6 dollars the hundred previously it was closer to 50 dollars the hundred 

much of the savings is lost if you start buying bullets but 44mag is still a big savings they were about 75 cents a round for premium jacketed hollow point ammo , reloads using the same bullets save half


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## zant (Dec 1, 2005)

Reloading and casting...both self explanatory by recent hysteria....do you want your ammo supply to rest on the whims of DC???


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## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

Guess I need to start hunting down a press...anyone got a spare they don't use anymore? LOL!!

I'll check out the LGS this week.

Thanks for all the input!

Matt


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## zant (Dec 1, 2005)

GCP is right about press-I always recommend LEE single stage or turret for beginner-good quality with a good price---RUN away fro any LEE progressive-unless it's free-then sell it


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## dkhern (Nov 30, 2012)

others are right about prices components are in short supply and high i dont know about commercial ammo prices i havent bought any except 22 in 40 yr. i see some prices lately (since shooting in cn) about 1$/rd. primers here are 45$/1000. im still loading w/12$ primers. casting for handgun is great. i dont for rifle. bullet moulds are about 20$ for double cavity. cast bullets are cost effective if you can get lead. scrap value of lead has gone up and wheel weights arent lead anymore. lee handgun dies come w/carbide sizer so you dont have to lube and generally cheeper than others. lee turrets are good cause you set dies up in turret and then just change turrets go from one caliber to another


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

if you casting for a pistol , i highly recommend the 6 cavity molds they are about 40 dollars up front and a 13 dollar set of handles but , when you get casting it is so nice to be dropping 3x as many bullets and not have to pick up your stick to tape the sprue plate open every time 

for 9mm the truncated cone is a great design 

if your loading for pistol a turret is great , the guy i bought my classic cast turret from upgraded to a dillon he now complains that while the dillon can crank out the rounds he misses the ease of set up with the turret , saying that unless he is going to do at least 500 rounds the dillon isn't worth it 
but it does crank out the rounds 1 with every pull of the handle so in the time i make 100 he makes 400 , but if something hangs up his is a major pain to get set up and adjusted 
so if your a higher volume pistol shooter and your loading to spend more time on the range the same load over and over the progressive is a great thing

but if your looking for a press that lets you load a lot of different rounds with quick switch over you loose speed over a progressive but you gain flexibility and set up time 

you gain setup time over a single stage also 

having a turret I can't see where i would want a single stage for anything besides swaging 

and the auto disk measure is great , i have the pro disk and the auto disk the pro is worth the extra , it is nice to be able to shut off the powder hopper and change out the disc without having to empty the hopper then change disks then refill

get the double disk kit for rifle cartridges 

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/814175/lee-classic-4-hole-turret-press#ReviewHeader


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## zant (Dec 1, 2005)

GCP-sounds like your friend don't know squat about Dillons-I can set up my 550 in less than 10 min for any caliber.....I use mine as a turret,progressive or single stage-that's why you don't want auto indexing on any press-If you're using a Dillon 1050-it's for high speed production.I loaded 1k of rifle-checking powder every 10 then every 50-after 1k,the powder had flucuated .2 of a gr.I love my RCBS Rockcrusher for exotic calibers I'm only loading 10-20 at a time,swaging,and using a collet bullet puller...My Lee 4 hole turret is used exclusively for 6.5 wildcats as I hand measure each round and fuss about them-but they're putting 10 shots at 200yd zero into 1/2-5/8"....but to each his own.....oh and if you screw up and break something-Dillon has new part at your house 3 days later-FREE..


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I think he has gotten better with it , I don't know what exactly he has for a dillon never seen his set up I know him thru work but he is in another department i see himin the break room, talk a little reloading and he was upgrading so i bought all his old stuff, I took all the dies out of his turrets and put them back in according to the directions to get the results i wanted. he was probably just missing the familiarity of his old press.


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## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

I have a Hornady LNL AP and a single stage RCBS. I started with the RCBS, bullets, powder, scales, dies for $100....it was about $1000 worth of stuff.

For a rifle a single stage is good, for pistol I'd get a progressive or turret press.

Most of the reloading companies have great warranties and customer service...I've not paid for many things I have broke.


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## MichaelK! (Oct 22, 2010)

Roadking said:


> (FIL had lots of mil-surp, but insisted on using his own loads in his Garand...I always thought mil-surp was better matched for this due to the op rod, but he did have it to the armory, and in the last 9 years, it has only seen 156 rounds).


You are correct that the Garand needs special loads because of it's operating rod, but that is well documented in the reloading manuals and some, like the 14th edition Hornady manual, have a section devoted specificly to the Garand.

Basicly, you can make .30-06 ammo that duplicates mil-spec ammo exactly by chosing a medium burning-rate powder like H4895, which in fact is THE powder used by the military to make mil-spec ammo. Couple that with bullets in the 150 -165- 175 grain range, and you'll make mil-spec ammo for your Garand.

Avoid heavy bullets (180+grains) and slow burning powders like H4891. Do that and your Garand will be very happy.


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## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

Seems a fellow poster on a different board has shipped me a single stage Lee press...and a local friend has been saving his brass for many years with no intention of reloading, and is going to get it together in a box, seperated by caliber. Let the learning begin!

These specialized boards reallly have a big benefit over the "horde boards", and I have felt that way for a long time...now I am sure I was right!

Thank you all for the info/suggestions. More questions are sure to follow.

Matt


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

a trick I got from another reloading forum , Bag Balm just the tiniest bit on your finger wiped on the neck of a rifle cartridge is all the sizing lube you need , a wipe on every 2nd or third piece sized is enough most of the time , and good for the hands also in this dry of winter.

get yourself a manual , read it thru then go back and reread anything that you still have question on .


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## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

The press arrived yesterday. Will be setting it up this weekend and practicing with some old brass to get a feel for the process. Then will need to get .308, 30-06, 9mm and 7.62x39 dies and powder...powder after researching.

Matt


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## MelonBar (Dec 27, 2012)

Be sure to get a currant reloading manual. Powder charges change with time. Load data from a 1990 book may be to hot or too weak a load now with 2012 powder.

I just ordered my first bullet casting equipment last night. Been reloading for 20 years but never got into casting. Thought I'd give it a try.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

30-06 308 and 7.62x39 should all load well with H4895 , and it is the ideal powder for the Garand , power pistol is a good powder for 9mm and it meters well


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## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> 30-06 308 and 7.62x39 should all load well with H4895 , and it is the ideal powder for the Garand , power pistol is a good powder for 9mm and it meters well


I use IMR4064 in my 308s and bullseye for my pistols.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

there are lots of correct answers when it comes to powder 

Imr 4064 is good stuff but the lack of data for 4064 in 7.62x39 won't help him


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## BACOG (May 17, 2012)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> Imr 4064 is good stuff but the lack of data for 4064 in 7.62x39 won't help him


I looked on Handloads.com & Reloaders Nest. They didn't have any data for IMR 4064 either. My initial reaction was that small of a case would need a faster burning powder.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I checked my manuals and the manufacturer , one nice thin about Hogdon powder including IMR is the good pressure data on their web site

slow powders can work in smaller cases but if he is just getting started stick to the book


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## Silvercreek Farmer (Oct 13, 2005)

Gald someone could help you out with a press! Once you get everything worked out, you should be able to load 50 rounds or so an hour...


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## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> there are lots of correct answers when it comes to powder
> 
> Imr 4064 is good stuff but the lack of data for 4064 in 7.62x39 won't help him


I was just throwing that out there...I have many different powders and I would have to look at my notes and supplies to see what else I have used...3389 seems to ring a bell for my 223's. 

The best thing for the OP to do is try a few different powders. For 223 and 9mm fodder I usually use what is the cheapest and offers the best yields. I also try to buy a powder that is multi purpose (can be used in multiple calibers).

Pick up a reloading book or two...they should list several powders for each load.


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## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

Silvercreek Farmer said:


> Gald someone could help you out with a press! Once you get everything worked out, you should be able to load 50 rounds or so an hour...


What I do is process cases while watching TV and I will have them already resized, while watching TV I will trim them and clean primer pockets and deburr.


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## beowoulf90 (Jan 13, 2004)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> a trick I got from another reloading forum , Bag Balm just the tiniest bit on your finger wiped on the neck of a rifle cartridge is all the sizing lube you need , a wipe on every 2nd or third piece sized is enough most of the time , and good for the hands also in this dry of winter.
> 
> *get yourself a manual , read it thru then go back and reread anything that you still have question on* .



This needed stated again... The answer to almost all questions will be in the manuals, except preferences from others.. If you can't find the answer it seems there are a lot of us here that will help you find it.. 

I know some will get tired of hearing it, but it is the difference between making a big mistake and safety..


I started over 30 years ago on a RCBS single stage and have moved towards the progressive press over the years. I'm now using 2 Dillon presses (a 450 upgraded to a 550 and a Square Deal), my single stage RCBS (used for the wildcats and misc rounds) and 3 MEC presses (12, 20 & 410 progressive and single stage).. I do also have a Lyman progressive press, but haven't used it since I got the Dillons

But your best best is to start with the single stage presses.. I still have mine and still use it occasionally. 

Now I need to learn to cast my own bullets... Which is something I haven't done..


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## JawjaBoy (Jan 21, 2013)

Reloading is the way to go if you're willing to learn a little bit. I started over 25 years ago with shotshells and moved up to handguns and then rifles. It took a little while, but I haven't bought any factory centerfire ammo in probably 10 years now. 

Keep your ears open to things coworkers or neighbors may lead you to. I have gotten a lot of components and equipment over the years this way. Estate sales can be a good source as well.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

offer a dollar or two a box to co-workers and friends for a box of once fired brass in your caliber they will think of it like getting money for empty beer cans and you get clean brass and boxes for less than you can buy new brass


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