1911.COM : The Reloading Forums : The Reloading Forums : Reloading 101

Posted: Nov 11th 2009, 02:42 PM

Since there is a few new re-loaders as well as my self, and being that Splat and I both have threads going, I thought I would start a new one for all to use.

I just got all my components to day, all that is left to get started is building my table, will be doing that tonight or tomorrow morning if all goes as planned.
Here is what I got on hand now....

Will be starting soon......

Splat buddy jump in anytime ......

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Posted: Nov 11th 2009, 03:48 PM

It polishes and cleans the brass to a high sheen and punches the used primers out. It then measures and trims the brass to the proper length. Then it lubricates the cases and sizes them. Then it places fresh primers in the cases. It then measures every charge ever so carefully and places the charges in each case then it seats each bullet to the exact depth and crimps each round.

it then puts the lotion on the skin or else it gets the hose again.

yes my precious

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Posted: Nov 11th 2009, 03:54 PM

congrats to you guys for getting started, if you get the chance you might look into a used restaurant kitchen prep table for your bench, cover it with plywood, as the table will likely be stainless, and your good to go,that's what i did.

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Posted: Nov 11th 2009, 03:59 PM

I have a solid core door turned on it's side and on a stand. It makes for a solid work bench. I also re-did an old wooden box for my reloading supplies.

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Posted: Nov 11th 2009, 05:39 PM

nice start E, now you need some varget (bout 44gr) and some CT 168 silvertips. Gotta clean the basement up And get started again.

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Posted: Nov 11th 2009, 10:00 PM

i would show my setup, but at the moment it is horribly disorganized, mebbe ill straighten it out in the next couple days.

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Posted: Nov 12th 2009, 06:14 AM

Splat,,,,,,,,,,,,Impressive.........most impressive.....hahahaha.

Now I am jealous Splat, you have a electronic scale...........Nice set up my friend, and you have a tumbler..............still need those things....

OK I spent all night, well almost, building my table finally.

Before.......

http://i944.photo.....0001.jpg

and now the construction in to my reloading table...............TRANSFORM!!!!!! .....sorry couldn't resist.

Still have a few more things to get for it, and will add the other press soon.
But I have enough to get started finally.............more to come...

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Posted: Nov 12th 2009, 08:53 AM

Just a couple of things to add that I've learned trial and error :

No need to weigh every charge by hand, That could get tedious and time consuming unless your working up a special load.....Set your powder measure using a scale and throw your powder into the case......When using a "Ball Powder" it meters more uniformly so throw every10TH charge on the scale for a check, If your within a 10TH grain your good.....When it comes to "Stick Powder"(4895) weigh every 5TH as it's harder to meter thru most measures - And I'm assuming your using a loading block, When finished check every case with a flashlight going down the rows, Make sure every case has powder and they all look uniform.

When it comes to the case mouth it's good to use a "VLD Chamfer/Reamer".....It will go in at a steeper 22 degree angle than the standard 45 degree that comes in kits - Just a little till you see a shiny ring on the inside of the mouth......This will cut down on the copper being shaved off the back of a boat tail bullet when seating.

Also I rarely crimp the bullets in my Match Loads as do rarely most bench shooters.......The neck tension is usually sufficient to hold the bullet in place.....This cuts down on any deformation of the bullets - And before anyone gets their panties in a wad : I shoot this ammo in Auto-loaders like M1A/Garand with no problems.

Little details is what makes good AmmoGreat!!! - I'll try and post you a pic of my setup when I get home.

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Posted: Nov 12th 2009, 12:31 PM

Hey Max...........show off............LOL...........just kidding, man that makes me drool all over my keyboard.
Thanks for the advice, I still have a long way to go, gonna start tomorrow or the day after on punching primers so, I still need to get a Flash hole reamer or deburer / sizer, not to mention a digital scale and tumbler and oh the list goes on........
Thanks for the picks......you too splat.........lets see some more from the rest of the group....

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Posted: Nov 12th 2009, 03:15 PM

Splat,

Looking through your photos....

At what point to you cross contaminate your smokeless powder with the Doritos cheese powder on your fingers?

Nice setup!

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Posted: Nov 12th 2009, 03:52 PM

Guys,

On primer pocket prep less is better :

If you need to get rid of the "Crimp" around the edges(Mil Brass) then use the 45 Degree Reamer that came with your kit(?), Just a few twists till the crimp edge is gone and you have a small bevel into the pocket, Also a drill bit works well just to "Uniform" the flash hole, And just lightly clean the pocket with a brush that came in your kit(?).......The more you screw with the pockets causes them to get worn out and won't hold the primer firmly. Usually get about 5-6 loadings from brass till the pockets are worn out- I use a "Minimum" of special tools cause they tend to add up($)

On the Doritos Cheese Powder :

Don't worry.....Just smells like "Grilled Cheese Sandwich" when you shoot it.

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Posted: Nov 12th 2009, 05:56 PM

I hear you E, just finished building my bech. I have to stain it then spray on some polyurethane then I am all set to start reloading. I have never reloaded either so I hope I have all i need. I have been reading old reloading posts to try and learn. I will be reloading .45 and .223

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Posted: Nov 15th 2009, 09:01 AM

I just punched my first 40 primers yesterday, now I am going to clean the pockets and the shell, then start to reload them. Still having some issues with trying to set the dies though.

Am reloading Winchester brass for the moment, it is a little beat up, so I figured it would be good to start on instead of my Hornady brass.

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Posted: Nov 15th 2009, 09:38 PM

I have a powder thrower that came with my kit but I haven't used it. I insist on measuring every load, I baby my rounds and when I sit down to reload, I make sure I have the time. I like to listen to Rush Limbaugh while cranking out the rounds.

The Doritos have been sitting on my reloading bench since I unpacked my kit for the first time. I generally don't eat chips unless their is nothing else and somehow, they ended up there. They will stay untill I get sick of the clutter and just throw them away.

I get to try out my new craft when I take the 6.5 Grendel hunting next Saturday when rifle season opens for us. I will of course post kill shot pics and other reviews of my new favorite rifle that I assembled and made rounds for. I hope to get a long range kill with her this year. If a doe steps out at 400yds, I'm shooting. My longest shot at my place is about 480 yds and the longest shot from my stand is 205yds.

The tumbler is actually a vibrating rock polisher that I had from years back when I visited that hobby. It works great, I just scrubbed out one of the bowls and added the media. It polishes in about 40 minutes to a fine luster. I then tap out the media and give each case a once over with a cotton diaper while I inspect the case.

I love reloading. It is a very relaxing hobby.

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Posted: Nov 16th 2009, 01:18 PM

OK I am getting ready to set my sizing die, any pointers on the best way to do it would be helpful, not sure on the lube either, Lee says with the dies I have, I don't need to use any......NOT to comfortable with that from all that I have read.....

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Posted: Nov 16th 2009, 10:55 PM

read the instructions and follow them exactly. Some sizing dies don't need lube and if it doesnt need it and you use lube, you will damage cases. If you follow the instructions and the case gets stuck, I am told you can mail it to Lee and they will fix it for free. I am also told Lee has great turn around times and support, but I haven't used them myself. I have Lee dies and have no problem with them. They are the discount brand but I have heard people swear by them that they are great dies.

If you want some nicer dies Forrester is said to be very good quality, again, not from my experience just what I have read on the boards.

Reloading is easy but unforgiving if you go outside of the rules.

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Posted: Nov 17th 2009, 08:54 AM

Thanks Splat......

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Posted: Nov 18th 2009, 08:06 AM

New photo up date......

My work area.............

and some work I did,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I know "yawn" for you experts, but I thought it was quite the accomplishment. In the tree photos, the one on the left is the old unclean brass.

OK the nest one is funny, I had a little Nubie OOPS tonight, any body ever forget to close the hopper on the powder measurer when you take it off, what a mess , good thing it was not full, I was just trying to set it for the size of load I wanted. Anyway I made sure I won't do that again..............LOL

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Posted: Nov 19th 2009, 01:52 PM

Well I am happy this morning, I got my first batch of 20 sized and trimmed last night. I got lucky on the sizing die, it seemed like for the most part I hit it on the first time, even got my bullet seating die set, sort of, have one done, no primer or powder, now I need to get a bullet puller to get it out..........LOL, was going to get one anyway.

My book called for 2.015 max case length with a .005 trim, I have them trimmed down to 2.010 to 2.008 they vary abit, first time, that will give me enough to play with when I seat the bullets, the inter-lock ring is .04 wide. I check the one I have done against the max overall length that Lee suggests and am well with in tolerance. Now just waiting on some powder data to double check my loads and then it will be time to finish this first batch and then to see the fruits of my labor. Will get pics and maybe video.
Oh one more little question, will I have to re-size the shell again after I pull the bullet???????
""""Up date"""""" I got an RCBS Collete bullet puller. Works pretty slick....

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Posted: Nov 19th 2009, 09:55 PM

looking good E.

I would re-size after pulling the bullet especially if you crimped. I would run the whole process as iff it was a fresh piece of brass.

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Posted: Nov 22nd 2009, 12:49 PM

OK here is one, I was getting ready to start priming and charging my shells when I got the bright idea to check the length of the factory ones against mine. The factory ones come in at 2.000 to 2.002, this includes the Hornady, Ultramax and the federal, now I am using the Winchester spent brass for this first run, after I re-sized the cases, they where at 2.020 to 2.026, I trimmed them down to 2.010 to 2.008, the book says max length 2.015 and trim .0005. Question being, should I re-trim them down to the factory length or don't worry about it and load them and shoot them.......
Not trying to be a pain or nit pick, but I want to do this right......

........HELP........

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Posted: Nov 22nd 2009, 05:04 PM

i wouldnt worry about it unless your going to be shooting competition, for paper punching rounds itll work fine.

as long as theyre within the specs that are in the book.

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Posted: Nov 22nd 2009, 05:07 PM

If they feed then you can fire them. You want consistent brass length so that there is the same amount of space in each round after bullet seating for accuracy purposes. You can split hairs too much on brass length from my experience. If I remember correctly, my Lapua Grendel brass was longer than the max lenght by a little bit when new. I mean by a couple of hundreths. It doesnt seem to matter in the way they fire. the difference between 2.015 and 2.026 is a C hair.

You are like me E. and it is very good to be worried about precision. I like the damn thing to be spot on.

Get a box of manufactured ammo and measure the case lengths with your calipers, you will find that you are being far more precise than they are.

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Posted: Nov 23rd 2009, 09:58 AM

Well I did some digging and consulting with some other AR-10 owners, I am going to cut them down to 2.000 to 2.002. The longer case, neck, may cause some feeding issues with the Magazine as well as the action. Better to be safe than pissed as holy hell that I blew a bunch of materials....

And your right about that Splat......You are like me E. and it is very good to be worried about precision.
Thanks 10FP

I know this is my first batch, but hey, why risk the head ache....right..

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Posted: Nov 25th 2009, 06:10 AM

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, ....................DAMIT, DAMIT DAMIT........
I am getting pissed, the so-called perfect powder measurer is some what not so perfect, I am two settings above what I am supposed to be, using the directions on how to set it, and the balance scale is a piece of crap, can't hold the settings, weigh out a charge or two setting the measurer and I have to re-calibrate the scale, and no I did not bump it or move it.....sorry, just pissed....
I am going to put this on hold for the moment until.......A) I talk to Lee about this stuff, and B) I can get a scale that I can trust.............DAM I pissed.......
Oh on a different note.......hey Pyro,,,,,,,,,,,,you where right about the Auto Prime over the Press mounted one, got better depth and consistent depth with it............thanks bro............

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