Several years back I mentioned to a good friend that I wanted to get into reloading. For my Birthday or Christmas (honestly can't remember) he gave me this box of stuff. Time and life went by and I never did anything with it. Today I got it down and, holy smokes, there's a lot of stuff in here.
Can someone tell from the pics what I have and what more I need to reload some 9mm and .223 to feed my Glocks and AR's?
Food Court Apprentice
Semper Paratus certified AR15 armorer
So looking at the pics I see 9mm dies, .223 dies, pistol and rifle primers, 9mm bullets. But like, I don't even know where to start. Why are there so many dies? How do you use them? Which one first? I need powder. I assume pistol powder is different than rifle powder? Which is good to get? I understand these things may be in short supply right now too.
Food Court Apprentice
Semper Paratus certified AR15 armorer
If you are ever near Canton I would be happy to provide a class. I would start with 9, rifle is a PIA.
You have a Lee hand press. I’ve never used one, but it should work for all of the things it needs to do. But you may get tired of it, and it isn’t a high volume press. B/C s.l.o.w.
You have a set of (9mm?) pistol dies. One is a size/deprime. That is the first die you use. Next is the expander, which is used to widen the case mouth enough to allow the new bullet to enter. Last, you have a bullet seat/crimp die, which pushes the bullet in to the depth you set, and then crimps the case mouth to hold the bullet tightly in place.
I assumed you can prime using the ram, but I don’t see a priming arm on that press. Is there a mechanism for priming?
Last edited by Duelist; 04-16-2020 at 01:59 PM.
Pistol powder is definitely different than rifle powder. The key thing is burning powder creates pressure, different powders burn at different rates creating different pressure waves or peaks, and different volumes of different powders produce very different pressure levels. *Pistol powders usually have incompatible burn rates for rifle cartridges, and when accidentally used at rifle volumes, blow up guns*Originally Posted by ASH556
Buy only two kinds of powder to start with: one for rifle, and one for pistol. When you are reloading rifle, only have that kind of powder out. Check several times. Same for pistol. Maybe even buy different brands in different shaped bottles.
Before you reload anything, you need a good manual, then you need to read it. After that, a class with an experienced reloader would be good, but Q&A in your thread here will also work.
Start off with a manual and read over that, it will answer many of your question. The Lee and Lyman manuals have a lot of good info and are easy reads.
Purchase the Sierra reloading manual. Pretend it is the bible and you are Billy Graham, read, memorize, contemplate, review.
See, this is why I never got into reloading. I don't care to read manuals and futz with different loads, different powders, the nth of a grain difference.
More like:
make 9mm
shoot 9mm
repeat.
Is that not realistic without buying and reading a manual?
Food Court Apprentice
Semper Paratus certified AR15 armorer
Unless you're strapped for cash, there are better ways to set yourself up for reloading in a manner that you're more likely to enjoy. To load straight-walled pistol cartridges effectively you need the following things:
- A sturdy bench to which to mount a press
- The press itself
- Dies (decap/resize, expander, bullet seat, bullet crimp)
- Powder hopper
- Priming mechanism on the press
- Brass cleaning system (tumbler, media, polish, maybe sifter)
- A quality scale
- Bullet puller
- Calipers
- Components (powder, primers, brass, bullets)
There can be subtle variations but that's the basic setup. When it comes to the press itself, there are different types. You have what's called a hand-held single stage, which will be great for poking around but not much fun for trying to load a decent volume of rounds. You're better off with a press that mounts to a bench, and in that family, a press that is at least a turret. Lee's Classic Turret is a very good first press for the non-ham fisted.
I personally find it much easier to work with someone who has experience versus spending the time trying to learn all of it yourself, but the latter is certainly possible if you're careful and patient. Shoot me a PM if you'd like to discuss in a little more detail - I'm happy to help.
There are two parts of the manual you need to read. And yes, you should.
First is the instructions for how to reload. That is the part you really should read first, just for safety. Nobody is saying read the manual because they think you’re dumb! Rather, because you don’t know what you don’t know, and the mechanics of reloading are covered in the manuals.
Next, you read and follow the recipes. Basic 9mm recipes, for example, use a variety of powders and bullet combinations. Your “make 9mm, shoot 9mm, repeat” plan is perfectly legit, but you don’t have a recipe nor do you know how to follow it and make safe, functional ammo if you did.
So get a book, read it, follow the directions. You can build a complete AR from parts, I’m confident you can do this, but you really should take the time to read the instructions first.
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