Knocking out some .357 with the Lee Hand Press

[ECVMatt]

It is a beautiful day and I wanted to do some loading out in the backyard. I took out the trusty Lee Hand Press and got to work on some .357 brass. I have been shooting my .357's a lot lately and not putting in any time to reload them. So today is the day. I have about 350 cases to load up. So far I have spent about an hour resizing and depriming the cases. I am going to prime them now and finish them up tomorrow. Although it take some effort, I am always amazed how much ammo these little presses can crank out.

[willie]

Try this to make resizing easier. If ammo will be used in the same revolver, set die to resized only 2/3's of case length. I assume you have a carbide die. Even so, spray a very light coat of Hornady case lube on them. Then roll them together on a towel. These steps have worked for me. Experiment with a small number first.

[entropy]

F.U.N.!!

I’ve sat on the deck doing the same exact thing with .44 specials. I’m still at a quandary of how to successfully get 7.5gr of Unique in a case without dragging a scale out OR using dippers. (My anal retentiveness doesn’t allow dippers.)

[Duelist]

F.U.N.!!

I’ve sat on the deck doing the same exact thing with .44 specials. I’m still at a quandary of how to successfully get 7.5gr of Unique in a case without dragging a scale out OR using dippers. (My anal retentiveness doesn’t allow dippers.)

I grew up shooting black powder through muzzleloading rifles almost exclusively, so dippers make sense to me and I don’t mind using them if they work for the load I’m making. Like 2.7gr BE in light .38 SPC loads, or 3.5 in a bit more serious .38 load. OTOH, for most .357 loads, scales and/or a thrower are what I’ll use.

[ECVMatt]

All finished up! 275 rounds of practice ammo and a 100 rounds of Lehigh Defense Extreme Penetrators. Good weekend, spent outdoors relaxing.

[awp_101]

FWIW, this morning I ordered a Lee Hand Press and a couple sets of the quick change bushings because of this thread...

[Rick R]

F.U.N.!!

I’ve sat on the deck doing the same exact thing with .44 specials. I’m still at a quandary of how to successfully get 7.5gr of Unique in a case without dragging a scale out OR using dippers. (My anal retentiveness doesn’t allow dippers.)

I have two of the RCBS Little Dandy powder measures with an almost complete set of rotors. I habitually check dropped weight on a scale before starting a tray of cartridges and then again after I drop the last powder charge. I’m rarely surprised at what I’m getting based on my loading notes and it never changes as long as I leave sufficient powder in the hopper. But I’m anal that way.

If you vetted the rotor that yields closest to 7.5gr of Unique and only kept that powder with your portable setup AND only stored that rotor with said reloading set up I’d feel satisfied that you’d get good, safe ammo without weighing. There might be environmental or powder lot variables but as long as you’re loading a bit under max and not at 110% you would be good. If you get a rotor that is short of your goal they can be drilled or reamed out. The main concern would be multiple powders and rotors floating around in the mix.

[ECVMatt]

FWIW, this morning I ordered a Lee Hand Press and a couple sets of the quick change bushings because of this thread...

I bet you love it. It is a fun way to get some loading done. A lot of times I will run cases through the hand press while watching TV with the wife. It is our compromise for show like Love Island, Love is blind, et al.

[entropy]

I have two of the RCBS Little Dandy powder measures with an almost complete set of rotors. I habitually check dropped weight on a scale before starting a tray of cartridges and then again after I drop the last powder charge. I’m rarely surprised at what I’m getting based on my loading notes and it never changes as long as I leave sufficient powder in the hopper. But I’m anal that way.

If you vetted the rotor that yields closest to 7.5gr of Unique and only kept that powder with your portable setup AND only stored that rotor with said reloading set up I’d feel satisfied that you’d get good, safe ammo without weighing. There might be environmental or powder lot variables but as long as you’re loading a bit under max and not at 110% you would be good. If you get a rotor that is short of your goal they can be drilled or reamed out. The main concern would be multiple powders and rotors floating around in the mix.

Thanks!

Honestly, I never knew this thing existed. MidwayUSA here I come!

[Tokarev]

Somewhat applicable to this thread:

https://www.americanrifleman.org/con...-on-the-range/

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk