New to reloading

14195 Views 178 Replies 15 Participants Last post by Rivervalley0311, Mar 27, 2020

Philmo11

Discussion Starter · Aug 13, 2019

After mauling it over for some time, I have finally decided to jump into reloading. I have purchased the following equipment:

Presses
RCBS Pro Chucker 5 (5 stage progressive press)
RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme (single stage press)
7x Pro Chucker 5 Die Plates

Shell Plates
RBCS Pro Chucker Shell Plate #44 (500 Magnum)
RBCS Pro Chucker Shell Plate #32 (7.62x39)

Dies.
Lee Precision 90288 500 S&W Magnum 3 Die Carbide Set
Lee Precision 90931 500 S&W Magnum Collet Style Crimp Die
Lee Precision 90177 500 S&W Magnum Quick Trim Die
Lee Precision Deluxe 90963 9mm Luger 4 Die Carbide Set
Lee Precision Deluxe 90447 380 Auto 4 Die Carbide Set
Lee Precision Deluxe 90964 38 Special 4 Die Carbide Set
Lee Precision Deluxe 90965 40 S&W 4 Die Carbide Set
Lee Precision Deluxe 90968 45 ACP 4 Die Carbide Set
Lee Precision Deluxe 90967 45 Colt 4 Die Carbide Set

Misc.
Quick Trim Die Tool
7x Pro Chucker 5 Die Plates, each die set comes with the individual shell holder

I do not have all the shell plates or die sets. I’m shopping around at the moment. Prices vary widely between sites and calibers. It was less expensive to purchase the 4 die sets with the factory crimp die than to buy them separate. I’m currently $1400 in and no reloading supplies yet or books yet.

I plan to use the single stage press for all the case prep work, depriming, resizing and trimming. Use the progressive press for expanding, charging, seating and crimping. That’ll leave a station later for something else.

I have enough to start with 500 Magnum but I think that would just be foolish. I bought those parts because they were scarce. I’ll start with something else but haven’t decided yet. Got a lot of reading to do first.

See less See more

1 - 20 of 179 Posts

Square target

· #2 · Aug 13, 2019

You're going to need some other tools like a powder measure and scale. I would recommend staying away from lee on the powder measure and get a RCBS. The lee are real cheaply made and i hear people all the time complaining they leak powder. I do a ton of reloading and just use a cheap franfurt arsenal digital scale. They work very well. I actually have two and check them between each other often and also check them with a beam scale i have but i never actually use the beam scale for loading because they can be a pain. Don't be afraid to buy more than one book. I have 3 i use the most. Lyman and Lee and then the lyman cast bullet book if you're going to use cast bullets but many(not all) of the loads are in their regular book. There are a ton of other books too but they are mostly bullet and powder brand specific where the other two are not and cover so much more. A hand primer will come in handy and i like Lee's over the RCBS but they just changed their design in the last year so i can't say if that one is good or not. My RCBS will pop the top cover off when priming but maybe i just got a lemon. With the list of de calibers you posted you probably won't need a trimmer but if you get into any rifle calibers you will. Straight wall pistol for the most part does not stretch enough to worry about and auto cases will actually shrink over time but the differences in case lengths won't really affect anything. Case gauges/ammo checkers come in handy when loading. Check out lymans multi caliber ones. You can get one that will do everything on your list except the 500S&W and its maybe $20 or so. You'll also need a set of calipers, don't skimp on those and buy a set from harbor freight or get a plastic set. Get a set from RCBS, Lyman etc. There are some other things you'll need as well. A way to clean your brass. You can go dry, wet or use a sonic cleaner. For starting out a decent dry vibrator works fine. Loading blocks come in handy and you can make them if you're a wood worker or just buy them. I like the frankfurt arsenal one but they are a little more expensive than some others that will work fine. A kinetic hammer will also be useful and i'm sure i'm forgetting some other small tools that you'll need or come in handy.....Prepare to save some money!!!! lol

I would recommend you start with 38sp and do it all on the single stage to get yourself familiar with all the steps and how everything works before you jump into the progressive after reading through one of the books you buy. . 38sp is one of the easiest calibers to load IMO. When you start in the semi auto calibers shoot some in your guns before you load a bunch. Just because you see loads in the book does not mean they will cycle your gun correctly. make sure the load has enough power to eject the case and pick up the next round, no stove piping etc.<----- ive actually made this mistake a few times. Nothing like having 500 rounds to shoot up that won't reliably work. Please do not start out loading for the 500, one little mistake can be bad on those high power calibers.

See less See more

Reactions: 3

Sunosauno

· #3 · Aug 13, 2019

square target2 said:
You're going to need some other tools like a powder measure and scale. I would recommend staying away from lee on the powder measure and get a RCBS. The lee are real cheaply made and i hear people all the time complaining they leak powder. I do a ton of reloading and just use a cheap franfurt arsenal digital scale. They work very well. I actually have two and check them between each other often and also check them with a beam scale i have but i never actually use the beam scale for loading because they can be a pain. Don't be afraid to buy more than one book. I have 3 i use the most. Lyman and Lee and then the lyman cast bullet book if you're going to use cast bullets but many(not all) of the loads are in their regular book. There are a ton of other books too but they are mostly bullet and powder brand specific where the other two are not and cover so much more. A hand primer will come in handy and i like Lee's over the RCBS but they just changed their design in the last year so i can't say if that one is good or not. My RCBS will pop the top cover off when priming but maybe i just got a lemon. With the list of de calibers you posted you probably won't need a trimmer but if you get into any rifle calibers you will. Straight wall pistol for the most part does not stretch enough to worry about and auto cases will actually shrink over time but the differences in case lengths won't really affect anything. Case gauges/ammo checkers come in handy when loading. Check out lymans multi caliber ones. You can get one that will do everything on your list except the 500S&W and its maybe $20 or so. You'll also need a set of calipers, don't skimp on those and buy a set from harbor freight or get a plastic set. Get a set from RCBS, Lyman etc. There are some other things you'll need as well. A way to clean your brass. You can go dry, wet or use a sonic cleaner. For starting out a decent dry vibrator works fine. Loading blocks come in handy and you can make them if you're a wood worker or just buy them. I like the frankfurt arsenal one but they are a little more expensive than some others that will work fine. A kinetic hammer will also be useful and i'm sure i'm forgetting some other small tools that you'll need or come in handy.....Prepare to save some money!!!! lol

I would recommend you start with 38sp and do it all on the single stage to get yourself familiar with all the steps and how everything works before you jump into the progressive after reading through one of the books you buy. . 38sp is one of the easiest calibers to load IMO. When you start in the semi auto calibers shoot some in your guns before you load a bunch. Just because you see loads in the book does not mean they will cycle your gun correctly. make sure the load has enough power to eject the case and pick up the next round, no stove piping etc.<----- ive actually made this mistake a few times. Nothing like having 500 rounds to shoot up that won't reliably work. Please do not start out loading for the 500, one little mistake can be bad on those high power calibers.

+1

See less See more

Philmo11

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 13, 2019

No worries on the 500 magnum. Those will be one of the last. Not starting with a 1/4 stick of dynamite, haha. I agree on the 38 special. The 45 Colt might be the next. Reasonings I had were that those cowboy loads should have a little room for error on the hot side. 38 special will be tested in a .357 Henry and the .45 Colt in a Ruger Blackhawk, both overbuilt to handle much hotter loads than I’ll be loading, in the event a mistake is made on the hot side they have less chance of exploding. As you already mentioned, the factors involved in auto rounds complicate the process.

I appreciate the list of tools and brand recommendations. A tumbler, caliper, scales and powder measure are on the list. I get anything else listed above on my list too.

As for the cast trimmer, 500 magnum is a pretty good size piece of brass under a ton of pressure. Want to make sure the crimp depth and seating depth are consistent. The case length will directly impact both of those. With that gun, there is no room for error. We’ve all seen what happens when there is a little too much pressure in a S&W revolver. In fact, that one scares me to reload at magnum specs due to all the above mentioned. I will likely hand load 500 Special rounds for plinking, just save my brass from the factory loads.

See less See more

AgedWarrior

· #5 · Aug 13, 2019

Philmo11 said:
No worries on the 500 magnum. Those will be one of the last. Not starting with a 1/4 stick of dynamite, haha. I agree on the 38 special. The 45 Colt might be the next. Reasonings I had were that those cowboy loads should have a little room for error on the hot side. 38 special will be tested in a .357 Henry and the .45 Colt in a Ruger Blackhawk, both overbuilt to handle much hotter loads than I’ll be loading, in the event a mistake is made on the hot side they have less chance of exploding. As you already mentioned, the factors involved in auto rounds complicate the process.

I appreciate the list of tools and brand recommendations. A tumbler, caliper, scales and powder measure are on the list. I get anything else listed above on my list too.

As for the cast trimmer, 500 magnum is a pretty good size piece of brass under a ton of pressure. Want to make sure the crimp depth and seating depth are consistent. The case length will directly impact both of those. With that gun, there is no room for error. We’ve all seen what happens when there is a little too much pressure in a S&W revolver. In fact, that one scares me to reload at magnum specs due to all the above mentioned. I will likely hand load 500 Special rounds for plinking, just save my brass from the factory loads.

The most important thing you can do is take your time familiarizing yourself with the process. The peculiarities of some cartridges will become more obvious as you gain experience. I would recommend using the data for the applicable bullets you are using when ever possible. If you like Hornady bullets, then use their data, and buy their manual. There is a lot of additional data available from powder manufacturers that is quite good too. I recommend the Hodgdon manual that is published as a magazine every year as another viable source of data. Avoid using another manufacturers data for your bullets. For example, do not use Speer data to load Hornady bullets; while you might find a lot of overlap, the two different bullets are often seated to different depths and have differing bearing surfaces that affects load pressures. You mention a desire for consistent seating depth and crimps; good call! Doing so will only enhance the accuracy of your ammo.:thumbsup:

There is is a lot of reloading experience here at NGF; lean on that experience when you need to.

Finally, I would urge you to think through the process to develop a safe and effective order/sequence and routine. One helpful idea is to rotate the brass in the loading blocks as you progress up through the steps so you can, at a glance, verify that each case is at the same condition and, of course, see that your powder charges look consistent throughout the block. When I load a batch of rifle ammo that is not already primed, I start with the cases mouth up until primed then mouth down so when you are done they are all butt up with visible primers to do a quick double check for a primer possibly not seated fully. Then, as you charge each case with powder you turn them over one at a time to charge them; when done you can easily see if they are all charged uniformly. Turning them one at a time helps prevent accidental over charging or failure to charge, and the scan of the loading block is a quick double check. Obviously you do not need to follow my routine, but make sure you have one that is systematic and allows you to double check prior to the next step. Things will not be the same when you go progressive, but you still need to be systematic and observant! Enjoy!

See less See more

Reactions: 2

Zhills

· #6 · Aug 13, 2019

Welcome to the fun. Safety, safety, safety!

Reactions: 1

Square target

· #7 · Aug 13, 2019

A couple more things. If you're going to build a bench make sure it's sturdy and can hold some weight. Make it bigger than you think you'll need. I think I'm up to 23' of benches with shelves behind them and under them just dedicated to loading, brass prep and storage. You probably won't need near that much but go bigger than what you think you'll need. like agedwarrior said, when you figure out a system you like stick to it as consistency leads to safety. Start saving plastic container like coffee cans, ice cream tubs, nut containers etc for brass storage. plastic trays like gladware also come in handy for doing brass prep to keep cases in different stages separated. When loading single stage try to do 1 step at a time for all brass you plan on loading at that time so you don't have to keep switching dies around. I see guys who are loading 200 rounds do 50 at a time and then start over for the next 50. There is one exception though. If you're loading more than 50 round only charge one loading block and then seat the bullets. Having several tray laying around with powder in them can easily be bumped and knocked over. Or if you have to leave you don't want them sitting there like that. Keep only one can of powder on your bench at a time!!! Keeping more is how fatal mistakes can happen. Load your hopper of your powder measure and keep the powder can right next to it. As soon as you're done seating your last bullet empty the powder hopper back into the can and put it away. I actually break this rule once in a great while as i have several machines set up and sometimes (like right now) have them all going but the powder is right next to each machine that's using it and i don't move them. Right now I'm on a loading tear because i recently had back surgery and this is my therapy. I also had to move a ton of stuff on the bench because i can't do too much lifting or bending so here is my organized chaos....Got one machine doing 9mm, another 45acp trying to do a little each day and doing a batch of 50 rifle too most days.

Convenience store Grocery store Building Retail Supermarket

See less See more

Reactions: 4

gvaldeg1

· #8 · Aug 13, 2019

square target2 said:
A couple more things. If you're going to build a bench make sure it's sturdy and can hold some weight. Make it bigger than you think you'll need. I think I'm up to 23' of benches with shelves behind them and under them just dedicated to loading, brass prep and storage. You probably won't need near that much but go bigger than what you think you'll need. like agedwarrior said, when you figure out a system you like stick to it as consistency leads to safety. Start saving plastic container like coffee cans, ice cream tubs, nut containers etc for brass storage. plastic trays like gladware also come in handy for doing brass prep to keep cases in different stages separated. When loading single stage try to do 1 step at a time for all brass you plan on loading at that time so you don't have to keep switching dies around. I see guys who are loading 200 rounds do 50 at a time and then start over for the next 50. There is one exception though. If you're loading more than 50 round only charge one loading block and then seat the bullets. Having several tray laying around with powder in them can easily be bumped and knocked over. Or if you have to leave you don't want them sitting there like that. Keep only one can of powder on your bench at a time!!! Keeping more is how fatal mistakes can happen. Load your hopper of your powder measure and keep the powder can right next to it. As soon as you're done seating your last bullet empty the powder hopper back into the can and put it away. I actually break this rule once in a great while as i have several machines set up and sometimes (like right now) have them all going but the powder is right next to each machine that's using it and i don't move them. Right now I'm on a loading tear because i recently had back surgery and this is my therapy. I also had to move a ton of stuff on the bench because i can't do too much lifting or bending so here is my organized chaos....Got one machine doing 9mm, another 45acp trying to do a little each day and doing a batch of 50 rifle too most days.

View attachment 104946

Congrats on the great looking loading bench! Also, congrats to Philmo11 for embarking upon reloading. This was absolutely one on the most rewarding aspects of shooting and shooting sports that I ever engaged in. For years, most of my guns never saw a factory round.

Reactions: 2

edspdog

· #9 · Aug 14, 2019

Reloading tips, 1-- read and understand the reloading manuals printed by the major bullet makers These books will have all the info you need, and when reloading keep the distractions out of the loading room, you must pay attention to what you are doing.
2--same as number 1
3--same as number 2.
I have been hand loading for over 40 years and so far have never had a bad round. Did make the mistake of following another fellows recipe for a 7mm STW. Way too hot for my rifle but no blow ups just a stiff bolt. I load several pistol and revolver rounds, 220 swift, various 6mm's, 280's, 7mm mags.
All my center fire presses are single stage, KISS.
I do have 3 progressive Ponsness Warren progressive loaders and boy you best keep on your toes.
I could write you an encyclopedia on loading but common sense is your friend.

Good luck and enjoy

See less See more

Reactions: 1

Coalcracker

· #10 · Aug 14, 2019

Yes i second making it bigger than you think what you will need. I need to add on again lol.

Toy Room Collection Building Furniture

See less See more

Reactions: 3

Philmo11

Discussion Starter · #11 · Aug 14, 2019

square target2 said:
A couple more things. If you're going to build a bench make sure it's sturdy and can hold some weight. Make it bigger than you think you'll need. I think I'm up to 23' of benches with shelves behind them and under them just dedicated to loading, brass prep and storage. You probably won't need near that much but go bigger than what you think you'll need. like agedwarrior said, when you figure out a system you like stick to it as consistency leads to safety. Start saving plastic container like coffee cans, ice cream tubs, nut containers etc for brass storage. plastic trays like gladware also come in handy for doing brass prep to keep cases in different stages separated. When loading single stage try to do 1 step at a time for all brass you plan on loading at that time so you don't have to keep switching dies around. I see guys who are loading 200 rounds do 50 at a time and then start over for the next 50. There is one exception though. If you're loading more than 50 round only charge one loading block and then seat the bullets. Having several tray laying around with powder in them can easily be bumped and knocked over. Or if you have to leave you don't want them sitting there like that. Keep only one can of powder on your bench at a time!!! Keeping more is how fatal mistakes can happen. Load your hopper of your powder measure and keep the powder can right next to it. As soon as you're done seating your last bullet empty the powder hopper back into the can and put it away. I actually break this rule once in a great while as i have several machines set up and sometimes (like right now) have them all going but the powder is right next to each machine that's using it and i don't move them. Right now I'm on a loading tear because i recently had back surgery and this is my therapy. I also had to move a ton of stuff on the bench because i can't do too much lifting or bending so here is my organized chaos....Got one machine doing 9mm, another 45acp trying to do a little each day and doing a batch of 50 rifle too most days.

View attachment 104946

Thats a beautiful setup. I don’t have that kind of space at the moment. This new house doesn’t have a garage. If I get the roof leaks fixed in the big shed, I have a prep room out there where they used to keep the saddles and rigs for the horses. At least if I blow something up out there, it’ll just take the shed and not the house with it. The big issue is moisture. My basement is an old basement that leaks. I know enough to know damp powder is unstable powder. I’m in an 8’x8’ room that was once a mud room that also has an 88 gun safe in it. I will probably setup 2 small benches about 4’ long to mount the presses to. I will probably end up storing powder in a lockable storage cabinet somewhere kids can’t get to it, possibly mounted over the safe and out of reach. As for the rest, I’ll have to figure something out. Possibly a tall steel cabinet in another room where I can setup a bin rack and die shelving. That won’t look too out of place when the doors are shut. This will help ensure that I only have out what I’m working on at any given point of time. Long story short is, I’ll have to get creative...

See less See more

Reactions: 2

Philmo11

Discussion Starter · #12 · Aug 14, 2019

Just some reflection on what has been done so far...

I guess I knew it was going to be expensive but it’s even more than I expected. Partially due to the fact I’m trying to buy everything all at once instead of over time. RBCS is notably more expensive than many other mainstream brands but I guess you get what you pay for. Since this is the foundation so I didn’t skimp here.

I chose the Lee dies not necessarily because they were cheap but I wanted the factory crimp dies (which were readily available) and it just made more sense to me to have a matched set than to have an expensive die set then finish with a Lee factory crimp die anyway. A round is only going to be as good as the last die you shoved it into. I just hope that in the test of durability, I’m not wishing I’d pony’d up and went a different route. If the rubber rings are going to be a problem, I can always change out the lock nuts.

Not counting the presses themselves, $40 a shell plate, $28 a die plate, average of $50 a die set + $15 for a quick trim die. That’s $133+ shipping and tax per caliber for each additional caliber I add. Once this initial investment is over, it won’t be so bad. That’s about the average cost of 500 rds of bulk ammo for most handguns.

See less See more

Reactions: 1

Philmo11

Discussion Starter · #13 · Aug 14, 2019

Got the 45 Colt shell plate ordered.
#20 (45 Colt, 454 Casull) RCBS #: 88933

Reactions: 1

Philmo11

Discussion Starter · #14 · Aug 14, 2019

square target2 said:
You're going to need some other tools like a powder measure and scale. I would recommend staying away from lee on the powder measure and get a RCBS. The lee are real cheaply made and i hear people all the time complaining they leak powder. I do a ton of reloading and just use a cheap franfurt arsenal digital scale. They work very well. I actually have two and check them between each other often and also check them with a beam scale i have but i never actually use the beam scale for loading because they can be a pain. Don't be afraid to buy more than one book. I have 3 i use the most. Lyman and Lee and then the lyman cast bullet book if you're going to use cast bullets but many(not all) of the loads are in their regular book. There are a ton of other books too but they are mostly bullet and powder brand specific where the other two are not and cover so much more. A hand primer will come in handy and i like Lee's over the RCBS but they just changed their design in the last year so i can't say if that one is good or not. My RCBS will pop the top cover off when priming but maybe i just got a lemon. With the list of de calibers you posted you probably won't need a trimmer but if you get into any rifle calibers you will. Straight wall pistol for the most part does not stretch enough to worry about and auto cases will actually shrink over time but the differences in case lengths won't really affect anything. Case gauges/ammo checkers come in handy when loading. Check out lymans multi caliber ones. You can get one that will do everything on your list except the 500S&W and its maybe $20 or so. You'll also need a set of calipers, don't skimp on those and buy a set from harbor freight or get a plastic set. Get a set from RCBS, Lyman etc. There are some other things you'll need as well. A way to clean your brass. You can go dry, wet or use a sonic cleaner. For starting out a decent dry vibrator works fine. Loading blocks come in handy and you can make them if you're a wood worker or just buy them. I like the frankfurt arsenal one but they are a little more expensive than some others that will work fine. A kinetic hammer will also be useful and i'm sure i'm forgetting some other small tools that you'll need or come in handy.....Prepare to save some money!!!! lol

I would recommend you start with 38sp and do it all on the single stage to get yourself familiar with all the steps and how everything works before you jump into the progressive after reading through one of the books you buy. . 38sp is one of the easiest calibers to load IMO. When you start in the semi auto calibers shoot some in your guns before you load a bunch. Just because you see loads in the book does not mean they will cycle your gun correctly. make sure the load has enough power to eject the case and pick up the next round, no stove piping etc.<----- ive actually made this mistake a few times. Nothing like having 500 rounds to shoot up that won't reliably work. Please do not start out loading for the 500, one little mistake can be bad on those high power calibers.

I believe I got everything in your list with the exception of the powder measure. I have an RCBS powder measure that came with the Pro Chucker press. Are meaning a stand alone measure?

Square target

· #15 · Aug 14, 2019

Yes it's expensive to set up at first but if you buy decent stuff you'll never have that expense again nor will your kids. Much of the stuff in my pic i inherited from my father and some of those machines have countless rounds through them. Lee dies are fine for the everyday shooter and i use lots of them but they are not suitable for something like long range precision shooting where every minute detail can make a big difference at a 1000+ yds. I too love the factory crimp dies and IMHO it's much better to crimp in a separate stage than crimp/seat together. I think it's impossible to ruin a round with them unlike a seat/crimp die where it's easy to crush a case if you go to far.
On the powder measure. Not sure if the one you have can be used for both or not but yes when doing single stage you want a stand alone powder measure. Also you want one that comes with or a baffle can be added to the bottom. While were on this subject. I'm guessing by the calibers and your shooting range that most of your shooting is just steel so very precise accuracy isn't needed. So when you add your powder tap the sides a bit to settle the powder. Not such a big deal with a baffle i think it still helps. Start throwing and measuring loads on your scale and when you hit your target weight weight 5-10 more loads(just dump them back in the top) to see how much deviation you're getting and if it's acceptable. Some powders throw better than others. Fine ball powders seem to stay more consistent while flake powder seems to be next and long extruded powder can have the most deviation. Always some exceptions. They make some short cut extruded powder(will have a SC with the number on the can) which throws pretty good and some large flake powder like 800X can have you chasing weights back and forth on your measure. I tell people to imagine dropping stones, leaves or sticks into a container and imagine how they fall, fill up the space and how repeatable it is. Sort of the same with the powder falling into the powder drum. I just loaded some 7.62x25 the other day using accurate #2(fine ball powder). Using 6 grains every time i measured a charge it was 6 grains every single time. Next day i loaded some 444 Marlin using IMR 4198(large stick powder) and the deviation was +/- .2 grains. perfectly acceptable for everyday range shooting, even hunting but for precision shooting it is not even close. If you desire to do this then you thrown charges slightly under what you want and use a powder trickler to work up to your load. Tedious and very time consuming, not something you do loading 500rds of pistol ammo.

See less See more

Fitasc Shooter

· #16 · Aug 14, 2019

Where's your scale? Powder measure WITH baffle? You'll want shell blocks, especially when working with the single stage press.
One addition I found extremely helpful was the press riser stands from Inline fabrication. Eliminated ALL of the torque on the edge of your bench by mounting the press on top - worth every penny.

And don't forget the bullet puller for those mistakes you're going to make

Reactions: 1

Zhills

· #17 · Aug 14, 2019

Sometimes you need to compromise. When we moved to the farm 20 yrs. ago I setup my reloading in a work shed next to the pole barn. I shortly learned that Florida summer heat and humidity was not good for reloading. My wife allowed me to move the operation to the house, but with my daughter and adopted son (bad seed) still in the house I needed to compress the operation. I built the below from an old microwave table.

Shelf Shelving Furniture Room Table

Property Room Furniture Shelf House

This is actually fit in the hall closet next to the gun safe. The center tray slides out which has the case trimmer. Just open the by-fold doors, pull up a chair and go to work. Now that daughter and son are out, I've added a Hornady pin tumbler and all of it lives in my office (sons old room). I've re-enforced the top with 3/4" plywood and a 2x2 strip under the front lip. I relocated the press to the right side. Case tumbling happens in the garage.

ps> don't get me started on the adoption process and owning guns.

See less See more

2

Reactions: 2

Zhills

· #18 · Aug 14, 2019

Another ps>. Case lube.

After learning the hard way that Hornady one shot sucked, I moved to Imperial liquid and graphite.

Reactions: 1

Philmo11

Discussion Starter · #19 · Aug 14, 2019

This is the power measure that came with the press. For single stage operation, I guess it could just be mounted in a single stage companion press. I’ll have to figure out what kind baffle you guys are referring to.

Philmo11

Discussion Starter · #20 · Aug 14, 2019 (Edited)

Fitasc Shooter said:
Where's your scale? Powder measure WITH baffle? You'll want shell blocks, especially when working with the single stage press.
One addition I found extremely helpful was the press riser stands from Inline fabrication. Eliminated ALL of the torque on the edge of your bench by mounting the press on top - worth every penny.

And don't forget the bullet puller for those mistakes you're going to make

The last order I place last night included the following:

A.C. Kerman - Outdoor Lee Precision Modern Reloading 2nd Edition

Frankford Arsenal Electronic Caliper with LCD Display and Case

LEE PRECISION 90085 38 SPEC Quick Trim DIE, Silver

Frankford Arsenal Quick-N-EZ Impact Bullet Puller for Reloading

Frankford Arsenal DS-750 Digital Reloading Scale with LCD Display

2x Frankford Arsenal 4.5 lb Treated Corn Cob Media in a Reusable Plastic container

Frankford Arsenal Quick-N-EZ 110V Vibratory Case Tumbler

LEE PRECISION Quick Trim Die 308 Win

Lee Preciesion Lee Precision, Quick Trim Die.45 Colt

RCBS Pro Chucker 5 Shell Plate #20 Part #: 88933 (45 Colt, 454 Casull)

As for the bench I have some 4x6 and 4x4 left over that I bought to reinforce the floor and didn’t need (its sitting on a concrete pad instead). A good solid top and I probably won’t need to worry about the torque.

See less See more

1 - 20 of 179 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.