Okay, I'm ready to start!


When you really get into it you may want to buy in bulk instead of a box at a time. A good place to buy bulk bullets are gun shows so you don't have to pay a shipping charge. remember to get the brand and weight and put them on the scale to check the weight. Keep having fun.
 

Congratulations to Benzuncle. I am glad you had a good time and are getting the routine down. I have been loading for about 5 years now and I usually start in the middle of the load range as well. Better too light than too hot, but I have never had one fail to cycle. Keep loading and enjoy. It's almost as much fun as shooting the bullets isn't it? :D
 
Powder Scales

I cheat! I use a Lyman 1200-DPS3 powder scale. It's pricey but I have been reloading for over thirty years and decided to indulge myself. Using the auto repeat setting I weigh every charge. I still have the same press I started with, an RCBS Rock Chucker. I am going to wear it out before I stop reloading! I won't even try to guess at how many thousands of rounds I have loaded with it.
.300 Win Mag.
.30-06
.270 Win
.223 Rem (5.56 NATO)
7.62 X 39 Russian
.30 M1 Carbine
30/30 Win
7.62 X 54 Russian
7 X 57 MM Mauser
9 MM (9 X 19 Luger)
.40 S & W
.38 Special
.357 Mag.
.44 Mag.
 
Hey Mushroom. What brand of dies to you use for your 7.62x54r. I just got a Mosin m38 for Christmas and want some dies. I have always been very fond of Lee dies, but I have read of some people having issues with them in the 7.62x54r. Thanks
 
Hey Mushroom. What brand of dies to you use for your 7.62x54r. I just got a Mosin m38 for Christmas and want some dies. I have always been very fond of Lee dies, but I have read of some people having issues with them in the 7.62x54r. Thanks

Hey Doc I have not started loading for the 7.62x54r yet but a guy I work with has been. He said he has not had any issues with the Lee Dies. He did mention, for some reason, the Przi brass showed a lot of scrapping when resized. All the other bands resized without an issue.
 
Shooter57, I bought 500 bullets and 500 Starline casings when I bought my Lee setup from kempgunshop.com. They are located in Michigan City, Indiana.
Link Removed

I would have bought in bulk, but not on the first try.
 
Shooter57, I bought 500 bullets and 500 Starline casings when I bought my Lee setup from kempgunshop.com. They are located in Michigan City, Indiana.
Link Removed

I would have bought in bulk, but not on the first try.

Nice start. Now you just have to start training all your non-reloading friends to collect there brass. Before you know it you'll have a couple 1000 rounds of different calibers! :D
 
Hey Mushroom. What brand of dies to you use for your 7.62x54r. I just got a Mosin m38 for Christmas and want some dies. I have always been very fond of Lee dies, but I have read of some people having issues with them in the 7.62x54r. Thanks

The one's I have had for at least 20 years.(RCBS) They are all good, I usually use RCBS or Lee. Lately I prefer the Lee because they allow me to drop powder thru the expanding die of my pistol calibers. I load a lot of .40 S&W.
 
5.1 grains did the trick!

Here's the continuing saga of Benzuncle's handloading adventures:
As you will recall, the first 20 rounds carefully loaded and measured at 4.2 grains were more than a little light, but as I mentioned, I figured they were and was being careful. The next 20 rounds were boosted to 5.1 grains, and they are fine. I shot 10 rounds at 21ft. and the other 10 at 40ft. I am very pleased, and now I can load up a small pile. Thanks to everyone for all of the much needed advice. ;)

BTW: I also purchased a Maxpedition Jumbo Versipak, which is designed to be used for a CCW. I plan to use this to carry my Sig P220 Compact. I've been looking at these long and hard and had initially decided on the regular Versipak. But as I carry a backpack to work each day, I got the larger one so it can pull double duty. These units have a lot of pockets and pouches, and add-ons. I am very pleased with the bag. The 3 guys that work at the range each have 2 different Maxpedition bags and are very fond of them. I can see why...
 
Congrats again. Now you can see what less than 1 gn difference will do. That's the reason you check and check and check your loads as you reload.

I have a fanny pack that has a holster built in. I use it in the summer sometimes. Works great when I don't want my weapon seen at all.
 
Now you can see what less than 1 gn difference will do. That's the reason you check and check and check your loads as you reload.

I used the same process "building this second 20 that I did the first 20: Checked rounds 1, 2 & 3, then 5, 10, 15 & 20. Boy, was I stoked when they flew down range! It felt good to feel that 45ACP shove once again. I'm really looking forward to this. :D
 
Good to hear. How accurate are YOURloads or did you just shoot? Now you can reload for the whole trip to the range. Those 500 bullets will be gone in a flash. Have fun shooting them up.
 
"57", I aimed just below the center of the target at 40ft and that's where most of the rounds hit. At 21ft. the bullseye was pretty well shot up. The bullseye is something like 4in. I wasn't really trying to deadeye anything. I was just having a blast shooting my own ammo, both one and two-handed.

Now that I have a "formula for 230gr. I've set up and begun loading. I had to reset the primer puncher in the Lee because those first rounds were all new brass. Now I've added the used stuff I picked up and tumbled. I took the time to punch out the primers and clean the holes before repriming and loading. Now I'm wondering if it is worth it to deprime before I tumble the brass. Any thoughts? I'm still not worried about speed, just good, reliable stuff and having my setup perfected. The Dillon case gage is worth its weight.
 
"57", I aimed just below the center of the target at 40ft and that's where most of the rounds hit. At 21ft. the bullseye was pretty well shot up. The bullseye is something like 4in. I wasn't really trying to deadeye anything. I was just having a blast shooting my own ammo, both one and two-handed.

Now that I have a "formula for 230gr. I've set up and begun loading. I had to reset the primer puncher in the Lee because those first rounds were all new brass. Now I've added the used stuff I picked up and tumbled. I took the time to punch out the primers and clean the holes before repriming and loading. Now I'm wondering if it is worth it to deprime before I tumble the brass. Any thoughts? I'm still not worried about speed, just good, reliable stuff and having my setup perfected. The Dillon case gage is worth its weight.

For .45 ACP plinking ammo I tumble then resize and deprime. Then I have a large/small primer pocket cleaner if I feel they need cleaned.
 
If you do tumble after you deprime make sure you check each round to make sure none of the media is stuck in the flash hole.
 
If you do tumble after you deprime make sure you check each round to make sure none of the media is stuck in the flash hole.
Very important step.

I don't deprime befor tumbling unless I was shooting and the brass was
landing in mud or water puddles or sand. Media stuck in the flash holes seemed more work to get out than just tumbling with them left in.
I still check brass after tumbling for media that can get stuck inside the case.
 
Shoot.. Funny you ask. I went to the range today and concentrated on the target, not my loads. The reason: the 5.1gr of HP-38 shoves the 230gr RN just fine. I'm going to order a micro disk and charging bar from Lee so I can tweak if I feel the need. I really impressed myself with the first target. Punched a nice hole in the center with 5 of the first 6 rounds, albiet from 21ft. At 15yds. my accuracy fell off some, but I was practicing DA/SA, etc. I'd hit 3 in a 3 to 4 inch group, then the next round would want to see how close to the edge of the target it could get without missing completely. Some contrary rounds, those. I only ran 170 rounds through the Sig before switching to my NAA 380 for some also-needed practice. I am way pleased :D with the rounds I've loaded. And yes, I need to order more bullets right away. (I've only got 250 rounds of 45ACP left!) I picked up 320 rounds of decent brass today and have already tumbled half of it. Once again, I really appreciate the help and supportiveness of you folks. Oh yeah, one more thing: What about the aluminum looking casings? Blazers maybe? I left it all laying there, but there was a pile of it. But something told me...
 
Aluminum Blazer brass is best left in a pile on the range. They have Berdan primers and are considered Non reloadable.
 

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