Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Back Into Reloading

After about a 25 year hiatus. The first thing I did since getting back into it was to load up some .45 Colt brass, went to the range, loaded it again, went to the range again, and loaded it up again. Pretty cool to be able to reuse such an expensive to manufacture part of a cartridge. I wonder how many times I can do that.

This week, though, I loaded up all the old .357 caliber bullets I found from my old stock (probably like 30 years old), which wasn't much. I had some 148 grain wadcutters and some 125 grain JSPs, so those were what got loaded (in .38 Special brass). I shot them both today at the range.



Here's a 10 yard group shot off-hand, quick double action, using the wadcutters out of an old S&W Model 19.



The fact that I made the loaded cartridges myself increased the fun of shooting.

That's it for .357 bullets. I'm all out. I ordered 500 more lead wadcutter. Should be here within a week. Can't wait to load up some more.

There's a handgun reloading forum at the 24HCF too:

Handgun Reloading

Board officer one board officer one there’s a violation on the top floor.

Repeat. A violation on the top floor.

Good shooting. I love the checkering on those old S&W’s. Pretty walnut is great but it’s the checkering that shows the craftsmanship and attention to detail.

If you will anneal the brass every 2-3 reloading cycles your brass will still be around when you're out of bullet/primers/powder and maybe years.

Been doing that with all my brass and haven't chucked a split necked case in many, many years.

😖 Gotta get my reloading equipment set up again!
I miss reloading. I find it relaxing.....and I enjoy the end result!
It satisfies my OCD side.

That and going easy on it. I’m not a fan of full house .357 Magnum rounds but moderately loaded cartridges are fun. Even better IMO are hot 44 Special/moderate 44 magnum and 45 Colt loads. A 240-250 grain bullet at around 1100 FPS.

Wow.

A thread about shooting and reloading?

What a refeshing change and the OPs all right in my book.

A skill of significant importance! Re-familiarize yourself and stock up on components, they’ll be needed……likely soon! memtb

https://www.missouribullet.com/index.php

The Hi-Tek coated bullets have been good.

Cool. How's that done?

I like those too. Especially the 255 grain Keith style .45 caliber bullets.

I’ve never annealed a straight walled pistol/revolver case, and it is very rare I’ve thrown one away. I’m still reloading 38 Special brass headstamped Super Vel, S&W, and Peters. They’ve been around a while!

Googlefoo can be your friend. 😁

I use a propane torch with a low flame. Small finish nail held with pliers and spin the case with my fingers. Flame on the case mouth, stop when a) the case head gets hot to touch, or b) when uniform dark coloration appears where the flame touches the brass. DO NOT HEAT UNTIL THE BRASS GLOWS RED.

Short learning curve = long brass life, straight wall or bottle neck.

Cool. I've heard that before. Hickok45 said the same thing about still reloading straight walled handgun rounds from many years ago, and he's lost count as to how many times.

A friend gave me a 3 lb coffee can full of .38 spl brass that belonged to his father. There's no telling how many times they were reloaded before I got them and I've ran them through quite a few times. Many of them are the type with a cannelure. But they've been ran through a carbide sizing die so many times that the cannelures have been almost completely ironed out of them.

They were stretched out a bit when I got them so I spent quite a bit of time trimming them back to proper length. More often than not they've been loaded to +P+ level since I got them.

Never had a problem with my straight wall peestol
cases that I'd loaded

The only problem I've had was with factory white
box Winchester 44mag that I'd bought that split
down the side on a couple, and one that split all
the way down into the case head and primer pocket.
I was fortunate to be using a rifle at the time that
handled the gas ok without anything coming apart

I'm still using pistol cases that I've had since I
first started. The pockets will get loose and they
get retired

I have never annealed pistol or revolver brass and have run a lot at high pressures with heavy roll crimps.

As the OP is just getting back into reloading he might skip annealing until he loses a couple cases.

I'm using my old RCBS single stage, but just for giggles I decided to look at the price of a basic Dillon progressive press (complete starter set), and it's $764.00. Damn! Seems like just a couple of years ago, their basic model set was $400.00.

Decades ago I started backing off on the amount of bell mouthing I was doing due to split mouths. After that my brass held up much longer, about 40 years longer.

Being muti skilled or self sufficient has benefitted me & all my hobbies greatly. But reloading is at the top of the list.

Never annealed any brass ever, minimum belling and the use of a VLD (very low drag) deburring tool makes seating bullets a breeze and is easy on the case mouths.

Hell, a couple of cigar boxes, one full of brass & transfer a case from one to the other with a press stroke in-between goes pretty quick. Change die, repeat. A hand priming tool that holds a 100 speeds things way up, as well a a powder measure & a loading tray or 2.


Some folks might be surprised at how fast you can load 2-300 rounds of revolver ammo with just a few tools. Press, scale, powder dumper, priming tool.

https://www.starlinebrass.com/45-colt-brass

Starline has lots of brass in stock now including .45 Colt

For some reason, when I first looked at the Dillon website, I didn't see the 550 press as an option, but on second look that's still available, and is only $650.00, so not so much more than I remember.

I've had a Dillion 550 for 30 something years now along with a bunch of tool heads for different ammo. I didn't use it much most of that time because it was kind of like driving an out of alinement car. Settings seemed to change and the primer feed system was a pain.

After Covid happened I finally sent it back to the mother ship. They upgraded it to the newer C model which makes keeping it lubricated much easier. It now runs just like it should... better late than never I guess.

They never asked if I was the original owner so buying a used one might be something to consider.

I gotta gun and I go fishin

sometimes

Yeah, everything I've heard is that they have incredible customer service, to the point that even normal wear and tear parts damage is repaired or replaced without question.

After having both 550’s, 650’s and a square deal. I have had multiiles 550’s and 650’s at one time. I prefer the 650. Down to one now and their shotgun loader. I dont care to single stage pistol cases unless im trying a new load. Pretty easy to load 400-500 in short order. I only load .223 and hangun cartridges on the dillon so can’t comment on larger rifle cartridges. I never had a issue on the 550 just prefer the auto advance( leas chance of a doible charge IMHO)and the extra die capability to add a lockout die.
I would rather shoot than load pistol ammunition for hours on end. Same for shotgun loading so I prefer progressive presses for those. First progressive press of any kind was a Ponsness Warren shotshell press. I may have spent more time cleaning up shot and powder than loading during the learning stage.

I haven’t reloaded a round in at least 6-7 years. We moved 4 years ago and all of my reloading equipment is still boxed up. I was never a serious hand loader, but I reloaded thousands of rounds of center fire rifle over the years, usually to save money, especially on hard to come by rounds. I just came into possession of a Savage 99F in .300 Savage. Factory ammo is scarce and expensive. So I think I’ll get set back up. I’ll start with building a new reloading bench, the old one was scrapped in the last move. The old Lee Challenger press needs to be retired, that Forster co-ax press looks sweet. I have no idea what my powder and primer inventory looks like, I’m sure I’ll be needing both.

Yep, don't work the brass any more than necessary.

I have some .45acp brass you can't read the headstamp anymore.

Loading for bullseye guns with very soft bullets I had to use a stepped powder funnel made for Dillon PM. That cut case life considerably. I found a Lee carbide sizer that was a bit bigger, not working the case so much helped a lot with that.

Be prepared for a bit of sticker shock if you've been out of the game that long. Primers are generally running ~$100 a brick and powder is $30-55 a pound these days.

I have two dillon 550s. Pretty crazy to load 100 rounds in 15 minutes.

Sounds like you're in a similar boat to myself, other than my hiatus having been longer. I too stopped after a move to a new house, due to just not getting around to setting everything up again till recently.

I don’t load much handgun stuff but for rifle you should anneal every 5-7 cycles or risk splitting necks. Also it keeps your bullet seating more uniform giving better accuracy.

Yes, this is what I gather from my research, i.e., necked cartridges need it every 5-7 reloadings, while straight walled cases do not.

Good for you Hawk, enjoy!

My first Dillon SDB, in the early 90's, was, I think, less than $175.00. Around that time I'd bought a completely wore out SBD for 75 bucks and called Dillon to get some parts to try and make it run right. Even after telling the Dillon dude the machine was used when I bought it, he said that didn't matter and told me to pack the machine up and send it back to them. Got it back about 3 weeks later completely rebuilt for no charge.

Nice, and consistent with what I've heard about their customer service.

The_Real_Hawkeye that’s awesome! Glad you’re back in the game!

Currently the most significant bottleneck is large rifle primers. Plenty of small rifle and small & large pistol primers availible. When you get serious about you ctr fire pistol shooting you build a target backstop that allows you to recycle all the bullets you put in it. Molds , leadpot and a lubricator sizing set up. Once you realize there is nothing intelligent on TV and turn it off. You can listen to music as you sit at the bench and reload. Some think reloading is to repetitive and boring I don't I'm a productive person and every round I load saves me money over what the factory ammo fans pay. I like to shoot alot. Doesn't have to compete with shooting time, evenings and rainy bad weather days.
The left declared war on the right many years ago they have been attacking lead use longer than I've been alive I'm 68. Lead is the essential ingredient to affordable recreational shooting. Recycle it , recast it and use it right into forever. If you have 500 lbs of lead and use a backstop that allows you to recover it. Your loss just about stops. You go to gunshows and gawk around, you never score a damn thing. The trick is high speed low drag, factor out all dealer fugs what your looking for is some guy selling his uncles or neighbors estate for the widow. You will find all the equipment you need for way less than half of new cost. You have to pick those feet up and down high speed, low drag ,eyes forward on full scan for the stuff you need. Leave anyone who will distract you at home you are now to be a deal predator. Yeah and quit fugging around with anything but cash got it? Nothing has to cost a lot of money. Know what a deal is when you see and act on it. To be the most effective you need to think of what you need down the line as well as rfn. Questions?mb

California started the lead war, starting with their banning of lead wheel weights under supposed bull$hit "safety" concerns. Someone told their politicians people were melting them down and making bullets out of them which was the real reason for the ban.

I don't doubt that for a second.

Whats in the water you folks drink. There is no lead wheel weight ban except by state law.

https://earthjustice.org/press/2023...for-stalled-lead-wheel-weight-regulation

August 22, 2023
Advocates Declare ‘No More Delay,’ Sue EPA for Stalled Lead Wheel Weight Regulation
Millions of pounds of lead wheel weights contaminate the environment, exposing people to a highly toxic heavy metal


WASHINGTON, D.C. — Public health advocates represented by Earthjustice today sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its unreasonable delay in regulating lead wheel weights, despite granting the advocates’ 2009 petition requesting regulation of the manufacture, processing, and distribution of lead wheel weights.
EPA granted the petition nearly 14 years ago but has yet to regulate lead wheel weights. Lead wheel weights are used to balance car wheels. Banning their manufacture, processing, and distribution would protect public health by eliminating a source of lead exposure.

Don’t let me discourage you from getting into progressive press reloading, they are great and they are fast, but….

May I suggest you get something in between your single stage and a progressive.

The Lee 4 Hole Classic Turret Press. They are fast, very easy to set-up and use, almost foolproof (no double charges, or no powder at all) and very inexpensive.

I have one that I have set up for 223, 300BLK, 7.62x39, 44 Mag, 45 Colt, 9mm, 10mm, 380. All I need to do to switch cartridges is change the Turret head, which are also very inexpensive, the quick change powder drum and the shell holder, it takes standard shell holders.

I have a Lee progressive set up for 45ACP, it’s fast and it’s fun, but changing to different cartridges can get quite involved.

If you are dead set on a progressive, PM Jim Conrad, he has the new Lee Progressive, see how he likes it.

https://www.precisionreloading.com/cart.php#!l=LE&i=90304

https://www.titanreloading.com/product/lee-classic-cast-turret-press-kit/

I like your work station.

Magnum_Bob, It sounds like you are a man on a mission. I like your style. I've shot 2 large logs into bits over the years with plans to split them up and make a large campfire to retrieve the lead. The oldest one has basically decomposed now but it was staked tight against a steep hill. I guess I could just dig up the remains and run it through a screening device of some sort.

I'm a scrounger and probably have enough lead to last me so a lead mining project is probably going to stay pretty low on my "to do" list. I have had good luck buying lead and tin from the Cast bullet forums. My mailman was not very happy with me while I was getting regular 75 pound boxes of priority mail though

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?18-Swappin-amp-Sellin

I powder coat anything I cast these days. I'll post links to the guy selling consistently good powder (some brands apparently don't work as well) along with a link to some of the "glamor shots" people have posted to their bullet art work... some people literally hand paint designs before they put them in the toaster oven


https://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?205-Smoke-4320-s-Corner

Looks like the "glamor shot thread is up to 41 pages now

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?251956-Powder-coated-bullets-pics-only/page42

This is what Big Jim recently acquired.

$300

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply....-six-pack-pro-6000-progressive-press-kit

2ndwind you have to either have bottomless pockets or be a man on a mission these days to participate at any level economically. That's me.. if you accept the basic precept of the left trying to put shooters out of business you then understand stockpiling the supplies you need it is not hoarding, hoarders buy stuff to resell at a higher price. Buying more than you need today or tommorrow is solid planning even the densest among us knows things get more expensive not cheaper. Take advantage of all the dumbfug litter bugs who leave their brass lay, pick it up. Same as if you saw money laying on the ground because you know it is..mb

There are several levels of reloading and it is best to cover the needs you may have for how much you shoot. I do shoot a lot and have a lot of cartridges that I reload for.

The Rockchucker is always necessary as there are certain aspects of reloading that can’t be accomplished on a progressive press. The 550 Dillon works great for larger cartridges and the 650 still is the best way for all sorts of cartridges and faster reloads.

It is interesting to see all the varied ideas of what is necessary for case prep and reloading. Annealing isn’t worth the trouble in my experience as I have shot 10’s of thousands of rounds and never annealed a single case. I will admit that the 17 Remington does split more than any other cartridge I have loaded for, but I keep a box by the reloading bench, to throw cases like that and dump empty primers and powder containers into.

How much you shoot will usually dictate how advanced your equipment may be, but there is a lot of fluff related to reloading that isn’t really necessary to produce good quality handloads…

Wow! You guys are really set up.

I don't think I'll ever reload 9mm, 5.56 NATO, or 7.62X39. Range ammo for them are generally available at prices that would make reloading not worth it, apart from periods of scarcity, but then there's stockpiling during good times to deal with that issue.

Well, maybe sometimes. But if you look around you can find a bucket of 5.56 brass for a pittance--same with 55 grain FMJ bullets. As for 9mm, 115 grain FMJ ammo can be had cheap but you pay a premium for about every other 9mm load. Besides, where can you buy 100 grain hard cast flat nose 9mm ammo at 1450 fps?

For me, hand loading covers two areas. Cheap ammo and ammo that can't be had without hand loading.

My reason for handloading may be a bit different than yours.

For rifles, I expect them to shoot well and hit where I am aiming. I test several bullet and powder combinations until I find my desired accuracy. Shooting cheap Military Surplus Ammo in my 223/5.56, 7.62 x 39 rifles have never given me anything other some recoil and some noise. As I said YMMV.

Handguns get accuracy tested as well, but the difference between bullet and powder combos can often times be negligible, so I mostly load for economy. My 9mm loads cost me the price of the primer and the powder, bullets are free as I cast my own and even if I purchased cast lead or plated bullets, the cost per box is way less than factory ammo.

As an example this in my AR-15 in 7.62 x 39. No cheap factory ammo can ever come close to this in my rifle.

Steve, was that group shot at 100 yards???

You have some serious reloading action going on there.

Much the same my 5.56 loads are right from Stick for AR use and you sure as hell can't buy them. I shoot a lot of black powder cartridge loads in the bp cartridges. They simply can't be bought online or over the counter. The more you depend on others to fill your needs the less your money is worth..mb

Other than a single 20 ga round and 9 pistol rounds, I've not fired a factory CF cartridge in over 25 years. All the rest were handloads. And I've shot more CF .22 ammo than factory RF ammo over the last 4-5 years. And yes, I know how to recharge primers and make BP. That said, I like to keep it simple.....

Is that a .30-30?

D Dan I have a friend who was asking be to save spent primers for him because he had bought a kit to recharge them. Never heard if it worked out OK... Have you had success with that project?

You need fulminate of mercury.

It works. The component package in the link below will charge about 2,000 primers. Good rainy day project.

https://22lrreloader.com/

I think that is the kit he bought.... BTW it looks like you are getting ready for a rainy day

Getting ready? You’re a funny fella!

Yes. Model 94 Trapper purchased in ‘84.

Yes.

I started a thread over in the AR Forum a couple days ago when my accuracy went to schit.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...19001268/first-round-flyers#Post19001268

Dan

You got me worried here man, I mean you are the guy that used to fly around in a helicopter with machine guns strapped to it and now a front stuffer that burns charcoal. Please tell me you don't have a long bow with home made arrow heads!!

Bartman, no, I don't have a long bow. OTOH, I don't need a machine gun any more. The group pic under the flinter was shot at 50 yards, offhand. My little .22 short shooter has killed over 150 hogs and only 1 needed a second shot. I got over the spray and pray theory before my first 'Nam tour ended.
Oh yeah, almost forgot....my .30-30 has never needed a second shot on deer or hogs. Neither has my .257 Roberts, or .44 Mag. Love paper patched lead I do!

Now I do think that miniguns have use here and there. Would only take a couple to end the southern border surge. And if one is clever they can destroy a .50 cal AA position w/crew. Another of my buddies took out a dual 23mm AA gun out in the A Shau Valley one day with a mini. Hardly used any ammo as well. See, when you stop praying and start killin', life takes on a different perspective.

DD

PS: I don't have a sling either, but I'm not askeerd of Goliath.

PPS: Make every shot count

PPS: I have enough .22 short ammo to kill almost 2,000 hogs. Doubt I'll live that long, but....

Sometimes I look at my vault & think, oh good gosh, what a cluster. Then other times I wish the room was twice the size.

There's a lot of freedom & independence in here. (imagine a dozen bullet molds & a 30 gallon barrel of wheel weights on site)