Reloading: It's been an interesting beginning

[Ripsnort]

Any of you guys reloaders? Can you recommend a good powder for .45 cal that may be in Hornady's book or Lyman's 2nd edition?
Any preferences on primers? I get a lot of Federal or Winchester replies...

My journey started 2 months ago with researching progressive presses and experiencing analysis paralysis (It came down to Dillon and Hornady, Big Red won out) I am one with the Pawl force now on the auto progressive press.

De-greasing, setting things up, reading...a lot of reading...

I cleaned brass first then set up the Deprimin/resizing die and deprimed .
Then installed and set up expansion , then the Bullet seating/Crimp die. It took about 15 min to get it down for the latter.
Bullet type: Xtreme 230 grain RN .452 Copper jacket
My first 4 were trial and error.
My final 6 primer-less, powder-less bullets were numbers as follows:
Crimp OD ~Overall Length
1) .473...... 1.268
2) .474...... 1.268
3) .475...... 1.268
4) .473 ...... 1.269
5) .473 ...... 1.269
6) .474...... 1.269
ALL PASSED the Kerplunk test with a 1944 .45 cal 1911 High Standard barrel and 2009 .45 cal 1911 Colt commander barrel. Then I proceeded to load them into a mag and cycle the pistol. Pass with flying colors!
Ready for primer and powder stage.

Of course, now I need more stuff. .223, .45-70 but that will come after I've been successful for a thousand bullets or so in pistol cartridge .45.

No automatic shell or bullet feeders yet, waiting for wife flak to settle down before I resume the next phase.  
Work Area set up



Installation:


First batch of .45 auto brass


First primerless powderless few after adjusting dies

[Blooz]

I used to reload years ago. Lost a lot of my stuff in a flood sixteen years ago and never got back into it.

I had a Lee three stage turret press and liked carbide dies.  Loaded .45ACP, .44 Magnum, .308 Win and 8mm Mauser for many years.

My .45 loads are from the Speer book.
 
Speer 230 grain TMJ bullet
5.8 gr of HP38
Winchester primers
seated to 31mm total length

The last chronograph I did they are a little hot. I was going to back off to 5.6 grains of powder on the next batch.

[Chalenge]

I stopped reloading when I started carrying for liability reasons.

[ghi]

interesting photos, Ohh man, just follow the safety procedures, don't blow up your garage; well you have a fire extinguisher handy; 

[Oldman731]

Any of you guys reloaders?

As usual, look to the oldman for cheapest cheapskate.  I loaded .30/30s with the original Lee Loader, the one where you hammer the case into the die, hammer it down onto the primer, throw in a scoop of IMR 4895, then hammer the bullet into the same die from the other end.  I thought my shooting friend was going to faint the first time he saw me do that, but the system was well-designed and, given that it worked for me without disaster, completely fool-proof. 

On the other hand, it was not quick. Especially once I gave up the scoop and went to a powder scale. And then a Lee primer tool (so you could FEEL just where the primer was supposed to be!).

I envy you for having a progressive loader.  I used to imagine cranking out hundreds of loaded rounds, each finely tuned, in a matter of minutes, then heading to the range to blast away for hours, secure in the knowledge that it was all scientific, precise and CHEAP.

Keep this thread updated, please, I love reading about The Dream.

- oldman

[Ripsnort]

As usual, look to the oldman for cheapest cheapskate.  I loaded .30/30s with the original Lee Loader, the one where you hammer the case into the die, hammer it down onto the primer, throw in a scoop of IMR 4895, then hammer the bullet into the same die from the other end.  I thought my shooting friend was going to faint the first time he saw me do that, but the system was well-designed and, given that it worked for me without disaster, completely fool-proof. 

On the other hand, it was not quick. Especially once I gave up the scoop and went to a powder scale. And then a Lee primer tool (so you could FEEL just where the primer was supposed to be!).

I envy you for having a progressive loader.  I used to imagine cranking out hundreds of loaded rounds, each finely tuned, in a matter of minutes, then heading to the range to blast away for hours, secure in the knowledge that it was all scientific, precise and CHEAP.

Keep this thread updated, please, I love reading about The Dream.

- oldman

 

[Maverick]

There are quite a few powders that are good for the 45 acp. I would stay away from bullseye though. It is a very good light powder but because it uses so little per charge it is extremely easy to double or triple charge the case.

The powders I like are all for medium loads. I stopped going for max velocity when I learned that those are very rarely the most accurate loads. They are also the most damaging (wear) for the gun and yourself. I like Win 630 (ball very easy metering), Green dot or Red dot (both shotgun powders originally), Unique (old standby powder). The shotgun powders were almost always available when the standard "handgun" powders were all sold out. There are others out there but those have done most of my shooting over the last 35+ years of reloading. All of them are economical and will give many loads per pound when using either cast or jacketed slugs.

As far as OAL is concerned, I saved a factory ball round and set my bullet seating die with it as the standard. Never ever had a problem that way. The 45 acp is a rather "forgiving" round and isn't all that fussy about length since the jacketed slugs don't have a crimping groove. I also use a taper crimp die rather than the roll style crimp the bullet seating die normally comes with. it adds a step but helps out as brass isn't always the same thickness at the mouth. I ran into loose bullets with some thin walled brass when I started out and the taper crimp die worked the best.

I do all of my primer seating for all rounds, rifle and pistol, with a hand primer tool. It is far easier to feel the primer seat that way and I don't flatten them like I sometimes did using the press arm tool.

If you want give me a call and I can talk about it with you.

[Vulcan]

(Image removed from quote.)

Ohhh you been making them in your own image Rip 

[mbailey]

As usual, look to the oldman for cheapest cheapskate.  I loaded .30/30s with the original Lee Loader, the one where you hammer the case into the die, hammer it down onto the primer, throw in a scoop of IMR 4895, then hammer the bullet into the same die from the other end.  I thought my shooting friend was going to faint the first time he saw me do that, but the system was well-designed and, given that it worked for me without disaster, completely fool-proof. 

On the other hand, it was not quick. Especially once I gave up the scoop and went to a powder scale. And then a Lee primer tool (so you could FEEL just where the primer was supposed to be!).

I envy you for having a progressive loader.  I used to imagine cranking out hundreds of loaded rounds, each finely tuned, in a matter of minutes, then heading to the range to blast away for hours, secure in the knowledge that it was all scientific, precise and CHEAP.

Keep this thread updated, please, I love reading about The Dream

- oldman

Sounds like me sitting with my dad at our reloading bench with his RCBS Rock-chucker, case trimmer....I thought we were getting real fancy when he bought a digital powder measure....dad gave me the enviable job of Depriming cases.

As soon as I was old enough, and had a good job I bought a Dillon progressive. That said dads rifle rounds were all match grade and 2nd to none

[Ripsnort]

There are quite a few powders that are good for the 45 acp. I would stay away from bullseye though. It is a very good light powder but because it uses so little per charge it is extremely easy to double or triple charge the case.

The powders I like are all for medium loads. I stopped going for max velocity when I learned that those are very rarely the most accurate loads. They are also the most damaging (wear) for the gun and yourself. I like Win 630 (ball very easy metering), Green dot or Red dot (both shotgun powders originally), Unique (old standby powder). The shotgun powders were almost always available when the standard "handgun" powders were all sold out. There are others out there but those have done most of my shooting over the last 35+ years of reloading. All of them are economical and will give many loads per pound when using either cast or jacketed slugs.

As far as OAL is concerned, I saved a factory ball round and set my bullet seating die with it as the standard. Never ever had a problem that way. The 45 acp is a rather "forgiving" round and isn't all that fussy about length since the jacketed slugs don't have a crimping groove. I also use a taper crimp die rather than the roll style crimp the bullet seating die normally comes with. it adds a step but helps out as brass isn't always the same thickness at the mouth. I ran into loose bullets with some thin walled brass when I started out and the taper crimp die worked the best.

I do all of my primer seating for all rounds, rifle and pistol, with a hand primer tool. It is far easier to feel the primer seat that way and I don't flatten them like I sometimes did using the press arm tool.

If you want give me a call and I can talk about it with you.

Thanks Mav, good info!

[Brooke]

I was looking at ammo prices today.  $0.20 per 22 lr round.  Its an outrage!

[Ripsnort]

I was looking at ammo prices today.  $0.20 per 22 lr round.  Its an outrage!

Buy it online.
http://ammoseek.com/ammo/22lr

[eagl]

Minor nits about the work area...  You have to reach PAST any benchtop source fire to get to the fire extinguisher...  Might want to put that by the door so you've established an exit plan before you even grab the extinguisher.  And gas cans near the exit door?  Same sort of thought for the general workplace...  Anything that could accelerate a fire (grease, rags, solvents, etc) that aren't part of the reloading process ought to be far enough away that a small fire/explosion at the work center won't spread.  Same for vapors/fumes that might propagate to cause something to auto-ignite, or deposit a film of something flammable on something that either shouldn't burn, or mix with something to again either auto-ignite or light up from a spark that otherwise wouldn't cause a problem.  I've found that flammable powders are often overlooked (sawdust, flour in kitchens, etc) and can cause nearly invisible fires even within the threads of the lid on a can, from the friction of turning the lid.

So... Yea.  Workplace.  Set it up for disaster (relocate fire extinguisher!) and isolate it from non-essential materials that could contribute to a more rapid spread of fire or even cause a fire to start in the first place.

[Ripsnort]

Rgr that Grey Eagl.
That was just a first run at the work space before I had all the stuff there...Extinguisher was sitting on window temp. Pic 1 below is the workspace now but it will morph and grow!
Now I know you're a "photo analyzer" but rest assured, the lighter is there temp until I get my 4 burner heater fired up, I put it right next to the powder to get it at room temperature. 
Yes, there is an empty  .223 shell on the ground in the 2nd pic and some 'inert' non-flammble chems up against the wall. 

The floor is swept after each session!

Made my first 50 live rounds! Some trial and error, I had about 6 crimped too much (slight bulge, wouldn't fit the head space gauge)

I'll shoot these Sunday when it's members only at the club. It's been a fun journey to get to this point!

I went for a 4.3 gr load and weighed the powder charge a few times , it stayed between 4.3 and 4.4. If I centered the powder in the pan it typically would be the 4.3 I dialed it in at.
I'll need a better scale in the future.

[Ripsnort]

FYI, I only banged 50 out to make sure my workmanship and QA standards are up to snuff. I won't get a chance to report back until Sunday though, that's the soonest I can get to the range!

At the range I'll use my Para Ord PT12 to shoot 14 rounds, then switch to my Commander. (If somethings going to fudge up, it'll be in the Canadian pistol!)

Then I'll ramp up to 500 rounds.
Then it's shell prep time for .223. I already have the die-set, brass cleaned, resized. I'll spend about $150 for a nice motorized primer pocket cleaning station and tools. This is fun, brings me back to my Machinist youth days!