Getting into Reloading

[EdwardC]

I've only owned 9mm and 22lr firearms and the price/time proposition for 9mm wasn't enough to consider reloading, although, I have been saving all my 9mm brass.

I'm thinking about a 10mm handgun next, with a 40 S&W conversion barrel. 10mm is pricier, so I'd like to get into reloading, and while I'm at it, I plan to reload 9mm, 40 S&W, and 10mm.

At the moment, I'm thinking about the Lee 4-hole turret press. My volumes are low, 2-300rds per month, so I could easily get by with a single stage, but the Lee turret is inexpensive enough. I have good digital scale already, so I'm thinking about skipping the Lee kit and buying what I need separately. I like the idea of getting all Lee stuff (the drum measure, primer feeder), but I'm wondering if it would make sense to get a different/better powder measure right off the bat. My concern is the ease of making it work with the Lee press.

Finally, if I skip the kit, I'll need to get a reloading manual separately. Any suggestions for a first manual or two?

Thanks!!

 

[jcwit]

I suggest the Lee kit to get started. As far as the Lee Perfect Measure it actually is one of the most accurate measures out their. Do a google search and see what the experts say, yes you can spend $300 to $400 dollars for a custome measure but for the money it is dern accurate.

I believe the kit comes with a Lee manual, so your good to go there.

BTW, I have most all colors on my reloading bench, and have been reloading for the last 50+ years.

 

[barkingspider]

Yup, the Lee 4 turret is very good. I have a progressive, but still use my Lee.

 

[Astro14]

In the meantime, I've bought quite a bit of this ammo for the 10mm:

http://www.sgammo.com/product/10mm-auto-...er-bellot-sb10a

At .28/round, it's not bad. It's also loaded like a 10mm, not a .40 (most 10mm ammo is weak, and has a muzzle velocity of 1050-1100 FPS when it should be up around 1200-1300, like Buffalo Bore).

They're out of stock, but you can sign up to be notified when it's back in stock.

 

[CT8]

Buy one and cry once! Buy a Dillon 550 as it is a great machine to learn loading on. As your learning curve steps up you can crank out the bullets pretty fast. It will outperform ant machine in its class.

 

[EdwardC]

Thanks all!

jcwit, I think I will go for the kit if I get the Lee. I think I was comparing the wrong press, looking at the non-classic model, which was a lot cheaper than the sturdier classic. For the price, I might as well get the kit and essentially get the balance scale for free.

Astro14, thanks a lot, $0.28/rd is pretty fantastic, I'll have to set a notification for it. Have you shot any PPU 10mm? I'm likely to start with that since it seems to be fairly inexpensive and more importantly available locally at Cabelas. Edit: I checked PPU's site, they claim their 180gr leaves the muzzle at 1082fps (468ft-lbs) and the 170gr flies at 1115fps (469ft-lbs), which is a bit less than the S&B you posted at 180gr, 1164fps and 543 ft-lbs. (no barrel lengths listed)

CT8, I looked at the Dillon RL550C and the BL 550, and a few other progressives like the Hornady LnL AP. I'm not opposed to going with spending more to get more. I assume with those progressive presses, I can disable the automatic rotation and run it as a turret/single stage? It is a decent price jump, $2-300 more to go with one of those presses. However, when people ask about HF multimeters, I'm the guy that suggests getting a Fluke...

 

[Astro14]

I've gone through a case of PPU 10mm in my G20. I bought it from the same folks (SG Ammo, great company).

It's a very mild 10mm load. More of a .40 load. 1050 FPS for a 180GR HP. Recoil is mild. Function in my G20 was flawless.

It's great range ammo if you're just plinking. The S&B is a bit hotter - that 10% increase in velocity produces a noticeable (though not objectionable) increase in recoil. I prefer shooting with a range/training load that's closer to my carry load (Buffalo Bore 180GR HP - a good hot load in 10mm at 1350 FPS: https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=114 ).

But the PPU works great, and at $350/1,000 rounds, is a great source of brass for your reloading as well as being a viable defense round.

Incidentally, I installed a stronger recoil spring and new rod in my G20, just to handle the recoil from the Buffalo Bore and provide more consistent operation. There are some great 10mm guns out there. The G20 is a good choice - Common operation with my G17 and G19, lots of parts support and accessories, reasonable price, and excellent magazine capacity.

 

[CT8]

Spend the $$ . I bought a 550 in 1991 and load about 6,000 rounds per year [I still suck at shooting] the indexing on a Dillon is manual. That is what makes the Dillon great to learn on. I have taught 4 newbies on it and the beauty of the Dillon is it can act as a single stage press with 4 single stages. To add S@G Ammo gives good service.

 

[dubber09]

I use Hornady LNL AP and think it may be cheaper to load multiple calibers in your case as all you need is dies (and bushings) and shell plate per caliber.
Their warranty is just as good on everything as Dillon. LNL is also fully progressive and one doesn't need to be a Phd to use it.
I loaded close to 70K rounds on mine.

 

[EdwardC]

Astro14, unless my dealer has a special on the Glock 40, I'll be getting the 20.

In the reading that I've done, the Hornady LnL AP is a better value over the Dillon, I think I'd lean towards the Hornady if I go with a progressive, I do also like the bushing system that dubber mentions as well. I don't at all doubt that the Dillon is a great machine. I'll have to completely price out both systems compared to the Lee Classic Turret. Hornady has a MIR for 500 free bullets as well.

Apparently I like red.

 

[DuckRyder]

I started on the Lee Turret and now Have a LnL AP.

There is absolutely no comparison, the LnL does everything better and faster with less fickleness...

I have a friend with a 550, between it and a LnL I prefer the LnL (obviously)

There are very good reasons that folks recommend people start with a single stage. Running a progressive there is a LOT going on and a lot can go wrong.

If you do start with a LnL only run one at a time to start. That is load one empty case and don’t start another until it spits a complete round into the hopper.

When you are buying loaded ammo, remember your also buying brass. I’m not generally a fan of S&B brass though I’m not sure I’ve run any in 10MM, most of my 10mm is Federal American Eagle.

You’ll probably want to get the pistol rotor for the measure.

 

[jcwit]

Originally Posted By: CT8
Buy one and cry once! Buy a Dillon 550 as it is a great machine to learn loading on. As your learning curve steps up you can crank out the bullets pretty fast. It will outperform ant machine in its class.


For 2 to 3 hundred rounds a month you suggest to spend hundreds of dollars????????

I have been reloading for 50+ years, back in my hay day I shot 20 to 30 thousand 9mm or 45 acp rounds per summer months, all loaded on Lee products.

 

[dubber09]

LNL now comes with both - rifle and pistol powder measure inserts/rotors. At least that's what a few friends of mine got with theirs, I bought mine back in '09 and it had rifle one only as well as wire ejection that I replaced later, the current ones come with updated ejection design.
It may not be worth reloading for some who don't shoot much, can justify buying factory ammo and if that ammo works for them.

 

[xtell]

As far as Lee presses go. I have a real old Challenger and a newer Classic. Both have given me trouble free service. A very slight edge would go to the Classic Press when I full length resize rifle brass. I mostly use Lee dies for pistol, revolver and rifle hand loads, but I do have one RCBS 2-die set I use for 7mm Remington Mag reloading. For my use, the Lee products have held up well, are machined accurately and were reasonable priced.

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: dubber09
LNL now comes with both - rifle and pistol powder measure inserts/rotors. At least that’s what a few friends of mine got with theirs, I bought mine back in '09 and it had rifle one only as well as wire ejection that I replaced later, the current ones come with updated ejection design.
...


Good to know.

Mine has the wire ejector too, I haven’t gotten around to converting it.

 

[dubber09]

Ejection issues were mostly limited to 9mm with the wire ejection, other calibers worked much better.
I load 9mm only and did the conversion, I paid $30 for the kit back in 2009.
Reloading 9mm saves me about 45% on ammo.

 

[EdwardC]

Thanks again for the input. I think I'll be going for the LnL AP. The Lee Turret kit is coming in just above $200 (no dies) while the LnL AP is right at $400 (including the necessary shellplate, but without any dies). It comes with 500 free bullets which cancels out since I'll need to buy a reloading manual separately.

For those of you with the Hornady LnL systems, have you used dies from Lee? I like that the Lee dies are available with a separate taper crimp. I'm also toying with one day getting a 9x25 Dillon barrel, which only Dillon makes dies for, so I'd be curious of the compatibility. I know they all use the same thread, but I see that some dies won't work in the Hornady bushings because the threaded length may not be enough to allow proper spacing.

Thanks again!

 

[dubber09]

LNL AP shouldn't include shell plate - you need to buy one.
There are many reloading data tables online and free to use; if you never reloaded - simply watch Youtube - lots of good info for beginners.
You can separate bullet seating and crimping on LNL with Lee FCD die if you wish, I do it with same Hornady die doing seating and crimping. Nice feature on that die is - bullet aligning sleeve.
Personally, I tried Lee, RCBS and Hornady dies (only) and sold all but Hornady and am happy with them.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: jcwit
Originally Posted By: CT8
Buy one and cry once! Buy a Dillon 550 as it is a great machine to learn loading on. As your learning curve steps up you can crank out the bullets pretty fast. It will outperform ant machine in its class.
For 2 to 3 hundred rounds a month you suggest to spend hundreds of dollars???????? I have been reloading for 50+ years, back in my hay day I shot 20 to 30 thousand 9mm or 45 acp rounds per summer months, all loaded on Lee products.
How many months did it take you to load 20 to 30 thousand rounds on a Lee? Nothing wrong with Lee products (I have quite a few of their FCD's), but there is also no comparison to Dillon. As reloading goes, one typically starts with a single stage and eventually moves up thus buying and crying more than once. If reloading is indeed a long term proposition for the OP, I would seriously look at Dillon. Their warranty and customer service is top of the line with no equal. I started with a RCBS Rock Chucker in the late 80's (still in use by a partner in crime in Canada), moved to a Hornady Projector, then to a Dillon RL550B, and now a Dillon XL650. If I had to do it all over again I would have bought the Dillon at the beginning--but that is just me.

 

[DuckRyder]

Hornady customer service and warranty is excellent too.

I’ve run Lee Dies in the Hornady and there is no advantage to it, the Hornady dies are nicer. I would suggest you start out doing it Hornady’s way on their press. You can also get a separate Hornady taper crimp die. But to make room for the taper crimp die or Lee FCD you have to change the way the stations are set up.

Just get the Hornady die set and set the press up as per instructions until you get proficient, then make changes if necessary...

Again I strongly recommend you only make one round at a time starting out...