First reloads

I finished up my first 20 reloads (.45ACP) Saturday and range tested on Sunday. I'm guessing that first few rounds has made everyone jump a little lol. Happy to say they performed flawlessly in my 1911. Finished up 100 of that same load on Sunday, meticulously weighing every charge. To all of you who recommended the Gempro 250, thank you. That little scale is working great!

 

Nice!

I am new to reloading, too. Its great shooting your own ammo. Got a photo of your reloading bench to share?

 

to neat,need some clutter.

 

LOL! I just started out, give me some time... Clutter is inevitable

 

Best piece of advice I have from just starting a little while ago is seat first then crimp in separate steps.

 

Thanks for the advice, please elaborate as to why that is necessary. The LEE carbide set I have seats and crimps in one step. I have chambered 10 of these rounds and ejected to check OAL again. They do not change more than .001-.002 if at all

 

The fit of your seating stem will have a lot to do with any bullet deformation. My rcbs 45 dies work well with no deformation doing it in one step. My 9 dies flatten the tip of the round nose if I try and do both at once. If you are shooting led reloads then you start to shave the bullet if not done separately.

 

to much crimp with your seat die and you'll start crushing your cases.It's always better to crimp in a different step,and you need very little,just enough to take out the flare from expanding.
The Lee crimp die also resizes to specs.

 

That's good looking ammo. It always feels good to "build" your own. Yeah that reloading bench will get too small too quickly.
So were you weighing every charge? I'll verify my powder measure but throw the charges for pistol. Also I've moved all my pistol dies to the Redding T-7 turret so all it takes is a simple click to go from die to die. Those two things will really speed up your handgun reloading short of a Dillon.

 

I will check the specs on 20, if they are in tolerance I don't see the need for the extra step. If they are not, I will first try to adjust the die I have to crimp more and hopefully not flatten the nose. Thank you.

 

Lol , you are correct , you're first reloads are the ones that make you the most nervous when you pull that trigger the first time.... But they are probably going to be your safest because they are your first and you take the time to do everything correctly.... Now go out and make some more empty brass to reload... Stock up on powder , brass , primers and bullets and you won't ever have to worry about ammo again... Congratulations...

You never really master reloading , you just get better.... Don be scared to use a powder dropper for your pistol rounds when you get more comfortable with it... I am on my way today to pick up a few more pounds of powder and a few thousand primers myself to replace what I have shot up over the last winter...

 

Thanks! For my current situation (reloading only .45 and precision .308) I am hoping this bench gets me by for awhile. Yes, I measured every charge and I feel better about having the slow methodical process for now. If I start shooting 2k a month, then I suppose a turret press may be in order.

 

If you adjust your die your using now to MORE crimp,don't worry about your bullets,your cases will come out looking like Wily Coyote after a boulder hit.

 

Think about what happens when you seat+crimp: As the ram is raised, the bullet makes contact with the seating plug. As the ram comes up, the bullet is pushed into the case. At some point during the ram upstroke, the case mouth makes contact with the crimp ring in the die. As the case is forced a bit further into the die, any flare is removed and the case is crimped. That crimping requires upward movement of the case, which also means the bullet is still being pushed in, against the action of the crimping.

While the single-step/dual-action operation has been in use for a long time, many shooters feel it's better to seat then crimp, rather than do both in one step. Less chance of deforming the bullet or crushing cases.

Necessary? I don't know. I use a separate step for .45 (as I use a taper crimp on the stuff I shoot), but seat+roll crimp in a single step for .32SWL and .38Spl (but I'm also loading pure wadcutter bullets over fairly light charges.) I generally don't crimp rifle ammo.

 

Gotta Love a nice 1911!!! And the reloads look OK, too!!!!!! Just stay focused on your safe loading practices, & have fun!!!!!! Idaho-45

 

My reloading is slow and I enjoy a process which limits mistakes. Most people would never measure each pistol round on a chargemaster 1500, but I do. I dump powder in each case and then hand seat the bullet, making zero opportunity for double charges. Everyone reloads for different reasons and has or will have processing that works for them. My kids shoot my reloads so safety is my #1 and speed is no consern at all. I just started crimping separately do to what I learned from the product I was producing vise what I wanted to make. You will make mistakes and hopefully change your system to prevent a reocurrance. My bullets are from rmr and I never found the perfect seating stem and the hollow points are only a penny more. I shifted to those now vise driving myself insane with flat tips. I have 3 seating stems including one rcbs sent me...

 

Your bench is longer than mine and I have an rcbs single stage on one side and a Dillon with strong mount on the other... I just put up some metal shelves and keep what I am not using on the shelves instead of the bench... I also have one of those Lyman case prep stations and really like it... I recently put one of those white folding 6 foot tables next to it to hold all my cleaning stuff , wet tumbler , dry tumbler , trimmers etc... They get used as much as the press.... Good looking set up sir

 

I'd agree that seating and crimping in separate steps is Ummm -- better.

I'll also say that "good enough is good enough". "Better", is often the time consuming and unnecessary enemy of "good enough".

For semi-auto rounds that I'm shooting short range or at steel, I don't mind skipping a step that won't produce a meaningful benefit. I also de-prime and re-prime with one stroke of the handle using my RCBS auto primer feed. Yeah, yeah, I know: How do I clean the primer pocket. Umm, -- I don't. And no, I never have a problem. jd

 

I would invest in a 45 acp case gauge. Dillon, Wilson, ect. When setting up your sizing die you can make sure sized cases don’t stick in the gauge. Then the same with loaded ammo. This made a huge difference in the reliability of my reloads.