Reloading help

[OriginalCracker]

I'm looking at getting the lee 4 hole turret and 9mm lee dies. What else should I get and what brands are best "bang for your buck." I know I'll need a scale, some type of measuring caliper, possibly a tumbler, primer hole cleaner, etc. What else should I get, and what brands of those are cheap, but work well? Is ABCs of reloading the best book, and does it have load recipes?

Thanks

[treefarmer]

Original Cracker, I've been involved in reloading for about 50 years. Haven't done any lately, but I can tell you how I got started and what equipment was used.
When I was about 16, an active duty military man was reloading 38 spl. wadcutters for a pistol team, he needed help and that was my initiation into reloading. A few years later, 2 friends and I decided to start reloading 30/06. We bought a Lyman outfit that included all the equipment we would need to reload 30/06 ammo. A single stage press worked fine and kept us from getting ahead of ourselves by making mistakes. Additional dies were added and we loaded what we wanted to shoot.
After moving to the Panhandle, I bought a complete outfit for myself and made the mistake of buying a turret press. I do believe a turret press is probably better suited for pistol reloading, but I still miss the old Lyman Spartan press.
There are plenty of good reloading handbooks with plenty of instructions and warnings on what to do. I'm sure some of the men that are currently reloading will chime in and give you some more specific advice.
Good luck, be safe and enjoy the savings!
Treefarmer

[OriginalCracker]

Thanks treefarmer. Yeah I will be reloading only pistol rounds. I figured the lee 4 hole would be perfect since its cheap, has good reviews, and in the beginning I can remove the index rod and use it as a single stage pretty much. I plan on doing a lot of reading before I begin loading, but would like to have all the equipment and manuals in my possession to learn better.

Ive reloaded about 1,000 rounds at my uncles house, but didn't pay attention to what all he had. I am not a complete beginner, as I do know the gist of how to reload, and most of what I need. Just wanted some brand recommendations for all the accessories, and powder, bullets, primers for 9mm.

[fishindad]

I have been pretty happy with the Lee brand. I have some older RCBS items that have help up pretty well too. For the price though, Lee is hard to beat. Most of your loads these days are all provided on the net by the powder manufacturers. Loading is straight forward and one good book will get you what you need. With the ABCs of reloading and maybe the Lee or Lyman reloading book, you will have what you need. For powder info, I would pull that direct from the powder manufacturers sites. I print out the loads I like and then put them in a 3 ring binder.

Overall, it sounds like you have the basic components identified. I would also add the factory crimp dies for each size too. I like those alot.

As far as a turret vs a traditional press, I like the traditional with quick release breech locks. It makes changing dies easier.

[OriginalCracker]

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/785993 ... deluxe-kit
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/885350 ... ugv1785993
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/587176 ... r-110-volt
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/175512 ... n-capacity
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/215517 ... let-puller
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/537267 ... -manual-14


Would this be a good start?

[fishindad]

Yup that will work. BTW.. here is a GREAT hint. use your bullet case holder from the die set in your bullet puller. Dont use the one that came with the bullet puller. You will see what I mean when you get it. Its WAY easier.

I am jealous of the electronic powder scale. That is soooo nice. I am using an old school rcbs powder measure. The carbide 4 die set is EXACTLY what you want. That includes the factory crimp die and is carbide which mean no lubrication needed. That's a real time saver. TRUST ME. Do yourself a favor and get a couple of boxes to store your reloaded shells in too.

[OriginalCracker]

Yup that will work. BTW.. here is a GREAT hint. use your bullet case holder from the die set in your bullet puller. Dont use the one that came with the bullet puller. You will see what I mean when you get it. Its WAY easier.

I am jealous of the electronic powder scale. That is soooo nice. I am using an old school rcbs powder measure. The carbide 4 die set is EXACTLY what you want. That includes the factory crimp die and is carbide which mean no lubrication needed. That's a real time saver. TRUST ME. Do yourself a favor and get a couple of boxes to store your reloaded shells in too.

Oh forgot about cases. Now is that lee deluxe kit much different than this http://www.midwayusa.com/product/622290 ... ubv1785993 ?

It has all the same stuff it looks like but I guess maybe just lower end stuff?

[fishindad]

Whoops.. just saw thats a power scale not a power dispersment system. Thats basically the setup I use too. Are you getting one of these? BTW... that note on the bottom about drum binding and cut powder is a real thing. Annoys the crap out of me on my RCBS one.

Lee Precision Perfect Powder Measurer (Perfect Powder Measurer 90058) 25$

Eliminates cut powder & jerky action. Stops drum binding. Micrometer adjuster reads directly in cubic centimeters. Safe "O" ring positively locks adjustments, removes all end play. Versatile, designed to work with large rifle charger & pistol size charger. Stops powder bridging. Change powder fast, easy. « less

[fishindad]

Maybe a press difference????

******************************

The deluxe set is:

Features of Lee Four Hole Turret Press Comprehensive Reloading Kit:
Fully features reloading press and accessories by Lee Precision Dies
Includes 6 main components:
Lee 4-Hole Turret Press
Lee Safety Powder Scale
Lee Auto-Disk Powder Measure
Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner
Lee Chamfer Tool
Lee Case Cutter and Locking Stud


*****************
The other set is this

Value Kit Includes: Turret Press with Auto Index, Auto Disk Powder Measure, Safety Scale, Primer Pocket Cleaner, Cutter and Lock Stud and Chamfer Tool

[OriginalCracker]

Ok I think the difference in the two kits is that powder dispenser thing. The more expensive kit says "pro auto disk powder measure", and the cheaper one just says "auto disk measure." Is that a big difference? What is the one you just showed?

[fishindad]

The auto disk one is more precise. The one I showed is the cheaper one and frankly the cheaper one is way better than my RCBS model that I use. There has to be more than that to warrant that price difference.

[OriginalCracker]

Yeah it comes with the mounting hardware too. I found the deluxe kit for cheaper on other sites, so that's probably what I'll go with. Any powder, primer and bullet recommendations?

[OriginalCracker]

Thanks for all the help and clearing stuff up for me btw!

[fishindad]

I only keep onhand 2 powder types. Universal Clays for about 99% of all applications including shot reloading and IMR 4064 for rifle. I have messed around with Steel for steel shot reloading. I reload 38sp, 380 auto and 45ACP with Universal clays and NEVER have encountered a problem. As an added bonus, you can usually always get it at a skeet shoot club if your local gun stores dont have it. That saves on hazmat fees. Primers are about all the same. I know some will argue that point but I reload to make it go bang. I am not looking to tweak it. Just by the right primers for your application.

Here is the link for the Hodgedon website. http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp Check your bullet weights and size with the powders. It will show you the manufacturers specs. Go by these. They factor in safety. Getting loads off random nets sites is not a good idea. The speer book will also have good reference data too.

Hope this helps!

[OriginalCracker]

Great info, thanks for all the help.