ammo

[kil roy]

Rich,

thank you very much for the above i am keeping it for the very near future

and will post a copy of it over the press equipment im getting.



i do the vehicle maintenance on all of a friends cars and we got on the subject

of shooting and firearms in general last time he was over.

when i mentioned that i wanted to do some reloading due to the rising costs and

was looking at progressive loaders he chimes in dont buy one i have a complete

set up for you and you can use it as long as you want.

he has powder, bullets,primers, thousands of cases and dies for 9mm, 380, and

i think he said 357/38:banana:



he then explained to me that he used to shoot competition and matched all his loads

to the guns same as you said above, i havent seen his trophies because he keeps them in his basement but evidently he was very good at it.

 

[Todd Cloutier]

I picked up a RCBS Rockchucker Supreme and found it easy to use. I knew nothing about handloading before trying out the press, but found it pretty easy to learn. I also have the RCBS APS priming tool, and it make priming cases real quick.

 

[Adam Shirley]

2 years ago I bought 500 rds of 5.56 FMJ for $135 form Georgia Arms at a gun show. Last week, the same company had the same ammo for $275. Talk about a recent hysteria!

 

[OLE442]

Just rec'd my LEE Progressive 1000. Any thoughts on this press Rich Stern...looked great to me for the price but then Grandpa is new to reloading. A lot of folks trash LEE and prefer Dillon but it costs way too much for a Dillon. Once I get this mastered, I will buy another in 45 ACP for both presses less than 1 Dillon loader. Hope I did OK. Now I just need to get other items that are needed and a suppy of powder, primers and bullets.



'07 ST

 

[Jacob Dryer]

Huh, my local walmart only had 8 boxes of 9mm, and it wasn't even white box. Oh well I guess it's getting crazy everywhere.

 

[Rich Stern]

'07 ST...well, that wouldn't have been my first choice for you to start with, but since you've already got it, here's my number one recommendation:



Reprime your brass OFF the press. Buy yourself a small hand press, universal depriming/decapping die, and a hand held priming tool (Lee makes these, they are fairly inexpensive and work well).



Yes, I know that's an extra set of tools and steps, and the Lee 1000 has a priming tool built in. But, it is the weakest link in that press and the source of greatest frustration for users of that machine. Sooner or later, some dirt or powder gets in the primer chute, or under the shell plate, and the finicky primer feed and/or seating mechanism jams. Once that happens, the shell plate must be taken off and a throrough cleaning done. This is assuming you realized it happened and didn't force the press and break something. And when you put it back together, the shell plate and shell retaining arms must be adjusted properly.



IMO, it is not a beginner press for that reason, unless you deprime/reprime your brass prior to loading it on the 1000. In that case, the 1000 becomes VERY reliable and very fast.



Yes, the Dillons are much more expensive. In the case of a progressive press, it's probably worth the extra money.



For each style of press, these are my recommended choices:



Best value/quality ratio:



SINGLE STAGE: Lee Classic Cast



TURRET: Lee Classic Turret*



PROGRESSIVE: Lee Loadmaster





If money is no object:



SINGLE STAGE: Forster Coax



TURRET: Lee Classic Cast



PROGRESSIVE: Dillon 650 or 1050



* The Lee Classic Turret, is, IMO, the best "one solution" press you can own. It has a high rate of production for pistol ammo, is very easy and inexpensive to change to another caliber, and is quite capable of making excellent rifle ammo. And, at well under $100, it's gosh darn CHEAP, despite being extremely well made.

 

[Bill Barber]

Even if you have a slow machine, re-loading ammo is a very relaxing thing to do.

If you trickle charge your loads to exact powder wgts, resize and trim your cases to exact demensions etc, you end up with loads far superior to what you can buy of the shelf.

Spend your money on good carbide dies, will last you a lifetime.