I'm looking for some suggestions for reloading equipment. I've never reloaded anything in my life. I have an antique .41 colt revolver I am interested in reloading for, as well as possibly .303 later on down the road. I don't shoot a whole lot so I can't see loading more than 100 in a sitting if that matters. What kind of equipment should be on my wish list? I've done some browsing but would like to hear from you guys. Thanks.
Please suggest equipment for reloading newbie.
- Thread starter playkation
- Start date
- Location
- Lower Mainland, BC
First step is to get at least 2 reloading books. ABCs of Reloading is usually recommended; I can personally recommend the Lyman 49th Reloading Handbook, I use that one as a primary guide.
With low round counts, a single stage press would be my recommendation. I prefer the RCBS Rockchucker set for my single stage, but really any will work for that kind of round count.
Make sure you have a good clean dedicated space for it however; you MUST stay organized.
With low round counts, a single stage press would be my recommendation. I prefer the RCBS Rockchucker set for my single stage, but really any will work for that kind of round count.
Make sure you have a good clean dedicated space for it however; you MUST stay organized.
Sounds like you`re trying to start reloading on a budget. For low volume shooting like what it sounds like you are doing then a single stage press.
It takes only one die at a time, and while cheaper to get into isn`t for making a lot of ammo fast. The LEE anniversary kit is a pretty good way to get into reloading. I can`t remember if it has a balance beam scale or not, but it has pretty much every thing else except for the dies. I haven`t looked lately, but I think they still make them.
LEE RGB (really good buy) are good dies for the .303, and I`m not too sure where you would go for .41 Colt dies. Not an `off the shelf item`. The RGB dies are pretty cheap in price, $20-30.
You might be able to order your .41 dies from one of the site sponsors.
I`m not brand specific. I have a bunch of different brands on my bench. Some guys are very brand loyal, others not so much.
You`ll need a manual or two, at least. Minimum of two manuals to double check the loads to make sure that you`re in the safe zone. Although there are the booklets that are a compilation of all the powder and reloading manuals for the more popular calibers. I have one myself for the .303. $5-10 for the booklet, IIRC
Or if you want to buy separately you`ll need a:
Press
dies for each caliber
scale
shell holder for each caliber
powder measure, or the little dipping spoons
your choice of powder
primers
bullets
Hope I didn`t forget anything
It takes only one die at a time, and while cheaper to get into isn`t for making a lot of ammo fast. The LEE anniversary kit is a pretty good way to get into reloading. I can`t remember if it has a balance beam scale or not, but it has pretty much every thing else except for the dies. I haven`t looked lately, but I think they still make them.
LEE RGB (really good buy) are good dies for the .303, and I`m not too sure where you would go for .41 Colt dies. Not an `off the shelf item`. The RGB dies are pretty cheap in price, $20-30.
You might be able to order your .41 dies from one of the site sponsors.
I`m not brand specific. I have a bunch of different brands on my bench. Some guys are very brand loyal, others not so much.
You`ll need a manual or two, at least. Minimum of two manuals to double check the loads to make sure that you`re in the safe zone. Although there are the booklets that are a compilation of all the powder and reloading manuals for the more popular calibers. I have one myself for the .303. $5-10 for the booklet, IIRC
Or if you want to buy separately you`ll need a:
Press
dies for each caliber
scale
shell holder for each caliber
powder measure, or the little dipping spoons
your choice of powder
primers
bullets
Hope I didn`t forget anything
I'd suggest a book as well. Plus there are a vast bunch of videos on You Tube. A great general introduction that is well worth watching both for its information as well as good pacing which keeps your interest locked on is;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irC3NuIKDm4
For more detail I can recomend the basics as presented in the Lyman 49th Edition manual. Plus it's a great source of actual load data. More data can be found online at the Hodgdon Reloading Data Center too;
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/
For your needs a basic single stage setup sounds just dandy. You could do a lot worse than one of the single stage kits that comes with powder measure and priming tools plus a beam balance all in the kit. Just add dies.
Once you get onto the whole thing you'll find that you can load up pretty close to 150/hr for straight wall handgun ammo even with all the care and double checking without any difficulty at all. For .303 it'll slow down to more like 50/hr due to the desire to weigh and trickle up to the correct weight for every round. This can be sped up a little with the right scale and setup but without buying an automatic scale and integrated dispenser it'll never be a fast process.
If you're reloading for an antique take into account the issue of pressure rise speed. Black powder loads that the gun was intended for have a softer rise over more time to the peak pressure than modern smokeless powders generate. So there may be something to be said for loading black powder ammo. If you opt for smokeless loading keep the speeds and pressures well down.
But if you do go with black powder keep in mind that the fouling from black is able to attract moisture from the air. You NEED to clean the gun well after every time out. Also with black powder you want to stick to a lubricant like Ballistol which is compatible with the fouling from black powder. Some other petroleum based oils turn to a black gummy mess when mixed with BP fouling. So test and be aware of this.
If you go smokeless keep the speeds and pressure low. You'll want to keep it under 10K CUP for pressure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irC3NuIKDm4
For more detail I can recomend the basics as presented in the Lyman 49th Edition manual. Plus it's a great source of actual load data. More data can be found online at the Hodgdon Reloading Data Center too;
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/
For your needs a basic single stage setup sounds just dandy. You could do a lot worse than one of the single stage kits that comes with powder measure and priming tools plus a beam balance all in the kit. Just add dies.
Once you get onto the whole thing you'll find that you can load up pretty close to 150/hr for straight wall handgun ammo even with all the care and double checking without any difficulty at all. For .303 it'll slow down to more like 50/hr due to the desire to weigh and trickle up to the correct weight for every round. This can be sped up a little with the right scale and setup but without buying an automatic scale and integrated dispenser it'll never be a fast process.
If you're reloading for an antique take into account the issue of pressure rise speed. Black powder loads that the gun was intended for have a softer rise over more time to the peak pressure than modern smokeless powders generate. So there may be something to be said for loading black powder ammo. If you opt for smokeless loading keep the speeds and pressures well down.
But if you do go with black powder keep in mind that the fouling from black is able to attract moisture from the air. You NEED to clean the gun well after every time out. Also with black powder you want to stick to a lubricant like Ballistol which is compatible with the fouling from black powder. Some other petroleum based oils turn to a black gummy mess when mixed with BP fouling. So test and be aware of this.
If you go smokeless keep the speeds and pressure low. You'll want to keep it under 10K CUP for pressure.
Two notes about the RGB dies. First, they don't come with a shell holder, so you'll need to buy one separately if you go that route. Second, they are full length dies, and you can very easily over work 303 brass with them. Lee Enfields (I'm assuming that's what you have in 303?) Have loose chambers, which lead to a considerable amount of stretch in the brass upon firing, and cases won't last more than a few reloads. For this reason neck sizing dies are recommended for the 303.
Thank you for the suggestions so far, I will check out the loading manuals and YouTube vids. Please keep the help coming.
I should add that I have no interest at this time in using smokeless powder in the old colt. Also, yes I am shooting a #4 Enfield. Also shooting .45 acp, forgot to add that one. How many reloads is realistic to get out of the .303 brass as well as the 45 in a norinco 1911?
Also I have seen some guys use case tumblers, is there a lot of value to using them?
I should add that I have no interest at this time in using smokeless powder in the old colt. Also, yes I am shooting a #4 Enfield. Also shooting .45 acp, forgot to add that one. How many reloads is realistic to get out of the .303 brass as well as the 45 in a norinco 1911?
Also I have seen some guys use case tumblers, is there a lot of value to using them?
There is a thread in the Milsurp forum about how to "O-ring" the new first loaded cases with small dental rubber bands to hold the case head back against the bolt face. This ensures the least stretch around the waist of the casings for that all so important first firing. After the first firing you neck size only. Because the cases were evenly stretched to form fit the chamber and then only spring back minimally it means you can now reload and shoot for around a dozen firings with that brass.
To put this in technical terms which will make more sense later on the dental bands cause the casings to use up the head space play. And once fire formed during the first use the casings fit with minimal head space so there's no localized stretching in subsequent firings. This might sound like gobblygook for now but it'll make sense as you read more or find the right information on head spacing and cartridge fit.
Since it sounds like you'll be using either BP or Pyrodex just take note that you must always be using these powders with a light to moderate compression. Also google for and read about "black powder drop tubes" that aid in getting a well filled casing with won't settle and leave an air gap.
The reason for this is that any sort of loose fit or, worse yet, an air gap rapidly increases the speed and value of the pressure peak for black powder or Pyrodex. If you don't want to fill the casings with powder for full power loads then the right way to reduce the power is go with a lesser amount of black powder or Pyrodex and then fill the resulting gap with a filler like Cream of Wheat or oat bran or some other cereal filler. The goal being a compacted load behind the bullet.
When I load my black powder .357Mag rifle rounds for my cowboy shooting I aim for the bullets to compress the settled powder by about 2mm's or 3/32 inch. To get that I don't use a drop tube YET but I do fill the cases and then tap the block they sit in to settle the powder. For the short sided 130gn cast lead bullets I use the resulting settling produces a fill with the right amount of compression of the charge.
If that's not clear ask away.
Life for .45acp is pretty much forever. You'll find the odd split case now and then but really for the most part the brass is in more danger of pounding the head stamps flat and suffering from squished out head which holds the casing from chambering. And that won't happen for OODLES of reloads.
What's the #4 Enfield? .455 or the .38-200? Not that it really matters. Either is a slow and very low pressure round. The brass will last basically forever. Or is it chambered for .45ACP?
How we clean our brass is about as personal as it gets. For me I tried a tumbler at first and was highly underwhelmed in the job it did. I was reading on the net about cleaning rifle brass and read about using an ultra sonic cleaner with a 1:5 mix of cheap white vinegar to water with a dash of liquid laundry detergent. I bought one and tried it and promply gave away the far less effective tumbler. A 15 minute cycle at 50C followed by a couple of rinses and a few days to dry and I've got a bucket full of really nice clean brass. And best of all it's clean inside and out and not only on the outside like the tumbler did.
The latest craze is the stainless pin media wet tumbling. While I don't doubt it works best of all I've not seen that it works better enough that my US cleaner using the vinegar water mix to justify any sort of upgrade. And I do like that I don't need to fuss with the pin media. So for me US cleaning with just the solution recipe is the best bang for the buck and effort.
To put this in technical terms which will make more sense later on the dental bands cause the casings to use up the head space play. And once fire formed during the first use the casings fit with minimal head space so there's no localized stretching in subsequent firings. This might sound like gobblygook for now but it'll make sense as you read more or find the right information on head spacing and cartridge fit.
Since it sounds like you'll be using either BP or Pyrodex just take note that you must always be using these powders with a light to moderate compression. Also google for and read about "black powder drop tubes" that aid in getting a well filled casing with won't settle and leave an air gap.
The reason for this is that any sort of loose fit or, worse yet, an air gap rapidly increases the speed and value of the pressure peak for black powder or Pyrodex. If you don't want to fill the casings with powder for full power loads then the right way to reduce the power is go with a lesser amount of black powder or Pyrodex and then fill the resulting gap with a filler like Cream of Wheat or oat bran or some other cereal filler. The goal being a compacted load behind the bullet.
When I load my black powder .357Mag rifle rounds for my cowboy shooting I aim for the bullets to compress the settled powder by about 2mm's or 3/32 inch. To get that I don't use a drop tube YET but I do fill the cases and then tap the block they sit in to settle the powder. For the short sided 130gn cast lead bullets I use the resulting settling produces a fill with the right amount of compression of the charge.
If that's not clear ask away.
Life for .45acp is pretty much forever. You'll find the odd split case now and then but really for the most part the brass is in more danger of pounding the head stamps flat and suffering from squished out head which holds the casing from chambering. And that won't happen for OODLES of reloads.
What's the #4 Enfield? .455 or the .38-200? Not that it really matters. Either is a slow and very low pressure round. The brass will last basically forever. Or is it chambered for .45ACP?
How we clean our brass is about as personal as it gets. For me I tried a tumbler at first and was highly underwhelmed in the job it did. I was reading on the net about cleaning rifle brass and read about using an ultra sonic cleaner with a 1:5 mix of cheap white vinegar to water with a dash of liquid laundry detergent. I bought one and tried it and promply gave away the far less effective tumbler. A 15 minute cycle at 50C followed by a couple of rinses and a few days to dry and I've got a bucket full of really nice clean brass. And best of all it's clean inside and out and not only on the outside like the tumbler did.
The latest craze is the stainless pin media wet tumbling. While I don't doubt it works best of all I've not seen that it works better enough that my US cleaner using the vinegar water mix to justify any sort of upgrade. And I do like that I don't need to fuss with the pin media. So for me US cleaning with just the solution recipe is the best bang for the buck and effort.
Look into buying the lee loader classic. I reload 303 and 30-06 with them and they are great. With the 303 it worked out that I broke even after making 60 rounds. Watch youtube videos to learn and you will see it is not really much more time consuming. You will probably be out of luck doing .41 but the 303 is perfect for the lee loader classic.
Give it some fair unbiased research and you will see they are great.
Give it some fair unbiased research and you will see they are great.
The Lee Loader is that "Whack a Mole" setup, right? While it's actually a slick way to do reloading on a small scale it's hellishly annoying with all the hammer banging that is involved. A press is far more calming with it's silent approach.
What's the general opinion of the lee turret press, the 4-hole non-progressive one? To me it looks superior in the sense that even if used in single stage fashion, the removable turret means the dies don't have to be setup each time, plus the powder and primer dispensers look appealing.
BCRider, your post about the o-ring makes perfect sense to me. What kind of sizing issues am I going to see on those brass .303 cases that I fired through my enfield already?
When loading your black powder rounds,do you mix your filler with the powder then load it or sandwich it between the back powder and projectile? Does the amount of air gap affect smokeless powder at all?
BCRider, your post about the o-ring makes perfect sense to me. What kind of sizing issues am I going to see on those brass .303 cases that I fired through my enfield already?
When loading your black powder rounds,do you mix your filler with the powder then load it or sandwich it between the back powder and projectile? Does the amount of air gap affect smokeless powder at all?
Barnes_270
Regular
- Location
- Langley, BC
If I were to start over, I'd forego getting a single stage and go straight to the Lee Cast Turret press, for exactly these reasons. It's also not a bad way to start loading pistol rounds, with a Lee Pro Auto Disk attached.
Do the lee .303 dies do the powder through the neck resize dies like the handgun dies I've seen demonstrated in the YouTube vids?
From what Ive seen, lee does not make a die set for the .41 colt so I would have to powder load those separately anyway.
I have friends and family that shoot, nobody who reloads however.
From what Ive seen, lee does not make a die set for the .41 colt so I would have to powder load those separately anyway.
I have friends and family that shoot, nobody who reloads however.
Agree!! And buy BOTH set's of shellholder's from LEE. One set is the shellholder's for the press,some of which you might never use but you never know! The second set is for the priming tool
I'm personally not a fan of turret presses for low volume hunting or occasional plinking rounds. Too expensive for something you'll be doing in small batches any ways.
The compromise is the Hornady units, they have a quick switch (quick lock?) system with their die holders. Makes it easy to change dies without having to rethread them and whatnot.
In any case, Hornady, Lee and Dillon make excellent single and multi stage presses. If you're going with single stage, be sure to purchase an O shaped stage press, versus the older style C style press.
Specifically, the Lee press found here: (leeprecision.com/reloader-press.html) is a cheap $75 press, but flexes a lot which is not good. The O style has support in the front taking the flex out of the press.
After buying a book (or two) on the subject, the next non-press thing to look at is where you're mounting it. A solid, solid desk bolted to everything is recommended. Try to get as much flex out of the working area as possible for accurate reloads.
As already mentioned, a decent scale, case trimmer, calipers and a powder measure and funnel are the basics before counting reloading supplies.
The compromise is the Hornady units, they have a quick switch (quick lock?) system with their die holders. Makes it easy to change dies without having to rethread them and whatnot.
In any case, Hornady, Lee and Dillon make excellent single and multi stage presses. If you're going with single stage, be sure to purchase an O shaped stage press, versus the older style C style press.
Specifically, the Lee press found here: (leeprecision.com/reloader-press.html) is a cheap $75 press, but flexes a lot which is not good. The O style has support in the front taking the flex out of the press.
After buying a book (or two) on the subject, the next non-press thing to look at is where you're mounting it. A solid, solid desk bolted to everything is recommended. Try to get as much flex out of the working area as possible for accurate reloads.
As already mentioned, a decent scale, case trimmer, calipers and a powder measure and funnel are the basics before counting reloading supplies.
