I would like to try reloading .45 ACP instead of buying them in bulk.
- Thread starter Dadudz1911
- Start date
"...made up my mind to start reloading my ammo..." Good for you. Means you stop looking for the best price for ammo and look for components instead.
"...there anyone that can help me to start..." You're there. .45's are one of the really easy cartridges to load. Buy a copy of The ABC's of Reloading, then look into a beginner's kit. (Partial to RCBS myself, but they can get pricey. Their warrantee is outstanding though. Absolutely any problems are fixed with a phone call or e-mail, forever. Even if you buy used kit. Only question wil lbe about your mailing address.) Gives you everything you need less dies and shell holder. You will need to add or buy a set of dies with a Taper crimp die. That isn't a big deal. Taper crimping is necessary and a well known thing.
The kits come with a manual, but buy a Lyman book too. It's more versatile than any bullet or powder makers book. More loads with more powders and bullet weights than any of 'em. Isn't cheap though. $50 last time I looked.
"...there anyone that can help me to start..." You're there. .45's are one of the really easy cartridges to load. Buy a copy of The ABC's of Reloading, then look into a beginner's kit. (Partial to RCBS myself, but they can get pricey. Their warrantee is outstanding though. Absolutely any problems are fixed with a phone call or e-mail, forever. Even if you buy used kit. Only question wil lbe about your mailing address.) Gives you everything you need less dies and shell holder. You will need to add or buy a set of dies with a Taper crimp die. That isn't a big deal. Taper crimping is necessary and a well known thing.
The kits come with a manual, but buy a Lyman book too. It's more versatile than any bullet or powder makers book. More loads with more powders and bullet weights than any of 'em. Isn't cheap though. $50 last time I looked.
Three times I tried to reply to this thread and my work PC kacked out on me.
I'll make this quick since this topic has been covered several times recently.
Cheapest way to get reloading pistol ammo is the LEE 50th Anniversary kit, a set of carbide pistol dies and a caliper. That's pretty much the bare essentials. Total cost for hardware alone works out to $240 after tax. More if you get RCBS dies in which case you will need to buy a shell holder for the caliber you are reloading for. Add powder, primers, bullets and brass and you're off to the races.
LEE carbide 3die pistol sets are around $40. and work well. You don't need to put much crimp into rimless cases. You want to get rid of the flare and impart a light crimp. For 45ACP, you want around 0.469"-0.471" case mouth after crimping if memory serves me right. The LEE seater/crimping die uses a modified roll crimp and does the job well. The RCBS kits cost more but the seating die uses a true taper crimp.
Pistol cases don't usually stretch (more like constrict) so there is very little need for a trimmer. That said, it doesn't mean you shouldn't measure your cases OAL to be safe.
As Sunray pointed out, read up on The ABC's of Reloading and do your research before you end up with a KABOOM.
I'll make this quick since this topic has been covered several times recently.
Cheapest way to get reloading pistol ammo is the LEE 50th Anniversary kit, a set of carbide pistol dies and a caliper. That's pretty much the bare essentials. Total cost for hardware alone works out to $240 after tax. More if you get RCBS dies in which case you will need to buy a shell holder for the caliber you are reloading for. Add powder, primers, bullets and brass and you're off to the races.
LEE carbide 3die pistol sets are around $40. and work well. You don't need to put much crimp into rimless cases. You want to get rid of the flare and impart a light crimp. For 45ACP, you want around 0.469"-0.471" case mouth after crimping if memory serves me right. The LEE seater/crimping die uses a modified roll crimp and does the job well. The RCBS kits cost more but the seating die uses a true taper crimp.
Pistol cases don't usually stretch (more like constrict) so there is very little need for a trimmer. That said, it doesn't mean you shouldn't measure your cases OAL to be safe.
As Sunray pointed out, read up on The ABC's of Reloading and do your research before you end up with a KABOOM.
A better first question is, How many rounds per week/month do you want to reload?
If you only want 50 to 100 rounds per week, then a single stage or turret press is going to be fine. If you want more than that, look at a progressive.
How handy or mechanically minded are you? Are you willing to tinker, or do you just want everything to work first time, every time with no/few adjustments?
If you only want 50 to 100 rounds per week, then a single stage or turret press is going to be fine. If you want more than that, look at a progressive.
How handy or mechanically minded are you? Are you willing to tinker, or do you just want everything to work first time, every time with no/few adjustments?
minimal cost: lee single stage kit + lee dies.
progressive setup that actually works, minimal cost: dillon square deal B
progressive setup that will work with alot of calibers and will not let you down, with casefeeder: dillon xl650
forget the lee loadmaster. I have it, and I am on the 4th revision of the f**** priming arm, and yesterday, I got 2 failures to prime on 60 cases, that's a 3% failure rate, and it pisses me off because now my shellplate mechanism is full of powder and I have 2 rounds to pull. No time to mess with that ####.. I hate it. I have to check every case after priming to see if it's primed properly.
Some will argue, the loadmaster works, but you will have to adjust it endlessly.... now for some reason my shellplate is slack, and then another thing, and then.... grrr.
It works, if you have time to play with it. I dont.
progressive setup that actually works, minimal cost: dillon square deal B
progressive setup that will work with alot of calibers and will not let you down, with casefeeder: dillon xl650
forget the lee loadmaster. I have it, and I am on the 4th revision of the f**** priming arm, and yesterday, I got 2 failures to prime on 60 cases, that's a 3% failure rate, and it pisses me off because now my shellplate mechanism is full of powder and I have 2 rounds to pull. No time to mess with that ####.. I hate it. I have to check every case after priming to see if it's primed properly.
Some will argue, the loadmaster works, but you will have to adjust it endlessly.... now for some reason my shellplate is slack, and then another thing, and then.... grrr.
It works, if you have time to play with it. I dont.
That's strange, the two of you evidently don't get along.
I have gone thousands of rounds at a time with no problems. And that was before the newest primer feed mechanism. Once in a while swab the primer path with alcohol (on a cotton swab) to remove any trace of oil/grease, make sure there are always primers in the feed mechanism, and it's always been good.
Another key thing with the Loadmaster, is to mount it to a VERY sturdy bench. The less vibration the better. Also helps all other presses too.
The other progressive press on the bench is a fully decked out Hornady LnL
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Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Dadudz, you'll find out with furter experiences, that 45 ACP is by far the easiest modern straight walled pistol cartridge to reload for.
The one few glitch in reloading for this one, is ensuring you get the bullet seating depth just right. (deep enough, but not too deep)
Keep a dismounted 1911 barrel on hand so one can immediately drop a first example down into the chamber, for deep enough bullet seating. This trick is a bit easier with cast bullets, such as the popular 200 grain SWC from the Hensley and Gibbs #68.
I recently learned this ittle nugget of info from my shooting friend Silverback.
Cheers!
The one few glitch in reloading for this one, is ensuring you get the bullet seating depth just right. (deep enough, but not too deep)
Keep a dismounted 1911 barrel on hand so one can immediately drop a first example down into the chamber, for deep enough bullet seating. This trick is a bit easier with cast bullets, such as the popular 200 grain SWC from the Hensley and Gibbs #68.
I recently learned this ittle nugget of info from my shooting friend Silverback.
Cheers!
I use a barrel as a check gauge as well but if you're reloading, you should know the max and min COAL from SAAMI specs for the caliber you are reloading. A good set of calipers should get you dialed in instead of guessing how deep to seat your bullets.
One time saving tip is to make up a dummy round to the COAL specs that you like for each caliber and bullet combination you reload. When the time comes to seat some bullets, provided you changed your seating depth adjustment since your last session, back the seating stem off all the way, insert the dummy round, raise the press and adjust the seater until it touches the dummy round. You should be good to go.
Armored Metal
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- The People's Republik of Kébekistan
.45 acp is a good first caliber to reload, I had a blast (no pun) learning to reload with it on a single stage press. Since then, I started reloading .223 rem and will soon start loading-up .38 spl. And guess what, I only started last winter. My advice is, do a lot of reading, watch as many videos as you can......and double check your work as you go.
Stay safe and have fun.
Stay safe and have fun.
I started reloading earlier this fall, I shoot a few pistol calibres and a couple of rifle calibres. I reload all of them. I use an RCBS single stage rockchucker, process my brass in batches and leave it ready for priming. Last night I sat down at about 10 PM and had 350 rounds of 9mm and 38spl in the vault and my head was on the pillow before midnight. I really enjoy reloading as an activity and it allows me to shoot more at the range which is a good thing too!
Buy a few reloading manuals, research and get goig, you won't regret it.
Buy a few reloading manuals, research and get goig, you won't regret it.
Regarding problems with Lee's priming system - I have a Lee Pro, and contrary to popular opinion they do work. I've reloaded 10K 45 auto on it and 35K 9mm BUT there is one thing that you need to do to keep the primer system running, you need to run CCI primers. I was having so many issues that I was at my wit's end and I read somewhere to use CCI primers exclusively so I figured what have I got to lose? I haven't had a single problem with the priming system in 20K rounds of 9mm. Apparently CCI primers are heavy enough to make the system reliable.
- Location
- Hudson Quebec Canada
Has anyone tried the Camdex machines
I really want something automatic and they seem to have it
I really want something automatic and they seem to have it
http://www.camdexloader.com/2100Pistol.aspx
Really good, I have 2 of these in my bedroom, one for 9mm and one for 45.
Just kidding.
Seriously, how much would one of those cost? Way overkill for an individual I would say. 4400 rounds an hour.
Camdex machines run around $20K US - the cool thing is that their production rates are for constant production - it's not like the normal reloaders stuff where they say it'll do 1,000/hr but they mean if you run it flat out and fully stocked and then collapse afterward. Camdex machines are designed to run 8 or 10 hours straight at that rate. Pretty awesome.
