Another newbie thread on getting into reloading...

driller212

driller212

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Hi guys,

I have been trying to get into reloading for quite some time and I just haven't had the money or time to spend on it, and I seem to now so I might as well take the plunge.

Now being that I have some money, money is really an object with me as I am a student.

I want to load up 44 magnum, 30-06 and maybe some .308. But for right now I just want to load 44 magnum for some bear defense rounds for the summer and some plinking rounds.

I am quite mobile as I live in 3 different places throughout the year so the lee hand press is a no brainer. Anyways, I have a preliminary list that H Wally has been helping me with, and I just want to be sure I am not missing any important components (minus bullets, brass, powder and primers). And that I am on the right track.

Here is the preliminary list:

Lee safety powder scale
Lee chamfer tool
44 magnum die set (maybe the carbide?)
Lee 44 magnum press shell holder
Lee hand held press kit
Lee auto prime hand priming tool
Lee case length guage and shell holder 44 magnum
Lee case trimmer cutter and lock stud


Any help and advice on my setup, or just advice in general would be much appreciated...

Thanks,

J
 
Tumblers are great. But u can clean in a sink with hot soapy water which will be wherever you travel to instead of lugging around a tumbler. I did it with a sink for years with excellent results. Just make sure they dry very well before peiming and powder obviously.

As for your list...
+Powder funnel
+shell holder for correct caliber for auto prime...not the same holder as press
+loading block (even a piece of wood with partial holes drilled in will work)
+something to run yourlee shell trimmer...either the zip trim or a drill with the drill adapter(cheapest if you already have a drill)
+case lube if you use steel dies (carbide are a little more but well worth it...trust me.

Also if you do not plan to load alot or just want to try it out....look into the old.fashion lee loaders. Theae are the ones you use with a mallet. I have one in numerous calibers and they are pretty good and fairly accurate.

I love loading and shooting.the 44mag so if you want more info pm me. I check my pm more than this area of the forum. Best of luck.
 
Tumblers are nice, but not necessary. Don't bother with powder tricklers either- use your thumb and forefinger.
 
If you get the Lee hand press kit, it comes with a funnel, case lube, and the ram prime. That means, at least to start, you don't need to get the hand primer.
Then, after priming a couple hundred cases, you'll appreciate the hand primer that much more.
For a trickler, a 30-06 case rolled between your fingers works really well.
 
hoochie said:
I would suggest a tumbler as well. You'll need to clean your brass
Click to expand...
You don't "need" to clean your brass. And if you do, it can be done without the tumbler. Scotchbrite, rag, and some lighter fluid when you are trimming will get it done easily enough. As stated elsewhere, soap and water in the sink.

Don't over think this, OP. You don't need much and you are getting a good start with the hand press. I love mine and it was quite an improvement over the Lee Loader I started with.
 
sisiphunter said:
As for your list...
+Powder funnel- as noted earlier, you can get one with the press kit.
+shell holder for correct caliber for auto prime...not the same holder as press - you get a ram prime with the kit as well. uses the same shell holder as the ram itself.
+loading block (even a piece of wood with partial holes drilled in will work) - see my post in this forum under "reloading block thoughts" for cheap, easy alternatives
+something to run yourlee shell trimmer...either the zip trim or a drill with the drill adapter(cheapest if you already have a drill) - the shelholder for the trimmer will fit into a 1/4" multi-screwdriver. I means that you are holding two things that turn, but it is worth it.
+case lube if you use steel dies (carbide are a little more but well worth it...trust me. - I used the Lee case lube for years, but found that it couldn't be left on overnight (caused the brass to tarnish). I have been using the imperial sizing die wax for a year or so now and like it a LOT.
Click to expand...


Enjoy your hobby. Now that you have brought this up, I will have to try something for portability...
 
driller212 said:
For the price of a case trimmer I can get this instead I think...


http://www.reloaders.ca/oscommerce/product_info.php?products_id=155

It should work just as well right? It seems a better bang for the buck.
Click to expand...
Sure, that should work fine. You will eventually find that you need a ball on the end of the cutter. And, I am sure, you will NEVER screw that chamfer tool into anything. Easier to hold it in your hand and just ream the mouth ater you trim it while it is still in the lock stud.
 
driller212 said:
For the price of a case trimmer I can get this instead I think...


http://www.reloaders.ca/oscommerce/product_info.php?products_id=155

It should work just as well right? It seems a better bang for the buck.
Click to expand...
You could do that, but I would avoid Smartreloader products just on principle.
Ripping off Lee's products, making them in Italy to avoid paying the royalties due for using patented ideas, and not making them any cheaper than Lee does!
Many site sponsors sell Lee stuff, and it is easily the least expensive.
 
I have most of the Lee presses. I do like using the hand press, and it's nice to travel with, but much easier to use a bench mounted one. I find I end up needing three hands and need to be really careful not to dump powder out of smaller cases. A bench model mounted on a board and c clamps can go to the range. A Lee Breech Lock Challenger is handy on a bench plate board. That said the Hand press kit is a good value.

I never use my Lee scale, usually use RCBS/Ohaus 5-0-5 or RCBS electronic.

You probably won't need to trim your pistol brass much or ever. I found my straight wall cases were never long enough for the Lee case length gauge to even touch. I like it for bottleneck rounds tho. If I wanted to uniform straight wall cases like .44mag or .45/70 I would use an adjustable lathe type trimmer like RCBS, Forster or Lyman offer. Lee trimmer with ball grip and Lee zip trim is what I use on .308 etc usually. The lee Chamfer tool works better when cases spin. When doing by hand RCBS type chamfer tool works better.

If you just want to start with .44 Magnum I would recommend;

Lee Hand Press Kit 90180 $42
Lee .44 spl dies 90966 (shellholder included) $34
Lee 2nd or Lyman 49th manual $15-30
Digital calipre to measure with $20-30
 
hk33ka1 said:
I have most of the Lee presses. I do like using the hand press, and it's nice to travel with, but much easier to use a bench mounted one. I find I end up needing three hands and need to be really careful not to dump powder out of smaller cases. A bench model mounted on a board and c clamps can go to the range. A Lee Breech Lock Challenger is handy on a bench plate board. That said the Hand press kit is a good value.

I never use my Lee scale, usually use RCBS/Ohaus 5-0-5 or RCBS electronic.

You probably won't need to trim your pistol brass much or ever. I found my straight wall cases were never long enough for the Lee case length gauge to even touch. I like it for bottleneck rounds tho. If I wanted to uniform straight wall cases like .44mag or .45/70 I would use an adjustable lathe type trimmer like RCBS, Forster or Lyman offer. Lee trimmer with ball grip and Lee zip trim is what I use on .308 etc usually. The lee Chamfer tool works better when cases spin. When doing by hand RCBS type chamfer tool works better.

If you just want to start with .44 Magnum I would recommend;

Lee Hand Press Kit 90180 $42
Lee .44 spl dies 90966 (shellholder included) $34
Lee 2nd or Lyman 49th manual $15-30
Digital calipre to measure with $20-30
Click to expand...

Yea a manual is definitely a good idea. Are electronic scales more practical? Can they be trusted?
So would I need a caliper to measure with? Or does the case length gauge work fine?

Thanks guys this is a big help!

J
 
Yes electronic scales can be trusted. Like any scale they need to be calibrated/zeroed/tested. It's nice having a balance beam scale to use for this. More practical or not? Matter of opinion I think.

The case length gauge is for trimming and it basically stops the cutter at the trim to length for that specific calibre. There's a good chance your brass won't need to be trimmed because of the shape/type it is. This tool does not provide a measurement.

A calipre can be used to measure anything around the house, including your reloads. How long the round is with bullet seated, case lengths, bullet diameter etc.
 
ok here is what I have on order:

CHAMFER TOOL

44 MAG CARBIDE 3 DIE SET, S/H #11

AUTO PRIME XR HAND PRIMING TOOL

CASE TRIMMER, CUTTER, & LOCK STUD

LEE SCALE SAFETY 1/20gr ACCURACY

LEE HAND PRESS KIT w/ BREECH LOCK HAND PRESS

LEE 44 MAG CASE LENGTH GAUGE & SHELLHOLDER

and some 240 gr bullets,

hopefully 1lb of Hodgdon H-110

and 1000x CCI large pistol primers (#350)

I plan to get the caliper and a cheap drill at my local hardware store. all in all it will be about 3.5 times the price I anticipated going in... but it will be worth it eventually.
 
I took the hand primer off of the order because the kit comes with a ram prime.

Do I still need a third shell holder specifically for priming though?
 
No. The Ram prime uses the press type shellholder included with your Lee dies. Sounds like you are good to go short of a Loading Manual.
 
No real need for a case trimmer for the handgun rounds. But you'll want it for later when doing the rifle stuff.

The sink with soap and water is fine for cleaning. But at the same time toss in a healthy dollop of simple white vinegar as well as the soap. It breaks up the fouling a lot nicer than just detergent on its own. A collander works well so you can dunk and stir then lift and stir to drain. Repeat three or four times at 5 minute intervals to encourage the insides to get cleaned out more completely. Use the same dunk and stir then lift and stir to flush out the insides as effectively as possible.

If you're doing all this in a single stage format then by all means size and deprime first before cleaning. Having the primers out lets the soap/vinegar mix work at the primer pockets and flash holes that way.

Keep in mind that it takes a couple of days to ensure that the insides of the brass are fully dry. During that time have the brass laid out and hopefully somewhere near a heat register to encourage the drying.

And a hearty +whatever on the digital scale. They are available from Ebay so cheaply that it's rediculous. I just got two of them for around $7 each out of the far east. They read down to +or- .2gns.

You can make your own powder measures as well. Just cut down and dress off various handgun brass casings and solder on a copper house wire handle. Once you get your digital scale you can check the measures to see what weight of charge they pick up. Then use the appropriate measure and a small funnel to charge the casings.

A block of wood and a some time with a hand drill makes up some nice loading blocks. A foot of 2x6 marked off and drilled will hold 50 cases at a time. And that's a nice size batch to do per go. And may I suggest a flash light to look down in the cases following the powder charging? The light will let you see if you missed any or double charged any. Generally if you miss one then check the others around it as it's likely you double charged a case by accident.

Although with .44Mag rounds most of the better powders for magnums seem to fill the case enough that if you try to double charge they'll overflow. It's still wise to inspect to ensure that you didn't miss a case and produce a round which will result in a squib.
 
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