As mentioned already nickle is ok, but watch out for those pesky small primer cases they really mess you up if you go to a progressive
Tumbler's are pretty handy, I'd recomend one, same with the pro1000.
Is it really that much cheaper?
- Thread starter mlebler
- Start date
Reloading is only cheaper if you buy one set up and nothing more.
In my case is a very expensive hobby. I load for many cartridges, and
I am always testing something new. I buy all kinds of staff to realize, that
it doesn't work and need to buy something better.
If I would load only for pistol, I will buy Dillion 650 and nothing more or less.
On that press you can even load rifle ammo, maybe not as good as on single stage, but good enough for hunting and plinking.
Good Luck
In my case is a very expensive hobby. I load for many cartridges, and
I am always testing something new. I buy all kinds of staff to realize, that
it doesn't work and need to buy something better.
If I would load only for pistol, I will buy Dillion 650 and nothing more or less.
On that press you can even load rifle ammo, maybe not as good as on single stage, but good enough for hunting and plinking.
Good Luck
An inconvenient truth
Your research served you well. You won't save $$ reloading 45ACP, particularly when you correctly capitalize (consider the cost of tying up $$) gear and supplies. Reloading is, however, quite a fun and interesting facet of our sport.
You won't buy your own lead mine, purchase primers in 1,000,000 lots, spend all your evenings raking the grounds of local ranges for free brass, or find presses, dies, scales etc that cost sfa and last forever. nor will you save $$ reloading 45ACP.
Your research served you well. You won't save $$ reloading 45ACP, particularly when you correctly capitalize (consider the cost of tying up $$) gear and supplies. Reloading is, however, quite a fun and interesting facet of our sport.
You won't buy your own lead mine, purchase primers in 1,000,000 lots, spend all your evenings raking the grounds of local ranges for free brass, or find presses, dies, scales etc that cost sfa and last forever. nor will you save $$ reloading 45ACP.
sillymike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Reloading and saving are not exactly compatible... at least in my case!
- You won't be saving $$, you'll be shooting more rounds for the same $$
- You won't be saving $$, you'll be shooting better ammo for the same $$
But the worst part it, once you start to reload, you'll end up buying some odd-caliber gun because hey! you just need one more set of die and you are good to go... (If I didn't reload I would have never bought one of those innexpensive K31 in 7.5x55 or a cheaper M36 in 7.5x54...)
Enjoy
- You won't be saving $$, you'll be shooting more rounds for the same $$
- You won't be saving $$, you'll be shooting better ammo for the same $$
But the worst part it, once you start to reload, you'll end up buying some odd-caliber gun because hey! you just need one more set of die and you are good to go... (If I didn't reload I would have never bought one of those innexpensive K31 in 7.5x55 or a cheaper M36 in 7.5x54...)
Enjoy
Cheaper /round -yes you'll shoot more for same cost
quality/performance -yes you can load for each firearms best potential.
#of rounds fired lots more!!! to your spec .
ability to shoot discontinued calibres &wild-cats -YES!!!My father hunts deer with a .43 mauser.....try to find factory in it that isn't a collectable .....
SATISFACTION!!QUALITY !!PREFORMANCE!!who can put a price on that ?
quality/performance -yes you can load for each firearms best potential.
#of rounds fired lots more!!! to your spec .
ability to shoot discontinued calibres &wild-cats -YES!!!My father hunts deer with a .43 mauser.....try to find factory in it that isn't a collectable .....
SATISFACTION!!QUALITY !!PREFORMANCE!!who can put a price on that ?
You could cut early costs by using a Lee Turret Press, their dies, shell holders & such. A inexpensive tumber might be the next step, but for first few you can go along without a tumbler. The answer for 45ACP is YES you will save money & besides it comes to an interesting hobby of reloading.
Like a friend gave me 50 bullet tips of a size I had not used before. They were a sort of "shake & bake" lube, rather then better lubed as on the bullet tips I am familiar with. I also had to turn the last die being the one for the bullet seating & crimp to one full turn at the top. They came out beautifully & then I tried out seveal different powder loads. He gave me some more so I will be experimenting around to possibly find what I feel is the best load with said bullet tips. Now you can see how it become interesting.
Like a friend gave me 50 bullet tips of a size I had not used before. They were a sort of "shake & bake" lube, rather then better lubed as on the bullet tips I am familiar with. I also had to turn the last die being the one for the bullet seating & crimp to one full turn at the top. They came out beautifully & then I tried out seveal different powder loads. He gave me some more so I will be experimenting around to possibly find what I feel is the best load with said bullet tips. Now you can see how it become interesting.
I can't wait for my Lee press to get here, it will be slow going at first, but once I learn I think I'll be producing some good ammo. I'm getting the Lee Pro 1000 press, and it measures out the powder automatically every pull of the lever. Do you think I should get a scale, even tho it will do this process automatically? It might be a good Idea to double check the powder with a scale, what do you think? My local gun-shop was trying to sell me a pocket scale, they said it had 0.1 grain accuracy, but I read the back and it was actually 0.2 of a grain accuracy. Is 0.2 accuracy sufficient for reloading handgun ammo? I would just be using it to double check my rounds, and if the Lee press is doing its job correctly. Thanks for all the info BTW!
"...washing it with soap..." Most soaps leave a thin film on brass(and everything else). There is a liquid cleaner available though. Birchwood Casey makes it, I think. Brownell's, et al. Used it long ago. Works fine. Put the cases on a cookie sheet and into your oven set on 'warm' (or whatever the lowest temperature is) for 15 minutes to speed up the drying time. Don't touch 'em for 15 minutes or so when they come out though. Friggin' things get really hot in 15 minutes.
After all that, the biggest advantage of reloading isn't saving money. You get to shoot ammo that is tailored for your firearm. And the endless search for the best price for ammo goes away. Using cast bullets for a .45 does reduce shooting costs considerably tough. Jacketed bullets are far too expensive to shoot regularly.
"...pesky small primer cases..." Winchester NT uses small pistol primers. Regular .45 brass uses large pistol. Don't buy Win NT ammo(or pick up brass on a range) and you'll be fine.
After all that, the biggest advantage of reloading isn't saving money. You get to shoot ammo that is tailored for your firearm. And the endless search for the best price for ammo goes away. Using cast bullets for a .45 does reduce shooting costs considerably tough. Jacketed bullets are far too expensive to shoot regularly.
"...pesky small primer cases..." Winchester NT uses small pistol primers. Regular .45 brass uses large pistol. Don't buy Win NT ammo(or pick up brass on a range) and you'll be fine.
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blacksmithden
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Hummm. Well, I hate to tell you this, and some will definately disagree with me. You're going to be messing around with that press for a while. With mine, the autodisk powder measure constantly hung up and broke the pull back chain. I replaced the chain more times than I can count. I polished the powder through die and the nozzle of the autodisk. Lubed it. I even put a spring around the chain to act as a shock absorber. Nothing worked for long. The primer feed needed to be tapped frequently to make the primers feed properly. The last and final straw with me is the case feeder thingy started jamming up on it's slide. I finally tore the thing off my bench and bough a Lee turret. That survived and worked well until I tried to resize some 300WM cases and broke the die holder (my own fault for trying to do heavy work with a cheap light press). I returned that, and bought a Rockchucker Supreme single stage. Now THAT thing is built to last forever. It's pretty slow doing pistol ammo though. My Pro1000 now sits in a plastic bin beside my bench. I haven't sold it because I don't want to pass the "headache machine" onto someone else. Some people say that they've had good luck with them. Personally, I hate the thing. My 2c.
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Hopefully I have better luck....where is a good place for replacement parts if need be?
Just looked at this post a second time and i seen you were questioning the need for a scale ..... the answer is YES ! you have to have one to set your powder charge and check it periodically for accuracy.
you just don't turn your powder measure to set it and then forget it ....especially if your reloading for accuacy-preformace.
The most important item you need is a manual that you NEED to Read and Reread prior to starting to even thinking about reloading .
You would be doing yourself a favor to have an experianced reloader help you start out .
When reloading there are no stupid questions .Maybe a few smart asses....only their brand,loadspec,ect. is the only type to use .Information is your best freind.
BE Safe Reloading!
you just don't turn your powder measure to set it and then forget it ....especially if your reloading for accuacy-preformace.
The most important item you need is a manual that you NEED to Read and Reread prior to starting to even thinking about reloading .
You would be doing yourself a favor to have an experianced reloader help you start out .
When reloading there are no stupid questions .Maybe a few smart asses....only their brand,loadspec,ect. is the only type to use .Information is your best freind.
BE Safe Reloading!
Thanks, I realize that, so I have a scale on the way....0.1 accuracy as well...I'm not even going to think about reloading until I know exactly what I'm doing, luckily one of my good friends is an experienced reloader, and he will be taking me through the proper steps.
Clean before reloading, get a tumbler or vibrater and yes you can reload nickel. I use a thumblers tumbler as well as a dillon vibrater to clean and do it before reloading with the spent primers still in the casings. For cleaning media use crushed corn or walnut.
mlebler
Getting costs below $5.00 per box is not difficult but you have to incur an initial expense.
1. Cast your own bullets
2. Make your own lube (Felix Lube is great - go to the cast bullet forum for the recipe).
3, Scronge brass everytime you hit the range.
4. Scronge used wheelweights
Your only out of pocket expenses ongoing are primers and powder.
To get there you have to invest in:
1. Lead Melter (Lee 10# pot will get you started)
2. Lead smelting pot of some kind
3. Bullet mold
4. Sizer,Sizing die and top punch
5. Press & Dies
6. Powder Scale
7. Casting Manual (Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook is one of the best)
8. Brass Tumbler with media
3 to 4 thousand rounds and all of the above is paid for.
Take Care
Bob
Getting costs below $5.00 per box is not difficult but you have to incur an initial expense.
1. Cast your own bullets
2. Make your own lube (Felix Lube is great - go to the cast bullet forum for the recipe).
3, Scronge brass everytime you hit the range.
4. Scronge used wheelweights
Your only out of pocket expenses ongoing are primers and powder.
To get there you have to invest in:
1. Lead Melter (Lee 10# pot will get you started)
2. Lead smelting pot of some kind
3. Bullet mold
4. Sizer,Sizing die and top punch
5. Press & Dies
6. Powder Scale
7. Casting Manual (Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook is one of the best)
8. Brass Tumbler with media
3 to 4 thousand rounds and all of the above is paid for.
Take Care
Bob
I haven't reloaded them myself but I know that nickel casings are only nickel plated, and are still brass underneath that. They are reloadable but because nickel is a harder/more brittle metal then brass is you might not get as many reloads out of it before cracking occurs.
I am paying 4.20 and buying my lead, however I just purchased equipment to make my own bullets so my price will drop even further.
I would not recommend nickel cases I got about 2000 and they look cool but are weak compared to brass, I figured it would be easy to pick them up on the range because not alot of people use them... found out normally I am the only one shooting 45 anyways.
I would not recommend nickel cases I got about 2000 and they look cool but are weak compared to brass, I figured it would be easy to pick them up on the range because not alot of people use them... found out normally I am the only one shooting 45 anyways.
