Just getting into reloading?

J

JimmieA.

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I am just getting into reloading using mostly used Lee and RCBS manual gear.

I just did a batch of 9mm without incident. I think 1 bullet was unuseable. I had trouble getting the bullet length as I am using Cactus Plains lead bullets but guessed as best as I could about the correct lenght. I used new Lee dies. I have 5 different books for data but no Cactus Plains data is in them.

I decided to reload 100 38 special +P rounds. I have used dies that I bought off the EE. I ended up wrecking 8 rounds, and can get no consistency from one round to the next. I just quit reloading after 28/100 rounds. The lenght is different each time and the brass cuts the lead each time. I have tried to expand the cases but than the lead will just go right into the case. I forgot to use oil lubrication on these cases but I don't think that is the problem. I think the dies are just plain wore out or NFG. They are RCBS dies and I don't think they are carbide to start with. When I bought them the seller sold me the set that actually had 2 44 mag dies and one 38 special die. He gave me a different set of dies to correct the error. I have read and reread how to do this so I have a little idea what I'm supposted to do.

Thoughts and insight on what I'd doing wrong would be appreciated. I can't believe how long it takes to do a 100 bullets but I guess it occupies a few hours, keeps me off the internet (####!)

JimmieA.
 
Thoughts and insight on what I'd doing wrong would be appreciated.
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My suggestion for you would be to not reload until you have a much better idea & concept of the steps and procedures involved in reloading.
There are several excellent books available & numerous internet sites with help & videos about reloading.
Reloading can be a very rewarding hobby if done correctly. If done wrong it can be very dangerous. I have seen several accidents & destroyed guns over the years from badly done reloads.
 
cactus plains are just lead bullets- so use lead bullet data - really no big deal- if you're getting the case cutting into the bullet, you need to bell the case a bit more- if you don't know what that is go get out the manual and look it up- the different length could be several reasons- maybe your seater isn't tight, ( again look that up) or the lube from the bullet is getting between the seater and the bullet( you end up with a "short " round- this happens a lot with lead bullets- or you're not using a CONSISTANT method- ie short stroking some rounds and full length travel on others- i can't see what you're doing or how you're doing from here- probably the best idea again is to get a manual, then maybe a MENTOR to show you how-
 
Sounds like your expander is too big or you're case belling is not going right if the bullet is not very tight in the case. When you resize the case, the bullet should be tight and require your press to seat it. Something that you are doing to the case after sizing is expanding the neck too much, however you still need to bell the case mouth.
 
I am using full strokes to load the lead but am getting different lenghts for the bullets. If I bell the end of the brass I can push the lead all the way into the brass with just finger pressure, I got 8 like that. The die does not crimp the brass around the bullet. This lead is from Speer the 9mm was Cactus Plains. My Speer book doesn't list this bullet (4624) but lists 4623 which looks the same. This .38S lead is 158 grain. The lead from cactus plains did not seem to look like any other lead in the pictures in the 5 manuals I have, it was round nose RN on the pail. Each lead has a slight different length for a finished bullet. I guess what I'm thinking is that the 9mm went great using new Lee dies. These dies are used and suspect to me. Nothing seems to be going right. I may try a few more to see how it goes. I think the best thing I can do with the 8 wasted bullets is dispose of them. I can't get the lead out as it is buried right to the powder.

JimmieA.
 
Well I tried this again. I found that the lead seating die was full of hard wax like material, must have been that way when I bought it as these Speer lead have no wax on them. I cleaned that off set the die up again and can move the lead around and push it in after the die sets the lead. The die is not crimping around the brass. I resized the brass first so no lead was being cut off by the brass. I think these dies are just wore out and not recrimping the brass properly. Ruined another 5 brass and lead but WTF over!

Regards to the comments about safety etc, I have read and reread a book called The ABCs of Reloading and read several of the manuals I have about reloading from Speer and others. I will be firing the bullets in a Ruger SA Convertable so I'm not that worried about safety. I am also not loading power to the max and I have a set of weights to test the scales as I go along.

JimmieA.
 
I think that you have to fall back and regroup......you must confirm that you are full length sizing and after that, the bullet would be a tight fit, so tight that it cant be pushed in under all your weight.....If so proceed to the next step(belling case mouth)...does it do this without opening(expanding the rest of the case) too much? Until you answer this, you are pissing into the wind.
 
I tried again as above, I lubed the brass, sized it, placed lead in the brass and set the lead in the brass. Afterward I could push the lead all the way into the brass. I screwed out the top part of the lead seating screw (to try and crimp the brass) and tried again and the lead still would go in or turn around in the brass, the bottom of the die is almost touching the rod that goes up and down. I cannot measure any difference in size of the brass top to bottom using a mike. If I go too deep with the sizing die the brass comes out with a crown rim shape. Anyway thats my sad story. I really should throw out all these .38S+p that I have made as all the lead is loose in the brass or the lead has lost some material due to tight brass. If these dies were carbide would they have a different metal insert on the inside, because they don't?

JimmieA.
 
I believe that you need to purchase a proper set of carbide dies for your .38/.357, I suggest Redding, Forster, or RCBS. With good(proper equip.) it would be easy for me or most other reloaders to help you out. The proper sizing die will leave your case narrower then your bullet making for a tight fit, die number 2 will expand case to a few thou. under the size of your bullets, making for a tight and consistent grip and at the same time bell case mouth enough to accept the bullet, with out adversely affecting case neck tension. All dies must be adjusted somewhat and in this case die #2 must be adjusted so that ram contacts the die and case is belled only enough to seat bullet, no more.
 
measure the diameter of the bullets your using, me thinks it may be for 9mm?

i just got my 38 setup for my new revolver and i was messing with 9mm bullets and while they will work, they fall into the case as your suggesting.
 
I got it sorted out. Having that wax in the die set me off in a loop. I have now got everything adjusted correctly and the bullets are good. Lately I wasn't seeting the brass deep enough with the lead setting die. It now squeezes the lead into the brass good. I can push the lead into the brass with my fingers until I seat the bullet with the last die. Nice to know that I don't have to buy new dies. I have at least 1000 brass so wasteing 12 isn't that big a deal I guess. Now need to figure out how to dispose of them safely.

Thanks for the input everyone.

Merry Christmas EH!

Jimmiea.
 
might as well pick up a bullet puller- it's one of the VITAL pieces of equipment - like the eraser on a pencil- i use the quinetics hammer type- that way, when you get a round that's poorly made, or even suspicious,( squib or double charge) you can pull the bullet, drain out the powder and PRESS OUT the primer- in other words, you lose nothing but the time to make the round- some folks like the press mounted type, but that needs a different puller for each caliber- and you can always use an extra hammer
with that dozen or so rounds you've made poorly, you can just pull the bullets and drain the powder back into the hopper, press the primer back out, and re-use the case just like normal- no NEED to throw them out- the bullets may be a different story b/c of the "sized" end now- if you wanted to really be cheap, you could re-cast
 
JimmieA. - I find it curious that you say that it's the final crimp holding the bullet in place and that you can still push it in with your fingers until that step. From my experience, there's something odd there. The bullet should be firmly held in place by the pressure of the properly-sized case. The crimp serves more to keep bullets from popping out under recoil. To be honest, I suspect that you still aren't screwing the sizing die in far enough. While it may work, you are more likely to get inconsistent results that way.

Ditto on t-star's comments on a bullet pullet. For onesies and twosies, a kinetic pullet is fine and if you're loading hollow-base wadcutters, they're probably flush with the case mouth anyway, so the kinetic puller is the only game in town.
 
I really like the idea of having separate crimp and seating dies for pistol rounds. This is especially true for my 9mm which I don't even bother to crimp anymore at all. The last station in my XL650 is a "no-op".
 
I'm going to take my 9mm and .38S +p hand loaded rounds out to the range tomorrow to try them. I'll shoot them in a Ruger Blackhawk convertable that is actually a .357 Mag. pistol so if they are crimped a little too close etc is shouldn't be the end of the world. I can't believe how long it takes to actually do the reloading. If time was money it wouldn't be worth it! It does keep me occupied for a while though. I'll take factory loaded rounds with me to compare as well.

Want to thank everyone who responded to the request for information. It is nice that people care enough to actually respond. This is totally off topic but I tried to talk to my telephone company today. Called the local number and no one would answer. Called the 1800 number and got someone in Sinapore, also have a call centre in Guatomola. Person who I couldn't understand told me that I was discrimination because I wanted to talk to someone in Canada about my Canadian phone and Canadian phone company. Can't wait to respond to a customer satisfaction survey on that one.

JimmieA.
 
if you're complaining about the time it takes to reload 50 rounds or so, you're doing SOMETHING WRONG- EVEN ON A SINGLE STAGE, it shouldn't take more than a half hour at the most- maybe reloading isn't for you as it takes concentration and attention to detail, and already your mind is wandering- pretty soon you'll try to "invent" ways to speed up, and start skipping steps- that leads to TROUBLE, BIG TIME-on a single stage, you should be doing batches- ie doing one step 50 times over, or how many you want to do, then moving on to the next step ie resize 50 rounds, then prime 50 rounds, powder charge 50 rounds, then seat 50 - of course, on a turret or a progressive, you can speed this up considerably
 
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