Powder and reloading questions

Thinking about this I have a shell holder and a gauge that still needs a case trimmer. So maybe i have the holder not sure what the trimmer looks like. Going to measure the cases for now and see where they are. But still thats 3 different shell holders

Lee Cutter and Lock Stud. The gage is a hardened pin that sits inside the case and limits the cutter travel. Neat idea, no measuring needed. The big advantage of Lee is they offer complete packages. The Lee Anniversary Kit includes press, scale, volumetric dispenser. hand primer c/w various shell holders, cutter and lock stud, case lube, primer pocket cleaner, case mouth chamfer tool and manual. Their die packages typically include the press shell holder as well.
Similarly, the Lee Loadall has all the shot and powder bushings included. If you have a MEC press, then you need to buy both shot and powder bushings individually, at ~ 10$ a pop.
You can also get Lee products from Rusty Wood in BC.
 
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Changing to that Lee Cutter and Spinner Stud is what I did. From new, and from various purchases on EE, I ended up with a couple or three spinners and cutters. I have to buy the shell holder / case length gauge one at a time for each cartridge. At that time, I thought it was a "slick" replacement for the crank style cutter that I was using, which needed a pilot for each caliber that I would trim. So each die box here ends up with the shell holder for the press / priming tool and a shell holder and gauge for that cartridge for that Lee trim system. In use, I roll my cases on a Lyman lube pad to lube them with RCBS Case Lube-2, then size, then into that Spinner Stud that is in a battery drill - trim to length, chamfer and use a wet rag to wipe off that lube - then on to next case. I usually process batches of centre fire rifle cases like that - about 100 cases (or less) per session. De-priming, annealing, tumbling was usually done in a prior session - in larger batches. That is about as long as I can stay interested in it. Seating primers, dispensing powder and seating bullets is usually done as a separate session. I've had too many "klutzy" experiences of dumping a loaded round over other open loaded rounds - so I tend to seat the bullet immediately after dispensing the powder into that case - I do not like having multiple cases with powder in them, but no bullet - I have knocked over too many or spilled stuff.

As you acquire odd-ball or obsolete cartridges, you likely have to make some of your own tools, or alter from something else. I could not find a case gauge for 9.3x57 to buy - so chucked one for 9.3x62 into my lathe and cut it to length. Same with the Factory Crimp Die - I do not think they make one for 9.3x57 - so I will be cutting down one for 9.3x62 when I get to that one, again. If I still had the crank type trimmer, likely would not be an issue to trim 9.3x57, since I would have the 9.3 pilot for the 9.3x62, anyways. And not all people use the Lyman "M" die, or a Factory Crimp Die, so maybe there is ways to get around using those.

For 28 gauge shotgun, I used an MEC machine - ended up with a Universal Charge Bar, so I set that thing for weight against my Hornady Beam scale - powder and shot cavities. I think I might have done only 200 rounds or so - ever. For 20 gauge, there is a Lee Load-All in its factory box - I opened that box to look at that tool, but never used it - so I have not loaded any 20 gauge, at all. There is a Winchester Model 12 in the mail on the way to me - I should see it this week - that will be the first 12 gauge that I have had since about year 2000 - there is a flat of #7.5 lead shot ammo for it - I am not set up at all for re-loading 12 gauge - not sure that I will.

I do find it a bit more of a challenge to find a "pressure tested" shotgun load recipe, that uses the hulls, primers, wads and powder that I have on hand, or am able to get, for sure - I just do not know enough about it, to know what stuff is "close enough", or what stuff can be substituted from the "recipe", versus what has to stay the same.
 
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I use the Lee trimmer, too. For trimming cases I have a old 3/8" drill motor set up in a stand. The stand is one of those portable drill press things clamped to the end of the bench. I deburr and chamfer too. But that takes a little skill, I found couldn't do it on power, rather on the coast down. On power it's too aggressive. While it's not a Girand(sp) , it's almost as quick and a lot cheaper.

I use it to clean inside of the necks with brass bore brush . They should be clean so you have even release. I also use an auto body scuff pad , basically a very fine Scotchbrite pad, to polish the outside. Ideally you want necks and the outside half ass clean, to protect your dies. So I do that first and trim after resizing.

I very rarely do batches of more than 20, so I can be fussy with reloading.

I do 12ga on a MEC.
 
I just looked on-line at a Lyman Universal trimmer - so it spins the cutter, not the case? Needs a pilot for each caliber? Is there a chamfering attachment for it? How do you rotate cases to clean off the outside of them?
 
I just looked on-line at a Lyman Universal trimmer - so it spins the cutter, not the case? Needs a pilot for each caliber? Is there a chamfering attachment for it? How do you rotate cases to clean off the outside of them?

Cutter spins, comes with all the standard size pilots. The only one I turned on the lathe was a .40/10mm pilot, I chamfer and debur case mouths separately with a hand tool.
 
I just looked on-line at a Lyman Universal trimmer - so it spins the cutter, not the case? Needs a pilot for each caliber? Is there a chamfering attachment for it? How do you rotate cases to clean off the outside of them?

Correct, the cutter spins.
Yes you still need a caliber specific pilot, but that is the case with most if not all lathe style trimmers.

there is probably a 3 way cutter that you could fit in there but the standard lyman cutter cuts it straight just like your lee lock nut and stud cutter.
For deburring and chamfering i put the simple rcbs deburring tool in the mini lathe and that works great for me.

I also use a lyman universal but then the 120v electric/power one since I'm lazy lol.
 
Got the lee case trimmer coming again. Almost Half price according to Amazon. 46% off. About $23. comes with a chamfer tool and primer pocket tool. Also ordered a bullet sizer luber gas check crimper. Guess I'll have to wait a few more days. 12g press (thanks to bertn) and primers, wads, powder arriving about the same time middle of the month. Still need molds and probably a primer tool for the shotshell. Manual is waiting in town
 
Got the lee case trimmer coming again. Almost Half price according to Amazon. 46% off. About $23. comes with a chamfer tool and primer pocket tool. Also ordered a bullet sizer luber gas check crimper. Guess I'll have to wait a few more days. 12g press (thanks to bertn) and primers, wads, powder arriving about the same time middle of the month. Still need molds and probably a primer tool for the shotshell. Manual is waiting in town

Bertn is agood man
 
You will find out stuff as you go - do not get into big rush to fill a list unless you know what you are getting - for example, I have an RCBS RockChucker press - one could prime cases with the tooling that came with that press - there is pluses and minuses to that - seems like many of us chose to use a dedicated priming tool for reloading rifle cartridges, but that is a choice - do not HAVE to get that separate tool in order to prime a case. As you have chosen, is likely a different type of press that you are going to use to reload 12 gauge - usually those have a station that inserts and seats a new primer - but most likely somebody makes and sells a tool that will just seat shotgun primers. I am pretty sure at one time it was possible to get shotgun reloading tools that worked on a rifle press - or maybe there was also a kind that had no press at all - just done manually.
 
seen videos of a wooden dowel and a hammer being used on a flat surface to seat primers. But if there's a tool with less impact might be good. Not sure what the press thats coming can do
 
seen videos of a wooden dowel and a hammer being used on a flat surface to seat primers. But if there's a tool with less impact might be good. Not sure what the press thats coming can do

Shot gun reloading tools are easy to make, here is what I made for .410.

https://youtu.be/BaVc3k920fo

You can also get Lee Loaders, check em out. Very slow but they work.

 
Nice. I like both those kits. Very compact. Does lee still make that kit for 308. The 410 is very interesting as well. Only have one 410 and ammo is pretty expensive why I only have 1. Same kit can be made for 12g loading. Have a few 12g.

Thinking more on this ... Reloading would make 410 cheaper and always available
 
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Reasons to reload rifle cartridges
1) cost, I had two sons learning to shoot 30-06s, I bought a Lee Anniversary kit, $125 then
2)availability of odd ball ammo, like 338-06
3) high cost of specialized calibers, like Weatherby or Norma
4) old cartridges like 30-06 are loaded for old rifles, you can load 30-06 like a 270, to the same pressures.
5) accuracy, I was given a box of handloads, they shot exactly twice as good as the factory stuff I had been shooting. 1980 factory wasn't that good, but handloads can still be better than factory.

For shotguns
1) There even are savings in target 12ga, but other gauges it's really about both savings and availability
2) custom loads, like 12ga bismuth turkey loads in a 2 3/4 hull
 
seen videos of a wooden dowel and a hammer being used on a flat surface to seat primers. But if there's a tool with less impact might be good. Not sure what the press thats coming can do

All shotgun presses have a depriming and resizing station, priming station, wad seating station, pre-crimp and crimp station. If you are loading slugs, then you need a different setup, at least for crimping. (not my area of expertise)
 
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You can also get Lee Loaders, check em out. Very slow but they work.

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That is what I started with - I still have ones in 308 Win, 30-06 and 22-250 - various "inadequacies" about them, but they will make good ammo - pretty sure I took several deer with ammo loaded with a Lee Loader. My advice - FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!! Is or was a card in the kit that told you what powders to use for which weight bullets - was a "scoop" included - did not weigh the load - was no scale involved - loading instructions were based on the volume of the powder used.

Many of the steps given in instructions use a hammer or mallet to pound - most could be done with an arbour press if you wanted to, instead of beating with a hammer - or could pay gazillion dollars and get about a similar system that was made by Wilson for bench rest reloading - which often uses a thing like an arbour press.

How I ended up with that 22-250 set - I think my neighbour had a buddy who had better idea about what powder to use - so neighbour got that kind of powder - not on the list on that card - and he used the same scoop - so his very first re-load with that powder froze that bolt on his Remington 788 to be shut. Being underground miner, first reaction was to beat on it with wood block to open that bolt - the bolt handle broke off the bolt body - and bolt still stuck shut. There was much commotion and expense to get those parts into a gunsmith in a nearby city to get that all put back together. He ended up to give to me all his reloading stuff - was convinced it was a dangerous and expensive hobby to try. That was circa 1977 or so.
 
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All shotgun presses have a depriming and resizing station, priming station, wad seating station, pre-crimp and crimp station. If you are loading slugs, then you need a different setup, at least for crimping. (not my area of expertise)

If you go back to post 24 there are detailed pictures of the press
 
As the poster in Post #24 describes - that is likely a rifle press, with a conversion system to let you reload shotgun - so I hope that you are also receiving or can find some instructions how to set that up - almost looks to require components to be swapped out for each step of the shotgun reloading process. As described above, I have really minimal experience to reload shotgun shells, but the shotgun presses that I have appear to be much "lighter" built, and require the case to be moved from one station to the next, as you work through the reloading process. As you can tell, apparently was not always done that way - but no reason to think that one won't work fine - if you receive all the pieces and once you get it all figured out.

The MEC press and the Lee Load All press have reservoirs to hold the shot and the powder - so that gets dispensed, by volume, as you move the case through the various cycles - not sure that it is obvious to me on that one how a given amount of shot, or a given amount of powder is dispensed - but they must have had a way to do so.

I am told that the MEC press that I got for reloading 28 gauge, can be converted to re-load other gauges - like 20, 16 or 12 - but again many posters describe that it is a fussy thing to get each new component set just so, so that the altered system works properly - so the usual recommendation is just to get a separate press and leave it set up for the other gauge that you want to re-load. A pure "wild guess" - but it appears on that one that you alter the components virtually every step of the reloading process - maybe was made to be repeatable to do that with minimal fuss?

As I discovered for myself after re-loading centre fire rifle cartridges since the 1970's - is about not much that translates from rifle to shotgun reloading - many centre-fire rifle ideas actually are WRONG when it comes to re-loading shotgun - as if an entirely different, but related, process. That I have found, for example - is NO "working up" a load for shotgun - when you are "too hot" your shotgun comes apart - maybe on first shot, maybe on 250th shot - but is too late to know that was "over the line" - is about NO user visible signs of that coming, I am told - when loading shotgun.
 
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I like that it can be setup for rifle and 12g. Can do double duty. As for changing dies probably like reloading on a single stage press. Take a little longer but I'm in no hurry
 
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