Reloading 9mm, advice for a newbie?

My suggestion to those just starting out is to get a single stage press (or turret) to learn the steps one at a time before going to a progressive. The single stage can then be used later for rifle rounds etc, when you get a progressive. After you have reloaded a thousand rounds, you will have gotten a very good "feel" for the steps and process.

There is nothing wrong with Lee equipment, no, it is not blue, but then you will quickly figure out what you do and don't like before you spend a lot of money on a progressive.

Get yourself a box of plated bullets to start off with. (say around 124gr) They will be cleaner and easier to handle when starting out and only a few dollars more per thousand than plain cast bullets.

As for powders for handgun, I suggest Trail Boss for the first powder. It is designed as a very bulky powder and is very easy to see if a case is properly charged or double/under charged. Although with 9mm, since the case is short, it is fairly easy to see a double charge with most medium speed powders like Winchester 231 (HP-38 is the same powder under a different name). W231 is also a ball powder and runs through a powder measure very nicely. A suggestion is to intentionally double charge a case and compare the powder level to the proper charge. The bright light above is an excellent suggestion, and a setup we use.
 
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I have the Dillion RL550 set up for 9MM, I have quit shooting some time ago so I would be willing to sell the unit if that is the way you want to go. I also have a new Lee loader that I would include as a Package deal. If you are interested let me know.
 
To start out with, Lee's Turret Press Kit comes with almost everything to get you started. It's a good beginner press and works great as a back up. You can do rifle rounds single stage (remove the index rod & manual turn the turret) as well. All you need is a set of standard dies and the primer feeders.

When you are ready you can upgrade to a faster progressive Lee or Dillon or RCBS and you'll still have a great backup/rifle press.

I still use mine for revolver, match, rifle and revolver rounds since it is slower and offers more tactile feel for roll crimps over my Loadmaster.
 
ruger 77 said:
c kid, slug the bore of youre berreta 92. my m-9 slugs out to .357 i size my bullets to .357 and get no leading, i use wheel weights, and the bullets are just air cooled. i use lyman alox lube. i just got the lee .38-140 gr. mold this week, i was going to use it in my .38. i didn't think it would work in my 9MM. i thought they would be too long. thanks for the tip. i will have to try it out.
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If your bore is .357 which is two thousandths over what it should be then try sizing them .358. Accuracy should improve. I would suggest you re-slug the bore though. Two thousandths over spec is a lot for a pistol barrel.

Take Care

Bob
 
Onagoth said:
Or another school of thought, reload your ammo so you can do 3x as much shooting for the same price. (ignoring startup costs)
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It takes 3 times more of my shooting time to reload... If I am on the press, I can't be training. ;)

But I get it.

Guess it all depends on how you value your time.
 
If your just going to reload straight walled handgun ammo Dillon sdb great progressive press fool proof
 
Here is a related question:

What if I wanted someone to reload for me.

Would you shoot someone else's reloads?

What would you charge me for 1000? What if I supply the gear, etc...
 
yyyyy said:
Here is a related question:

What if I wanted someone to reload for me.

Would you shoot someone else's reloads?

What would you charge me for 1000? What if I supply the gear, etc...
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Here is the "official/legal" type response.

It is illegal for someone else to load for you, that would make them a manufacturer, even if they gave away the ammo.

As a manufacturer they would need a license and approval for their manufacturing facility, in it's own building of course. After that they would need to send a sample of their reload (plus about $1,500 as I understand) to NRCAN for testing/approval of that load before they could sell/give it to you. Oh, they can't sell/ship in bulk, the ammo has to be packaged in approved containers.

This is why there are so few commercial reloaders in Canada, and no "Custom" type, low volume commercial reloaders.



That said, you can use someone elses equipment to reload your own ammo. :)
 
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Go Dillon, a Square Deal press is great if you are focused on a single cartridge, I tried the 550, didn't like the manual indexing and upgraded to a 650XL with the case feeder, have heard good things about the Square Deal press. I love the thing, I load .38, .45ACP and .45 Colt. Double charge or squib load on a 650XL is darn hard to do, although a squib is possible when you take the shell out to check the powder and get distracted by something (this I know from experience).

I tried the Lee stuff, the progressive stuff is crap, but the turrent press is Ok and I still have it for when I want to do rifle calibers in small runs.

If your expecting to do a lot of pistol shooting its not hard to go through a thousand rounds every month and even with 9MM reloading pays for itself quickly. Trying to do that on a single stage was a quick trip to insanity for me, other's may disagree. The 650XL keeps me supplied with about 3 hours a week of work and I shoot about a thousand rounds a week or more.
 
I highly recommend the Dillon 550. It isn't all that difficult to learn to use and you will want a progressive press for reloading pistol calibers. You will also be able to reload .308 on this press. The cost difference between cheap and quality equipment is small when factored over a lifetime of use.

Hodgdon HP-38/Winchester 231 is a good, economical powder for the 9mm. Double charges will fit into the case, but they are pretty easy to spot.

Cast or plated bullets are far less expensive than jacketed ones.
 
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