Slowly, slowly building the reloading pile...
Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 4:05 am
I was finally had the time and inclination to buy the dies I needed for my dad's pistols and some of my rifle calibers. Most of it arrived today. Now Dad can bring over his 9mm and .380 and I can send him back out with enough practice ammo that he might actually go more than twice a year. I also have .223 and 6.8 Remington dies to learn the fine art of crushing cartridge shoulders...
I also bought a bunch of extra square ratchets for my Lee turret press. I kind of mangled mine thanks to letting the press sit too long without oiling the turret bearing.
As for the reloading process it's much better. I mounted the press to the huge workbench my dad and I built last Christmas and loaded a batch of .38 Special. I used 4.5 grains of Universal for powder and put that under a 158-grain plated hollow point bullet from HSM, which I think is just a house brand for Midway. The bullet has a nice cannelure but the hollow point doesn't look like it will expand for anything. The difference in loading is night and day compared to the old Kobalt machine stand I originally used for it. Powder throws deviate by maybe .1 grain either way every 10 or so rounds as opposed to .2 grains around every 5. Overall length didn't deviate more than .001" throughout the batch whereas I would get anywhere from 1.425" to 1.477" depending on if the machine stand flexed or not.
The real test will be with reloading rifle ammo but right now I'm pretty happy with what I'm getting for handguns.
The machine stand is the perfect height to make a solid stool so I can sit at the bench and work. I may need a decent cushion for it after a while.
I also bought a bunch of extra square ratchets for my Lee turret press. I kind of mangled mine thanks to letting the press sit too long without oiling the turret bearing.
As for the reloading process it's much better. I mounted the press to the huge workbench my dad and I built last Christmas and loaded a batch of .38 Special. I used 4.5 grains of Universal for powder and put that under a 158-grain plated hollow point bullet from HSM, which I think is just a house brand for Midway. The bullet has a nice cannelure but the hollow point doesn't look like it will expand for anything. The difference in loading is night and day compared to the old Kobalt machine stand I originally used for it. Powder throws deviate by maybe .1 grain either way every 10 or so rounds as opposed to .2 grains around every 5. Overall length didn't deviate more than .001" throughout the batch whereas I would get anywhere from 1.425" to 1.477" depending on if the machine stand flexed or not.
The real test will be with reloading rifle ammo but right now I'm pretty happy with what I'm getting for handguns.
The machine stand is the perfect height to make a solid stool so I can sit at the bench and work. I may need a decent cushion for it after a while.