Sublimity Sam Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Hello ladies and gents. I'm so brand new to S.A.S.S. that I haven't even pinned my badge on yet! I need some preliminary advice on reloading. I have a pair of New Vaqueros in .45 LC and a .45 ACP extra cylinder. What do you recommend for reloading the two cartriges ( per SASS guidelines ) as far as powder, bullet weight, etc. any suggestions on where to buy the ingredients at the best price would also be appreciated. Thanks in advance Blessed are the IRISH ( I hope! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rance - SASS # 54090 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Hello and welcome to the fire.... If you read the SASS wire guidelines... We cannot post loading data... Best go a Hodgon reloading website... Good Luck Rance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelgun luke Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Saint, You are going to love CAS. Powder I would recommend Trailboss powder to start with. It is very bulky and thus helps to fill the cartridge case. Consequently, if you were to inadvertently double charge a case with powder, you would probably notice it with Trailboss. Also, Trailboss is pretty versatile and can fill most of you CA reloading needs. You will find many opinions on all topics SASS, and some have different ideas about powder. If you are concerned with price there are cheaper powders that you can use. Alliant Red Dot is popular among some particularly because of cost. IMHO, the difference in cost per load is insignificant. There are several online retailers that sell powder and primers at a good price. My last purchase was from Powder Valley online. You probably should purchase primers and powder at the same time to help offset the cost of the hazardous shipping charge. Most CA shooters use Federal primers since they seem to be detonated easier with reduced hammer springs. Whatever powder you choose it is wise to stick with published loads. In terms of powder charge you will see that you want a mild load so that you are within SASS power factor requirements and also so that you don't have as much recoil to recover from. However, I do not like to go with the minimum listed loads either, mostly due to reliability of the loads. If you would like you can send me a message and I will give you the loads that I use for CAS. (They are all within the IMR guidelines) "Keep you powder dry!" Bullets For both 45 ACP and 45 Colt I prefer the 200gr RNFP bullets, but 160gr are also popular. Of Course you have to use all lead bullets in SASS. That means no jackets or even gas checks. Hopefully you can find someone in your area that casts bullets. It is usually cheaper to find a SASS pard to purchase your lead from than buy it from a retailer or have it shipped. Good Luck with your shooting. I hope you are lucky enough to find a great club and pards that are as helpful as I did. Wheelgun Luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Woodrow Cahill, SASS # 54363 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 BP or 777 loaded with just enough powder to compress it about 1/10". 250 grain bullets. The 45 is meant to roar, not squeak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 As is the usual answer, it is easiest to go to a couple of local matches and ask your fellow shooters. It's ALWAYS wise to meet, make friends and ask questions of your local folks, as they know the lay of the land, where the best deals are, if there are local bullet casters, etc. Second, if you haven't got one or a dozen in your library already, get a good loading manual. Really recommend the Lyman 49th Edition Loading Handbook. Fresh data for the common, currently manufactured powders. Third, forget about loading for .45 ACP right now. Get a load tuned in for your Vaqueros using the old war horse, the .45 Colt. Suggest a 200 grain RNFP (round nose flat point) slug to start, and enough powder of your choice to make about 650-700 FPS. Several will perform well at that velocity. Clays, Trail Boss, Red Dot or Promo (perform exactly the same), American Select (although loading data is kinda hard to find), 700X, even Unique - any of these (and several others) will work well. Find one that you can get locally, or check Powder Valley on the web for good prices if you want to buy in large volumes (to offset the Hazardous Materials AKA HAZMAT shipping charges). You will probably NOT stay with the loading recipe that you start with, but don't worry - none of us did either. For primers, if you don't find them locally : Grafs, Natchez, Recobs, Powder Valley even. For brass, if you can find "range brass" that has been fired once, you are lucky and set. But, .45 Colt is hard to find used, so if you buy new, I'd recommend placing an order directly with Starline (on the web). There is NO place that is always cheapest for all supplies. Good luck, and welcome to the game! GJ (edited Inc to Valley) (If I lived in a valley, I might not remember how to get home) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Watch the wire, once in a while some really good deals turn up on bullets and brass. Be some what aware though because some times the deals are not that great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throckmorton,23149 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 sending u a pm with how I do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slow Poke Joe Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Hello ladies and gents. I'm so brand new to S.A.S.S. that I haven't even pinned my badge on yet! I need some preliminary advice on reloading. I have a pair of New Vaqueros in .45 LC and a .45 ACP extra cylinder. What do you recommend for reloading the two cartriges ( per SASS guidelines ) as far as powder, bullet weight, etc. any suggestions on where to buy the ingredients at the best price would also be appreciated. Thanks in advance Blessed are the IRISH ( I hope! ) I started by going to a local gun show and buying an ammo can (500 rounds) from Georgia Arms for $250. They use new Starline brass. I used in both rifle and revolvers and had good brass to start loading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abe E.S. Corpus SASS #87667 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Welcome! You are off to a good start; you have two more revolvers than I had when I started! I've done some shopping around and found powder and primers for sale locally at a retail price that was better than online prices once you figure in the shipping and hazmat charges. As for bullets, make sure you are buying hard cast lead and not the softer swaged bullets. The major manufacturers' lead bullets are almost always swaged. There are a couple of online cast lead bullet suppliers that seem to have good prices. Some will ship in flat rate boxes that keep the shipping costs to a reasonable level with a large order. I am lucky enough to have a local supplier for cast bullets; he's a cowboy shooter and understands what we need. I purchase those at local matches at a reasonable price. Go to your local matches and ask around. If there is an internet forum or message board for cowboy shooters in your area, ask for suggestions on components. If you find a sale, stock up while you can. I went to a gun show recently looking for components and found very little that I wanted at prices I wanted to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oklahomabound Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Good advice so far: 1. go to your local club and meet those who reload... 2. get a good reloading manual, it'll have load data, mins and maxs... 3. figure out how many rounds you're going to shoot each month... ...helps you decide to get a progressive loader or a single stage reloader (I'm a retired dinosaur, so I use a RCBS Rock Crusher Supreme single stage reloader--and we-the wife and I--shoot 2 to 3 times a month and do 3 or 4 state matches a year--about 9000 rounds a year or so)... 4. then start looking for used equipment.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Most recent lyman manual is a pretty good referenc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Steve Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 You will also need some reloading equipment. Check out gun shows or any of the suppliers such as RCBS, Lyman, etc. This stuff is a bit less expensive if you shop around and always quoted by the maker at prices higher that what is actually the going rate. Why not skip the reloading for while and just enjoy the events; you can get into the reloading later after you've got a better idea of what's going on. As for powder, primers etc. you've got good advice already. However I find Trail Boss so light and fluffy that it's a huge paid to get a consistent load from my powder measure and wind up adjusting almost every round adding a few bits or taking a few bits out. Red Dot, Unique and others are easy to measure consistently than Trail Boss (my experience at least). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sublimity Sam Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 Thanks so much pard, been usin a Rock Chucker for 20 years, no need to change for one of those citified progressives now. Hope to go to local meetin soon and meet new folks. 1. go to your local club and meet those who reload... 2. get a good reloading manual, it'll have load data, mins and maxs... 3. figure out how many rounds you're going to shoot each month... ...helps you decide to get a progressive loader or a single stage reloader (I'm a retired dinosaur, so I use a RCBS Rock Crusher Supreme single stage reloader--and we-the wife and I--shoot 2 to 3 times a month and do 3 or 4 state matches a year--about 9000 rounds a year or so)... 4. then start looking for used equipment.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sublimity Sam Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 Wow!, so many responses. Thanks so much for the info, everyone makes sense with thier advice. Guess I'll just have to go slow and find the best deals around. We have a great shootin range in our small town so I'll be buildin some targets to practice with. As is the usual answer, it is easiest to go to a couple of local matches and ask your fellow shooters. It's ALWAYS wise to meet, make friends and ask questions of your local folks, as they know the lay of the land, where the best deals are, if there are local bullet casters, etc. Second, if you haven't got one or a dozen in your library already, get a good loading manual. Really recommend the Lyman 49th Edition Loading Handbook. Fresh data for the common, currently manufactured powders. Third, forget about loading for .45 ACP right now. Get a load tuned in for your Vaqueros using the old war horse, the .45 Colt. Suggest a 200 grain RNFP (round nose flat point) slug to start, and enough powder of your choice to make about 650-700 FPS. Several will perform well at that velocity. Clays, Trail Boss, Red Dot or Promo (perform exactly the same), American Select (although loading data is kinda hard to find), 700X, even Unique - any of these (and several others) will work well. Find one that you can get locally, or check Powder Valley on the web for good prices if you want to buy in large volumes (to offset the Hazardous Materials AKA HAZMAT shipping charges). You will probably NOT stay with the loading recipe that you start with, but don't worry - none of us did either. For primers, if you don't find them locally : Grafs, Natchez, Recobs, Powder Valley even. For brass, if you can find "range brass" that has been fired once, you are lucky and set. But, .45 Colt is hard to find used, so if you buy new, I'd recommend placing an order directly with Starline (on the web). There is NO place that is always cheapest for all supplies. Good luck, and welcome to the game! GJ (edited Inc to Valley) (If I lived in a valley, I might not remember how to get home) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangler Jones, SASS # 64178 Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Find a powder that will work in all your loads. Minimum published load data should be reliable, and well within SASS requirements. The powder manufacturers aren't in the habit of publishing data which would have ignition problems. Bad for business. I recently started reloading smokeless, and shot a 2-day match using Bullseye published minimums in .45 ACP & .44-40; both performed well with mild recoil and no ignition problems. The .44-40s were especially pleasant to shoot from my 93-year-old Winchester SRC. Bullseye does appear to be rather sooty powder, though - you can probably find a cleaner one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Bullweed Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 RedDot and Trailboss are very, very popular in CAS. I stick to the RedDot since most of my local dealers price that 9-ounce can of Trailboss like it is a pound. Some have it at $12, some at $20. I can also use the RedDot in my 12-gage shells. There are uncountable loads hat will work. A significant part of the fun is finding the ones that work best. You will probably find that the pistol loads are the easiest to settle on since feeding is not an issue. Rifle loads can and will be much more challenging. I switch between smokeless (Wrangler) and blackpowder (Frontier cartridge) categories all the time and enjoy the challenge of having two differnt sets of loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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