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Reloading question from a newbie


Ramblin Gambler

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13 hours ago, Yusta B. said:

Use a jewelry scale now - but I check it with my Ohaus M5 I bought new for $19.50 - you guess what year ....  ;)

 

 

IMG_0238.jpg

 

11 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

 

YustaB -

 

I'd say about 1971.   I have two of same model, same box, as yours.  Still use 'em.   Bought my "new in box" unit in 1972.  Paid about the same price, too.

 

Good luck, GJ

I know it was prior to 1973, Christmas, as I bought my first reloading scale then, RCBS.  I bought the less expensive version, a 5-10-5, and RCBS had bought out Ohaus, was selling that same scale as their 5-50.  5-6 years ago, my old RCBS gave up the ghost, I mailed it back to RCBS and they upgraded me to their 5-50, best $13.89 I spent! 

 

I also recommend the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, 4th Ed.  And recommend a mentor.  I was started off by my B-I-L (R.I.P. Dave), and loaded on the RCBS Jr. for about 14 years when I bought a Dillon 550B.  Here are my two rules:

1stLaw.jpg

2ndLaw.jpg

Enjoy your new-found hobby!

 

 

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1 hour ago, Griff said:

 

I know it was prior to 1973, Christmas, as I bought my first reloading scale then, RCBS.  I bought the less expensive version, a 5-10-5, and RCBS had bought out Ohaus, was selling that same scale as their 5-50.  5-6 years ago, my old RCBS gave up the ghost, I mailed it back to RCBS and they upgraded me to their 5-50, best $13.89 I spent! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Griff - You been doing this for so long I bet you have steam powered reloading press stashed away somewhere  :o  :D

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8 hours ago, Yusta B. said:

Griff - You been doing this for so long I bet you have steam powered reloading press stashed away somewhere  :o  :D

About 30 days less than yourself!!:D

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38 minutes ago, Griff said:

About 30 days less than yourself!!:D

Touche' mon ami  !

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Howdy

 

As has been stated several times already, standard 7/8-14 thread dies fit into the Hornady Lock and Load collets.

 

This is a set of RCBS 45 Colt dies mounted in Hornady Lock and Load collets.

 

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Here they are in my Hornady Lock and Load AP progressive press. if you look in the background you can see the box of RCBS 45 Colt dies. No, that is not the standard powder measure that comes with the Hornady press, it is a Lyman Black Powder measure that I use for most of my CAS cartridges.

 

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Couple more questions.  I figured it was better to bump this thread than start a new one, that way all the answers are in 1 place. 

 

The case trimmer is missing the pilots.  No big deal, I already ordered a new set.  But do we need to trim cases for our loads or is that only for rifle rounds and full pressure handgun loads? 

 

When you trim, do you trim to the minimum saami spec? 

 

How often do you need to trim?  The instructions say to trim resized deprimed brass.  That would mean on a typical progressive reloader you'd be taking the brass off in the middle for trimming. 

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Straight wall rifle or pistol brass seldom needs trimming if ever. Rifle brass with shoulders will need trimming which will be determined by the pressures you subject it to and your rifles chamber/bolt dimensions. Loading your brass hot [near max] will shorten its life and stretch it causing the need for trimming. As you fire rifle brass it flows from the base to the neck getting thinner and more brittle eventually separating or splitting. You might trim every couple of reloadings or less often. Keep your brass segregated as to new or used and the number of reloadings if known. I would use my newer brass for my hunting loads and the rest for range loads. Get a case length gauge . Neck size instead of full length size if possible. Loading lighter will extend the life of your brass. Hope this helps. Good luck, be safe. Wear your safety glasses.   And carbide pistol dies are definitely worth the extra investment.

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What he said ↑↑↑.  As for "trim to" length... I generally trim mine a few thousands shy of the SAAMI spec... my reasoning is that gives me a couple of thousands leeway before I'll need to trim again, AND, in the case of my newer toggle links (Uberti), the carrier mortise is a bit "tight" and I need the shorter trim length.

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22 hours ago, Ramblin Gambler said:

Couple more questions.  I figured it was better to bump this thread than start a new one, that way all the answers are in 1 place. 

 

The case trimmer is missing the pilots.  No big deal, I already ordered a new set.  But do we need to trim cases for our loads or is that only for rifle rounds and full pressure handgun loads? 

 

When you trim, do you trim to the minimum saami spec? 

 

How often do you need to trim?  The instructions say to trim resized deprimed brass.  That would mean on a typical progressive reloader you'd be taking the brass off in the middle for trimming. 

When you are roll crimping in the crimp groove, there needs to be a tolerance observed for the quality of the crimp and then consistency in performance of the loads or how well they cycle in a rifle. Since brass I bring home is not necessarily mine, I measure everything after clean/polish and deprime/size. I use two groupings with nominals .010 apart and +.005-.004. For example, one 38 Special group would hover around 1.145 and another around 1.135. I keep them separate and adjust the expand, seat, and crimp for either 1.135 or 1.145 as applicable. Actually I have plenty of the longer and set aside the short ones. I don't know if these are magic numbers, but I do well with them. That usually means I am not trimming except those few out of range on the high end. On the low end, less than 1.130 in this example, I would give the brass away to those who seat longer than the crimp groove. 

 

I sort head stamps too and for various reasons, generally just to minimize variables. Some head stamps won't fit my shell holders or they require an alternate brand in the middle of a batch. Some stamps I just can't use or don't trust. I use mostly Starline and Winchester brass.

 

Lots of new brass needs chamfering and/or deburring, so length might as well be made uniform at the same time on the same machine, sizing to the top end of acceptable range until rechecked after firing. Question there is whether the pilot size requires expanding the case first, which I do without sizing on new brass. I load new brass without sizing so it doesn't gall on the expander. It already plunks nicely in my cartridge gauge when checking a sample.

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Straight wall pistol cases won't stretch - not enough pressure to really pin the case walls to the chamber wall.  THAT is what stretches rifle cases - which is what case trimmers are really sold for.

 

I never check my pistol cases.   If something from range pickup is too long to crimp without bulging,  I might trim that after knocking the slug out.   If a case won't take a crimp well, I knock it apart and trash it.   Keeps it simple.

 

Good luck, GJ

 

 

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4 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

Straight wall pistol cases won't stretch - not enough pressure to really pin the case walls to the chamber wall.  THAT is what stretches rifle cases - which is what case trimmers are really sold for.

 

I never check my pistol cases.   If something from range pickup is too long to crimp without bulging,  I might trim that after knocking the slug out.   If a case won't take a crimp well, I knock it apart and trash it.   Keeps it simple.

 

Good luck, GJ

 

 

But the trim length measurement is significantly different before and after sizing of fired brass, even cowboy ammo. It stretches and shrinks. It apparently does this at different rates, discovered when actually measuring these things. Sorta why we measure trim length after sizing. You are not able to judge based on length before sizing, because the rate of stretch during sizing varies. You are really just trying to position the crimp, which is not so critical if not using the crimp groove..

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12 hours ago, Roscoe Regulator said:

When you are roll crimping in the crimp groove, there needs to be a tolerance observed for the quality of the crimp and then consistency in performance of the loads or how well they cycle in a rifle. Since brass I bring home is not necessarily mine, I measure everything after clean/polish and deprime/size. I use two groupings with nominals .010 apart and +.005-.004. For example, one 38 Special group would hover around 1.145 and another around 1.135. I keep them separate and adjust the expand, seat, and crimp for either 1.135 or 1.145 as applicable. Actually I have plenty of the longer and set aside the short ones. I don't know if these are magic numbers, but I do well with them. That usually means I am not trimming except those few out of range on the high end. On the low end, less than 1.130 in this example, I would give the brass away to those who seat longer than the crimp groove. 

 

I sort head stamps too and for various reasons, generally just to minimize variables. Some head stamps won't fit my shell holders or they require an alternate brand in the middle of a batch. Some stamps I just can't use or don't trust. I use mostly Starline and Winchester brass.

 

Lots of new brass needs chamfering and/or deburring, so length might as well be made uniform at the same time on the same machine, sizing to the top end of acceptable range until rechecked after firing. Question there is whether the pilot size requires expanding the case first, which I do without sizing on new brass. I load new brass without sizing so it doesn't gall on the expander. It already plunks nicely in my cartridge gauge when checking a sample.

 

I think most of us started out doing all these steps, however, I don't think a lot of us do now.  Could be wrong. Roll crimps, if it's a good crimp, don't care a whole lot if they're in a crimp groove or not.

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32 minutes ago, Yusta B. said:

Roll crimps, if it's a good crimp, don't care a whole lot if they're in a crimp groove or not.

 

I use a soft bullet (8-9 Brinell) and intentionally use bullets without a crimp groove.   Fits anywhere the mouth ends up.

 

Good luck, GJ

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