Who reloads?

[Marswolf]

Yeah, I like the mechanical mics too.

But I do like the digital scale. I zero it with the supplied weights at the beginning of each session. I've never found it to drift, but it's easy enough to place the weight on the scale to double-check if you are worried about it.

[Guest Swamp Rat]

I reload and cast my boolits

[Guest slow ride]

I reload .40s&w, 9mm, and .45acp.

I use, and reccommend:

Lee Classic Turret press

RCBS 502 beam scale

4 die carbide sets (LEE)

Frankford Arsenal tumbler

SPI dial calipers

CCI primers

Unique, Bullseye, Accurate#2, and Titegroup powders

I like the Dillon stuff, and there might be better equipment choices out there, but for the money my list works great for me.

[Guest mwn]

Dillon

[Im Neero]

What kind of Dillon, MWN?

[Guest mwn]

XL-650.

[et45]

I reload .45 Colt,.45ACP,.44MAG,.357MAG,.38SPL and .223.

[Guest tokarev]

I load for .38/.357, .44 magnum, .45 colt, 30-30, 45/70 and have the dies for a couple of other rifle calibers that I haven't had time to load for yet. I use an old single stage RCBS rockchucker press and use a seperate hand held priming tool.

Just started tinkering with casting and loading shotgun slugs.

[Guest Mugster]

Hey tokarev, what are you casting? I've always been interested in casting, but I doubt i have the time to pursue it.

I've loaded slugs before. The hardest part is finding the right components, although with the internet i guess its easier now.

[Marswolf]

I occasionally cast .575 Minie Balls for my Enfield. Simple stuff and a lot of fun.

[Guest tokarev]

Mugster, I've only just started playing with casting. I have a Lee Pro 20-4 bottom pour electric pot. I have a Lee 1 oz. slug mold and a used 158 gr. .38 single cavity mold that I picked up somewhere but haven't tried yet.

The 12 ga. slug mold work great. I suprised myself at how easy it was to cast a good looking slug.

The only problem is that the only lead I have is about 120#'s of linotype. Way too hard by itself although it makes for some pretty bullets. I'm taking my sisters car to get her some new tires next week and I'll try to pick up some old wheel weights to smelt down.

Failing that, I'll pick up some pure lead at The Reloaders Bench in Mt. Juliet and try mixing up a softer alloy.

I'm not in too much of a hurry(I've had the pot for 4 years) but if I'm going to start reloading more (factory ammo prices are getting a might bit high) I need to start getting more molds for the various calibers that I have.

Gotta get a lubersizer too!

[TNRobocop]

I decided to go all with Lee also for the actual reloading stuff (dies, press, etc).

Just ordered my die sets (45, 223, 308) and decrimpers/primer pocket cleaners for 22 and 30 cals. They will be here the 17th.

Was going to get the turret press but it was out of stock. Gotta wait until the distributor gets them back in.

[musicman]

Cool! Did you call the Reloader's Bench in Mt Juliet? They usually keep the Lee Turret press in stock. That's where I got all my stuff.

[TNRobocop]

Cool! Did you call the Reloader's Bench in Mt Juliet? They usually keep the Lee Turret press in stock. That's where I got all my stuff.

No. I have my own FFL business and ordered it from one of my distributors.

[musicman]

I guess if I would read signatures more closely I would have figured that out! I apologize and meant no insult. Have a good day!

[TNRobocop]

I guess if I would read signatures more closely I would have figured that out! I apologize and meant no insult. Have a good day!

No biggie, no insult implied or taken. I have never been to reloaders bench, but havebeen hearing bad stories lately from friends and customers in the last 4 months so I don't know what is going on with them lately.

[musicman]

Hmmmm..... bummer 'bout the Bench. I moved to Smyrna from Hermitage about 2 yrs ago. I used to hit the Bench every other week, but since I moved that has become much more sparse. I think it's been 6 mos. since I've been there.

See what happens when I leave?!?!?!?!?!

[TNRobocop]

Wish I knew more details. I live in Hermitage myself and have never been there. Kind of scared off by the stories from customers and friends that have been lately.

[Guest tokarev]

Hmmm, I guess that I haven't heard any of the stories.

For several years I've been buying most of my reloading supplies from them along with an occasional gun and never had any problems. I was treated right and got good service. The prices for the supplies were lower than other places I've found.

[musicman]

My experiences have always mirrored those of our friend tokarev. While Jim and the guys were sometimes a little gruff and crotchety, that's kind of what I expect at an older, well-established gun shop outside of town. I always enjoyed my trips there, and learned lots of new things by joining in the great converstions with the older customers while sitting around the gun shelves on the provided barstools. Jim taught me how to reload and gave me great prices on a number of guns. It was also a great place to trade range brass I scooped up for store credit. About every month or so I would have enough for a sleeve of primers and a pound or two of powder.

However, the last couple times I was there the shop did seem to change a little. Some younger guys (my age, I'm 25) who didn't really respect of understand the wisdom of the previous generations made a home there. While there's nothing wrong with tactical gear and EBRs (I have some of that stuff myself) there does seem to be a mindset that develops amongst the fringe extremists of these folks that seems to disregard real-world experience (ie: WWII, Nam, etc) of the older guys at the shop. The new kids just kind of stand there and jeer at you, belittling your .38 and 30-30 while extolling the virtues of the newest Uber-round and how it will vaporize an elephant at 1,300 meters. Nevermind the fact that those war vets could probably outshoot those punks and their ARs at a distance with a simple model 10. While I am their age (the punks, that is) I hope I do not mirror their attitudes. I used to sit in near silence for hours at a time at the Bench, just listening to the converstations of people 2-3 times my age. I miss that.

Anyways, I need to make a pilgrimage to my gun birthing ground and see what's goin' on up there; that, and I'm low on HP38 and Bullseye and nobody around here has either!

[Guest bang-flash]

i'm joining the reloading action soon. i just received a lee loadmaster and am still setting it up, etc, etc.

i'll probably make the journey to the bench for my first round of supplies to get me started.

[Guest price g]

Will pay cash for .223 brass

[TNRobocop]

I just got my .223/.308/and .45 dies in. I have a ton of once fired (3000+)military .223, over 2000 cases of Federal GMM .308, and lots of other calibers in .45 and 9mm and quite a bit of .40 also.

I got to go to several instructor level schools in the last year and nobody collects brass so it's all mine...broohaha...

My progressive kit will be here this week and my bench is going to be mostly done tomorrow, if not finished hopefully. So I gots to gets some stuffing for these cases soon.

As far as the old fogies out there at the bench, well times have changed. I'm 37 and am into the uber cool rounds. I don't hunt, only precision and target shoot. So the most accuracy I can ring from a round is great, but quickly and accurately engaging targets is my forte now.

Sure you can learn from the old farts, but they can too but they usually won't. If it ain't my old 30-30 it ain't worth nuthin for killing deer...

The 2nd and my gun ownership (and selling) isn't about hunting and being a fudd. Some people just don't get that. JMHO, YMMV.

[mdmoseley]

If you are looking for .40 rounds, I found some 155 gr lead rounds. Ordered 2500 for 114 shipped. Found them on gunbroker.net. Seller was Silver-Star. After I won my first auction he let me buy directly. If you email him he probably will sell to you direct also. Has other calibers also. email address is geraldallred@msn.com.

[RASHGUNNER]

One can spend a lot or a little getting started reloading it.

I usually recommend that people start on a single stage so they can completely learn the operations of reloading, it makes it easier when you start loading on a progressive.

I also suggest you contact someone who can walk you therough the process and learn from someone who is already an acpmolished reloader , it saves some difficulty.

With the prices of factory rounds ( including Walmart Blazer brass up 4.00 this week locally) increasing regularly we may all spend more time at the reloading bench. But this is not a bad situation , I remember back in the day when I enjoyed reloading almost as much as shooting it.