Just bought a new revolver, but can't find ammo...

[Jonnin]

Thanks for all the info guys. I'll be looking into a Lee for now. We just had a boy, so I can't go all in on an expensive set up right now. I did manage to track down both rounds, and yes, both are pricey. Turns out Outpost got a few boxes in, and Gander Mtn. had some as well.

By the way, did y'all buy your reloading set up locally, or just online?

 

I got mine locally.  Its a bulky and heavy item, so its not going so ship at a rock bottom rate.   And powder, primers are not really fun to have shipped due to hazmat fees.  I just got it all at a gun show, guy had a good price and cut some deals when I added more to the pile.

 

The turret is a little more than a single stage, so you have to ask yourself if time is more valuable than money for your situation.   Its not that much more and again, with this type of ammo, you will make it back and then some.    I literally save 20 bucks every time I load a box for my 45 revolvers!   Im a tightwad, so I shoot cheap lead bullets (I don't have time nor energy to melt it at the current prices) and whatever cheap powder and primers I can find and I scavenged cases (honestly I had quite a few that I had thought were 44s when I picked them up ... takes a while before you can tell them apart without reading the base).

Edited August 21, 2015 by Jonnin

[jbrownch]

I tried a Lee Classic Turret set up, with Lee dies to load 9mm. Could never get it to seat the projectiles to the proper length. I was going for a 1.150 OAL, one round would be fine, the next one would be 1.16x, and the next one 1.13x. The Lee dies depend on an o-ring for seating which depending on how tight you screw it in can affect OAL. Also, the the turret that the dies mount in has quite a bit of play on the down stroke. Even the tech's at Lee (who I called several times) admitted this, and that there was no way to eliminate it, without somehow clamping the turret to the top of the press. They never could give me a solution to remedy the problem. I was having to measure every round with a caliper to make sure it was at the correct OAL.

 

Finally gave up and got an RCBS Rockchucker Supreme, RCBS 3 die set and a Redding Taper Crimp die... Incredible difference. Even after removing, and remounting the seating die, the OAL is within 0.0005 of the seating depth I have it set at. Considering the problems I was having with the Lee turret press, the RCBS single stage is as fast or faster at reloading my 9mm's.

 

Someone mentioned that shipping would be expensive because of the weight of the press. I ordered mine from Amazon and, if you're not in a hurry, they had be best price around and FREE

shipping.

 

Just my $0.02 worth.

Edited August 22, 2015 by jbrownch

[Jonnin]

^^^  This is true.   The dies can be locked to the turret (and you can use rcbs or other dies if you like) but the turrets do have vertical play.   Its not for high precision ammo.   For higher precision you can take the rotation bar out and clamp it with a c-clamp or two just like he said, effectively making it into a single stage press.   Or you can trim your brass, buy marked bullets (crimp ring, etc) and seat them visually by setting the die deep and pulling the handle with care or whatever method you like.  

 

The powder measure is volumetric too, and certain powders work better (finer the grains, the less airspace and weight errors).  

 

The turret excels at making pretty good ammo quickly with an inexpensive setup.   Single stages excel at making better ammo slowly and are even less expensive.   Its a volume vs quality choice.   If you are not very serious about high precision ammo and accuracy,  the turret makes ammo that goes bang and is suitable for defense drills or short range practice.   Its really not that bad...  I can make 1-2 inch groups at 25 yards with my 9 or 45  off the turret, and they all cycle and feed etc.     A lot of folks have both types. 

 

Where you will notice the turret sucking is rifle ammo at range.  You go 200+ yards and the random errors start to add up faster and faster.  

[ohell]

Laxammo.com reloads both calibers and uses starline brass for new production. Good way to save decent brass for reloading. They just had free shipping weekend. I've had better experience with them than freedom. I'd be surprised if outpost armory wouldn't have both on the shelf.

[The mailman]

I saw some .454 on the shelf today at Everything Weapons at Cool Springs.