newb questions

[LedJedi]

I'm not yet ready to take up the sacred quest of reloading, but I'm ready to start preparing for that battle. When we move after Xmas I'll have more room for a reloading bench. In the meantime I'd like to begin squirreling supplies away so that I'm ready to go with raw materials when needed. To that end I have a few questions.

Should I be saving all of my factory brass? I noticed that some brass factory loads are marked "non-reloadable". I'm currently using brass blazer rounds. Does anyone know if these are reloadable?

Where are good places to start collecting scrap lead? Should I really worry about casting my own lead? (see also below).

It's my impression from talking to others that copper jacketed ammo produces much less lead fouling. If I get into casting my own bullets what options do I have to jacket my hand casted rounds?

Is there anything else that I should start trying to pack away? That would make my little packrat heart sing with joy :)

[Venus Pax]

I'm just a newbie too. I'm sure others will be here before too much longer and give you more information.

CCI Blazer Brass is fine for reloading. That's most of what I have.
And yes, start saving your brass now. In fact, you can order your tumbler first, get your cleaning media, and begin cleaning it.

Here's the tumbler I have: http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... mid=158440
It is the least expensive that I found at the time, and does the job well. It claims to be their "quietest running tumbler," but I think it would wake the dead. I put it outside while running. (The only neighbors close enough to hear it are gone most of the time.)

Several people here recommended ground walnut shells as cleaning media. It's sold as "lizard bedding" at PetsMart and PetCo. I paid $15 for 25 quarts recently, as it was on sale. (I store it in kitty litter buckets.) I don't think it's much more than that at regular price. It will last awhile.
I also take a Bounce dryer sheet and cut it into three strips. (Got that idea from ppl here as well.) I put these strips in the tumbler, and it makes the cleaning media last longer. Most of the trash will collect on the dryer sheet, and you can throw it away.

CaptDave recommended I go with either Precision Bullets http://www.precisionbullets.com/ or Berry's bullets http://www.berrysmfg.com/categories/49-0.php
So far, they are the least expensive.

I would wait until you're in your house and ready to reload to purchase your primers & powder. You can get them at local gun stores & at the gun show. You can purchase them online, but I've heard that the hazmat fees will eat up any savings.

I don't know anything about casting lead. I'm hoping to get pregnant in the next year, so casting bullets is a bit out of the question for me. (It's bad enough to have to stop doing fun stuff for 9 mos.)

There are a few people here that cast their own bullets, and they say that the cost savings is great. (Purchased bullets are the biggest expenditure if you're a brass saver.) Some of these self-casters will be along shortly.

I'm enjoying it. I'm still learning a lot. Just when I think I know what I'm doing, I end up with more questions.

[LedJedi]

wow. that's some great info :) Thanks for the links too. I love folks who have done their homework.

I'm currently living like a bee (apartment) so a loud vibration cleaner would be bad, but I could probably set it up at a friend's house. Is there an advantage to cleaning it now as opposed to later? If i wait to clean it all for a year or so will the deposits harm the brass?

[Houston1944]

Blazer brass is a yes, Blazer aluminum cases is a no. Most of the other brass is ok but I would stay with the better known brands such as Federal, Winchester, Remington, Magtech, S&B just to name a few, (although S&B often has small primer pockets and can be difficult to prime). I would avoid keeping unknown offshore military brass, it's just not worth it in most cases. Also be careful of steel cases such as Wolfe. You can ruin dies with steel cases.

I would urge you to make casting your own bullets a "Phase II" of your reloading project. Once you have learned how to reload then you can move on to casting your own bullets. I do not know of any consumer level equipment that would allow you to jacket your own bullets so that is probably not an option. You do have to lube them but that is just part of the casting your own bullet process.

Rather than supplies I would concentrate on buying and reading a few manuals. No need to get powder and primers until you are ready to make bullets. The tumbling really needs to be outside or in a garage due to all the dust it creates. I don't think there is any real advantage in when you clean the brass.

Start out slow in buying equipment because like most hobbies you really do not know if you will enjoy it until you try it. You have to enjoy the process to keep reloading.

[ShootingStar]

LedJedi,

I can only add a little to what VP said. She's got a good point about getting a head start on cleaning your brass. Leaving it dirty won't hurt unless it starts to carrode.

As for whether to use copper jacketed bullets or lead, the determining factor for most people is price. Copper jacketed have no exposed lead so they don't lead up your barrel, though you do get some copper fouling. Copper jacketed also are a lot cleaner to use as well, unfortunately, they are a lot more expensive than lead.

I like Presion bullets as they are lead with a polymer coating that helps the leading problem and they shoot well. They also are pretty reasonable compared to standard lead.

I cast my own for a short time, but unless you get the lead for free, it isn't worth it. It takes a lot of time to do and you have to be careful to have good ventilation as you can have lead fumes that you end up breathing. If you like to do it, then have at it. Just make sure you have the right ratio of lead, tin, and antimony. Not enough antimony and your bullets won't be hard enough and your barrel will lead up.

As far as I know, there is no practical way for you to make your own copper jacked bullets.

Also, if you have a Glock or other pistol that has the same kind of rifling in the barrel, then your choice has been made. Lead tends to really build up in that type of barrel and could cause dangerously high pressures. Ka-boom.... As in "I just blew up my gun". Someone may need to correct me, but I think it's polygonal rifling that's in a glock as well as HKs.

You can buy an aftermarket barrel that will allow you to shoot lead bullets in a glock. I had a friend who did this.

As far as where to buy components? I wait until the Space City Challenge match at the PSC range in Friendswood and buy what I need for the year. It is usually around April so if you watch the http://www.texassouthsection.com website you will find contact information. The guy who sells there, Tom Duchman, is pretty reasonable for powder and primers.

This year 5,000 primers and 8 lbs of powder for around $100 each from what I recall. Before buying that much powder, you need to find out what kind works best for you. I reload .45 ACP and like Titegoup. It doesn't take as much and works real well for shooting IPSC. As for the primers, you need to remember that they have to be stored in a safe place because with a bit of shock, they can go up like a bomb. If you buy before you move, make sure you don't put them in a box with something heavy on top. If that box gets thrown around, it might go off. As long as you keep them in their original box, you should not have any problems. I only mentioned that because I don't know where you're at in the learning curve. Better safe than sorry. You may want to buy small amounts to start out with anyway, like One pound of powder and 1,000 primers. The primers you can always use, but the powder you may not like.

What caliber are you reloading for and in what kind of gun?

-ss

[LedJedi]

casting bullets will definitely be a phase II thing after I figure out if i really enjoy loading.

I'll be reloading 45 acp for a Taurus 24/7 Pro and eventually 9mm out of the same model.

is there anything that has proven to be especially useful as far as a reloading area/bench? Obviously good ventilation is needed. I was thinking garage area would be good. Houston heat might be a problem? Humidity? etc.

[MoJo]

So far all good advise. The only way to make jacketed bullets is to swage them. The equipment to do this is very expensive and there is a long payback period. Bullet casting is another thing altogether, I've been casting bullets for over 30 years and I don't do it any more It is just too much trouble and time consuming for the savings IMHO. There are the issues of lead poisoning and burns also.

[jhutto]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swage#Fire ... ammunition



"Many reloading equipment manufacturers started by marketing both reloading and bullet swaging dies and equipment. Originally formed by Fred Huntington the name RCBS was an acronym for Rock Chuck Bullet Swage. Historically many swage dies sold by well known reloading manufacturing companies were actually made by Ted Smith in his die shop then stamped with the name of the marketing company."

[mcub]

I also new, well about to be new, my gear is on a UPS truck.
I was looking at the lead bullet options an ran over this manufactures web site, which claims its bullets are copper coated (not jacketed) according they are cheaper , especially in the 1000 unit boxes.

Questions:
Are they as clean as the jacketed???
How’s their reputation??


http://www.rainierballistics.com/mainframe.htm

[nuparadigm]

...
Questions:
Are they as clean as the jacketed???
How’s their reputation??

Clean is a subjective evaluation. I believe that they are "clean" in that, when you load them to lead bullet data, the plating remains intact on the bullet. I know of some folks who load plated bullets to jacketed bullet velocities. Some plated bullet manufacturers warn against this.

By "reputation", I don;t know what you intend.

[mcub]

[/quote]
Clean is a subjective evaluation. I believe that they are "clean" in that, when you load them to lead bullet data, the plating remains intact on the bullet. I know of some folks who load plated bullets to jacketed bullet velocities. Some plated bullet manufacturers warn against this.

By "reputation", I don;t know what you intend.[/quote]

Thanks, I was thinking of using them with my .45 for practice / plinking, I don’t care if they run slower. Reputation wise, I was wondering if there were any complaints about the company or it products.