Very New to Reloading

For those who like to roll their own.

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DustinB
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Very New to Reloading

#1

Post by DustinB »

Hi, I bought a used reloading setup at the pasadena gun show yesterday but I couldn't find a reloading book anywhere. I tried academy, oshman's, and all the book stores but none have any in stock(for pistols/rifles anyway). Does anyone know where I could pickup and manual at today, preferrably in the very south houston down to texas city area? I've cleaned the cases in the tumbler and I'm fairly sure I could get the primer out with the die, but I should probably get a manual before I start loading any primer/powder/bullet. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Last edited by DustinB on Wed Feb 08, 2006 2:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

seadawg221
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#2

Post by seadawg221 »

Hey Dustin!

Try Carter Country, there are severl locations around the Houston area but don't try finding a website for them...as far as I know they do not have a website. I have purchase several manuals from Carter Country. Probably the one closest to you is in Pasadena.

You can also look up the different powder manufactors webistes they usually have receipes there.
http://www.reloadbench.com

What type of reloader did you buy?

BobCat
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#3

Post by BobCat »

The only place I'm certain you can get one today is Carter's Country. There is one near I 59, on 1092, in Stafford. They have four stores and there might be one nearer to you. Note I do not work for Carter's or even really like them much (they don't stock most of the things I buy), but they do sell reloading manuals. I like the Speer manual but that is only because it was the first manual I ever bought. You will wind up with several books.

The first die is usually the resize-deprime die. If you are relaoding pistol, and the dies are carbide, you don't need to lube the cases. If they are nor carbide, you do. Look for the ring of carbide at the base of the die with the decapping pin in it to see if it is carbide. If it is, you can go ahead and resize/deprime all your cleaned brass. Some people clean primer pockets but most people don't, for pistol.

You are wise to wait to load until you get a manual, and read it well. There is a lot of data at http://www.reloadammo.com and other sites - http://www.loadyourown.com and http://www.accuratereloading.com/ and so forth, but there is a wealth of data on the powder companies' web sites. Just search for e.g. Alliant, or Hogden, or whatever company's powder you will be using. The Lyman manual is good too - it explains the steps and reasons, like the Speer manual.

Good luck, have fun! It is a great hobby.

Regards,
Andrew
Retractable claws; the *original* concealed carry

BobCat
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#4

Post by BobCat »

seadawg221,

You type much faster than I do! Less long-winded, too.

Purrrs,
BobCat
Retractable claws; the *original* concealed carry

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DustinB
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#5

Post by DustinB »

Thanks for the info guys, I'm resizing and depriming 300 .40 S&W cases as we speak, seems to be working well. I made sure and bought some lee carbide dies. Seeing as it's around 4:30 I'll probably have to wait til tomorrow before I get a manual seeing as I prob wouldn't get there by close. As far as loading goes I downloaded the norma reloading process manual that goes over all the steps. I've read a good bit on the entire process and I have a paper on how to set the dies right from lee, I've also recorded the recipies from the alliant powder site for my can of unique. Is there alot more that I need to know or is that enough to start loading? I have a caliper and know how to measure everything, also have a powder scale and a lyman quick powder drop. Also, I picked up 500 .40 bullets manuafactured by a company call Hardcast Bullet Company. Anyone familiar with the quality of these? They are TMJ I think, not sure if they are metal jackets or copper plated.

seadawg221
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#6

Post by seadawg221 »

BobCat wrote:seadawg221,

You type much faster than I do! Less long-winded, too.

Purrrs,
BobCat
LOL....With my wife around I learn to say it and say it fast or she will say it for me :)

seadawg221
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#7

Post by seadawg221 »

DustinB wrote:Thanks for the info guys, I'm resizing and depriming 300 .40 S&W cases as we speak, seems to be working well. I made sure and bought some lee carbide dies. Seeing as it's around 4:30 I'll probably have to wait til tomorrow before I get a manual seeing as I prob wouldn't get there by close. As far as loading goes I downloaded the norma reloading process manual that goes over all the steps. I've read a good bit on the entire process and I have a paper on how to set the dies right from lee, I've also recorded the recipies from the alliant powder site for my can of unique. Is there alot more that I need to know or is that enough to start loading? I have a caliper and know how to measure everything, also have a powder scale and a lyman quick powder drop. Also, I picked up 500 .40 bullets manuafactured by a company call Hardcast Bullet Company. Anyone familiar with the quality of these? They are TMJ I think, not sure if they are metal jackets or copper plated.

Just BE VERY CAREFUL! I blew up my favorite gun yesterday, most likely my fault for not paying attention closely while reloading!

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DustinB
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#8

Post by DustinB »

I decided to wait on loading, going to head to Carter's Country in pasadena tomorrow. I got the itch to play with my new toys so I just set all the dies and adjusted the bullet depth without powder/primer. Got everything setup so maybe I'll be churning some rounds out tomorrow night after some heavy reading.

By the way, the equipment I pickup up yesterday is the following:

Old Lee Turret Press
Lyman 600 Turbo Tumbler
Bullet Puller
9 Die Sets in different calibres
Lee Powder Scale
Lee AutoDisk Powder Measure
Lyman Powder Measure
Lee Auto Prime
2 Lyman Universal Trimmers
Lyman Caliper
Various other small things(deburring tools, case removers, cans of powder, primers, bullets, etc....) all mounted on a nice rolling craftsman toolbox.

Traded an old pistol for everything. I think I have just about everything.

Jacob Staff
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#9

Post by Jacob Staff »

Gander Mountain has reloading books and supplies.
TXDPSA TSRA NRA

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DustinB
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#10

Post by DustinB »

Ended up going to the shooter's corner in texas city, they had a copy of the sierra reloading manual. Has a good bit of information but not real extensive on the reloading process. I think I have everything down but I have a question on the crimping part. I bought a set of 3 Lee carbide dies(without the factory crimp). In the paper that came with the dies it says to adjust the seating die until it get's a proper crimp. I just set it to the base setting it says to do at first, then I adjusted bullet seating depth. Is there a way I can tell if a proper taper crimp has taken place? Seems kinda hard to tell visually. I tested a round without powder/primer and the bullet seems to be securely in the case. I can chamber the round just fine, I even locked the slide back and released it. The chamber motion didn't seems to alter the bullet position.

Also I bought a box of 500 Hardcast Company bullets. They seem to be TMJ Bullets but I suspect them to be copper plated. I noticed on the bullets there is a very light coat of a sticky compound. When rubbed off with a paper towel it leaves a slight green color on the towel. Does anyone know what this compound is and if it should be removed before loading?

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DustinB
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#11

Post by DustinB »

I read through the manual and loaded 5 rounds to test. I only recovered 3 of the casings due to grass. There is no visible damage to the gun as far as I can tell so it appears the rounds are fine. The charges weigh just under 5.5gains of unique with 180grain copper plated bullet. Is this slight case bulging normal or is it a sign of a high charge?

EDIT: These were fired out of a Smith and Wesson Sigma .40VE

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Charles L. Cotton
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#12

Post by Charles L. Cotton »

How about taking a photo of the primers so we can see if they are flattening out. It isn’t unusual for a high pressure cartridge to have a bulge just forward of the rim at a point in the case where there was no support in the barrel (non-ramped barrels). If there is no optical illusion in the photos, I’m surprised to see one that far forward in the case. What weight recoil spring is being used? Never mind, I don't know what a Sigma should use. I'm wondering if the barrel is unlocking prematurely.

Chas.

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DustinB
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#13

Post by DustinB »

Everything is stock on the gun. I took the barrel out of the gun and slid the cases into it, they seem to fit just fine. So maybe there is just alot of play in the chamber? Are these cases still ok to resize and reload?

EDIT: I also tried an unfired round in the barrel and it seems to have a small amount of play in it. Here's an image of the primers.

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Charles L. Cotton
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#14

Post by Charles L. Cotton »

Those primers show no sign of over-pressure.

Yep, you can resize the brass and load them.

Other than possibly a premature unlocking of the barrel, I have no suggestions for you about the bulge in the case on the left.

Chas.

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DustinB
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#15

Post by DustinB »

Thanks alot for the info. I have just one more thing I was wondering about. I have some bullets from the HardCast Bullet Co. They say "HC 40 180 TC" on the box. Do you have any idea what the TC stands for? I'm pretty sure the HC is "HardCast". Also they have a thin coating of some sort of greaselike material on them. When rubbed off with a rag it leaves a green tint on the rag. Any idea what this material is and if it should be rubbed off before loading?

EDIT: If these are copper plated rounds, should I use the same loads listed for FMJ rounds? The only charge listings I see are JHP, FMJ, and lead rounds.
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