7kings

Interesting observation. Thanks for sharing!

8:25am - 80 degrees - raining - 76 heat index

Gotcha. I may give the Dillon lube a try when I run out of One Shot just for comparison's sake.

When changing shell plates, I found that if I remove the tool head and raise the ram, it lifts the center bolt high enough that I can insert and spin the hex wrench without interference (although I've also found that once you loosen the set screw, you can pretty much run the bolt out with your fingers).

Is there an advantage to making your own as opposed to off-the-shelf lube (aside from $$)? I generally use Hornady One-Shot and have been pleased with it so far.

Welcome! This is a great site for reloading information, with a lot of diverse experience. I'm sure you'll find some great reloading help here - I know I did. -Brian

I just ordered a 250-pack of 200gr SWC from Precision to try out. I'll let you guys know what I think of them, but if the responses here are any indication, I think I'll like them (and I definitely won't argue with the prices of lead vs FMJ). Thanks again for all the information, guys! Very helpful.

How many cartridges do you make in an average loading session? 300 How many cartridges do you make in an average week? 500-600 Which press do you use? Dillon RL550b How many cartridges can you load in an hour? 400 How long is your average loading session? 45min-1hr Knowing what you know now if your reloading equipment was lost or stolen what would you buy today? Dillon XL 650 w/ case feeder

My last name is King and we have 5 kids (me + wife + kids = 7 of us). Thus, 7kings.

I didn't care enough to check the case measurements on these discarded cases, but I think I'm going to put some calipers on a couple to see if I can identify exactly what the issue is (mostly out of curiosity - if it's nothing that a resizing die is going to fix, they're no use to me).

This was with once-fired brass that I shot myself from factory ammo, so it hadn't been reloaded previously. I will say that I was able to take some unfired Armscor ammo and it plunked just fine, so I'm wondering if the factory loads are too much for whatever grade of brass they're using, causing some sort of distortion that isn't corrected with the sizing die...

Welcome - there is a ton of information here! I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.

Welcome!

Welcome from Florida!

Sorry, I was being dramatic. Not literally a trashcan - a bucket in my garage with a bunch of other recyclables. Basically, I was just lamenting the loss of what I had considered to be good .45 brass.

Man, that really hurt. I went through all my .45 brass last night and today and culled all the A USA brass. I must have lost at least 300 cases to the trashcan, but at least I know that they won't be able to hurt anyone ever again! I know that 300 cases isn't a lot to most folks here, but I'm just starting to load .45, so it represented a decent percentage of my inventory!

Thanks - it doesn't sound like it's that much different than the 550, with the exception of the case feeder, of course. It seems like the primer system is really the big difference in changing calibers between the two. I already have an extra powder measure for the 550, which I think I can bring over to the 650 tool head to make that simpler. yep from the 550 you can take: dies powder measure not much else... well strong mount if you have one. tools. I strongly suggest if you load 45 and 9mm buy the casefeeder with the large pistol plate. it'll serve both those calibres just fine. I use a large plate for 9mm and 38 super no problem. changing the case feed parts is easy. I've not done the primer change from large to small on a 550 but on a 650 it's: remove primer assembly. replace primer magazine with other size. remove primer punch from machine and replace with other size. dissasemble primer assembly to replace primer disc with other size. you can buy a quick change which is essentially a whole other primer setup. then it's just swapping the whole unit over and the punch. that makes it more like a 2-5min job instead of 5-10min. It's really only the case feed parts that add extra time over a 550 and they are super easy to change. Great. Thanks for the confirmation!

Pretty sure this is Armscor brass, but whatever it is, it seems to be consistently out of spec. Every other brand I've run into gauges without problem, but it seems like this headstamp is a regular troublemaker, rarely plunking obediently into the case gauge. Anyone else having these issues with A USA brass?

This load will be running mostly in my Colt Gold Cup Trophy, which has really been performing well with a number of different factory loads and my HAP reloads. I'm really leaning towards a SWC coated lead bullet in the 200gr range at this point, based on everyone's experiences.

And they load with the same recipes as regular lead, right? It sounds like that might be the way to go.

So what's the deal with coated bullets? Best of both worlds? Price of lead with clean-shooting of FMJ?

Thanks - it doesn't sound like it's that much different than the 550, with the exception of the case feeder, of course. It seems like the primer system is really the big difference in changing calibers between the two. I already have an extra powder measure for the 550, which I think I can bring over to the 650 tool head to make that simpler.

I've always used jacketed bullets, so I'm not familiar with any nuances associated with lead. Are there any real considerations that I need to keep in mind if I start loading and shooting lead? I know that I should avoid shooting them through polygonal rifling (such as found in factory Glock barrels), but beyond that...

I definitely wouldn't write off Rock Island as a good budget 1911. I know they had a spotty reputation in the past, but in the last several years, the positive reviews far outweigh the negatives. I picked one up myself about a year ago and have been really pleased with it. I have the 2011 Tac model with the full length rail, VZ grips, ambi safety, mag well, and fiber optic front sights. It's a great shooter, and accurate to boot. Is it on the same level as a Les Baer, Ed Brown, or Wilson? No way, but then again, it costs a third to a quarter of those pistols. The only thing I didn't care for was the ambi safety - the right-side lever dug into my knuckle every time I pulled the trigger. That was a pretty easy fix, though - I picked up an Ed Brown Tactical Extended Safety, spent a half hour fitting it to the RIA, and now love it.

What do you guys prefer for plinking bullets in .45ACP? I just expanded my reloading setup into .45 and chose the first bullets that I had good recipes for with my on-hand powder stock and that I was able to find a good price on (230gr Hornady HAP). It wasn't TOTALLY random, since I generally prefer Hornady for my 9mm loads, both target and SD, but it definitely was little more than a semi-educated pick. Thoughts? I've always had good luck with Hornady, but I'm definitely open to suggestions. Thanks!