Getting into reloading

[Ryan C]

Well, I just picked up my first press and reloading setup on Sunday. I have been planning on picking up everything I would need to start reloading but have been waiting to save some money and see if a deals came up anywhere. Well, a local guy was moving and posted up his entire reloading setup for sale for a good price and I decided to jump on it otherwise I would have bought everything from here.

So I'm now the owner of a Dillon RL 550B and all the accessories needed to get started. Dies for .40/10MM and .45ACP included. I don't have .45 but may hold onto the dies for awhile in case I pick up a new gun in the future. Need to get a set of 5.56/.223 dies as well, but all in good time since I have lot of wolf ammo to burn through first, but I'm sure I'll get anything I need from here since the site has already been a big help.

Time to get in gear and build a workbench so I can get started. I'll have to post some pics once everything is up and running. I've looked at some of the workbench setups already and browsed the tips section, but if anyone has anything else they'd like to share feel free to send the links my way!

Btw, this is what the package came with ($800):

* Dillon RL-550B progressive press with lifetime, transferable warranty from Dillon. This press is in great shape and comes with everything except for one large primer (red) pickup tip and a brass set screw. Each can be replaced by Dillon for no charge, neither are necessary for operation (there's a spare tip included).

* Dillon 45 ACP caliber conversion kit

* Dillon 45 ACP/GAP carbide die

* Dillon 40S&W / 10mm caliber conversion kit

* Dillon 40S&W / 10mm carbide die

* Roughly 100 deprimed and polished 45 ACP brass cases

* Roughly 50 .40 S&W assorted brass

* Roughly 1500 (?) assorted 45 ACP brass cases

* Roughly 100 9mm assorted brass

* 15 plastic ammunition trays (about 10 are .45 ACP-sized, these are the plastic trays you get in commercial ammo boxes)

* 8 plastic ammunition boxes suitable for .45 ACP-sized cartridges

* 1000 Rainier 200gr copper plated round nose .451 bullets

* 1000 Missouri Bullet Company 200gr lead semi wad cutter .452 bullets

* 1000 Missouri Bullet Company 180gr lead flat point .401 bullets

* About 2# of Hodgdon Universal powder (one container unopened, the other is probably 90% full)

* Primer flip tray

* Cen-Tech digital calipers

* Frankford Arsenal electronic powder scale

* Frankford Arsenal tumbler and brass polish

* Media separator and bucket with corn media (not pictured)

* 7 pounds of Lyman turbo tumbler media

* Lyman Qwik Spray case lube

* Lyman Super Molly spray lube

* RCBS bullet puller

* 200 Winchester small pistol primers

* 1900 Winchester large pistol primers

* 1000 CCI large pistol primers

* 97 primed 45 ACP cases (Winchester primed) (not pictured)

* Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading, 7th Ed (not pictured)

* Lee Modern Reloading, 2nd Ed (not pictured)

* ABCs of Reloading, 8th Ed (not pictured)

Ryan

[Sarge]

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you got a good deal.

[MARKAVELI]

Nice! Welcome to the forum....

[SiG Lady]

That's a helluva "starter" setup, for sure. Have fun!!

[Corey]

nice deal ya got there! welcome!!

[Ryan C]

That's a helluva "starter" setup, for sure. Have fun!!

Yeah, I thought the same thing. I was going to initially pick up a lee turret but decided to wait and save/shop around. I figured a 550 or 650 would last me forever. I see a lot of people prefer the 650 but since I'm going to change calibers more often right now and not loading huge batches it should serve me fine. It's really nice to start out with such a nice setup and I'm betting it will outlast me. There is a great local web site here in Virginia called VAGunTrader which is pretty sweet, right now I'm trading the large pistol primers for small ones and the same with the .45 bullets.

Since I don't own a .45 and having the stuff will make me want to buy one I'm going to trade the bullets, brass, and primers but keep the dies in case I pick one up later.

Everything together retails for around 1200 w/o any tax or shipping so I'm really happy with the deal. The press looks brand new as well, still has the shipping tags on it from when the other guy bought it, shows him getting it in 03/2009 so it's still pretty new too!

[HS101]

* Everyone needs a 1911... Give in to the urge

Sounds like a great deal! Have fun with the set up. I have a 550 too, excellent press!

[Ryan C]

* Everyone needs a 1911... Give in to the urge

Sounds like a great deal! Have fun with the set up. I have a 550 too, excellent press!

One day I'll give into that urge because I do love them and really want one, but still don't "need" one. I need a compact pistol more than anything. Want a bolt action long range rifle, then a 1911. The 550 or 650 have been on my "need" list for awhile and will hopefully make the shooting part cheaper or at least more for the same. My M&P15 is a hungry beast that needs to be fed and I'm hoping to save some money there.

First thing first is to get a bench built so I can start loading....the good thing about not being set up yet is having plenty of time to read the three books I have. Might pick up the Speer or Lyman reloading manuals cause I having more data seems to be a good thing.

Ryan

[CocoBolo]

* Everyone needs a 1911... Give in to the urge

Sounds like a great deal! Have fun with the set up. I have a 550 too, excellent press!

One day I'll give into that urge because I do love them and really want one, but still don't "need" one. I need a compact pistol more than anything. Want a bolt action long range rifle, then a 1911. The 550 or 650 have been on my "need" list for awhile and will hopefully make the shooting part cheaper or at least more for the same. My M&P15 is a hungry beast that needs to be fed and I'm hoping to save some money there.

First thing first is to get a bench built so I can start loading....the good thing about not being set up yet is having plenty of time to read the three books I have. Might pick up the Speer or Lyman reloading manuals cause I having more data seems to be a good thing.

Ryan

I've been using the Frankford Aresnal Electronic scale for a little over 2 years. For peace of mind I also have a Lee Safety Scale beam (about $20) when things seem a little off I check one against the other. The only time the Frankford has gone a little off is when it gets below 40 in the building. The little powder pan should always weigh the same amount, not that on Tueday it now weighs more but when it gets a little off just calibrate it. Then I check against the peace of mind beam scale and life is good. You would be suprised how much your name weighs when written on a piece of paper with a pencil.

[MARKAVELI]

I would save them primers and bullets in a dry box, u might need em later! You will be kicken yourself in the six if you plan on loading for a 45acp... And those bullets I would load em and shoot em! You can never have enough handguns or rifles! Don't cheat yourself, treat yourself!

[Ryan C]

I would save them primers and bullets in a dry box, u might need em later! You will be kicken yourself in the six if you plan on loading for a 45acp... And those bullets I would load em and shoot em! You can never have enough handguns or rifles! Don't cheat yourself, treat yourself!

While I do agree, I don't think my wife will. Having components for a gun I don't own will just make me want to buy another gun, and even worse, one I don't have any real need for.

Since I just bought a new Audi A4 three weeks ago and had the computer flashed on it two weeks ago with a performance tune, got the 550 last weekend, and am up for my one year anniversary this weekend...I'm going to be single again if I don't put the brakes on the spending!

[MARKAVELI]

I would save them primers and bullets in a dry box, u might need em later! You will be kicken yourself in the six if you plan on loading for a 45acp... And those bullets I would load em and shoot em! You can never have enough handguns or rifles! Don't cheat yourself, treat yourself!

While I do agree, I don't think my wife will. Having components for a gun I don't own will just make me want to buy another gun, and even worse, one I don't have any real need for.

Since I just bought a new Audi A4 three weeks ago and had the computer flashed on it two weeks ago with a performance tune, got the 550 last weekend, and am up for my one year anniversary this weekend...I'm going to be single again if I don't put the brakes on the spending!

A4 is a nice set of wheels you got I'm sure, I'm a fan of the A8's, any hoo,you should get her into shooting and buy yourself a nice 45ACP! If that don't work two things you can do; 1.)Tell her a neighbor down the street is moving and needs to sell his 45 cause he needs the cash and say you got it for cheap! 2.)Buy it and bring in one piece at a time! Lol.. 75% of the time, it works 100% of the time, every time! Lol... Sometimes when I'm cleaning up ill find a new pair of shoes or an outfit from Macys or makeup & jewlery so again, don't cheat yourself treat yourself!

[Chet]

Ryan;

It is all about compromise. I'm sure you can find a nice compact in .45 ACP to get things started. Then you will have your gun and justify keeping the bullets and brass. Then you can upgrade to a 1911.

Sounds like a nice setup you purchased. Once you get into it you can really get hooked. I look for reasons to make ammunition. I have gotten people started back into shooting just so I can build more ammunition for them. We were all faced with the same decision at some point on which press to buy. I ended up with a XL650 upgrade from a SDB and have never looked back. I love the 650 with all it's extra features and caliber change is no worse than on a 550, but you will be happy with the 550 for a long, long time. Dillon makes a great piece of equipment. Jst done sell the dies and the caliber conversion. If you let them go cheap you will kick yourself later when you have to replace them for your 1911.

A little advise on marriage. It is all about compromise. 50% of the time you will be wrong and just have to give in, the other 50% you get to argue first then find out that you wrong.

Chet

[MARKAVELI]

Ryan;

It is all about compromise. I'm sure you can find a nice compact in .45 ACP to get things started. Then you will have your gun and justify keeping the bullets and brass. Then you can upgrade to a 1911.

Sounds like a nice setup you purchased. Once you get into it you can really get hooked. I look for reasons to make ammunition. I have gotten people started back into shooting just so I can build more ammunition for them. We were all faced with the same decision at some point on which press to buy. I ended up with a XL650 upgrade from a SDB and have never looked back. I love the 650 with all it's extra features and caliber change is no worse than on a 550, but you will be happy with the 550 for a long, long time. Dillon makes a great piece of equipment. Jst done sell the dies and the caliber conversion. If you let them go cheap you will kick yourself later when you have to replace them for your 1911.

A little advise on marriage. It is all about compromise. 50% of the time you will be wrong and just have to give in, the other 50% you get to argue first then find out that you wrong.

Chet

+1 well said chet! I say get her a pretty 45! Lol...

[Ryan C]

She's actually into shooting already...not as much as me but she does like to go shooting. She's shot my M&P .40, Walther P22 and M&P 15. She's skipped the Mossberg 500, but she did take a skeet and trap class with me last year and shot the 12 and 16 gauge o/u's.

I haven't had any good offers of the .45 bullets and casings...I'm not that motivated to get rid of them so I may just end up putting them in the ammo can and storing them until I get a .45 .

I'll pick it up when the time is right but will just shoot what I've got already since I don't get out enough as it is.

I built the bench last week and have everything up and running. Loaded a small batch 50 using the press more like a single stage to get used to the steps involved and am not worried about any speed right now. Weighing every few charges, checking OAL, and barrel checking each round. So far so good, now I need to go out and shoot them and see how it goes before cranking any more out.

Do the Dillon dies only size part of the case? It seems like they only size the first 2/3rd's of the case and since all the brass I have has come from a mix of guns I thought a full length resizing would be best the first time I run them through the press.

Another question...why do rounds come out with different OAL when I haven't changed the dies settings? Can't seem to wrap my brain around that...

Ryan

[PBA2]

should resize all but the very end. I had some resizing problems at first as well and then realized the resizing die wasn't set low enough. it should be barely off the plate. How much variance in the OAL's?

[Ryan C]

should resize all but the very end. I had some resizing problems at first as well and then realized the resizing die wasn't set low enough. it should be barely off the plate. How much variance in the OAL's?

I had the die set to size at max oal of 1.135 and it loads from 1.130 to 1.1395

I chambered checked the rounds and they drop in fine but not out...Is this a sizing issue or not enough crimp?

And to make things worse I'm worried that I loaded them to hot and may go ahead and pull them. Hogdon lists the loading data for Universal as 5.0 to 5.8 max for 180gr. I loaded 180gr lead bullets at 5.2. But after looking at some other manuals they are calling 5.2 a max load for universal. Hornady says for 180gr 4.2 to 5.2 max and 180gr swc as 3.8 to 5.3. The Lee manual is more inline with the Hogdon info.

Am I overthinking this?

[MARKAVELI]

should resize all but the very end. I had some resizing problems at first as well and then realized the resizing die wasn't set low enough. it should be barely off the plate. How much variance in the OAL's?

I had the die set to size at max oal of 1.135 and it loads from 1.130 to 1.1395

I chambered checked the rounds and they drop in fine but not out...Is this a sizing issue or not enough crimp?

And to make things worse I'm worried that I loaded them to hot and may go ahead and pull them. Hogdon lists the loading data for Universal as 5.0 to 5.8 max for 180gr. I loaded 180gr lead bullets at 5.2. But after looking at some other manuals they are calling 5.2 a max load for universal. Hornady says for 180gr 4.2 to 5.2 max and 180gr swc as 3.8 to 5.3. The Lee manual is more inline with the Hogdon info.

Am I overthinking this?

It can be your crimp! whats your crimp set at? and if your OAL is a little long, seat your bullet lower and drop your powder down a little.. how many manuals are you useing as referece? you gotta use more then just one, and go by your manual it should be fine! when you chamber check em, does it go down in all the way and when you try to take em out does it feel like there is a bit of a buldge at the lower part of the brass be for getting to the head stamp? +1 on on the sizing die set a notch above the plate. I also had and once in a while come across a problem loading for this cal....

Edited August 17, 2010 by MARKAVELI

[Ryan C]

should resize all but the very end. I had some resizing problems at first as well and then realized the resizing die wasn't set low enough. it should be barely off the plate. How much variance in the OAL's?

I had the die set to size at max oal of 1.135 and it loads from 1.130 to 1.1395

I chambered checked the rounds and they drop in fine but not out...Is this a sizing issue or not enough crimp?

And to make things worse I'm worried that I loaded them to hot and may go ahead and pull them. Hogdon lists the loading data for Universal as 5.0 to 5.8 max for 180gr. I loaded 180gr lead bullets at 5.2. But after looking at some other manuals they are calling 5.2 a max load for universal. Hornady says for 180gr 4.2 to 5.2 max and 180gr swc as 3.8 to 5.3. The Lee manual is more inline with the Hogdon info.

Am I overthinking this?

It can be your crimp! whats your crimp set at? and if your OAL is a little long, seat your bullet lower and drop your powder down a little.. how many manuals are you useing as referece? you gotta use more then just one, and go by your manual it should be fine! when you chamber check em, does it go down in all the way and when you try to take em out does it feel like there is a bit of a buldge at the lower part of the brass be for getting to the head stamp? +1 on on the sizing die set a notch above the plate. I also had and once in a while come across a problem loading for this cal....

I'm not sure what the crimp is set at....how do I check this? I thought it was a done by look kind of thing. I think the OAL is off b/c I didn't set the seating die with any other shells in the plate. I loaded some single stage style (one round in the plate through each station), and then more progessively.

The round drops in the the chamber with no issues to the right depth, but you can turn the barrel over and it stays in unless you tap it a bit or pull the case out (all by hand, no tools needed to pull it out). The cases don't seem bulged anywhere and but they are reading higher near the bullet/seating area with my calipers. I thought the resizing die was low enough, I turned it all the way until it touched the plate and backed it off somewhere near 1/4 of a turn.

I used the lee manual for 180gr xtp (they didn't list Universal for 180gr lead). Later I checked the Hornady manual and it says 180gr bullets 4.2 for 800fps up to 5.2 max load for 950 fps. It shows a 180gr SWC (discontinued) with the same powder starting at 3.8gr and going to 5.3gr max. The last place I checked was the was the Hogdon website which says for 180 GR. HDY XTP to start at 5.0 with a max of 5.8. I should have checked all three first, but went with the Lee manual, guess I was just too excited to get started. I loaded 50 rounds and read my books later that night...had me thinking twice now about shooting them. I haven't loaded anything else since I want to do this safely and need to slow down and work these loads up correctly.

[GrumpyOne]

should resize all but the very end. I had some resizing problems at first as well and then realized the resizing die wasn't set low enough. it should be barely off the plate. How much variance in the OAL's?

I had the die set to size at max oal of 1.135 and it loads from 1.130 to 1.1395

I chambered checked the rounds and they drop in fine but not out...Is this a sizing issue or not enough crimp?

And to make things worse I'm worried that I loaded them to hot and may go ahead and pull them. Hogdon lists the loading data for Universal as 5.0 to 5.8 max for 180gr. I loaded 180gr lead bullets at 5.2. But after looking at some other manuals they are calling 5.2 a max load for universal. Hornady says for 180gr 4.2 to 5.2 max and 180gr swc as 3.8 to 5.3. The Lee manual is more inline with the Hogdon info.

Am I overthinking this?

It can be your crimp! whats your crimp set at? and if your OAL is a little long, seat your bullet lower and drop your powder down a little.. how many manuals are you useing as referece? you gotta use more then just one, and go by your manual it should be fine! when you chamber check em, does it go down in all the way and when you try to take em out does it feel like there is a bit of a buldge at the lower part of the brass be for getting to the head stamp? +1 on on the sizing die set a notch above the plate. I also had and once in a while come across a problem loading for this cal....

I'm not sure what the crimp is set at....how do I check this? I thought it was a done by look kind of thing. I think the OAL is off b/c I didn't set the seating die with any other shells in the plate. I loaded some single stage style (one round in the plate through each station), and then more progessively.

The round drops in the the chamber with no issues to the right depth, but you can turn the barrel over and it stays in unless you tap it a bit or pull the case out (all by hand, no tools needed to pull it out). The cases don't seem bulged anywhere and but they are reading higher near the bullet/seating area with my calipers. I thought the resizing die was low enough, I turned it all the way until it touched the plate and backed it off somewhere near 1/4 of a turn.

I used the lee manual for 180gr xtp (they didn't list Universal for 180gr lead). Later I checked the Hornady manual and it says 180gr bullets 4.2 for 800fps up to 5.2 max load for 950 fps. It shows a 180gr SWC (discontinued) with the same powder starting at 3.8gr and going to 5.3gr max. The last place I checked was the was the Hogdon website which says for 180 GR. HDY XTP to start at 5.0 with a max of 5.8. I should have checked all three first, but went with the Lee manual, guess I was just too excited to get started. I loaded 50 rounds and read my books later that night...had me thinking twice now about shooting them. I haven't loaded anything else since I want to do this safely and need to slow down and work these loads up correctly.

Your crimp should be the bullet diameter plus twice the thickness of the case wall at the mouth. It's not really a crimp for an auto loader, just removing the bell/flair put into it for the bullet seating.

Reading higher? Explain? They are bigger at the mouth than the base? And it does sound like your OAL is just a bit long if they are sticking like that. Put a case in all stations of the press and rework all of your dies, this should fix your OAL variance for the most part.

Your loads may be "Hot", but they should be fine, won't damage your gun or blow up (unless you double charged one). Typically, lead takes a less amount of powder to reach the same velocity that a jacketed bullet does. They aren't going to be hot enough to lead your barrel, so I say shoot a couple and check for pressure signs (flattened primers, cratered primers, primer flow, etc.).

[Ryan C]

At the base it reads .4195, at the mid point .4200, and .4225 near the head/crimp. The OAL is a bit long on most of the cases, but some that aren't dropping free on the chamber check range from 1.1380, 1.1365, 1.1350, 1.1315 , at the same time, some that drop free 1.1300, 1.1310,1.1385, and 1.1390 so I thought the sizing or crimp my more likely be the issue.

[Ryan C]

double post.

Edited August 17, 2010 by Ryan C

[MARKAVELI]

At the base it reads .4195, at the mid point .4200, and .4225 near the head/crimp. The OAL is a bit long on most of the cases, but some that aren't dropping free on the chamber check range from 1.1380, 1.1365, 1.1350, 1.1315 , at the same time, some that drop free 1.1300, 1.1310,1.1385, and 1.1390 so I thought the sizing or crimp my more likely be the issue.

Ryan, what bullet is it, the 180gr # 40040 HP/XTP,40042B HAP,#40047 FMJ/FP ENC or is it for sure the #10808 SWC(discontinued)? Looking at my manual the 180gr swc measure is looking like it is hot! But I trust what Grumpyone is saying.. Now according to your manual the O.A.L. or the C.O.L. Is to high, bring it down to 1.125 or closer to that and your roll crimp in my opinion needs to be atleast .420 or enough to to remove the bell. Same for your copper jacketed bullets! I hope this helps! I did the same thing when I loaded my .40 cal reloads... Again invest in more manuals to use for reference! That should work! Make a dummy round don't deprime/resize it put a bell on it(dump the powder in the hopper), place your bullet in the belled case and seat your bullet till you get that proper seating depth(1.125)once you got it at the right depthpull the lever down then tightin the seating die, the go to the crimp die and pull the lever down and role crimp it! If it has not takin the crimp out it might be touching in you barrel and that little hair width of a crimp does matter! So keep lowering the crimp a notch till you got it set(.420) then tightin the die and measure with your caliper! You might have to pull it a few times!

[sigsauerfan]

welcome. woaw,nice set-up you've got there. you will find every insights needed to get started with your press, and once your machine will be bolted on his bench ,any problem arising will be solved by the help of the BE technical support team

you'll find ALL valuable info here, from repieces for your ammunition to tricks allowing for a smooth action from your press and dies.also,you will find some sections dedicated to shooting techniques as well as mental conditionning.

this forum is a goldmine of valid infos.

[GrumpyOne]

At the base it reads .4195, at the mid point .4200, and .4225 near the head/crimp. The OAL is a bit long on most of the cases, but some that aren't dropping free on the chamber check range from 1.1380, 1.1365, 1.1350, 1.1315 , at the same time, some that drop free 1.1300, 1.1310,1.1385, and 1.1390 so I thought the sizing or crimp my more likely be the issue.

Ryan, what bullet is it, the 180gr # 40040 HP/XTP,40042B HAP,#40047 FMJ/FP ENC or is it for sure the #10808 SWC(discontinued)? Looking at my manual the 180gr swc measure is looking like it is hot! But I trust what Grumpyone is saying.. Now according to your manual the O.A.L. or the C.O.L. Is to high, bring it down to 1.125 or closer to that and your roll crimp in my opinion needs to be atleast .420 or enough to to remove the bell. Same for your copper jacketed bullets! I hope this helps! I did the same thing when I loaded my .40 cal reloads... Again invest in more manuals to use for reference! That should work! Make a dummy round don't deprime/resize it put a bell on it(dump the powder in the hopper), place your bullet in the belled case and seat your bullet till you get that proper seating depth(1.125)once you got it at the right depthpull the lever down then tightin the seating die, the go to the crimp die and pull the lever down and role crimp it! If it has not takin the crimp out it might be touching in you barrel and that little hair width of a crimp does matter! So keep lowering the crimp a notch till you got it set(.420) then tightin the die and measure with your caliper! You might have to pull it a few times!

Marki, if you are using Dillon dies, its a taper crimp, not a roll crimp on your 40. To the best of my knowledge, the only brass that should be roll crimped is revolver brass. Roll crimping an auto round is not good as the round head spaces off of the case mouth, and a roll crimp kind of curls that inward, so there is no clear definition of the case mouth at the bullet. If he is using a roll crimp, this could be why they are sticking in the barrel. The brass is actually going in just a bit too deep, and kind of getting wedged into the barrel between the head space groove and the actual barrel. I'll see if I can find a pic.

Edit to add: this is a pic of a 38 super, but the case mouth would be about the same. Notice how the brass is straight at the very end near the bullet, not curled inward. this is what your 40 rounds should look like. They should have a shoulder, so to speak.

The second picture shows a roll crimp. Notice how the end of the brass is curled into the bullet?

roll crimp-taper crimp.bmp

Edited August 17, 2010 by GrumpyOne