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reloading questions/advice if you would please?

I'm surprised they show it in stock, lately when I have checked it was Back Ordered.
I haven't seen any negative comments on Starline Brass
(I suspect Sierra Bullets uses it for their loaded ammo since they are right next door to Starline)

Midway has it in 100 round lots for $32.99
Powder Valley inc has it in stock at $24.29 /100
Grafs has it in stock at $26.19 /100
 
ok thanks..yeah, i checked another website, cannot recall the name now, and they had used brass, that also had new primers in them. (a choice if one wanted primers installed)

i didn't want that, as the price was a wee bit higher than Starline, and well, it was used.

i can get "some" used brass at the range, as i sweep up my brass.

i also "figured" the new brass at the very least, ought to give me an extra reloading or 2, before i have to put it into my recycling bin, for cash later.

as it is now, much of "my brass" is first fired.


i can only "surmise" some of the swept up brass at the range is also 1st time fired.

but i'd not know that for certain.

and there IS a limit to Starline......2 orders per customer.
 
Old_Me said:
ok thanks..yeah, i checked another website, cannot recall the name now, and they had used brass, that also had new primers in them. (a choice if one wanted primers installed)

i didn't want that, as the price was a wee bit higher than Starline, and well, it was used.

i can get "some" used brass at the range, as i sweep up my brass.

i also "figured" the new brass at the very least, ought to give me an extra reloading or 2, before i have to put it into my recycling bin, for cash later.

as it is now, much of "my brass" is first fired.


i can only "surmise" some of the swept up brass at the range is also 1st time fired.

but i'd not know that for certain.

and there IS a limit to Starline......2 orders per customer.
Click to expand...
What brass are you looking for? I usually have a good stash of new brass
 
shanneba said:
So order 2 packs of 500 and a thousand 230gr 45 cal LRN bullets (if you have 1000 Large Pistol primers :) )
Click to expand...
i did order up 2 packs, since some of you say starline is good, as well as the you tube guy, "Gavin", (who sets up and reviews all reloading presses) as for the 230 gr, i have been ordering 45 ACP by the truck load. the owner of the store is running out of lead, thanks to me..........

primers...??

primers...??

i got stinking primers by the 747 cargo bay.......


but i gots no mo' room at the house to stack'em......!!!!!!!!

i may have to go to the naval yard, and buy an old naval quonset hut.
 
goal NOT reached today...

well i tried, i really tried.

i tried to reach my goal of 2,000 rds of 45 ACP...

but i failed.

miserably too...

reason why...??

I. RAN. OUT. OF. CASINGS......!!!!!

so all i could manage was 1800 done...

and that's even "finding" casings i didn't even know i had in a box, in the workshop.......

but, i DO HAVE 1,000 brand new Starline casings coming this week.

but then........i'll end up being 200 casings short of my 3,000 GOAL...

oh the inhumanity of it all, when does this shortage crappola end..........?????????
 
i am getting ready to leave for the range in a few minutes, so let me throw out these questions.

1) i want to know if any of you guys keep in your reloading logbook, the number of times, you reloaded a casing?

as it is now, and i know for a fact, all of "MY" personal ammo i bought new, so it'll all be 1st fired.

however, i will NEVER assume the brass i sweep up, along with mine, is 1st fired, but i will "surmise" much of it is, as much of it looks good, no bent rim, cracks, excessive wear.

but in my reloading logbook, i do not record 1st fired, or new casings.

that's nearly simple right now, all i have to do is go to my logbook, and jot down, "1st fired brass"

2) "on average, if there is such a thing", how many times do YOU reload a brass casing, before you toss it into your recycling bucket.?? (besides the obvious signs of cracks)

3) and as for logging new casings, 1st, fired, etc, do you also jot that down, on the ammo box as well..??

just wondering what some (or all ) of YOU do when reloading.

taking my Ronin this morning, with 1 box of my reloads done on the Dillon, and 1 box of Lawman new.


thanks in advance
 
I know some folks who have a system for tracking the number of times brass has been reloaded. I do not do this. My system is to toss split cases when I find them. I have gallons of handgun brass in several calibers and some of it is 20 years old. Being lazy, I spend more time reloading and shooting than checking and fussing.
I do regret not recording loads I've made over the years. I have some loads written down, but have lost precious data. I have used multiple bullet suppliers with various weights besides different powders and their charges due to availability. I've found my mind is no longer a steel trap :oops: and I retread efforts I've done previously. OTOH, the search for the holy grail is gratifying and I get to do that more as a result. :D
 
youngolddude said:
I know some folks who have a system for tracking the number of times brass has been reloaded. I do not do this. My system is to toss split cases when I find them. I have gallons of handgun brass in several calibers and some of it is 20 years old. Being lazy, I spend more time reloading and shooting than checking and fussing.
I do regret not recording loads I've made over the years. I have some loads written down, but have lost precious data. I have used multiple bullet suppliers with various weights besides different powders and their charges due to availability. I've found my mind is no longer a steel trap :oops: and I retread efforts I've done previously. OTOH, the search for the holy grail is gratifying and I get to do that more as a result. :D
Click to expand...
thanks.

after i left the range, i went to the bait store where i buy my lead bullets and reloaded ammo.

the owner and another man, a regular there, both told me they do not record how many times they reloaded the brass, and they (as you) said they look for the split brass.

the owner said at times, as you are cleaning the brass, any split casings make a "clink" noise, that indicates a cracked case.

i may have not related that here, as it was told to me, he tried to explain how you'd know, but the sounds?
 
Split brass sounds different. Take a handful and shake them. If you have a split case, it will sound odd. I can't describe it, but you will hear it. I found multiple split cases this past week while wearing earplugs at our state championship. It works.
 
I've logged basically every round I've ever loaded until the past 4 years, and even kept count of number of times my cases were loaded with all my competition loads in years past. Somehow during our move a couple years ago, my log books were misplaced and I have virtually none left after loading many hundreds of thousands of rounds. As an aside, I was a pretty unhappy camper for several months after realizing all my log books were gone. I thought they had gone to my yard son along with all my presses, dies, etc. That wasn't the case and so far they've not been found.

Since I've started loading again here in the new place I've kept reasonably good notes on my loadings, but not nearly to the detail I once did. I've not bought many new brass but of those new I have kept count of number of times loaded. Most brass I'm loading now is from my own factory cases as they've been shot up. I have been counting them for now, but may not in the future. 'Course I'm not loading nearly the same amount either. But to answer your question....... I would say if you're serious about your loading and plan to continue for a long time, why not log it? Just make it part of the process and enjoy looking back over time to see what, if any changes/improvements you've made or not, etc.

You can make your logs as detailed as you want or as simple as you want ........... remember, you can't log too much info, but there will come a time when you'll say 'Damn, I wish I had written that down'! I promise you that will happen at some point.
 
well UPS dropped off those Starline brass cases, a while ago.

of course the rather big sign, "please ring both doorbells" doesn't seem to work.

since i wanted to reload 2000 rds, i set aside 250..

(i shot 50 the other day).

nice and shiny, looked like a bag of gold coins.
 
well that was a lesson in time management.

i tried reloading 50 rounds of 45 ACP, with the Lee...WHAT A CHORE and BALL BREAKING JOB...!!

the danged Lee would get hung up trying to lower the ram from putting powder into the casing..

the bench nearly rose up each time, that's how HARD it was to take that ram out..


2 freaking hours, to reload 50 rounds..??

so, i took ALL the new casings, and ran them thru the cleaning media, to try and remove some of that "protective coating" they use on the outside/inside of the casings.

that did not work.

i finished the 50 rounds.

then i took to the DIllon.....

100 rounds, made in less than 1 HOUR...

no hang up with that powder drop, like the Lee, no lifting of the bench like the Lee.

lesson learnt..??

DO NOT USE the Lee for the new shell casings, for thier first time to be loaded.

the Lee is (to me) too weak to handle new casings.

what else can it be..??

50 rounds, in the Lee...2 hours..??

100 rounds in the DIllon...1 hour..???
 
I'm not familiar with how the Dillon works their charging step in the loading process, but the Lee does have an expanding plug in the "Powder Through Expander" die that actually goes inside the case during the powder charging drop and expands the case mouth to an exact size (based on caliber) as it's withdrawn (ram is lowered). Ordinarily that doesn't create any problem and in my estimation is a benefit since when the case is full length sized, it sometimes will not be the exact size needed but a tad undersized depending on exactly how the sizing die has been adjusted and/or the wall thickness of the particular case being used. I'll assume Dillon uses some other method to open the case mouth after sizing so there is no apparent pull/sticking.

Now usually that withdrawal of the 'expanding' plug will not lift a table, but I do remember your mentioning your table is pretty lightweight. That in itself may be the issue with the "Lee" design, but there could be several others. I'd suggest doing a little research before condemning the "Lee" press.

Just my first thoughts. Let us know what you find.
 
I use case lube on all cases when reloading; new, old, big or small. It saves you effort. I've been loading .45 Schofield cases lately and a lot of them are new. Not a big deal if you use case lube.
I didn't load a bunch because I'm trying Winchester Super Lite. It hasn't been made in decades, so data is scarce. I'll find out Sunday if I'm in the ballpark.
 
jumpinjoe said:
I'm not familiar with how the Dillon works their charging step in the loading process, but the Lee does have an expanding plug in the "Powder Through Expander" die that actually goes inside the case during the powder charging drop and expands the case mouth to an exact size (based on caliber) as it's withdrawn (ram is lowered). Ordinarily that doesn't create any problem and in my estimation is a benefit since when the case is full length sized, it sometimes will not be the exact size needed but a tad undersized depending on exactly how the sizing die has been adjusted and/or the wall thickness of the particular case being used. I'll assume Dillon uses some other method to open the case mouth after sizing so there is no apparent pull/sticking.

Now usually that withdrawal of the 'expanding' plug will not lift a table, but I do remember your mentioning your table is pretty lightweight. That in itself may be the issue with the "Lee" design, but there could be several others. I'd suggest doing a little research before condemning the "Lee" press.

Just my first thoughts. Let us know what you find.
Click to expand...
my bench has adjustable legs, so it cannot be bolted down

lightweight bench...??

hardly at 45 lbs.
 
Ooops, my old memory failed me once again. So disregard the previous post ............

The plug I was talking about (remembering) is in the 1st die, the 'sizing' die and it does pull pretty hard when it's withdrawn. Now if that's the point where it lifts the table, I'm pretty sure that's the issue. There is in fact a case mouth 'expander' inside the powder drop die, but it's purpose is to only 'bell' the case mouth. It's technically not a case expander, but more of a case mouth expander. However, if the table lifting actually comes at the 2nd die, the #2 "powder through expander" die, then it's probably a simple matter of adjustment.

NOTE: If the table is not lifting at the 1st die, the sizer die, but is lifting at the 2nd die, the 'powder through expander' die, there has to be something out a whack either with that die or adjustment of that die. Die #2 doesn't have nearly enough drag to cause the table to lift, and especially when compared to the 1st die. The problem may also be in the powder measure itself. Double check all the mechanisms on the "Auto Drum" measure which is the one I think you're using.

If that die is properly adjusted, the expander should not be going deep enough to stick unless there's something else going on that we're not all aware of. Maybe back up a little and double check all your adjustments to be sure. Especially check the OAL of the new cases to make sure they are within Saami specs. They should be since they are new and a good quality brand. I'm going to guess that you maybe originally adjusted your dies on used cases of various lengths and wall thicknesses and there just might be enough variation to cause the 'powder through expander' die to stick a little bit with the brand new ones.

I can promise you I've loaded tens of thousands of rounds with new and used cases over the years with "Lee" 3 & 4 die sets and never had one stick after dropping the charge.

Just so you know, I told you I didn't have any experience with "Dillon", so I went to youtube and watched a couple videos on "Dillon" equipment to have a little better idea of how they work. One thing I did notice that's relevant here is that Dillon uses a 'stand alone' die for the powder charge ..... or at least in a 'stand alone' position. It appears to do the same job as "Lee", just in another position. In both videos they mentioned specifically the die to activate the powder measure, whereas the "Lee" charge die is part of the reloading process. That's really not a good explanation of what I'm trying to say and may not even apply, but there was something different with the "Dillon" powder charging than with the "Lee" charging. Not saying either is better/worse than the other, just different somehow. One thing I did (I think) I noticed is that the "Dillon" powder measure, die, and position in the process seems to be somehow different from the "Lee". May have just been the video I was watching.

Anyway, double check the things mentioned and let us know. Good luck.
 
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