Reloading

[Stuck]

Got this message from someone (not here):

If you are in the US, I have a deal for you. I have an RCBS press and a variety of small tools you'll need. I'll trade for some 30-30 brass just because I've been shooting and reloading the same 100 cases for 10 years. A d don't need the spare equipment. I can throw in a reloading book as well. Itll6 cut your initial expenses in half if not more.

I asked for more details and pictures. See what he's got. Sounds a little sketchy, but his history looks legit. See what happens.

I wouldnt say its sketchy. Used presses "normally" dont bring high dollars RCBS presses go for $50-100 on ebay. Used brass can be valuable with supplies being scarce right now. If someone has extra equipment laying around its not a bad swap. New .30-30 brass is around $130 for 250 pcs. 500 pcs of once fired brass for the press and a few tools might be a good deal.

 

[woods]

I wouldnt say its sketchy. Used presses "normally" dont bring high dollars RCBS presses go on edbay for $50-100 on ebay. Used brass can be valuable with supplies being scarce right now. If someone has extra equipment laying around its not a bad swap. New .30-30 brass is around $130 for 250 pcs. 500 pcs of once fired brass for the press and a few tools might be a good deal.

hmm. mmk. neat. I'll see what he says.

 

[Lil'John]

It took me over 15 years to burn through 2,000 Fed rifle primers I bought at the store. If he adds the primers to a 1 lb or 8 of powder and some bullets it's not as bad as you make it. Sucks to be married to the wrong primer. Imagine having 9,975 of the worng shit. Alternate advice would be to store buy by the hundred to see what works better. In a lever 30-30 probably not important. Yes, If you have to pay hazmat . . . . . .

OP brought up 223 and 9mm in his original post which lend themselves to bulk loading.

OP also stated that he wasn't going to be loading for extreme accuracy for the 30-30 so there isn't going to be a wrong or "special" primer to make the "perfect" load.

One of my rifle rounds required magnum large pistol primers... so I'll be converting my 45 loads to use them once I run out of non-magnum

I haven't looked at purchasing reloading powder/primers in 2-3 years but back then, local shops were $5-$10 more per box/pound than mail order. The only exception was cci 41s that were $2 under a box compared to non-match.

It might help the OP to find someone local to him to ramp him up on reloading rifle rounds... and possible help with a box of large pistol primers If I had lpp and OP was local, I'd help him out at least on that front.

 

[woods]

Yea, I plan on starting with the 30-30. Go from there. Be neat to load my own rounds, to hunt my own land, to process my own kill, etc. If it sticks, then I can see about stepping it up a bit. I could drop $3000 on a setup, sure, but before I get to that point start simple. Single stage for some 30-30 right now is all I want to do.

 

[woods]

Guy got back to me:

500. I'll send you link(s) to IMGUR pics. The press is an RCBS RS2. It's in good shape. A new Lee perfect powder measure, chamfer/deburr hand tools, primer trays, various other extra stuff. For 500 once fired 30-30 cases, all the same manufacturer if possible.

I think I have the 500. If not, I offered what I can spare with some funds on my end.

 

[USMC Gunny]

What are you going to clean brass with? I wet tumble my stuff in harbor freights dual rock tumbler with stainless steel pins. Mix 1 pound of brass, some water to cover the brass, a good squirt of dawn and 1 tablespoon of lemi shine to make it bright.

 

[woods]

What are you going to clean brass with? I wet tumble my stuff in harbor freights dual rock tumbler with stainless steel pins. Mix 1 pound of brass, some water to cover the brass, a good squirt of dawn and 1 tablespoon of lemi shine to make it bright.

I was thinking the...Franklin(?) tumbler with walnut(?).

 

[Splib]

Also mentioned above, I think was reloading manual. Definitely get one or two. Not just for the load data but additional no and an edited, proof read professioanl source of infor besides the web. The 30-30 info is virtually timeless. Agree with LilJohn that you can burn through a lot of 9mm and a large amount of primers are a good idea. You dont have to get a tumbler to start out. You can wipe off about 98% of the residue with a paper towl or a touch of solvent / cleaner. The tumblers really shine the brass, more important for an AR-15 or even a tight 9mm pistol feed ramps and all....

Very important !!

Define and set up a clean, well lit QUIET space to reload where you wont be disturbed or interrupted. Enjoy !!

 

[non-OP]

It took me over 15 years to burn through 2,000 Fed rifle primers I bought at the store. If he adds the primers to a 1 lb or 8 of powder and some bullets it's not as bad as you make it. Sucks to be married to the wrong primer. Imagine having 9,975 of the worng shit. Alternate advice would be to store buy by the hundred to see what works better. In a lever 30-30 probably not important. Yes, If you have to pay hazmat . . . . . .

Haha, I used 2k primers this weekend making 9mm. So it all depends on what you loading, plan on loading and how much shooting you do. I'm at nearly 14k over the last 12 months just in 9mm.

 

[Stuck]

As mentioned find somewhere quiet. I loaded another 300 6.5cm this afternoon. Took me a bit longer than normal because somehow I must have knocked my beam scale and the tenths weight had jumped 2/10ths. So I had to go back and find where I fucked up and reweigh a bunch of charged cartridges.

As I mentioned before and someone else said grab a reloaders bible and read.

Make sure you have the brass to spare. Most necked brass is good on average for 5 or 6 reloads. The stuff he offering is worth maybe $200 at the high end. If you have 2000 pieces of brass you should be good. If you only have 700 or so Id buy the equipment. No telling how hard brass may be to come by.

 

[Stuck]

Franklin tumbler or even the HF one will work just fine. Make sure the brass you keep for yourself is all the same. Once you work up a load changing brass brands will fuck up your load. If you have 500 of one and a mix of others just buy the equipment. It gets expensive working up a load for new components.

 

[Splib]

"Reloading" is as diverse as the people pulling the triggers. 14,000 rounds of 9mm. Let that sink in for a second.

Ok, done

Bet your Lee Loader is near wore out

 

[Norm]

Franklin tumbler or even the HF one will work just fine. Make sure the brass you keep for yourself is all the same. Once you work up a load changing brass brands will fuck up your load. If you have 500 of one and a mix of others just buy the equipment. It gets expensive working up a load for new components.

Just use the coated walnut media, the raw stuff is cheaper but takes 5x longer.

 

[woods]

Very important !!

Define and set up a clean, well lit QUIET space to reload where you wont be disturbed or interrupted. Enjoy !!

I don't know what the guy before me did, but he built an awesome bench in the basement. Four lights on a swivel, cabinets, shelving, a vice, outlets every 2', etc. Its freaking PERFECT. Honestly, along with the spare brass I have, its a rather big reason I'd like to get into this. Its such an awesome part of the house, that it'd be an ideal place to reload.

 

[Stuck]

Well jeebus rice its not you could take a pic and post it or anything.

 

[woods]

Well jeebus rice its not you could take a pic and post it or anything.

mmk. so its totally cluttered right now. but here it is:

 

[woods]

So I drastically overestimated the amount of 30-30 cases I have. Guy I've been chatting with is going to send me the above listed for a measly 100 brass. I'm going to throw in a bunch of 9mm and a Cabela's gift card. He won't take any direct payments from me. He's doing this as a pay-it-forward deal.

Also bought this:

So winter time I should be set to go. That's if consumables are back on the shelf again.

 

[Lil'John]

Nice deal. You might buy a second reload book too. I've got two and they list different powders and different components.

 

[Stuck]

Dude start checking your LGSs. Powder and primers are out there you just have to look around. For 30-30 look for large rifle primers. Doesnt matter what kind Federal 210s, CCI200s, Remington, Winchester whichever you can find. If you find them buy 1000. It will last you quite a while and you will have enough to build your load and keep shooting for quite a while. You wont have to worry about running out and using a different primer and rebuilding your load.

As far as powder there are a shit ton of loads out there for .30-30 with different powders. Look in your Lyman book find several of the most common and then see which powder your LGSs have in stock most often. For your needs the powder wont matter as much your not going to be shooting 1000yds in extreme temp swings you just want to find one that you can get when you need it. Im using imr 4895 for .30-30 because thats what the loads my granddad made up for me a while ago were and I use the same powder in my .300 savage. Its good for 150gn to 180gn bullets whether you shoot flat nose or spitzer. Remember not to use hard spitzer bullets in a tube fed gun.

Something I forgot earlier I mentioned neck sizing. If youre using a levergun always do a full length resize. I read a while ago that just neck sizing can cause issues with ejection in leverguns. I dont remember why. I just saw the note I wrote in my load book. Most die sets will only come with a full length sizer anyway.

 

[woods]

So I did order a tumbler. I feel so stupid, but I'm getting mixed results.

Deprime first, then tumble? I've read that can cause issues with material getting into the primer pocket.

I figure if I get the press and whatnot, hold off on consumables, I can at least deprime then, clean them, the organize them in a rack until I order consumables.

 

[Lil'John]

I deprime, hand swag the primer pocket(clean it out), and then wet tumble them. Some what rare to get pins stuck in the primer pocket.

I hand swag because 45acp has small and large primer pockets. Large primers don't press well into small primer pockets

 

[Stuck]

I feel its better to tumble first. It cleans the brass before you run it through your dies. Most decappers are also sizers. Its better for the brass and your dies to clean first.

 

[Navydoc8778]

When you get new dies...Dawn dish soap, a bottle brush, and pipe cleaners. Clean those things out well before your first use. And just to cover your butt, get a stuck case remover tool. It will help in the starting phase. I load a bunch of different flavors (.380 up to 416 Rigby) and have used it more times than I would like to admit due to my own stupidity. Where are you located?

 

[woods]

When you get new dies...Dawn dish soap, a bottle brush, and pipe cleaners. Clean those things out well before your first use. And just to cover your butt, get a stuck case remover tool. It will help in the starting phase. I load a bunch of different flavors (.380 up to 416 Rigby) and have used it more times than I would like to admit due to my own stupidity. Where are you located?

I'm in Northern New England.

Tumbler and book should be in today. So tonight I should be able to dick around a little bit.

I haven't heard from the guy that was going to send me some stuff in exchange for brass in a few days. Not sure what happened there. I'll probably just end up getting myself a new kit. RCBS or Lee, or whatever.

 

[woods]

Tumbler and book arrived yesterday. Read a bit in the book. Man this is involved. It does highlight the issue with reloading random brass you've found. Well, I was always picking up brass at the sandpit when I was there with my friends. Now I'm questioning if I should be reloading that.

Setup the tumbler. Cleaned a bunch of 30-30. Didn't get it shiny like I thought it would. Its clean, but its not polished.

I do have a bunch of 9mm that I started to go ahead and clean while I had the stuff out. Ran it for an hour. And I must have held onto the brass for too long. The inside of the cases are really tarnished. Some are even green. I don't feel comfortable reloading it. Some of the stuff is about ten years old. I don't think its worth the risk of attempting to use it. Honestly, I probably won't even bother reloading the 9mm and just stick with the 30-30.

Guy hasn't got back to me about trading the brass for the reloading gear. Honestly, I'm ok with that. He wanted to trade a bunch of my 30-30, and that's the caliber I want to reload. So it was kind of counter intuitive.

Since I have the Lyman book, been looking at Lyman gear. They have a few pretty neat setups. Can't really decide which to go with. They sort of all seem to do the same thing.

 

[Johann]

Tumbler and book arrived yesterday. Read a bit in the book. Man this is involved. It does highlight the issue with reloading random brass you've found. Well, I was always picking up brass at the sandpit when I was there with my friends. Now I'm questioning if I should be reloading that.

Setup the tumbler. Cleaned a bunch of 30-30. Didn't get it shiny like I thought it would. Its clean, but its not polished.

I do have a bunch of 9mm that I started to go ahead and clean while I had the stuff out. Ran it for an hour. And I must have held onto the brass for too long. The inside of the cases are really tarnished. Some are even green. I don't feel comfortable reloading it. Some of the stuff is about ten years old. I don't think its worth the risk of attempting to use it. Honestly, I probably won't even bother reloading the 9mm and just stick with the 30-30.

Guy hasn't got back to me about trading the brass for the reloading gear. Honestly, I'm ok with that. He wanted to trade a bunch of my 30-30, and that's the caliber I want to reload. So it was kind of counter intuitive.

Since I have the Lyman book, been looking at Lyman gear. They have a few pretty neat setups. Can't really decide which to go with. They sort of all seem to do the same thing.

Range brass is always questionable. You never know how many times it has been shot. Though most is likely one and done. If you only pick up bright stuff you can eliminate some concern. Inspection for cracks and wear is mandatory. Any brass you even question should be tossed. I throw it all in a separate can and use it for brass casting.

You can get things polished with specific media but it isn't really needed. You want clean and grit free.

All the set ups achieve the same outcome. Some have slightly different mechanisms that you pay a premium for. I've been really happy with Dillon and their customer support. As you can tell from some of the posts in there. You can end up with several different presses with dedicated use once you are reloading multiple calibers. It's just easier to leave them set up rather than recalibrate when you change calibers.

Keep an eye out on gun forums for used equipment. A lot of mine has been pieced together over time as I got more interested.

 

[woods]

Range brass is always questionable. You never know how many times it has been shot. Though most is likely one and done. If you only pick up bright stuff you can eliminate some concern. Inspection for cracks and wear is mandatory. Any brass you even question should be tossed. I throw it all in a separate can and use it for brass casting.

You can get things polished with specific media but it isn't really needed. You want clean and grit free.

All the set ups achieve the same outcome. Some have slightly different mechanisms that you pay a premium for. I've been really happy with Dillon and their customer support. As you can tell from some of the posts in there. You can end up with several different presses with dedicated use once you are reloading multiple calibers. It's just easier to leave them set up rather than recalibrate when you change calibers.

Keep an eye out on gun forums for used equipment. A lot of mine has been pieced together over time as I got more interested.

Sumbitch. I've got a lot of unknown brass. Like, 95% of it is crap I picked up int he sand pit. I mean, it all looks fine? Because I couldn't tell you how many times its been fired.

The 9mm I have used myself I try to collect and put back into the box it came from. So I have lot numbers for those. Same with the 30-30. But yea, the bucket I have is all random shit that must have 20 different calibers.

Boy, there's not one aspect of this that is lenient, eh? A year ago when I first looked into this, I was expecting clean some brass while drinking a beer with a movie going on and yanking a handle.

I think the best for me is to just stick with the 30-30 stuff. The Model 94 I have is awesome. Its my bear/deer rifle. I'll just stick with that then. For all the other calibers, just buy 1000 bricks at a time.

 

[woods]

So the presses that can thread in multiple dies are turrets, correct? And the one die at a time are single stage.

I like that Lyman American 8. However, as much as I hate reading reviews, a lot of them have issues with the setup.

 

[Johann]

So the presses that can thread in multiple dies are turrets, correct? And the one die at a time are single stage.

I like that Lyman American 8. However, as much as I hate reading reviews, a lot of them have issues with the setup.

Turret or progressive= multiple dies, IIRC. The advantage for some brands like Dillon is that you can set up different interchangeable heads for different calibers and swap them into a press without resetting anything. Most do this with pistol calibers in volume amounts.

Rifle is something I have not reloaded for myself yet. Though I have been hoarding brass and dies in anticipation. With Rifles there are more steps as you go down the rabbit hole of accuracy so people do the individual stages on single stage action presses. Also people set up dedicated stations to punch out Berdan primers or deal with military crimped primers. Neck sizing VS full length, and so on.

Don't psyche yourself out on the brass thing. If you are gleaning it at some place where most people shoot new ammo it is not a big deal. Most over used brass fails in the reloading process with cracks at the neck as the brass gets brittle or other damage from where the firing stress thins the brass. You have to be vigilant that every stage of the process is done correctly and the cartridge comes out the other end complete with powder and primer in proper shape and length to fit the firearm it goes into so you should catch anything that cracks or tears during the steps. Nothing worse than cranking away and realizing that your primer function clogged 20 rounds ago and you have been dropping powder onto your press and table...

The biggest issue I had when sorting my brass when I was shooting a lot of my own 45ACP was keeping up with how many times I was shooting my own brass and getting the generations of brass mixed together. I was trying to keep all the 2x, 3x and 4x shot stuff together but it all looks the same once it hits the ground!

 

[Lil'John]

If you inspect the brass carefully, range brass is fine. Necked rifle brass requires more inspection than straight wall pistol/rifle brass.

At any given time, a turret is for one caliber. You can change tool heads(die holders) and replace. Or just like a single stage and replace all the dies in the tool head. Having separate tool heads make it easy to replicate your settings.

On single stage, it is possible to get "removable" die holders. These allow you to maintain the settings and change between steps(decap, size, seat bullet, bullet crimp)

The "sucky" thing with single stage is you are going to do thing in batches: 100 decap/size, load 100 powder, seat 100 bullets, crimp 100 bullets.