Originally Posted by AB
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Bringing this thread back up. I finally bit the bullet and bought a single stage lee press. It should arrive Wednesday or Thursday. I'm still interested in 223, 9 and 45 to start off with. But asking for advice on which to do first?
Now keep in mind, I have never reloaded before. I do have a digital scale and calipers. So is there anything else I need to get started other than dies, powder and primers?
I like the lee single stage myself . Pick any and start loading. You will pick it up as you go along casing trays ect.
Grab the lee case trimmer....
9mm and 45 are easier than 223. I would say 9 because you don't have to worry with what kind of primers the 45 could have (some vendors use small, some use large). I started with 9mm because I shoot a metric fuckton of it.
When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always.
12b is talking about loading blocks. Not indispensable they are both very useful and rather frustrating because of the "one size fits none so two sizes that fit none are better" aspect. Since you are going low cost/low tech you can be aware of the possibility of double-charging especially in pistol calibers and inspect the powder loads visually with a flashlight before pressing in the.bullets. Loading blocks/ trays help organize that and other procedures. You can make do with the primer feature of the press if it has one... but I really, really like using a hand primer. For that I like the RCBS APS strip loader and use one for each size primer so I don't have to change the "doohickey". Case trimmers are essential, but not to get started. You can wait a little while. Lee single stage presses are perfectly good at doing the job, the single stage is just more time consuming and musical-chairs-ish. I've got 3 or 4 of them, as well as Lee and RCBS turret presses.
I agree on loading the pistol rounds first...either the 9mm or the .45 ACP. If you get any small-primered .45 ACP, just throw the damn things in the trash brass bin. I keep what's left of a deprimer rod after the pin breaks off handy when prepping ,45 ACP brass. It will fit in to a large primer pocket but not into a small primer pocket, so... any .45 brass that is a no-go, is gone.
"Living life in fear isn't living life at all." ~ Winter Soldier
Just get in the habit of sorting out large primer and small primer .45 brass. I know Federal uses small primers, so if you've been buying federal .45 ammo you likely have a bunch of brass that you probably won't have to waste.
Just run one batch of small primer rounds for every 9 large primer batches or whatever
9 and 45 (especially .45), are much more "worth it" than .223 for reloading. With plated or cast bullets that many companies sell you can get your cost per round to a quarter of what factory ammo is. The cost and time that goes into loading .223, especially for "plinking" ammo for an AR or something just isn't low enough to be worth doing in my opinion. (though with the current shortage of ammo, maybe its time I get back into it, if I can find bullets for a decent price)
Um… Things you will need...
You do know that bottlenecked brass (rifle or pistol) like .223 must be lubricated, right? Pistol brass... If you buy carbide dies, STRAIGHT WALLED pistol brass does not have to be lubricated.
Economics are whatever you make of them. Most of my loads are made using bullets I cast myself from scrap lead. So, the bullets are super-cheap at about $1.00 per pound... if you don't count the hundred or more bullet moulds I've bought over the years. For a few high velocity rounds, I buy FMJ bullets... but, if its lead, I make it.
"Living life in fear isn't living life at all." ~ Winter Soldier
Get a self tapping deck screw (1/4 inch thread) a washer the top does not go through, a short piece of 1/2 metal conduit pipe, allen or star bit and a drill for the tap (3/16).
When (not if) you get a case stuck in your die, drill the primer, screw the self tapping deck screw in through the washer and conduit so that you can pull the brass out.
or not, but this is what I do. Cheaper than messing up the die trying to beat it out.
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