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Post by as556 on Feb 8, 2015 2:39:45 GMT
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Post by Gingerbread Man on Feb 8, 2015 3:23:45 GMT
I've broken 4 lee presses after a few ten thousand pulls. That's a defect. Send that back, they replace for free. Reminds me to send my 5th back.
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Post by as556 on Feb 8, 2015 4:06:44 GMT
Did they break in the same spot? I actually figured out how to still use it in the mean time. I emailed them with a photo..should hear back next week.
Ok I know I should have a pro show me the ropes..but I don't know any. Got a load from the Lyman manual from a 5k poster on rugerforum.
125Gr RNFP cast lead
4.0-5.7 gr Unique
This is for .38 spl. Anything glaring wrong about that? I'm already loading them. CCI primers. They are slightly below max OAL.
Im using the minimum of 4.0, btw.
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Post by as556 on Feb 8, 2015 5:09:01 GMT
 Welp, here they are. My first roll your owns. Took forever as I was really trying to be cautious and learn the process. It was fun, I can see this being a hobby of mine for a long time. And I can actually afford to shoot .38 now  I see a 300blk in my future now... |
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Post by Gingerbread Man on Feb 8, 2015 5:27:54 GMT
Looks good. Yeah, the weak link on the Lee is the links but if they busted that quick, they're defective. Happens.
Big thing, be very careful with the pistol powders. Very easy to get a dbl or triple charge. Not so much with rifles and watch for squib loads. If it doesn't "fell" right, stop and check the gun. Squibs do not feel like regular shots.
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Post by as556 on Feb 8, 2015 5:39:04 GMT
For now Im weighing every charge on my little triple beam..very tedious but safe. Then I shine a light in each case prior to loading and keep everything separate. Thanks for the tips, I'll put em to good use. Now that the loading is done I'm gonna have a beer and deprime for awhile.
Anybody have a extra loading manual they'll trade me?
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Post by LowKey on Feb 8, 2015 11:25:39 GMT
Dannus,
Echoing everyone else, you should have no problem assembling a lower. It's not rocket surgery, and there are lots of video's out there to give pointers.
Speaking of videos, I have a ton of gunsmithing videos on my hard drive. Anyone need/want them? Files are a bit large-ish for emailing so one of you bright Internet savvy guys might need to explain to this DAT how to get them to you.
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Post by LowKey on Feb 8, 2015 12:17:36 GMT
Looks good. Yeah, the weak link on the Lee is the links but if they busted that quick, they're defective. Happens. Big thing, be very careful with the pistol powders. Very easy to get a dbl or triple charge. Not so much with rifles and watch for squib loads. If it doesn't "fell" right, stop and check the gun. Squibs do not feel like regular shots. Way back in the mid 80's when I was a new shooter I picked up an Astra .380 and a few bags of reloads from my LGS. The owner had just set up his own press and was selling his reloads in plastic baggies. Fast forward to the range and I'm shooting strings, one round sounded "funny" but I had already squeezed off another few rounds before it registered. Dropped the mag, cleared, and all looked well. Went back to shooting, but my groups opened up a touch. AT the end of the range session I went to disassemble for cleaning and the damn slide wouldn't come off. Took the pistol back to the LGS to see if my neophyte ass was doing it wrong. I wasn't, barrel was bulged just forward of the chamber. Looks like I'd had a squib put the soft lead round just far forward enough to allow the next round to chamber and then fire. Damn lucky it didn't blow up in my face. The owner of the LGS apologized, pulled all of the reloads he had for sale off the shelf to have each round weighed individually to see if there were any other squibs. He also replaced the pistol at no charge. Take aways: Pay attention to everything when you're shooting. Don't shoot faster than you can react (i.e. each pull of the trigger should be a conscious action, not something automatically triggered by the cycling of the firearm). Support LGS when they're run by ethical folks. |
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Post by Gingerbread Man on Feb 8, 2015 17:58:54 GMT
Anybody have a extra loading manual they'll trade me? I might, let me look around. |
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Post by LowKey on Feb 8, 2015 20:55:58 GMT
Cool, thanks. Lowkey, I think the easiest way would be for someone to ship you a thumbdrive, have you transfer them on it and then ship the drive back. Might be ways to do it on the net. IDK. Hmm....might need a few thumbdrives. All together I have about 115GB of firearms related data, admittedly not all of it gun smithing videos. Some cad files, a slew of manuals, and a goodly bit of reloading stuff. Oh, also a bit of training videos. *edited to add* I suppose a few 64gb Micro SD cards would work. I can mail out free of charge, so if anyone sends them to me (say, taped to an index card inside the envelope) I can get them loaded up and mailed out. |
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Post by nxp on Feb 8, 2015 23:12:43 GMT
All this wonderful talk of reloading should be focused into one awesome spot, like a post or something - you know, Reloading For Dummies or equivalent.
hint hint.
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Post by as556 on Feb 9, 2015 0:30:04 GMT
Woo hoo, good thinking NXP. I did the math it costs me $6.30 to reload 50 .38s...not too shabby.
Anybody have any tips or pet loads they want to share? I plan on reloading .38 and .308 mostly for whitetail. Not sure 9mm is worth my time.
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Post by as556 on Feb 9, 2015 17:53:29 GMT
Lee emailed me first thing today. They're sending a replacement press tomorrow.
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Post by as556 on Feb 14, 2015 2:25:36 GMT
 Alright gents we're back in business. Got my toggle link today so I started loading and set up my powder measure. Upped the charge a wee bit to 4.5gr Unique under a 125gr RNFP lead bullet. Also grabbed some XTPs in 125gr flavor and loaded them per my manual over 5.5gr Unique with CCI primers and Federal nickel cases. These bullets are supposed to expand as low as 800fps and with 5.5gr they should clock just under 900. If all goes to plan in my water jug test I'll load up several hundred of these for defensive stash and small game hunting. Anybody know if I can use nail polish to seal my primers?  |
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Post by nxp on Feb 14, 2015 16:50:16 GMT
The XTP's are one of my favorite bullets, right up there with the Barne's all coppers. May not have all the flash of the latest and greatest, but they've always worked awesome out of my muzzleloader with sabots. I have a few boxes of 357M with the 125gr XTP and they make a mess of most everything.
Anyone wanna do some breakdown on some basics for a newbie?
Example:
Presses - I know there's a "C" and an "O", and I'm not even gonna ask about anything coming from a company named "Dillon". Opinions on these from those that have used them?
Powder - I know that all have varying pressure curves; pistol powder isn't the same as rifle powder, but sometimes there's crossovers that work well for both - is there a dummy proof/do-all powder? Don't say Trailboss.
Powder measurement - I've seen balance scales, powder drops, dip cups, insanely accurate digital jobs, what's worth the effort/cost for what level?
Dies - can you use a die for multiple calibers? Eg, can a 308 die do 300AAC/308Win/3006Spr? Can a 9mm do 380ACP/9mm/38spc/357M?
If you were putting together a setup for a cheap as hell guy that's not 100% sure if he'd be interested in the long haul for it, and wanted to consolidate his calibers to only a few (eg, 308 based carts and some 9mm pistol carts with an AR in there) how would you go about it?
Did I make that vague enough?
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I see a 300blk in my future now...
