Reloading equipment

[crossdraw]

I just purchased this equipment from a guy that is getting out of reloading.

RCBS
a older (rock chucker) press
dies in .45 colt, .44 spec, .357 and .243
uniflow powder measure
case lube pad and lube
stuck case remover
Trim Mate case prep center

Hornaday Pacific
00-7 press
22-250 dies

Other
A Lyman press (details unknown)
Lee auto primer
Forster case trimmer
OHaus beam scale
Lyman beam scale
Calipers
Frankford tumbler
several reloading manuals
500 .45 bullets (Meister brand)
500 .38 bullets
500 .44 bullets
several small boxes of misc size bullets
several boxes of used brass of different caliber
Powder- Alliant unique, Hercules 2400, IMR 4064
Several boxes of small and large pistol primers and a large box of rifle primers

I paid $500. for everything

[Arcey]

Looks like a good start ta basic reloadin'.

Don't see a good reloadin' manual in the lot. Ya need one 'n get ta readin' it. Every word. Then come back here with specific questions.

I'd also suggest a set of check-weights for the scales ta make sure they're accurate. People accuse me of goin' overboard on that but I don't think so.

Good luck 'n good reloadin'.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Better to be a little bit overboard than blown up, Arcey. Good advice!
Look at the manuals from LEE and Hodgdon, good place to start.............Buck

[Arcey]

Thankee, Buck.

Ya don't know what ya don't know.......

[crossdraw]

Several manuals came with the deal, I have most that were named above. I picked up a Lyman 48th a while back. I have been trying to locate manuals for some of the equipment. About the only one I don't have is the RCBS press but I think The down-loadable Chucker II manual will probably do.

All of the .45 bullets are SWC, will these be ok in a lever action or should I restrict them to pistol only?

I don't plan to attempt reloading until I am positive about what i am doing and I have a good basic load picked out. The SWC bullets wouldn't be my first choice (mainly because I have been shooting a round nose with a flat tip) but I have 500 (200 gr) to use up.

I also need to build a bench but I want to plan that out also.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

SWC's may or MAY not work in your lever gun. They are individuals to themselves. My wife's Marlin CS will run .38 SWC's, my Marlin CBC won't.....................Buck

[cpt dan blodgett]

Looks like a good start ta basic reloadin'.

Don't see a good reloadin' manual in the lot. Ya need one 'n get ta readin' it. Every word. Then come back here with specific questions.

I'd also suggest a set of check-weights for the scales ta make sure they're accurate. People accuse me of goin' overboard on that but I don't think so.

Good luck 'n good reloadin'.

Finally got a digital scale.  Calibrated it with the 50gram weight.  Dead on.
Dumped a 40 grain charge of powder from my 1985 lyman, just for grins poured it in the tared pan of the new digital 40.0
Never had a check wt before, but do routinely verify 0.0 grains lines up in center.

[Wildcat Will]

Being positive about what your doing is great.  Safety first.  The most important is verifying powder weight as my good friend Arcey talked about.  When I was loading smokeless I would also check powder weight about every 50-100 rounds just to be sure.

One of the best parts of reloading (also can be the most frustrating) is working up different loads.  Your gonna find as was mentioned with the bullet type, different guns will like different loads.  For CAS I would try to find something that works reasonably good in your pistols and rifle.  A lot less frustrating at the range to have only one load.  Seen more people mix up loads and get a jam or a miss because they put a rifle load in a pistol or visa versa.

[Beauregard Hooligan]

It's been my experience that lever action rifles work best with round nose, flat point bullets. Lever guns are not only bullet shape sensitive but overall length sensitive as well. Neither of my .44 Magnum Marlin 1894's will cycle .44 Special length cartridges at all. My Browning 100th Anniversary 1892 will cycle either, if the rounds have RNFP slugs. My Marlin 1894 Cowboy in .45 Colt will cycle and feed anything that has a RNFP profile and is anywhere from 1.50 to 1.60 in length. I've only shot 1.60 OAL rounds through my Pedersoli '73 in .44-40. Oh, and I almost forgot. It ain't real without photos.

My main match guns. Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum, Lyman tang sight; Browning Centennial 1892 .44 Magnum.



Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum with receiver sight, kept sighted for full house .44 Mag loads; Winchester 1894 .30-30, my Uncle Bill bought it new in '53, gave it to me just before he died; the Browning Centennial 1892 .44 Magnum again.



Another shot of the Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum with receiver sight, and another of the Winchester 1894 .30-30. A joker loaded some .30-30 rounds for my Uncle but didn't fully re-sized the cases. Uncle Bill put a round into a 350 lb. California Black Bear that did not put the critter down, and the rifle jammed when he tried cycling the second round into the chamber. The bear got all over my Uncle, who survived by playing dead; the bear lost interest and wandered off to die about 100 yards away. Loggers found my Uncle, and let's just say, it wasn't pretty. I have three of the rounds the bozo loaded; they checked out as being over length and neck sized only.



Pedersoli 1873 Winchester in .44-40 with 30" barrel and tang sight, 15 round magazine capacity; Marlin 1894 Cowboy in .45 Colt with tang sight; the Winchester 1894 .30-30 with it's Lyman receiver sight from the other side.



Sorry, but I haven't run the vacuum in the shop recently.

[Marshall Mims]

Congrats! You'll learn many practical things along the way, and WORD software will help you with notes that you can print for a 3 ring binder with sections for each caliber, and log sheets in the back for each load. Read the instructions EVERY time you change dies in the press instead of relying on your memory, safety first. Find references on safely storing gunpowder, and other helpful, safety ideas.

[wolflobo76]

One of the Lyman reloading manuels  for black powder loads will also be a real big help.

[Cliff Fendley]

BH, sorry to hear about your uncle but your story brings up a good point.

First I never trust anyone elses reloads and regardless of the ammo or it's source it is always a good practice to make sure it chambers in your gun before going in.

Also target practice with ammo loaded the same way to make sure it functions properly in the guns action, especially important when hunting dangerous game.

One my bolt actions I use hunting I neck size and just bump the shoulder back. I make sure every round chambers fine before going hunting. Even if not hunting dangerous game it could ruin a deer hunt if you need to chamber a second round in a hurry.

[Beauregard Hooligan]

BH, sorry to hear about your uncle but your story brings up a good point.

First I never trust anyone elses reloads and regardless of the ammo or it's source it is always a good practice to make sure it chambers in your gun before going in.

Also target practice with ammo loaded the same way to make sure it functions properly in the guns action, especially important when hunting dangerous game.

One my bolt actions I use hunting I neck size and just bump the shoulder back. I make sure every round chambers fine before going hunting. Even if not hunting dangerous game it could ruin a deer hunt if you need to chamber a second round in a hurry.

It is a good point. I cycle every round I might fire when hunting through the rifle. With lever action rifles this is more important than a bolt action rifle. When I load for CAS I check each round through a Wilson Case gauge that folks can find from Sinclair at:

http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pid=33263/Product/Wilson-Maximum-Case-Gage

The other important point about my Uncle Bill is that he was hunting alone; a risky proposition at any time. The bear chewed him up badly, grinding the tissue of his arms and legs until they were burger. There were several bites, but most was simple gnawing, like a Rottweiler with a rawhide bone. From that point, until the end of his days, he wore long sleeved shirts and long trousers. On occasion we would camp near a small pond or stream, and we'd strip and clean up. The scarring looked like something out of a book on extreme trauma. Ghastly would be the one word that describes it. If the loggers had not found him, I think he would have bled out there in the woods. The gnawing was a severe problem when he was treated at a local hospital, as injections of Novocaine just seeped out of the wounds. Finally, they put him under general anesthetic so that the wounds could be cleaned, debrided, stitched and dressed. A result in my life has been a vow to always buddy up when going afield. Even if my hunting partner is a half mile away, he knows where I am, and will come looking for me if I fire three shots, or if I don't show up at the appointed time. And, it doesn't take a wild animal to spoil the day. A fall that causes a compound fracture of a leg can also put one all too close to getting permanent rest under a marble hat. I don't hunt these days as my knees are a mess, but if I ever do, I'll have a partner who knows where I am. I don't want to die in the woods alone.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Beauregard,,

Here ! Here! on buddying up ....

When I go cross country skiing, I tend to go to Royal Gorge (known to the locals as royal gouge).

The reason? At the end of the day, they cruise all the open trails by skidoo and akja ....so that they can pull any injured skier down the hill ...

Having said that, I go to the rental area with a map of where I am going to go  ... and tell the rental guys that if I am not back and have not picked up the map by 1700, to send out out a search party along the routes that I was traveling .... kind of an insurance blanket .....

Just a thought ... It could even be a map (showing your route) left with a significant other; left with instructions to call the authorities if it is not picked up at a certain time ...