First reloads

[Mean Bob Mean]

Ruined one case but all in all, pretty happy with how these came out.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Look Okay.  Did they all fire? Did those fine bullets all land in a suitable cluster? 

The proof is in the pudding

The first run through the process takes ages and knitted brows (hopefully not permanent!), but you will soon gain confidence & skill.

[Mean Bob Mean]

The first run through the process takes ages and knitted brows (hopefully not permanent!), but you will soon gain confidence & skill.

Thanks Sir Charles.  I did fret a great deal about it but gained a ton of confidence.  Weather not terrific right now, intend to fire them Thursday or Friday, then I will know if I am on the right track.  Reading over this forum helped a lot.  I mean, you read about all the issues and fret more, but then, you read the calm, reassuring fixes and encouragement and think "Oh hell, I can do this!"

[Shotgun Franklin]

Reloading is not near as dangerous as steppin' into a shower stall.
But both can be done with a little caution.

[rickk]

Like anything else, it seems confusing at first. There appear to be a lot of steps, and at the beginning you might be uncertain what some of the steps do.

After a few hundred rounds it gets pretty easy.  Once you have set up a few different die sets it all makes sense.

BTW, you may not save any money, you will just shoot more and also have more money to spend on more reloading stuff, so you can shoot even more. 

Natural forces do not ever allow a wallet to accumulate money.

Rick

[Mean Bob Mean]

I hear ya on the saving money thing.  Every time I calculate savings I figure out how many rounds I have to expend to start saving . . .

[PJ Hardtack]

Reloading is a good hobby activity in itself, especially during the winter. And the less labour intensive, the better. That's where progressive presses come into play. I've been stock piling ammo in all calibres to be ready for spring when I'd rather shoot than reload.

A lot of people have a phobia about progressives for beginners, but it's really not that different from using a single stage press. At least with a Dillon.
When loading 44-40 on my Dillon, I first lube/size all cases on a single stage press. Then I use the Dillon 550B, the first hole in the tool head empty. I limit myself to 100 rds at a go to maintain my alertness. My mind drifts if I attempt to do more in a session.

If ever in doubt, I set that rd aside and later pull the bullet. It's rarely necessary, but I find it reassuring. And I've been loading since Peter was a fisherman.

[Mean Bob Mean]

Reloading is a good hobby activity in itself, especially during the winter.

A lot of people have a phobia about progressives for beginners,


If ever in doubt, I set that rd aside and later pull the bullet. It's rarely necessary, but I find it reassuring. And I've been loading since Peter was a fisherman.

I get all that, I enjoyed stretching my abilities, learning, and being active.  As for a progressive, yeah I like the idea quite a bit but unless I was going to be serious about shooting with Cowboys I was not going to sink the extra several hundred into reloading.  I was nervous anyway, worrying about the powder dropping, etc., would have just dog piled on me.  I figure if I get serious I will get a Dillon for loading pistol rounds and load rifle with my RCBS. 

Next I am setting up for blackpowder shotgun loads in brass shells but that's a few months off. 

Thanks for the encouragment, it helps.

[PJ Hardtack]

Unless you're independently wealthy, you can't "be serious about shooting with Cowboys" unless you reload. That applies to any and all shooting sports.
Even if you are independently wealthy, the scarcity of factory ammo right now is an issue.

[Mean Bob Mean]

Unless you're independently wealthy, you can't "be serious about shooting with Cowboys" unless you reload. That applies to any and all shooting sports.
Even if you are independently wealthy, the scarcity of factory ammo right now is an issue.

I shoot the .44 colt, could load Russians I suppose, that leaves me pretty much in worse shape than anyone else as far as factory loads go.  Planning on buying some .38 Long colt brass for my 1851 conversion.  I mean, why the hell not?

[rickk]

Mean Bob,

There are many ways to load brass shotgun hulls. You can improvise the entire process if you wish for virtually no cost at all, or you can in various ways make it a bit simpler.

I wound up setting up a Lee "Cast Classic" press specifically for doing brass shotgun shells. The cast classic has a bushing that, when removed, will allow the use of the RCSB 12 gauge Cowboy dies. This is about the only easy way that you can possibly resize them if you find it necessary to do so if for instance, you step on a brass hull or drop one and mangle the lip a bit.

Besides the LEE cast classic, the only other presses that will accept the big RCBS dies are the RCBS Rockchucker or a Corbin Swage press.  I have a Corbin, but it would have required an expensive custom die holder plate be purchased and swapping die plates is tricky (to keep the alignment correct). The LEE press is a very strong press and it you compare the cost of the Lee Press versus the RockChucker, you will immediately see why I chose the LEE over the RockChucker.

Rick

[Mean Bob Mean]

There are many ways to load brass shotgun hulls. You can improvise the entire process if you wish for virtually no cost at all, or you can in various ways make it a bit simpler.

I plan on making my own tools to relaod brass shotgun or buying a kit from Rocky Mountain Cartridge.  I don't reload quickly or often so dedicating a press to that is not in my thinking--at this time.