Thread: Reloading Experience

My AK finally sold, so my equipment order is going out tomorrow.

I am getting the Lee Turret Press Kit set up for 3 calibers.

.38 Special:
Lee Dies
3 shell boxes
Auto Powder Dumper
Extra Turret

.45 ACP:
Lee Dies
3 shell boxes
Extra Turret

.223 Remington:
Lee Dies
1 Shell holder
3 shell boxes
Case Lube
Lever Perfect Powder Dumper

General:
Lee Deluxe Turret Press Set
Electric Tumbler
Tumble Media (corncob)
Digital Calipers

The press kit is out of stock until mid-May, so that will give me some time to read up some more and figure out how I'm mounting the press.

I plan on mounting the press to a board and using clamps in order to have a temporary work area. Since I'm moving around quite a bit within the next year, I figured this would be best.

I am breaking even on what I got for the AK and what I'm putting in the above-listed equipment. I am putting an additional $35 in it for case trimmers/shell holders for all 3 calibers. I will probably purchase a bullet puller when I begin to stock up on components.

I already have a decent stockpile of brass (once-fired). I still have some unfired factory ammo from which I can accumulate some more brass, as well.

.45ACP-515
.223-741
.38 Special-312

I will try and keep this thread updated as I see fit.

I received my Loadbooks today for all of my calibers. I went ahead and ordered the .30-06 one in addition. I haven't had the chance to flip through them. They are $10-11 shipped from the publisher and I ordered Thursday of last week and received them on Monday. Not bad for shipping from California via USPS. Although I'm not reloading .30-06 to begin with, I would like to eventually (neck size only since it's for a bolt gun and all the brass I have was fired in the rifle for which I am loading). I already have the Lee Manual (working on my second time reading it now). I also already have another manual (I can't remember the name off the top of my head right now). I've read that one once.

I talked to the store and Wednesday looks like the day I'll get the majority of the equipment. The kit is still backordered, but not for very long.

Oh yea, I'm definitely excited. If anything, my CT grips should be here today. Those shall be fun.

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to mount the press. I understand I'm mounting it to the board and using clamps on a table. Thing is, the closest thing I could use is probably a bookshelf. I'm hoping that would work and that I have enough leverage. I could always spring and get an inexpensive table or something. I'm moving from a 2/2.5 townhouse to a 1BR apartment, so space is key. If anyone has further suggestions for a temporary, portable, and easy to move solution, please let me know.

As for the place I'm staying at this summer, it shouldn't be a problem. I'm planning for when I get back in July.

I put a chair in front of the counter I wanted to use and the counter is sternum high with me sitting in front of it. I'm not sure how comfortable that position will be for reloading. The other counter/desk here is the same height with a chair in front of it.

On another note, I got the tumbler opened and assembled. I wanted to test it out with a little bit of 9mm brass. I filled it up a little over halfway with corn cob media and poured the 90 or so pieces of brass in there. I fired it up and let it run approximately a half hour. The first few minutes, I was trying to find the quietest place to put it and settled for the countertop with a towel under it. It still made a decent amount of noise. However, I'm unsure if you could hear it through the concrete cinder blocked wall. At least I put effort into being noise-considerate unlike my collegiate comrades. That's a different story, though.

Anyways, I let the tumbler do its thing for approximately half hour. The manual recommended 30-60 minutes for cleaning and several hours for polishing. I just wanted to do the minimum to test it out. I removed the brass after half hour (which reminded me I needed a brass/media separator contraption). A few of the rounds were a little dusty from the media (which is, I assume, the reason for adding polish to the media). There were also a couple pieces of the media stuck in a few of the primers (inside the case). This brass was range pickup and hasn't been resized/decapped.

I assume the best process is to tumble some cases for an hour or so. Remove them and decap/resize while another batch of cases is tumbling. Then decap/resize the second batch while the first batch is polishing. The reason for the two steps, to my understanding, would be to clean the brass to reduce wear on the dies before decapping/resizing. The second tumbling would be to basically beautify the brass.

I also have another questions. Can I add the polish to the media and use that media for all purposes or should I have some media with no polish for cleaning and then another batch of media with polish for polishing the decapped/resized rounds?

Furthermore, I've been making a list as I go of what additional items I need. I may go to the gun show here next weekend in hopes of finding a good deal on something. That's assuming I get my first check this week, though.

Here is the list I have decided on so far, in addition to the aforementioned items which I already own, with a little description of how I came across their necessity:

brass/media separator
This one is fairly self-explanatory. It really took longer than it should have to remove all the brass after the half hour tumble. I tried cutting a water bottle in half and cutting holes in the bottom big enough for the media to flow freely but small enough to hold the brass in. That worked to get the majority of the media separated, but I still had to dump the media out of the cases as many of them were still full to the brim of ground-up corn. Eventually I settled on grabbing handfuls and letting the media sift out. I still had to "pour" the media out of the cases. I thought about buying a cheap colander and doing it that way, but decided it would be best to buy equipment intended for this particular activity.
powders, primers, bullets
I would love to order this stuff online, but am worried about two things. The hazmat fee and shipping. I value my privacy and would rather the packages not go through the office before coming here (SOP for packages at my current place of residence)
case lube pad
I have the lube, but no way of putting it on the cases. I would assume it would be rather messy trying to do it all by hand. Not to mention more time-consuming. From what I understand, I'd only need to lube the .223 cases and not the .45 nor .38 Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
media polish
I discovered I may need this (as mentioned in another post) because a few of the cases were a bit dusty even after only 30 minutes.
bullet puller
I know it should be rare to have to pull bullets, and maybe not cost-effective. At one point, it seems cheaper to simply dispose of the over-loaded/mistake round than invest in bullet pullers. I'm thinking long-term here, so I'm going to add it to one of my online orders (or just pick up all of this stuff at a store I find around here or at the gun show if I have enough money by then).

I'll be looking for and considering portable bench options over the next several days. I'll also be looking for components to stock up on. My press kit ought to be at the gun store next week some time and should be down to me late next week or early the following week. There are no promises here, but I'm kind of glad there's a delay. It really made me sit down and think about what all I needed and plan for what I need/don't need.

If I missed anything, please let me know. Thanks for your help.

I plan on picking up additional equipment as well as components at the show this weekend since Space Coast Bullets and Georgia Arms are both going to be there.

On my list is:

bullets for all (55gr FMJ .223, 230gr FMJ .45, 125gr jacketed .38, a little bit of lead for the .38 as well just to have)

small pistol, large pistol, small rifle primers

powders (titegroup, win231, bullseye, unique, accurate2230, h4198, hl-c(2))

Equipment (brass/media separator, case lube pad, media polish, bullet puller)

Yea, I think my goal for tumbling is going to be to get the big chunks off in order to keep the dies clean/in working order and to be able to see defects in the brass easier.

It sure was fun picking up brass with a purpose today. I made out with several hundred of every caliber (a little bit more than what I shot). I have calibers that I don't need, but will either sell those or keep them around in case I do expand into those calibers. I assume scrap prices aren't bad on these metals. I'm not sure on that one, though.

Might want to try a black & decker workmate bench.Very sturdy even though a little small.2x6 and 2 c-clamps makes for easy removal and bench can be folded up and stored in closet when through for session.Also,bench comes in handy for a lot of other projects.

Originally Posted by 357phase

Might want to try a black & decker workmate bench.Very sturdy even though a little small.2x6 and 2 c-clamps makes for easy removal and bench can be folded up and stored in closet when through for session.Also,bench comes in handy for a lot of other projects.

I'll look into it. However, I am currently out of state for the summer and am probably going to mount it to a board and then C-clamp it to the desk/table thing here. When I go back home, I'll be moving from a 2BR townhouse to a 1BR apartment, so space is definitely a factor. I'll get moved in there and then figured out my options. Thanks for your suggestion.

note from old fart wash the brass if you don't have a cleaner
??where to sell old brass