Can anybody reload my 45 Long Colt Brass

[coopieclan]

Dear Sirs,
I am new to the Boolits forum.

I do not re load my cartridges ... I live in an apartment and I do not have a shop space.

I am enjoying my Italian Reproduction 1858 Remmy with factory boolits.

My coach at the range says "You could tighten up your groups with your own reloads" and "A good target load is made with less powder than a factory load."

Is anybody interested in reloading my 45 LC Brass?

Also I have some 32-40 brass that needs reloading.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

http://www.gadcustomcartridges.com/

[zxcvbob]

I load my .45 target loads hotter than factory ammo. :)

You don't need near as much space to reload as you might think. Just ask if you want details.

There are all kinds of legal and liability reasons why nobody is gonna take up your offer. But you might can find somone nearly that will help *you* reload 'em yourself and let you use their scales, dies, and press. (I would do that if you were in SE Minnesota)

[coopieclan]

It seems like I should ask around the range...
This way the brass will come to good use

[NickSS]

You can get set up to reload one caliber dirt cheap by buying a lee hand press, a set of lee carbide dies and a set of lee scoops. The all you will need is bullets, primers and powder. I started loading ammo with a lee loader that is even simpler than what I am recommending. You can get all of what you need from Midway and you can look them up on the internet.

[bob208]

i started loading with a layman 310 tool for .38 spl. many years ago like about 40. but the only way to get into shooting and get good at it is to reload. and the only way to reload is to do it.

i think lee has a setup for people like you that don't have that much room.

[cajun shooter]

AS the others have pointed out, it takes the space of your own body to reload if you really want to. I say that because I shoot cowboy action and we have several that are lazy and want others to do the work for them. If you have money and don't care to learn a new and fun hobby then buy your ammo. They have several probably in your area that sell reloads. You probably don't know that the average person can not load ammo for resale with out the proper license. If I loaded and sold you one box of ammo I could receive jail time. Loading has always been fun to me and seeing where you live you can spend those winters learning how to do it.

[smkummer]

Might I guess you bought a 45 LC cylinder for the gun?

I fully agree with others here to just do it yourself. Reloading is a hobby of its own. I would fully recommend that you DONT buy the small Lee reloading kit (Lee loader) for .45 Colt. It requires much hammering with a plastic mallet to resize the case and will most likely turn you off to reloading. Just fork out $19 for the small "C" press offered by Lee. It works fine for pistol rounds. You willl need dies so if you also buy the Lee dies it comes with a powder scoup and load data. That is all you need. In time you can add a loading block, powder scale, reloading manuals and other niceties. You can use C-clamps to mount the very small press on any table so you can take it all down and put it in a closet when you are done. You will save enough to pay for these items over having a qualified facility load your ammo and shipping. You then can determine what load and bullet weight to work with, as the fix sights on your gun will favor a certain bullet weight and velocity. Oh and when you get hooked, you might even start casting your own bullets and be amazed at the cost savings.

With all the money you save, you can add a modern Smith model 25-45 Colt double action or maybe even a Colt Single action to the collection and feel you died and gone to heaven.

[coopieclan]

What I need is a book... then all the other things too.

Yes I bought the "Conversion Cylinder"

This is my first firearm to own. I have been air gunning for a while now.
The Pietta is quite accurate for me @ 10 yds (once I get around anticipation of the recoil)

I posted on another part of this forum "I have to bite the boolit and learn this skill"

I don't know the first thing at this point I... I am a little timid.
I don't want the gun to bow up in my hands.

[zxcvbob]

Go to the library and check out a copy of Lyman's 48th or Lyman's 49th reloading guide. Meanwhile order one of these: http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=480380 That gets you a $20 press and a $20 book for $30. (the price has gone way up; they used to be $20 for the kit) You may can find them cheaper somewhere else. You'll also need reloading dies.

If you use black powder, you can get by without a scale or powder measure. (you can reload smokeless powder without those to, but you don't want to)

[TDB9901]

I had a similar space situation many years ago in our first small house. I somewhere got ahold of what I believe was a military surplus plywood foot-locker. I believe it was AirForce because it was light blue in color, but that is beside the point, any heavy duty box with a lid would serve the purpose.

I mounted chair castors on the corners, reinforced one end of the lid to mount my press, and stored everything inside. When not in use I stashed it in the bottom of a closet. Just had to wheel it out when needed. At that time I was young enough that sitting on the floor worked ok. I loaded thousands of rounds and got along fine for several years until we moved into a bigger house, and I got room to expand.

Of course at that time I only reloaded for .38-.357, .243, and 30-30, so a lot of storage wasn’t needed, and the lid was strong enough to take the strain of resizing all but the .243. For those, when I had to full length size any I would have to entice the missus to sit on one end of the lid for me…. I was careful to avoid any smart remarks if you get my drift….. or I would have been on my own next time…….But for your 45 and 32-40 that should not be an issue.

For a single caliber, you could get by with something even smaller, and could dismount the press when not in use, or the Lee Hand Press would be another option.

My son set up his press on a very small wooden book case he picked up at a garage sale when he lived in a trailer house.

It doesn’t take much room or equipment to start. Read, ask questions, and keep it simple in the beginning, You’ll be amazed what can be accomplished on a shoestring, and virtually no space.

[Grapeshot]

I know what you are going thru. I was stationed in Germany and needed to reload my own ammo to shoot at the Rod & Gun Club.

I bought a Huntington Hand Press from Huntington Dies, Google it and it will give you their web site. I prefer the Huntington over the Lee hands down. It may be a little more expensive, but mine has stood up for over the past 25 years. It will accept any of the standard dies on the market. RCBS, Lee, Redding, Lyman et al.

I had a coffee table that I could C-Clamp a half inch thick 6 inch by 12 inch piece of plywood to. The Huntington comes with a plate that converts it to a "Bench Press" if you want to anchor it on something. I used it unmounted and it was easier for me for the pistol calibers, .45 ACP, .357 Mag, and .45 Colt, that I was shooting.

You had a lot of good information in the thread you started.

[coopieclan]

10-4 Grapeshot.
I appreciate the good advice.
I'll post when I get my shop going.

BOOM, Boom... boom!

[Wayne Smith]

I have loaded in my folks home when I was living there as a teenager, loaded in my apartment when it was mine, loaded in our apartment when we were young marrieds, and have loaded in both houses we have owned. I am just now getting to build a reloading room. All of my loading, from the original Lee Loaders to my RCBS JR3 press, have been used clamped to something and everything else stored generally within reach. I must admit my wife is quite tolerant.

[Freightman]

For the price of factory loaded ammo in 45 Colt you can be reloading for the price of two boxes. Remember "give a man a fish and he will eat for one day, teach a man to fish and he will not run out of food"

[Dixie Slugs]

Which conversion cylinder did you buy? We use the Kirst cylinders in our ROAs.
Regards, James

[wallenba]

I started handloading in an apartment. Black powder is another matter though. Trail Boss would be a better powder to keep at home, unless it's a black powder only gun. I think with all the entry level stuff that Lee offers you could be loading 45 Colt for about $100. http://www.leeprecision.com/
A good starter kit> http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=423081
A good (probably the best) book> http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=484416
You would still need to order a shellholder> http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=781305
And dies> http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=706882
I recommended the 4 die set over the 3 die set because it has an advantage that you would appreciate later.
And extra couple of breech plugs> http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=971565

[zxcvbob]

I have two reloading benches set up. The one that I actually use the most is a wooden sawhorse with a single-stage CH three-station reloading press, powder measure, Dillon Super Swage, and a Lyman Lubrisizer bolted to the top (there's no room left for the scale; that sits on a nearby desk.) The sawhorse has a little shelf (that braces the legs) to hold my primers and bullets and extra dies and stuff. It's portable and doesn't really take up a lot of room.

[coopieclan]

Gentlemen,
Soon I am going to Bight the Boolit and start with my 45s.... But first I will try then real black powder muzzle loading method the gun was made for.

I like the cartridge shooting with the Howell's conversion very much.
But I have the original cylinder and some percussion caps already ... all I need is some round balls and powder.

I suppose I should look @ Boolits Black Powder Muzzle loading to get some tips.

[Tazman1602]

Man I started out almost thirty years ago at my kitchen table with a Lee hand press which I still have and use today for certain operations even though I've got a full blown reloading basement now.

The thing about it is I started reloading to "save money" on shooting, nothing could be farther from the truth in that statement because I shoot ten times what I would have if I didn't reload.........

...........but then again I usually manage to hit what I'm shooting at...........<grin>

Art