If you have cats in your reloading room, don't forget to put your lid back on your brass tumbler.
No, that's not a tootsie roll in there. :O)
If you have cats in your reloading room, don't forget to put your lid back on your brass tumbler.
No, that's not a tootsie roll in there. :O)
Last edited by dbarry1; 04-10-2016 at 10:14 AM.
This is a fantastic thread. The one item that blew me away was early in the thread an was in regard to casting on a hot day and wiping the sweat from you forehead, grabbing an ingot, then dropping it in the pot!!
don't tap your Lee 20 lb. bottom pour lead, pot leaking spout, with a 2lb. ball pen hammer, it tends to make the spout fall off(and yes, Lee sent me a spare spout.)
Drill 5/16 holes next to your press and drop the ends of your primer pick up tubes (with cotter pins facing the tables) in them. Easy access that's out of the way, and easy to fill up a bunch in a hurry if so desired for a big long production run.
If you spend years moderating. Expect to be hijacked.
I wanted a good bullet for my 38 Special loads. I chose a lee 140gr.SWC. I need a top punch to fit the bullet and found the Lyman #402 top punch was a good fit.
Not a new tip, but an important one: Check and double check throughout the casting process. Yesterday, for example, my electronic scale began giving me readings that were all over the place during set up. I found a good tip on this site, wiped the spot on the bench, and the entire scale (case, weighing pad, everything) down with a dryer sheet. It settled down after that and I was in business. Static electricity was the culprit.
I check and double check that:
* I'm using the powder I intend to use
* The bullet I intend to use
* The powder weight
* I visually check the cases before I seat the bullets (This was a big one the same day when my A5744 started hanging up in throat of the measure and giving me over and under charges.
* For the intended Over All Length of the finished bullet.
* And I check and make sure that finished round will chamber without problems before making a batch of them.
* Checking and double checking throughout the process avoids this:
MichiganMike
My tip: even welding gloves get a bit warm after awhile. Long single cavity therapy session tonight, too much touchy-feely and the gloves came off a time or two.
Endowment Life Member NRA, Life Member TSRA, Member WACA, NRA Whittington Center, BBHC
Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe
I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call, Lonesome Dove
Some of my favorite recipes start out with a handful of depleted counterbalance devices.
Even with all michagenmike's care, GONRA sez its still nice to use your beam balance pan
on the electronic scale and check the charge on the beam scale before dumping into the case.
Suprising what shows up some times.....
Although I'm a 'noob', I weigh each (shotgun) shell when it's finished (crimped), just to make sure I didn't forget an ingredient, or WORSE, give it a double charge!
Probably obvious to most, but if you have a HP mold with deep HP pins and find them sticking even at high high heat, don't beat your mold to death. It's frustrating but just sit it back down on the hot plate on high and after 5-10 min try to drop them off with light taps.
Most importantly, polish the pins.
I had some pins stick in my pre fix 358429HP, chucked the long HP pins in an electric drill and spun them in 0000 steel wool until I was satisfied, and then into some flitz on a cotton ball.
It's unbelievable how easily the bullets drop right off such a deep pin.
Feels like casting on easy mode, and the bullets drop like rain! I like to gently slide out the Cramer pins as to not disturb them, light tap to drop all 4 at once. Deeply satisfying.
Recycle, Reuse, Reload.
Just want to Put out there a GREAT review of "The Captain" I received my Clip-on WW lead ingots order very quickly and it is very clean.
mailto:captain326@aol.com]
Thanks you Kathie!
I've used Sharpies to mark primers for over 40 years.
If your primers are a loose enough fit for the sharpie ink to get into the cup and contaminate the primer you are loading way too heavily and need to discard your bass.
When I load ammunition that gets primer sealing, I clean the primer/brass edge with pure Acetone on a Q-Tip before sealing with thinned fingernail polish.
I have never had a problem.
Steve
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FOUGHT FOR IT
FREEDOM HAS A FLAVOR
THE PROTECTED WILL NEVER KNOW
Using the kitchen oven to bake lead?
And you eat food prepared in that oven afterward?
Think about it.
Steve
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FOUGHT FOR IT
FREEDOM HAS A FLAVOR
THE PROTECTED WILL NEVER KNOW
TIP OF THE DAY
Never fry bacon when You'r naked
Good Shooting
Lindy
Only one container of powder on the loading bench at a time......
Tom
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Did I ever mention that I hate to trim brass?
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |