Old School 45 Colt loading

[Char-Gar]

Some time back a friend gave me a lot of old Western Lubaloy 45 Colt ammo which I promptly shot up. They all went bang except two and I pulled the bullets and deprimed them so I could use the cases. The cases were all balloon head and lacked an extractor groove above the rim. They would not fit in any of my shell holders including the old Pacific solid ram.

So, out came the hand tools. The cases were FL sized with a Lyman Shell Resizer and loaded with a 310 tool as none of these required the use of a shell holder.

I used Lyman 454190 over 6.5/Bulleye to keep things really old school. They are to be fired in my 1921 Colt New Service. Old School all the way.

You really don't need a stinking thousand dollar progressive reloader to produce good ammo.

[bhn22]

I like it Charles! I pull similar feats from time to time. Just because I think it needs to be done.

[Char-Gar]

Yep, way to many folks these days think reloading was invented by Dillon.

[joehaberxxx]

I agree. When I was a kid I had the privilege of watching an old farmer sit at the kitchen table and reload 8 gauge shotgun shells with some sort of tong tool. This would have been in the fifties. The gun was a double hammer of some kind. I squirrel hunted with him in the river bottoms with that gun and a 410 single shot pistol. I got to shoot the single shot but I could not heft the double barrel.

[Outpost75]

Bravo Zulu! What size cartridge case makes a proper dip measure for 6.5 grains of Bullseye?

I'll bet a .32 S&W (not the Long) or. 32 ACP would be real close. A Lee 0.7cc is supposed to throw 6.6 grains, but mine is 6.5 and is what I use with my Ideal tong tool and Colt M1909 .45 DA Army.

[Char-Gar]

Bravo Zulu! What size cartridge case makes a proper dip measure for 6.5 grains of Bullseye?

I'll bet a .32 S&W (not the Long) or. 32 ACP would be real close. A Lee 0.7cc is supposed to throw 6.6 grains, but mine is 6.5 and is what I use with my Ideal tong tool and Colt M1909 .45 DA Army.

Little Dandy rotor no. 12

[Outpost75]

Little Dandy rotor no. 12

Yup! That works too!

Finally confirmed by check weighing that a dip measure made from a Winchester .32 ACP case, "shook and struck" throws 6 grains of Bullseye. This is a good basic charge for cowboy revolvers and lever-actions chambered in .44-40 and .45 Colt, and makes a nice plinker in the .44 Magnum. It also makes a great small game load with 110-120 grain cast bullets in most .30 cal. rifles .30-30 and up.

[Char-Gar]

Yup! That works too!

Finally confirmed by check weighing that a dip measure made from a Winchester .32 ACP case, "shook and struck" throws 6 grains of Bullseye. This is a good basic charge for cowboy revolvers and lever-actions chambered in .44-40 and .45 Colt, and makes a nice plinker in the .44 Magnum. It also makes a great small game load with 110-120 grain cast bullets in most .30 cal. rifles .30-30 and up.

10-4, Let's keep it simple. The Lee 0.7 dipper has a nominal charge weight of 6.6/Bulleye. A couple of strokes with a file across the top, weighing as you go, will give 6 to 6.5 grains of Bullseye or anything between.

I have been using Bulleye for 50 years and with the price and availability of powder these days, I like it more and more for it's miserly use of the precious stuff.

[Green Frog]

Ah, the sweet experience of loading with a tong tool!

There's nothing like it to get me back to my roots. I just did mouth belling on a batch of 32 S&W Long cases in preparation for loading 100 special target loads for my Smiths. Life is good!

Froggie

[Bret4207]

Yep, way to many folks these days think reloading was invented by Dillon.

HAR!!!! I love it! Man, if that's not the truth. And the when you say to them that they should should just start with a single stage or maybe a Lee Loader they get all frustrated and offended! Progressives and HARDCAST, the 2 biggest boondoggles int he handloading world.

[1Shirt]

It is good to go back to the basics once in awhile! Ditto your comments Bret!
1Shirt!

[StrawHat]

I use a tong tool to load all but one of my rifles. The only rifle cartridge I do not use a 310 for is the 50-70 and I may get that at some point. While I have used the 310 for revolver cartridges, I also enjoy being able to crank out a few thousand at a time with my blue 450. Not sure I'd want to go back to feeding a competition diet with a 310.

[1bluehorse]

You really don't need a stinking thousand dollar progressive reloader to produce good ammo.[/QUOTE]




Where as I agree with you on that point...try telling it to anyone who owns a Dillon...

[BruceB]

Tell y'all what.... I am a certified (and some might say "certifiable"!) old geezer now. I started my handloading, the first few hundred rounds of .45 ACP, with a Lyman 310 hand tool... INCLUDING sizing the hand-lubed bullets by driving them through the sizing chamber of the 310.

When I received a single-station Lyman Spartan press and the #45 lube-sizer, it was like a reprieve from hard labor.

I don't MISS the 310, I never DID miss the 310, and if I never see another one that will be just fine with me. Likewise, I started loading .30 Carbine with the original Lee Loader.... don't miss IT, either.

The "charm" of such devices is completely lost on me!

I load ammunition (and cast bullets) to SHOOT. Whatever eases my efforts to make >GOOD< ammunition without breaking the bank, is welcome on my bench. That attitude started early, when I upgraded the Spartan to an All-American turret press around 1967-8. It gave me a very useful increase in production rate with NO loss in quality.

This machine sufficed for quite a few years, and still sees a great deal of service. A Dillon 550 came along in the '90s to keep it company, and to do the longer runs and bigger batches that I might need. I'd hate to lose either of them. I VERY rarely use my Rockchucker for anything; it's just not needed.

Anyone who prefers the old-timey methods is welcome to them, but I want ammunition on my bench, not loose components. More-advanced tooling helps this preference to become reality sooner.

[45sixgun]

It's a mentality that you have to have to appreciate. For example....I like to make knives. Most knife makers use new steels and power tools. The mentality is...just get the knife made as well and quickly as possible. What counts is having the knife to use. On the other hand I prefer to use salvaged steel and no power tools. Everything is done tediously by hand. And I like it that way. I even enjoy scavenging for the high carbon scrap steel. My knives seem to have "soul" that way. With reloading I go slowly one stage at a time, enjoying every minute. I can't afford to load and shoot a bunch of ammo anyway, so I poke along and enjoy the roses....

I appreciate the post Char-gar.

[Springfield]

I don't have 600.00 into BOTH my Dillon 550's. I have not added a case feeder to either just because I'm cheap but I sure would never want to have to go back to using my Rockchucker to load ammo, let alone a LEE Loader, my time is just too precious. I don't make ammo to look at it and admire it, I load it to shoot. Making something permanent like a knife is totally different. I cut, sew and dye all my leather stuff by hand also, but I'm not going to just shoot it and destroy it in 10 minutes either.

[45sixgun]

Making something permanent like a knife is totally different. I cut, sew and dye all my leather stuff by hand also, but I'm not going to just shoot it and destroy it in 10 minutes either.

I see your point. What I was trying to get at was the focus on the process or the journey as opposed to just the product or result. Reloading by hand the old school way is a process worthy of enjoyment....to some.

[Char-Gar]

I see your point. What I was trying to get at was the focus on the process or the journey as opposed to just the product or result. Reloading by hand the old school way is a process worthy of enjoyment....to some.

Yes, I thoroughly enjoy the process of hand loading. I am in no hurry to get it over.

[BruceB]

Gents;

Make no mistake, I too enjoy the handloading. It gives me great pleasure and a sense of accomplishment, knowing that my ammunition is reliable, accurate, and made by my own efforts.

do NOT have a need to contemplate every step on every cartridge along the way. Part of the accomplishment is the creation of LOTS of ammunition for my future pleasure. My processes ensure that the stuff is safe to shoot, and as uniform as I can possibly make it. This does not take a whole lot of time, either.

It also depends to large degree on the purpose of the given lot of ammo. For instance, my blackpowder .45-70s are loaded in very leisurely fashion, with hand-measuring of the charge, pouring it through a drop tube, compressing the powder, etc etc. Not at all like a high-production run of .45 ACP or .357 Magnum, where I will often load at least several hundred cartridges (or more) in a batch.

[Dan Cash]

+10 to the 10th power. If something better than a 310 tool had not come along about 1959, I would have quit reloading. If that were all that were available today, Uncle Arthritis would end my loading career. Nothing wrong with doing things the slow, tedious way but don't expect kudos for being a Luddite.