Reloading .25 ACP???

[Ranch Dog]

Your lube groove design looks different than Lee's, can one lubrisize your boolits?

It is the Lee Micro Band. I think how well the lube works depends on the lube.

I see you don't list a boolit for the 45 ACP. What do you shoot in yours

Funny you should ask that...

I've been shooting the Lee 452-230-2R first in my Glock 36 and then my Taurus PT745. I've actually dropped the Glock (in a trade) and now shoot just the PT745. In either pistol, I found the Lee 452 way under diameter but pushing it out the barrel is still more fun than shooting jacketed bullets. This afternoon, Tom Myers sent me the final drawings for the Ranch Dog 45 ACP bullet. True to the Dog's design philosophy, it is generous in diameter to fill the chamber's freebore and utilizes the round flat nose with a near 72% meplat. What Tom's software product is suggesting is a 239-grain bullet.



It will go through my usual process of evaluation and this will be one of the bullets I introduce in 2012. I have two final offerings coming yet this year, the TLC359-175-RF and the TL256-57-RF.

[Catshooter]

Ah ha! Amazing that you actually started this whole Ranch Dog pistol boolit design with something other than the .45! Who'd a thought?

Looks very similar to the BD 45 concept, which is high praise from me.

Mmm. For your testing purposes, do you have access to any 3rd generation S&W 45s? The reason I ask is that the slide lock tab that protrudes into the frame and is activated by the magazine follower on these Smiths is quite long. Much longer than a 1911. Ask me how I know!

The BD 45 does not engage this tab, but an older 454424 will. This makes the slide lock open with each shot. Lyman's current 452424 doesn't engage it either.

If I can help with your testing let me know. I have two Smiths in .45.


Cat

[Ranch Dog]

It will be about 2 months but I might send you some bullets if I cannot find the pistol locally.

[Catshooter]

Be happy to help. Two or three boolits should do.


Cat

[0verkill]

You know how to make a fellow "Red" with envy. I would like to find a 25 ACP trimmer as it is a chore on my Lyman trimmer!

Me too. Why doesn't LEE still make these?

[ncbearman]

I would ove to revive this thread. As some of you know I inherited my grandaddy's Colt 25. I want to cast and load for it. I got a set of RCBS dies and the #15 shell holder. I still need a mould and some brass. I think I can get some brass a our range here. Anyway, let the games begin again. Any help on the items I need would be appreciated. Thanks.

Russ

[rintinglen]

I reloaded a few boxes of .25 ACP for a close friend a few years ago. He paid for all the dies, bullets, brass, etc.. If I had known how much of a PITA it was gonna be, I'd have never even mentioned it to him.

Amen. My experience exactly parralels Jim's. Those dinky cases and tiny bullets were very difficult to manipulate without dropping them. It took me about 4 times as long to reload 100 25 ACP as it did to reload 38's. I haven't tried it since.

I wonder about those fellows who load the 22 Hornet with cast. How on earth do they manage to get gas checks on them?

[I'll Make Mine]

Honestly, for .25 ACP, a Lee Classic Loader is about as good as anything you'd mount on a press. I've done it (a few rounds only) with the Lee, works well if you have the right bullet (a minimum weight .257 rifle bullet isn't it).

What you'll find the hardest is getting the powder into the case consistently -- it's a small charge by any standard, the case mouth is small, and the case is too short to use the usual reverse taper powder funnel easily. One solution is to cut the spout short on a reverse taper funnel, but you still have to find a way to stand the brass that will keep it from tipping if you bump the loading bench, but won't keep the funnel too high and allow powder to drop alongside, instead of inside the case.

Then there's finding your brass -- I've considered many times making a shooting glove with a built-on brass catcher for use with .25, .32, and .380 auto pistols. Never gotten around to it; probably would have if I'd shot my pocket pistols more (and likely would have shot 'em more if I could recover the brass well enough to reload).

[Piedmont]

Who makes good .25 autos these days? About 30 years ago I briefly owned a Baby Browning. Still have lots of brass, the dies, and even a boolit mold.

[0verkill]

I'd like to know that too. I've got an old FIE Titan I gave 50 bucks for, and have since invested way more than that in reloading dies, swage dies, a mould and bullet size dies. I've given thought to a Phoenix HP-25, anyone here have experience?

Invest in a tarp to save brass. With the 25 you may have to stand on it rather than beside it.

A 25 ACP LEE Loader, that would be awesome to have.

[I'll Make Mine]

Piedmont, the Beretta Jetfire is still available under a different model name; it's probably the best .25 ACP pistol I've seen or handled (I owned a knock-off back in the early 1980s). The pop-up barrel is nice, easy to clean and you can load a chamber round easily, either before or after inserting the magazine.

[tejano]

I am already a several times member of the mickey mouse club (32 acp) and never really thought I would go smaller. But then today when I stopped by my favorite sin store during the lunch hour there was a Beretta 950BS that was not there last week. With the hook already on my lips I asked El Jefe what he would take for it and when he said $135 the hook was set. I bought a box of factory ammo to go along with it and hope to shoot it and a couple of other mouse guns tomorrow or Thursday. I don't cast, but I understand that Carolina Bullets sells one bullet for the 25 acp so the temptation to buy dies so that I can reload for this thing may be too great to resist.

[shotman]

well get you a case of beer and the wife and sit down. you have a JOB on your hands
If you have a 5yr old that would help to hold boolits

[0verkill]

I've never thought reloading 25 ACP was anywhere near as hard as most people make it out to be. The only problem I've had is finding brass.

[scarry scarney]

I hear you. I picked up dies and a mold here in the swapping area, and now can't find any brass! If you get a lead on a source of brass, please share.

[I'll Make Mine]

The easiest source of brass for a .25 is likely to be factory ammunition, as long as you have a reliable method of recovering the cases after firing. Given a recovery method, a couple boxes of rounds will keep you reloading for a good while (.25 ACP brass ought to last dozens of loadings, maybe more if you anneal the mouths every tenth use).

[NoZombies]

I've got .25 dies, molds, even one of the Lee trimmers and a Lee loader. One of these days, I'll pick up a .25 pistol

[0verkill]

I wonder which is rarer, the trimmer or loader? I've never seen either, and believe me I've looked.

[NoZombies]

I honestly have no idea which is rarer. I got mine as a set off of ebay. Someone had just listed it with a buy-it-now price while I was cruising auctions late one night. Interesting to note is that the paperwork that came with it said it (the loader) was a custom order, and didn't include a powder dipper or load data. There was no paperwork with the trimmer, but I suspect it was a custom job as well.

[ncbearman]

I hear you. I picked up dies and a mold here in the swapping area, and now can't find any brass! If you get a lead on a source of brass, please share.

I just got 200 from brassman.
http://store.brassmanbrass.com/servl...%29/Categories

NoZombies, do you have lube groove moulds for the .25acp and if so would you like to part with one?