This is my first time reloading, and thanks to tons of helpful posts here I got started yesterday after all my stuff came. Thank you to Kosh, Bazoo, EdK, and many many others for answering my countless 1000 never ending questions. Cast Boolits by far is the most welcoming knowledgable gun forum I have ever taken part in.
Considering I don't have a "mentor" to show me, and all I have is dozens of hours of reading/preparing/asking questions/watching videos... I figure it would be a good idea to post my progress as I go through it the first time, and take detailed notes, so that if I'm making any errors or there are things I'm doing someone can spot it would help me.
So here are the notes I wrote down, and some photos. I am more detailed rather than less detailed, as that would be stupid otherwise. I'm not going to assume something is small or irrelevant, as it may be very important and result in some kind of injury/increase margin of error.
Part 2, 3, maybe 4 (analyzing brass that I shoot), will come later. I'll probably attempt priming and powder today or tomorrow.
Part 1 - Sizing
My Setup
You can see photos at bottom of post.
- I plan to move BBQ/grilling related stuff into a closed container in the same shed so over time it doesn't collect reloading particles
- I plan to make 2 or 3 shelves off to the right against the wall about eye level which will hold: 1) micrometer 2) mechanical scale 3) powders, such that only 1 powder is on the bench at once, and any delicate measuring equipment won't be jarred/vibrated thousands of times... not sure if that matters
- I honestly don't know where to store primers. Right now they're in a bucket under the workbench in their original container, along with all the items for that specific caliber (44 mag brass, dies, primers). If this is not OK let me know
- I also plan to screw the table right back/front into the slats of the wall to prevent wiggle
- I bought a RCBS chargemaster supreme yesterday after I talked to a few people about beginners blowing up their guns using very fast powders. While they did that by doing things I don't ever see myself doing (not zeroing scale, etc), I wanted to be extra safe rather than sorry, so I can measure twice with 2 different scales while I'm starting, as I have no idea what will look visually right or wrong.
Notes from Sizing
- I'm sizing 500x .357 starline brass for use with lead bullets in different lever guns. I'm doing sizing before loading even though they're new as I've read a few different places this is a good idea for consistency
- I encountered pressure galling which I resolved here: https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...s-after-sizing
- I wasnt actually sure what to "look for" when sizing to make sure its done correctly... so all I did was notice that it makes the brass extremely shiny and smooth, when compared to about 1/8" at bottom of case that doesn't get sized. I looked for consistent shininess, so hopefully that's about it as far as what to inspect.
- The lee dies say only finger tighten. I notice my dies look different than many videos I see where they use a wrench. Every 100 rounds I would re-tighten it with my finger. The most I've ever needed to re-tighten it was maybe 1mm turn.
- I noticed I banged the case into the carbide ring quite a few times, usually if I didn't seat it far enough, or too far. I noticed its like 1mm from the edge of the shell holder, which is really quite clever, because the brass sticks to your finger for 1 millisecond, so naturally every time it will pull away JUST enough to go in perfectly. If the brass banged into the shell holder very badly, I notice the mouth would be very dented. I did this maybe 4-5 times, and I discarded those cases. When I bumped it gently, and I inspected the rim and it was not/just barely noticeable, I would size it again and call it good as long as there was not really a noticeable bump with my finger.
- I noticed if I place the shell holder at 225 degrees [/] rather than 270 degrees [-], I would accidentally bang it into the carbide ring less frequently]
- I noticed efficiency wise, not lowering the ram all the way down was better, just as long as I make sure to do 100% follow through.
- Now.. this last one, I experimented with the most efficient ways to load brass with my off hand. I found 3 methods so far...
1) ONLY ONE case in hand at all times (slowest, least error prone).
2) While ram is raised, grab 2nd brass and keep hidden in palm. Use pointer fingers to throw sized brass into bucket (while still holding unsized brass) then move palmed brass into shell holder (2nd fastest, most error prone)
3) While ram is raised, grab 2nd brass in palm. When ram is lowered, immediately SWAP old vs new brass, and then throw sized brass into bucket (fastest, 2nd most error prone)
Method 2 is most error prone because 2 times once my mind went onto auto pilot I threw the wrong brass into the bucket. I immediately rejected this method because of this.
Method 3 I like most, and it has less margin of error rather than 2 (while on autopilot) because you only ever hold 1 brass at a time when you're throwing, so you cant accidentally throw the wrong one.
While I didnt encounter any errors with method 3, I decided to stick with method 1 which has basically LEAST propensity to error, just so I could turn my mind on autopilot and not worry about it.
Thanks for reading!