Setting up to load 45acp. Does my TruLine Jr have any advantege over a single stage

[s1120]

OK, so Im really loving my old TLJr. Its been working great for loading my 38spc so far. Well Im now setting up to load 45acp for bullseye shooting. Light loads, using LSWC bullets. I have the TLJr, and also a old Lee single stage at this point. So some advice from the guys that have been doing this longer... I need to buy dies anyways, so what are the pros, and cons of getting 310 dies for the TLJr, or "normal" dies for the Lee Single stage?

[frkelly74]

310 dies won't be carbide dies will they?

[s1120]

no, the 310 are not carbide

[HeavyMetal]

Depends on what pistol or pistols your loading for.

Best accuracy can be had by doing minimal resizing of the case during the loading process BUT in most cases this means a dedicated die set for the specific pistol, in my case I set up a tru Line Jr for 38 specials using the steel 310 but "honed" it out on my lathe to just size the case enough to hold the HBWC I shoot.

Works very well in my Model 52 S&W but most of these loads will not fit in my Colt Police Positive.

Up side is less stress on the case and press.

Down side is sorting brass, making sure all case are chamfered before the sizing operation because if you scratch a steel die every case sized after that will be cut!

This means no Nickel case's ever!!

I have also found Imperial sizing die wax to be a huge advantage over other case lubes in steel dies, the trick is to take a Q-tip and coat the inside of the die before one starts and touch it up every 50 or so as you feel the case drag as it is sized, you always put some on the case after this as well and the whole thing works very slick and does not need a lot of the lube.

I found the 310 dies lacking for my loading goals, and while I still use the customized 310 sizer in 38 special I bought a 6 hole turret off E bay and set up the rest of my tooling with std 7/8 x14 dies and it has really provided me with the ability to fine tune the tooling .

Case in point is a Lee powder through die with the case activated powder measure: no case no powder drop!

I also have custom dies in the turret for case mouth flaring and expanding, Two separate dies for each operation as well as Two dies for seating and crimping.


Think hard about what you need to accomplish when you set up for 45 acp and be aware that nether press has provisions to capture old primers!

Some guys don't think this is an issue, those of us with a companion know better, and while I have had both press's my current single stage press is an older Classic Cast ( great Primer catch system) and a Lee Pro 1000 with Titan reloading primer shoot gizmo which really fixed a poor idea in the Pro 1000.

Hope this helps.

HM

[Char-Gar]

I really don't think there is much to choose between reloading the 45 ACP on the Tru-Line Jr. and a single stage press. Either way will produce good ammo.

1. The Tru-Line dies don't have carbide sizer, but I don't use carbide dies anyway, so that is not a factor.

2. The expanding die on a Tru-Line Jr. is .452 with a M die type two step expander whereas the others run .451 with most often a bell on the top. I prefer the .452 die for cast bullet and even use on in my single stage presses with an adapter. But in all truth this not enough difference to say one is superior to another, just a preference.

3. Maybe the turret Tru-Line Jr is a smidge faster or maybe not depending on how it is used.

Bottom line is great 45 ACP ammo or poor 45 ACP ammo can be loaded on either machine and the difference between great and poor has nothing to do with the machine or dies.

[Green Frog]

With what you already have, take a carbide full length sizing die and install it in your Lee single stage press. Size (and decap) with that, then do everything else on the TL Jr. If you want to taper crimp as a final step, you can use the neck sizer from the TL Jr set to do that step... just back it off until it gives just the level of taper you need. Of course the DA die will just seat the bullet and remove the bell from the case mouth, then you "taper crimp." BTW, I like to do each step to a large batch of cases when set up this way rather than taking one case all the way from fired to reloaded one at a time.

Froggie

[Wayne Smith]

Froggie, do the 310 seat dies not taper crimp in 45ACP? That has been standard since day one, I believe, for that cartridge. I've got my dies set perfect for my Brown Bair, so I use that for the ACP.

[shtur]

I set up my TL Jr to try some .38 special HBWC ammo and was surprised at how well it made that ammo. I now keep the TL Jr set up only for the 38 HBWC since I only shoot about 600 rounds each year.

I was feeling my bicep getting sore from turning the turret, so I bought a common 310 die, drilled a hole through the body and inserted a steel rod through the hole to use as a lever to advance the dies. I deprime each case beforehand to tumble before loading. I also hand prime each case and use the RCBS little dandy to load the case.

[Green Frog]

I set up my TL Jr to try some .38 special HBWC ammo and was surprised at how well it made that ammo. I now keep the TL Jr set up only for the 38 HBWC since I only shoot about 600 rounds each year.

I was feeling my bicep getting sore from turning the turret, so I bought a common 310 die, drilled a hole through the body and inserted a steel rod through the hole to use as a lever to advance the dies. I deprime each case beforehand to tumble before loading. I also hand prime each case and use the RCBS little dandy to load the case.

The way I batch load my 38s and 32s is to perform a single operation on all the cases, then turn the turret one click and perform the next operation on all of them, and so on. I only move the turret three times as I load 50 (or 100 or more) finished rounds. It seems a little inefficient to me to go through all the steps to load a single round unless I'm using a progressive style press. BTW, I'm with you on the hand priming... I size and decap all of my batch of cases, then clean if needed, then hand prime using either a 310 tool or an old Lee hand priming tool, again doing each step to all of the cases before moving on to the next step. When I have completed the belling and powder step, I stop and look into the tops of all of the cases in the tray to see that the powder level is the same for all of them... a safety step that I regard as very important.

Of course the most important thing is to develop a safe routine and stick to it. Your ammo will be more consistent and you won't get any surprises. If you are happy with what you are doing and getting good results, then more power to you! :D

Regards,
Froggie