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  • lbbf

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    Yep you're screwed. Once you start reloading you start to think of all the other things that you can do to make it better. The lee is a nice press. I have a buddy who has used one for years. Once you get a little more comfortable with it you don't need to weigh every round unless you are going for super accurate rifle rounds. You DO need to visually check every round before placing the bullet on the case to be sure nothing looks out of place, no powder, not enough powder, or worse of all too much powder. Have fun and be safe.
    Hurley's Gold
     

    Whistler

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    I like the Lee progressive but it's fiddly, you'd think swapping cals would be simple and repeatable, just swap the turret, not my experience. Buy extra chain.

    I use a chrono on occasion to test new loads and the occasional consistency check.
     

    lbbf

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    Leaving the range now. What a good feeling!! Everything fired great, no issues whatsoever. I’m definitely not gonna be saving any money, but I am gonna put a LOT of lead down range!!!!

    Always a good feeling when your home rolled ammo works. You can save some money reloading depending on what you reload and how much you shoot. I can save about $0.25 a round when loading 458 SOCOM but not much when reloading 9mm. I still by 9mm by the thousand and go through a couple thousand a year. It's not about the money but knowing exactly what your getting and doing it yourself. Plus there is something therapeutic about reloading as well.
     

    CodyK

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    I like to shoot .45, 10mm, and 44 magnum, and the 10mm and 44 mag are usually .50 a round if you can find it. I looked up 10mm bullets and they’re .12 each. I should be able to reload them at near the same price as a 9mm. And I haven’t looked up any of the rifle rounds I shoot (.223, 300BO, or 7.62X39) but I’m guessing I should able to dump a few more mags without worrying what’s left in my supply!


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    CodyK

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    Gonna load some .45 acp tonight. The book I have doesn’t have any load data for the powder I have (Win231) using 230 grain lead round nose, so I went to the Winchester powder website and got a starting load off of there. It seems light, 4.5 grains, which is close to what I have been loading my 115 grain 9mm’s at (4.3). I know the pressure will build more trying to push that 230 grain projectile out of the case, but I still figured it would take more powder.


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    rotor

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    I checked the Hodgdon site too and it said the starting load was 4.3 (not 4.5) with max of 5.3 for win 231.
    I looked at Hornady manual for their 230gr LRN and their data shows starting load of 5.0 gr with max of 5.8 gr.
    Welcome to the world of reloading and the differences you will find depending on which manual you use.
    Go conservative and try several different loads to see what your gun works with. My first .45 loads wouldn't cycle my gun.
     

    EZ-E

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    Gonna load some .45 acp tonight. The book I have doesn’t have any load data for the powder I have (Win231) using 230 grain lead round nose, so I went to the Winchester powder website and got a starting load off of there. It seems light, 4.5 grains, which is close to what I have been loading my 115 grain 9mm’s at (4.3). I know the pressure will build more trying to push that 230 grain projectile out of the case, but I still figured it would take more powder.


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    My Lymann book says 5.2 starting & 5.8 max.

    20200520_183457.jpg
     

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    CodyK

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    Ok, I just looked again and it is 4.3. Guess I will load a small batch and run to the range tomorrow afternoon. It was great getting to test the 9mm I loaded and seeing that they cycled the action on my pistol and were accurate. I got home last night and loaded the rest of the 9mm brass I had clean (about 100 rounds). I was gonna wait until I had a bigger batch but I am impatient! Is the Win231 powder a good powder? Is there another type I should consider? I will be reloading 9mm, 45acp, 10mm, and 44 magnum for now. I will tackle rifle calibers after I get more confident.


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    TxStetson

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    Ok, I just looked again and it is 4.3. Guess I will load a small batch and run to the range tomorrow afternoon. It was great getting to test the 9mm I loaded and seeing that they cycled the action on my pistol and were accurate. I got home last night and loaded the rest of the 9mm brass I had clean (about 100 rounds). I was gonna wait until I had a bigger batch but I am impatient! Is the Win231 powder a good powder? Is there another type I should consider? I will be reloading 9mm, 45acp, 10mm, and 44 magnum for now. I will tackle rifle calibers after I get more confident.


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    Unique is a versatile powder for pistol rounds. Burns a little dirty but works for everything. For hot 44 Magnum loads I use H110.
     

    rotor

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    I use a lot of Win 231. Just note that HP38 is the same stuff. Buy another loading manual like Lyman. They usually have a favorite powder per load. Just got CFE Pistol and will play with that.
     

    Deavis

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    I use a lot of Win 231. Just note that HP38 is the same stuff. Buy another loading manual like Lyman. They usually have a favorite powder per load. Just got CFE Pistol and will play with that.


    CFE pistol is a great powder, meters well, low flash, great velocity, and clean. Hard to go wrong with that powder across the board and it even makes respectable magnum loadings for everyday use. I put it up there with BE86 for that versatility in the medium burn rate range.
     

    Deavis

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    Is the Win231 powder a good powder? Is there another type I should consider? I will be reloading 9mm, 45acp, 10mm, and 44 magnum for now. I will tackle rifle calibers after I get more confident.
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    231 is fine, it feels a bit flashy and dirty compared to newer powders but it is solid and long lived. For a single versatile powder, you cannot beat Titegroup in terms of applications, cleanliness, position insensitivity, and economy. From 32 to 500S&W there is a load that works. For 10mm, a powder like CFE Pistol, #7, or Power Pistol will give you much better results and full power loadings at safe pressures. 44mag you can use those as well but if you want the really big boomers, consider the slow ones like H110/296, #9, or Lil'gun. H110 can be miserable to load, and the flash/concussion are ridiculous but sometimes that is what you want to impress bystanders!
     

    CodyK

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    H110 can be miserable to load, and the flash/concussion are ridiculous but sometimes that is what you want to impress bystanders!

    I got a box of 44 mag reloads from [mention]TheMailMan [/mention] with H110 powder. I was about 7 or 8 yards from the paper target when I pulled the trigger. Luckily I wasn’t any closer because I swear there was a 3’ flame coming out of the barrel after I shot it!!! I’m smiling just thinking about it!


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    Last edited:

    lbbf

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    As you may have noticed, everyone has a powder they think is better than all the others. It's kind of like buying a gun. What works for me may not be the best choice for you. I like Unique for pistol. I find it burns very clean and gives me decent speed and accuracy. A good friend uses Power Pistol because he thinks Unique is slow and dirty. Find what you like and get good results with. At the end of the day you'll find they work very well but one of them you'll just keep going back to.
     

    SQLGeek

    Muh state lines
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    Oddly enough, the Lyman manual does not have loads for 230 gr LRN but they do 225 gr...

    Fortunately Hodgdon's site has some data.

    Capture.PNG


    As you can see, HP 38 and 231 are the same. I've read in many places that 231 and HP38 are interchangeable. From the load data I've looked at, that appears to be true.
     

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    CodyK

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    Just left the range again and the .45’s ran great. A little weak, I used 4.5 grains, and they cycled the action, but it really felt like shooting a 9mm. In fact I put one round in the magazine at first to test fire and see if it would lock the slide back and I really thought it didn’t at first, but it had. I’m gonna load the test tonight. May bump it up to 4.7.


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