reloading for semi auto pistols

[K.O Kid]

I routinely reload .45, 9mm, .380 - used to load .40 also. No problems/issues with any of 'em - but I set 'em up VERY carefully, and don't get close to max loads, because I'm loading for accuracy, not blazin' speed/pressure.

Is that wat could cause damage to tour gun? Or is it a squib and what exactly is a squib?

 

[Younggun]

Is that wat could cause damage to tour gun? Or is it a squib and what exactly is a squib?

Loading over max is +P and +P+ ammo. Just like any other +P it is harder on your gun and it is a very fine line to walk if your reloading. Loading within the recommended charges from a good manual will not cause damage to your gun.

A squib is a primed round with no powder. The primer creates enough pressure to push the bullet in to the barrel where it gets stuck. Usually the old case will not fully extract and you will have to cycle the action manually.

If you try to fire again with out clearing the lodged bullet bad things happen.

I had a couple of squibs when I started as I was learning my press. They are easy to detect for anyone who is paying attention and knows what a gun shot sounds like.


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[K.O Kid]

Start off with FMJ's don't mess with lead till you are more knowledgeable. The stories of Glocks blowing up in someone's hand are from a mistake they made during reloading, either a double charged round (which will blow up ANY gun), or a squib (which will get a bullet lodged in the barrel so when you fire the next one it creates an unbelievably high amount of pressure in your gun and blows it to pieces...again, something that can happen in ANY gun). So moral of the story is check, recheck, and triple check your powder charges in every round by visual inspection and weight, and you won't have that problem.

Glocks have a polygonal rifling (do I really know what that means? Nope...sure does sound intelligent though. Heard it on a forum about 100 times) which is succeptible to "leading" when shooting cast lead bullets. Excessive leading can lead to increases in pressure, which can also cause a KB. What I've been told is that shooting hard cast
lead in a Glock is fine, it's soft lead that creates the problem. But since I am new to reloading, and to be perfectly honest with you the cost savings in buying cast lead bullets is not significant enough to take a risk, I just load with FMJ's. Many people do shoot hard cast lead in their Glocks though.







I am no expert and am very new to reloading but I can say this much I've loaded and shot about 1K rounds of 9mm using Titegroup with 115 grain FMJ's from Precision Delta and they shot perfectly in my Glock.

Well thanks alot iv been wondering what a squib is. I have pretty much decided I want to start reloading I'm looking into some lee kits

 

[K.O Kid]

Glock .40's kaboom because the case is not fully supported.

It's happened with factory ammo and reloads. No need to fear the reload.

Use jacketed or plated bullets because they are cleaner to handle and clean up after.

Use a powder that will more than half fill the case so a double charge will obviously overflow.

Get a progressive so that each stage is automated, remove the human error from the equation.




Sent from me.

Iv been looking at the lee turret press that's basicly automated to right? Just not as fast

 

[Younggun]

There are many different levels of automation. Progressives are fastest and some have both case and bullet feeders.

Turrets load 1 round at a time by rotating the stations. Progressive complete 1 step on several cases with each lever pull.

I would say a turret is a good starting point because a progressive can be alot to keep an eye on for a beginner.


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[Dawico]

I always ran two presses, a single and a progressive. A turret is a compromise of the two. Most only rotate manually and you are still only completing one step at a time.

I usually associate turret presses to reloaders that only reload a few calibers and don't want to reset their dies every time. That or buy a turret press with replaceable heads again so they don't have to reset their dies.

I never saw the need for a turret press on my reloading bench. To each their own though.

 

[Younggun]

I always ran two presses, a single and a progressive. A turret is a compromise of the two. Most only rotate manually and you are still only completing one step at a time.

I usually associate turret presses to reloaders that only reload a few calibers and don't want to reset their dies every time. That or buy a turret press with replaceable heads again so they don't have to reset their dies.

I never saw the need for a turret press on my reloading bench. To each their own though.

I've considered one to speed up hand loading for my rifles. I hate resetting the dies.

Haven't decided yet cause I dot want to lose any precision I get from a single stage.


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[scap99]

Pistol and soon to be gas gun ammo is cranked out on a Dillon XL650.

Precision ammo for my bolt gun is a Redding single stage.


Sent from me.

 

[Dawico]

Pistol and soon to be gas gun ammo is cranked out on a Dillon XL650.

Precision ammo for my bolt gun is a Redding single stage.


Sent from me.

That is pretty much my technique. I would size all rifle shells on my single stage and tumble them again to remove the lube. Then everything but precision ammo went through the progressive.

 

[Younggun]

A question for the OP.

Seeing as ther are a to. Of different brands, setups, and price ranges there are considerations when choosing the setup you want.

Are you wanting to reload for more consistency in your ammunition or to save money. Which is more important.

Do you want to reload 12,000 rnds a month or 12,000 rnds a year?

What is your budget?

Do you plan to start loading for rifles eventually.

How much space will you have to reload.

IMO a reloading setup can be almost as personal as a handgun choice. My setup is almost perfect for me but for others it wouldn't cut the mustard.

Some here have some extremely bad ass setups but the cost is much higher than I could justify for my goals as a reloader(saving money).

So, what are your goals?




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[Whiskey_Rocka_Rolla]

Well thanks alot iv been wondering what a squib is. I have pretty much decided I want to start reloading I'm looking into some lee kits

Squib is an undercharged load.

 

[Whiskey_Rocka_Rolla]

Glock fixed the barrel support problem a long time ago so you should be good unless you are running a first gen 23.

Nope Gen 3 less than a year old. Good 2 go.

 

[Whiskey_Rocka_Rolla]

A question for the OP.

Seeing as ther are a to. Of different brands, setups, and price ranges there are considerations when choosing the setup you want.

Are you wanting to reload for more consistency in your ammunition or to save money. Which is more important.

Do you want to reload 12,000 rnds a month or 12,000 rnds a year?

What is your budget?

Do you plan to start loading for rifles eventually.

How much space will you have to reload.

IMO a reloading setup can be almost as personal as a handgun choice. My setup is almost perfect for me but for others it wouldn't cut the mustard.

Some here have some extremely bad ass setups but the cost is much higher than I could justify for my goals as a reloader(saving money).

So, what are your goals?




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I can tell you this much...I was advised by about 51% of experienced reloaders not to start off with a progressive press. The other 49% told me go ahead with a progressive. Apparently some people think that a newbie + a progressive press = potential for mistakes. But like someone said earlier, idk how that would be an issue if a progressive more or less eliminates the human error factor. They told me go ahead with a progressive because if I start with a single stage I'll be wanting a progressive 6 months later. Well, they were right. And I can honestly say that if I didn't live in an apartment and had more room, I'd have a Dillon 650. But considering I live in an apartment, and can't have a section of my home dedicated specifically to reloading, I will just be ok with my LCT for now. I am not able to leave my reloading setup "set up" permanently. It's more like when I get a few days to relax, I clamp it to my dining room table, drag out all my stuff (bullets, powder, primers, scale, ammo cases, etc...) and get to work. But the longest it stays set up is 4 or 5 days. All in all I'd have to say that I am satisfied with it. It is a good press. Plus to be honest with you it was all I could afford at the time.

 

[Dawico]

I can tell you this much...I was advised by about 51% of experienced reloaders not to start off with a progressive press. The other 49% told me go ahead with a progressive. Apparently some people think that a newbie + a progressive press = potential for mistakes. But like someone said earlier, idk how that would be an issue if a progressive more or less eliminates the human error factor. They told me go ahead with a progressive because if I start with a single stage I'll be wanting a progressive 6 months later. Well, they were right. And I can honestly say that if I didn't live in an apartment and had more room, I'd have a Dillon 650. But considering I live in an apartment, and can't have a section of my home dedicated specifically to reloading, I will just be ok with my LCT for now. I am not able to leave my reloading setup "set up" permanently. It's more like when I get a few days to relax, I clamp it to my dining room table, drag out all my stuff (bullets, powder, primers, scale, ammo cases, etc...) and get to work. But the longest it stays set up is 4 or 5 days. All in all I'd have to say that I am satisfied with it. It is a good press. Plus to be honest with you it was all I could afford at the time.

Well the problem with a progressive is that they make ammo so fast that if there is an error then a less experienced person may not catch it. I have had my progressive not dump powder, not prime, dump heavy/ light charges, and even go out of alignment. Not catching those things can be dangerous.

If a loader only wanted to load pistol rounds then a progressive press would be the way to go with caution ofcourse. They can be learned on. The thing is a single stage press is cheap and very handy.

 

[Younggun]

Well the problem with a progressive is that they make ammo so fast that if there is an error then a less experienced person may not catch it. I have had my progressive not dump powder, not prime, dump heavy/ light charges, and even go out of alignment. Not catching those things can be dangerous.

If a loader only wanted to load pistol rounds then a progressive press would be the way to go with caution ofcourse. They can be learned on. The thing is a single stage press is cheap and very handy.

This is why I think the turrets can be a good starting point.

At this point I can tell just about any problem with my progressive by the feel when I pull the lever. When I started I had to look at each step to know it was working right and I had to know what to look for.

Just staring out and using a turret you can see each step one round at a time and get more confident with the steps in the process. With a progressive you have to watch at least 3 steps happening at a time and if you miss something it will be seated, crimped, and in the bucket pretty quick. Then when you do notice the problem and you can't be sure exactly when it started you will have a lot of bullets to pull.

Not saying you can't learn a progressive, but you will have to really watch it. Getting to confident in the equipment too quickly can allow mistakes to get past you.


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[wralyn]

My only experience with using someone else's reloads was with my brother's .357s. I had a nice Taurus with 6" barrel that my father gave me for 16th birthday. My brother handed me a half-dozen and said here...try these. My cylinder never rotated quite the same again.

Last year he upgraded his equipment and handed me his old Lee single stage and some .357 and .44 dies. I'm very much into learning "basics" first and this press has done the trick. As Younggun mentioned, a lot will depend on what your intent is. I have been quite pleased with the press and it has served me well loading 50-100 rounds at a time. The repetition is almost as cathartic and shooting and I don't expect to load more than 2000 rounds per year anytime soon.