Mantis,
"I'm looking for some advice to help me get started in reloading 45 ACP. I�ve been reloading for rifle and shotgun for a few years, so I'm not new to the reload process, but I have no experience with pistol reloading."
I have modified a basic needs list that I typically put out for new shooters to show thinking going from rifle to pistol particularly .45ACP, based on what I learned going from high power rifle reloading to IPSC and IDPA reloading.
"I have all the equipment needed to reload very accurate rifle rounds, but I�m not sure of the type of equipment the pistol experts usually use. I'll be gearing my reloading and practice sessions towards ammo used in IDPA and IPSC shooting. I know I'll need new dies, but I can use some guidance regarding what type to get (I use Redding FL sizing, Type S neck sizing, and Competition Seater dies for my rifle rounds). Is a separate crimp die the way to go, or do most competitors use a combination seater/crimp die ?"
For action pistol shooting, you can probably get by with the least expensive dies out there and I wish I had done that with my .45. I bought Hornady and wish I had gone Lee, mostly because I separated my bullet seating/crimping functions and I could have done that less expensively and probably better with the Lee four die set. So yes, I feel the separate crimp die is the way to go and you can quickly change from lead bullets to FMJ and back with separate seating/crimping setups-particularly if you have Lock N Load bushings.
"Id also like some info on the types of bullets, brass, powder, and primers IDPA & IPSC shooters use. I'll eventually get into casting my own bullets, so any recommendations on bullet molds and casting equipment would also be welcome. Thanks in advance."
I shoot both disciplines, though not as much as I'd like. I settled on 200 grain SWC lead bullets. I cast my own, but you can also buy them cheaper than FMJ. I separate brass into same type headstamp, but I don't do anything else with my brass. My friends who use new brass don't shoot any better than I do "no special handling" brass. I switched from W231 to Titegroup due to cost and performance. As far as casting goes, that's a whole nother story. I just recently went through the casting my own bullets analysis and have too much information for this post. But please free to email me at
[email protected] and I'll be glad to provide you with the small ton of stuff I learned. Just remove the nospam in the email address.
Here's the promised list:
Reloading Equipment for Action Pistol
Here's a couple of good books on casting and some bits on reloading:
Modern Reloading by Richard Lee
Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook
1. On reloading press-for what you're doing, you’ll need to know what quantities before a press selecting a press (assuming you may only be reloading on a single stage here, so I apologize in advance if I'm assumed too much) because quantities dictate press type. If you have a Rock Chucker or a Lee Classic Cast press, I'd suggest getting Hornady Lock N Load bushing conversion kit for the Rock chucker and 10 additional bushings. With these, you adjust your dies once, tighten down the lock ring and next time you want to change dies, you just insert/twist/snap/lock-in and you're done changing dies in about 2 seconds. I use these on my Lee Classic Cast press and Rock Chucker and they're wonderful.
For reloading pistol, particularly for competition, consider a turret or progressive press. If you are not familiar with progressives, a turret would be a good choice, to have a bit more control and to get an understanding of what’s happening, though a progressive is “do-able,” you run a slightly higher risk of making a mistake that could cause a double charge or undercharge of powder, though that can mostly be eliminated by a powder check die (I like the RCBS lockout die and the Dillon alarm system). Good brands of turrets are Lee (90932 4 station, automatic advance), Dillon (AT500, 4 station), RCBS (88901, cast iron) and Redding (T7, cast iron). For the lowest price, the Lee will do the job, get you started and if you decide to stay with it, you may want a more expensive turret or you may want to go progressive. If you want to go progressive, excellent brands are Hornady (Lock N Load {5 station fully automated; I have one and love it.}), Dillon (550 {4 station semi-automated turret or 650 station fully automated}) (I don’t recommend Dillon’s SBD because it’s dies won’t fit anything else, nor will any other dies fit it, so you’re stuck with Dillon dies and it doesn’t reload rifle.) and the RCBS 2000 (Excellent cast iron semi automated turret, w/excellent primer feed). A good economy brand is the Lee Pro 1000. The Lee can take some tweaking, but it can be done and it’s less expensive, a serious consideration if your money is tight. Here’s a good how-to website for Lee equipment:
http://www.geocities.com/leereloading/index.htm
2. Reloading dies for the caliber of your choice. I have Hornady and RCBS dies, but I'm about to buy and use Lee for a 9MM pistol I have and wouldn't hesitate to buy Dillon, if I needed a die they carry for my applications. I think all brands load excellent ammo. Rumor has it that Redding is the Cadillac of dies, but their prices reflect it. If money were no objection, I'd definitely explore the Redding dies. For pistol, you'll want to buy carbide or TiN coated dies, so you won't have to lubricate the brass to resize it. For progressive presses, you'll need a shellplate that matches the dies/calibre you are going to use.
3. A Powder measure/dispenser (Many kits include these.) The Hornady, RCBS and Redding are good brands. I have both Hornady and Redding. Of these, the Hornady is automated and is more consistent (to me) because of the automation. It came with my Hornady Lock and Load Auto Progressive Press. (BTW, in my opinion, the Hornady progressive is the bomb when price, features and quality are taken into account. I have a price comparison vs. Dillon, but I'd rather not prejudice you. The Dillon guys will argue hot and loudly with me on this, because they love their Dillons as much as I love my Hornady.)
4. A powder scale, no matter single stage, turret or progressive, but you probably already have one of these. I like the RCBS 505 and 1010, the Hornady and the Dillon scales. I have a Redding from my highpower days, but wish I had gotten another brand because the fine adjustment is hard to see and can be bumped out of adjustment accidentally.
5. You'll still need a set of calipers to measure your cartridges with. Two important dimensions on .45 ACP are the cartridge overall length and diameter with a the types and diameters of bullets. Pressure and dependable feeding are the two items of concern here.
6. Some snap lid plastic storage containers with bins to store the pieces and parts of equipment. It might not be a good idea to look at plastic fishing tackle boxes with lots of storage compartments.
7. Plastic bins to hold brass, bullets and loaded cartridges while reloading. Buy the cheapest bins, such as HarborFreight. They're all plastic, so you gain nothing by paying more. I found these to be wonderful when reloading pistol, because of the volume of brass and bullets. I would also suggest 50 round plastic boxes to hold the loaded cartridges. Don't buy the 100 cartridge size, because the 50 size fits much better into range bags and are less expensive.
8. Cartridge gauge. These are nicely convenient to check to see if your reloaded cartridges are within SAAMI specification. You can use your barrel in a pinch, but having the cartridge gauge is soo much nicer. Really prevents acccidental jams or feeding issues. Wilson and RCBS are good brands, but if you shoot highpower, you probably know already.
9. Case lube - I use Hornady One Shot on my rifle cartridges, but I find it and their cleaner lube handy for lubricating moving parts on my progressive that I don't have grease and oil getting into. For some cartridges, I used lube to speed/smooth things up a bit. Or try out Imperial Sizing Die Wax, which I hear is another excellent product. You won't need but a little every so often to makes things easier/smoother.
10. Brass - I recommend you buy some Winchester white box and use that brass or UMC. Also, you might want to pick up once fired range brass. There tends is a lot of good pistol brass left at ranges and is perfectly suitable for all but the most demanding applications, such as bullseyes pistol competition. It's perfectly fine for action pistol shooting and just about anything else. Unlike highpower, you don't get much from doing a ton of brass preparation or from spending money on expensive brass. Spend the money on getting a top notch pistol together and use some version of an H&G #68 lead bullet.
11. Powder - For your application, I'd look real hard at Titegroup, Bullseye and Clays.
16. Bullets - FMJ is great, but lead is cheaper. Buy in bulk, a thousand or more at a time. You'll want to get used to reloading them before casting your own. With .45 ACP, casting will certainly result in significant savings. I'm reloading my own for $1.53 a box of 50 and I cast my own bullets, get the lead for free or cheap (wheelweights) and buy powder and primers in 8 pounds and 5000 primers.
17. You will need to clean the brass. If you don't have a vibratory cleaner and a sifter, I strongly suggest getting one. One combination that does well is the Frankford Arsenal brand, inexpensive and highly effective, it's the one I have. Another more expensive, but very nice alternative would be the Dillon vibratory cleaner/sifter combination (Dillonprecision.com).
Hope this helps,
Dave in Oakwood, GA
