.40S&W vrs .45ACP

[Teikas Dad]

Do you have any advise for reloading my own casings? Right now, I'm going to buy factory load's for my .45 but I'd like to play around with the .357 rounds (ie: make lighter loads). I haven't got a clue on what to buy for reloading (ie: presses, die's and scales and so on). I've read on the internet about kits that you can buy to get started, but I'd like to buy first time around cause there are so many opinions about what one would need to get started. Any advise would be appreciated or a push in the right direction.

I used to reload my own .38 and .357 years ago when I used to compete in some of the police shooting competition. I finally gave it up and didn't reload for about 20 years. I wanted to get back into it as by my math I am saving a lot of money reloading versus buying factory ammo. My old reloading gear was still around, but I wanted to upgrade a little bit. I had a single stage Pacifica press (Hornaday) that just wasn't going to make it any more.

I looked around and did a lot of research and bought a Lee Classic turret press. Classic Turret Press Kit - Lee Precision


Very easy to use, all the dies sit on the turret so you don't have to switch out dies like you do with a single stage press. Others have mentioned Dillion, RCBS and a couple other brands and they are all outstanding presses. I'm basically a cheap Yankee so I bought an entire kit with the press, a set of .45 ACP dies (work for the .45GAP too), powder scale, powder measure and reloading manual all for $207.00...that's 10 boxes of ammo. Lee has been in the business for a long time, in fact the first reloading I did before I bought my Pacifica press was to use the Lee Classic loader. This is a really cheap way of reloading where you have to pound the case into a handheld die set. It's slow but it works. With my new Classic Turret press I can comfortably reload 150 rounds an hour. I could probably do more but I stop and check every 10th or 15th round to check powder weights and overall cartridge length. The high volume progressive presses will do that same amount in less than half the time but again, you get what you pay for...and they are expensive (read cheap Yankee above :thumbsup.

I bought mine off the net here: https://fsreloading.com/classic-turret-press-kit-90304.html

 

[RandyBell]

As already said start out on a single stage press, I have used a Lyman Turrent press for 30 years. The turrent has the benefit of having your dies already set and ready to go. Weigh your charges carefully, and of course read all you can, some manuals I have run into vary on the grains of powder being used, I found the Lyman Manual very reliable. I purchased a dillion progressive a number of years ago and still haven't set it up. It all depends on how much shooting you plan to do and the time you want to spend doing the loading.
Have fun

randy

 

[RandyBell]

As already said start out on a single stage press, I have used a Lyman Turrent press for 30 years. The turrent has the benefit of having your dies already set and ready to go. Weigh your charges carefully, and of course read all you can, some manuals I have run into vary on the grains of powder being used, I found the Lyman Manual very reliable. I purchased a dillion progressive a number of years ago and still haven't set it up. It all depends on how much shooting you plan to do and the time you want to spend doing the loading.
Have fun

randy

 

[foggy1111]

I started reloading to satisfy my needs for low-cost, high-volume shooting on prairie dogsand varmint shoots. I've owned several single station presses including RCBS, Lyman, and Redding. Redding is at the top of my list for quality single station gear. I've also shot some benchrest...but that is another kind of equipment with hand dies etc. I've loaded 10's of thousands of rounds via single station presses.

I also manufactured some specialty precision reloading gear for a number of years....and made a good business out of it before selling out a few years back. Fun and profitable.

Recently I (finally) added a progressive Hornady press to my gear....as I load more pistol cartriges these days. It definately is fast....and you need to stay focussed when using a progressive. I would not reccomend a progressive without first mastering a single station press.

 

[MotorSeven]

Ken...well I got great news to report. I'll give you a high lighted version cause I've got a date with a wheel gun.:cool2:

Back in 2002-2003, me and the wife had our house built and one of the sub-contractors that did work on our house, became good friends. Well years passed and the last that I heard from him and his wife. He was doing construction work on his own (didn't work for a general contractor no more). I just found out, that he no longer does construction work (tired of chasing down folks that own him money for working on there home) and that he runs a gun shop in town.

Let me back up some. Before I found him and his gun shop. I started asking around about what is a good weapon for CCW. Got some good idea's and some "not so good". Well, I ended up buying a Ruger SP101 .357 Magnum Revolver with a 2 1/4in barrel (too long of a story to tell :hyper. I know, I said I didn't want a revolver, but that's water under the bridge. After buying the revolver, I started hunting for a instructor that gave CCW classes and that's how I found him and his gun shop. We hit it off really good and have the same idea's about what a customer wants. I just signed up for his CCW class, plus I'm over joyed about taking his class.

I will not be taking the revolver to his CCW class cause I still need to train myself how to shot it. My pattern is not that tight as of yet. Actually, I'm all over the target. :ashamed: Just can not shot a tight group just yet, but I'm getting some what better. The .357 magnum recoil, a 2 1/4in barrel and the long trigger pull, plus a short grip (will be replacing the grip soon), this was not "out of the case gun" for me. I don't have any experience shooting revolvers, so I need somewhat "allot" of training and practice. And that is what is making this gun FUN to shot. Plus my military training is not helping that much when it comes to shooting this revolver. As for the Springfield XD .45, at 25 yards, I'm not going to brag, but the term "Game Over" comes to mind.

Ok, I'm off of here, got a box of 38 special and three boxes of .357 magnum rounds to shot. :thumbsup:

This is not my picture, just one that I got of the internet (wikipedia). You can see how short the barrel is and how short the grip is.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Sp101corbon.JPG

LR,

There is nothing wrong with revolvers and once you master them, you can really shoot anything with ease. If you close to East TN give this a thought. In a past life I was a firearms instructor and an armorer for S&W, Sig & Ruger. I have a few different 1911's in .45 caliber you can try out. I would be glad to help you "tighten up your pattern" here on the farm. I'm 35 min from Middlesboro KY.........send me a Pm if your interested..........

 

[k0ua]

LR,

There is nothing wrong with revolvers and once you master them, you can really shoot anything with ease. If you close to East TN give this a thought. In a past life I was a firearms instructor and an armorer for S&W, Sig & Ruger. I have a few different 1911's in .45 caliber you can try out. I would be glad to help you "tighten up your pattern" here on the farm. I'm 35 min from Middlesboro KY.........send me a Pm if your interested..........

I wish I didn't live so far away, I would love to bring my 1911 and my SV .40 cal. and I bet we could have fun together.

James K0UA