CdnInAz

yep, but Montana gets better if buy in bulk. That $143 that you quoted is for 1000. Slide right on their order form - goes to $330 for 3000 = $110 for 1000. Shipping included. That's why I buy 4000 round cases of 9mm.

Nick0410

Oh never thought about that I guess. Ive just been ordering by the 1000 per cal but I dont have as much money to put into it at 1 time as some of you guys. I've been happy with my Berrys. I would like to get FMJs to have better flexibility (mostly using slower powder with heavier crimp), but the plated have been going well so far, 4000 loaded, free shipping also.

sr40cForMe

Absolutely all info from everyone is appreciated more than I can say. I ended up with Winchester primers because nobody seems to stock CCI small pistol anywhere and I don't want to pay a 27 dollar hazmat fee online. I also picked up a small .40 S&W reloading manual at cabelas with the primers and I stopped at a lgs and got 1 lb of alliant bullseye and 1lb accurate no. 7. My reasoning for grabbing these two to start off: I was browsing through the display copy of the lee loading book (I ordered this book online for cheaper last night) and a majority of the recipes for the .40 S&W in that book have loads for those 2 powders including the different grain options of lead bullets ( I plan on grabbing 1000 bullets from Berrys and 500 leads to start me out) so this seemed to work out for me to start. Do I sound like I'm still on track here? Or is my newbie status/inexperience taking me in the wrong direction. Always appreciate guidance. Thanks again everyone your the best. This forum has really helped me far more than other forums I've posted on. Must be a ruger owner thing

makey98

A couple more things I will recommend as I am new to this as well and this is what I have found.

I don't have the Lee manual yet, but the Lyman manual and the Sierra manual are very good. I learned more about reloading and ballistics and guns in general from those two books than I even thought was possible.

Both manuals are very specific about the whole process and I would read them thoroughly once each and then read along as you do things.

One thing I would recommend is to not get too worried about large quantities. Take your time and get your press set up and deprime some cases and see how that goes. Then go through each of the dies with no powder or primer in the case and see how the expander die works. Then try to seat a bullet. Mess around with that for a while until you get the whole process. Then work on seating primers and measuring with calipers to see how your depth is. Then load up 5 cases, weighing each charge and being really careful, seating the bullet and finishing the whole round.

I think it is really important to develop a system in how you are going to do this. Maybe you clean and deprime and size cases. Then check for case issues. Then check primer pockets. Think about what you are going to do with each sized case and what to do after a primer is in there. Come up with a pattern for where you put stuff. Lyman suggests 2 loading blocks and moving from one block to another during each stage of the process. Certainly don't want to decap a live primer or other issues. Then think about how you are going to deal with cases with powder in them. Double charge is risky and so on. Basically what I am saying is take your time and develop a solid system for how you load. A checklist of tasks even is a good idea. It is suprisingly easy to say," wait, did I bell these cases yet?"

One thing I saw online that I am doing is when this guy loaded powder in the case from the scale, then he promptly set a bullet in the expanded case. No risk of double charge there.

Lastly. I bought the Redding #2 scale for about 80 bucks and am very happy with it. Seems to be very well made and has worked well so far.

I also bought the cabelas caliper for 24 bucks or so and they seem okay. Certainly not a fine precision instrument, but I am not needing that at the moment.

Good luck.

sr40cForMe

A lot of great info there. Il check those two books out and give the advice you just gave me a shot. I definately plan on going slow to start I've got a bit of target ammo stashed so I'm not in a hurry to be mass producing my own ammo just yet. Il take it nice and easy and make sure im perfecting my craft every single step along the way. Thanks again.

bhefley59

Are you for real ??
I do own Lyman, RCBS, Reddings and other dies . Lee Dies are just as good as any , Better in some cases. The Lee factory crimp die and the bulge buster is great. I would but Lee dies just as quick as any other brand !!
I don't want to offend you but you need to get your facts strait ...

By the way yours is the only RUDE comment I have seen on this thread ..

tglazie

I second this. I thumbed through one at the range and have added it to the to-buy list. Sure you can find the info online but there is just something nice about having a good collection of quality reloading manuals on hand.

tglazie

Glad I am not the only one who felt that way. I am very glad to have found this forum and appreciate the diverse opinions and excellent advice I find here (for the most part). There is plenty of room for disagreement while staying positive.