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Well, I finally got all my stuff together and made some ammo. This is what the first one looks like:



Winchester LPP
Magtech once-fired brass
4.5 gr. HP-38
Remington 230 gr. FMJ
1.265" OAL

I tried to get the load to 4.2 grains (the starting load), but the Auto-Disk didn't want to go there - it was either 4.1 or 4.5, and I didn't want to go below the published minimum. With the max load being 5.3, I thought this was a good starting point.

Not all was sunshine and puppies, though. I think I need to adjust the expander die a little bit, because a few of the bullets were hard to seat - the edge of the jacket was getting caught on the rim. The Lee instructions say to screw it in until it touches the shellholder, then back out one full turn. I think I may need to use only a half-turn. Thankfully, though, I only had one of these:



That's one reason I wanted to start with FMJ instead of lead - I knew something like this would happen. Recovering the primer was easy enough - just ran it back through the decapper really slowly with steady pressure and it popped right out.

It looks like I need to add the adjustable charge bar and a riser for the powder measure and I'll be just about ready to go into mass production. Thanks for all the hints and tips, everyone!

Good job!

I would, and do, suggest that you load and shoot a half-dozen or so of each recipe before you load up a crocus sack full of cartridges that your gun does not like. Pulling a bullet every now and then is one thing. Pulling a bunch of 'em is a horse of another color...been there and done that.

Enjoy.

Thanks! That's what I figured I'd do, but I got a little carried away with this first batch. We'll see what happens once it stops raining.

Congratulations! You have begun a very addictive and enjoyable hobby. Yeah, looks like you need to open up the bell just a little bit. Cast lead is no different; you just need enough bell so to not shave lead as they are slightly oversized compared to FMJ.

Before you load up a batch, did you test one or two to make sure they chamber? That OAL in a 1911 shouldn't be a problem, but double-checking now saves a lot of headache later.

The Lee discs rarely rarely throw exactly the amount that Lee says they will throw, so you do well to double check actual vs. claimed. Nice thing is that they rarely throw OVER what Lee claims so you won't overcharge the bullet if you simply follow Lee's guideline. Still, the double-check is best.

Welcome to the world of reloading!

Q

A slight chamfer on the mouth of the case will help prevent the crushed case syndrome too. Just cut enough metal from the case mouth to break the sharp inside edge. I bell my cases just enough to set the bullet about 1/16-1/8" into the case be careful not to over bell. My experience with Lee discs is they throw light. Get the adjustable powder bar it is great!

quoheleth wrote:Before you load up a batch, did you test one or two to make sure they chamber? That OAL in a 1911 shouldn't be a problem, but double-checking now saves a lot of headache later.

Welcome to the world of reloading!

Q

Yeah, I dropped one in 10 or so in the chamber. Dropped right in, slipped right out, nice and easy. Once I get this FMJ thing figured out, I'll likely switch over to cast to save even more money.

MoJo wrote:A slight chamfer on the mouth of the case will help prevent the crushed case syndrome too. Just cut enough metal from the case mouth to break the sharp inside edge. I bell my cases just enough to set the bullet about 1/16-1/8" into the case be careful not to over bell. My experience with Lee discs is they throw light. Get the adjustable powder bar it is great!

Didn't even think about chamfering the case mouth. That would have saved a bunch of grief, along with better belling. You guys are life savers! I found out the hard way how sharp that case mouth can get. Almost removed a bit of my finger on the upstroke once. It doesn't hurt anymore, but there's a nice little blood blister there. Good thing I was wearing nitrile gloves!

Congrats! I made my first a couple months ago. I'm using a Lee Turret and it's worked great, but I had the same problem as you with one of my load cycles. I agree that doing a little case-work helps a lot, but I would only do it on brass cases that seem to need it (chipping, etc.) and ONLY if I was totally out of brass. I have a small, but growing, collection of brass where it's "Come back to this later." I've found brass pretty easy to come by, so it's more cost-effective for me to just toss questionable cases into that pile and move on.

nice job. Not familiar with Lee loaders but I would think the powder would measure more accurately.

The Lee powder measures are VERY accurate and repeatable. The issue is that they use a fixed disk, and are only adjustable from one cavity to another.
I cured that by using the double disk setup, so I can pick an upper and a lower of different sizes, to mix and match an exact charge.
For 10 bucks, it's a great addition to the powder measures.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?p ... ber=870920

An for gently flaring the case mouth without deep throating the case with the powder die, I use a flaring die over my priming station, which is usually vacant anyway.

http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog ... pandingDie

Works wonders when you are loading lead especially!

BTW - Congratulations on your first batch. Get ready to enjoy shooting a lot more!

AndyC wrote:You do know, of course, that you won't be saving money - you'll just be able to shoot a lot more

SHHH! Don't let my wife hear that!

UpTheIrons wrote:Not all was sunshine and puppies, though. I think I need to adjust the expander die a little bit, because a few of the bullets were hard to seat - the edge of the jacket was getting caught on the rim. The Lee instructions say to screw it in until it touches the shellholder, then back out one full turn. I think I may need to use only a half-turn. Thankfully, though, I only had one of these:

I am kinda new to reloading myself, but I do know what you are describing is supposed to be a starting point, after the initial setting, you should run a case up into it and see if it is adjusted right. if there is not enough bell you need to screw it in a little, try it in 1/4 turn increments and repeat the checking until you have the correct amount of bell. consequently, if there is too much bell then back out the die until you reach the desired amount. you may have to adjust it several times to get it just where you want there is really no magic number to how many turns.