New Reloader Questions

[FLYHARD 747]

I'm new to reloading and new to this forum. I'm setting up my garage with a Dillon 650. Meanwhile I've been collecting brass. I shoot .45ACP, .40, and .9mm. The other day I picked up some ICC frangible rounds at a range that only allows such ammo. It seems that the primer holes are much smaller than the holes on regular .45 ammo. On the .40 they are about the same size, and on the .9mm they seem smaller. Anyone have any experience with this? Is it possible to reload frangible brass with regular loads? At this point my inclination tells me no.

On another topic, does anyone manufacture some kind of brass seperator? What a pain to pick through the various caliburs. As a last resort I'm thinking about employing my kids at mainland China market wages.

Thanks
Garry

 

[TooTaxed]

Can't help you on the "frangible" brass...I assume these were frangible bullet cartridges? If so, I'd be surprised to learn that different brass was used for loading frangible bullets. You could pose the question to the brass manufacturer.

However, you are wise to notice the apparent difference in primer holes. Larger than normal primer holes...and I've noticed them on some standard cases after decapping...can lead to increased pressure of loaded rounds. And, too small a primer hole can cause depriming difficulties...I've experienced stuck decapping pins. I now look at the primer holes and toss obviously out-of-size cases, but I don't find many.

There are no mechanical brass sorters...many cartridge sizes are very similar, and there's really no way other than to check the case markings. And, steel, aluminum, damaged, and Berdan primed cases must be discarded. Hiring your responsible kids to sort for you has a lot of potential benefits...lets them feel useful, gain respect, and earn a little money. Good idea!

 

[YellowLab]

GO over to www.ar15.com in the GENERAL then RELOADING section.

Basically a guy bought some tupperware tubs that fit inside each other. On the bottom of each tub he cut slots slightly wider than the size of brass to sort.

.45 on top (the largest slots), then .40 (slightly thinner slots) then .9mm simply end up on the bottom.

He posted a video of it in action and it worked quite well.

 

[FLYHARD 747]

Thanks

Thanks for all the good information, guys. I appreciate it very much.

Regarding having the kids do the sorting -- I took my sixteen year old daughter shooting for the first time yesterday. She loved it and did quite well. We were shooting a Glock 19 9mm which is a little large for her in terms of the grip and being able to comfortably release a mag. She was also having trouble racking the slide.

Can anyone suggest what might be a nice gun for a young lady? I've heard that many like revolvers but I'm curious if there is a decent semi-auto that would be suitable.

Thanks,
Garry

 

[The Bushmaster]

A NICE gun for a lady??? My wife will swear by her 2" mod 10 S&W .38 Special. Most women that I know, except my daughter and grand daughter, like the .38 Special because of the simplicity of operation and the light recoil of the round. Now My daughter and grand daughter both prefer my .357 mangums...(Must be their dad and grandfather in them).

I would definately recommend any revolver in .38 Special in medium (K) frame sizes...And a set of Pachmayrs wouldn't hurt either...

 

[Jim Watson]

Lady's Gun

A good gun for a young lady is the gun that she likes and is willing to work with, assuming that she gets shown some that are generally suitable. I.e. NOT those "cute" little .25s.

I daily read that a woman should be furnished with a double action revolver because she is likely too weak to rack the slide of an automatic and too stupid to understand the controls. I find that hard to believe since I shot the IDPA Nationals on squad with our club pharmacist's 13 year old daughter and her Springfield 1911A1 .45. She didn't win, but she wasn't last, either.

Your 16 year old can shoot what she is willing to put forth the effort for.

That said, I am a traditionalist and I like to see new shooters of any age started out with a .22 that is not going to kick them around and is not going to cost a bomb for ammunition. My dad was not a shooter and made the mistake of letting me have a 9mm for my first pistol. My second was a K22 but by then I already had some bad habits.

 

[TooTaxed]

Suggest letting her try the grips of some .22 target semi-autos for comfort. Those are great for a new shooter to learn safe gun handling on, low recoil and noise, inexpensive to shoot so she can do a lot of it, and are also suitable for her first target competition. She should have no trouble racking the slide.

Along the way she will have opportunities to try out other shooters' guns, and will select what she wants for a larger gun.

This has worked well for most new shooters I have introduced to the sport, while others who started with heavier calibers either dropped out or learned flinching and trigger jerk habits.

 

[Jim_M]

Lot of positive press and user reviews with Kahr pistols.




http://www.kahr.com/front.html

 

[carnaby]

My wife liked the 1911 chambered in 9mm. The weight of the gun reduces felt recoil, the slide is reasonably easy to manipulate, and the grips of the single stack are comfortable.

That Kahr is nice, but so light that it'll be a little on the snappy side. Still fine though.

Just go to a range and rent everything they have that looks interesting to her

 

[PinnedAndRecessed]

I know this is heresy for around here, but I don't even sort my brass other than for caliber.

All my loads are midrange plinking. For example, a favored load for the .44 magnum: 240 lswc, 7.0 gr Unique, WW primer.

I don't even ream the primer pockets anymore. Not since I started reloading with Dillon.

 

[Curare]

It's "9mm" guys. 0.9mm is the size of a coarse dog wisker.