New to Reloading

[Husker_Fan]

I am going to get started into reloading. This will be pretty low volume and for only a few calibers for now. I'm going to start with .38 spcl, then .357 mag, and eventually a couple of rifle calibers -- 7mm Rem. Mag., and .243 win. For now though, I have questions about the pistol calibers.

The first thing I want to do is load 148grn wadcutters for .38, if you suggest something else for target shooting and plinking, don't be shy. I've seen some loadings, but would love it if you guys could give me some guidance. The things I've seen don't say what type of primers I need, but I assume small pistol.

Anything I get will be checked against reloading manuals before I try it, but I want to know what I should be ordering because I want to get my equipment and first batch of supplies at the same time.

Any recomendations on bullets, primers, and powder will be appreciated. I've been shooting WWB and saving the brass so I have about 350 cases to get started.

Oh, and I am planning on getting a lower end press, like the lee anniversary kit. I've read the comments about lee presses here, but I think it should work as a good starter press.

 

[NCsmitty]

If you are planning on rifle loading down the road, I would recommend at least the Lee Challenger press kit.
Their smaller single stage press is marginal for large rifle loads. They do work well as a second press for a bullet seating setup if you have room for two presses.
I'll let others chime in on loads and such.

NCsmitty

 

[indiandave]

I load 148gr hbwc's and dewc's over 3.0 grains of Winchester 231 powder. I use Winchester Small Pistol primers. The Lee set up should get you started. Good you saved your brass. I take what ever I find at the range.

 

[rcmodel]

+1 on NCsmitty's advice to get a full-size press to start with.

The little Lee Reloader press is inconvenient & hard to use, for even small hands and handgun cases, because the press opening is so small.

It's a complete disaster with rifle calibers.

rc

 

[Hikingman]

CCI primers.

.38 & .357, try 158 grain lead or jacketed to start if you can find them.

The powder depends on whether loading light, moderate, heavy, or very heavy.

There's lots of mentors on here that can provide helpful suggestions along the way, and much is searchable in the archives.

 

[Mr. Creosote]

I also would sugest that you get a heavy duty press. It will last you a lifetime. I have a rockchucker.. There are others just as good. Im considering a second press now, a lightweight one for, as Smitty sugested, to set up for bullet seating etc.

 

[Husker_Fan]

Alright, Challenger press kit it is. I appreciate the insights guys. It is the kind of thing I would not have thought of and regretted later.

About .38/.357 reloading. Can I do both with the same dies or do I need different sets for the different case lengths?

 

[Landric]

You can use the same dies, you just need to adjust them, or use a ring included in some kits that "moves" the die up 1/10", the difference between the case length of a .38 Special and .357 Magnum.

 

[Husker_Fan]

Should I get .38 dies and then back them out to reload .357?

 

[Landric]

Most dies are marked for .38/.357 and that is what I would buy. I've never tried to load .357 on dies marked only for .38, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. When I want to load .357 I simply install the ring under the die and go work. It always seems to work fine (I don't install the ring for the resizing, just the belling and seating/crimping).

 

[Doug b]

Husker Fan if your loading cast bullets I recommend you get Lymans M expander die.

 

[Husker_Fan]

Thank you guys for talking me into the larger press.

More questions. I want to push 148 wadcutters and/or 158 grn swc. I can get W231, though I might want a cleaning buring powder. Can you folks suggest a combination of powder and primer for this? I'm guessing small pistol primers, but is there a preferred brand?

Also, I know what a hollow base wadcutter is, but what about a DEWC? Which is "better" for a given application?

Sorry for the newb questions, but I greatly appreciate the help.

 

[rcmodel]

WW-231 is fine.

It is as clean as any other powder, and cleaner then many.

But powder "cleanliness" is far down the list of things to even worry about if you are shooting lead bullets. The burned bullet lube makes a far bigger mess on the gun then any powder you could use.

Any brand of Sm Pistol primers you can find in stock right now is fine.

HBWC = Hollow-Base wad cutter.
DEWC = Double-Ended wad cutter.

Either will shoot fine. For low-velocity target loads, I prefer the HBWC because the skirt will expand and seal the bore more easily at low pressure.

The DEWC is / was designed for automatic bullet feeders on automated presses, because it doesn't matter which end is the front or back.

rc

 

[ArchAngelCD]

My 2 favorite .38 Special loads are:
148gr DEWC over 3.2gr W231
158gr LSWC over 4.0gr W231
I use both Winchester and CCI primers, both work well.

 

[Yo2slick]

The challenger press is the press that comes with the Lee Anniversary kit. That is the kit that I bought and it works great. Biggest thing I reload right now is 30-06 and the press handles it just fine.

I like Winchester and CCI primers, I use Hodgdon Titegroup for .38 special and 9mm.

As far as the Lee kit is concerned...The scale will drive you nuts until you figure it out. Its a pain to read and pretty touchy but you will get use to it. The only thing that I had to change was the chamfer tool. I dislike the Lee tool so I got a RCBS chamfer tool. The safety prime is awesome. I like it better than the hand priming tool. Other than that for 100 dollars, the Lee Kit will get you started and you cant beat that!

 

[Husker_Fan]

Well, thanks for the advice guys. I picked up 1000 Remignton SPP (1 1/2). They were the only SPPs in stock. I'm ordering the Challenger press anniversary kit, and carbide .38 dies. I going to get a pound or two of w231 or hp38, whichever is cheaper and give things a go.

Oh, and I'm going to order 1K bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. 500 DEWC, 500 SWC.

That should keep me busy for a while.

ETA: I'm getting a good reloading manual too.

 

[lgbloader]

Oh, and I'm going to order 1K bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. 500 DEWC, 500 SWC.

That should keep me busy for a while.

That's what you think, Mate. Once you start handloading, you will soon realize that your shooting amount will quickly increase. If you shot 200 rounds of ammo every couple of months, before you know it, you will be shooting 1000 rounds per month.

LGB

 

[flipajig]

im relativly new to reloding a verry good friend of mine has a whole lot more experianc at reloding than i do so we are using a lee clasic turet press it is a whole lot faster than a single stage maybe a little more expensive but it is shoure easy to use

 

[Landric]

Missouri Bullet makes great bullets, minimal leading and very nice uniform quality. And of course, don't forget about your High Road discount!

With the exception of 9mm FMJ for my P7 and FMJ for .223, all I shoot is Missouri Bullet lead.

 

[Husker_Fan]

My 2 favorite .38 Special loads are:
148gr DEWC over 3.2gr W231
158gr LSWC over 4.0gr W231
I use both Winchester and CCI primers, both work well.

It is funny. Looking at two manuals, one suggests these are within the limits and on another, your 148 load is below the starting load, and the 158 is above the max.

 

[Husker_Fan]

Well, I figured that out. 4.0 of 231 is the starting load for +p, and one of the two manuals didn't separate the +p data.

I loaded 50 of these up, but I need to pull one and redo it. The oal on my first was 1.438. That is pretty close to the min 1.440, but I might as well be careful.

 

[Walkalong]

Another couple of good choices for .38 Spl are Clays and AA #2. If powders are hard to find where you are right now, more than one choice might be helpful.

W-231 is a great powder to start with. It works great in a number of applications.

For many years I used a .38/.357 set of dies. I set them up for .38 and used the spacer set by Redding when loading .357. The spacer set used to be much cheaper. I finally bought another set of dies not long ago. I also had another spacer set that went from .001 to about .125. I used one of those and the .38/.357 Redding spacer. If you bought two of the Redding sets today you might as well buy another die set.

It can be done without spacers, but you would have to set your dies up again each time you switched calibers, and that will get old soon.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Sorry to differ but 4.0gr W231 under a 158gr LSWC is not a +P load. The current so-called MAX on the Hodgdon site is 3.7gr W231 but they are reporting pressures of only 14,600 CUP. Since the current SAAMI max pressure for the standard .38 Special is 17,000 PSI there's no problem with my data. Several Lyman and Speer manuals (even current ones) back that up.

 

[docsleepy]

On the Lee kit, I had trouble with primers (on the press) not sitting flat on the primer arm.

My kid figured it out. After you punch that "trigger" to dispense the primer, kinds of WIPE the primer arm as you withdraw the black plastic trigger dispenser. I have a finger or two on top of the dispense and one underneath the arm, holding them together. Using a wiping sort of motion to get the dispenser out of there seems to always make the primer go into the pocket properly.

If you accidentally load a primer sideways (we did that!) I guess there is arisk of it going off. So eye and ear protection is a must.

gordon


I read somewhere that the alloy used on the challenger press is actually stronger than some cast products.

 

[Husker_Fan]

Arch,
That is the data I saw. I wasn't second guessing you, as that load looks to be pretty accepted. I was just pointing out the differences among the manuals.