Lee Loader

I was running out of ammo for my Taurus 25PLY so, with my TL255-50-RF cast bullets in supply, I reloaded a couple of hundred. I always treat the little auto cartridge with just as much respect as any other cartridge I reload. I hear people speculate how tough it would be to load the little cartridge but it isn't.



I actually measured the rate of production for preparing the cases and it averaged one case completely prepped on the Lyman Case Prep Xpress every six seconds. Ten cases every minute. That includes a length check on the trimmer, out and inside deburring, and the primer pocket cleaning.



I use the complete set of Lee dies to include the Carbide Factory Crimp Die. Powder is dropped from the Auto Disk with the Micro Disk, not Micro Charge Bar. I use International, a shotgun powder.

One thing that I learned is that you must forgo the Lee #15 shell holder. It is hell on bullet runout (bullet not concentrically seated in the case. The Lee #15 shares duties with the 5.7x28mm FN and there is just too much play between the case rim and shell holder groove. Set a 50-grain bullet on top of a case that weighs only 29 grains with only 1.5-grains of powder in it and it quite top heavy. It leans over against the play in the shell holder and more than less of the cases are loaded with significant bullet runout.

Both Lyman and RCBS offer true 25 Auto shell holders that eliminate the lean. I use the RCBS which is a #29.

I'm glad to see you using a case prep center. I sure LOVE mine. The only time I run pistol brass thru the case length gauge station is with new/range pick up brass. I'm glad Lee finally came out with a cutter designed for these units.

I used the screwdriver handle to hold the lock studs for a long time till I got 3 Lee balls in a trade. Then I discovered the "universal lock stud" AKA the 3 jaw chuck.

Interesting I've had a simular problem with Lee shell holders for the 32ACP/M1 Carbine. I tried Lyman and had the same problem. The RCBS shell holder cured the tilting case problem. But this is the only Lee shell holder that has been problematic of the 13 calibers I've loaded for.

Just an FYI Your 32ACP design mold make the VERY best 32ACP projectiles I've ever tried.

daboone wrote:Just an FYI Your 32ACP design mold make the VERY best 32ACP projectiles I've ever tried.

Glad to hear it and thanks for the heads up on the 32 Auto shellholder. I have the lean as well when using the Classic Turret. The last run of 32 Auto I did was on the Load Master, a very large run, and I didn't have any problems with the shell plate but the case is actually supported at the base on all sides.

Have you thought of using the RCBS Extended Shellholders? It would make the ram stroke a bit shorter. They are available in for just about any cartridge and I could see were they would make a difference with these short cartridge over a long production run. Just don't know if they are worth three to four times the money!

I think that RCBS extended shellholder would force manual advance on the LCT. OTOH for case depriming prior to case prep it would very nice for my style of reloading especially for the volume of M1 Carbine that I shoot.

FYI the RCBS case holder for 32acp/M1Carbine is #17.

I've been thinking about loading formy IJ .25 (Walther clone) but it always gets put to the bottom of the list. With this new inf I might just put the .25 ACP back near the top.

What kind of performance could I see from a 50 gr RNFP bullet through a 2" barrel? Just glanced at my Hodgdon manual and see some pretty small loads

mikld wrote:What kind of performance could I see from a 50 gr RNFP bullet through a 2" barrel? Just glanced at my Hodgdon manual and see some pretty small loads

700 to 850 FPS depending on how hard you want to push it. The recommended velocity in the 25PLY Owners Manual is 760 FPS for a 50-grain bullet. When I start exceed that I notice the wear on the replaceable Plastic Slide Insert which acts recoil buffer. This load (1.4 grains of International) I was going to shoot averages 832 FPS and have noticed a bit more wear on the insert so I'm going to drop it down a cavity from .18 to .15 cc which should deliver 1.1-grains and around 740 to 750 FPS.



This might be a case for the Lee Auto Drum as it states that it will deliver charges in 1/10th increments down to 1 grain. Even with the Micro Disk, you are very limited in your choice of small charges. As you can see, jumping a single cavity changes the load .3 grains which is huge in this small capacity case. I wouldn't get too worked up over extreme velocity spreads; the short barrel and blowback actions can do some weird things yet deliver great target performance at the ranges these pistols are intended to be used at.



Above is the target I shot at 9' yesterday to chronograph the load. The distance, 9' or 3 yards, is about what I shoot a raccoon at.