Lee Loader

Howdy All,
I was approved, so here I am. I am just getting into reloading. I tried it many years ago for a short time and decided to give it a go again. To start with I am 60 and need a hobby, besides shooting :-). I bought a Lee hand press for the simplicity and flexibility of where I can use it. I have been slowly gathering the essentials I need and am pretty much set. Well except for the unicorns that don't exist. Primers and powder are what is still needed to get started. No big rush as it will get easier to find within 6 months hopefully. I will start loading 45 ACP as that is my main caliber I like shooting. I may do 38 Special in the future also after I see how my 45's do. Not really looking for high accuracy as my eyes don't see that well and my hand shakes a bit. It's not like I am 20 something anymore. I just want to produce some dependable rounds that go bang like they should for target practice. I usually do more reading than posting in forums, but will definitely post a question when I cannot find an answer by searching first.

Welcome, you've come to a great place for info, help or just story tellin'.

Make smoke,

You're gonna love the hand press. I'm now halfway through my ninth year of using the hand press that was supposed to be only one year before graduating to a bench mounted single stage. I did manage to force myself to stick to Lee Classic Loaders for the first year before "graduating" to the hand press and dies. After loading 9-10 thousand rounds on the same hand press, I still have no desire, or need, to make another move.

By the way, of the six different cartridges I load, the .45 auto is absolutely the easiest for my 68 year old hands to handle ... and obviously, the 9mm is the worst to deal with.

Welcome to the forum.


jd

[quote="Ohio3Wheels"]Welcome, you've come to a great place for info, help or just story tellin'.


welcome from Arizona.

Thanks Guys, I have been reading the forum and making notes. That's the only way I can remember what I read. LOL

mr surveyor , what's your favorite powder for the 45 acp? I am hunting for 231, HP-38, and Unique in that order if possible. I plan to use 200 and 230 gr jacket bullets. Mostly Hornady's at this point

I have used HP38 and Unique in the 45 auto, but the last few years I've really become a fan of both AA#2 and AA#5. The accurate powders have been my favorites since starting my venture into reloading in 2011. My late mentor convinced me to start out with the old standby powders from Aliant - Unique and 2400, but since that was during the "obamanation" component shortage, there was no A2400 available and the best I could find was a bit of Unique and AA#7. Still a good start, and a few months later I found some AA#9 (for the 357 mag rounds). A year or so later, the locals around here were finally able to stock most anything. But' even after tinkering with whatever caught my fancy at the time, I still have made a point to keep the AA powders (2, 5, 7 and 9) on hand and emergency stashed.

If you can find it, and load either cast or plated bullets, a relatively mild 5.4 gr dose of AA#2 (fast powder) with most any (cast or plated) 200-230 gr bullet is a very nice, economical target load. And, if you want to bump up the power factor just a bit, you can use a bit slower powder - AA#5, 8.3 gr, with the same bullets previously mentioned. All of the AA powders, for me, are easy to measure and work with.

I still use an electronic scale (RCBS Rangemaster 750) and hand scoop every load in with Lee dippers for the main "drop" and the little bit of trickle-up to hit weight.

jd

mr surveyor wrote:I have used HP38 and Unique in the 45 auto, but the last few years I've really become a fan of both AA#2 and AA#5. The accurate powders have been my favorites since starting my venture into reloading in 2011. My late mentor convinced me to start out with the old standby powders from Aliant - Unique and 2400, but since that was during the "obamanation" component shortage, there was no A2400 available and the best I could find was a bit of Unique and AA#7. Still a good start, and a few months later I found some AA#9 (for the 357 mag rounds). A year or so later, the locals around here were finally able to stock most anything. But' even after tinkering with whatever caught my fancy at the time, I still have made a point to keep the AA powders (2, 5, 7 and 9) on hand and emergency stashed.

If you can find it, and load either cast or plated bullets, a relatively mild 5.4 gr dose of AA#2 (fast powder) with most any (cast or plated) 200-230 gr bullet is a very nice, economical target load. And, if you want to bump up the power factor just a bit, you can use a bit slower powder - AA#5, 8.3 gr, with the same bullets previously mentioned. All of the AA powders, for me, are easy to measure and work with.

I still use an electronic scale (RCBS Rangemaster 750) and hand scoop every load in with Lee dippers for the main "drop" and the little bit of trickle-up to hit weight.

jd

Sounds like I have more to research. Part of the hobby. Thanks much for your knowledge.

You'll do fine. There's a lot of knowledgeable folks on this forum that have a lot more reloading years than I do, and have answers to just about any question you might have. It has been a bit slow for the last 8-10 months (I won't state my opinion as to why), but I have high hopes that things will return to normal soon - but it may be another year or so, if we can hang on.

jd

Also, keep an eye out for the fast shotgun powders like Alliant RedDot.
4.5 - 5.0gr of RedDot, with 200 - 230 grain bullet makes a nice gen purpose load.
At times like these, don't count out any viable options that come up.
You'll be fine. Take care & be safe..

Well I found a pound of the second powder on my list. HODGDON POWDER CO., INC. - HP38 at Brownells. I paid the Haz Mat fee and should have it in a couple days. From what I read it is identical to Winchester 231 that I had at the top of my list and should serve me well in the 45 acp and maybe someday in 38 special. Now for primers to make come back!!!!