Lee Loader

EDIT: Welp, I pulled the trigger and bought a LM off ebay with a bunch of extras, mods and stuff from Mike's Reloading Bench already included. It's currently set up for .357, so I will have some swapping to do. I did go ahead and order the guides that Mike offers, as well as the proper shellplate. Going to deal with primer, bullet, and brass feeds after I get the press in hand. I will have some extras to get rid of as well.

OP: New guy here! I'm looking to get into a loadmaster soon, to load blackpowder .44WCF/.44-40 on. I've been loading on a Classic Turret for a few years, and have enjoyed it immensely, despite having to sort out a mod to make the priming mechanism work properly. Anyhow, wondering if any of you guys load .44WCF on a Loadmaster, and if you have any tips and tricks to offer.

My main question is regarding how I should buy the press. I want to set this thing up with bullet and brass feeders, the whole nine yards. I'm willing to do extra tinkering to make it run as efficiently as I can, though of course I'm not expecting a Dillon.

Since I already have dies and the Pro Auto Disk powder measure, should I order bare press and add on accessories? Or will it be cheaper in the long run to buy a complete kit in another caliber? I'm not interested in loading any of the calibers the kits come in, so I'd have some extra stuff to get rid of, but that's not a huge issue.

To load BP on or to load BP levels on ?

I'm not and expert on BP but I do know that it and it's dust is hydroscopic (I'm not sure that's the right word maybe it hygroscopic) as such it attracts and holds water and makes sulphuric acid , alibi in tiny quantity but it won't take long to eat aluminum or zinc parts . I think for BP loadings you're going to want to stay away from the LM . Maybe with a brass on brass measure .......

I loaded 25 45 Colts more so I could say I had done it than with a real goal . I won't do that in a Ruger again unless things get a lot more desperate . 45-70 I may go there but not with the measures on hand .

Writing that I had hoped would jiggle the wires and find the preferred powder measure but it didn't .

RBH,

I hear you, but I've been around black powder all my life and reloading with the Lee PAD measure and powder through die it for a few years now. Even though my reloading setup is in a non-air-conditioned space in the humid south, the corrosion you mention hasn't been an issue at all so far. Of course, BP is corrosive, especially in fouling form, but in this application it seems to be fine.

Like I said 25 45 Colts .....
I had a not clean enough Pyro pellet box .......wrecked some 45 Colts cases after my move from the desert to the .......um Arkansas .

Your ahead of me by a stretch .

RBHarter wrote:Like I said 25 45 Colts .....
I had a not clean enough Pyro pellet box .......wrecked some 45 Colts cases after my move from the desert to the .......um Arkansas .

Your ahead of me by a stretch .

The humidity is a killer! Also, in my limited experience, Pyrodex in all it's forms is much more corrosive than real BP.

on the Pyrodex. If I want a substitute for BP I use Blackhorn 209 in both my in-lines and in cartridges (40-65, 45-70 and 45 Colt. Clean up is easy and so far it hasn't eaten any of the brass. The only ignition problem I've had was from loading a few of the quick load tubes and not using them for a month here in sinus valley. Lesson learned.

Make smoke,

The box was free and correctly sized for 50 rounds . Half of the real BP on hand is made with rose dust and sweet gum charcoal , the rest is Goex a little dab of T7 and Pyro RS in a paper can with a plastic pull up spout .