Reloading Presses

[Baxtherin]

Figures... I'm out at a pawnshop looking at all the nice guns he has, and i look on the bottom shelf behind the counter and see not one, but two reloading presses. Now, i'm more than an amateur at reloading at this point in time but on the off chance i ask about them. Turns out these presses have been on his shelf for over a year and he was begging me to take both. One was a rifle/handgun press, and the other was a shotgun press. I don't even own a shotgun (yet)! He wanted me to take both for $10 bucks. So I stood there and pondered whether i needed shotgun reloading press to clutter up my already cluttered basement or not. I ended up getting just the rifle press ( I do have a rifle) for $5. As far as i can tell it's in good working condition... everything slides well, and i can detect no warping of the press which might have caused problems. Of course, now, 2 days later, i'm second guessing myself and thinking i should go back by the shop and see if i can get that other press. I have no idea what brand or model it was though. What do you guys think? I'll grab a pic of the press i did buy and post it up here when i have a minute.
-Travis

[kawalekm]

You'll just have to go buy a shotgun now! Don't buy the gun till you know what gauge the loader makes.
Michael

[Baxtherin]

I know! How can I tell what gauge the loader makes? Would it use interchangeable "dies" like a rifle press for the different gauges?
-Travis

[Baxtherin]

Well, i did go back and get the shotgun press. ;D Now, same question, how can i tell what gauge it reloads? I know that i need a lot more learning before i ever attempt reloading, so nobody needs to worry about that. I'm "awaiting funds availability" before i can get the reloading manuals i need to start learning. Should be soon though. ;D
-Travis

[kawalekm]

Hi Travis
Look at the press and find the sleeve that sizes the shell and punches out the old primer. It's the one that appears to be a hollow cylinder with a 1/8" pin projecting out the bottom. That's your sizing die. Depending on the brand, the gauge might be printed on the side of the die. Look for a "12" or a "20" or a whatever, and that's your gauge.

If no numbers are printed on the side you can measure the inside diameter of the sizing die. The internal diameter of the 12 gauge sizing die is about 0.805". The diameter of a 20 gauge die is 0.685". If you don't have a caliper you could just pick up some fired shells and try to determine which goes into the die with a nice snug fit. That will tell you what gauge it makes.

Good luck,
Michael

[logansackett]

I have never done any reloading, but I think it is smart to learn. With that in mind, can I use the same press for .45 .357 and 44/40?

[kawalekm]

You bet! All you need to do is order the correct die set for reloading each caliber. Since the .357 and .45 are straight walled cases, you can use carbide sizing dies. Lee makes a set with a carbide sizing die for just 22$ on sale at www.midwayusa.com. The .44/40 is a little more complicated because its a bottlenecked case and you have to use steel dies. That means you must clean/lubricate/size/delubricate the cases before charging with the primer and powder.

Before you start, I'd suggest going to you local sporting goods store and buying a reloading manual and a book on reloading. A good text to get is "ABC's of Reloading" by DBI press. Check your local public library. Mine has a couple of books on the topic of reloading. You can also look through past issues of "Shooting Times" or "Guns and Ammo". They always have monthly articles related to reloading.

[docsoos]

Here's a quick video at the Lee Precision Web Site to give you all wanting to learn reloading an idea just how easy it is to reload your own cartridges; it helps to have DSL/Broadband, but it should load (just slower) on dial-up:

http://www.leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/videos/Turret%20Press/loading%2045%20case-1.wmv

Here's a video of how quickly a reloader can load cartridges when he gets a "rythym" down with a "progressive" press:

http://www.leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/videos/Turret%20Press/loading%20on%20turret-1.wmv

A link to the Lee Precision web site, chock-full of free info for beginners, as well as "old hands":

http://www.leeprecision.com/html/index.html

There's a button on the left side of the page titled "Help Videos", that discusses just about every facet of the craft. And, best part, IT'S ALL FREE FOR THE WATCHING! Gotta love Lee products....

Enjoy, and BE SAFE!

DocSoos

[Baxtherin]

Thanks for the links docsoos! I'll go through all of them when i have some time (maybe tonight).
-Travis

[SingleStack45]

I haven't looked recently...but I found years back that it was not really cheaper to load for shotgun...unless you are looking for a specialized load.

That said...for $5...I'd have bought it too. Very good deal...on either or both.

What brand are they?

[cubcadet]

If you want to become self-sufficient, which this here thing is all about, then buy all the re-load stuff you can afford, after, of course, learning which components are necessary. I`d advise anyone going into this, first off, to first set up a place to reload,and build a nice heavy bench on which to mount your press. This is one thing I failed to do.

[seekeroftruth]

You can reload different shotgun shells on most shotgun reloading presses. However. due to the fact that you can get a complete set up for not much more than the cost of the different dies, and the amount of time it takes to change them over (which is alot more exhausting than just switching rifle or pistol dies) No one that I know of does it. Just buy a different shotgun press for the calibers you want to reload. As for the clutter, I mounted all my presses on 1/2 aluminum plate, which I bolt to the work bench with wing nuts. I remove them when not in use and store them in a cabinet.

The only exeption is my lyman turret press, it stays mounted, and I keep different dies set up on extra turrents so all I do is change turrets when I want to change calibers.

I dont know where you are at but if you have gun shows up there alot of times if you know what you are looking at you can find great deals on used reloading equipment. especially the ones that load "off" calibers some of those dies can be pretty expensive. But I see weird caliber dies at gun shows all the time down here in florida.

well thats my two cents worth.

seek