I hope I ordered everything
- Thread starter honkey
- Start date
honkey said:
Derek,
I know you have brass for .38 and 9mm. What about primers? I assume you'll buy them locally. That's a great way to start out. Any non-magnum small pistol primer will be good for .38 and 9mm. The Challenger Kit has hand priming tools for both small and large primers. For years and years I primed every case by using the priming feature on my press. It worked great. But when I got hand priming tools it was fantastic. I can "feel" the primer seat and set itself much more positively. And I can do it away from my reloading bench.
You'll need some lead (I tried to help get you started with some wheel weights and a purified ingot) and I know you went bermining the other day (range Berm + mining = bermining). That will get you some good lead after you smelt everything down and skim off the junk including the jackets from the FMJs and JHPs. That lead is probably almost pure soft lead so you'll need to harden it with some wheel weight lead or antimony (hard shot cut from some premium shotgun shells has a high antimony content). I'll hook you up with some more wheel weights to help get you on the right track.
I think you are 100% ready to start reloading, and I would email every and any powder manufacturer for their free load guide for the recommended powder charges. The BEST store bought manual is the Lyman 49th Ed because it includes a ton of lead bullet load information, plus a crapload of jacketed bullet data (they're going to require different amounts of powder depending on cast lead vs. jacketed boolits).
Go by a hardware store and buy the cheapest replacement wooden hammer handle which you'll use for tapping out some occasional sticking bullets from your bullet moulds. Or a 1" dowel from a craft store will do when cut to about 14". Make sure you smoke your bullet mould using wooden matches or a candle or something to avoid sticking. And get some 1600^ anti-seize compound from a parts store and keep your sprue plates and hinges moving freely, or some Bull-Shot sprue plate lube, or even some 2-cycle oil which will also work on your mould pivot points.
If you are going to smelt down range lead and wheel weights you will be able to do that in your casting furnace but that eff's up the pour spout with all the debris that gets left in it. It's better to only put cleaned and fluxed lead ingots into your casting furnace to actually make bullets. I'd suggest smelting your lead in small quantities using a camp stove or electric hot plate and a stainless steel sauce pan with a really good riveted handle to get you started. That way you can melt down your scrap lead, skim off the chunky residue, flux the lead with candle wax or something, and pour the molten lead into an ingot mold to cool down for later use. Steel muffin pans or cast iron work great and cost hardly anything to make your lead ingots.
You'll need tumbling media for your tumbler. Lyman sells a jug of treated corncob that'll last you forever, or you can go to a pet store and get some lizzard crushed walnut shell. A bottle of Nu-Finish Polish will do a lot to really brighten up your brass but gleaming bright brass is completely unnecessary as long as it's been cleaned by tumbling.
Of course, you have your ol' buddy nitesite to help you get hooked up with some ready-to-pour lead in exchange for some Pale Ale!
And speaking of beer, I'll rent out my range bermining sand-flea-rake to you for scooping up exposed lead bullets in exchange for a tasty adult malt beverage.
Thanks guys! I do have primers already (got them on sale 1,000 for $25), but no powder. I actually screwed myself on the place I was planning on buying powder from today. I went in there thinking I would pick some up and decided to see if they had an AK47. They had a WASR-10 and I looked at the tag... $650. When I asked if they haggled the employee I was talking to told me they would haggle if I gave a reasonable offer. I told them that Larry's had it for $489 and before I could finish my sentence to say if they could match that price, I would probably take it, he said "Well, why aren't you at Larry's then?" So I got a little ticked and told the owner that they would not get any of my business when they have employees treating customers so rudely... He could have just said "Sorry, we can't go that low." and told me his offer. For his part, the owner was apologetic, but I don't really want to be that guy that says he will not shop at a place and then shows back up.
So hopefully Gander Mountain has powder in the store, or I might just have to wait until the gun show in town on the 14th. I should have mentioned that I have a big propane burner that I used to use for home brewing (now I use electricity) that is just collecting dust. It could bring 9 gallons of water to a boil easily, so I imagine it will do the job well
Nitesite, I need to brew more respectable beer than those party beers I gave you, and I will definitely be up for another trade!
So hopefully Gander Mountain has powder in the store, or I might just have to wait until the gun show in town on the 14th. I should have mentioned that I have a big propane burner that I used to use for home brewing (now I use electricity) that is just collecting dust. It could bring 9 gallons of water to a boil easily, so I imagine it will do the job well
Nitesite, I need to brew more respectable beer than those party beers I gave you, and I will definitely be up for another trade!
You're going to size and Lube using the Lee push-thry kit, right? The one that includes a bottle of Lee Liquid Alox with every sizing die? LLA really works, and I use it, but it has one flaw. The stuff never really dries on the bullet no matter how much time you air dry it. Think geologic time. Your bullet noses will have a sticky feel. It's not really harmful, but I disliked it enough that on pistol ammo I would wipe it off with a rag and mineral spirits after loading the rounds.
If you try it full-strength and encounter the same and want a solution that leaves a hard, dry coating of LLA which dries in ten minutes I'll teach you how to mix a 45:45:10 mixture of straight LLA:Johnson's Paste Wax (JPW):Mineral Spirits. A bottle lasts for 1,000s of bullets!
Gander Mountain has lots of powder every time I've been in there.
Glad you had a good experience with Kemph's. Had you heard of them before I mentioned it?
If you try it full-strength and encounter the same and want a solution that leaves a hard, dry coating of LLA which dries in ten minutes I'll teach you how to mix a 45:45:10 mixture of straight LLA:Johnson's Paste Wax (JPW):Mineral Spirits. A bottle lasts for 1,000s of bullets!
Gander Mountain has lots of powder every time I've been in there.
Glad you had a good experience with Kemph's. Had you heard of them before I mentioned it?