yet another newbie reloading set of questions

CarbineWilliams · July 15, 2012, 11:14 AM

I'm new to reloading, and for the record I won't be reloading anything but .45 Colt at the lower end of the pressure scale before I give .454 Casull reloading a try. I have a Ruger SRH btw. I spent enough time firing 120mm smoothbore and 155mm Howitzer in the Army to have a healthy respect for chamber pressures.

1) I haven't ordered my reloading books yet, just a hand press and a lot of other stuff to get started. Eventually, I want to load .45 Colt, .454 Casull, and 30-06. Is there one book that would cover all three of these? How about reloading software? There's even a sourceforge project at https://sourceforge.net/projects/reloadersrfrnce/ that looks pretty interesting.

2) The .45 Colt reloading combination I came up with is Universal powder, Federal Premium Gold Medal Large Pistol primers (midway didn't have a lot of the primers others were recommending in stock) and Ranier LeadSafe 250 grain .452 bullets (indoor range). I thought about getting TrailBoss... seems like a smart powder for a first timer but I would have to get 5 lbs. Anyway, how's that combination sound? I noticed Ranier says to send these above 1500 fps, but considering I'll loading them to go more like 850 fps shouldn't be a problem. Guess these wouldn't work for .454 though.

3) How come there are hardly any FMJ bullets above around 230 grains? I see MagTech sells a 260 grain FMJ fully assembled, but they don't seem to offer that bullet in their reloading section. Is there a reason why .454 Casull ammo only seems to be mainly offered in either lead bullets or JHP/JSP etc. configurations?

Lost Sheep · July 15, 2012, 08:02 PM

I suggest you get the books before you get the press, if it's not too late to change your order.

The hand press will do, but for the larger rounds, you will appreciate a press mounted on something.

Unless you are REALLY cramped for space or intend to load at the range, think about it.

Lost Sheep

Brian Pfleuger · July 16, 2012, 08:57 AM

Don't bother with any software except QuickLoad, which you don't need either and probably don't want until you get a real handle on what you're doing.

I recommend The ABCs of Reloading and one, good written manual. I have the Lyman 49th but any of the major brands are fine.

For other data sources, here is a thread I created some time back that lists all OFFICIAL online data sources. You don't need any more data than that for normal loading.

Use a simple excel (or OpenOffice) spreadsheet to keep your records.

CarbineWilliams · July 16, 2012, 06:10 PM

Thanks, I've heard a few places that ABC's is a great book to have. Lyman's 49th, as well.

tkglazie · July 16, 2012, 06:53 PM

I may be in the minority but I really like the Lee Modern Reloading 2nd Edition. When I started loading at the beginning of this year I read that book cover to cover (except all the load data of course) and then read the ABCs cover to cover. Since then I have loaded just under 3500 rounds of quality ammo with not a single failure (knock on wood). I purchased the Lyman's 49th a few months ago and was pretty disappointed with it to be honest. The load data is not that great. The instruction part is solid, but there is nothing in there that I didnt find in the other 2 books.

I second what Lost Sheep said. Unless you have absolutely no space, I would go with a Lee Classic Cast Turret in a heartbeat for .45 Colt reloading. When you want to use it as a single stage, you can, just as easily as any single stage, and when you want to make hay you can use it as an autoindexing turret press. Couple it with a Lee Press Stand and you can turn any free corner into a production area. Here is a pic of the setup I use.

Gdawgs · July 16, 2012, 06:55 PM

I just started playing around with Trail Boss a few months ago and I love it. It's a great powder for beginners because it's very forgiving. I don't think you could blow up any modern gun with it even if you wanted to(but don't hold me to that

)

I've loaded up 38 Spcl, 357 mag, 44 mag(44 Spcl but I haven't tried those yet), 45 Colt, 454 Casull, and 460 S&W. It's a great powder for making low power plinker loads. I have found it to be quite accurate for all rounds, and it burns very clean as well. The only down side to it is that you can't make anything hotter than "wimpy" status with it. But that's what it was designed for. I guess there is one other down side to it, and that would be that it costs a bit more than other powders.

Lost Sheep · July 16, 2012, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gdawgs

Posts: 199 I just started playing around with Trail Boss a few months ago and I love it. It's a great powder for beginners because it's very forgiving. I don't think you could blow up any modern gun with it even if you wanted to(but don't hold me to that )

I've loaded up 38 Spcl, 357 mag, 44 mag(44 Spcl but I haven't tried those yet), 45 Colt, 454 Casull, and 460 S&W. It's a great powder for making low power plinker loads. I have found it to be quite accurate for all rounds, and it burns very clean as well. The only down side to it is that you can't make anything hotter than "wimpy" status with it. But that's what it was designed for. I guess there is one other down side to it, and that would be that it costs a bit more than other powders.

If you consider 350 grain slug at 800-900 fps "wimpy". That load is substantially more powerful than the standard military 45 ACP.

Of course, that is what my shooting buddy gets from his 500 S&W

, so I guess that WOULD be wimpy

by comparison. It recoils like a 22 in that big gun.

I introduced him to TB as I was teaching him to load and picked a forgiving powder that had a high volume to energy ratio (was easy to see inside large cases). He still uses TB for practicing trigger control, introducing curious bystanders to the 500 (before gradually moving up to heavier loads if they want).

Trail Boss is great. NEVER COMPRESS TB. It does not (I am warned) take to having the granules broken up or packed too tightly.

Lost Sheep

Gdawgs · July 16, 2012, 10:41 PM

Ok, you got me there. I guess I should have added "wimpy for the given caliber you are dealing with."

In my 460, I load 255 grain lead bullets with 16.0 grains of TB and it lobs them at 1,100 fps. Which is about comperable to a moderately loaded 44 mag. Not exactly wimpy, but when you compare it to a fully stoked 460 load, which is almost double the velocity for a bullet that weight, it is wimpy.

But I just love shooting the Trail Boss loads, no matter what caliber. It's fun to shoot my BFR with TB loads. It's fun to shoot a few rounds of hot stuff but before long, it becomes a chore. TB brings the fun back.

Back to CarbineWilliams. Have you shot your Super Redhawk with 454 loads yet? I also have one as well, and the first couple shots you take with it are a hoot. But by the time you get to the 4th or 5th shot, you'll be wishing it was over(I do anyway). 454s in the SRH kick hard. Trail Boss will be your friend in 454 brass as well, very light recoil in the SRH.

As far as Reloading manuals go, I always tend to come back to the Lyman. But it's always good to have at least two so you can cross check things. Many good online sources as well.

A couple of things to watch when you get to loading 454. It uses magnum small rifle primers(not pistol). But you can use non magnums when using Trail Boss. When making full power loads, you need "magnum" rated bullets that are designed to handle the high pressure. I use Hornady XTP Mags when loading 454 or 460, but there are other choices as well.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/559...num-box-of-100

July 15, 2012, 11:14 AM	#1
CarbineWilliams Member Join Date: November 24, 2011 Location: VA Posts: 66	yet another newbie reloading set of questions I'm new to reloading, and for the record I won't be reloading anything but .45 Colt at the lower end of the pressure scale before I give .454 Casull reloading a try. I have a Ruger SRH btw. I spent enough time firing 120mm smoothbore and 155mm Howitzer in the Army to have a healthy respect for chamber pressures. 1) I haven't ordered my reloading books yet, just a hand press and a lot of other stuff to get started. Eventually, I want to load .45 Colt, .454 Casull, and 30-06. Is there one book that would cover all three of these? How about reloading software? There's even a sourceforge project at https://sourceforge.net/projects/reloadersrfrnce/ that looks pretty interesting. 2) The .45 Colt reloading combination I came up with is Universal powder, Federal Premium Gold Medal Large Pistol primers (midway didn't have a lot of the primers others were recommending in stock) and Ranier LeadSafe 250 grain .452 bullets (indoor range). I thought about getting TrailBoss... seems like a smart powder for a first timer but I would have to get 5 lbs. Anyway, how's that combination sound? I noticed Ranier says to send these above 1500 fps, but considering I'll loading them to go more like 850 fps shouldn't be a problem. Guess these wouldn't work for .454 though. 3) How come there are hardly any FMJ bullets above around 230 grains? I see MagTech sells a 260 grain FMJ fully assembled, but they don't seem to offer that bullet in their reloading section. Is there a reason why .454 Casull ammo only seems to be mainly offered in either lead bullets or JHP/JSP etc. configurations? Last edited by CarbineWilliams; July 15, 2012 at 12:14 PM.

July 15, 2012, 08:02 PM	#2
Lost Sheep Senior Member Join Date: January 24, 2009 Location: Anchorage Alaska Posts: 3,341	Welcome to the forum and thanks for asking our advice. I suggest you get the books before you get the press, if it's not too late to change your order. The hand press will do, but for the larger rounds, you will appreciate a press mounted on something. Unless you are REALLY cramped for space or intend to load at the range, think about it. Lost Sheep

July 16, 2012, 08:57 AM	#3
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	Don't bother with any software except QuickLoad, which you don't need either and probably don't want until you get a real handle on what you're doing. I recommend The ABCs of Reloading and one, good written manual. I have the Lyman 49th but any of the major brands are fine. For other data sources, here is a thread I created some time back that lists all OFFICIAL online data sources. You don't need any more data than that for normal loading. Use a simple excel (or OpenOffice) spreadsheet to keep your records. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

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July 16, 2012, 06:10 PM	#4
CarbineWilliams Member Join Date: November 24, 2011 Location: VA Posts: 66	Thanks, I've heard a few places that ABC's is a great book to have. Lyman's 49th, as well.

July 16, 2012, 06:55 PM	#6
Gdawgs Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2009 Location: MN Posts: 656	I just started playing around with Trail Boss a few months ago and I love it. It's a great powder for beginners because it's very forgiving. I don't think you could blow up any modern gun with it even if you wanted to(but don't hold me to that ) I've loaded up 38 Spcl, 357 mag, 44 mag(44 Spcl but I haven't tried those yet), 45 Colt, 454 Casull, and 460 S&W. It's a great powder for making low power plinker loads. I have found it to be quite accurate for all rounds, and it burns very clean as well. The only down side to it is that you can't make anything hotter than "wimpy" status with it. But that's what it was designed for. I guess there is one other down side to it, and that would be that it costs a bit more than other powders.

July 16, 2012, 10:41 PM	#8
Gdawgs Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2009 Location: MN Posts: 656	Ok, you got me there. I guess I should have added "wimpy for the given caliber you are dealing with." In my 460, I load 255 grain lead bullets with 16.0 grains of TB and it lobs them at 1,100 fps. Which is about comperable to a moderately loaded 44 mag. Not exactly wimpy, but when you compare it to a fully stoked 460 load, which is almost double the velocity for a bullet that weight, it is wimpy. But I just love shooting the Trail Boss loads, no matter what caliber. It's fun to shoot my BFR with TB loads. It's fun to shoot a few rounds of hot stuff but before long, it becomes a chore. TB brings the fun back. Back to CarbineWilliams. Have you shot your Super Redhawk with 454 loads yet? I also have one as well, and the first couple shots you take with it are a hoot. But by the time you get to the 4th or 5th shot, you'll be wishing it was over(I do anyway). 454s in the SRH kick hard. Trail Boss will be your friend in 454 brass as well, very light recoil in the SRH. As far as Reloading manuals go, I always tend to come back to the Lyman. But it's always good to have at least two so you can cross check things. Many good online sources as well. A couple of things to watch when you get to loading 454. It uses magnum small rifle primers(not pistol). But you can use non magnums when using Trail Boss. When making full power loads, you need "magnum" rated bullets that are designed to handle the high pressure. I use Hornady XTP Mags when loading 454 or 460, but there are other choices as well. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/559...num-box-of-100