The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Some dumb questions but have to start somewhere

DEDON45 · May 7, 2008, 01:13 PM

Get a couple of reloading manuals... all of them will denote what kind of primers each cartridge will take, and most include cross-reference charts so that you can try different brand primers. For instance, .45ACP takes a Large Pistol Primer ... Winchester calls theirs a WLP, Remington calls theirs a 2 1/2, CCI is # so and so (I don't use CCI, so I don't know off the top of my head) , so on and so forth.

The only thing I would add to your list is a decent beam scale. The electronic ones are OK, but are more subject to environmental issues (weak battery, heat, cold, etc.) than the old fashioned beam scales are... it's cheap insurance to have one to cross-check things with occasionally (I use a beam scale exclusively... I make my living with electronics and I don't trust them, FWIW). I use a Hornady M scale (hard to find now, I think they're phasing them out), but the RCBS scales are quite nice. If anything, get a set of scale check weights.

May 7, 2008, 01:13 PM	#8
DEDON45 Senior Member Join Date: March 24, 2008 Posts: 278	Get a couple of reloading manuals... all of them will denote what kind of primers each cartridge will take, and most include cross-reference charts so that you can try different brand primers. For instance, .45ACP takes a Large Pistol Primer ... Winchester calls theirs a WLP, Remington calls theirs a 2 1/2, CCI is # so and so (I don't use CCI, so I don't know off the top of my head) , so on and so forth. The only thing I would add to your list is a decent beam scale. The electronic ones are OK, but are more subject to environmental issues (weak battery, heat, cold, etc.) than the old fashioned beam scales are... it's cheap insurance to have one to cross-check things with occasionally (I use a beam scale exclusively... I make my living with electronics and I don't trust them, FWIW). I use a Hornady M scale (hard to find now, I think they're phasing them out), but the RCBS scales are quite nice. If anything, get a set of scale check weights.