[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Welcome to the forum!

As stated above, reloading manuals are a MUST! I would highly recommend The ABC's of Reloading for some quality reading. This, in conjuction with at least 2 manuals, will answer most, if not all, of your questions.

To quickly answer your question, no you have not wasted your money buying lead bullets for your autoloader. I shoot cast lead boolits in all my pistols and some rifles.

An undercharge in an autoloader will not cycle the action AND possibly not have enough oomph to push the bullet out of the barrel. SO, be careful and be sure to understand the powder you are using. Some powders are not meant to be downloaded.

Read some manuals and get back to us with any questions those manuals don't clear up.

Good luck!