Newbie - Am I missing anything else?

[Sky_Dog]

Just got Rock Chucker Supreme Master Kit, RCBS Vibratory Cleaner, Calipers, loading blocks, and 4die set of Lee .45 ACP Carbide dies.

I am a casual shooter who wants to be able to shoot more, and shoot more accurately. I am thinking about doing some IDPA but haven't got up the nerve to go out there and make a fool of myself ...yet!

I've read the ABC's of Reloading and have been online some. I have been using Winchester White Box ammo and have about 500 once fired brass to start with.

I am building the NRMA workbench to use for my reloading area.

Here's where I am looking for help:

Powder:
It looks like a good powder to use would be Accurate #2 or #5, Hodgdon Titegroup, or IMR 800-X and SR 4756 (IMR is the only one I can find locally at this time)



Primers:
CCI300 primers seem to be what most talk about. (I can get Federal Match or Remington 2 1/2 locally)

Bullets:
Many different brands Hornady, Speer , Sierra, Nosler, etc... (I can only find Ranier 230GR FMJ/RN anywhere right now)

My questions come down to this.

Should I just get what I can locally for powder & primers and wait for supplies to replenish?

Since I am doing mostly target shooting would there be an advantage to using lighter bullets? (Other than reduced cost)

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

Can't wait to get started!

THANKS!

[Brian Pfleuger]

Originally Posted by Sky Dog

Should I just get what I can locally for powder & primers and wait for supplies to replenish?

Since I am doing mostly target shooting would there be an advantage to using lighter bullets? (Other than reduced cost)

I'm not sure what you mean by "supplies to replenish", but if you plan to do much shooting, you are generally MUCH better off to order your primers and powder from some place like Powder Valley. Their prices are so much lower than most local options that even just 1000 primers and a pound of powder will often more than cover the hazmat fee.


I don't know about 45acp, but I don't usually see much difference in bullet price based on weight. Brands, yes. Lead vs jacketed vs plated, yes. Just size, not so much.

Again, if you're going to shoot much, you probably want to order bulk bullet on-line. Montana Gold and Rocky Mountain Reloading are well-respected. The guy who runs RMR is a member here.
Someone else can point you to a good source of lead and/or plated bullets. I don't use any of them.

[UniversalFrost]

missouri bullet company is a great cast bullet maker (go to the highroad.org website and the guy that owns the place is a member of the forum and often gives us discount codes)

http://www.missouribullet.com/


Also, I like berry's bullets and I especially like their 200gr HP for the 45 ACP... they are top notch plated bullets and many folks swear by them. (the 200gr is slightly cheaper than the 230gr and i can load the 200gr up to shoot same POA and POI as my 230gr loads.


also, get as many loading books as possible. I like to have the lyman and speer as a must have, then add in the lee (it is cheap to buy, but many loads are really anemic when compared to a lyman or speer) and of course the hornady manual.

also the load books that are caliber specific are handy to have if you only load a few calibers and they are cheap at around $4-9 each and offer portions of each of the major load books that are relevant to your specific chambering.

also, troll the forum here for lots of helpful insight..

if you have a question on any of the process or the final product feel free to ask.

[jb683]

I use the 800X in my 45ACP rounds. Nothing wrong with the performance of the powder but due to it being a flake powder it has some issues when using powder drops. The Lee powder drop does not work well with a flake powder at all, works just fine with any ball or stick powder I have tried. Just something to think about.

[b money]

I shoot lead almost exclusively out of my pistols without any ill effects, and that is mostly because of cost. Bullet style should depend more on your gun than anything else. Some autos will not feed anything but 230gr round nose, then again some love 200gr swc's. I would recommend you start out with 230gr round nose though, because most gun's feed them very well. Now as far as powder I’ve had excellent results with accurate #5. It is fairly clean burning, gives decent groups in my guns, and meters very very well. As far as primers go I have been using federal and they worked well but I'm running pretty low and I will probably get Winchester because federal's around here are about $45 per 1000 and win are about $35 per 1000

Just my 2 cents

[4runnerman]

Hornady 230 gn are good bullets.Might i suggest Unique powder also.
if this is something you are going to do a lot of,like other suggested by in bulk.for primers,powder and bullets. And as also stated read the ABC's of reloading and start with all min loads and work your way up. Lighter bullets will save you cents not dollars. Only benifet is less kick to lighter ones. My 45 shoots 185 cast bullets very well. I believe the person i buy them from is a member here to.Dardass Bullets. He Makes a very good high quality bullet and shoots very well.