Questions about starting out reloading

[martinbr]

Hello, I am thinking about picking up a Dillon Square Deal B for loading .45acp. Ammo is just getting too expensive. Also since I live in Ca there is a chance that a bill might be passed to stop from buying ammo by mail order. Although I buy most of my ammo from my dealer, occasionally, I by mail order.
My question is does used .45 brass have to be trimmed after so many times of usage?

Does it loes it's size? Or can you just keep throwing them in a tumbler and reload them. Of course after inspecting them. I heard that
you don't have too, but want to make sure.

Also is the Square Deal a good press vs let's say a Lee progressive 1000?

The Dillon 550 is out of the question. It's just too much money for the amount of shooting that I do. And who knows, I might not even like reloading. I see it all the time of someone selling there equipment because they tried it and it wasn't for them. But I don't want a press that's not
going to give accurate loading also.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
thanks,
martinbr

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[Ruger4570]

Generaly speaking, srtaight walled cases stretch little or none after many firings. You will need to resize them after every firing as they do stretch to fit the chamber of you gun which is larger than the case itself. For straight cases I like Carbide sizers as they don't require lubing the cases unless you want too. The only thing I would say is if you are new to reloading a progressive press is not the best choice to learn on. There are just a lot of operations going on at once and unless you have some experience, it could lead to a problem. I usually suggest a single stage loader to start with and get your feet wet, you can always sell it later or use it for other shells or decaping etc. Otherts may disagree, but thay is my personal feeling.Dillon makes a good press and it spits shells out quickly. Best of luck.

[skeeter1]

I've been using a Lee hand press and carbide dies for .38 specials and haven't found any reason to trim the cases. I do have a set of vernier calipers just in case, but it seems they always measure out to 1.143", just as they should.

Now, bottleneck rifle cases are a whole different can of worms. I have no experience reloading those.

[hodaka]

When I first got into 45 reloading I bought a Lee progressive. Although it worked, it seemed that I spent a lot of time adjusting and working on the thing. I eventually bought a Dillon 550 and it is great. I have loaded rifle cartridges on it but since now I spend more time on the brass (primer pockets) and weighing charges for the rifle, I leave the 550 set up for the 45. I use Lee dies with the 550 and a Lee powder measure. You can always start out using the Dillon as a single stage if you want, then add steps when you are ready. I have never used a Square Deal but I'm sure it is a quality piece of equipment.

[44 AMP]

Starting handloading is the first step to a whole new level.

I agree that a progressive press is not the best choice for a novice, but if that's what you want, just take care. Dillon has great customer service, I personally prefer them over Lee. I got a Dillon RL 450 many years ago, it iwas a good press. Just use care. It is easier for something to go wrong (and go unnoticed) with a progressive press.

While virtually all cases strech, some much more than others, the .45 ACP seems to be an exception. In over 30 years of shooting and reloading the .45 ACP, I have never seen a case strech to the max length. Some of them seem to get shorter. Just use a case length gauge, or a caliper, and check length. Do this every time for a while, and you will get a feel for it.

Trimming is necessary if cases exceed the max length. Otherwise, in the .45, not needed. If your brass varies in length, but all under max, you can trim for uniformity. Cases all the same length, with the same degree of (taper) crimp, may give you an increase in accuracy. I say may, because every gun is an individual. But the more uniform your ammo is, the better your accuracy ought to be. For some guns it is important, others don't seem to care. Just shoot and fnd out.

[Smokey Joe]

to The Magnificent Obsession: Reloading!

Martinbr--The Dillon Square Deal B is a good press, BUT (there's always that doggone "but" ) it takes special dies that are not standard-threaded. If you leave it always set up for your .45 loads, and never reload anything else, that's not a problem. Should you want to branch out and load something else, then you MUST use the special Dillon dies for the SDB. If you think you might like to branch out, consider a different press--almost anything but the SDB uses standardized dies.

I too think that a progressive is not what to learn on, but if you take it slow, use the instruction video that Dillon puts out, and check and double-check everything, you should be able to do OK.

Two other purchases I'd HIGHLY reccommend: Books: The ABC's of Reloading put out by Krause Publishing www.krause.com and Lyman's 48th edition Reloading Manual. You'll need the reloading manual for recipies for yr loads. You'll need The ABC's as a how-to and more importantly why- and why-not-to kind of book. It covers all aspects of reloading very thoroughly, from beginning to advanced. And, it'll answer the many questions that will occur to you as you're getting your reloading started. Much faster (and more clearly) than one question at a time on the I'net.

[Kayser]

I'll give my nod to the Lee Classic press. Simple turret press, perfectly suited to .45 ACP. Also recommended :

- Lee 4-die .45 ACP set so you can do your crimping as a seperate step.
- Starrett 120-A calipers (a little pricey, but well worth it).
- RCBS 502 scale
- Lee auto-prime hand primer thingy
- ABC's of reloading (as mentioned by another poster)

I give my wholehearted recommendation to use MidwayUSA via the web. Love 'em.

Extremely economical and you'll be able to make some mighty fine reloads. No need for a case trimmer for .45 ACP. That stuff goes forever.

My pet load for .45 ACP : 5.8 gr Unique, any cheapo 230gr FMJ ball.

[2400]

I bought one of the first Square Deal presses and have loaded over 100K rounds through it. It's a great little press. Let me know if you've got any questions I can help you with.

[amamnn]

Until last week, I would have said that you don't need to trim pistol brass too. I just sat down to check some brand new .40 S&W brass I bought. I found 7 out of 100 that were too long. It was a brand of brass I've used quite a bit and well known for being well made and not much out of average SAAMI tolerances.
I insist that all my brass be trimmed to the same length, and usually I don't need to trim much, but I do have the tools to do it.

[Buckythebrewer]

Ill add, Buy books for reloading 1st before you buy any equipment(recommend lee and lyman because I have both and they have good info).Reloading is fun and easy but it requires your full attention and respect for the things that go BANG..I highly recommend a turret press(set your dies once instead of every time) for high volume handgun reloading.You can start out using it as a single stage press to get used to each operation then later you can use all its features for faster volume..I only use a single stage press but I don't load for handguns or volume..ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IS checking your charged and loaded rounds..Look in all the cases before seating any bullets and check that everything is charged with powder and even and the right charge of powder was used..ALSO double check loaded rounds with an inexpensive($15) drop in case gauge..Its one extra step but its worth it IMO.safety 1st I would start with Lee products because they work and they are cheap as well as easy to use.As time goes on you find you need something different you will look back and say you payed a little for alot instead of looking back and saying"why in the hell did I even buy that?!).Martinbr I wan't to add Ive never used a tumbler in all the 1000's of rounds ive loaded fired ,In my ar15's,and in my encore 223 pistol.Maybe for handguns it matters but ive never heard of it being an issue..brass will stretch and buldge and you need to correct it or you could have feeding or chambering issue .Not having brass 100% can be very dangerous in bottle neck auto loaders(not the case in your 45)..high primers is also something to make sure you don't let happen..To be safe you should always size and trim/check length..well Good luck.

[martinbr]

Thanks to all who gave me feedback on reloading. I am having second thoughts about the square deal because of the proprietory dies. I will be probably going with a Lee 1000 or the Loadmaster since I have a couple of calipers that I would like to load. If I go with the Loadmaster, I believe I can use it as a single as well as a progressive. So for a beginner maybe this would be a better way to go.

I do have a manual that I bought on ebay awhile back. It's the Hornady reloading 5th edition. I guess this would be sufficient data for loading? I will probably be asking more questions in the future when I get started.
thanks again,
Martin

[hivel37]

One manual may not have information on a particular component you want to use, so it's a good thing to have more than one for this reason.

Cross referencing is a good thing.