Guns – Page 20 – The ExhaustNotes Blog

Colt’s New Python Range Tested

The Colt Python is an iconic handgun that stands out as the pinnacle of the gunmaker’s art. They were originally offered by Colt as their premier .357 Magnum revolver in a run that spanned decades and offered several variants: Blue steel, nickel-plated steel, brushed stainless steel, bright stainless steel, and barrel lengths of 2 1/2, 4, 6, and 8 inches. For a brief period, they even offered one chambered in .38 Special only. That all ended a few years ago when the revolver market subsided and black plastic, semi-auto 9mm gangbanger guns held sideways took over the silver screen (there’s absolutely no accounting for some folks’ taste, I guess). Then, in a surprise move, Colt introduced a re-engineered Python last year, in stainless steel only, with either a 4 1/4-inch or 6-inch barrel. I had to have one, and about a month ago, I scratched that itch.

The new Python carries a hefty $1499 price tag and they are just about impossible to find. And when you do see one, it is always substantially above MSRP. I don’t see the prices coming down on these guns, either. The original Pythons sell for $3K or more (mostly more), and with guns in high demand now and for the forseeable future, I think you’ll always always be able to get your money out of a Python if you ever wanted to sell it. I don’t see the prices going anywhere but up, and like I said, it is near-impossible to find a new Colt Python. But I know people in high places, I got a hell of a deal on my Python, and I am enjoying it enormously. Just looking at it is fun.

I went to my gun club a few days ago to shoot the new Python for the first time, and in a word, it was spectacular. I’ll get to that in a second.

My Python has a 6-inch ventilated rib barrel. The revolver is polished stainless steel and it looks great. The roll marks on the new Python are very similar to the original Pythons. Very classy, in my opinion.

One of the reasons Colt stopped making the original Pythons a few years ago is they were too expensive to manufacture, as they required too much hand fitting of the revolver’s internal components. Colt’s re-engineering effort made all but one internal part capable of being CNC-machined to final dimensions, and in the modern Python hand-fitting is required for only one component. What that did was dramatically improve the double action trigger pull, and somewhat degrade the single action trigger pull. The double action trigger is short and sweet, and the hammer travel is only about half what it used to be. The single action trigger pull is, well, different. Read on, my friends.

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Single action, by design on the new Python, has a some take-up and you can actually see the hammer move a little further to the rear when you squeeze the trigger shooting single action. Think of it as a single action trigger that adds a little bit of double action to the dance before it releases the hammer.

I thought there was something wrong with the revolver, but my contact at Colt told me the new Pythons were designed that way to meet the California and Massachusetts drop test requirements. It is definitely not a “breaking glass” single action trigger; it’s closer to pulling the trigger on a Glock (that’s not intended to be a compliment). Double action, though, is absolutely outstanding. It’s a shorter pull than any other double action revolver I’ve ever fired and I like it. I suppose some people might think it’s a good thing that the gun meets the drop test requirements of left-leaning governments. Me? I’d go with Door No. 1 and refrain from dropping my loaded $1499 revolver.

Anyway, the single-action trigger threw me for a loop, but I adjusted to it quickly during a dry firing session. I don’t notice it anymore, and as you’ll see below, it sure hasn’t hurt accuracy.

Fit and finish on the new Python are top notch. You can see that in the photos on this blog, which I shot during and after an extended range session. I probably should have taken pictures before I fired the new Python (when the gun was factory immaculate), but hey, it is what it is.

The new Python has a red ramp front sight, which I like. There is no white outline rear sight (it’s plain black). The combination works well, as the targets you see here show. The Python also has a recessed crown, unlike the original one, which was flush. The recessed crown better protects the bore.

My first shots were 50 rounds I put through the gun using my standard .38 Special target load (2.7 grains of Bullseye and a 148 gr wadcutter, loaded on my Star reloader), all fired single action. I shot from the 50-foot line and it was windy as hell. I had to stop a few times to walk downrange and add more staples to the target because it was starting to come loose, and the target stand was swaying toward and away from me as the wind rocked it. I was shooting, literally, at a moving target.

A complete box of .38 Special wadcutter ammo…50 rounds fired at 50 feet firing single action. All those extra staples were needed to keep the wind from tearing the target off the stand.

I was surprised (and pleased) at how stunningly accurate the new Python is. I hadn’t touched the sights, and it was punching holes right where I wanted right out of the box. It put an entire box of ammo into the bullseye with a standard 6:00 hold and the sights left as they came from the factory. That’s a first for me, and I’ve been doing this a long time. The bottom line: The new Python is accurate.

.38 Special ammo loaded with 148-grain wadcutter bullets. The bullet’s “wadcutter” nose profile cuts a clean hole in the target. I used mixed brass shooting the new Python for the first time.

Then I shot another box of 50 cartridges (using the same .38 Special target load I used for the target above), but this time shooting double action. Let me make the point again: These two boxes were the first time I ever fired the new Python. Here’s my second 50 rounds on the target, fired double action.

Another 50 rounds at 50 feet, this time shooting double action. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. The new Python’s double action trigger is superb.

Eh, one shot went out of the bullseye (it’s that one in the 9-ring, just outside the 10-ring, on the right). Like I said, it was windy out there. But still, for me, this was phenomenal double action shooting. It’s the best I’ve ever done shooting double action, actually.

Then I thought I’d try two 5-shot groups on the 50 foot standard pistol target with .357 ammo (all targets shown here were shot at 50 feet). As you know, a .357 Magnum handgun can shoot either .357 Mag ammo or .38 Special ammo. I brought along some of my standard 357 Magnum reloads (15.7 grains of Winchester 296 powder and a 158 grain Hornady jacketed hollow point bullet). This is a load I’ve been using since my Army days and it does well in any .357 Magnum revolver I’ve ever owned. It came from the pamphlet Winchester published in the 1970s for their powders. It performed superbly well in the new Python.

.357 Magnum shots at 50-foot targets. Point of aim was 6:00 for all shots. Bring it on…fire and brimstone…the new Python handles full power .357 Magnum loads well.

It’s easy to forget how powerful the .357 Magnum cartridge is unless you fire it back-to-back with the .38 Special. The .38 Special is a very manageable cartridge with moderate recoil, especially in a big, heavy, 6-inch handgun like the new Python. When I shot the .357 Magnum loads, I was instantly reminded that the .357 is a real barn burner. Think big recoil and lots of muzzle flash and blast. It was cool, and the big Python handled full power magnum loads well.

As I already mentioned, it was very windy and gusty on the range (two tractor trailers were on their side on I-15 when I drove out to the club). I was the only guy out there (I’m probably the first guy to visit our range with the new Python, too). On a calm day, I’m sure I could do better than the targets you see above.

I finished up another box of .38 Specials shooting 158 gr cast flatpoint Hursman bullets (also loaded with 2.7 gr of Bullseye), shooting at one of those green star target things you throw on the ground (my daughter bought it for me a few years ago and I think the thing is going to last forever). I walked it out to 50 yards with repeated hits, and I’ll bet I didn’t miss but two or three times out of 40 or so rounds.

There were no malfunctions of any kind in the approximately 150 rounds I fired through the new Python. No light strikes, no misfires, and no jams. And like I’ve been saying, accuracy was stellar. It’s almost like the new Python is laser guided.

A prancing pony…the rampant Colt logo that has adorned Colt firearms for more than a century and a half. Long may it live!

You know, there’s an old saying: You get what you pay for. To that, I would add the qualifier: Sometimes. In the case of the new Colt Python, this is one of those times. I love the new Python. It’s an iconic firearm and if you are thinking about getting one, my advice is this: Do so. You won’t be disappointed.

You can see our earlier blog on good buddy Python Pete’s 8-inch, original Colt Python here. And please check out our other Tales of the Gun stories here.

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Ruger’s Custom Shop Super GP100

Colt has a custom shop, Remington has a custom shop, Winchester had a custom shop, Savage has a custom shop, Springfield Armory has a custom shop, CZ has a custom shop, and Smith and Wesson has a custom shop. It seemed Ruger was the only one of the big players that didn’t have a custom shop.

That’s changed. Ruger recently announced that they, too, now have a custom shop, except they do things differently. Rather than taking orders for custom features on their regular line of firearms, Ruger’s approach is to produce limited numbers of highly-customized guns. Stated differently, Ruger picks the features they want to add to their custom guns; your choice is to purchase it (or not). It’s not a bad way to go.

Note the new Super GP100’s dark PVD finish, the green fiber optic sight, the slotted barrel shroud, and other custom touches.

Ruger’s two most recent custom shop models are revolvers they call the Super GP100; one chambered in 9mm and the other chambered in .357 Magnum. These revolvers have a number of custom features, including a shrouded and vented barrel, 8-shot capacity and the ability to use star clips for speedy reloads, radically-fluted cylinder (I like the look), PVD (that’s physical vapor deposition) finish, polished and slicked up trigger and internal componentry, oversized Hogue hardwood grip, an 11-degree barrel crown (that’s supposed to enhance accuracy), and a fiber-optic front sight (never had one of those before; I’m eager to see if it really does anything for me).

Befitting its custom status, the Ruger Super GP100 comes with a higher-quality carrying case.

The Super GP is offered in two chamberings: .357 Magnum and 9mm Parabellum. The 9mm version is not approved here in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia. That’s probably okay, as I would go for the .357 if given the choice. But that’s not a choice that’s going to be offered any time soon. Read on, and you’ll see what I mean.

The 9mm version of Ruger’s new Super GP100 revolver. It looks good. Note the shorter cylinder.

I like the way Ruger handled the 9mm Super GP100. The cylinder is shorter to match the 9mm cartridge, and the barrel extends back into the frame. This means the 9mm bullet has less of a jump to the rifling in the barrel, which should improve accuracy. It’s the same thing Smith and Wesson does on its .45 ACP revolvers.

Ruger doesn’t stock these guns. True to the custom shop concept, Ruger builds them as orders are taken. But it wouldn’t do any good to order one now, unless you just want to get a place in line. Due to the press of handgun orders induced by the election, the pandemic, and the recent civil rioting in major US cities, Ruger has its workforce focused elsewhere on meeting the unprecedented demand for its standard guns. As an aside, it’s tough to buy ammo right now, too, for the same reasons. That’s not bothering me, as I reload on my RCBS reloading gear and I’m well stocked.

I’m in the market for a .357 Mag revolver, but I’ll probably go with a more traditional handgun. Maybe a .357 Blackhawk or a S&W Model 27. I’ll keep you posted.

Revolvers, rifles, reloading, and more…check out our Tales of the Gun page!

A Tale of Two 300 H&H Magnums

I had the 300 H&H Mags out last week, and when reloading the brass from that range session, I noticed a bright ring around some of them about a quarter inch above the belt. I did the inside-the-case check with a bent paper clip and sure enough, I could feel the sharp step of the brass thinning. Uh oh. Impending case separations. I had reloaded this brass once too often.

Case separations are caused by case stretching, which progresses each time you reload a cartridge. You can check for impending separations by examining the cases closely (you’ll see a bright ring, maybe evidence of gas escaping, or maybe even the beginnings of a crack above the case head). You can also make a tool from a paper clip to feel for a circumferential notch inside the case. That’s what I do, and I could feel the notch on these cases. They were at the end of their useful life.

I don’t know how many times I had reloaded these cases (maybe something like 3 to 5 times?), but rather than risk an impending case separation, I tossed the brass (all 50 pieces). It felt like a crime against nature, but it was necessary. I had two more boxes of 300 H&H brass (100 rounds) tucked away, so that will be the next lot that I load. I had tumbled the old brass for several hours, and maybe that was a good thing because it let me see the warning signs and the faint beginnings of circumferential cracks. Time to move on and start with fresh brass.

Evidence of a escaping gas on a fired 300 H&H Magnum case. The “belt” is the larger diameter just above the case base.

A classic impending case separation. You can see that the case has already started to crack. This would separate if I loaded and fired it again.

When I started this blog, I didn’t intend for it to be another reloading tutorial, but here we are anyway. Let’s get back on the two 300 H&H Magnums. I guess to start, allow me to tell you a bit about the magnificent and classic 300 H&H cartridge. It goes back to shortly after World War I, when the venerable English firm of Holland and Holland introduced it as an African plains game cartridge. I know, I’m coming across as snooty, and to tell the truth, I’m not entirely certain what “venerable” means. But it sounds like it fits.

300 H&H reloads. I use 150 gr Winchester bullets I bought about 6 years ago. I got a good deal on those bullets and I bought about 700 or so. I should have bought more, as I can’t find them anywhere online. I think I have about 200 or 300 left. You can see a bright circumferential ring above the case base on the lower cartridge, warning that this brass was past its useful life.

The 300 H&H was the absolute hottest .30 caliber cartridge in those days, and the belted 300 H&H cartridge just looks cool. It became the basis for nearly every magnum round that followed, including nearly all the Weatherby chamberings, the 7mm Remington Magnum, and a bunch more. The 300 H&H round won the Wimbledon 1000 yard match in 1935, and in 1937 Winchester offered it as a factory chambering in their Model 70 (assuring it’s survivability well into the future). Did I mention it just looks cool, too?

So to continue the story, I had to have a 300 H&H, and because I had a Weatherby 7mm Mag that I couldn’t get to group well no matter what I tried, to me the solution was obvious: Rebarrel it in 300 H&H. Which I did. 35 years ago. I’ve been shooting it ever since. It’s the one you see in the big photo at the top of this page, and if you don’t feel like scrolling up, here’s a view from the port side:

A custom 300 H&H Weatherby Mark V. This is a magnificent rifle.

The cartridge stamp on my custom barrel.

The 300 H&H Weatherby is a fabulous rifle. It has a Timney trigger my Dad put in it while I was overseas, and it breaks like glass. I enjoy owning it, reloading for it, and shooting it.

Then I picked up another 300 H&H rifle maybe 7 years ago: A Model 70 Winchester. The Model 70 in 300 H&H is not a commonly-encountered rifle, and I searched a while to find this one on Gunbroker with the fancy walnut I wanted. Trust me on this: It looks even better in person. And this one is a shooter. It deserves a better scope, but it’s still a beautiful rifle.

Sometimes people ask why I always find rifles with the nicest wood. It’s because I look for them!

The Model 70 stock from the right side of the rifle. It’s unusual to see this kind of walnut on a production rifle. I recognized that when I saw the rifle on Gunbroker, and I pulled the trigger.

Anyway, one day last week was one of those days when I woke up and knew I needed to get out and shoot some 300 H&H Magnum. So I did. These are some photos from that range session. I think it was a Monday. It was cold and windy as hell with gusts up to 60 mph (that’s the bad news), but because of that I had the range to myself (that’s the good news).

I shot my standard 300 H&H load. It’s one that has done well for me in the Weatherby, and it does equally well in the Winchester. The load is 60 grains of IMR 4320, a CCI-250 large rifle magnum primer, the 150-grain Winchester jacketed soft point bullet I mentioned above, and an overall cartridge length of 3.600 inches. You won’t find this load in any of the newer reloading manuals, but I still have the manuals I used years ago, before all the latest and greatest gee-whiz propellants came out. That’s where I found this one. And wow, does it work! Check out the 100-yard groups on the targets below, and remember it was a cold and windy day when I shot these.

The inexpensive Bushnell on the Model 70 was at the end of its elevation adjustment range and the rifle still shot a little high at 100 yards. I shimmed the front of the scope up .010 inch, which should get me a foot lower on the target at 100 yards (if you do the math, each 0.005 gets you 6 inches at 100 yards). I should be in the scope’s adjustment range after shimming, but I haven’t fired it again to make sure. I’ll check it the next time I’m out there. Longer term, though, the Model 70 will get the scope it deserves (and that will be a Leupold).

Edit: I learned that the manufacturer has discontinued IMR 4320 propellant, so the bad news is that when I deplete the little bit of this wonderful powder I have left, I need to develop a new load (and I guess that’s also the good news, as it means I get to play around with developing a new accuracy load). I’ll probably start with IMR 4350, as my research indicates it’s the go to powder for .300 H&H. Nobody has 4350 in stock right now; hopefully, that will change soon.

One more update…on a subsequent trip to the range, the shims did the trick for the Model 70; the Bushnell scope can now be adjusted to put the shots right where I want them.

More fancy walnut: Check!
More accuracy loads: Check!
More gun stories: Check!

It’s all right here on Tales of the Gun!

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Shortages, Gougers, and Trolls

Gougers. People who overcharge simply because they can when supplies are low. Someone who takes advantage of a bad situation. There’s a lot of that going on in the ammo and reloading components business today. What’s driving it is extreme demand induced by the pandemic, the breakdown in law and order in some urban areas, a change of administrations, and the resulting ammunition and components shortages. People are buying guns and ammo in unprecedented numbers because they are afraid. It’s being fueled by uninformed and malicious folks on the Internet.

Me? I’m not worried. We’ve been through this before. The pendulum swings both ways, and it always returns to center. It may take a while, but common sense always prevails.

Before all this shortage business began, primers sold for about $34 or $35 per thousand. Gougers have kicked that up to around $100 per thousand, and even at that price, they are difficult to find. Thanks, but I’ll take a pass. I’ll wait it out. It’s that pendulum thing I mentioned above.

I imagine it’s tough being in the ammo business these days. For the most part, the folks who make ammo are the same folks who make reloading components, and with the unprecedented demand for ammo, their components are necessarily being consumed by their own factories. I get that, too.

This video from the CEO of an ammo and components company popped up in my feed yesterday, and I think it’s a good one. You might want to watch it.

I get it, Mr. Vanderbrink. The trolls who start rumors, spread rumors, and post stupid stuff on the Internet are as despicable as the gougers, and I give Vanderbrink a lot of credit for calling it like it is. I’d call the trolls morons, but that would be an insult to morons everywhere. You folks in the ammo business keep doing what you’re doing. We’ll be here as loyal customers when the shortages end, as they always do.

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An Eleanor Update

You’ll recall a recent blog where I waxed eloquent about Eleanor, my Ruger RSM .416 Rigby rifle. In that blog, I talked about reduced loads using 350-grain cast Montana bullets and 5744 and Trail Boss propellant. It was fun…the Trail Boss loads had milder recoil and “good enough” (but not stellar) accuracy. Take a look at these 50-yard targets:

The above target on the left was with 30.0 grains of Trail Boss; the one on the right was with 34.0 grains of Trail Boss. I could feel a tiny bit more recoil with the 34.0-grain load, but both were light loads with modest recoil. Weirdly, the point of impact shifted sharply to the right with the lighter load, but it moved back to the center with the 34.0-grain load (and it was slightly higher). The Trail Boss loads shot okay, but they weren’t running in the same league as the load I had shot the prior week with 5744 propellant and the same Montana Bullet Works 350-grain bullet, as you can see from the 50-yard targets below.

I could see what I was getting with the Trail Boss and I could see that it wasn’t grouping nearly as well as the 5744 loads at 50 yards, so that stopped my testing with Trail Boss (that, and the fact that I had used up all my Trail Boss cartridges).

I was curious: How would Eleanor do at 100 yards? I still had some of the 5744 loads left, so I posted a couple of 100-yard targets and let Eleanor have her way. I first fired a 3-shot group and after looking through my spotting scope, I was surprised to see how well they grouped.

I thought maybe that target was a random success, and I didn’t want to ruin it by throwing more shots at it. So I fired another 3-shot group at the second target, and then another three at that same target. That’s the one you see below.

Before all you keyboard commandos start telling me that these results are nothing special, allow me to point out that these are 100-yard groups using open sights on an elephant rifle. I’m calling it good to go. Like I said earlier, when the elephants become an invasive species here in So Cal, I’m ready. The load is 45.0 grains of 5744 (it’s the load the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook specified as the accuracy load, and they were right), the 350-grain Montana Bullet Works .416 bullet sized to .417 and crimped in the cannelure, Hornady brass, and a CCI-200 primer. I didn’t weigh each charge; I just adjusted my RCBS powder dispenser and cranked them out. If you were wondering, I use Lyman dies for this cartridge.

A bit more about Eleanor: The rifle is a Ruger 77 that the good folks from New Hampshire call an Express or RSM model (I think RSM stood for Ruger Safari Magnum). They made them in 375 H&H, 416 Rigby, and 458 Lott (kind of a magnum .458 Magnum). Ruger also made a similar one in a few of the standard calibers (7mm Mag, 30 06, and 300 Win Mag, and maybe one or two others). These rifles were a bit pricey when Ruger sold them in the late 1990s/early 2000s, but evidently not pricey enough. They were too expensive to manufacture, so Ruger stopped making them. When you see these rifles come up for sale today (which doesn’t happen very often), they command a premium. I wish I had bought one in 30 06 when they were first offered; to me, that would be the perfect rifle.

The rear sight on a Ruger RSM rifle is of the African “Express” style. The elevation adjustment consists of a fixed and two flip-up blades, and they all have a very shallow V. I guess the idea of that shallow V is that it lets you see more in case an elephant is charging. The sight has two flip up blades behind the fixed blade; as range increases, you flip up the second blade, and if it is an even longer shot, you go for the third blade. I got lucky, for me, the fixed rear sight blade is perfect with this load. I made a minor adjustment for windage, and the elevation is spot on with a 6:00 hold at both 50 yards and 100 yards.

Incidentally, that rib the rear sight sits on? It’s not a separate piece. It and the barrel were turned and milled from one solid piece of steel. It’s one of the reasons these rifles were too expensive to manufacture.

The front sight is the typical brass bead (you can sort of see it in the featured photo at the top of this blog), which I usually don’t like, but with these results I can’t complain. I’ve shot better groups with two or three other open sight rifles using jacketed bullets at 100 yards; this is the best any cast bullet has ever done for me.

Want to see the first installment of the Eleanor story? It’s right here.

Check out our other guns and reloading articles here.

Tough to get to a gunstore to buy targets? Range fees for targets too high? Do what I do and order them online. They’re delivered right to your door and they’re less expensive, too.

Need a calipers for measuring your group size? This is a great place to find great calipers at a great price.

Want to check out Montana Bullets? Here’s a link to their website. Tell them Joe sent you. Trust me on this: These are best cast bullets I’ve ever used.

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Getting into Reloading

You’ve thought about reloading, you’ve read stuff from us and others about the benefits of reloading, and you want to do it. But how?

Hey, I was born into it. My Dad was a reloader and I had a pretty good idea what to do when I wanted to start, but the urge to do so didn’t hit until I was a young guy in the Army at Fort Bliss. I was lucky. The guy who ran the Fort Bliss Gun Club (Roy Johnson) had a room set up for just that purpose and he walked me through the process some 50 years ago. But Roy has gone on to his reward, you’re probably not stationed at Fort Bliss, and you want to get into the game. That’s what this blog focuses on, and in particular, the equipment you’ll need to get started.

Inside the Fort Bliss Gun Club. This is a fabulous place where I spent a lot of time as a young Army dude. Next time I’m in El Paso you can bet I’ll stop in again.

Reloading Advantages

There are three advantages to reloading: Cost, accuracy, and availability.

Generally, reloaded ammo costs less than factory ammo, and in some cases (especially for more exotic rifle ammunition), the savings are huge. For example, factory .416 Rigby ammo costs $170 for a box of 20 rounds; I can reload .416 Rigby ammo for well under a buck a round.

From an accuracy perspective, reloading is the only way to go. You can tailor a load to a particular firearm by varying bullet type, bullet seating depth, crimp, powder type, powder charge, brass, and primers to arrive at a combination that delivers superior accuracy (and it’s fun doing this). I have rifles that shoot 3-inch groups at 100 yards with factory ammo; with my custom reloads, I can get half-inch groups.

Today, if you reload and you’ve laid in a good stock of components, you can reload your way through any ammo shortages. Nobody has .45 ACP, 9mm, or .223 ammo in stock right now; I have enough components on hand to reload thousands of rounds. I’m on the range two or three times a week enjoying my shooting hobby while other folks are online whining about not being able to buy ammo.

What You Will Need

The things you will need to start reloading fall into two categories: The reloading equipment, and the reloading components. The reloading components are the things that combine to bring an empty brass cartridge case back to life (that includes the bullets, the propellant, and the primers). The reloading equipment includes the gear you need to take the components and turn them into a ready-to-fire cartridge.

If you want to get into the reloading game, I believe the best way to do so is to buy a complete equipment reloading package from one of the suppliers like RCBS or Lee. That’s the RCBS kit shown in the big photo above. I’ll talk about it, the Lee kit, and a couple of others further down in this blog. First, let’s review each bit of gear.

The Reloading Press

That’s the lever-operated press that accepts the dies (more on that in a second) for reloading your ammo, and sometimes the press includes a mechanism for seating primers in the cartridge case after the old primer has been removed. In other cases, a separate priming tool is used. Presses are offered by RCBS, Lee, Lyman, Hornady, and other companies.

The Lee Challenger press. It’s a decent unit at a decent price, and an ideal way to get started in reloading.

Dies

The dies are cartridge specific. For handgun cartridges, the die set usually includes three dies; for rifle cartridges, the die set usually includes two dies. The good news is that die threads are pretty much standardized, and every company’s dies will fit every company’s reloading press. In other words, if you buy Lee dies, they’ll work on an RCBS press. If you buy RCBS dies, they’ll work on a Lee press. Dies are offered by several companies, with the most popular brands being Lee and RCBS.

A three-die pistol set from RCBS. The first die knocks out the old primer and resizes the fired case. The second die flares the case mouth to accept a new bullet. The third die seats the new bullet and, if you want, crimps the bullet in place.

An RCBS two-die rifle set. The first die knocks out the fired primer and returns the case to its original dimensions. The second die seats the bullet and, if desired, crimps it in place.

Shell Holder

You will need a shell holder for the cartridges you wish to reload. That’s the piece that holds the cartridge case in place so the press can push it up into the die and then extract it from the die. RCBS does not include the shell holder with their die sets (so you’ll need to buy RCBS shell holders separately); just about all other die makers do (when you buy their dies, the die set includes a shell holder for that cartridge).

A Powder Dispenser

This is a device for dropping a precisely-metered powder charge into each cartridge case. There are fancy (read: expensive) electronic powder dispensers, but you don’t need those to get started and a lot of folks (myself included) don’t like them. A simple mechanical dispenser will work fine (as mine has been doing for 50 years). Both RCBS and Lee offer good powder dispensers; the Lee is substantially less expensive.

An RCBS powder dispenser on the left, the Lee powder dispenser on the right.

A Powder Scale

This is a simple balance beam scale to allow you to measure the weight of the propellant charge and adjust the powder dispenser to throw that charge. There are electronic scales, too, but they add complexity and considerable expense where none is required. Again, the dominant brands are Lee and RCBS.

A simple Lee balance beam reloading scale. These scales can measure to a tenth of a grain.

Cartridge Trays

When we reload, we use a cartridge tray (to hold the cartridges as we work through the process of reloading). A variety of manufacturers offer these.

An RCBS cartridge tray. These are available from several manufacturers. I’ve been using mine for nearly 50 years.

A Case Lube Pad

This is a simple foam pad. You put case lube on the pad and roll the brass cases on it to lubricate the exterior prior to running them through the resizing die (the first die used in the reloading process). If you have a straight wall pistol cartridge, you can buy tungsten carbide dies that don’t require lubing the cartridge cases. If you’re going to reload 9mm, .38 Special/.357 Magnum, .45 Auto, or .45 Colt, my advice is to spend the few extra bucks and get the carbide dies.

Case Lube

This is the lube used as described above. To mention it again, if you’re going to reload straight wall pistol cartridges and you buy tungsten carbide dies, you won’t need case lube (or the case lube pad).

Alternatively, you can buy spray-on case lubes, which eliminate the need for the case lube pad. I’ve tried spray-on case lubes and I prefer using the pad and case lube instead. Other reloaders like the spray-on approach better.

A Primer Seating Tool

Some reloading equipment companies incorporate a primer seating tool in their press; others offer separate primer seating tools. I have an RCBS press that came with the primer seating tool, but I like using a manual hand priming tool instead. Several manufacturers offer these; I use one from Lee.

The Lee hand priming tool. These work well. You can feel each primer seating and better control seating depth with these hand priming tools.

A Bench

You may already have a sturdy workbench where you can mount the reloading press; if not, there are reloading-specific benches available.

A Lee reloading bench. These work well if you don’t have a workbench for mounting your press.

A Reloading Manual

There are several available, including the excellent offerings from Sierra, Speer, Hornady, and Lyman. Don’t think you can skip this; a good reloading manual is a must-have item for any reloader. They all explain the reloading process at the beginning, and they include safe recommended load levels for nearly all cartridges. I’ve acquired several reloading manuals over the years and they are all good; my favorites are the ones from Lyman. Others are published by bullet manufacturers (these include the manuals from Hornady, Speer, and Sierra) and those manuals include loads only for their bullets. The Lyman manual is more generic. But like I said, they’re all good.

I have reloading manuals going back 50 years. The Lyman manuals are probably the best.

That’s the reloading equipment. In addition to that, you’re going to need the ingredients for the cartridges you want to reload. That includes the brass cases, the bullets, the powder, and the primers.

Brass Cartridge Cases

You can buy virgin brass online, you can buy once-fired brass at the range or at most gunstores, or you can do like most of us have done: Save your brass when you shoot factory ammo and reload it.

.35 Whelen brass waiting to be charged with propellant. This ammo costs $43 for a box of 20 factory rounds (and you can’t find anybody who has it in stock right now); I can reload it for under 50 cents a round.

Bullets

You’ll need bullets to reload your ammo. There are lots of options here, and they basically break down into either cast or jacketed bullets. I’m a big fan of cast bullets for handgun and reduced velocity rifle reloads, and I use jacketed bullets for full-bore factory level (high velocity) rifle loads. Most folks these days order bullets online from reloading suppliers like MidwayUSA, Graf’s, MidSouth, Powder Valley, Natchez Shooting Supplies, and others. Smaller gun stores are disappearing, and you usually don’t find decent prices at the big chain stores.

Propellant

For lack of a better term, we usually call propellants “powder,” and there are a wide variety of powders available. The reloading manuals show which powders work best for the cartridge you wish to reload.

Primers

The primer is the component that lights the candle when you pull the trigger. There are several primer suppliers. The trick today is finding them, as there has been a run on primers since the pandemic began. If you can find primers in a local shop, buy them. The same suppliers listed above for bullets also sell primers (they are all out of stock now, but that will change as supply catches up with demand).

The Best Equipment Approach: A Complete Kit

As I mentioned at the start of this blog, I believe the best way to get into the game is to buy a complete equipment reloading package from one of the reloading equipment suppliers. My advice if you are a new reloader is to go with the Lee package. It’s the least expensive and if you decide that reloading is not for you, you’ve minimized your cash outlay. I should add, however, that I don’t know anybody who ever tried reloading who didn’t get hooked on it. It is a marvelous hobby, and I believe it is as much fun as shooting.

I’ve used reloading equipment over the years from all the manufacturers. My personal setup is centered around an RCBS Rockchucker, but equipment from any of the suppliers is good. Basically, you can’t go wrong in this game from an equipment perspective. With that said, let’s take a look at what’s out there.

First, the Lee Challenger reloading kit:

The Lee Challenger reloading kit. These were sold out on Amazon (and everywhere else) when this blog was published. Keep an eye on the Amazon site; it’s a good place to order the kit.

There’s only one problem with the Lee Challenger reloading kit: It’s such a good deal (well under $200 for the entire kit) that literally everyone is out of stock right now. As you know, we’re going through unprecedented times in the shooting world (guns, ammo, and reloading components are sold out due to the civil insurrection in many large cities, a new anti-gun administration on the horizon, and the global pandemic). That will change, but at this instant, no one I could find has the Lee kit in stock.

Next up is the RCBS kit:

The RCBS reloading kit. RCBS makes high quality equipment that will last a lifetime. It costs more, but it’s worth it.

I’ve been using RCBS equipment for the last 50 years, and I believe it to be the best. It is built to last. If I couldn’t get the Lee package as a newbie, or if your budget will allow it, I’d go with RCBS equipment. At about $400, it’s just over twice the price of the Lee kit, but it’s still a great deal compared to buying all the different equipment items separately. The RCBS package shown above includes an electronic scale instead of a beam scale, a powder trickler (it allows you to finesse adding individual powder kernels to attain a precise charge weight), and a couple of case preparation tools that the Lee kit doesn’t include.

Lyman is another outfit offering a complete reloading kit:

What’s a bit different about the Lyman kit is that it comes with a turret press, which allows you to mount all the dies in the press head and rotate them as you progress through the various reloading steps. I’m not a big fan of this approach; other folks are. The Lyman kit is just under $1000; the turret press and the inclusion of a case trimmer are what drive the price to that level.

And Hornady has a kit as well:

Hornady’s reloading package. I have the least experience with Hornady reloading gear, and I’m not wild about their dies. Hornady bullets are fantastic.

The Hornady kit is about $550. That’s substantially less than the Lyman kit, but more than either the Lee or the RCBS kits.

So there you have it. Remember that no matter which reloading kit you buy, you’ll still need dies and a shellholder specific to your cartridge. You’ll probably want to purchase more equipment as your reloading interest develops, including more dies (so you can reload more calibers), case cleaning and polishing accessories, a micrometer, and more. But what we’ve outlined here will get you started and keep you in the game for years.

In this blog we’ve covered the equipment you’ll need to get into reloading. If you would like to read about how to use this equipment, we have you covered there, too. We have a bunch of information on reloading various cartridges on our Tales of the Gun page, and a complete series on reloading handgun ammo that you can review here:

Reloading .45 ACP Ammo: Part I
Reloading .45 ACP Ammo: Part II
Reloading .45 ACP Ammo: Part III
Reloading .45 ACP Ammo: Part IV

If you would like to watch a quick video of yours truly reloading ammo with cast bullets for a Mosin-Nagant rifle, check this out:

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Eleanor

I don’t name my guns. Except for one. That’s Eleanor in the photo above.

I have a thing for big bore rifles, and chambered for the mighty .416 Rigby, Eleanor certainly qualifies. We don’t have too many elephants, rhinos, or cape buffalo in southern California. But if any ever become an invasive species here in the Peoples Republik, I’m ready. I’ve read all the African hunting stories, living vicariously through the adventures of folks like Theodore Roosevelt, Peter Hathaway Capstick, and others. It’s what prompted my path toward rifles like Eleanor.

But I digress. Back to the topic du jour. Sometimes you just wake up and think to yourself: I have to to load me some .416 Rigby today.

That’s what happened to me recently. I won’t get to shoot Eleanor for a few more days, but I thought I would share a few photos of the sausage-packing process involved in prepping .416 Rigby ammo. The drill on that fine day was for a couple of reduced-velocity loads using cast bullets and Trail Boss propellant. It’s going to be a fun day at the range when I light the candle on these puppies.

Reloading is sort of like cooking. You start with a recipe and the right ingredients. In this case, that includes .416 Rigby brass (something you don’t find laying around at the range) and Trail Boss propellant (which, like most reloading components, is pure unobtanium these days).

I’m well stocked with unfired, virgin Hornady brass and I used Montana Bullet Works cast 350-grain gas check projectiles. Because I’m loading cast bullets, the first step involved flaring the case mouth. I use the Lee universal flaring tool for this. You can see its business end in the photo below.

Here’s the Lee’s flaring die and a flared case mouth.

This is what the cartridge case looks like after it has been flared. You can see the diameter opens up slightly at the case mouth. This prevents shaving lead off the bullet base as it is seated in the brass cartridge case.

The Montana Bullet Works bullets are impressive. Actually, they are beyond impressive. I think they are perfect. They look more like machined parts rather than cast parts. I loaded their 350-grain flatnose cast bullets (they are 22 Brinell hardness linotype bullets) with a gas check base (take a peek at the next photo). The blue stuff is lubricant.

I’ve fired the Montana bullets before with 5744 propellant in Eleanor and they work well, as you can see on the targets below (I order my targets from Amazon). Those were 3-shot groups at 50 yards using the same Montana 350-grain cast bullets and 45.0 grains of 5744 propellant. Eleanor is an elephant rifle with iron sights, and I’m getting groups that would work well with prairie dogs.

There’s no leading with the Montana bullets. The Lyman cast bullet reloading manual (which I believe to be the best) lists 5744 and the 350-grain cast bullet as the most accurate load in this chambering (I like the Lyman manuals better than any of the others).

The photo below shows a bullet just starting into the cartridge case. I had already seated CCI 200 primers into the cases.

Trail Boss is a reduced velocity propellant that is designed to occupy most or all of a cartridge case’s interior. It’s a light powder. The shape is unusual. The grains look like little washers.

Trail Boss is so big and fluffy my RCBS powder dispenser couldn’t throw a big enough charge with a single throw. I wanted to load these at 30 grains and 34 grains (suggested min and max with this propellant), so I set the powder dispenser to 15 grains (that’s what you see in the powder tray above) and threw two charges for each case, and then I did the same at 17 grains (again, throwing two charges for each case). According to the folks who make Trail Boss, the max load should not exceed the base of the bullet, and the minimum charge is 70% of the max charge. Here’s what a charged case with the max charge looks like.

I next seated the bullets. These cartridges are so long that you have to put the charged brass case into the shell holder, and then angle the bullet up into the die and set it back down on the case before you run the ram up. I do bullet seating and crimping in two operations. I’ll seat all the bullets to the required overall length without a crimp, and then I’ll adjust the die and run each round through again to get a good crimp. I use an old RCBS Rockchucker single-stage press I bought new in 1974. I’ve been using it ever since.

And here’s one last photo just to convey a sense of scale. From right to left, what you see below is a six-pack of .45 ACP cartridges in a moon clip ready for my 1917 revolver, a .45 70 round (I loaded some of those earlier today, too), and the .416 Rigby.

So how do these Rigby rounds shoot? I’m going to find out soon, folks, and I’ll let you know. Eleanor and I have a date at the West End Gun Club (don’t tell Sue). Stay tuned. It’s going to be fun.

Colonel Colt and Captain Walker are in the building…

Two beautiful handguns, the ones you see above are. The one on top is a Colt Walker, the one on the bottom the timeless Single Action Army. But neither are actually Colts. They are both Uberti guns, and both are magnificent.

The story is one for the ages, and it goes like this: Samuel Colt invented the revolver, but he and his factory in Paterson, New Jersey couldn’t make a go of it. Colt left the gunmaking business and went on to other ventures, but in the meantime, there were already a few Colt revolvers writing history in the American West. Captain Sam Walker and his Texas Rangers used the early Colts with great success in battles on the Texas frontier. Walker mentioned this to Colt, Colt asked for an endorsement, Walker said yes, and then he helped Colt design a new revolver to better meet frontier combat needs. Walker drove the design requirements as he took a new commission in the US Army, and the Army ordered a cool thousand of the new 1847 Colt Walkers. Colt was back in business, courtesy of Sam Walker, the Texas Rangers, and the US Army.

Thus was born the Colt Walker, one of the largest handguns ever made. Until the advent of the .357 Magnum in the 1930s, the Walker was the world’s most powerful handgun. It was designed so that if it missed the bad guy but got the horse he was riding, it would kill the horse. I can’t help but think of an old New Jersey expression (common when I was growing up and one I still use on occasion) that ends with “….and the horse you rode in on, too!”

The last of the original Colt Walkers that changed hands went for over a million bucks not long ago, so I knew that until the ExNotes blog goes more viral (than it already has, that is), I wouldn’t be getting an original Walker anytime soon. But there’s something even better from a shootability perspective, and that’s the modern reproduction Walkers offered by Uberti.

I always wanted a Walker, and a few months ago I acted on that urge. I had to wait several months because the Uberti factory in Italy was shut down by the Covid 19 pandemic. Uberti is back in operation again and my Walker recently arrived. It’s a good deal. Unlike a cartridge revolver, here in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia black powder guns can be shipped direct to your door.

I knew Uberti makes a quality handgun, as I had great experiences with my “tuned” Taylor 1873 Single Action Army in .45 Colt. That’s one of the two revolvers you see in the photo at the top of this blog. It’s a cool photo because it shows the relative size of the two guns (the Single Action Army is no pipsqueak, but it’s dwarfed by the Walker). And, I’m showing off a bit with the photo’s background (it’s the pig hide from my Arizona wild boar expedition with good buddy Paul, who ordered himself a Walker not too long ago).

Robert Duvall as Gus MacCrae in Lonesome Dove, the greatest story ever told (in my opinion). Gus carried a Colt Walker.

I’ve mentioned the Walker Colt before, most notably in the book review we posted on Revolver, the book about Samuel Colt. The Colt Walker also figured prominently in Lonesome Dove, and I thought I’d show one of the many great scenes from that movie here again.

Everybody wants to be Gus MacCrae, I guess, and I’m no exception. I suspect Paul feels the same way. So consider this a fair warning: If Paul and I walk into your establishment and order a whiskey, be quick about it. We don’t like surly bartenders, and we carry Walkers, you know.

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Star Machine Works

If you’ve followed the story about my resurrected Star reloader, you’ve read about good buddy Bruce Williams’ Star Machine Works. Bruce bought the fixtures and other production equipment from the original Star Machine Works company, and he has made a business of restoring complete reloaders and offering parts for these grand old machines. He is the go to guy when it comes to Star stuff, and his work is stunning. My Star resurrection is a ham-and-eggs approach by a guy who really didn’t know what he was doing bringing a Star back to life; Bruce’s work is the gold standard. Bruce sent a few photos to me of his restored Star reloaders, and I thought I would share them with you here.

Here’s a photo of Star that came to Bruce for restoration in the “before” condition:

Here’s an “after” photo of that same fully-restored Star:

Here are a few closeup photos showing a few of Bruce’s other restorations:

Bruce’s prices on a restored Star reloader are, in my opinion, way too low. I know the amount of work I put into mine to get it working, and there’s no way I would sell it for what Bruce gets for one of these machines. Had I known what a Star reloader is (and what the machine can do), I would have just bought a restored Star from Bruce. His work is impressive.

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Star Reloader: The Final Tweaks

You’ve been following the Star resurrection, and if you haven’t, you can get the earlier Star stories here. This blog wraps up the last few bits and pieces on the Star. The resurrected Star is fully operational now and I’ve been making ammo on it. In a future blog, I’ll do a video showing the machine in action. I would have done it for today’s blog, but I’m out of empty cartridge cases. That’s a good problem…I’ve got to get to the West End Gun Club to shoot up some ammunition so I can reload again!

This blog covers the last few details, the last few bits and pieces I cleaned up, a part or two here and there, a few adjustments, and mounting the Star on my reloading bench…so here we go.

Mounting the Star

I needed to secure my Star reloader to my reloading bench. That necessitated drilling four pilot holes for the mounting screws, and two holes beneath the reloader (one for the finished rounds to drop through, and the other for the old primers to drop through). Here’s what the holes in the bench look like (the upper hole is for the finished rounds and the smaller hole is for the old primers).

When the Star reloader operates, finished rounds drop from the bottom of the machine, which is why I needed that bigger hole you see above. When used primers are punched out of the fired case (we call this decapping), they, too, drop from the bottom of the machine. That’s what the little hole in the photo above is for.

The finished Star mounts to the bench with four countersunk wood screws. It looks really good.

Tool Head

The tool head is the piece that holds the dies, the powder dispenser, and a few other things. It was basically rusted all over. I went to work on the sides with Scotchbrite and Kroil, and the tool head cleaned up nicely.

The arrows in the above photo point to key components that mount on the tool head. From left to right, we have the double charge safety (more on that in a bit), the priming lever actuator (which also mounts the came for the Hulse case feed mechanism), the decapping and resizing die (this brings the case back to its specification dimensions), and the case flaring die (this puts a bell on the case mouth to allow the new bullet to enter the case).

Primer Feed Cam

The primer feed cam is a knife-like looking thing that mounts to the tool head. As explained in the blog on the case feed mechanism, this cam moves up and down with the tool head and actuates a lever, which in turns pushes a slider with a primer underneath the decapped case. The primer feed cam was rusty so I cleaned it with Scotchbrite. The part was originally blued, so I applied cold blue to the part to bring it back to near-original condition. It looks good.

Powder Dispenser Corrections

When you reload, one of the things you have to pay attention to is the powder charge. Too little, and you can get a bullet stuck in the barrel; too much, you risk blowing the gun up. With propellants like Bullseye (which occupy very little of the available cartridge case volume), that’s a real serious concern. One of things I wanted to do was make sure that the Star’s powder dispenser was dropping the right amount of propellant. You may remember from our blog on the powder dispenser that my Star has a powder bar marked 2.7 GR BE, which is the bar for 2.7 grains of Bullseye. That’s exactly what I wanted, so it was time to make sure that’s what the dispenser was serving.

I added Bullseye powder to the powder hopper, cycled the powder slide a few times to throw a charge, and then I cycled it once more to capture a charge in my RCBS powder scale pan to weigh it. To my surprise, I found that the powder dispenser dropped about 2.2 grains of Bullseye instead of the 2.7 grains it was supposed to dispense.

I had an idea about what might be causing the problem, but before I tore into the powder dispenser, I thought I’d check with good buddy Bruce at Star Machine Works. Bruce knows more about these machines than any man alive. Bruce told me that in his experience, the Star 2.7 GR BE slides throw over the specified weight to give 2.9 to 3.0 grains, not under as I was experiencing.

I thought this for a bit and realized I probably had residual oil in the dispenser from when I cleaned it, causing the Bullseye powder to clump up, and I was right. Take a look:

I cleaned the dispenser with alcohol to get all the oil out, let it dry, reassembled it, and tried it again. Yep, Bruce was right…it was throwing right at 2.9-3.0 grains of Bullseye. I thought that would probably be okay (0.3 grains of powder is probably about what a fly poops), but I knew that 2.7 grains was the secret sauce for good accuracy in 38 Special in my Model 52 Smith and Wesson, and that’s what I wanted. I was thinking about when I looked at the powder slide again, and what do you know, I was once again blown away by how clever these Star folks were. There was an adjustment in the powder slide. It’s a little set screw in the powder slide, and by screwing it in or out you can adjust the volume of the powder slide cavity (and therefore the charge weight). Very clever, indeed.

I screwed the set screw in to reduce the cavity volume by what I guesstimated would be 0.3 grains, and I got it right on the first try. The dispenser drops exactly 2.7 grains of Bullseye now.

On that issue of overcharging a case: The real concern is that you inadvertently double charge a case. That could be disastrous. The risk could be heightened, I think, by the fact that you have to manually advance the Star’s shell plate after each pull of the lever. The mechanism does not automatically advance each time, and if someone wasn’t paying careful attention, an inadvertent double charge could occur. Well, the Star folks thought of that, too. The Star reloader incorporates a gizmo called the safety cam.

The Star Reloader Safety Cam

This thing is very clever, which seems to be a hallmark of everything on the Star. It’s a toggling guard sort-of-deal on the left side of the reloader that I cleaned with Scotchbrite and Kroil. You can see it in the photo below.

Take a look at the red and yellow arrows in the photo above. That blued-steel Y-shaped toggle guard translates back and forth on its pedestal. There’s a wire spring underneath the guard that makes it naturally flip to the position you see the photo above. Now, look at the post beneath the tool head (the yellow arrow points to it). If you attempt to operate the lever and lower the tool head (which would also operate the powder dispenser and drop 2.7 grains of Bullseye into the cartridge case beneath the powder dispenser), that post will hit the toggle and stop further tool head downward motion. When that happens, no powder will drop. We want that, because the case sitting below the powder dispenser has already been charged with propellant.

Okay, this is going to get a little complicated, so bear with me. The Star reloader’s shell plate does not automatically advance. You have to manually advance the shell plate as a separate action (it isn’t slaved to pulling the reloader’s lever). Now, imagine you’ve pulled the lever in the previous step, doing all the things that makes happen (knocking out the old primer, resizing the case, inserting a primer in the next case, flaring a case mouth, dropping 2.7 grains of Bullseye into the primed and sized case, and seating a bullet and crimping the case). Wow, that’s a lot. Now it’s time to manually rotate the shell plate to the next position. When we do that, the finished cartridge (new primer, new powder, new bullet, crimped bullet) advances into the safety cam toggle, rotating the toggle toward us.

You can see all this in the photo above. The safety cam toggle rotates toward us (indicated by the red arrow), pushed there by the completed cartridge case just before that case drops through the reloader (the case is indicated by the yellow arrow). When the safety cam toggle moves toward us, the post mounted on the tool head (indicated by the green arrow) now has a clear shot at a hole in the shell holder (it’s no longer obstructed by the safety cam toggle), and the tool head can be fully lowered. The new cartridge drops through the reloader, through the hole in the reloading bench shown at the top of this blog, and into a box waiting below the bench. When the completed cartridge drops through the reloader and the lever is raised, the safety cam toggle’s spring pushes it back to the natural position, and the lever cannot be fully lowered again until the next cartridge case pushes the safety cam toggle to the safe position. It’s clever and it’s complicated, but it’s simple and it prevents dropping the tool head twice on the same cartridge (thereby preventing a double charge).

Seating and Crimping Die Adjustment

The final die in the tool head is the seating and crimping die. It does two things. It seats the new bullet in the cartridge case (it pushes the bullet in to the correct depth), and it roll crimps the cartridge case around the new bullet.

Seating depth and crimp are made through two adjustments. There’s a locknut on the seating die beneath the tool head to lock the die in place, and there’s another locknut on the seating post to lock it into position. Crimp is adjusted by positioning and locking the entire die in the tool head, and bullet seating depth is adjusted by how far the seating post is threaded into the die body and then locked in place with its locknut (see the red arrows in the photo below).

Case Feed Tube Support

The last item I needed to add was the case feed tube support. You may remember that I jury-rigged an external support from a coat hangar. It was definitely a bit of Bubba engineering, but hey, it worked. Good buddy Mike saw that, felt a wave of pity and a willingness to help, and asked me if I wanted a part that he had. I said yep, Mike shipped it to me, and here it is installed on my machine.

This project has come together very nicely. I just loaded another 50 rounds of .38 Special with the Star. I used a different bullet (the Hursman 158-grain cast flat point, which is what necessitated the bullet seating depth change described above). The Star sure did a nice (and fast) job. I loaded 50 rounds in less than 10 minutes. This thing is really cool and I am getting used to the tempo and the hand-eye-coordination/feel of the thing. At first, I felt like I almost needed another hand to operate the Star because there’s so much going on, but I got the hang of it very quickly. You only have to do three things each cycle:

- Advance the shell plate one position (you do that manually on these machines; the mechanism doesn’t advance the cases).
- Put a bullet in the charged shell at the back of the press.
- Pull the lever down and then bring it back up.

While doing the above, you need to pay attention to the powder magazine, the primer magazine, and the case feed tube to make sure each has not run out of the components it feeds. The Star reloader really is a slick device, and it works great.

As I mentioned in one of the earlier blogs on the Star, these machines ruled the roost for high-volume reloading for a cool half century. At one point back in the day, a Star reloader sold for north of a thousand dollars, and there was a 2-year wait to get one. It’s easy to see why. This is a nice piece of equipment. If you’re a gearhead, a gadget guy, a shooter, and a reloader (and I check all four boxes), you can’t help but love a Star reloader.

Do you enjoy reading about bringing old stuff back to life? You’ll love the Resurrections page!

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