Tag: RCBS

Lee .357 Magnum Dies, Cast vs Jacketed Bullets, and Crimping

This blog is longer than I intended it to be.  I thought I would just do a quick bit about a new set of Lee reloading dies I recently purchased, but as I got into it, I learned more about my  Colt Python, crimping with a bullet seating die versus a dedicated factory crimp die, and well, the thing just grew.  Mea culpa; you can leave early if you want to.  Because this is a longer-than usual post, I thought I’d provide the bottom line up front:   The Lee factory crimp die is a good thing.  It works.  It holds bullets in place better, it improves chambering, and it improves accuracy.  

Now, the rest of the story.

For the last umpteen years when loading .38 Special or .357 Magnum ammo I have been using a kluged-up three die set (a carbide resizer/decapper from Dillon, an expander die from Lee, and a bullet seating and roll crimping die from Lee).   You  can use the same dies for both .38 Special and .357 Magnum; the only difference between the two cartridges is the length of the cartridge case.  They use the same diameter bullets (even though it’s called a .38 Special, the bullet diameter of a .38 is actually .357 to .358 inches, just like the .357 Magnum).

The two cartridges on the left are .357 Magnum; the one on the right is a .38 Special. The .357 cartridge case is longer so it cannot be inadvertently inserted into a handgun chambered for .38 Special. Note the slightly longer overall cartridge length on the .357 Magnum cartridge on the left (with the cast bullet) compared to the .357 Magnum cartridge in the middle (with the jacketed bullet).
A mixed set of dies I’ve been using for years for reloading .357 Magnum and .38 Special. Note the Lee shellholder marked “1.”  .38 Special used to be the most commonly reloaded cartridge in America.  Today it’s 9mm.  .38 Special was the first cartridge I ever reloaded.  The die on the right is the bullet seating and crimping die.

Reloading Gear

I’ve had a few .38/.357 die sets over the years, selling them when convenient as I bought or inherited other equipment. As featured here on the ExNotes blog, I have a 50-year-old Star reloader I use for .38 Special wadcutter ammo (I’ll give you a link for the Star story at the end of this blog). The Star is set up to meter 2.7 grains of Bullseye propellant (that’s a 148-grain wadcutter target load) and it works fabulously well, so it’s a dedicated setup. For all other .38 Special and for .357 Magnum reloading, I load with my RCBS Rockchucker single-stage press. I’ve been using it for 50 years.

My Star progressive reloader. A good buddy gave this to me in rundown, funky, and long-neglected condition. I cleaned it, lubed it, and put in back in service. The Star does a fantastic job on .38 Special wadcutter ammo.
Old Faithful, my RCBS Rockchucker single stage press. I load non-wadcutter .38 Special ammo and all .357 Magnum ammo on this press.

Bullet Seating and Crimping

For many years, I seated and crimped my bullets with a simple seating and crimping die.  It’s what you see in the illustration below.

I use this die in two steps.  First, I screw the bullet seating adjuster deep into the die and seat the bullet to the correct cartridge overall length without crimping the bullet in place.  After seating all the bullets, I then back off on the bullet seating adjuster so that it no longer contacts the bullet, and then I screw the die body deeper into the press.  The die body has a roll crimping feature that then roll forms a crimp around the case mouth to lock the bullet to the cartridge case.

Lee has an alternative approach for bullet crimping they call the factory crimp die.  As a first step, you seat the bullet to the desired depth in the case using the die shown above.  After seating all the bullets, you then remove the bullet seating and crimping die from the press and then use the fourth die (the factory crimp die).  Here’s what the factory crimp die looks like:

The fourth die, the factory crimp die, does not seat the bullet.  Its only function is to apply the crimp, and it does this very well.   The idea is that the die is screwed all the way into the press such that it contacts the shellhoder, and then the amount of crimp is set up with the crimp adjuster, which screws into the die body.  This die applies a roll crimp on a revolver cartridge (the same kind of crimp as the bullet seating and crimping die described above), but it does so in a much better-controlled manner.   The factory crimp die also has a secondary carbide sizer/aligning ring at its lower end, which aligns the cartridge as it enters the case, and holds the cartridge outside diameter to specification values as the cartridge enters and then exits the die.  It works fabulously well, and Lee states that this die makes it impossible to buckle a case.

I had .357 Magnum ammo I had previously loaded using the bullet seating and crimping die only (not the Lee factory crimp die), and it chambered with no problem in my Ruger Blackhawk.  The Colt Python has a tighter chamber, though, and several of these older reloads would not chamber in the Python.  A quick trip through the Lee factory crimp die cleaned up the outside diameters and the rounds chambered easily.

Before and after shots of older .357 loads I reloaded using the bullet seating and crimping die. Some wouldn’t chamber in the tighter Python. The Lee factory crimp die fixed that.

Lee’s Deluxe 4-Die Set

I recently ordered a new Ruger Blackhawk, and I’ve written many times about my Colt Python.  With my new .357 Magnum Blackhawk in its 10-day cooling off period, I thought I would get a new set of dies.  I like Lee (they give you a shellholder, they are inexpensive, and they do a good job). I had bent the decapping pin on the Dillon sizing die in my mixed set of dies shown above (a primer wouldn’t come out and I forced it). I was able to bend the pin straight, but I figured a man of my stature ought to have a set of grownup new dies. Then I got an email from MidwayUSA showing the Lee 4-die set on sale for $53 and they had free shipping on orders over $49.  The Lee Deluxe set includes the factory crimp die.  All the planets were in alignment (enter order, buy now…you know the drill).  The dies were at my front door a few days later.

The new Lee 4-die Deluxe Set was well packaged by Midway.
The Lee dies in my new die set.
The Lee Deluxe 4-die set includes a carbidge sizing die and decapper (the die on the far right), a cartridge expander and case mouth flaring die (on the far left), a bullet seating and roll crimping die (second from the right), and the Lee factory crimp die (second from the left). Lee also provides a shell holder and power dispensing spoon. I’ve never used the powder dispensing spoon; I use an RCBS powder dispenser.

The new dies looked great, and I was eager to put them to work.

Bullet Pull and Cylinder Rotation

On revolvers with significant recoil, bullets can back out of the cartridge case when other rounds in the cylinder are fired.  This can allow bullets on unfired cartridges to protrude beyond the cylinder face and interfere with cylinder rotation.  We prevent this by controlling the reloaded cartridges’ overall length and by crimping.  In firing my new Colt Python with ammo I had loaded for an earlier Ruger Blackhawk, even though the bullets were crimped I experienced bullet pull beyond the front of the cylinder.  When this occurred, the cylinder would not rotate.  These same rounds had worked in a Ruger Blackhawk.

In analyzing the cylinder rotation issue on my new Python, I found several things:

      • The bullets were not seated deep enough (the cartridge overall length exceeded the maximum spec of 1.590 inches), even though the bullets were crimped in their crimping groove.
      • The crimp wasn’t strong enough to hold the bullets in place.  Under recoil from other cartridges, the bullets were backing out.
      • The Python cylinder is slightly shorter than the Ruger Blackhawk cylinder.  I probably had the same bullet pull occurring on the Blackhawk, but the Blackhawk’s longer cylinder masked it.  They might have been backing out on the Ruger and I didn’t know it.

Cartridge Overall Length

Let’s dive into the numbers.  The reloading manuals show the .357 Magnum maximum cartridge overall length (COAL) to be 1.590 inches.  With my cast bullets crimped in their crimping groove, the overall length was running from 1.607 to 1.615 inches.  That put them about even with the front of the Python cylinder.  If any bullet pull occurred under recoil, the front of the bullet would hit the rear of the forcing cone and the cylinder wouldn’t rotate.  That’s what I experienced with my Python.

The Ruger New Model .357 Blackhawk has a longer cylinder than the Python.  The Ruger cylinder is 1.640 inches long.  The Internet says the Python cylinder length is 1.552 inches; mine measures 1.553 (which is close enough).   Right away, the astute ExNotes blog reader will recognize that the Colt’s cylinder (at 1.552 inches) appears to be shorter than the specification .357 Magnum cartridge maximum overall length (1.590 inches), but it is not.  When loaded in the cylinder the cartridge is held rearward by its rim, which sits flush against the back end of the cylinder.

The Python, like most revolvers, headspaces on the cartridge rim. The cartridge rim is 0.060 inches thick.

The .357 Magnum cartridge rim backs the cartridge up 0.060 inches (the rim thickness), which would put the leading edge of the bullet in a cartridge loaded to an overall length of 1.590 inches about 0.023 inches inside the front edge of the cylinder (if I’ve done the math correctly).  And I think I have, because when you look at cartridges in the Python cylinder, they are pretty close to the edge of those big .357 cylinder holes.  0.023 inches.  Twenty-three thousandths of an inch.  That’s not much to play with.

.357 Magnum cartridges loaded in the Python cylinder. At the cartridge’s specified max overall length of 1.590 inches, the front of the bullet is only 0.023 inches away from the forward cylinder face.

Bullet Design and Crimp Location

I examined the bullets I was using.  I had crimped my cast bullets in the crimping groove, and I could see that the  crimping groove put the bullet face very close to the forward end of the Python’s cylinder.  I couldn’t seat the cast bullets any deeper and still crimp in their crimping groove. Hornady’s jacketed 158-grain bullets are no problem; their crimping groove is a lot higher on the bullet.

A 158-grain Hornady jacketed hollow point bullet on the left, and a cast 158-grain bullet on the right. Note how much higher the crimping groove is on the jacketed bullet. This lowers the bullet in the cartridge case when it is crimped, making the cartridge shorter.
Two .357 Magnum cartridges with crimped bullets. The cast bullet cartridge on the right has the bullet seated as low as it can go while still allowing a crimp. You can see that the cast bullet cartridge is longer than the cartridge with the jacketed bullet.

Test Objectives

I wanted to test bullets seated and crimped using both approaches (i.e., the bullet seating and crimping die, versus seating with the bullet seating die and crimping separately with the Lee factory crimp die).  My testing would evaluate the following:

      • Bullet movement under recoil.
      • Accuracy.
      • Ease of chambering.
      • The ability to get a good crimp in locations other than the crimping groove.

That last one is important, because as I learned with my Python, crimping some cast bullet configurations in the crimping groove makes the cartridge too long.

Test Ammo

I loaded three test lots.  The first was with 15.7 grains of Winchester 296 powder, Winchester small pistol magnum primers, and Hornady’s 158-grain jacketed hollow point bullets. That was my accuracy load when shooting metallic silhouette a few decades ago, so I know it works well. I loaded half with the bullets crimped using the old Lee bullet seating and crimping die (not the factory crimp die), and the other half with the bullets crimped with my new Lee factory crimp die (after seating them with the bullet seating die).

.357 Magnum ammo with 158-grain Hornady jacketed hollowpoint bullets. The 25 on the right were crimped with the bullet seating die; the 25 on the left were crimped with the Lee factory crimp die.
A macro photograph of the ammo above. The Lee factory crimp due cartridge is on the left; the bullet crimped with the bullet seating die is on the right.

The second lot of ammo was a group I had loaded several years ago.  This ammo had 158-grain cast semi-wadcutter bullets crimped in the crimping groove, 7.0 grains of Unique, and Winchester small pistol primers.  That load (7.0 grains of Unique and a 158-grain cast bullet) has been accurate in every .357 revolver I’ve ever shot.   I loaded this ammo with the bullet seating and crimping die (not the Lee factory crimp die).  I’d shot tons of this load in an older Ruger Blackhawk, but I had not tried it yet in my Python.

.357 Magnum ammo with cast 158-grain semi-wadcutter bullets crimped in their crimping groove. This ammo worked fine in the Ruger Blackhawk, but it had issues in the Colt Python.  Although crimped in the crimping groove, this ammo was longer than the .357 Magnum’s 1.590-inch maximum cartridge overall length.

The third ammo lot was similar to the one above (same bullet weight and powder), but I used the cast truncated flat point bullet and I crimped above the bullet’s crimping groove using the Lee factory crimp die.  I wanted to get the bullet further back from the cylinder face to prevent cylinder rotation inteference if the bullets pulled under recoil.  My concern was that I would be crimping above the crimping groove, on the bullet’s main diameter, and I didn’t know if the crimp would hold the bullet in place.

The cast 158-grain truncated flat point bullet crimped above the crimping groove.   This shortens the cartridge overall length. I seated these to 1.565 inches overall length. After crimping, that figure came back up back up to 1.568 inches, still well below the 1.590-inch maximum length spec.
The above .357 cartridges in the Python cylinder crimped with the Lee factory crimp die above the crimping groove.  These rounds were loaded to an overall cartridge length of 1.568 inches (as shown above), which positions the front of the bullets further back from the cylinder face.

When loading with my new Lee Deluxe 4-die set, I noticed immediately that the resizing operation was much easier.  The same was true for the expander die step.  Maybe the older dies I had been using were just dirty, but I sure like do the feel of these Lee Deluxe dies.

Some of you may wonder:  Why not just trim the brass shorter to a below-spec length?  That would move the bullet back, and if I trimmed it short enough it would allow me to crimp these cast bullets in their crimping groove and not risk any cylinder rotation interference.  Yeah, I could have done that, but when I trim brass I like to trim it to specification, not something below spec.  And I don’t want to have to segregate brass based on trimmed length tied to specific firearms.

Test Results:  Bullet Movement

The first test objective was to determine how much bullet movement occurs during recoil using the two different crimping approaches.  Here’s how I tested:

      • I loaded 5 rounds in the revolver.
      • I took a 6th round and recorded its cartridge overall length, and then I loaded it.
      • I fired the first five cartridges.
      • I removed the unfired 6th round and measured the overall length again.

Here’s what I found in assessing the two crimping approaches’ ability to prevent bullet pull:

The results surprised me.  The Lee factory crimp die, even when done on the main diameter of the bullet (not in the crimping groove) does a better job holding the bullet in place than does crimping with the bullet seating die.  In each test in which the bullets were crimped with the bullet seating die, they experienced recoil-induced bullet movement.  That one entry where the overall length decreased by 0.001 inch is probably measurement error on my part.

Test Results:  Accuracy

This testing was straightforward.  I fired a series of 5-round groups at 50 feet to assess any differences in accuracy.

Here’s what I see in the above results:

      • With the Hornady jacketed hollow point points, using the Lee factory crimp die resulted in an improvement in accuracy (the group average was 1.637 inches compared to 1.934 inches).
      • The Hornady jacketed hollow point bullets were more accurate than the cast bullets.  That was an expected result.
      • With the cast bullets, there isn’t much of an accuracy difference between using the bullet seating and crimping die versus using the bullet seating die and then the Lee factory crimp die.
      • With the cast bullets, there wasn’t much of an accuracy difference between the truncated flat point bullets and the semi-wadcutter bullets.

I wasn’t having my best range day ever (I had a bad cold when I fired these groups).   But I think I did well enough to support the above conclusions.

Test Results:  Ease of Chambering

I already mentioned this.  Lee claims that the factory crimp die will not buckle or distort the case during crimping.   My results confirm this.  A few rounds that had been crimped with the bullet seating die would not chamber in the Python; after running these through the Lee factory crimp die, they chambered easily.  The Lee factory crimp die does a better job for ease of chambering.

Test Results:  Crimping Without a Crimp Groove

This is really a subset of the first test objective, in which we evaluated the ability of the Lee factory crimp die to hold bullets in place under recoil.  Here, the focus is more specific:  I crimped on the bullet’s main diameter, not in the crimping groove, and I wanted to determine if the Lee factory crimp die would secure the bullet in place.  As you can see from the data above, it did.  When I crimped the cast truncated flat point bullets forward of the crimping groove, they did not move under recoil.  The Lee factory crimp die did this well, and it did so without buckling the cartridge case.

The Bottom Line

The Lee factory crimp die is a good thing.  It holds bullets in place better, it improves chambering, and with jacketed bullets, it improves accuracy.

If you want to buy a set a Lee dies, or the Lee factory crimp die, or any Lee reloading equipment, Amazon is a good place to shop.  Midway is,  too.  But I usually go to Amazon first.

If you have comments, be sure to let us know in the comments section below.  We enjoy hearing from you.

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More Mosin Loads

I used to not think too much of Mosin Nagant rifles.  They looked cheap, they were crusted with cosmoline, and how good could a rifle be if it was made in Russia and sold at Big 5 for under a hundred bucks?  (That under a hundred bucks thing, incidentally, is no more…prices on these rifles have climbed substantially.)

It was a grand day on the range with two old warhorses…a Mosin Nagant and a 1903 Springfield. It’s hard to say which one I like more.

Then one day after I taught an engineering creativity class at Cal Poly, one of my students approached me to ask if I was a shooter.  He had noticed the 1909 Mauser on my book.

A Modelo 1909 Argentinean Mauser on the cover of Unleashing Engineering Creativity. Don’t wait for the movie. Buy the book!

I told him I was and we talked about the Mauser a bit.  He told me that he and his father had recently purchased a Mosin Nagant and they were having a lot of fun with it.  That got my attention for a couple of reasons.  The first reason was that prior to that, I hadn’t spoken with anybody who owned a Mosin.  The second reason was that I always like hearing from young folks who enjoy shooting.  This was a young man who was enjoying the Mosin he and his dad owned.  You don’t hear that too much these days, and I enjoyed the discussion and this young engineering student’s enthusiasm.

The next time I was in a gun store….well, you can guess where this story is going.  I pulled the trigger, and 10 days later, I bought my first Mosin home.

20 rounds from my Mosin at 100 yards with my accuracy load: 43.7 grains of IMR 4320 and the Hornady 150-grain jacketed bullet. I shot this in one of our informal West Gun Club Milsurp matches two or three years ago. The shots crept up as the barrel heated.  Still, that’s not a bad 100-yard group from an 80-year-old combat infantryman’s rifle.

The first time I went to the range with the Mosin, my opinion changed completely.  The rifle was reliable, it was fun to shoot, and wow, it was accurate.  Don’t let a Mosin’s appearance and price fool you.  Trust me on this:  The Russians knew what they were doing.  These are fine rifles.

My Mosin was made in the Soviet Union’s Tula arsenal in 1940 and it has matching serial numbers on the receiver, the butt plate, and the bolt.  The trigger guard/magazine is what we call a forced match.  That means it had a different serial number, but Ivan struck through it and stamped a new serial  number to match the others.  That didn’t concern me at all.  What I worry about are the serial numbers on the bolt and the receiver.  If they match, the headspace is most likely good.  If they don’t, you’ll want to make the seller show you with headspace gages that the headspace is within spec.

I’ve done a bit of work to my Mosin…glass bedding, a trigger job, and a TruOil refinish.  I’ve also done a fair amount of load development (the last time my Mosin saw factory ammo it was in the hands of a Russian soldier; I’ve never shot factory ammo in my Mosin).

Note the star signifying Tula Arsenal production, and the 2339 serial number. Mosins will have another serial number on the side of the receiver stamped there by the importer, but that’s not the one you need to worry about.
The bolt serial number matches the receiver serial number on my rifle, and that’s good. If the serial numbers in these two locations don’t match, you should always check that the headspace is within specification.
Note that the butt plate serial number also matches. That’s cool, but it’s not necessary from a headspace or functionality perspective.
A forced match. Ivan grabbed a trigger guard (the trigger guard and the magazine floorplate are a subassembly) that wasn’t on the rifle when it was originally manufactured at the Tula Arsenal in 1940.  Nyet problemski thought the arsenal rebuild crew; we’ll just strike through the old serial number and add the new one.

My 7.62x54R ammo “go to” accuracy load is 43.7 grains of IMR 4320 under a Hornady 150-grain jacketed bullet.  That load groups exceedingly well at 100 yards.   But that’s when I can find the components I want, and that’s a tough thing to do these days.  IMR 4320 is no longer made and it’s hard to find bullets, primers, and brass.

Fortunately, I have always tended to overbuy components and when I spot a good deal on something I think I can use, I scoop it up.  When the pandemic and civil unrest shortages emerged a couple of years ago, I didn’t feel the impact from a components perspective.  I had plenty of 7.62x54R PRVI brass, I had primers, and I had bullets.  That was two years ago, though, and this is now.  I shot up a lot of what I had, including my Hornady .312-inch diameter jacketed bullets.  But when components were available back in those good old pre-pandemic, pre-Portland-anarchy days, I had spotted a couple of bags of PRVI Partizan 150-grain jacketed bullets.  Being the curious pack rat sort of fellow I am, I bought them.

PRVI Partizan (or PPU) 150-grain jacketed softpoint bullets. If you see these, buy them. They’re good. If you see these and don’t buy them, let me know and I will.

Most recently, my components dealer had a few powders on the shelves, and I picked up some new propellants.  I wanted to see if I could work up a good load with the PRVI bullets for my Mosin.  One propellant was IMR 4166, which is a powder designed to prevent copper fouling.  I’ve already tried it in a couple of 30 06 loads and I was happy with the results, and I wanted to see how it would do in the Mosin.  Another was Ballsy 2 (that powder is designated BL(C)2, but everybody calls it Ballsy 2).  IMR 4166 is a relatively new powder.  Ballsy 2 has been around for decades, but I had never used it.  When I saw it, I grabbed a couple of bottles.  The time to buy components is when you see them, especially these days.

Ballsy 2 is a spherical powder. It meters through the powder dispenser well.
IMR 4166 is an extruded rod powder that looks a lot like 4320 and 4064. It doesn’t meter as well as Ballsy 2, but it meters well enough.

I also wanted to try my previous accuracy load (43.7 grains of IMR 4320) with the PPU bullets first.  It didn’t take long to load the ammo I wanted…my previous accuracy load with IMR 4320, two load levels of Ballsy 2, and two load levels of IMR 4166.

Seating the PPU bullets in my RCBS Rockchucker press.

After charging the cases and seating the PPU bullets, I then labeled the ammo and it was off to the range.

7.62x54R reloaded ammunition. It looks good. It shoots well, too.

That labeling thing is important.  I always label my ammo as soon as I finish loading it.  I can’t rely on my memory to know what I loaded.

Loaded and labeled. Reloading is as much fun as shooting, I think.

I shot all of my targets at 50 yards as a first look, and I had 10 rounds each.  The first target I shot printed a little low, so I raised the rear sight a couple of notches and that put me in the black.  The Mosin has great sights.

The rear sight on a Mosin Nagant. You slide the slider forward to raise the rear sight.
The Mosin has a crisp, easy to use front sight post. I actually prefer the sights on the Mosin to most modern rifles (I’m not a brass bead fan). Simple is better, and because the Mosin’s length, it’s very easy to get a crisp front sight picture.

How did I do and what loads worked well?  Here are the targets:

The bullseye on the left was shot with a 1903 Springfield (covered in another blog). The other four bullseyes were Mosin targets with IMR 4320 propellant.
Mosin results with two levels of BL(C)2 propellant.
Mosin groups with IMR 4166 propellant. Everything shot well in the Mosin.

The results from the targets shown here are tabulated below.

The bottom line is that my former accuracy load (with Hornady 150-grain jacketed soft point bullets) didn’t do as well with the PRVI Partizan bullets, but the PRVI bullets shot very well with BL(C)2 and IMR 4166.   That’s good because even though I have a good stash of IMR 4320, it’s no longer in production and the other powders (BL(C)2 and IMR 4166) are available and they are accurate with the PPU bullets.  Good times.

About now you might be wondering…how can I get a Mosin-Nagant rifle?  It’s not as easy as it used to be.  We’re not importing them from Russia like we used to, and you can’t pick them up for cheap at places like Big 5 any more.  I felt they were exceptional bargains at those earlier price levels and I bought several (none are for sale), including a sniper Mosin I’ll write about one of these days.   I checked on Gunbroker.com and you can still find Mosins, but they seem to be starting north of $300 now, and going up sharply from there.  I think they’re still a bargain, even at those prices.

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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.
A three-die pistol cartridge set from Lee Precision. Lee includes the shell holder with their die sets.

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 shell holder. You need to buy these separately if you buy RCBS dies.

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.

An RCBS case lube pad. You put a bit of case lube on the pad and roll the brass on it to lube the cases prior to running them through the resizing die.

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).

RCBS case lube.

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.

Cast bullets waiting to be loaded into .45 ACP cases.

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.

Unique propellant and my RCBS powder dispenser. The reloading manuals will help you select the powder you need.  Unique is a good general purpose propellant I’ve used for a variety of handgun cartridges and a few cast bullet rifle loads.

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).

Winchester primers being loaded into my Lee hand priming tool. Other primer makes include Remington, CCI, Federal, and a few more.

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:

Lyman’s reloading equipment package.

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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