die. And then think about it seriously. That would be one use of your previously “unused” singlestage die. Use it to size and de-prime your clean and lubed brass. Then re-clean the lube off, and feed the prepped brass into your progressive to load it.
Once you have carbide or TiN, then we work from there.
Sizing
The die squeezes the brass back down to proper size after having been fired. Depending how much pressure the load used generated, sizing can be easy or difficult. For instance, a .38 Special, using PPC-level loads (the classic 148 grain wadcutter and 2.7 grains of Bullseye) will require little effort to re-size. A .44 Magnum load, meant for hunting, with a 290 grain bullet and a case full of slow-burning powder, fired in a Ruger Super Blackhawk (because it would be very hard on the gun, or even break it, to shoot such a load in an S&W M29) will almost require that you stand on the handle to re-size the case, which should be a clue. A case so-hammered is not going to last as long as the one we used in the .38 Special example.
Depending on the type of match, your handgun may need ammo with more or less power. Reloading allows you to choose.
The feature of a progressive press that makes it a progressive is the rotating shell plate. Not many presses are straight-line any more.
Your reloading bench should be kept clean. And, against my advice, this bench has more than one kind of powder on it. Tsk, tsk.
Most die sets are arranged so the sizing die also de-primes. That is, it presses out the fired primer, making it possible to insert a new one. All you have to keep an eye out for are berdan cases (they don’t have central vent hole, and thus can’t be de-primed by your die) and crimped-in primers. The military insists on crimped primers so an over-pressure round won’t blow the primer out, and the lost primer tie up the weapon at an inopportune moment. (And when someone is shooting at you, almost any moment is an inopportune one for that.)
If you are loading heavy loads in the .44, it might be a good idea to not only use carbide dies in your single-stage press for sizing, but apply a bit of lube, too. Something like Hornady One Shot is easy to apply, easy to remove and will make your sizing operation a whole lot less like manual labor.
Belling
To get bullets seated without a fuss, you have to bell the case mouth. Some die sets do this as a separate operation, many progressives do it as the powder-dropping step. Belling is a caliber- and bullet-dependant setting. If you are loading bevel-based jacketed bullets, you can get by with a small amount of belling. If you are loading hollow-base wadcutters, you’re going to have to bell the cases a lot more.
Clearly mark your storage containers. Nothing makes finding the next batch of brass more of a hassle than having to open each container and peer in, just to see what’s in there.
Seating
You want bullets seated straight, square and consistently. Avoid, if at all possible, dies that both seat and then crimp.
Crimping
The belling you did a step before? You have to remove that. And, in some loads, you have to crimp the case mouth in good and tight to provide enough resistance to ensure complete powder combustion.
EXTRAS, BUT NEEDED
Some people think that having those dies is enough. Actually, you’ll need more to do a good job.
Powder scale
Some kind of scale to weigh powder is a must. Not because you’re going to weigh each and every powder charge. (That is not even the case with some rifle-caliber re-loaders.) No, you need it to make sure the powder dispenser you are using is actually dropping the powder charge you expect it to. Zero your scale, and at the start of your loading check the powder drop weight. Is it correct? Great.
Hornady Lock-n-load presses use die holders that make it easy to swap out calibers, one to another.
Bullet and case trays speed things up. They are easy, inexpensive and no-maintenance. Bullet and case feeders speed things up even more, but they have a lot of maintenance and setup required.
If it isn’t, find out why. The measure may be mis-set, you may have grabbed the wrong powder off the shelf, you may be looking at the wrong page or bullet weight in the loading manual.
Dial calipers
Good digital calipers are now so inexpensive that you cannot claim poverty to avoid owning one or two. Calipers let you check loaded over-all length, crimp diameter and bullet diameter, and you simply must own a set. Digital is best, and while you’re at it, get spare batteries for it. Nothing makes a loading session more pointless than waiting until the last minute and then finding out your calipers are dead, and you have to start the process by buying batteries. If you are loading at 10:30 p.m. on a Friday night for the weekend’s match, good luck finding the batteries you need.
Case gauge
While they are called case gauges, most of us use them as loaded-ammo gauges. The idea is simple; the case gauge is a chamber reamed, to the absolute minimum dimensions allowed by the blueprints, into a plain steel cylinder. You also use it to set up your sizing die; size your first piece of brass and drop it in to ensure things are copacetic. But most of us use it for loaded ammo, too, and either gauge-check one round in ten or twenty, or just sit there in front of the TV, late at night, gauge-checking every single one of them. (Well, as bachelors, we do, or did. Now that we’re settled down, and have a better handle on the loading process, we just spotcheck ammo.)
LABELING, STORING AND RECORDKEEPING
Loaded ammo has to be labeled and stored. Getting things mixed up will not just ruin a days plinking or scratch your match entry in a competition, but could lead to busted guns and injured shooters. Once loaded, ammo should be stored in clean, sealed containers and labeled. What containers you use, and what labeling system works for you, is up to you. And as I said earlier, if you load more than one load in one caliber, keep track of it all with a recordkeeping system to avoid problems. I have some guidelines, but if mine don’t work for you, compose your own. Just do it.
A scale is so important that having a storage case for it is not a bad idea.
Chapter Two
BRASS
WHICH BRASS?
Brass is brass, right? Not at all. There are some brands of brass that will not only make your life miserable, but complicated. And, some treatments
