I thought I should take the time to reply to the forum as to what decisions I made on reloading, and how it all turned out! First of all, thanks again for all of the great advice. I finally decided on the Lee Classic Turret Press Kit and Lee Carbide 38 special 4-die set. I mounted the press on a 3/4" piece of hardwood and bolted it to my (old) computer desk. I bought a 9 oz. jug of Trail Boss powder and am using CCI small pistol primers. I loaded my first 50 rounds this past Sunday afternoon, and 100 more this morning while waiting on the hurricane (Michael leftovers). At this point I am averaging about 50 rounds per hour, but I am really taking my time to make sure everything is right.
I am impressed how easy the Lee Turret press is to use, and how quickly you get used to the "feel" of the unit. It came with the Lee Auto-Prime system, which works great once you get the feel of it. I am pretty close to 100% when adding primers to the primer pocket with the auto prime. An overhead light helps me confirm that primers are in the pocket properly. As far as seating the primers, I have also learned how much force to use to seat the primers. Again, it took a number of rounds to learn that feel, but now it is a very positive feel. Spent primers drop down a catch-tube and can be dumped periodically.
My press came with the Lee Auto Drum powder measure. I used the Lee powder measure balance that came with the kit to set the powder measure to the proper load. I also used a small Hornady digital powder scale to double check the calibration of the Auto Drum. So far, I have found the Auto Drum to be very repeatable from charge - to - charge. I dropped 34 charges yesterday, weighed each one and found the accuracy to be (target weight) +/_ 0.1 grain. I purchased a small bore light, strapped it to the turret frame and positioned the light so that I can positively see each charge from the Auto Drum. This works well for me. I just have to lean forward slightly to see the powder charge in the case. So far I am visually checking 100% of the powder charges, realizing this takes time and slows down the process.
I am using .38 caliber 125 g Black Poly Coat TCFPBB HI-TEK bullets purchased from Red River Bullets. I used Georgia Arms .38 Special 125 grain RNFP cowboy loads as a pattern for OAL. The Georgia Arms cowboy rounds fed 100% in my rifle so far, so I thought that OAL would be a good starting point. I am trying to make an exact duplicate.
Fired off 15 or so of the rounds, and they worked. SUCCESS!
So, after 150 rounds I am certainly not a pro, but I am learning and making progress. And I cannot describe "how much fun this is". Thanks again for all of the help and advice in getting me to this point.
I am impressed how easy the Lee Turret press is to use, and how quickly you get used to the "feel" of the unit. It came with the Lee Auto-Prime system, which works great once you get the feel of it. I am pretty close to 100% when adding primers to the primer pocket with the auto prime. An overhead light helps me confirm that primers are in the pocket properly. As far as seating the primers, I have also learned how much force to use to seat the primers. Again, it took a number of rounds to learn that feel, but now it is a very positive feel. Spent primers drop down a catch-tube and can be dumped periodically.
My press came with the Lee Auto Drum powder measure. I used the Lee powder measure balance that came with the kit to set the powder measure to the proper load. I also used a small Hornady digital powder scale to double check the calibration of the Auto Drum. So far, I have found the Auto Drum to be very repeatable from charge - to - charge. I dropped 34 charges yesterday, weighed each one and found the accuracy to be (target weight) +/_ 0.1 grain. I purchased a small bore light, strapped it to the turret frame and positioned the light so that I can positively see each charge from the Auto Drum. This works well for me. I just have to lean forward slightly to see the powder charge in the case. So far I am visually checking 100% of the powder charges, realizing this takes time and slows down the process.
I am using .38 caliber 125 g Black Poly Coat TCFPBB HI-TEK bullets purchased from Red River Bullets. I used Georgia Arms .38 Special 125 grain RNFP cowboy loads as a pattern for OAL. The Georgia Arms cowboy rounds fed 100% in my rifle so far, so I thought that OAL would be a good starting point. I am trying to make an exact duplicate.
Fired off 15 or so of the rounds, and they worked. SUCCESS!
So, after 150 rounds I am certainly not a pro, but I am learning and making progress. And I cannot describe "how much fun this is". Thanks again for all of the help and advice in getting me to this point.
