In this third segment, GunBlue goes over the essential case preparation and loading equipment needed for the starter and more advanced loader, and gives a preview of the general process.
Sir, I have been reloading since 1953 when my Uncle Sam wrote me a letter to report, just two weeks after I graduated from High School. On and off over time I was reloading and when I was A Milwaukee Police Officer, I really got involved. If it gives you any satisfaction, I have learned more in the past several weeks reading you posts than I have from reading loading manuals (and I have several) and magazine articles. Please keep up the good work as I ,like you, am hungry for perfection.
"One trout cost you three thousand dollars." That is spot on. I greatly enjoy your videos and appreciate your style of communication and sharing of knowledge and opinions. Thank you for putting in the effort and time. I feel like I am spending valuable time listening to my uncle or grandfather. They were knowledgeable shooters and hand loaders, that got me started in shooting at a young age and I am grateful for that.Both of whom I no longer have as they have passed on. I miss them both. God bless you. Thank you again for all you have done, top notch all the way around.
Very good teacher. Great video. I have been reloading for two years.....I really leaned a lot from watching your videos. Very inspiring. Thank-you for doing this!!!!
That bench vise-and-dog idea is great. I too bought a black rifle and recently sold it. The gun originally cost me about five and a half, but after stocking up on ammo, mags, and accessories I realized that I would have over one thousand in the rifle if I kept it, so I sold it in favor of getting something with bluing and walnut. I'd much rather take a BL-22 afield after a squirrel or two, or maybe just sit there for the better part of the morning just enjoying the atmosphere, looking at the gun and not shoot at all, as compared to taking a black rifle and a few poly pistols to an indoor shooting range and shooting a few hundred rounds in a half hour. I'm glad you're impressed with the majority of Lee products. I was thinking about buying a Dillon but never did, glad I saved my money.
Listening from Canada, at the moment our gouvernent forbid some 1500+ weapons models for wrong reasons, I find your videos inspiring. I am a beginner in reloading and in f-class. I tought I would reload to shoot, but now your teaching makes me want to shoot to find pleasure in reloading. Dieu vous bénisse.
I have really come to appreciate Lee Precision Co. I not only appreciate them for the quality reloading tools at a very affordable cost but their top-tier, friendly, and constructive customer excellence. They have never treated me like the novice that I am or rushed the call. These folks always act almost as though they feel their job is the best in the world. And if there is an order mistake, they want to resolve it with the least amount of fuss to me, possible. I called them about a shell holder misunderstanding and told them that I ordered incorrectly. They told me that it was an easy mistake and asked me for my address so that I could be given the correct one. They sent me the correct part, no money or shipping expense at all. That's outstanding graciousness!
I’m not sure which one saves me the most, reloading or the $50,000 5th wheel that saves us money because campgrounds are cheaper than hotels. My brother in law says the only thing you can do for nothing is nothing. 😀
Thoroughly enjoy your videos Mr. GunBlue!! How right you are in regards to "saving money".... It actually cost you money. But it's not about saving money. It's all about the sport of reloading and taking pride in your work. Been reloading now just over a year and when I'm not fishing on the lake, I'm reloading and shooting at my target range. And as you said, pass your knowledge of reloading on to your children and grandchildren to keep the tradition of reloading and the heriatage of guns alive for generations to come. Thank you again sir for your time that you put into these videos!! God Bless
The retired detective in me sorted out the answer to my question about the labels on your Uniflow powder measure. I finally found it in this video. Attention to detail, Good advise for all people who reload. Thanks for he great videos.
Excellent! I love your tip to use a Lee water soluble lubricant. Yes!, the Lee universal decapping die which is my first step to remove spent primers ( I use the decapper die on my 1972 RCBS JR press). I still use those Lee yellow dippers for powder dispensing...simple to use along with a powder trickler. I also still use a balance scale (30+ years old). Most hand loading equipment will last a lifetime. One other I recommend: A bullet puller that mounts on the press...much easier and faster than the hammer style kinetic bullet puller.
I’m with you on your statement at the end. I have an AR, but get more pleasure from my Sharps 45-70 and single action revolvers, both the reloading and the shooting. Slow down people.
Absolutely! I told Gunblue once, at a public range a few years previously. It was busy that day with only a few lanes open. Believe it or not, I was the only guy there with a gun made with wood! They were all ARs and other synthetc me-too guns. I love loading .22 K-Hornet, 6.5x55 Swede, .45 colt, & .222 Rem Mag. among others. As wonderful as the .223 is, Gunblue is spot on! These young and even older guys are missing out on a wonderful world of remarkable cartridges. BTW, would love to shoot a Sharps rifle! Good shooting to you.
On to part IV. Fishing? Save Money? Heck, I could go Krogering for less, but that's not the point. It's the whole package the day makes.Thanks for such a great video.
You made a very good point with celebrating cartridges other than .223/5.56. I think ar rifles are neat but I really enjoy shooting my savage .308 and other cartridges such as the 30.06 or the .270 and do not want to see them go away!
I absolutely LOVE you videos. You have so much to offer. You have such great experience so as to offer such great wisdom. And ... most importantly ... you have a wonderful peaceful disposition. Thank you for these videos. :-)
I sure am glad you showed the Lee Loader by hand picture, I started searching the internet and found some for 9MM loads, around $40.00 that's just what I need. I'd like to give it a try and want to start 9MM only and if I don't like or no good at I'm not out hundreds of dollars.
Handloading will cost a guy more,I'm slowing getting into it and boy oh boy is this a great series on loading. I like the self sufficient aspect of it and am working up a quality whitetail deer load in 270.
Reloading to save money is like buying a 747 airplane to get free peanuts. :-) It is a fun and fascinating hobby to enhance your knowledge and skill in the shooting sports. It is indeed "a whole new world."
I always learn a lot from your videos, which means that you are doing a great job of teaching, Thanks, and kudos for that! Sometimes, instead of stories of old boys who did this or that, that you would cut to the chase by getting down to the brass tacks of your subject matter more quickly. I find myself clicking the advance arrow to bypass a story and dig in to the subject matter. Thanx again, sir.
how much money will this save you? lol same thing with fly fishing ... I've got a 5000$ inventory of materials in my closet. it doesn't save you money but you can tailor your own flies or cartridges for your own specific needs and thats priceless.
Im not into hand loading but after watching Im thinking this would be a fun hobby(Im ret.)most of my friends do it and I benefit getting their loads and savings.Your teaching has inspired me.Thanks my friend
I'm just starting to get into reloading. I'm retired And I like to shoot and decided to get into reloading to just expand my hobby as it relates to shooting. Glad to hear your opinion on Military brass. I bought a thousand rounds of 7.62X 61 Lake City military brass and it cost me a thousand dollars. I figured if I got about 5 reloads it would pay. I wish I heard your opinion about the ruined primer pockets sooner. Oh well, live and learn!
That's a pile of dough! It's not necessary to pay that amount for virgin brass these days, let alone mil. However, I want to give you good news. 7.62 NATO is loaded at moderate pressures, akin to civilian .308 Winchester, and are generally very nice to work with. Lake City Match grade usually has no crimp, either, and I used much of it with terrific uniformity.
GunBlue490 I wan't as clear as I should have been My thousand rounds are full bullets. I figured after I shoot them, I'll reload them. Also I live in Canada, right now our dollar is almost equal to the peso. LOL Fortunately, we can get chinese ammo , it's not reloadable and it's corrosive. Fortunately the M14 is easy to clean.
+Lawrence Dolha I see. That's all the difference. Some of that ammo had uncrimped primers, but even if thet require swaging, 7.62 operates under standard .308 Winchester pressures.
Black rifles are boring everybody has them and dumping ammo just to dump ammo isn't very interesting to me. I started loading on a lee hand press and have since moved to a challenger press. Loading hasn't saved me any money but i do enjoy it and i shoot more because of it. Now i find myself looking for more rifles just so i can handload for them. Have you considered putting this series into a playlist would make it easier to find i think.
I second that sentiment. Playlists would be a great improvement on your RU-vid channel, sir. The original lee handloading videos from 6 years ago as well as this comprehensive reloading video series from 2 years ago. Video playlists would make your page much more enjoyable, convenient, and handy/useful. Thank you sir for your efforts and your contributions to the hobby, and congrats on your success building a loyal audience. I really think you should give [organizing instructional video series into respective playlists] serious consideration. It’s simple and easy to do on RU-vid I promise. Thanks and keep up the excellent work kind sir. 👍🏼💯💪🏼
Hi Great videos what's the reason behind this warning on Lee presses, Warning: Lee recommends to only use CCI or Remington primers. Other primers will not safely work in this priming system. Why are Federal or Winchester primers bad?
I agree. I would liken the way the gun industry seems to be going to today's music industry. You have very few instruments actually used in a band, variety is surely lacking, and genres seem to be blending. Nowadays, I can turn on the country station and it pretty much sound like the Pop or R&B station. It even at times tends to sound like some of the rock stations. Frankly, it all seems more theatrical with very little actual music. Nonetheless, point taken, take the time to learn, explore, and enjoy all aspects of music. The same with shooting, hunting, and being a sportsman. G'day!
I’ve slowly bought equipment. I make my old equipment save me enough to pay for the next piece. So I have saved $ reloading! How ! Well molds lead molds titegroup powder. A few molds will save u a ton especially on pistol ammo. .500 s&w I’ve saved probably few thousand already! Light rifle loads now that I’ve saved and shot a lot from 200$ worth of gear I’m starting to buy jacketed bullets bulk for my rifles. Next I want a tumbler. So u can save $ if u keep it basic. I have a lee single O press and some lee dies and a cheap scale that’s all u need for pistols I’ve made a lot of sub rds for rifles. 200$ will get u going down a rd that you’ll shoot a lot and actually save
I just got a Hornady Powder tricker and it is very light due to it being made of plastic. Obviously filling it with molten lead is out of the question so I filled it with some of my Grandson's Playdough and it looks like it may work ok as long as he doesn't find out what I did. only problem I see is when it dries out it will shrink, but some Duct tape across the bottom should solve that issue.
If that doesn't work, I used BBs blended with a little silicone glue. It's worked perfectly since the early '90s. Also, the silicon prevents it from sliding around. I just used a putty knife to blend it together.
How much do you save on fish! Bhahahahahaa! You know, today was one of those days that was hard for me to see the Lord being in it. In fact, it seemed that way leading right up to this video, and I prayed that the Lord would help me laugh, smile, and be happy. Well that comment right there just did it for me! I am still laughing; in fact the whole family is! Now you know that God must be in it, in order for this family to be in one accord! God bless you sir and I am praying for the people over there in Eastern Europe that are affected by these terrible proceedings. I am so sorry them all.
Hi, I am a just bought my reloading equipment and now am ready to begin assembling the brass, projectiles, powder and primers. Not knowing anything I thought to write to you. I am confused by the 9 mm load data I am reading. It appears there is different load data for the same 115 gr projectiles made by different manufacturers. Such as Berry 115 fmj and Hodson 115 fmj have different data with the same powder, even different OAL? I am not a target shooter but will be using the 9 mm got personal protection with a few trips to a range to practice. I was given projectiles and powder and am getting confused. I have Rainier fmj 115, can I substitute the Berry data? Thank you.
Hi GunBlue490, I love your videos. They're fantastically educational. I want to start hand loading my .30-06 for supreme accuracy but keeping it as low budget as possible. I also will need to reload for hunting. I'm not concerned with the time required to load with various equipment. I'm looking at either the Lee hand press kit or the classic Lee loader kit. I want to do everything I can to maximize accuracy; neck size (also full length for field), mouth trim and chamfer, etc. I plan to purchase a balance so I can do incremental load testing. Which of these two equipment sets would you recommend for these goals?
With respect to rediscovering different calibers and loads... In the first place, we seldom hunt anymore...which drove demand for various rifles and calibers. Second, not that many rounds of yore are available in new, quality equipment. What's available tends to be expensive, and impractical...unless you hunt. Third, Second Amendment pressures have folks thinking (and buying) AR's and pistols...because that's what the leftwits are after, time after time. These are also the tools that will be needed to repel that threat...sooner or later. Ergo, that's what folks are buying. JMO. As always, love your work, and continue to learn from it!
I personally like the vernier caliper. I've been able to read it to a ten-thousandth by extrapolation. In class, I would confirm with tapered calibrated blocks. One trick I've used as a DOUBLE check is to use a piece of drill rod just under bullet diameter. Once I've settled on a standardized load, I will stick it in the case and mark how far it goes in. I can do this on the fly and then double-check visually with a flashlight. I am probably overdoing the quality check.
I purchased it in 1973, many years before they introduced the competition model, when they made both a small and large capacity drum. This is the small, which will charge from several tenths of a grain, up to 60+. For anything greater, it's more accurate to drop two half charges than one with a large drum, because the small diameter hole has less cut off area. Pistol charges are accurate to the tenth.
Great series of videos, im eating these up in preparation to start handloading. Hopefully you can clarify something for me though. In the Lee Reloading manual under crimping it states that "only lead bullets or jacketed bullets with a crimp grove can be crimped in place with standard dies". Is this to imply that the Lee factory crimp die isnt a standard die and it will crimp jacketed bullets without a cannalure? The bullets I have picked up to start with (Sierra .224 45g STP and 50g Blitz) don't have crimp groves. From what i've read, I'm thinking that the factory crimp die will work with these, but I'd like to get confirmation from someone in the know first. Thanks
You are correct. The Lee Factory Crimp die works entirely differently and is far more advanced, using a squeeze collet. It will crimp a case into a bullet, rather than requiring a cannelure, as with other dies. But go easy and start with moderate crimps in order to minimize unnecessary work hardening of the brass. It requires far less crimp to effect a very solid hold. With my Mini14 and AR, they require less than a half crimp, which is barely visible. But if you desire a factory crush crimp that embosses the case neck, it will do that, too.
Thanks for the reply, it's appreciated. The Lee manual says all hunting loads should be crimped. While I'm sure not all of the loads I make will be used for hunting, I'd like that any I do make would be suitable for hunting. I'll start with a light crimp and work my way from there.
Gunblue490 Does that press the type that has the tube that disposes the used primers as one decapps using. the press. ( trying to find the exact model that you are using ) seems to be the most efficient single stage / semi progressive stage that I have seen. especially for the cost factor.
tjmooremusic Most presses have some means of collecting spent primers. Some are more efficient and cleaner than others. Most presses simply drop primers into a tray that can spill, and allows dust to get everywhere, or a noisy jar. This press disposes of them silently through the hollow ram, which fall into a long clear flexible tube, that is either capped until it is emptied after many hundreds of primers, or routed to a trash receptacle directly. This is one of the easiest, efficient, and cleanest, by far.
Trim to length is .010 shorter than chamber length to provide clearance for growth on firing, to prevent bullet seizure by a jammed case mouth. Any good loading manual has these numbers.
So as long as I buy CARBIDE die's, I do not have to lube anything ? I am totally new and with out any experience as you can read here. I was told that such was the reason for buying carbide die's - to avoid needing to lubricate. Perhaps just tell me the exception to that rule if any. Thank you very much for the educative video's and God Bless you.
Hank Enting Brass is lubricated to prevent seizure in the standard, NON CARBIDE sizing die. Carbide dies are available at premium cost ONLY for straight walled cases having no significant taper or bottle necks, such as most pistols, revolvers, and a few rifles. Carbide dies do not stick to brass, and should never be used with lubrication, which will really do nothing but collect at the base of the brass uselessly and make a mess. The carbide portion of the die is a ring that slides along one diameter, so they are not made for bottleneck rifle cases. In addition to watching my videos, you really are advised to invest in a good loading manual before starting, and read the instructional pages.
They are available directly from Forster and many online retailers. Be sure you add the R after the O in Forster, or you won't find them. Caliber specific pilots are sold separately.
Gunblue490 what model press is the one you have there in the video. I want as as beginner keep things very simple. A single stage press will no doubt meet my needs. I am retired and want to expand on my hobby. I don't expect to be loading alot of or a great variety of rounds. I really appreciate your teaching . any suggestions would be most appreciated.
I believe it is a standard lee single stage press, they are very affordable and very good quality. also lee is selling a single stage breech lock single stage press set for around 120-150 dollars and it includes most everything you will need to get started except for your caliber dies.
My RCB reloader was out in the garage in it's box. I pulled it out to find a mouse nest and completely rusted tools. Uugh😢, OH hey! I get to upgrade to a Lee now...Hmmm, good riddance. 😊
