Lee Modern Reloading Book

[Dougan]

I was going to recommend a turret press and the Lee Auto Disk powder measure; which makes .357 loading (assuming it's pistol caliber for lever action) a piece of p*** - but if you've gone for the full progressive kit then that'll be part of it...

...the only problem with full progressive is that it doesn't give you the same opportunity for quality control (i.e. checking there is powder in every case) as doing one operation at a time.

Edit: sorry, didn't answer your question: If this is for lever action, then any set of scales to check the weight will do.

Yes for Lever action, must check when I get home that FAC covers .38 and .357 ammo, could be curtains if I load the wrong cases.

I'll be surprised if it doesn't say .38/.357 - When loading for lever action .357s are not 'magnums', it's just that the cases are slightly longer...at the end of the day, they both accept the same bullet heads, and the amount of powder is up to you, so reloaded .38s can be more powerful than .357s.

Most (though by no means all) lever action rifles are chambered for both, and personal preference (due to cost, or which cycles best etc) is often all that affects the choice - However there are practical reasons as well...you don't want too big an air gap inside the loaded cartridge, and you don't want it full either; so depending on the amount and type of powder you're using may lend it self to a smaller or bigger case.

I hope you don't think 'I'm teaching you to suck eggs', but as you're going to use a progressive there's something worth warning you about - with lever action pistol caliber loads an extra gn of powder here or there is unlikely to lead to a dangerous situation - You may even get away with a double load (assuming the bullet isn't compacted against the powder), as the bullet is lead it will probably come out the right end of the rifle (all be it loudly!) - But one of the worst things, is to not have any powder in the case at all...this can lead to a bullet being pushed an inch into the barrel by the force of the primer; and then, if your shooting rapid and didn't notice the last shot didn't go bang properly, could lead to a proper round being fired behind the stuck bullet...this is not good!

The reason I'm mentioning this, is that if you are doing your loading in separate stages, i.e. powdering up fifty cased at a time, then it is very easy to do a visual check with a torch to make sure they all have what looks like the right amount of powder in the case....however if you are loading fast with a progressive it would be difficult to realise if something had gone wrong with the powdering on the odd one...

Going back to the subject of scales - I use a beam scale to measure every load for FB rifles, but for lever action loads I just use a cheap (£15 on ebay) set of digital scales to check the first few, and then less than 1 in 10 to make sure the auto disk isn't malfunctioning.

[ukrifleman]

I am thinking of buying this book it looks good but at £22 is it worth it or are there better out there?

The Lee book is a great buy, it gives a lot of good information for the reloader, plus tons of load data.
I would suggest however, that you gather as much information from other sources such as Lyman etc as possible, before embarking on producing your own ammunition.
Re-loading is not difficult, but it is a precise undertaking; prior knowledge is essential.
ukrifleman.

[clayduster]

I was going to recommend a turret press and the Lee Auto Disk powder measure; which makes .357 loading (assuming it's pistol caliber for lever action) a piece of p*** - but if you've gone for the full progressive kit then that'll be part of it...

...the only problem with full progressive is that it doesn't give you the same opportunity for quality control (i.e. checking there is powder in every case) as doing one operation at a time.

Edit: sorry, didn't answer your question: If this is for lever action, then any set of scales to check the weight will do.

Yes for Lever action, must check when I get home that FAC covers .38 and .357 ammo, could be curtains if I load the wrong cases.

I'll be surprised if it doesn't say .38/.357 - When loading for lever action .357s are not 'magnums', it's just that the cases are slightly longer...at the end of the day, they both accept the same bullet heads, and the amount of powder is up to you, so reloaded .38s can be more powerful than .357s.

Most (though by no means all) lever action rifles are chambered for both, and personal preference (due to cost, or which cycles best etc) is often all that affects the choice - However there are practical reasons as well...you don't want too big an air gap inside the loaded cartridge, and you don't want it full either; so depending on the amount and type of powder you're using may lend it self to a smaller or bigger case.

I hope you don't think 'I'm teaching you to suck eggs', but as you're going to use a progressive there's something worth warning you about - with lever action pistol caliber loads an extra gn of powder here or there is unlikely to lead to a dangerous situation - You may even get away with a double load (assuming the bullet isn't compacted against the powder), as the bullet is lead it will probably come out the right end of the rifle (all be it loudly!) - But one of the worst things, is to not have any powder in the case at all...this can lead to a bullet being pushed an inch into the barrel by the force of the primer; and then, if your shooting rapid and didn't notice the last shot didn't go bang properly, could lead to a proper round being fired behind the stuck bullet...this is not good!

The reason I'm mentioning this, is that if you are doing your loading in separate stages, i.e. powdering up fifty cased at a time, then it is very easy to do a visual check with a torch to make sure they all have what looks like the right amount of powder in the case....however if you are loading fast with a progressive it would be difficult to realise if something had gone wrong with the powdering on the odd one...

Going back to the subject of scales - I use a beam scale to measure every load for FB rifles, but for lever action loads I just use a cheap (£15 on ebay) set of digital scales to check the first few, and then less than 1 in 10 to make sure the auto disk isn't malfunctioning.

Thanks, the reason loading .38 cases would be curtains is because I inadvertantly only asked for .357 ammo on my FAC

I will rectify that on my first variation.

[clayduster]

I am thinking of buying this book it looks good but at £22 is it worth it or are there better out there?

The Lee book is a great buy, it gives a lot of good information for the reloader, plus tons of load data.
I would suggest however, that you gather as much information from other sources such as Lyman etc as possible, before embarking on producing your own ammunition.
Re-loading is not difficult, but it is a precise undertaking; prior knowledge is essential.
ukrifleman.

Thanks one of the club guys will show me until I am competant.