Things are going pretty good with my reloading. I have shot hundreds of 1st time reloads with zero events of any kind. No misfires, squibs, chamber hangups, ejection issues. I had a primer turn sideways on me in the press one time, but thankfully did not go off when seated. It just got mangled. I place every primer by hand. I am still careful and inspect every round in some way or another. EVERY round gets checked for powder charge and I weigh about every 7-10. I use the Lee Auto-drum powder measure. It is adequate for what I do with 45 Colt target shooting. It is not precise. If set for 6.5 grains, it will mostly deliver it, but some will be 6.4 to 6.6. So measure and keep an eye on things. As I take each round out to visually check for powder, I can check the primer seated ok. I measure overall length on about 1 in each dozen. Once I fill the cartridge holder before it goes in the box completed, I run my hand over the primers one more time. Because the 1860 magazine loads the way it does, I am very particular about any protruding primers. Even though I load at an angle and never have them slamming into each other. It just makes me feel better that I have done all I can to avoid a chain fire. Doubt it happens very often to people but once would be enough I'm sure. Have not loaded any twice fired brass yet, but I have lots now. Will be loading some of that in the new year. After two times firing it looks the same as new still and should clean up fine. I have read that many time fired 45 Colt brass is very re-user friendly. Now that I think of it, I did have 1 brass case marked "blank" that I tossed in the garbage. Never reload into a live round if you find one. My dealer gave me a box of his reloads to shoot with my new rifle, but he also does cowboy reenactment shows with blanks so I ended up with one of his that he had loaded live, probably in error. I did not know enough at the time and would never shoot someone else's reloads now. Too many variables and I was not there to watch the process. I also had 1 brass case that had a split in it. Think I stepped on it at the range. Other than that, smooth sailing with likely a thousand or so rounds reloaded since last spring. I can very comfortably crank out 50 rounds in an hour of safe, good quality 45 Colt ammo. I have loaded a few boxes of 250 gr lead with a slightly hotter load specifically for my 1885 High Wall on order. Nowhere near max though.
So if you are considering it, do your homework and work safely. It is very enjoyable and rewarding to shoot your own ammo.
