New to reloading

[rwortman]

I am at least temporarily retired and decided to take up reloading as a bit of a hobby. Read about it for years, did a little shotshell reloading many years ago when doing a bit of trap and bird shooting. My Henry BBS 44 is the second most expensive gun to shoot that I own. The 270 isn't really something to play with at the range. It makes my shoulder sore. Anyhoo, I got a Lee Classic turret press and a kit of reloading doo-dads. I am a bargain shopper. If it does the job at a lower price I am all over it. I have it all set up on my bench it it seems like a pretty nicely built unit. I will probably be lurking around here a bit.

[JEBar]

with a bit of searching you will find there are a good number of 44 caliber reloading threads on our forum .... should you have any questions, please bring them up .... we have a good number of our members who know what they are doing and are more than happy to help

[Henry88]

Good Luck, rwortman.
I'm sure you will enjoy it once you get started.
I'm sure it adds a new dimension to range trips as well.

[Steve51]

Glad you made this move. If you are like me, it may not save you a lot of money but you will be able to do a lot more shooting for the same dollars.
When reloading - never be in a hurry.

[clovishound]

Congrats on your new sub hobby. I think the Lee classic turret is a real bargain. It is well built, sturdy and does the job quite well. I've had one for several years and loaded many thousands of rounds on it.

Unless you are one of those who weighs every charge, I would highly recommend getting a powder check die. With the four hole turret, it will mean you must seat and crimp in one operation. For most calibers I don't see this as a problem. The powder check die will allow you to quickly, easily and accurately determine whether your charge is within a reasonably safe range. Much easier to spot a problem than just eyeballing the charge, which is difficult in deep cases without stringing up a light to your press.

Follow the guidelines and be safe. It is a rewarding experience.

[Squatch]

When you 1st get started I suggest weighing every charge till you get a feel for it and the different powders. Take your time and enjoy the process.

Get your info from the powder or bullet manufacturers. Also the Lyman cast bullet Handbook is a great resource.

[RanchRoper]

Curious to follow this thread. I too am considering it.

[rwortman]

Loaded up my first batch and shot them all off at my friends farm this week. Berrys 240g plated FP over 9 grains of Unique, Starline 44 mag brass, CCI large pistol primer. I cycled the drum powder measure a bunch with just some graphite lube on it. Then I dropped about 20 charges after setting it up. Almost all of them dead on 9g with once in a while a 9.1 or 8.9. I checked every 5'th dispense while loading up 25 rounds. Small batch just for fun and testing. I also bought a cheap chrono from Midway with a Bluetooth adaptor. Shot the first string of 5 over the chrono and got 1079,1082.1059,1096,1130. Average velocity of about 1090 plus or minus around 40. Then I shot some at paper and readjusted the scope. At 50 yards, after the first 5 or 6 shots they were all going into previous holes. Plenty accurate for fun practice. Brass a little smoky on the outside (low pressure?) and the barrel seemed a lot dirtier than when shooting factory JHP ammo. I wonder if 44 special brass would seal better under light loads. Maybe they'd just dirty up the part of the chamber they don't cover.

P.S. The press came with the Lee manual. I bought a Lyman manual and I got a small book on .44 mag only that is a compendium of data from all the major bullet and powder manufacturers.

[JEBar]

we use a bunch of Unique and it is a dirty powder ... I don't know if you tightly crimp your 44 ammo or not .... if not, we have found that using a Lee Precision Carbide Factory Crimp Die ===> https://www.amazon.com/Precision-44Sp44 ... +crimp+die <=== with a tube feed rifle, a good crimp pays dividends

[ditto1958]

I use the same press. Good choice!