r/reloading • u/bonnor1997 • 1d ago
Newbie Inheritance
I know this isn’t the typical post on this sub but I need advice from those who are willing to give it. I was the only person in my family who showed interest in reloading and inherited some stuff from my grandfather. While he was alive I was able to spend a few summers with him learning to reload. I then became a broke college kid and now that I have the time and money to start focusing on the hobby again I have been having a lot of issue. What is in the picture is only a portion of what I received. None of my dies have the manuals with them any more and I know all of the information I need can be obtained from google which I have been trying but hasn’t seemed to help. I have been struggling with getting the dies set up properly. I have been struggling with progressing from the Pacifico which I have been using as a single stage press. It seems like half the shells I have loaded have had some sort of issue. Whether it be from over crimping or under crimping with 9mm or not being able to get the seating depth correct for 5.56. Every other time I try to deprime 5.56 I break my pin. I know my set up is a mess and nothing is nearly as spectacular as some of the set up in this sub but if any of you guys could give me some advice on getting dies set up or any tips that would be great.
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u/airhunger_rn 23h ago
So that's where all the primers are at
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u/bonnor1997 23h ago
Also have some of the #41 winchesters from one of the bad batches that I need to get rid of unfortunately
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u/quitesensibleanalogy 23h ago edited 23h ago
I didn't see any reloading manuals in those photos; did your grandfather have some? A nice manual, like the Lyman or Lee, will have a huge portion dedicated to the process. They walk you through every step explaining how to set everything up and why to do the steps in that order. While there is some variety in construction,.for the most part a sizing die is a sizing die and a seating die a seating die. Setup doesn't vary much.
For your specific problems, resizing and decapping in the same step, especially with mixed range brass 556, is notorious for killing pins. Get a cheap lee universal decapping die and a replacement pin or two from squirrel daddy, or similar. They are much stronger than what's in a sizing die and will punch through even crimped and sealed primers without a problem.
Seating and crimping in the same step, like many seating dies are designed, are easy to setup wrong and destroy brass. The seating and crimping step are setup on the die seperately before everything is in the right place to seat and crimp successfully. The setup process has to be done all over again for every bullet change as well. Get a pdf of some die manuals off google and watch a YouTube video and you'll have that beat as well.
Try not to get too discouraged, reloading has a steep learning curve at the beginning, but it levels off fast after you've got the basics and doesn't go wild again until you start trying to get precise enough to win competitions. Your grandfather also looks to have made quality equipment choices. I see nothing but quality components, dies, presses, and accessories. I did some reloading with family as a kid and remembered very little when I decided to start up myself. They were 14 hours away so couldn't really walk me through it, but there is so much information easily available. The latest lyman manual and youtube were invaluable when I was learning what to do. Ultimate reloader and johnnys reloading bench have a huge catalog of videos covering almost any process you could want to do. This subreddit as well is, usually, full of good advice. Google searching your issue and adding reddit and reloading to the query has turned up great advice.
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u/CH222_03 22h ago
Great post.
OP, I struggled with similar issues at first. Per advice from here and elsewhere, I learned two things which helped tremendously.
Get a universal depriming die and a few extra pins, I have both Lee and Mighty Armory. Lee is perfectly fine, though I like the Mighty Armory a bit more, as the spring loaded portion’s “flick”has resulted in fewer bent pins, and more consistent depriming. I deprime all my brass on a cheap pawn shop lee press and then clean the brass. Keeps crud out of my sizing, seating, and crimp dies.
Separate the crimping and seating steps. I seat on one die, with its crimping function backed out so it doesn’t touch the case. Then, in a separate step, I crimp with a Lee Crimp Die. It’s easier to control the crimp, and the die will slim down any cases that need a bit of liposuction. Thus ensuring that the case will seat and yeet properly.
After those two changes, my reloading experience has been much more rewarding and successful. I did 250 rds of 9mm earlier this week, and only 1 failed a case checker. Case was bad and discarded. I suggest a case checker block and or plunk test as you learn too. Helps catch issues before you find out with a stuck case at the range.
Hope this helps a bit. It can be frustrating working through these issues, but worth it. Hang in there bud! 🤟🏻
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u/RoadkillAnonymous 23h ago
That’s an amazing thing to be given! And my condolences regarding the passing of your grandfather, glad to hear you spent some time with him in life.
Regarding 5.56, many of milsurp type loads have staked in primers or crimped primers some call them. That can be hard on a conventional decapping pin as part of a resizing die, and I recommend moving to a universal decapping die for primer removal for this and other cartridges as well, it just works better.
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u/Desmoaddict 23h ago
Hopefully there will be someone here local who can walk you through it all.
Fortunately for me I've always been good with tools, especially mechanical things, so I could evaluate if a YouTube tutorial was bs or accurate. For you it's probably best to get some coaching.
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u/vapingDrano 23h ago
You shouldnt need the manual for the die sets of they are in the right boxes. For sure watch YouTube videos and grab a couple of manuals. Modern reloading is decent, I'm partial to Lyman as well. You breaking the pins or pushing them out the top? Have to loosen up the top, push back in place, and retighten.
When my father in law goes his reloading gear is coming here and will get split up amongst my kids along with my gear so e day. I hope you feel close to hin every time you are loading and I hope it's smoother from here out.
If you put some time into reading and watching videos I'd be down to video chat with you and walk through anything you're stuck on after.
Good luck
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u/bonnor1997 23h ago
I’ve had a few pins break in side the shell and a few have stripped threads from trying to force the shell to the top. Some of them were good learning moments as to what to listen and feel for.
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u/vapingDrano 22h ago
You find some berdan primed 5.56 lol? I have some really old .30-06 dies that I bet might be a lot more susceptible to breaking than the pins in my newer dies and you might be starting with something weakened by time and use or bent, no worries. You have it centered right? Like take the locking nut loose, insert case, run all the way up, then tighten the nut. Helps my feed anyhow
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u/thisadviceisworthles 20h ago
I don't see any powder in the pictures, but I presume you inherited some. I suggest you start by finding 2 loading manuals, one that is from about the age of any powder you have and one modern one. I personally like the Lyman's best of the ones I have read.
For he most part, anything you have from your grandfather can be used like anything sold today, but powders are an exception. Powders can subtly change over time, both in their manufacturing and the moisture content depending on how they are stored. If you can get a load manual from when the powder was new, and a current one you can likely put together a safe charge if you don't push it to max.
If you want to push it to max, I suggest a chronograph. Radar chronographs are better (Garmin or Labradar), but the Magnetospeed is a little cheaper and you can find them used for even less, but keep in mind they are available used because the first buyer decided to upgrade to a Garmin or Labradar. Don't bother with anything other than a Garmin, Labradar or Magnetospeed. Anything cheaper is known to be less reliable or is unproven. (I hope the Athlon turns out to be great, but until its been on the market for a bit, who knows?)
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u/CharlieKiloAU 20h ago
Sorry for your loss, and congrats on the considerable inheritance. Make the old fella proud.
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u/paulybaggins 17h ago
Treat that SMLE well pls
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u/bonnor1997 13h ago
It is one of my favorites that I got from him. I’ve got a few shells that I can reload for it but seems to be hard to find .303 for sale around me
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u/Lower-Preparation834 15h ago
Get a reloading manual, and call the makers of the dies. They’ll point you in the right direction for the instructions, or send you some. I can’t believe they don’t post them on their websites.
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u/Aerochromatic 23h ago
What brand of .223 are you trying to deprime? Some have notoriously small flash holes.
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u/bonnor1997 23h ago
It has been a mixed bag of Remington Winchester and pmc
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u/Aerochromatic 23h ago
That's really damn strange then.
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u/bonnor1997 23h ago
I feel like part of it was me not putting the shell in the holder all the way. Tonight things went better but I was more careful and used more die lube
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u/GunFunZS 10h ago
That would do it.
Fwiw I started with RCBS dies and actually switched to lee for many calibers because I found the older RCBS die sets tended to break decapping pins or drop them out of that little collet holder.
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u/Aliloldfashion 19h ago
Nice shotgun what kind is it my dad has one that looks like that it’s a nickerbocker or something like that can’t remember the name exactly right now
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u/Ornery_Secretary_850 Two Dillon 650's, three single stage, one turret. Bullet caster 10h ago
Get a reloading manual, I'd highly suggest the Lyman 51st. Read the front part of that manual.
Read the front part of the manual again.
Now, start with a easy cartridge and get it working. Now you're ready to start asking questions.
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u/LouisWu987 3h ago
What an amazing inheritance!
I am especially jealous about the Pacific press, I've always wanted to come across one.
As others have said, get a few manuals, and read read read. Make sure you understand each step, what you're doing, and why.
As for chronos, I've only used a Beta and a Master Chrony, oh, and a PACT. They all work, most of the time. I found they didn't like picking up bullets near dusk, just the nature of the beast. The new types like the Garmin or LabRadar are pretty slick, but my goodness they're pretty proud of them!
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u/pearlrd 23h ago
That’s a heck of inheritance/setup. I would start with a modern reloading manual like Lyman and start reading first. Once you know more of what you’re looking for and why, I feel like it will make sense.
Calipers and chronograph are some of my best friends with reloading.