Reload dependability

[Roland]

I have often been told and heard that one should not use reloads for situations that require utmost dependability. It seems that, with proper attention to detail and the use of quality components, a reload should not suffer dependability. What am I missing?

[longtooth]

Andy is correct.
I have been loading since 1971 & my track record is:
One rifle round - click instead of bang. Hunting & never found due to 2nd round harvested the deer & I was busy.

One .38sp primer never detonated. retried it & tried several times & only click, no bang.

One .45acp squib. dont know why.

I have not kept factory records but have had way more trouble w/ factory ammo than my loads.

I may loose track of my reload s but it will take more than 3 to do it.

[Houston1944]

My record is similar. I have had more problems with factory ammo, including some “high end” self defense rounds, than with my own reloads. Not counting reloading misfires that were caused by the gun, not the ammo:

1 rifle load that had a bad primer (Match primer in a 22-250)
1 squib in 45acp
1 kboom in a 40 caliber Glock due to bullet setback. (This was a frequent occurrence years ago)

3 failures out of many thousands of reloads that made it to the field or the range. I will take these odds over factory ammo any day.

[Roland]

Thank you, gentlemen. You have confirmed my suspicions and given me another reason to delve into reloading. Now to make up my mind between the Dillon 550 and the Hornady L&L AP.......any opinions?

[Houston1944]

I have never seen or used the Hornady so I cannot comment on it. I had a 550 and now have a 650. Both of them are excellant pieces of equipment. I recommend Dillon products without any hesitation. However my advice to any new reloader is to first get a single stage or turret press and then add the progressive later. This gets you into reloading at a lower price and makes it easier to learn the process. After you purchase a progressive machine you will still have a need for a reloading station that is easy to set up for low volume calibers. Progressive and single stage presses both have their place in the reloading room. I would never consider using a progressive for all my reloading.

[UpTheIrons]

Thank you, gentlemen. You have confirmed my suspicions and given me another reason to delve into reloading. Now to make up my mind between the Dillon 550 and the Hornady L&L AP.......any opinions?

I'd also suggest a single-stage or similar to start with. I went with the Lee Deluxe Turret, and I'm using it as a single stage right now, so I can get the 'feel' of the process down. I understand now why a single-stage is recommended, and may wind up with one eventually for certain rifle calibers, but the turret works great and I can switch over to 'semi-progressive' real easily.

Good luck!

[Griz44]

My brother has been using Wolf Primers and says he gets about one bad primer per hundred.

That would be totally unacceptable.
I have not experienced that with the wolf primers. I have shot tens of thousands of them with only one failure to ignite. That was my fault for not catching a missing anvil.

Like others here, I have had many more factory rounds fail than my reloads. I am over 300K with my reloading, with only 4 failures.
I load 80% for the 45 ACP and then 12 other pistol and rifle rounds. I have never had a rifle round fail.
I have all Lee equipment, and for the price, it just makes good economical sense. Are there better presses? Yes. Are there worse presses? Yes.
My Loadmaster progressive has 200K plus through it, and it just keeps on truckin'.
I like the 60 second caliber changes, and the super easy primer loading. I like parts that cost less than a stick of gum. For the money, you can have a progressive and a single stage compared to just one press of a different color. But that is my opinion and my experience.

[Roland]

All good info gentlemen and I sincerely appreciate your time. Your comments and suggestions will all be taken into serious consideration. I am in the process of reading a reload manual that came in the mail today and will add the information gleened from it to yours to make my decision on what press will best suit my needs. (failed to mention that I will only be reloading .45 cal and 9mm to start, maybe others later on)

Great forum, thanks to all!

[ghostrider]

I trust my reloads enough that I would not hesitate to use them as carry ammo (though currently I only use factory).

In 460 Rowland, I have had premium factory ammuntion that was less reliable than my handloads (failure to chamber).

[UpTheIrons]

.45 is a great caliber to start with. I've heard that time and again, and I just started with the same. Man, was it easy - case is big enough to get my fat fingers around, easy to see the charge in the case, bullets are big enough to hang on to... Plus, the low pressure nature of the round makes it a bit more forgiving, too.

[Griz44]

Trust - but verify.
My wife and I both carry 45 auto, and we use only my re-loads.
I load my Self Defense in the best brass from the stash, Accurate #7 powder pushing a 230G Hornady XTP at 940 fps.
I load 100 of these every month, we shoot the old 100 and the new 100 is the carry ammo for the coming month.
At our weekly range trip, I shoot both my magazines (in gun and backup) and my wife does the same.
This assures me that the ammo is dependable, that the guns like them, and nothing gets stale.
I dedicate a box (1000) primers to this, and 2 pounds of powder from the same lot. When I open a new box of primers or a new jug of powder, I shoot everything I currently have at the range, and make 200 new fresh ones just to make sure the new stuff is dependable. I keep that pound of powder and those primers set aside for self defense ammo only.
Over the last year, I have loaded all my self defense with Wolf Primers, and have never had a failure.
I cannot explain why others have issues with Wolf primers. Maybe they have guns that strike too light. My Colts and my wife's Kimber have no issues with them.

[Roland]

Very good info, Grizz. Thank you for your time and effort. Your methods make a lot of sense for assuring dependability. May I inquire about what reloading equipment you prefer? Have you any experience or opinions on the Hornady Lock n Load AP equipment?

Thank you, Sir.

[Griz44]

Roland,
I went with Lee equipment.
I have a Lee BreechLock for the rifle and short batch stuff.
I have a Lee Loadmaster for the higher volume stuff, we go through a lot of .45 and .38 special and .357 magnum.
I heard a lot of good and bad stuff about Lee, and other presses, but my experience with Lee has been very positive.
I have over 300,000 rounds through the Loadmaster, and it makes very good ammunition.
My main selection was done over price, and how much less it costs to set up new calibers than the other brands.
I am loading 13 different calibers, and that's a lot of money to spend on caliber changes for the big blue boy especially.
I am not knocking Big Blue, it is very good equipment, just very pricey.
To change calibers on some of the others it costs more than I gave for the Loadmater to start with.
I re-load to save money and get good ammunition, it just seemed to make sense to use the money I saved buying stuff to make ammo with instead of buying press parts.
A case feeder for a big blue costs more than I gave for my entire Loadmaster, and it came with a case feeder.
I have used the Hornady at a friends house. The AP is very nice, but once again, adding more calibers can be a lot of money.
I would only suggest, buy the press that you can afford and want. If you can afford a Cadillac, then buy one. My Chevy isn't quite as slick or pretty, but it works just fine.