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I have recently purchase a turret press and all the components to start reloading...
I have read the directions, and a book (Speers Manual #14). But I am having major troubles. Anyone local that can show me/give me lesson on how to use this ting?

I am in McKinney.. Help please.

Which turret press did you purchase ?

What kind of problems are you having ?

Give us a little more detail and it will help

Thanks

45Carrier

I purchased a RCBS Turret Press - the Delux kit.
The proble I am having is that i have never tried reloading before and directions are anything but great. I have the press put together, but the steps for reloand do not match the steps in the book.

I am having major problems getting the new primers to seat, and then getting the bullet to seat as well. I am sure it has to to with then sixing of the case, but I can not figure it out.

I also have trouble with the dies - I have no idea id the are set properly.

I have a bullet puller - can even fifure out what it is for beside fixing mistakes. (what mistakes?)

The care trimmer came with 6 shell holders and Pilot calibers... no clue how to use it - any of it. Once again the directions tell you how to put it together but not how to use it.

I just need to someone to show me how all this crap works.

Thanks

My first thought is to tell you the guys at RCBS are extremely nice and knowledgable and they should be able to answer any questions you might have. You should have recieved complete instructions with your reloading equipment. Could you be a little more specific when you say trouble seating primers or bullets? BTW the first problem I had when I started reloading was seating primers. After you get the feel it's a piece of cake. Your RCBS dies definately should have come with good instructions on how to set them up. I live fairly close to you so I might be able to help.

Try this link :

http://www.rcbs.com/guide/stepbystep.aspx

It might help a bunch

45Carrier wrote:Try this link :

http://www.rcbs.com/guide/stepbystep.aspx

It might help a bunch

Very nice, I forgot that was there.

What caliber are you trying to reload?

KaleS,

We've all been there. First of all, be Patient and take No chances. If you thinks something is wrong, then Wait until you know you have it right. What's at stake here is your face or gun if it blows up on you.

Now, having said this, reloading is safe if you are just patient. The best thing you can do is to meet in person with someone who is proficient with the process. I will outline some things here that can cause you problems.

Now, reloading straight-wall Pistol is much easier than a bottle neck rifle cartridge. Most pistol are straight wall except for .357 Sig. If you're reloading 9mm, .40 or .45 then you're in luck. You shouldn't need to trim the cases for those. I will assume you are reloading pistol.

After the cases are cleaned:

1). Start with Resizing the case. If you have Carbide dies, then you don't need case lube. This is highly recommended as it will save you a lot of time. Still, some people lube the cases anyway because it makes the process go much easier. Make sure your die is adjusted according to what RCBS recommends or the loaded round won't fit in the chamber when you're done. Buy a case guage or take the barrel off of your gun and try a case in it before you load anything. I would recommend buying the dillon case guage. If the case doesn't fit into the guage or your barrel when you drop it in, then you will need to adjut your sizing die down a little farther. Don't screw it down too far though or you will hit it with the shell plate as it comes up.

2). Prime. Since I'm only familiar with the Dillon machine I can't help you much with this. You could use the hand priming tool that RCBS makes. NEVER handle primers without Safety Glasses on. Ever. While they are generally safe to handle, a friend of mine was as someone's house was just leaning to reload and he was forcing the primer too much while trying to seat a new primer in a case. It blew up and a piece hit him in the middle of his safety glasses. He told me that he almost left home without them, but turned around and went back to get them. It saved his eyes.
*note: If you get some military brass, it will have crimp around the edge of the primer hole that will not allow you to push a new primer in it. This must be remove with a special tool so for now stick with commercial brass made by Winchester/Remington/Federal/etc...

3). The next station should be your Belling die. This widens out the mouth of the case just a little so the bullet will be guided in during seating. It creates almost like a funnel effect. The book can better explain this. Don't bell it out too much or you'll split the case or weaken the case so it splits sooner after only a few reloads.

4). Usually, powder is also dropped during this process too, but you need to treat this seperately. When charging a case with powder, make sure you calibrate your scale First so you know it's accurate. Move the weights all the way to zero and make sure the beam is on zero. You should have directions on this. OK, look up the powder and bullet comination you are using in your book and follow the books directions. it will be something like "Reduce the maximum load by 10% when starting out". Follow the books recommendation. Never start out at the maximum load of powder as it is unsafe. Work up slowly and never go over the max. So, how do you know when you're reaching an unsafe level? Flat primers is one way. Personally, I never go close to it. I find staying somewhere in the middle works for me. Maybe others can add to this.

5). Once you have powder and primers on a case that has been belled, it's time to seat a bullet on it. Follow directions that come with the bullet seating die so you seat it far enough in with out pushing it too far into the case. Seating it too far in can make for a dangerous high pressure condition as can seating it out too far. Here, you will need a pair of calipers to measure it for the bullet type you are loading. The book will have the COAL or Cartridge Over All Length. If you seat it too deep, then use a bullet puller and start over.

6). Crimping. There are two different types, Roll and Taper Crimping and the one you use will depend on what kind of bullets you are loading. The manual will also talk about this.

By now you will have a loaded bullet. I have been intentionally vague to make you refer to the book. Some things I don't want to trust my memory as I have setup my reloader and don't have to adjust anything except on the rare occasion when I clean it or something breaks. which is rare.

If anything I have said here conflicts with anything in the manual, then follow the manual. Explaining someting in writing just isn't the same as being there.

My adivice still stands, it's best to find someone local to help you through it. I used a a couple of books and took it One Step At a Time. That's the key here. Anyone can do it IF they are Patient and take it one step at at time. Learn to resize and study that First, then go on the the next step and learn all you can about that. This is the key here, one step at a time.

I hope this helps. Welcome to the wonderful world of reloading my friend.
-ss

ShootingStar, Thank you for the detailed directions. I have printed them out. I have also talked to Marty and I think we are going tot get together form some one on one lessons. Thank you all very much. I will let you know how it goes.