Mark Ducati
10-19-2011, 05:37 PM
Okay,
Here's the steps I plan/ed to follow from a 50AE website:
1. Tumble
2. Decap/size the case
3. clean primer pocket
4. bell the mouth
5. Prime the case
6. charge with powder
7. Seat and crimp bullet
----------------------------------
I tumbled first, then decaped/sized the case with the first dye (screwed the dye in until it touched the shell holder)... eh, those primer pockets were pretty dirty, so I tumbled again, then used a brush and Q-Tips to clean the primer pocket.
I got ahead of my list and primed all my cases, then belled the mouth with the second dye (screwed it in until it touched the shell holder, then unscrewed one full turn per the instructions) to accept the bullet... WAS THIS A MISTAKE? The above list said to bell BEFORE priming the case... well, nothing went "pow" so I guess I'm okay?
Since this is my first time, I hand tested a few bullets in the brass and ALL the cases accept the bullet about 1/16" to 1/8" :) Just enough to allow the bullet to seat, so I guess I got the second dye step okay?
So, I measure 33.5gr of H110 powder on the scale (per reloading book)... used one scoop of powder and then "trickled" the rest... for loading maybe 500-100 bullets at a time, I really don't think this method of measuring powder will be that cumbersome... a 1000, yeah... but not 100.
Then, I screwed the seating dye in until it touched the shell holder... again, per the instructions... DOH! I should have adjusted the bullet seating insert FIRST by first putting a factory loaded round in then adjusting the knob down til it touched, THEN back off... so that I could insert a bullet, measure with my digital calipers, then adjust the bullet in a little more at increments to get the overall case length correct according to the manual.
The FIRST bullet I loaded went in too far!
Thus... I now have a Lyman Kinetic Bullet Puller on order from Amazon.com...
-------------------------------------------
What happens if the bullet is inserted 1/8' too far? I should still fire right? When I was new to Glocks and shooting, before I knew what "limp-wristing" was, I got a few stove pipes where the bullet got jammed in the case a little deeper... didn't want to waste the bullet, so I still fired them. Well that was 9mm, I don't think I want to take a chance with 50AE.
I felt pretty comfortable doing the first two dye steps by myself... I've got a buddy coming next week to show me the ropes for the powder measure and seating bullets... I was just playing around tonight and only planned to load a couple rounds, BUT quickly learned, this isn't something to "play" with.
Here's the steps I plan/ed to follow from a 50AE website:
1. Tumble
2. Decap/size the case
3. clean primer pocket
4. bell the mouth
5. Prime the case
6. charge with powder
7. Seat and crimp bullet
----------------------------------
I tumbled first, then decaped/sized the case with the first dye (screwed the dye in until it touched the shell holder)... eh, those primer pockets were pretty dirty, so I tumbled again, then used a brush and Q-Tips to clean the primer pocket.
I got ahead of my list and primed all my cases, then belled the mouth with the second dye (screwed it in until it touched the shell holder, then unscrewed one full turn per the instructions) to accept the bullet... WAS THIS A MISTAKE? The above list said to bell BEFORE priming the case... well, nothing went "pow" so I guess I'm okay?
Since this is my first time, I hand tested a few bullets in the brass and ALL the cases accept the bullet about 1/16" to 1/8" :) Just enough to allow the bullet to seat, so I guess I got the second dye step okay?
So, I measure 33.5gr of H110 powder on the scale (per reloading book)... used one scoop of powder and then "trickled" the rest... for loading maybe 500-100 bullets at a time, I really don't think this method of measuring powder will be that cumbersome... a 1000, yeah... but not 100.
Then, I screwed the seating dye in until it touched the shell holder... again, per the instructions... DOH! I should have adjusted the bullet seating insert FIRST by first putting a factory loaded round in then adjusting the knob down til it touched, THEN back off... so that I could insert a bullet, measure with my digital calipers, then adjust the bullet in a little more at increments to get the overall case length correct according to the manual.
The FIRST bullet I loaded went in too far!
Thus... I now have a Lyman Kinetic Bullet Puller on order from Amazon.com...
-------------------------------------------
What happens if the bullet is inserted 1/8' too far? I should still fire right? When I was new to Glocks and shooting, before I knew what "limp-wristing" was, I got a few stove pipes where the bullet got jammed in the case a little deeper... didn't want to waste the bullet, so I still fired them. Well that was 9mm, I don't think I want to take a chance with 50AE.
I felt pretty comfortable doing the first two dye steps by myself... I've got a buddy coming next week to show me the ropes for the powder measure and seating bullets... I was just playing around tonight and only planned to load a couple rounds, BUT quickly learned, this isn't something to "play" with.