Got my Press!!!

[JustinN]

Got home to find a giant box from Midway sitting in my kitchen! My Hornady Lock-N-Load Classic Kit has arrived! I was very pleased with a few aspects of it, one of the main ones being the fact it came with the 9th edition reloading manual. I've started reading it a bit, and even kind of skipped forward and looked at some of the caliber reloads I will be doing, which leads me to my first reloading question:

Do you default to what's in the book for loads, or what's printed on the jar of powder? I ask because I have 1 lb of Hodgon Superformance rifle powder for loading .243 - in the book nothing comes close to the 49 gr. 3510 fps 75 gr bullet load it lists on the bottle....so what does someone do in that situation? I assume you go to the powder's website to read their specific loads, since obviously the reloading manual can only show a handful of loads?

Also, I have the benefit of having to study and read and get everything setup before I can attempt to use it....as my dies are backordered until 5/5....which leads me to a second question:

In the manual it says the 9mm doesn't need a crimp because it headspaces on the mouth of the case, but the Hornady 9mm dies I picked out are taper crimp dies....would that still be ok or is that bad? They got really really good reviews so I figured they'd be good...but the manual makes me question it...

Whew, already several questions and I haven't even unboxed the press....

[SynapticSilence]

Developing a load is sometimes as simple S looking in the manual, but generally not that easy. The loads in the manual are for specific bullets/primers/brass. Just because a bullet has a particular weight doesn't take into account its profile, seating depth, etc. Loading toward the max end of load data without taking that into account is a quick way to blow up a nice gun. Get involved with the various reloading forums available and pick their brains, but also simply use caution. Never start at the high end. I work up from the middle range once I figure out what that is for a particular make of bullet.

As to 9mm crimping, you don't roll crimp these rounds, but you do taper crimp them. Taper crimp is a misnomer, though, because all you're doing is removing the bell from the case mouth that you have to create to seat the bullet properly. It doesn't crimp the case into the bullet, but rather seats the case mouth back flat against the bullet itself and restores the natural case profile. The bullet is held in place by the overall tension throughout the neck of the case, not by crimp pressure.
Good luck. I've only been reloading for about two years. The key is research, caution, and total focus on the task at hand. All it takes is one brief distraction and you could be buying yourself a replacement gun. Not to try to scare you, just being honest. It's great building your own ammo, not to mention cost effective. You won't really save money, though. You'll just shoot more. Enjoy.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

[downtownv]

Do you default to what's in the book for loads, or what's printed on the jar of powder? I ask because I have 1 lb of Hodgon Superformance rifle powder for loading .243 - in the book nothing comes close to the 49 gr. 3510 fps 75 gr bullet load it lists on the bottle....so what does someone do in that situation? I assume you go to the powder's website to read their specific loads, since obviously the reloading manual can only show a handful of loads?


I GO BY THE GUN POWDER MAKER....

[MW surveyor]

Good to hear that your press came in.

The book that came with the press is probably the Hornady Manual and if you have Hornady bullets, the load data for them and your powder should be OK...............but it is always good to go to the Hodgen web site to check on the recommended range of powder grains for that particular powder for the weight of bullet that you have.

Synaptic is correct on the 9mm taper crimp. You are just removing the bell that you made to load the round. This is the same as for any semi auto rounds as the cartridge head spaces at the front of the case.

And by the way, the OAL for a finished round really depends on the bullet that you are using. It may not be the same as listed in the book or in the powder mfg's web site. Always "plunk test" your first rounds in the barrel of the gun you are loading for.

[Ikeo74]

Got home to find a giant box from Midway sitting in my kitchen! My Hornady Lock-N-Load Classic Kit has arrived! I was very pleased with a few aspects of it, one of the main ones being the fact it came with the 9th edition reloading manual. I've started reading it a bit, and even kind of skipped forward and looked at some of the caliber reloads I will be doing, which leads me to my first reloading question:

Do you default to what's in the book for loads, or what's printed on the jar of powder? I ask because I have 1 lb of Hodgon Superformance rifle powder for loading .243 - in the book nothing comes close to the 49 gr. 3510 fps 75 gr bullet load it lists on the bottle....so what does someone do in that situation? I assume you go to the powder's website to read their specific loads, since obviously the reloading manual can only show a handful of loads?

Also, I have the benefit of having to study and read and get everything setup before I can attempt to use it....as my dies are backordered until 5/5....which leads me to a second question:

In the manual it says the 9mm doesn't need a crimp because it headspaces on the mouth of the case, but the Hornady 9mm dies I picked out are taper crimp dies....would that still be ok or is that bad? They got really really good reviews so I figured they'd be good...but the manual makes me question it...

Whew, already several questions and I haven't even unboxed the press....
Hornady developed the Superformance Powder. Use their data.
I would like to know what they show as Min and Max load data for the 75 gr bullet.
Hodgson makes the powder for Hornady. The Hodson data site shows for a 75 gr Hornady bullet 49 gr is the MAXIMUM LOAD, to the left of that it shows 45 gr as the Minimun Load. What does the Hornady book list for that bullet? Always start near min load data, for this bullet I would use 46 gr to start unless your Hornady book shows a smaller range. List theirs back for review here.

[JustinN]

And that's where I get confused...in the Hornady manual, 9th edition, they don't even list Superformance powder under the 75 grain load....It shows up under 80 and 95-100 grain. The 75 grain, in the book, lists H4895, Accurate 2520, IMR 4064, IMR 4320, Alliant RL-15, VIHT N-140, VIHT N-160, IMR 4831, Win 760, and H4350, with loads raning from 31.1 min to 39.6 min up to max of 36.9 to 46.7.....

[Ikeo74]

You could use the 80 gr load data for your 75 gr bullets. It is safe to use the next heavyer bullet data but "not" the next lighter data. However in this case I would use the data from Hogdson for the 75 gr bullet, unless you also have some of the other powders listed in Hornady #9 book.

[muggsy]

It's always best to start at 10% under the max load and only when using the exact components listed for that load. The best accuracy is seldom obtained at maximum velocities. I always shoot what the gun likes. What I like doesn't concern the gun one bit. Every bolt action rifle that I own will shoot sub minute of angle groups from a bench rest.

[Salty]

Congratulations on your purchase. Now to get after collecting components. Some of the more recent manuals are pretty conservative in their load suggestions - you may want to buy a couple of older reloading manuals off ebay or at a local gun show. This gives you a survey of different bullet makers and powder suppliers research on reloads. You can use the data off the powder jug as it has been tested. Hodgdon has an inexpensive reloading manual you can get from lgs or Midway.

[Charlie98]

Congrats on the new Hornady press... it's a brute! I have it's grandaddy... a ProJector, still crunching bullets after 20 years.

The taper crimp is nice, I prefer it over the roll crimp because it's not so sensitive to case length (not really an issue with the 9mm.) As was mentioned, don't get overzealous with it... just knock the case mouth bell back in. When you adjust your seating die, make sure you keep the die body out far enough that the case mouth doesn't hit the roll crimper built into the seat die.

Be careful with the 9mm... it's a fairly high pressure cartridge with very small case volume. Different brands of cases my have different case volumes... one load in X brand of brass may be fine, the same load in Y brand of brass may cause overpressure. I speak from experience... and why I hate reloading the 9mm.

Hornady/Hodgdon load data is available on line as well... use all your sources when verifying load data when starting to develop a load. When in doubt, go low (unless the load data says not to... W296 pistol powder is a good example of a 'do not reduce' powder.)

As far as manuals, I like the Hornady, Speer and Hodgdon manuals. I have the Lee, but it's laid out funky.

Good luck! You are already doing the right things: Reading and asking questions before pulling that handle!

[rhd04]

7918 I need a dillon 550b

[Snoop Robb]

7918 I need a dillon 550b

nice box of XTP's