Thinking about starting to reload with 1 size

[Indianabuster]

Hi all, I just got a revolver in .454 casull and am thinking about making the leap into reloading. I've considered in the past but don't shoot a ton of .45 and 9mm didn't seem worth the commitment. With the addition of .454 casull it seems to make more sense than ever.

I have been doing a lot of reading on the subject (and will continue) but wanted to reach out to the cumulative expertise here for more suggestions. What basic equipment do you think I should start with in order to just do the .454? I would like for whatever I buy to be applicable down the road if I start doing .45 acp too. Since I only plan on doing 100-200 rounds of casull at a time and not that often, I don't think I need anything too big or "super efficient".

Thanks for any and all help you can offer

 

[jburris]

I started reloading because I bought a h&r 500s&w to deer hunt with. I started out with a lee single stage press, set of lee carbide dies, lee case trimmer and length gauge, lee hand prime tool, lee perfect powder measure, and a cheap digital pocket scale. I would zero the scale every empty case, then check it after I put powder in to make sure I had just the right charge in it. it was slow going, but a really good learning experience. I am now loading 9mm, 45acp, 38/357, 22-250,45-70, and 44mag. with my lee single stage setup. I have since bought a better digital scale, smart reloader tumbler. I can load 100 9mm's in about 1hr with my single setup.

 

[Broom_jm]

Learn from the experience of the previous poster. Lee makes a lot of good stuff, but their scale is not on that list of items.

The best press for you would most likely be the Lee Classic Turret. Remove the indexing rod and use it as a single-stage press for a while, by manually rotating the plate the dies are mounted in. Once you are confident in the overall process, you'll be glad you have the option to put the indexing rod back into the press and turn out 9mm and 45ACP a lot faster. You can also run the 454 Casull loads in single stage, if you prefer.

 

[bberg]

Agree with the others, look around for some used equipment and take some bite out the jump....Lee, RCBS, Dillon all make very good presses. likely will not find a set of used dies for 454 since it is not a widely used caliber. and don't forget the inexpensive items like case lube and a lube pad $20 will go a long ways on those.

 

[kludge]

Lee .45 Colt dies work for the .454 Casull also.

Like Broom, my favorite press is the Lee Classic Turret. It goes for ~$100 when you catch it on sale.

I used a Lee Challenger press for years before getting the turret, and I'll never use a single stage again... even though I never use it in "auto-index" mode... I have a progressive press for when I want to go fast.

OTOH, you can get a complete Lee kit for ~$100 on sale... take a close look as there are two kits... I prefer the one that comes with the hand primer and the shell holder set. You get a feel for primer seating, which is not as easy to do priming on the press, and that's an important part of the learning process, IMO.

I would start with some Hornady 300gr XTP-MAG bullets and Alliant 2400 for powder. The .454 Casull also takes small rifle primers. Most people will take their sweet time shooting 1,000 .454 Casull rounds so don't feel like you have to buy 1,000 primers if you can get them by the 100's. And since you're not currently reloading for rifle, even more reason. A pound of 2400 powder will last about 200-250 rounds. 2400 isn't going to give you max performance frfom the .454 like H110 or W296 would, but 2400 is a much more forgiving powder for the beginner.

For more sedate (reduced recoil) rounds try the Hornady 250gr XTP (a .45 Colt bullet) and Hodgdon Universal powder. This will put you under .44 Mag level and is much more comfortable to shoot. And more than enough for whitetail hunting.

For plinking try some 250-265gr cast lead bullets with Trail Boss. These will be similar to .45 Colt level. It's really all you need for deer hunting.

 

[brianheeter]

Be sure to check out https://fsreloading.com/ if you decide to go with anything from Lee. They typically (not always) have the best prices.

C ya,

brian

 

[benzkomp]

I've been thinking about it also but haven't had the umph to start doing it.

 

[bberg]

Brian good call on FSreloading, awesome prices and quick shipping is my experience with them!

 

[DAB-CC]

Indianabuster:
I found the first post under:
Ammunition and Reloading/So you want to reload but you don’t know where to begin (??)
to be pretty useful for what equipment and where to get tools and parts. Lee and RCBS are the easiest to get parts from a store front.