Mike's Shooting Pages
Not quite an obsession...but close!
Reloading - The Necessary Hobby
A few years ago when we first started seeing the prices of factory ammunition begin to rise, and as I began to shoot more and more, I saw the need to begin reloading. While I am certainly no expert when it comes to this subject, I thought I'd share a bit about my experience in picking out, setting up, and using my reloading equipment.
The Equipment
As you are probably aware, there are numerous choices available in the market place for the task of reloading ammunition. All have their pros and their cons, and depending on who you ask, you will get as many opinions on equipment as you could care to sort through.
When I began looking into reloading, I asked several of my shooting buddies where to start, and most of them pointed me to Dillon, so that was at least a start. They all had more experience than I did, so I started looking at the various presses that Dillon offers. I'm the kind of person who wants to do things the right way rather than doing it twice (or sometimes three times), so I started doing a little research. Brian Enos' website is filled with information on the various Dillon machines and options. He does a better job than I could ever hope to at explaining the differences between the different models, and I have nothing but good things to say about my experience in researching on his site and ultimately purchasing from him.
For the kind of shooting I do, a progressive press was pretty much a must. I don't do any precision rifle shooting, otherwise, I might have looked more closely at some of the single stage presses on the market since the number of rounds would be much lower than for action pistol shooting. I will admit that the Dillon presses were a bit pricier than I had anticipated, but hindsight being what it is, I wish I hadn't even wasted my time looking at the other contenders on the market. I took a gander at the Lee progressive presses which appealed to me mainly because of the price , but after seeing some videos out on YouTube, I quickly decided that I'd be better off to save my money and go straight for a Dillon.
Now came the decision on which Dillon Press to buy and what accessories to get. Again, Brian Enos' website to the rescue. With all of the information available there, it didn't take too terribly long for me to decide on the Dillon RL 550B press. It is a mid-range press from an output and price perspective, but carries Dillon's 'No-BS' warranty (if it breaks, they'll fix it, plain and simple) just as all of their other presses, so I knew I couldn't go wrong.
Accessories - now there's another subject - I have the press picked out, now what all other stuff do I need? Well, once again Mr. Enos' site lists out the must-haves and the nice-to-haves, etc, so I didn't have too much trouble making those decisions either. One thing I will note is that if you are going to load multiple calibers, I would HIGHLY recommend getting the entire "Quick Change Assembly". I started out by only ordering the extra toolhead, stand, powder die, etc, but quickly realized that I should have sprung for the powder measure too, and adding it on the backend just cost a little more money.
The Setup
When the FedEx delivery man dropped off all of my new toys, I guess I was as excited as any kid on Christmas morning. Dad and I had already built a sturdy bench out in the garage to use for reloading, so now it was jut time to put it all together. I did take the time to watch the How-To video (which I would also recommend getting when you order your Dillon Press), and it was very helpful especially since I had never done any reloading of any kind before on this or any other press.
Setup was not bad at all. I'm guessing that it took me a couple of hours to get the press bolted together with all of the accessories and mounted to the bench. Then a little more time to get the dies set, but that part is not bad at all either.
I will say that if you plan to get into this hobby, you do need a good place to work. A sturdy bench is a must. There are numerous examples out on the forums on Brian Enos' website; just do a search and you will find them.
I don't have pictures of my original workbench mentioned above, but a few years ago my wife and I bought a new house, and I was extremely pleased that it had the perfect spot for me to setup for reloading. Here's a picture (a bit outdated now, but you get the idea) of my setup (much better than the old one since it's inside in a climate-controlled area). This was a built-in desk, but since I already had a desk that I prefer for my computer gear, this built-in made a great place for my reloading setup.
I started out loading both .45 ACP and .38 Special, and later added 9mm to the mix. When I first started shooting in IDPA, it was actually kind of hard to find .38 Special ammunition that would make the minimum Power Factor (PF) of 125. A couple of years ago, they dropped the PF for SSR to 105 so that the factory loads would be allowable, hoping to increase the number of revolver shooters in the sport. For those who do not know what Power Factor is, Muzzle Velocity x Bullet Weight /1000 gives you a Power Factor. For example, the Federal American Eagle .38 Special round is 130 gr. with a Muzzle Velocity of 890 fps. This results in a PF of only 115; not quite enough for sanctioned IDPA competition under the original rules. In normal production-type ammunition for the .38 Special, you had to step up to +P loads to get to the minimum PF for IDPA. Now that the PF has been lowered, most off-the-shelf ammunition will work.
Since the time the picture above was taken, I have added a few more calibers to my setup for my Dillon 550B. I now load for 9mm, .38 Special, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, and my first venture into rifle calibers - the 300 AAC Blackout (that's another discussion).
I have also added a single-stage press to my setup so that I can load low volume for other calibers such as .32 H&R Magnum, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 LC.
My Load Data
This is my personal reloading data, and it may not work for you. My favorite loads are highlighted in green.
**DISCLAIMER: USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!**
| 9 mm | ||||||||
| Bullet Mfg. | Bullet Style | Bullet Wt. (grs) | Powder | Powder Chg. (grs) | OAL (inches) | Avg. Velocity (fps) | PF | Test Firearm |
| Berry's | RN | 115 | VV N320 | 4.3 | 1.127 | 1125 | 129,375 | XDm 5.25 |
| Rainier | RN | 115 | VV N320 | 4.3 | 1.127 | 1125 | 129,375 | XDm 5.25 |
| Bullet Works | RN | 124 | VV N320 | 4.0 | 1.127 | 1071 | 132,804 | XDm 5.25 |
| Bullet Works | RNFP | 135 | VV N320 | 3.7 | 1.110 | 1008 | 136,080 | XDm 5.25 |
| Bullet Works | RN | 147 | VV N320 | 3.4 | 1.127 | 948 | 139,356 | XDm 5.25 |
| Bullet Works | RN | 147 | VV N320 | 3.2 | 1.127 | 900 | 132,300 | XDm 5.25 |
| Bullet Works | RN | 147 | VV N320 | 3.1 | 1.127 | 889 | 130,683 | XDm 5.25 |
| .38 Special | ||||||||
| Bullet Mfg. | Bullet Style | Bullet Wt. (grs) | Powder | Powder Chg. (grs) | OAL (inches) | Avg. Velocity (fps) | PF | Test Firearm |
| Berry's | RN | 158 | VV N320 | 4.0 | 1.500 | 721 | 113,918 | S&W 686 4" |
| Berry's | RN | 158 | VV N320 | 4.2 | 1.500 | 756 | 119,448 | S&W 686 4" |
| Berry's | RN | 158 | VV N320 | 4.4 | 1.500 | 783 | 123,714 | S&W 686 4" |
| Berry's | RN | 158 | VV N320 | 4.7 | 1.500 | 804 | 127,032 | S&W 686 4" |
| X-Treme | RNFP | 158 | VV N320 | 4.7 | 1.395 | 825 | 130,350 | S&W 686 4" |
| .40 S&W | ||||||||
| Bullet Mfg. | Bullet Style | Bullet Wt. (grs) | Powder | Powder Chg. (grs) | OAL (inches) | Avg. Velocity (fps) | PF | Test Firearm |
| Berry's | FP | 165 | VV N320 | 4.2 | 1.130 | 887 | 146,355 | XD Tactical 5" |
| Berry's | FP | 165 | VV N320 | 4.4 | 1.130 | 940 | 155,100 | XD Tactical 5" |
| Berry's | FP | 165 | VV N340 | 5.0 | 1.130 | 889 | 146,685 | XD Tactical 5" |
| Berry's | FP | 165 | VV N340 | 5.3 | 1.130 | 985 | 162,525 | XD Tactical 5" |
| Berry's | RS | 180 | VV N320 | 3.5 | 1.125 | 745 | 134,100 | XD Tactical 5" |
| Berry's | RS | 180 | VV N320 | 3.6 | 1.125 | 767 | 138,060 | XD Tactical 5" |
| Berry's | RS | 180 | VV N320 | 3.8 | 1.125 | 824 | 148,320 | XD Tactical 5" |
| Berry's | RS | 180 | VV N340 | 4.5 | 1.125 | 807 | 145,260 | XD Tactical 5" |
| Berry's | RS | 180 | VV N340 | 4.9 | 1.125 | 892 | 160,560 | XD Tactical 5" |
| .45 ACP | ||||||||
| Bullet Mfg. | Bullet Style | Bullet Wt. (grs) | Powder | Powder Chg. (grs) | OAL (inches) | Avg. Velocity (fps) | PF | Test Firearm |
| Berry's | RN | 230 | VV N320 | 5.0 | 1.240 | 787 | 181,010 | Kimber 1911 5" |
| Berry's | RN | 230 | VV N320 | 5.0 | 1.240 | 780 | 179,400 | XD Tactical 5" |
| Berry's | RN | 230 | VV N320 | 5.0 | 1.240 | 763 | 175,490 | M&P 4.25" |
| Berry's | RN | 230 | VV N320 | 5.0 | 1.240 | 729 | 167,670 | S&W 625 4" |
| X-Treme | RN | 230 | VV N310 | 4.3 | 1.250 | 770 | 177,100 | Kimber 1911 5" |
| X-Treme | RN | 230 | VV N310 | 4.3 | 1.250 | 776 | 178,480 | XD Tactical 5" |
| X-Treme | RN | 230 | VV N310 | 4.3 | 1.250 | 757 | 174,110 | M&P 4.25" |
| X-Treme | RN | 230 | VV N310 | 4.3 | 1.250 | 749 | 172,270 | S&W 625 4" |
| Powerbond | RN | 230 | VV N310 | 4.3 | 1.250 | 778 | 178,940 | Kimber 1911 5" |
| Powerbond | RN | 230 | VV N310 | 4.3 | 1.250 | 779 | 179,170 | XD Tactical 5" |
| Powerbond | RN | 230 | VV N310 | 4.3 | 1.250 | 765 | 175,950 | M&P 4.25" |
| Powerbond | RN | 230 | VV N310 | 4.3 | 1.250 | 750 | 172,500 | S&W 625 4" |
| Berry's | RN | 230 | VV N310 | 4.3 | 1.240 | 771 | 177,330 | Kimber 1911 5" |
| Berry's | RN | 230 | VV N310 | 4.3 | 1.240 | 774 | 178,020 | XD Tactical 5" |
| Berry's | RM | 230 | VV N310 | 4.3 | 1.240 | 759 | 174,570 | M&P 4.25" |
| Berry's | RN | 230 | VV N310 | 4.3 | 1.240 | 742 | 170,660 | S&W 625 4" |
As for brass, I use whatever I can find that is in good shape.
Many of you will notice that I favor VihtaVuori Powders, and you may wonder why since it is one of the higher-priced options on the market, especially since one of the major reasons to reload is to save money. Well, I know there are other powders out there that are quite a bit cheaper and will work just fine, but powder is the least expensive component in reloading (at least for pistol calibers). Yes, I could save 35-cents/50 rd box if I went with something cheaper, but VV powder is so much cleaner shooting than most any other on the market. If you don't believe me, then go over and take a look at my S&W 686 Revolver on my "The Guns" page. When that picture was taken, it had 300-400 rounds through it, and you can hardly tell it's been fired. If you truly enjoy cleaning your guns, I think you might be in the minority. For me, less time cleaning means more time shooting.
The following picture will further explain my choices of loading components. This is a side-by-side comparison of me and one of my shooting buddies at the 2008 Louisiana State IDPA Match. We are both shooting S&W 625's (his just happens to be a Performance Center model). He uses Clays powder and cast lead bullets, and I use the VV N320 with plated bullets. As you can see, there is quite a difference in the amount of smoke produced from the different loads we are using. Based on some of our recent "non-scientific" testing, we have shown that the lube on the lead bullets is the largest contributing factor to the amount of smoke. In the right (or wrong) kind of lighting conditions, that cloud of smoke can make the difference in whether you can see your target(s) or not. So, for now at least, I'll stick with the "more expensive" components to reload my ammunition. I'm still saving at least a third of the cost of factory ammunition, and I can tailor my loads if I so desire.
Anyway, there are a lot more people out there with a lot more knowledge on this subject than me. If you decide to get into reloading either out of necessity, or just for fun, take a look at the Dillon presses. I don't think you will be disappointed.