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?????? Reloading .444 ??????

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  • TraderDan

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    I have givin up on reloading after some bad misshaps with the LEE progressive press, and since sold all my stuff. The question is , is there someone who would reload small quanties of .444 marlin for me, so I don't have to reinvest in a whole new set up solely for a few rounds a month?? It takes the same bullet as .44 mag, I have 40 rounds at this time for brass when empty, and would supply a set of dies if need be. Like I said small quanties , I won't be shooting it much due to cost, but it is a fun set up in my Encore frame.
    Just a thought , I understand that some folks don't care to load for others,would not be needing top end loads, and would not be opposed to buying a simple single stage set up if someone has one to let go of also?
     

    shootnstarz

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    So what happened with your Lee press?

    You're welcome to come over and use my equipment if you'd like. All you'll need is dies and components.

    Rick
     

    Droshki

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    So what happened with your Lee press?

    Yea, I'd be interested in hearing that....

    I've thought about reloading a long time but if there is any significant chance that it's going to turn out to just be a pain in the rear, then I don't wanna mess with it.
     

    TraderDan

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    Thanks Rick, thats a great offer.


    Someone asked me why I quit reloading , here is the anwser:
    (disclaimer: I am not the most attentive guy , so I will own most of the blame) *YOU MUST PAY STRICT ATTENTION WHEN RELOADING!!*
    :Well, it all happened with 2 seperate LEE progressive presses on many differant occasions. You really need to know what you are doing with progressive, and keep a sharp eye on each stage. The problem I was having was with powder measure being directly over primer chute. The powder measure moved a bushing when the arm was pulled and was very finicky , It would run for aprox 50-60 rounds and then loosen .when it was too tight it would not slide right, when it was too loose it would dribble powder into the primer chute, causing a flipped primer or sideways inserted primer or no primer. ,Once this happens you have to back up the stage and correct problem which sometime resulted in a double chare or a squip (no powder or light charge). I don't care how careful you call yourself, occasionally one would slip thru and blow up in your face. I could never get the problem corrected and just gave up on the set up. If I was ever to start again, I would go Dillon or a single stage press. Go Slow and stay safe! Like you said you can buy all the .45acp / 9mm to shoot cheap enough to not bother with quanity set ups. As long as you stay single stage and pay strict attention to each case powder load you will be fine, put all your cases in a loading tray and always check with a light to ensure powder charge is right. That way you will be good to go and with TennJeep and MOA helping along the way is a great plus. My best advice would be "STAY AWAY FROM PROGRESSIVE UNTILL YOU REALLY GET TO UNDERSTAND RELOADING" and forget the cheap route with Lee Progressive, some may say they have no problems with it, but I did more than once, here are the results of my misshaps.

    I had a few squibs & overcharges also along with these:

    #1 This was a ..223 case that I had resized to load for my .222 which was a common practice back in the day. The round did not fire, and stuck in the chamber? The extractor broke (little did I know the fireing pin also broke and stuck in the protruded position) I put the rifle on my tailgate and put a rod in the barrel to dislodge the stuck case, well it discharged when it hit the open bolt with stuck firing pin and *pow* pink belly for me.

    #2 was a loaded .22 lr that got mixed in with empty 45 LC cases and went undetected in the empty case tubes that fed the loader, as everyone knows some cases are a little harder to deprime than others! This was oneof them, the depriming pin went completly thru the .22 shell and squished it to what you see. Lucky me.

    #3 is one of the possible double charges, all I know is when fired out of a Para Ord 1911 it blew the mag and peppered my face and hands with schrapnel, It filled the inside whit what looked like lead particals and split the back of the case as you can see. I guess it had to fire from a partially open slide to do this?? Still unsure but it was quite a boom, once again Lucky Me. Unlucky Para.

    #4 Unrelated to reloading but is what happens when you let someone help you load your mags, and total proof you can fire a .40 S&W in a .45 acp pistol . I can't remember if it was my sig or 1911
     

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    shootnstarz

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    Yeow Dan !!!! Glad you didn't get hurt on any of those. I'm in 100% agreement on starting out with a SS press until you get the knack of all the procedures. And yes, visually check your powder charges using flashlight, not a bic lighter.

    Rick
     

    TraderDan

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    Thanks, I was looking at some on ebay. A turret press is quite alot differant than the progressive and alot safer. Of coarse if you know what you are doing and are very attentive , I am sure progressive is great. I just had a big problem with the design of LEE's model, it is a very inexpensive rig to get started with, but you get what you pay for. If you notice there are tons of slightly used ones on ebay all the time, must be a good reason for that, right.
     
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