It has begun...........no clue what to do but.........

[gyrfalcon]

Not to rip on Lee. I never reloades **** before, but it's time I do. AND, I bought this press on Feebay. Just looking for constructive advise, not, criticisms. Thanks.

Oh, well I would really recommend picking up the .45-70 factory crimp and the holder/case-length gauge. The Anniversary kit comes with a trimmer for the case-length gauge.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?p ... ber=747243
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?p ... ber=561455

If you don't get a tumbler you can hook the holder up to a drill and use steel wool to polish up the outside of the case. Or shove a bit inside and clean out the inside too if you want everything to be shiny.

ABC's of Reloading and the Lee Manual are well worth the money.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?p ... ber=837228
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?p ... ber=484416

RCBS Chargemaster 1500 is pretty expensive but also a great product you might want to consider if the Lee Scale annoys you like it did for me. The RCBS 1010 is about half the cost but also a great scale.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?p ... ber=772151
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?p ... ber=415607

And last but not least, a powder trickler is nice to have!

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?p ... ber=487186

[John S.]

Thanks, I'll take all this in consideration, except reading the manual, that is a gimme! My friend in AA is always tellin people to READ the book too!

[Seismic Sam]

So, are you starting reloading with the 45-70?? I thought you were starting with a pistol caliber, and H&H just decided to post some pictures of his boat anchor pistol.

If you ARE starting with the 45-70, you need to be VERY aware that there are THREE SEPERATE sets of load data for this cartridge. The first is the 1873 Trapdoor model, which is the weakest, and is limited to about 18,000 PSI. The second is for the 1895 Marlin and other replicas, and is approximately 34,000 PSI in pressure. The third set is for Ruger #1 rifles which have ungodly strong actions (nearly unbreakable, actually) and can get up to 46,000 PSI.

Last year we had a n00b who had a break-open single shot and was shooting 1873 factory ammo, and got a recipe off the internet that was 3 grains over the max for the Ruger #1 loads. When he pulled the trigger, the rifle kicked his ass, the action popped open, and the fired case lightly hit him in the head.

If you are starting with the 45-70, then you should buy one of the cheap Lee case trimmers because you SHOULD keep track of case length. Not a big deal, but it's not like a 45 ACP where the cases just don't change length enough to EVER matter.

[Holland&Holland]

So, are you starting reloading with the 45-70?? I thought you were starting with a pistol caliber, and H&H just decided to post some pictures of his boat anchor pistol.

There was just a comment made on page one where the OP stated something along the lines of a .45-70 should not be in a handgun so I had to take that opening of course

[John S.]

So, are you starting reloading with the 45-70?? I thought you were starting with a pistol caliber, and H&H just decided to post some pictures of his boat anchor pistol.

If you ARE starting with the 45-70, you need to be VERY aware that there are THREE SEPERATE sets of load data for this cartridge. The first is the 1873 Trapdoor model, which is the weakest, and is limited to about 18,000 PSI. The second is for the 1895 Marlin and other replicas, and is approximately 34,000 PSI in pressure. The third set is for Ruger #1 rifles which have ungodly strong actions (nearly unbreakable, actually) and can get up to 46,000 PSI.

Last year we had a n00b who had a break-open single shot and was shooting 1873 factory ammo, and got a recipe off the internet that was 3 grains over the max for the Ruger #1 loads. When he pulled the trigger, the rifle kicked his ass, the action popped open, and the fired case lightly hit him in the head.

If you are starting with the 45-70, then you should buy one of the cheap Lee case trimmers because you SHOULD keep track of case length. Not a big deal, but it's not like a 45 ACP where the cases just don't change length enough to EVER matter.

I want to do .357 mag too in the future.

[John S.]

Actually, that looks live a very good deal!! You will also need a digital caliper (they're cheaper than the dial ones these days!) and a kinetic bullet puller.

NEXT: TAKE THE MANUAL OUT OF THE BOX OF GOODIES!!

TAPE THE BOX OF GOODIES SHUT!!!

READ THE WHOLE EVERLOVIN" EFFEN MANUAL COVER-TO-COVER BEFORE YOU UNTAPE THE BOX AGAIN!!! THE WHOLE MANUAL!! EVERY STINKING PAGE!!

MOST IMPORTANTLY, DO NOT POST QUESTIONS UP HERE UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE WHOLE MANUAL!!

Those of us who have 20 or 30 manuals can spot a question like that in a heartbeat, and you automatically label yourself as a n00b who is too lazy to read the manual and wants to reload ammo first and then learn afterwards.

Seriously, that looks like a really good deal, and I would jump on it if I were you.

The manual is like five pages, guess I need to see if the Library has any good manuals on reloading.............

None in Libraries, (I figured that), Oh well..........

[gyrfalcon]

The manual is like five pages, guess I need to see if the Library has any good manuals on reloading.............

None in Libraries, (I figured that), Oh well..........

The instructions and load data that come with the dies, or press should not be used in-place of a good manual. In some regards the instructions Lee provides are severely lacking, especially when you get a product like the LoadMaster. If your library doesn't have good reloading manuals you should be able to make a request for them, and also get it loaned from another library via InterLibrary Loan (ILL).

https://www.mnlinkgateway.org/zportal/z ... chAdvanced

[John S.]

Have Lee and Speer now, but, obviously I need a lot more................................