New Reloader with lots of questions

Hello fellow reloaders.
My name is Pat and I am in Illinois near St. Louis.
I am just getting set up to start reloading although I have been a plinker for years. Recently (Last January) I started getting worried about the way the political situation was developing and I decided to purchase a few handguns, especially the high capacity 9mm's I was afraid they would attempt to ban. I am also a great fan of the Smith & Wesson revolvers in .38 and .357.
So as I shot more and talked to the guys hanging around the range I was introduced to reloading.
I bought a Dillon 550b with the thought of loading 9mm Luger for my Smith Model 59's and .38 special for my Model 10 and 15.
I bought the new Lyman 49th edition handbook.
After reading the Lyman and other beginners info I am a little nervous about assuming anything and I see conflicting information about some of the loads. I have been searching for load data on the internet when I found this site. I will go read the archives and see if I can answer my questions before I launch into asking a bunch of rookie stuff.
I thank the group ahead of time for being here and offering help.
Thanks!
Pat from Illinois...aka udaman1

Welcome to Gunloads Pat.

One manual is not enough. Get two more. If you have a question about a load, you will usually find that two agree and the third is close. I would suggest Sierra and Lee to add to your reference material. If anything isn't clear, ask us. That's why we're here. There are no dumb questions, only dumb mistakes made when too proud to ask.

Looking at the .38spec, you are starting off with what is probably the most loader friendly cartridge in existence. I suspect that at least 90% of us started there. It's a nice low pressure round that doesn't need to be lubed if sized in a carbide sizer. There is literally tons of data available for loading everything from 90-200+ grain bullets and more choice of bullets than any other size made for handguns. You can choose from light target loads with powders like BullsEye to hot +P self defense loads with Unique and BlueDot and dozens of powders in between. 9mm will use many of the same powders, though it will likely prefer different weight and style bullets. It is a little more involved loading for a semiauto, but you will have no problems if you take your time and think things through.

Now I'm going to tell you something you won't want to hear. This is my opinion and you don't have to agree, but it is backed up with 35+ years of experience loading all kinds of ammo on everything from little Lee Loaders to commercial presses.
I have been teaching reloading for many years and I don't believe in starting beginners on progressive machines. I feel they need to have a thorough understanding of all the steps involved in loading. None of it is rocket science (well, most of it isn't) but there is a lot of material that needs to be mastered, and the best way is to learn it one step at a time on a single stage press. After a thousand rounds or so, if the shooter needs enough ammo to warrant it, then he has a better idea of what kind of press will meet his needs. When you are working up and testing loads, a progressive is more hassle than it is worth because they are designed to produce a lot of just one load, the one they are set up for. Changing powders, charge weights, bullets, and OAL's can be a real pain, especially if you are working with a lot of different components. My advice is to pick up an inexpensive single stage like a Lee Challenger to learn on and for working up loads. It is always handy to have one on the bench anyway.

Thanks for your insight. I especially like your comments on the progressive machine. I was led to the Dillon by a couple of buddies who are experienced loaders and in my first attempts to work through it I completely agree with your comments. As I work each stage and try to set it up correctly it is a pain. The Dillon is a beautiful machine that does just as you suggest...make a lot of bullets for the set up but I now see why many loaders have multiple machines on their benches. Thanks for leading me the first few steps deeper into the addiction. Ha Ha...I think I am going to like this but I can see my bench is way too small. udaman.

No one ever has enough space! Many mount tools on pieces of plywood and clamp them to the bench as needed to save space. RCBS has a metal mounting plate with many threaded holes that their tools will mount on and be easily removed/changed, but you could make one of your own without too much trouble. I have a 40" bench with a 1" plywood top and a press on each end - smaller tools are bolted or screwed down in between as needed.

Each of us has different needs and our setups are all different to reflect that. I use a SS RCBS Rock Chucker for FL sizing rifle cases and an RCBS Turret for everything else. Most of my loading is testing cast bullets and surp powders, so even though I load a LOT of volume, a progressive would have had me tearing my hair out - if I had any left. It is only on rare occasions that I need even 100 of the same load. I do my priming separately with a tiny Lee Reloader Press and a Lee AutoPrime2 unit which gives me good feel for setting them and an automatic feed to do it quickly. I also use the little Lee Reloader for push-through sizing cast bullets, and I have it mounted on one of Midway's portable loading stands. Priming and bullet sizing are the only operations that I think can be safely done away from the bench - that can be interrupted without confusion and danger of a fatal mistake. I allow NO interruptions when I am at the bench - no phone calls especially, and my family all know the rules and agree with the reason for them.

Once you have done the load development for each of your guns, then you can crank up the Dillon, which BTW is one of the best progressives made and backed by one of the better customer service departments in the industry. You can just buy extra tool heads with powder measures for each different round instead of several presses and leave them set up. It's a lot cheaper that way.

Each kind of press has strengths and weaknesses with single stages the most versatile, progressives the fastest, and turrets the compromise.

Not much more to add, except I think it is a good Idea to creat a log for each load and each gun. That makes it easier to duplicate a good recipe and learn from one that my give undesireable results.

My thougts, TANK

Welcome to the site.

Ken.

udaman.....first welcome.
Next like Tank said keep a log.....Not just for recepies but for reference of several things. You will like to keep track of weather conditions when you test loads and it is also just good to write things down so you are more familiar with the way you do things. You will learn more about chamber length and OAL for your perticular wepon. Rifles in general. It is addicting and GREAT therapy to boot. I hoope to be hearing more from you in the future.
JEFF