Powder help!
 

As many of you know I got a lee pro 1000 reloader and I am having issues figuring out what measuring disk to put in the auto measurer. I have IMR 700-x powder, and Barry's 115 grain copper plated bullets.

my reloading manual says 4.0 grains to start with. and ive got 2 pamphlets from LEe's that came with the press that have all kinds of numbers which I have no idea what they mean. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!

according to a chart titled APPROXIMATE CAPACITY of all popular brands for each cavity, it looks like using the disk cavity labeled .53 will yield 3.9 grains of powder which is the closest thing to 4.0 I can find. the next one up on the IMR 700x list is 4.2.

I just looked at Hodgdon.com and they had a nice chart system but it says 3.3 grain for LRN and 3.9 grain for SPR GDHP whatever the hell both of those means. however, im assuming that I should go with the 3.9 grain because my reloading manual says 4.0 and now hodgdon is putting me pretty close to that too.

Rooster, weigh the charges until you are dropping the desired amount. This way when you adjust you will know if you are going in the right direction. Do not ever trust what the disk is suppose to throw. Different powders will not measure the same through the disk, that is why you need to weigh them. Good Luck

SPR GDHP I believe relates to the bullet. I am not familiar with these abbreviations, although, Spr may be Speer and HP normally stands for hollow point. A Hor 55 GR FMJ-BT is a Hornady 55 grain Full Metal Jacket Boat Tail. You can not load a 55 gr Hornady bullet and a 55 gr Sierra bullet with the same charge. This has to do with sectional density and ballistic coefficient. If you jack-up certain bullets fps. too much they will disintegrate in flight. I hope this helps.

Your Lee measure SHOULD have came with a handy little conversion chart. It will list the grains converted to each measure. 3.9 grains will be good enough for 4.0 grain recommendation.

thanks guys.

next question. how do I get the primers to seat properly? do i need to lower or raise the die or something?

Rooster,Make sure that you fully cycle the operating handle each time or you will break all the plastic parts on that press when it short cycles.
The primers are seated when you cycle the operating handle.
I had a Lee progressive press for a total of 1DAY,before I boxed it back up and sent it back to Lee and just got another Turret press,they are almost as fast and alot safer to use. The Lee 1000 is just a pain to use,IMO.

the primers wont seat all the way, it seems like they are going 3/4 of the way.

Primers Not seated
 

I know nothing about a Lee Progressive Press. Standard thinking tells me you are not placing enough pressure during the primer seating process. Going back to your powder problems, one thing strikes me= do you have a QUALITY powder scale?? This is a MUST for safe loading. As said by SBear, weigh the charge different discs throw. LRN= lead round nose-SPR GDHP=Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point. I learned to load on a single stage (RockChucker) press. I'm glad I learned all the basics of handloading BEFORE I moved up to a Dillon progressive press. With your situation you're making it harder on yourself than need be.:eek::eek:

It sounds like you have an LP problem. This is where the LP is not properly adjusted. To adjust you will need to buy the book the ABC's of Reloading and read the thing form cover to cover. After that Might I suggest that you pick up the Sierra Reloading manual and the Hornady reloading manual and maybe even a Hodgdon yearly manual you can get them at Borders for $7.








Oh yah LP means lever puller which means YOU.

update...

i have managed to get the powder feeding properly, the primers feeding properly...now i am just making adjustments to get the bullets seated properly

Reloading Basics
 

I had many of the same questions as you did when I started reloading. My best advice to you is to see if any of your local shooting ranges etc. offer any reloading classes. I took an excellent reloading class that cost me $45.00, was taught by a NRA certified instructor and our group loaded from beginning to end pistol cartridges. This was the best money that I could have spent. Just a recommendation, it sure worked for me. Arnie