ScubaBoy

Pistol ammo (at least non-bottleneck) is a heck of a lot easier to reload...you can get carbide sizing dies that you don't need to lube, and honestly, the only hiccup I think you would run into is crimped brass in 9mm, or both small and large primer pockets in .45ACP brass.

I have both a Sierra and Hornady loading manual; I haven't looked at the Hornady in a while but the Sierra comes in a binder which makes it easy to keep it open to a certain page, and it has all the cartridge dimension data in it along with some history. I usually use the powder manufacturer's load data rather than stuff from a book, but I will refer to the book as well occasionally.

It's pretty easy to load pistol ammo in one go with a progressive press since you don't have to worry about trimming cases, swaging primer pockets, etc. Other than that, not much difference. Hope that helps!

JeffWard

I'd suggest:

www.handloads.com
Brian Enos - Competition Shooting Books, Slide-Glide, DVDs & Reloading (forums section)

... and dozens of other online resources. All of the powder manufacturers have their own websites with load data and limits on them. The books are antiques.

Loading pistol ammo is VERY simple. I hope you have a progressive press that loads 4-5 rounds at a time. Once you're set up to run, the volume is awesome. I load 9mm and 40S&W on a Dillon Square Deal B, and I load about one round every 4 seconds when I'm running. That's about 7-8 minutes per 100 rounds, with primer tube reloads. If you get a Dillon 650 with a case feeder and a bullet feeder... you can crank out 100 rounds in 2-3 minutes. One round for every cycle of the handle.

JW

frantic29

Sadly I am stuck with a single stage press right now. Kinda stinks but its what I got. I never had a problem keeping up with rifle rounds but I imagine I will go through much more ammo out my M&P. That 17 round clip will do that for you.

I started looking into the progressive reloaders but its just going to have to wait. It took me a good six months talking my wife into letting me get a handgun. I can't imagine what she would say if I approached her on trying to get a reloader that cost more than the gun I just bought. Maybe after the first of the year and we have some tax money around I can do that. But for now single stage it will be.

Thanks for the info though.

luvmy40

Take a look at Lee Precision for low cost turret and progressive presses. I use a Pro 1000 for my 9mm .40sw and .45acp and an indexing turret for my .223

The Pro 1000 can be a bit finicky to get set up but it runs like champ once it is set right.

frantic29

I saw that one and have been doing some research. Trying to decide whether the set up problems people seem to have is worth the trouble. From what I read I'll have to turn over a new leaf in patience if I get that.

luvmy40

Yeah, there is a bit of a learning curve on their progressive presses. I had a couple days of frustration getting the kinks worked out on mine. Mostly just being sure to pay very close attention to the primer system. I can now set up and run 500 rounds with out any major issues. If you catch the failed primer operation and fix it before pulling the handle again it is a minute delay as opposed to ten or fifteen minutes of cleaning and such. I have also seen several issues with one of the "big name" progressive presses that uses a plastic clip of primers. Any of these fairly complicated mechanical devices are going to have their own personal peccadilloes.

Lee's indexing turret presses work extremely well and while they are not as fast as a progressive, they are many, many times faster than working single stage.

I can't argue with buying the best you can afford. Pay once for quality or pay continually for economy. Lee however has proven itself to me to be of better quality than the price reflects.

MaddMax

Don't know if Lee still makes it, but they had a hand primer with a ridged dish that you could shake that would set the primers right side up. Screw on the lid and put the right case holder in and use a hand lever to load primers till the cows came home. Fast and easy. Beat the feed tube on my old C&H 4 stage press. Liked the 4 stage over the turret press or single stage. Once set up it was load away.

Sinkhole30

I reload on a Lee 4-hole (well now it is) turret press. I reload both 9mm and 45 auto, and plan to add .380 and .223 soon. I use Lee carbide dies and I suggest buying the Lee deluxe set, as it comes with all 4 dies.
Die 1: decaps and full length rises.
Die 2: expands and is powder through
Die 3: bullet seating
Die 4: FCD (Factory Crimp Die)
There are some definite differences between reloading for rifle and handgun. You need to understand these differences. Most handgun ammo like 9mm head spaces off the case mouth as opposed to the shoulder in most rifle ammo. Trim length is fairly critical, because of this. There are also 2 different types of crimp a taper crimp and a roll crimp. Taper crimps are used on straight walled ammo for semi autos like 9mm, 40S&W and 45 Auto. Roll crimps are typically used in revolver ammo like .38 Special and .357 Magnum. Lee FCDs come with the appropriate type of crimp. You will find that hand gun reloads obviously use small powder charges and some loads will only have a .5Gr difference between start and max loads so accurate metering critical.

As for reloading manuals. I suggest buying the manual for the bullets you purchase. Online data from the powder manufacturer is always good, but some times very limited. For example: Alliant Unique is a very popular powder for hand gun loads and if you got Alliant's site for load data for 9mm Luger you are given 3 choices, 115Gr, 124Gr and 147Gr Speer Gold Dot Hollow Points. What if you wanna reload a Hornady 115Gr FMJ RN or a Sierra Tournament Master 115Gr. FMJ. The load data is different. I typically use all the resources I can get my hands on for data. And you can never have to many manuals. One of my favorite practice loads is a Nosler 90Gr. JHP on top of either 6.0 Grs. of Unique or 7.5Grs. of AA-5. I had to have someone with Nosler #3 Manual (1989) get me that data. It 's no longer published data.

Just take you time and use all the resources you can. Also reloading on a single stage is not a bad thing, it forces you to slow down and pay attention. I sometimes pull my Auto Index rod out and run batches as if it were a single stage.