Grooms
How to Reload 9mm Ammunition on a Lee 4
Hole turret Press
Introduction:
Reloading is the process of taking a fired brass casing and re-adding the perishable components
so that it can be fired again. The purpose of this is to save money. These instructions are
intended for a person that is very comfortable around firearms, and who has researched
reloading. This person should have a moderate amount of understanding in this subject. By the
end of these instructions, you should have your reloading setup installed on your workbench,
and be producing your own rounds.
Disclaimer: Attention to detail is critical in reloading, as failure to do so can lead to
serious injury or death.
Equipment needed
Reloading press w/ 3 bolts and 14mm wrench
9mm reloading die set (any brand, carbide material)
Scale that measures grains (digital preferably)
Reloading manual
Accurate reloading calipers
Spent brass casing
New small pistol primers
9mm bullets
Reloading Power
Lee auto-primer(optional but recommended)
Tumbler with Tufnut case cleaning media
Bullet Puller (you WILL make mistakes)
Lee Auto-disk powder dispenser
Lee Auto-disk riser (You will need this so the powder dispenser clears the priming tool when
you rotate between dies. If you are not using a priming tool, you will not need the riser.)
Initial Setup
1. Install the reloading press onto your workbench with the 3 bolts.
2. Once the Press is installed on the workbench, install the dies as follows:
Collet
De-priming/Resizing Die (The hole closest to you)
Powder Die (to the left of the Resizing die)
Bullet Seating die (at 12 oclock)
Crimping die (at 3 oclock, not covered in this set of instructions)
3. Once these steps are completed, install the lee auto-primer onto the press.
Grooms
4. After this, set up the auto-disk. If you are using a priming tool, screw the riser
into the powder die, then mount the auto-disk. Look at your reloading manual
and determine how much powder you want to add, and set the auto-disk to this
setting. Add powder into the top cylinder.
Cleaning the Dirty Brass Casings
Now that the reloading press is installed, its time to start preparing your brass!
Add spent brass casings to the tumbler (you want to add 100-300 casings
at most, this should fill the compartment up about 40% of the way.
Add media to the tumbler. The media will agitate the dirt and carbon on
the spent casing, thus cleaning the brass.
Place the lid back on, plug your tumbler in, and turn it on. Let it run for
about 3 hours.
Once the casings have run for a few hours, check them. If they are ready
they will look shiny, if not, let them run longer (left casing needs more
time. You want it to look like the brass casing on the right.) If you notice
any cracks in the casings, do not use them!
Remove the casings from the tumbler and shake out all the excess media.
Your casings are now cleaned and ready!
Reloading the Ammunition
1. Slide the brass casing into the collet on your reloading press. Make sure the
de-priming die is directly above the casing, as this is the first die we will use.
2. Pull the arm down, thus pushing the brass into the die. The bullet has now
been de-primed (the primer has been removed), and resized to the proper
diameter.
3. Lower the casing out of the die, and with your other hand, push the priming
tool in line with the priming cylinder. Click the priming tool. This will place a
single primer in the hole. If you do not have a priming tool, just place a primer
in the hole beneath the collet. Make sure the primer is facing hollow-side up.
4. Continue to lower the casing all the way to the bottom. Remove your
casing and it should have a new primer installed.
Grooms
5. Place your casing back on the collet, and push it through the powder die. Make sure
it actually has powder in it. If not, your auto-disk is set up improperly. For the first
round, you will weigh the powder, put the powder back into the auto-disk, and repeat
at least 3x. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Although the reloading manual says a certain
auto-disk setting is right, every individual auto-disk is different. Make sure you use
an appropriate amount of powder for your bullet! Once the auto-disk is dispensing
an accurate charge, run the casing through the die and keep the powder in the brass!
6. Place the bullet on the mouth of the casing, and run it through the bullet seating die.
At this point, you will screw the top portion of the die down until you feel the bullet
(you will not be able to screw it in any further once you feel the bullet). Remove the
bullet and measure the overall length (OAL) with digital calipers. You will screw the
top portion of the die in, which will seat the bullet deeper, and run it through the
die again. Continue this process until you get a measurement that is within 0-
.005mm over the minimum OAL, and your all set. You will no longer need to adjust
this die, for this load. For this load, the minimum OAL in 1.100, so 1.104 is within
specifications.
7. Remove the bullet from the collet, and you should have a reloaded round!
Reloading ammunition is a great way to save money. Although the initial set-up can be a bit
time consuming, once it is set up, you will not have to make any adjustments for that particular
load.
Grooms
Frequently asked questions
Q: Can I use the same dies for a different caliber?
A: No, you will need to buy a die set for each caliber as they are set to the specific diameter and
length of a caliber.
Q: I want to use a different powder for the same caliber I have been reloading, what do I do?
A: All powders are different. You will need to look up the proper powder charge you should be
using in the Reloading Manual. After you know how many grains of powder, you will need to
remove all the old powder from the auto-disk and put in the new powder, then make the proper
adjustments to the auto-disk so that it throws the proper amount of powder.
Q: I have reloaded a bullet but forgot the primer, now what?
A: This is going to happen. If you did this, place the bullet in a container for bad bullets and
purchase a bullet puller. You can use a bullet puller to remove the bullet and powder from that
brass, that way you do not waste the components that were used in the bad bullet.
Q: What is different about reloading rifle loads vs. pistol loads?
A: Most rifle rounds will need to be trimmed in order to be reloaded. This is because the brass in
a rifle round will expand, while a straight walled pistol round will contract. Also, you will need to
lubricate the brass casings of rifle rounds, or they will get stuck in the dies. Lastly, rifle powders
are much different than pistol powders. Although the principles of these instructions are similar
to rifle rounds, these instructions should not be used to reload rifle rounds!
Q: How do I know if Im saving money?
A: Initially, you will not be saving money. This is because startup costs are very high. However, if
you calculate the cost of your equipment ($500) and take the cost of your components, you can
calculate how many rounds you would need to reload in order to pay startup costs.
Q: I am having trouble getting the bullet to seat properly, what do I do?
A: Seating the bullet can be a bit confusing, as the only method to use is the guess-and-check
way. Just continue to adjust further and further until you find your casing OAL to be within
specifications. If you seated the bullet to deep, you can use the bullet puller to remove the bullet
from the casing.
Brass-Free (Pick-up off range floor)
Primers (.03/each)
Powder (.02/round)
Bullet (.08/round)
Total bullet cost=$.13 cents or $6.50 a box. Market price=$14.00 a box=$7.50 saving per box.
If you only shoot a box or two a year, reloading is not for you. However, if you want to shoot a
lot of rounds a year, reloading can save a lot of money quickly!
