The Gun Counter

Picked up a used, filthy dirty, Dillon RL-550B. Came with .45 Colt, 9MM, and .38/.357 die sets. A couple of parts are missing and a couple more are broken. I will visit Dillon Precision next week and pick up repair/replacement parts and accessories that I want. I have cleaned and lubed it. Only looks 110% better than when I picked it up.

I will be loading 9MM, .357, and picking up dies for .223 Remington.

I will be using the various loading manuals, the Dillon manual for set-up/alignment, and seeking new supplies for components. I have on hand a good selection, but would like opinions on your favorite loads for these calibers.

I don't have, nor do I plan to acquire, a .45 (Long) Colt. However I got brass and bullets in the deal. The former owner loaded dummy rounds and sold them via the intarwebs. I may consider doing that til I run out of components.

What kind of .45 Colt brass and bullets? I might be willing to buy the .45 Colt brass. You can never have too much .45 Colt brass. Ever.

Just got a call to fill an order of dummy loads. Review of the .45 brass indicated I could do a couple of orders and would run out. Looking at the prices that he gets, I may get into the dummy ammo business yet.

just curious, what is the use / need for the dummy rounds?

Don't know about others, but I made up a set of dummy rounds to use when practicing using speed loaders with my S&W Model 19 back when I first got it.

Since I wanted 4 or 5 sets (6 each) it was cheaper to use un-reloadable brass (splits in the case neck area, etc) and a set of bullets I picked up somewhere cheap than to buy the plastic ones most gun catalogs have. I deprimed them and left the primer pocket empty to help verify they were inert.

I also used a bullet profile I didn't shoot much (copper plated round nose vs my usual LSWC) and used a paint pen to mark the bottom of the cases to help keep them readily identifiable from live rounds.

Spent a lot of time in the living room dumping the cylinder and loading from my speed loaders to build up muscle memory.

randy wrote:I also used a bullet profile I didn't shoot much (copper plated round nose vs my usual LSWC) and used a paint pen to mark the bottom of the cases to help keep them readily identifiable from live rounds.

Spent a lot of time in the living room dumping the cylinder and loading from my speed loaders to build up muscle memory.

Most people I know also drill a hole through the brass from side to side. It makes it obvious to anyone looking at it that there's no powder inside, and adds another layer of safety.

It's used for reloading practice with pistols as well to get the right weight on the magazine. And some people also dryfire with them, claiming it is easier on the gun when you dry fire a lot. (Some people just use empty brass for dry firing, but that could be a bad idea since they can get mixed up and mistaken for wadcutters.)

Precision wrote:just curious, what is the use / need for the dummy rounds?

"Cowboys" use them to fill the belt loops on their gun belts. Works well for when they are not loading from the belt doing cowboy action shooting, but need to look good. Amazon has them listed at $16.00 for six rounds, plus $7.29 shipping. I can make them and sell them A LOT cheaper.

First Shirt wrote:What kind of .45 Colt brass and bullets? I might be willing to buy the .45 Colt brass. You can never have too much .45 Colt brass. Ever.

Look at Gun Broker. There is a guy that throws up 200 starline new brass about once a week. Ends up being about $50.00 shipped.

Thanks! I've been so busy buying 7mm-08 brass that I haven't paid much attention to anything else.