.22 hornet reloading help

[Smoke Wagon]

OK. here's the story. Two days ago I ordered a hornet barrel for HR ( very excited ). I went to work and told the guys I work with. Yesterday when I got to work one of the guys came up to me and handed me a box with two (02) lee loaders the kind that you use a mallet one in .22 hornet, and the other in .223 a box of 400 CCi small rifle primers fifty (50) winchester .22 hornet brass that been fired, a lee Auto prime, a 1lb can of IMR 4227 powder, and a box of Sierra Varminter .224 dia 45 gr SP bullets. He then tells me someone had given it to him about a year ago and he has no intention on learning to reload so I could have it. I have ordered a reloading manual and am waiting it's arrival. I inspected the loading die and it has a small amount of surface rust inside the die. My question would be.. What is the best way to clean the rust out of the inside? and how hard is it to load using this type of loading device. I am going to start reloading and was going to order a press, but if this will work I thought I could learn to use this and decide if I want to jump into a press and so forth. Also what is the best way to clean the case without a tumbler, would a metal cleaner or polish work and try to do them by hand. Thanks for any answers or guidence that is given.

SW

[LaOtto222]

If the rust is not too bad, then put a small amount of light oil on some fine steel wool and put it on a rod or dowel that is a little smaller than the hornet case. Chuck it up in a drill and run at slow speed until you have it polished up. Do not make it tight fit, it should be loose and run it in and out. I have cleaned a lot of cases using a Lee trim spindle (case trimmer) in a drill with fine steel wool going over it as it is turned in a drill.

[Bob A]

Smoke Wagon,

The Lee Loader will work fine for you. I started with a Lee Loader and the first addtional equipment I bought was a case trimmer and a Lee Auto Prime. Priming with the Lee loader stops being fun after you set off a few primers with your mallet. The Auto Prime is a great tool.
After a while, loading can move beyond a way to feed your rifle. It can become a major activity in its own right. This seems to happen to many of us, so be prepared to enjoy loading and don't be suprised if you start accumulating STUFF to support your new habit.
You might consider buying a bottle of Lil'Gun powder. It is the best I've found for the hornet, especially for bullets of 40 gr and higher.

Enjoy,

Bob A

[Smoke Wagon]

Thanks for the ideas and replies, I thought about steel wool and oil I just wanted to make sure. The dipper thing has me a little worried. I just don't understand it. The package instructions say to use a level scoop. That's it no weighing??. Just trying to figure it out before I start and do some kind of damage to me or the gun.

[quickdtoo]

Here's a little readin for ya on how the Lee Loader works, he loads a pistol round, but the basics are the same. 

Tim

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/51

[woodchukhntr]

The dipper works just fine as long as you have the correct one and use it according to the instructions.  The dippers are designed to always give you a safe load with the powders listed for the caliber that the dies are for, not a maximum load.  There will be a little more variation than a drop-type powder measure will, but it will be minimal.  Lee also supplies a dipper with it's regular dies for use in a press.

[Smoke Wagon]

Ok I think I got it figured out. Thanks Quick. the link was the easiest to understand article I've read so far. If Lee would have put that in their box I wouldn't have to ask. I will clean up the dies and try it . should have enough time until my barrel gets back. I think this will work for now as I only hunt and don't do a lot of just paper punching. Thanks again for the help. One more thing Quick I just wanted to know are you the internet article "Guru" or what I searched and could not find near the information you gave me in just the one article Thank you very much.

[quickdtoo]

Glad to help, that's what we're all here for, to learn and share all we can, and thanks to Graybeard and Matt, we have a great place to do so. 

thx,

Tim

[dw06]

Quick is the G.B.O. "guru" 
To clean the brass good,I deprime them with lee loader,and pour a can of coke in a plastic jug throw the cases in and leave for 4hours.Then pour the coke off and rinse with hot water a couple times.Put them on a towel and roll around and when dry I use fine steel wool and they will look like new.

[Smoke Wagon]

Ok I got the hornet barrel and could not find any ammo in town. So I broke out the reloading equipment, cleaned the die and pieces up and read and reread the link Quick gave me. I used a scale and got the powder weight out of lee's manual 8.5 4227 starting load so I started there and reloaded one. Took it out back and everything went fine. pulled the trigger and it went bang all fingers eyes and face parts are still where their supposed to be. I will say it is really neat to be able to take raw components and a few minutes later have a cartridge that works. So went back in and loaded 20 more. Now just need time to shot maybe tomorrow before work. Thanks for the help. I see where this could be very addicting.

[quickdtoo]

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