Different Calibers?

[C. D. Nicolas]

How many different calibers do you load and how often are you making caliber changes?  Do you have a seperate head for each caliber or just shell plate and dies, Is it difficult and time consuming to get everything adjusted correctly when changing dies in a head?   Nic.

[bummer7]

C.D.,

I load 3 calibers.  Only have a single tool head so it takes me a few days to setup.  Once I setup, it stays that way for 5-7,000 rounds.  This reduces my loading bench time and helps speed things along for the year.  Always thought about getting another tool head but could not justify the cost factor.  I can see it being useful to have an extra tool head all colnfigured if I constantly reload year round.  But I would rather spend my time shooting instead of loading.  

-Steve

[C. D. Nicolas]

Thanks Steve, for your reply and the info...  I've noticed in the old price lists and even the new ones, that 30 caliber and 9 m/m both cost more than the other calibers offered.  The 30 Carbine with it's tapered case I can understand, but why the premium for 9 m/m?  I recently purchased another Star, including a head, ect. for 9 m/m. Are they more diffucult to set up and get good consistant loads than 45 ACP or 38's.  For that matter I have a couple thousand rounds of 30 carbine brass and a 30 cal. carbine,  Is it any more diffucult to load that caliber, does that tapered case cause more wear and tear on the machine?  Should I be looking for shell plate, dies and head for the Star, or for my Dillion RL550.   Nic.

[bummer7]

Hi C.D.
I wish I knew but I don't.  I have no experience loading 30 carbine other than using a single stage press.  Same with 9mm on the Star.  I have loaded 9mm on a Dillon 450 and did not find it particularly difficult or troublesome.  Perhaps some of the other forum members can offer advice and opinion about these calibers?  
I haven't followed pricing in a few years but I have noticed the prices vary from wilde to reasonable.  I wish I knew more as to why the price varies as much as it does.  I believe Starrel is a much better person to answer that question for you.  How about it, Starrel?
-Steve

[starrel]

Bummer7 and C.D. -- always happy to lend another $.02 to a discussion  

Different calibers and different tool heads -- for most people it comes down to how much you want to spend (time or money). Steve's setup is ideal for a well organized person that plans ahead to know what they will shoot and how much to load for their shooting season. The benefits of this setup and required adjustment is production/quality that is right on so the full run is the ultimate in consistency. It can inspire confidence in shooting when the entire batch/lot is exactly the same.

Several ideas work well: Record the number of turns on each die to get close to your desired specifications for a particular load and record it in your loading log or machine log. It will get you close to your setup much faster.

NOTE: It is good practice to keep machine logs as well as load logs. In a machine log, put down what was loaded, how many rounds, any minor or major issues encountered and the corrections made. The machine log is useful to track maintenance or additional setup checks based on number of rounds or a seasonal approach. It also allows you to watch for early signs indicating when a part needs adjustment or replacement and approximately how many rounds before that same adjustment or replacement might be needed again.

If your shooting/reloading style is more variable and you must load on a weekly or monthly basis, you might consider an extra tool head essential. A tool head is slightly faster because it can be installed on a machine and quickly checked or tweaked rather than needing to take time for a full-on setup. The best solution for this type of shooter is to have a fully setup machine for each caliber.

Difficulty, Calibers and Costs -- there are no simple explanations for costs except to say that the market is at work. I am confident to say that difficulty in loading has not been expressed as a factor for price or value of these cartridges. Popularity or rarity both can influence prices. 9mm is a very popular caliber but dies for the Star appear on the market less often than the common .45 ACP or .38 Special. The carbine comes up less frequently and does not seem to be a caliber that was produced in large quantities. Perhaps that is why it has higher prices...

[Les Bengtson]

I use one Star Universal to load .45 ACP and a second unit to load .357 and Super .38. Small lots of the less commony used (by me) ammunition are loaded on a Dillon RL 550 machine.

As to the 9mm. I do have a rarely used conversion unit for my Star machines in 9mm Parabellum. I have loaded a few thousand rounds with it, over a ten year period, with no problems. One of the reasons the 9mm die set is more expensive is because the 9mm P is a tapered case. This means you have to have a longer carbide insert and it must be tapered to match the case taper. This makes it more expensive to produce than a .45 auto or Super .38 which use non-tapered cases and a small carbide insert at the very bottom of the loading die. Both the 9mm and Super .38 seem to use the same shell plate and taper crimping die. Les