Looking for tips & info. on reloading

[SB_FA]

I recommend Dillon for the press. It cost a little more but the time you save and the lifetime anything ever goes wrong with it warranty make it worth it.

 

[texbiker]

been reloading for 40 years. started out with a lee whack'em set and thinking this is a lot cheaper than factory bought.
haven't bought a factory round in years. if you know any benchresters, they can teach you tricks for accuracy that would take years to learn. i figure that if i reload for another 150 years i will have paid for all the equipment i've bought in the last 40.
good luck

 

[Don]

The evil down side to reloading....."Brass Fever"


I can't stop picking brass up. My brass, other brass, brass I don't even reload. 257 ack improved?, don't reload it but I pick it up.

I pass a deer stand. I'm looking for brass. Oh look....a corroded 30-06!...full of mud

It's a relief to shoot 22lr sometimes. I don't have to dig around the grass to find cases I can reload....

My favorite to reload was 44mag. You could load it to a range of charges. Trim the cases down for 44 special.

Thats where your wrong in my case. I pick up 22lr brass to save and take to scrap yard to get a little cash. I usually wait until I get 20 or so pounds. Then, I take this money and buy more powder or primers....Soooooo, I guess I pick up every type brass I see. ( gets tiring )

Had some family over last weekend, we went out back and shot 22's for a few hours at some targets and steels. I spend the next few days ( a hour or so a day only ) and picked up a bunch of brass for my 5 gallon can.

Aluminum cans and brass pays for a lot of primers ( Over time )
Plus bad brass, split,bent etc.....

Don

 

[JDKinman]

A final thought....

I love all kinds of music but for some reason, I prefer Classical music while I'm reloading. I tune in the Houston Classical station and groove while I'm making bullets.

Flash

Ditto here. I tune in to the Dallas classical station WRR 101.1 (I think it is) when I have the radio going. I also have a television in my reloading shop with FIOS and it usually stays on either the Sportsman Channel or the Outdoor Channel when I'm casting bullets or cleaning the guns or anything else that doesn't require a high degree of concentration or attention.

Appreciate it Deavis, initially I was investigating reloading as an investment to conserve ammo cost and to readily have plenty of rounds on hand. However after reading all the above post I believe it will become more of a hobby to tinker with in the garage rather than a chore to $ave some cash. No doubt the initial cost will pay for itself fairly quick plus allow me to be able to shoot what I want when I want.

I started reloading over forty years ago with my dad on a single-stage Rockchucker (which he still has, along with his Dillons). My first year as a young starving federal LE guy, I got hooked on IPSC shooting and got a Lee progressive and started cranking out the rounds. The last twenty or so years, my reloading has been a quest for ultimate accuracy ammunition tailored for each specific firearm I own.

Like most, I started out "reloading" and graduated into "handloading."

Here is part of my reloading shop with my casting table in the foreground, workbench in the rear and reloading bench to the left.

I load for all the calibers you listed as well as for 12-gauge. Shotshell reloading is a whole nother ballgame requiring different equipment (press) and a different outlook. My own personal opinion is that it is best to begin and learn with metallic reloading, and in particular with something forgiving like 45ACP or .38 Special, then move to the rifle calibers and get a good grasp of the pressures and how the components are interacting with each other and the firearm, THEN move to shotshell reloading.

But that's just my opinion.

JD

 

[Shooter McGavin]

was just talking with a buddy from work the other morning (he works on a different shift) and found out he's been re-loading for quite a few years now. He was giving me a lot of pointers & tips and said he'd help me out as far as finding something and getting set up. LOL, who knew....You guys have been very helpful, appreciate it!

 

[Whiskey_Rocka_Rolla]

I have a quick question and didn't wanna start a new thread for it, because it's pretty quick and straight to the point. I had a bunch of 38 special casings I loaded up earlier, using the data for regular 38's, and when I got about 200 or so loaded up, I realized some of the casings were for +P's. I'm just wondering if the slightly lighter charge of a regular 38 special would make any difference if the casing were stamped for "+P".

Just want to be sure. I know +P's call for a slightly higher charge, so high pressure isn't a concern, and in this case, low pressure isn't really a concern either, I just want to know for future reference.

The charge I put into the 38's I loaded would be sufficient for +P loads anyway, it would just be pretty low...but I am still wondering basically if there is some difference in the interior dimensions of the +P casings that would make a difference in pressure, or are they just made to be more durable to withstand more pressure?

 

[TexMex247]

@ Whiskey, +P brass is usually thicker at the webbing(near primer pocket) to handle the added pressure of the +P loads. If anything, the +P brass may shoot better with lighter charges moreso than typical brass. The thicker brass(+P) usually has reduced internal capacity and will make more pressure with the same powder charge. Nothing wrong with loading them light but I find light loads are dirtier in large case cartridges.

 

[Whiskey_Rocka_Rolla]

@ Whiskey, +P brass is usually thicker at the webbing(near primer pocket) to handle the added pressure of the +P loads. If anything, the +P brass may shoot better with lighter charges moreso than typical brass. The thicker brass(+P) usually has reduced internal capacity and will make more pressure with the same powder charge. Nothing wrong with loading them light but I find light loads are dirtier in large case cartridges.

Cool, thanks. I bought a buncha reloading equipment about 2 months ago, and am just now at a point where I have time to learn to reload. I've loaded once before, about 30 or so 357 mags, figured out my mistakes in loading those rounds, and this time felt confident loading up all the 38/357 casings I had. Which was about 100 357's, and about 200 38's. Now I have 400 or so 9mm's to load, that might take a little more trial and error, so I may just load up 20 or 30 of them for my trip to the range next Wednesday.

 

[JDKinman]

Almost all of the (.38 Special) +P brass I find is nickel. I keep it separate from the brass and use it for what I refer to as "mouseloads."

My wife carries an Airweight .38 Special and I want her to get trigger time on it every time she goes to the range. Problem is, the recoil is snappy and I the lightweight alloy can "loosen" up the gun after repeated firing of stouter loads.

Now, add to the fact that we had a young lady come into our lives five years ago at the age of sixteen who grew up without a father or any male role model and for whom I became "Dad" and we became parents, she wanted to learn how to shoot (and fly, but that is another story). My .22LR pistols are all semi-autos and I don't have a wheelgun or single-six in .22LR. I do have K-frame Smiths, including my Model 19 2 1/2" barrel that she adores.

So I purchased a 105SWC mold from Lee that drops a bullet that is .358 in diameter, very lightweight for a .38 projectile and then begin developing a load using a fast powder like Bullseye to make a "popgun" load. The result is 2.7 grains of Bullseye pushing this 105 grain SWC bullet that is like shooting a .22LR.

Even better, my wife can run two cylinders each outing through her Airweight with reduced recoil and no stress on the gun. I want her inheritently familiar with the trigger pull, grip and point-of-aim with her primary carry gun, so this is a great way for her to keep in constant practice.

Works good for the (now 21-years-old) adopted young lady when she wants to shoot.

So all those loads go in my +P nickel cases. Since it's a reduced load, I've yet to have a case split on me. When loading normal .38 pressures, I've had them split pretty quick--lot quicker than the brass cases. I prefer a stout +P 158SWC load, and I rarely get more than a couple of reloadings from the nickel cases.

So using them for the reduced loads with a lightweight bullet that has a short base is a win-win all the way around.

JD

 

[Whiskey_Rocka_Rolla]

Almost all of the (.38 Special) +P brass I find is nickel.
JD

Ok, let me just be sure I understand this....Nickel would be silver in color...every time right? Just want to be 100% sure, I mean what I have looks like brass to me, (looks just like every other brass casing, but for all I know there may be brass colored nickel casings...idk?). Just wanna make sure before I shoot them. These last few days have been my first real experience with reloading. And I'm one of those people who not only has to understand EVERYTHING when I learn something new, but WHY things are the way they are.

With that being said....

I have another question, it's about this load data from Alliant's website. Check it out:

9 mm Load Data - Handloads.Com

I just want someone to double check this data before I start loading my 9mm's. This 9mm Luger, and I'm loading them with 115 grain FMJ RN's, with Unique. The data at the bottom of the page is what I plan to use. It just seems to me that it is a little high, but the only reason I say that is because the 357 magnums I loaded up earlier this week, with 158 grain LSWC's, called for 6.1-6.8 grains of Unique. So I'd expect 9mm's (a smaller casing and from what I know, a less "powerful" round in general), to have considerably less powder. The 38's I loaded yesterday called for 3.9-4.3 grains of Unique, using the 158 grain LSWC's. So like I said, I find it a little peculiar that 9mm's would call for more powder than the 38's, and almost as much as my 357's, especially because the bullet I'm using is 35 grains lighter than the LSWC I used for my 38/357's.

Is this because I'm using FMJ's, as opposed to LSWC's? That's the only thing I can think of, that makes sense to me. Hopefully someone can put that into perspective for me.

Basically just want someone to take a look at that and make sure I'm understanding it correctly. Help is appreciated.

 

[randmplumbingllc]

Thats where your wrong in my case. I pick up 22lr brass to save and take to scrap yard to get a little cash. I usually wait until I get 20 or so pounds. Then, I take this money and buy more powder or primers....Soooooo, I guess I pick up every type brass I see. ( gets tiring )

Had some family over last weekend, we went out back and shot 22's for a few hours at some targets and steels. I spend the next few days ( a hour or so a day only ) and picked up a bunch of brass for my 5 gallon can.

Aluminum cans and brass pays for a lot of primers ( Over time )
Plus bad brass, split,bent etc.....

Don

Even better.....

Turn those .22lr cases into .223's View attachment 15441

Just made about a thousand ,224 62 gr. FMJ open tip bullets the other day. (Actually, just "finished" them. ) Takes lots of steps and lots of work, but well worth it.

Better then "most" bullets you can buy. They shoot well enough that a dime can cover the group at 100 yards.

 

[Deavis]

I just want someone to double check this data before I start loading my 9mm's. This 9mm Luger, and I'm loading them with 115 grain FMJ RN's, with Unique. The data at the bottom of the page is what I plan to use.

You can cross-check unique data with Alliant's page and if you don't have a couple of reloading manuals go buy them. Lyman, Hornady, and Sierra in that order for me.

 

[Whiskey_Rocka_Rolla]

You can cross-check unique data with Alliant's page and if you don't have a couple of reloading manuals go buy them. Lyman, Hornady, and Sierra in that order for me.

Yeah I have a few but amazingly enough, not one of them has ANY data for 115 grain 9mm FMJ RN's. Kinda hard to believe huh. That's what I said too.

 

[Don]

Even better.....




Turn those .22lr cases into .223's View attachment 15441

Just made about a thousand ,224 62 gr. FMJ open tip bullets the other day. (Actually, just "finished" them. ) Takes lots of steps and lots of work, but well worth it.

Better then "most" bullets you can buy. They shoot well enough that a dime can cover the group at 100 yards.

That was the second reason for picking them up, but then figured out that the dies were kinda expensive....Unless you have a way of modding some regular dies or something else?


Don2

 

[Deavis]

not one of them has ANY data for 115 grain 9mm FMJ RN's

I don't understand, every manual I listed has data for a 9mm 115gr FMJ loading. Maybe I'm misunderstanding but while they may not have exactly your bullet, you have a window to start with and can compare velocity with some degree of confidence through the range.

 

[randmplumbingllc]

That was the second reason for picking them up, but then figured out that the dies were kinda expensive....Unless you have a way of modding some regular dies or something else?


Don2

Hell, everything is expensive these days.

If you have acess to a lathe, you could make the dies yourself.

Not really expensive, if you consider that I can make jacketed bullets for my AR and bolt .223 until I drop dead.

Something to be said for not having to rely on stores to have the bullets you want in stock.