Reloading
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You are currently reading a thread in /k/ - Weapons
Alright /k/ tell me about reloading. Specifically how and why you got into and what are some good ways to get started?
>>30387472
I got into it so I could tailor ammo to my guns and save a little money. It really helps save money with the more obscure calibers I have like .358 winchester. I started by watching youtube videos then I bought a used rcbs kit off craigslist and read the manual thoroughly. I recently bought a dillon xl650 with a bunch of extras upgrades off of craigslist again. I absolutely love it.
Literally just made my first cartridges myself today. I got this setup for dirt cheap, so I'm hoping to save a few bucks now that my supply of cheap 7.62 M80 has dried up.
Plus I theoretically should be able to get much more consistent groupings with my own loads, Once I git gud and find out what works for my gun.
>>30387472
Got into it because 7.7 Jap was a pain to find. Started off with the Lee Breech lock hand press kit but probably should have started off with something like the RCBS starter kit.
>>30387472
I got into it because I shoot several metric fucktons of 45acp annually because it's great.
Good ways to get started?
Well...read a lot. read up on all of it
>>30387519
if you shot through a few mags really fast in your rifle would it burn or singe that camo tape near teh barrel/ ?
>>30387530
what guns?
I've seen some 185 grain wadcutter loads and man i cant believe they chamber fine.
>>30387557
My S&W 4506
I've got 500 round nose and 500hollow point projectiles waiting to be loaded
>>30387472
How? I just watched a shit load of youtube and read a bunch of online articles. After that, I bought a couple of reloading manuals and equipment and was one why way.
Why? Because 15 cpr 9mm and .45 ammo. Also, it's an awesome feeling to look at calibers in a whole new way. I now compare calibers that I might get guns chambered in by their full potential and capabilities. I'm not just stuck to getting something that has readily available ammo anymore. Seriously, I'd compare the feeling of having the ability to reload to having a rooted phone; the full potential of everything you shoot becomes unlocked.
Buy things as you need them, read forum posts, and watch hours of youtube videos. It's not witchcraft; take your time and double check everything and you're golden. There is no shortage of old timers who just reload all day and talk about reloading online; lurk on some forums and take notes. Once you get a solid understanding of how reloading works, it's all downhill from there.
>>30387472
I got started in reloading primarily because no company makes accurate factory 303 British ammo. Secondary reason was because no company makes cheap factory 303 British ammo.
Now I reload for 303/308/223/38spl/357mag/9mm.
>>30387472
I was bored
pic sideways because shit phone
I've decided to go back to a powder trickler, bought a Hornady auto charge but it was shitty and not accurate.
>>30388870
how consistent are progressive presses? know you won't be getting tricklier levels of accuracy but would I be able to load 6.5 swiss to GP11 levels
>>30387472
I was shooting like 10k rounds a year of 9mm
Steel league had now power factor floor
Reloading make financial sense
Reloaded light rounds for steel
Dillon 650 setup in the garage. I can crank out about 800 rounds an hour with it.
>>30392667
The press is not even close to being as important to accuracy as many other, easily controlled factors.
Your brass, powder, powder charge, primers, overall length, seating die type, bullet, neck tension, and a million other factors are going to be more important than the press.
If you are really hung up on the idea that a progressive is less accurate, David Tubb used a Dillon 550 with a clamped toolhead to set pretty much all of the records for crazy accuracy. Benchrest shooters frequently use simple neck sizing dies and arbor presses.
Buy a nice press for the feature set. If you want to shoot in volume and not hate life, buy a progressive. With my mr bullet feeder on a 650 and a Dillon rf100, I can load over 1200 rounds per hour.
>>30387472
Because I love doing shit on my own and making things exactly how I want them. Cheapness doesn't hurt either.
On a side note, any anons cast for a SIG p226? I'm using the Lee 356-124-TC mold, Lyman #2 alloy, liquid Alox, not sizing and getting severe leading
>>30394315
Thanks sometimes get caught up in the hype with people putting in variances of a tenth of a grain significantly affecting accuracy.
>>30387519
it would be extremely painful
>>30394410
meant for
>>30387553
>>30394369
have you tried modifying the alloy? might be using too soft a lead. or try powder coating.
>>30394451
Honestly, I just got out to the range with them for the first time yesterday. From reading the fudd boards I was thinking that the caliber is too small but I couldn't find any SIG-specific info... I have some wheel weights, maybe I'll try casting from those
Been playing around with the new powder version of hitek, works really well. I made about 2000 bullets last night and loaded them, then shot about 800 today through my R8. No leading, no fouling, great accuracy from beginning to end.
People always want to know the money breakdown, so if you go full retard and cast your own bullets for maximum cheapitude-
Here is my 357 range load costs:
Primers- $0.025 ea
Powder- (Light plinking load slightly above 9mm power, 4.2gr titegroup, very accurate) $0.012 ea
Brass- lasts literally forever with light loads
Lead- (If bought at a very reasonable $1 a pound shipped, and sometimes it can be found free) $0.022 ea for a 158 WFN, my favorite bullet
Lead coating- (With Hitek, my new favorite mass lube/coat) $0.0011 per bullet. Yes, about a tenth of a cent.
That comes out to about $0.06 per round, or $3 per 50.
There is a significant time investment. That's ok if you enjoy it, and I do. It took me about 1 and a half hours to cast 2k ish bullets, about an hour to coat them, and about an hour to size them (VERY fast when using an inverted press and dropping them in).
The absolute cheapest factory ammo I see is JGSales has shit Tulammo steel case 158 gr for 249 a case of 1000 before shipping. Figure at least $25 for shipping and you are right around $0.26 per round.
So I get lead ammo of the design I want, loaded like I want, at roughly 20% of the cost of the most cheap garbage bottom of the barrel steel case crap. Or, $200 less per case of ammo. And a good coated lead bullet in a pistol cartridge is very likely to outshoot FMJ. For nonshit ammo the cost of factory ammo is normally about 40 cents per round. For something like 9mm, the savings decrease a bit. For 45 and 40 ACP the savings stay pretty equal. My 500 S&W reloads? I save well over a buck a round.
If you aren't reloading and you shoot more than a few thousand rounds a year, you are fucking up.
>>30394484
The Lee 356-124 is a good mold. Lee Liquid Alox is also very easy to get decent results with (but you better enjoy cleaning up that nasty filth it will crap all over your gun).
Odds are your sig just needs a fatter bullet than you are getting from your mold, OR you are damaging the lead bullet when loading. If you have a bullet puller, go pull a couple rounds and see if you see any damage to the bullet.
Overcrimping can deform the seated bullet and swage it down to a smaller size, causing leading issues. If you are crimping your ammo (and you probably are) try backing off on the crimp a bit. Crimp just enough to ensure reliable feeding and chambering.
Pic not really related. It's a bucket o 40s I made.
>>30394484
slug the barrel. calipers are very handy for reloading.
>>30387472
Any of you who handload: How many failed rounds do you end up getting when firing your handloads?
Would any of you ever carry reloads for SD?
>>30394538
Thanks for the advice anon, I'll do that if I ever get a night off work again. Casting is maybe more relaxing than reloading, I just need to iron out the details
>>30394538
Also do you know if the polygonal rifling thing is a myth? I'd love to shoot my P7 more often
>>30394563
Pay attention and be fastidious and you will not have ammo related malfunctions.
You should make a cursory check of your reloads to ensure that there are no obvious issues. Flipped primer, worn and damaged cases, loose primer pockets, buckled cases are going to be very obvious errors.
Using good reloading practices and good equipment there is no reason that you will load bad rounds outside of perhaps when you are experimenting for a gun. Once you have your load, know it works, and get it dialed in, there is no reason for random rounds to be fuckups that can't be visually inspected and culled.
But if you skimp on steps, don't inspect your brass (say, you load some brass with some mud in the case and you get a bad ignition), then you might have problems.
Hitek coated 40s I made as well.
>>30394599
Complete myth.
Some of the oldest rifling was polygonal and over 100 years of use has not shown problems.
>>30394590
If I may proffer some additional advice, consider mixing up or purchasing 45-45-10 instead of straight liquid alox. Less muss, less fuss, good results.
http://lsstuff.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=18 if you want to buy it cheap.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?259285-NEW-!-!-T-L-Liquid-Lube an alternative if you want to mix it.
I bought big into the coatings game- powder coat, hitek, whatever- but I will never deny that tumble lube works. It works great! It's just kind of messy both on your hands and your guns, and if you use a bullet feeder it won't perform very well. For most pistols and lighter loads in magnum pistols it's an excellent option.
>>30394599
It's a myth, but don't take my word for it. Shoot a mag through at a time and inspect it as you go. If your bullet is sized incorrectly, it's still going to lead, of course. And it may be more pronounced than it would in a traditionally rifled barrel, but when you get it set up right you will have no issues whatsoever. Lots of people shoot lead in glocks (which is for some reason the only gun people go out of their way to act like you can't shoot lead in, even though there are tons of poly rifled barrel users), even old school lubed lead.
Pic is 9mm and 458 socom with coated lead... the 9mm was shot in a polygonally rifled barrel.
>>30394600
you seem to know your shit, would a taper crimp for a .455 work or should I roll crimp? I've heard that taper crimps lead to incomplete burns for unique loads. would using trailboss mitigate this problem?
>>30392667
my dillon drops +/- .1 gn standard deviation of disk charge. Don't get the idea that progressive presses are "less accurate" than single stages just because they do more.
>>30394668
Unique has no problem with any kind of crimp.
Traditionally revolver cartridges are roll crimped. Stronger crimp to keep bullets from jumping the cylinder and binding the action.
>>30394668
455 for a webley revolver I assume? You should be able to get away with either. A roll crimp is better than a taper crimp for stopping inertial bullet pulling, but I would be surprised if you have that issue with a round that recoils that little with either crimp type. For my 625 (.45 ACP) I roll crimp if the rounds are loaded specifically for it, but I have never had taper crimped rounds back out either.
I have used unique with a taper crimp in many rounds and never had a problem whatsoever, but I'll admit that most of the time I roll crimp my unique and trail boss rounds just because they tend to be loaded in revolvers. Unique is messy as shit though, so what people might think is incomplete burning may just be unique essentially being combustible dirt. Trail boss in contrast is very clean and is likely to give you a complete burn.
The big tradeoff is that trailboss meters fairly poorly and unique meters very well. I personally use trailboss more for subsonic rifle than anything else because I like my powder drops to be as consistent as possible, and while they would never meter so poorly as to be unsafe, I'm just anal.
Pic is trail boss loaded 308 subsonics for suppresor use. Bullets are powdercoated.
>>30394616
>>30394653
Thanks anons, I'll try all of that and see what works. I appreciate the advice
>>30394733
>>30394741
Oh, only video I found for reloading .455 said something about Fioccchi having shitty burn and inconsistent velocities and stated that the taper crimp might have to do with it. Then again he also didn't tear a couple down to see if it was maybe a powder consistency problem.
>Bullets are powdercoated
You really like powder coating. Now I want to paint the bullets in the union jack.
>>30394925
also the gun is an old black powder bull dog. might be Adams but I'm actually waiting for it in the mail.
Would Blue Dot burn cleaner?
>>30394925
It wouldn't be hard.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?251956-Powder-coated-bullets-pics-only/page18&highlight=nail+polish
Powdercoating (or other coatings for lead) has a lot of benefits. For suppressors it means no leading. It has no smoke (or no more than a jacketed bullet would). It holds up better at high speeds that lube does. For rifles it seems to make alloy a much less important factor. It allows bullets to feed in consumer bullet feed dies like the KISS, MBF, or GSI.
>>30394980
In my experience blue dot is not the powder of choice for cleanliness period, and definitely not for a short barrel or low pressure cartridge. I use it for my late night shoot rounds for 357 and 10mm because the fireball is HUGE and the concussion is high. However I find the little blue "dots" all over, so I think it is a worse choice than trailboss. I would use trailboss or unique in your case.
>>30387553
The wide hand guard doesn't heat up much at all, even after 3 magazines fired in succession. Plus, I'm too much of a cheapass to do too much magdumping with real fuckin NATO.
>>30395069
You ever think of trying the Gunskins product? It looks cheesy enough to be fun, but I hear the results are pretty good when you take your time putting it on.
>>30395031
The dirtiest pistol powder I have ever used was accurate #9 when I was testing 7.62x25 loads. The fouling was actually reminiscent of Olde Eynsford BP.
>>30394980
The cleanest pistol powder for me is HS-6. Makes for pretty spicy 30 Mauser loads.
>>30395031
I think I remember you from a previous thread! were you the guy that tested it and found a 6% increase in velocity? Was that compared to jacketed or cast? Which one goes faster?
The video I'm referencing is this https://youtu.be/aQmDnvfm7Hs and he seems to get good results with a roll crimp and Blue Dot, is it something else making it that way?
>>30395105
It's a solid frame gun but it's been proofed for black powder and I don't want to push it too much...
>>30395124
For 455? Just start with a super low charge and work up a half or quarter grain at a time. Start at 1 gr. Literally one.
That being said, if you have any qualms at all, just don't use smokeless. Switch to pyrodex. That fouls a little less than traditional BP.
>>30394369
TL mold design? I had that mold and couldnt get the bullets to catch the rifling, they ended up squeezing out long to the lands diameter and keyholing badly. Havent had any issues in 9mm since switching to a standard bullet design. Also powder coating so never an issue with lead. Funny thing is I can drive a tl 158 swc 2,000fps in 357 mag without any issues. I assume the pressure of the 357 allows my soft bullet to bump up and properly obturate in the bore.
I got started on a lee classic turret and dont think I'll ever get a progressive. I load over 10k rounds a year between 6 calibers. I started casting within months of starting loading. Getting bullet cost down to under a cent a piece is a huge game changer and the relatively new hitek and powder coatings on bullets really open up a huge world of possibilities. I buy an average of 100 bullets a year. The other 10,000 bullets I cast and powder coat for nearly free
>>30395156
is there a formula to short cut it like twist rate to bullet grain to powder charge? I've only been able to find one box of 50 and I'd rather not be spending the first couple reloads doing math.
>>30395105
>accurate #9
Yeah, I'm not familiar with that one but I see that it's slower than 2400 and in a cartridge like 762 I can imagine that.
>>30395124
I don't think that was me, I haven't dragged out a chronograph in quite some time. It's pretty widely accepted that coated bullets tend to shoot slightly faster than lubed bare lead, though. More friction = more pressure = more velocity, all things being equal, and even if it does sound a bit paradoxical, it's the truth. If you ever tried moly coating jacketed bullets, you'd know that slippery bullets lose a little speed (and pressure).
As to what can end up being faster, it's a complicated question and the answer will probably vary based on powder, bullet, and weight. Even though more pressure allows more velocity, a lead bullet can typically end up matching a jacketed bullet in velocity with a little less powder required. I know that isn't a satisfactory answer, but you can find some interesting and detailed reading on what friction accomplishes in a bore by reading up on molybdenum disulfide, hbn, and danzac coatings in rifles.
In viewing that video, I believe his statement that the taper crimp causes the poor burn might be a bit specious. I would be willing to bet that the 455 has such an extremely low ceiling for pressure that whatever pressure difference gained by crimping is very minor. He's probably losing more pressure to the cylinder gap than he can gain with any sort of crimp. Just a guess, though, as I have no experience with that particular round or gun.
If he has blue dot working, then try it- however, I found even higher 38 spec loads to be quite dirty with blue dot, so I would be skeptical that they are particularly clean, but hey, I've been wrong before and I wouldn't stake a bet one way or the other on it. Trail boss is great for ancient and obsolete stuff, though.
>>30395234
If you don't like methodical progress, you really aren't cut out for reloading.
And I'm not sure how doing a test of 6 rounds at 1 gr, 6 at 1.5 gr, 6 at 2gr counts as math.
But no, there is not a formula. There is only testing, and looking for signs of overpressure.
>>30395256
Accurate powders are surprisingly under appreciated. I find #7 to be one of the better pistol powders I have ever used. Easy metering and versatile.
>>30395284
I have long been a fan of 5744, but that and 1680 for 762x39 is about the only accurate powder I keep on hand.
5744 is bizarre but works fantastically for modern loads in older cartridges.
>>30395259
>you really aren't cut out for reloading
I cannot find any in stock anywhere else I'm lucky to have picked up this box I have to do this out of necessity ;_;
Is it just easy as adjusting powder charge and looking for signs of KB? I could do that stuff easy, I thought you had to do some hoodoo with bullet weight, shape and then starting all over with a different powder charge.
>>30395256
Thanks, I'll look for trailboss though I might need to pay the hazmat jew on this one. Powder Valley is the cheapest place, right?
>>30395341
Your bullet will make a difference, but if you are consistently reloading the same bullet, that is a variable you can remove.
http://www.buffaloarms.com/455_Webley_Bullets_it-157322.aspx?CAT=4135
Here is a good quality, if expensive bullet. You are on your own for cases, but they are out there.
Adjust your powder charge, look for things like split cases, cases sticking badly in the cylinder, and large amounts of recoil.
>>30395341
http://www.tactical-life.com/tactics/reloading-the-webley-revolver/#ms16-webley-lead
Just find some load data from any competent source and go with that. This guy actually recommends blue dot as well due to getting 100% load density with the bullet he is using (it fills the case nearly 100%).
>>30395381
Before paying the hazmat jew, explore all local options. Unless you plan to shoot a TON of 455s, a pound or two of whatever is going to last you well over a thousand rounds.
>>30395393
Oh, and here is some reloading data. Start 20% below it and you should be OK
http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/default.asp?Caliber=455%20Webley&Weight=All&type=Handgun&Source=
Just remember with a cartridge like 455, there are no real pressure signs other than possibly sooty cases (Sooty cases = low pressure). At such low pressures as the 455 generates, you don't really get warnings. Primers don't flow, brass doesn't swipe or stick. Well, unless you go REAL crazy, but you'll know you went over by the gun exploding.
I wouldn't worry though. Load low and you'll be fine.
>>30394492
Are you loading 357 mag? right? That hitek coating looks nice but its pretty expensive compared to powder coating. How does it hold up to actual 357 loads? I use HF red powder coat with standard clip on wheel weight alloy, I have no issue driving 158gr over 2,000fps from a rifle with some lilgun. I too shoot and load the big ol 500. At $3 a round for factory, I honestly cant afford to shoot that. Im loading full tilt coated lead 500 magnums for 20 cents a piece. Light plinking loads with 10gr of unique cost 7c a piece. That is literally the cost of cheap 22lr.
>>30395466
Hitek really isn't very expensive, it's not far from powder coat in cost. If you follow the instructions, I autistically mathed out the cost per round afew days ago with a ~150 gr bullet to be around one tenth of a cent, including the cost of the acetone.
I have not yet loaded it to the same speeds I have powder coated rounds. My understanding is that PC has the edge on velocity.
The advantage of hitek is that it's fucking FAST to do. Like, real fast. No more individual handling bullets, no more bullets sticking together, no more standing them upright (if you used a spray gun for PC). I drop 500 bullets in a big rubbermaid tub, throw in a small amount of fluid, slosh for 30 seconds, bake it for 10 minutes, then do it again and I am done. Two coats, 20 minutes total bake time, and about 5 minutes of drying. You don't get the occasionally reject like with PC and even if it sounds like it's not a major time saver, it really, really is. I was blown away by how much faster I was processing my lead bullets with hitek compared to PC, and I have been (and will continue to) PCing for years now.
That said, folks over on castboolits are saying they are cracking 2k fps with hitek, I just haven't tried it.
>>30395535
ooh oops nevermind, I read your $.0011 as $.011. At that price, its not a big deal. Im still shake n baking my bullets using the airsoft bb method. Its kinda slow but I get great results and nearly 6k bullets coated from a $6 pound of powder coat lol. I may look into the hitek for use on the bulk of my stuff and save the powder coating for the faster stuff. Right now I have so many damn bullets coated sized and ready to load that I dont have to even think about casting again for a good year...
in your previous pic, I see a pan with holes cut in it... are you individually setting bullets in there to bake???
>>30395693
Nope, just aids in air circulation in my oven. I saw those pans at Walmart in their seasonal grilling section for 1.60 each so I bought a ton. I can fit four in my oven at a time.
With hitek you literally just dump them on the pan and bake, no handling needed.
>>30395393
So would it not be recommended to shoot normal cast .45 bullets? The damn moulds cost near what I payed for the gun and the bullets are almost as much as I payed for the box of cartridges...
>>30395414
>>30395418
Thanks, I'll try and find what proofs they rated it at and aim to stay well below, If I recall correctly there was a decent amount of time in which the Webley was a smokeless gun.
>>30395450
Yeah, it does worry me but what is a gun if it's not fired.
>>30395031
I want white bullets, does anyone make this shit in white.
>>30396886
powder coat comes in all colors. Just do it yourself
>>30394563
My only malfunctions (not including experiments) have been due to brass that should have been retired.
The .40 S&W is particularly troublesome because lots of guns have unsupported chambers and will let the brass bulge so much that it can't be resized back to SAAMI spec. My problems went away once I got a Wilson chamber checker (you can remove your gun's barrel and use that), and chucked any brass that didn't fit after resizing.
I'm moving away from .40 due to this extra annoyance. I suggest getting a different pistol caliber if you intend to reload.
>>30395156
>>30395124
Pyrodex is incredibly filthy, traps moisture, and will corrode your gun unless you clean it quickly and completely. Very hard to do with a revolver. I'd definitely avoid it.
I suggest checking reloading handbooks for low pressure loads. Be warned that some reloading manuals warn explicitly against very small loads of high-energy powder in relatively large cases.
>>30397202
I thought they fixed that after like the first generation if .40 guns.
>>30397258
I thought you weren't supposed to compress smokeless as a rule.
>>30388098
how long does your brass last? ive heard Lee Enfields have a strange headspace/case web thing
>>30397270
pressed send before I could finish, would using cottonwool as filler help?
>>30397262
>I thought they fixed that after like the first generation if .40 guns.
Many manufacturers did, at least partially, but the guns are still around. Unless you shoot at your own place and can keep your own gun's brass separate you'll get lots of early "Glock defiled" .40's mixed in with your own brass.
>>30397270
Slower burning powders (for rifles or magnum handgun loads) actually burn more completely and efficiently if there is as little airspace as possible in the case. Compressed loads are fine as long as they are safe loads to begin with.
Pistol charges will rarely come close to filling the case, and high-energy pistol and shotgun powders ignite easily even in a mostly empty case. My point was that it's probably wiser to use a powder charge that takes some visible space in the case and can't wind up stuck around the bullet base or in some other odd position that might lead to weird ignition quirks or excessive pressure spikes.
>>30397331
okay, just read not to compress non blackpowder loads and took it as gospel. Strange how little space powders take up and still work
Letting my newness show here but has there been any legislation or threat of legislation targeting people who reload and make their own bullets? It seems like the sort of thing an anti would be absolutely terrified to find out exists.
>>30397285
>would using cottonwool as filler help?
I doubt that would be necessary for any normal handgun cartridge. I've heard of shooters doing that for light loads of 45-70, but personally I just use bulkier powder if I want a reduced load--or just use a gun with a smaller and more efficient case.
>>30397362
so a grain of powder in a .455 case should ignite fine, right?
>>30397379
I haven't loaded for the .455, but you can probably find lots of good advice from Webley owners. (Just from a google search Unique seems to be popular.)
Your first source should always be real published reloading manuals, and double check with two different ones because typos do happen.
Personally, I wouldn't use any powder that didn't have a minimum charge of at least 3 grains with some room for error.
>>30397399
alright, thank you.
Long shot, but does anyone load for the 45-110 or 45-120 using smokeless powder? Planning on getting a Pedersoli Sharps Boss 45-70 and getting the chamber reamed out because fuck my shoulder and fuck anything within 500 yards.
Would be thankful for advise on dies and loads that have worked for you.
>>30397262
If you're reloading throw the .40 in the garbage and get a 10mm
Its the first step in reloading :^)
>>30394492
>>30394600
Glad to see someone else on here using hitek. I bought some already coated bullets and they were great in 1400fps 125gr 357 loads, no leading. I've got some 147gr 9mm loaded at 1000fps I've to got to try yet, will be shooting that from a 10.5 barrel with surpressor. If that doesn't lead or gum up the silencer we have a real winner.
Do you cast your own?
This guy also is giving excellent advice.
>>30397473
no because it will explode, 45-120 isn't a smokeless cartridge and 45-120 rifles aren't designed for smokeless loads. also bp 45-120 is weaker than modern production 45-70 by a wide margin.
if you're being a purist and going bp sharps get a factory made 45-120
if you want to pick up ammo at walmart just get one in 45-70.
>>30396886
You can find it in white, it doesn't look supergreat though (comes out splotchy often).
Pic related... they work fine but I wasn't happy with how they looked. This is with a "nicer" brand than harbor freight powder. In reality harbor freight red coats about as good as most anything, other than glossy colors... I found those to be the best of all.
>>30397202
Either a Lee U-die (or EGW, but their die is just the Lee, despite all suspicion to the contrary, I have both) or a Lee or Redding Bulge buster can extend the life of your 40 casings. I prefer the U die on a progressive press, but I will admit you are right- the 40 is much more frustrating that most other modern autopistols because of the higher rate of damaged brass in range pickups. If you segregate your brass and use newer barrels you will have no problems, and find it to be a very enjoyable round. But yeah, if you buy bulk 40 fired brass, it's going to have a lot of glock smiles and bulges in it, guaranteed.
>>30397356
Nothing in recent memory. A few years ago I think they tried to attack storage requirements for gunpowder at stores, but they dropped that.
>>30397481
:^)
>>30397913
I do cast my own, and although it took me a good while to start using Hitek (mostly I just decided to try it one day out of boredom) I really, really, really like it.
>>30397473
Why not the Quigley model then?
Bulky powders will be your friend. Things like 5744 and Reloader 25 work. Harder to ignite than blackpowder so might need a square of TP to hold against the primer or use magnum primers.
>>30397924
.45-70 is also not a smokeless caliber but seems to be fine.
Any 45-110 will outperform any standard 45-70 quite well.
Smokeless is perfectly safe in all blackpowder guns as long as you remember to not load the same volume. All that really matters in firearms is max pressure, stay under that and you're good
>>30392667
The Army Marksmanship Unit handloads the vast majority of their ammo on dillon 650s, it seems to be consistent enough for them. Check out their facebook page, they actually post a decent amount of info on how they handload their ammo.
>>30397924
I want a Sharps rifle, but the maximum pressure is quite low for hot, öong range 45-70 loads. By converting to 110 or 120 you may increase speed with low pressure. Also, I may load up a some BP rounds, but thats a project for a different time.
Also, these are modern repros, max PSI is 29000 I belive (dont quote me on that), so 110 and 120 will sling lead a lot harder at low pressure.
>>30398060
Cheers mate, will look in to loads with those powders.
Id like a quigley model, but the Boss is a lot cheaper/actually available from a gunstore here (Sweden). I could get one from a store in Germany, but they cost ~25% more on an already expensive rifle.
Also, I found a few loads for smokeless and 45-110 is slinging lead harder than the 45-120 at the same pressure. Strange with the 120 being a bit bigger of a case. Might get a 110 then, able to load slower and faster than the 120 with different powders.
Milsurp collector here, like others above I got into reloading because of the high cost of milsurp calibers compared to my plinking intrests. I do 7.7 and 6.5 japanese, 7.5 swiss, 303, 30-06 and 6.5 swede.
My one piece of advise that isn't covered by " be careful" and "read a lot" is that standard 7.5 swiss dies seem to be made for the k11 chambers instead of the k31 chambers oddly enough.
>>30396698
455 uses 455 diameter bullets. You may be able to get away with 454 diameter bullets.
>>30397258
>pyrodex acts like BP.
Thrilling observation there champ.
>>30394563
I did a front sight shooting course the other week and used reloads (they don't like that but whatever, reloads are like half the cost) and I had 2 fail out of 650ish. Both were because I didn't seat the primer deep enough.
>>30398563
Would powder coating make up the diffrence?
>>30398593
It could.
>>30397473
>>30397924
My lyman manuals have smokeless loads for 45-120. It can be done safety, but expect to use a great deal of filler. Dacron works well.
Google lyman 48th and you'll find the PDF.
>>30398637
now I think about it it might be inconsistent, could paper patching help?
>>30398652
I don't know much about PP, but isn't it usually done for larger difference in diameter? Like 10 thousandth?
>>30387472
>tell me about reloading
It's an addicting but time consuming hobby.
>how and why you got into it
Grew up in a family that reloaded, so I've been doing it as long as I can remember. Hell, my first serious injury was when I was about 18 months old and sitting in my dad's lap as he was running his Pacific (now Hornady) 366 progressive 12ga press, randomly leaned forward and took the handle to the face, got a black eye.
As far as why I continued it, well, nobody commercially loads .25 Ackley Krag or 7mm T/CU because they're wildcats. Awesome wildcats.
>what are some good ways to get started?
Youtube videos
>>30388870
>"I was bored"
>dropped over a grand on a 1050
You must've been really fucking bored
>>30394403
It does significantly effect accuracy.
Ball, small flake, and very short extruded powders meter very well though, and as such a progressive with a case-activated powder dropper will produce very very consistent loads with them. The issue comes up with your long-stick extruded powders (H1000, 7828, Varget, etc) because the case-activated droppers (as well as a number of bench droppers) don't cut grains consistently enough. That's what the very expensive culver-style droppers are for, and why if you don't want to spend $300 on a dropper, you weigh each charge if you're using long-stick extruded powders.
Keep in mind, you can weigh individual charges on a progressive, just have to use it more like a turret press instead of sitting there burning rounds through it.
>>30394599
It's 99.9% myth with 0.1% "this could, theoretically, happen if you're a complete retard that shoots bare lead loaded incorrectly and never ever ever cleans it".
The idea is, if you're getting a LOT of leading (undersized/underlubed/too soft bare lead bullet) and you let that leading build up over literally thousands of rounds, you fill in the rifling and constrict the bore enough to cause pressure problems.
If you're loading properly, you don't lead much if at all. If you clean your gun once every 10,000 rounds or more, you don't fill in the rifling. If you do either of these, not even both, it's a nonissue.
>>30398637
Yeah mate, thats where I found the data i was thinking of in >>30398337
Still, weird that the 110 is loaded at the same/lower pressure as the 120 but gives 360 fps extra with the same bullet.
Oh well, I guess 535gr of lead flying down range at 1805fps with the 45-110 is enough.
Would have been fun if the 120 would have reached 535gr @ 2000fps.
>>30394980
lol no, any of the -Dot powders are dirty as fuck.
Also, while I don't reload .455 myself, pretty sure it'll be a hair on the slow side. Only loads I use Blue Dot in are full power magnums (.44mag and .460 Rowland) and steel shot 12ga duck loads, and even with long barrels, heavy crimps, and loadsa pressure I still get tons of unburnt powder everywhere.
>>30398794
The dirtiest SP will be much cleaner than any BP, my friend.
>>30398821
True when compared to actual black powder, but honestly Blue Dot and Green Dot actually produce more fouling and unburnt shit than some of the better BP substitutes.
>>30387472
How?
Bought and RCBS starter kit and went to town, used that for many years. Still have it setup for bullet pulling.
Why?
Originally to make the most accurate rounds I could for my .308 & .223. Now I reload for precision and cost savings. Purchased a hornady LNL last year and since then loading has became a hobby by itself. It's just fun to take an hour or two and makeup 100 perfect .44mags for the price of a box of cheap 9mm.
>no bragging pictures, because I'm ashamed of my work station
I'm in the process of converting my home office into my reloading room so it's messy as can be.
>>30398750
If you're using varget and want match accuracy on a progressive you basically have to weigh every charge and most likely trickle in the last .2gr. My LNL case activated powder thrower will throw fine powders like AA#9 to within a .02 average over 20 throws, whereas with varget or N133 its lucky to get within .2gr on a single throw. This isn't much of an issue considering that much powder makes a real difference and this problem exist with basically every sub $500 powder measure.
Using a progressive for match reloading is great, they're super strong presses and the drag from the other die stations help keep seating depth uniform, the only things to watch for are primers feeding correctly & how your powder measure handles your powder.
Entire remove/weigh/correct/reweigh process adds maybe 20 seconds to the process.
>>30387472
Thinking of getting into this because California is being a bitch about ammo now.
>>30398939
I can usually get .1 or .05 with my thrower on my LnL AP with Varget, but yeah. If I'm trying for half MOA I weigh everything and use a trickler.
Funny thing is, my "mk262" that I load with H322 (also a long stick powder) and my .300wm that I load with 7282SSC (a mid-long stick powder) are both 3/4 MOA and I just burn them through full progressive, weighing maybe every 50th to make sure I'm not getting creep.
Like most things in life, there's a point of diminishing returns.
Does anyone other than palmetto projectiles make 300blk bullets? I'd like to get something in the 150 range so I can load supersonic plinking rounds that will still cycle since I don't have a suppressor...
>>30399001
Also, while I'm at it,
>FUCK SMALL PRIMER .45ACP BRASS
Fuck it with a cactus.
>>30399007
Missouri Bullet Co does a 245gr as well as a whole series of .30-30 bullets from 135-175gr that work. Leatherhead does a 230. There's a few out there.
how much would it cost to get set up to reload 30-06
also is there any home item i can use to remove the primers
>>30399007
Berry's plated .30-30 150gr RNFP bullets are 12c each.
>>30399019
Entirely dependent on how much effort you want to put into it.
Yes, but it's dumb and time consuming and you shouldn't do it outside of absolute emergencies.
>>30399001
>"mk262" that I load with H322
what is your load on that? I've found it is pretty forgiving and a great powder too...
>>30399036
Gimme a sec to go dig out a box. I usually load them a thousand at a time then take a couple months to shoot through them so I don't have it memorized.
I do remember it not being a max load though, and H322 is one of the lower velocity powders, so it's well under mk262 velocities.
>>30399036
>>30399049
Alright looks like I'm at 21.0gr with a chrony-measured 2660fps from my 18" barrel. Max load I have listed is 21.5gr.
>>30399001
"There's a point of diminishing returns"
That's very true, especially with reloading. I've never had the balls to just throw and load my rifle ammo, probably never will lol.
One thing that used to eat up a ton of my time was fussing over the OAL, used to seat down every round when working with VLD's. Now I just set my seating die and leave it for the entire run, only checking every 10th or so, funny think is I've seen accuracy improve with this.
>>30399142
Yeah, same. Ideally you sort your bullets ahead of time then measure off the ogive (or use one of the very expensive meplat trimmers).
I also gave up on VLD's. Everything short of JLK's were less consistent than my Matchkings, and honestly I don't care if they buck wind better if I can't shoot them as tight to start with.
I also gave up cleaning primer pockets. I just dry-tumble everything straight out of the brass bin, then deprime/resize and prime on the progressive. Saw no loss in accuracy doing that, I guess a primer pocket gets about as dirty as it ever will with 1 firing.
>>30399193
The only sorting I do for bullets Is weight, I have a .02gr scale so I usually get three lots varying by .1 or .2.
I have a forester seating die that seats from the ogive, thankfully I don't have to trim bergers awful meplats down to a reasonable dimension. I only have one rifle that shoots the VLDs and it was purposefully built for the 155gr VLD.
>all my other rifles shoot SMKs or big red and have 0 complaints.
Same here, the only time I touch the primer pocket is when I have to ream some out a little bit to fit a CCI #34 primer in a lapua case. All of my cleaning is done with a ultrasonic, 5 minute bath and then 20 minutes on a shoe rack in my drier. Spotless, easy, and no walnut shells everywhere.
>>30399386
>or big red
This I am unfamiliar with. What's big red?
>>30398146
>When your country loves shooting so much they have a unit dedicated to it
>They have the ability and resources to fill a large room just with reloading equipment
Born in the wrong country, man.
>>30399882
Pretty much all national marksmanship teams have this though.
>>30399894
If your country even has that kind of thing. I'm not aware of anything approaching it in the UK.
We have the British Army Combat Shooting team, but I'm almost certain they do not train all year and the members are simply detached from their own units to shoot on the team when required, for training or competition, and don't belong to it solely. There might be some civilian Olympic team that is constant and has exclusive facilities, but they don't cover the breadth of disciplines the at AMU does and I doubt they have anything approaching its resources.
>>30399761
Hornady
>>30400071
I can almost guarantee the royal army marksmenship unit has something similar, even if under contract at an ammunition company.
Remington has a similar setup for load development (illbeit 1/4 the size).
>>30398716
It's a pimped out 650xl I want to get a 1050 though
>>30394451
size the bullet and press on a plain base gas check and i doubt you'll have any fouling issues with bullets cast on that mold.
What are some good press options at the 150 to 200 dollar range
Was looking at the Lyman turret press for 160
Any personal favorites?
>>30400623
That's what a 1050 is--650XL with all the upgrades right out of the box.
>>30403034
A 1050 is a completely different beast than a 650. It is built as a commercial loading station and shows it. Also does not have the Dillon lifetime warranty.
>>30403034
A 1050 is a completely different machine.
The greatest advantage of the 1050 is that it swages on press. This is a massively overrated advantage unless you load an ungodly amount of crimped brass.
In exchange for that advantage you get:
> massively more expensive toolheads
> significantly more expensive conversion kits than the 550 or 650
> You lose the dillon warranty, although in all honesty they will still help you out
> It takes MUCH longer to convert calibers even if you drop $250 on a toolhead to just swap it over
The 1050 is fantastic if you load a LOT of just one or two things. For almost anyone else, the 650 is much more versatile, and 650 caliber changes are almost identical to the 550 save for the primer punch and additional case feeder parts (which take about 15 seconds). The 1050 is made to run and run and run and run and run, but it's much less friendly to caliber swaps and much more costly.
I randomly ended up working at an ammo factory so I reload to keep a roof over my head. It's fun even though I personally don't care much for guns. I've reloaded 9, 40, 357, 45, 762x39, 308, .50, 300 blackout and 380. They mostly do frangible and lead-free primers. I've learned mostly from the owner and he learned from reading books.
I don't have pictures of the ammo loaders or the Dillon set ups but i got a pic of one of the Camdex brass processors. Camdex can be a real pain to work with.
Is it worth trying to reload 9mm that's been fired from a Glock? My brother has a 17, and I have a S&W clone. I hear the breech tends to be too loose to reliably reload the brass, but I am hoping for more concrete information.
>>30404326
It's fine. The 9mm glocks do not suffer from bulges so severely as early G22s and other 40 models did.
If you have concerns you may not be able to resize them enough, use
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/386755/lee-undersized-carbide-sizing-die-9mm-luger
>>30404827
Thanks a ton. Been worrying about this for a while now, waffling between getting loading supplies and just buying a few thousand rounds in bulk and hoping the quality control is acceptable.
>>30402853
If you want a turret, just get the Lee classic cast. Seriously, it is very good.
>>30403629
>Troy, mittenstate
BRB
Did i get a terrible batch of windchester brass? Went to reload some win mags and found a group of 15 or so wouldn't slip into the shell holder. Calipers have the rim at .046-.05
All the ones that do fit perfectly come in at .045
I can't get them to go in short of using a mallet. Rather not toss cases that have nothing wrong with them but i can't trim the rim outside taking a needlefile to them.
(I know the reloading book says it should be .054 but i can't get the measure to go deep enough so its really just the non tapered edge)
>>30405149
don't believe this man
>>30407744
The Lyman turret is an objectively inferior design to the lee classic cast turret in every way other than number of holes. If you are going to buy a turret, either get the lee or the redding. I have had both, along with the RCBS. All three are gone now in favor of progressives and breech lock style rock chuckers.
One day, it will be mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Ugw67HRlk
Why did this happen on dillon's own youtube vid?
>>30398146
That shiny red one in the very front, is the crown jewel.
People want precision ammo, they load on a forster coax.
>>30409501
co-ax master race
