Reloading info?

[KingFisher85]

I need to get into reloading. I know very little about it. So in other words I know jack about reloading.
I need to buy myself a reloading kit or something like that. I know a lot of you guys out there reload your own ammo so I was hoping that maybe you guys can tell me what to get and what not to get, what's a waste of money and what I need to have and what I don't need to have. And also, what is the average price for everything I need and the price for powder and primers?
The guns that I will be reloading are a 300 mag, a 338 mag, a 270 win, a 308 win, 243 win, 22-250 and that new 7mmTCU AKA 7mm-223 and my good old 35 rem and the good 12 Ga.

Thanks for any info
Mike H.

[Grantspastor]

Aah...bless the .338 Win Magnum! My weapon of choice for Alaskan hunting. Saved my bacon on one occasion when a bull moose charged me. I dropped him at 15'. You will need a different press for loading shot shells. I have used a Rockchucker press for many years without a hitch for all my other reloading needs. No real mystery to it. Get a couple of manuals...say by Spear and Nosler or Hodgdons. Work up your own loads from the information they give. Watch for signs of excessive pressures, and spend a lot of time at the range. Individual rifles will prefer different loads. You just have to experiment. You will have fun...and you will produce better ammunition than is available over the counter.

If you would like I can give you the two loads that have worked best in my .270 and .338. They are both Ruger M77.

[bigshark]

KF 85

On the shotshells you could probably pick up a starter from a pawn shop. You need not go top of the line and do high volume loading. You will really like the role-yur-own loads as they do give an increase in performance. Better pattern distribution, not clumps of shot here and there etc. I load Bismuth, Heav-shot and lead. I don't do steel but I know guys that do and they are happy with their loads. Good Luck

[ 01-02-2003, 04:46 PM: Message edited by: bigshark ]

[Flatfish]

I would reccomend an "O" frame style press over the "C" frame style. Reason being, you are forming cases for the 7X223. It takes a lot of pressure to do this. The "O" frame will last you a lifetime of reloading.

I would reccomend the RCBS "Rockchucker". Overbuilt, quality, a warrenty second to none in any industry, and readily available. There are many others available, but this one is king for a reason.

For shotshells, the MEC 600 Jr. is tough to beat. Unless you shoot a lot(300 rounds plus a week) it will serve you well. It is simple to make many different loads, and economical to change too.

Good Luck, and post or e-mail me any questions.

Mark and the dog, who likes them magnum loads for geese.

[KingFisher85]

I don't shoot no 300 rounds a week out of my 12 GA, maybe 50 rounds, but when I do a lot of shooting I do burn the rounds up.
Don't think I really need a reloader for the shotgun, I get a really good deal for 12 GA 25 round boxes, I only pay $2 to $2.50 a box for my shooting stuff. Not really to worried about that, but is it cheaper to reload my duck and honker loads then it is to buy them? I want to get out of the steel shot and into that new stuff. The good stuff.

[Curlew]

I have to agree with Flatfish. I got into reloading about 5 years ago and started off with the rockcucker press from RCBS as well. I haven't had a single problem since I started. The kit will have everything you need to get started and will probably run you around $260. From there you can see if you enjoy reloading and can upgrade from there if you like. Stick with RCBS dies as well.

One piece of advice- when working up new loads only reload 5 shells at a time, then go shoot a five shot group. Every gun will shot differently and its a waist of time and money to reload 50 shots before seeing if the gun will shot them well. I made that mistake when I first started and had to pull 45 bullets.

mike

[bigshark]

KF 85

Saving money on shotshell loaded with Hevi-shot is a losing deal. You can buy a flat of shells for $330. Or you can handload them for $1.25 each or $ 312.50. I load some to play with and see if I can get better patterns. I buy more than I load with this stuff. In my opinion its the hottest stuff out there. I have used a lot of #4 shot but my field results tell me that #6 is the best for everything at 45 to 50 yrds.
Anything farther out than that is not my cup of tea. But I'm here to tell you the cripples are close to non-existant. There are those out there that say its no better than steel. I disagree, these guys are not putting the pattern on the bird and hitting with the edges.

[ 01-02-2003, 08:44 PM: Message edited by: bigshark ]

[Flatfish]

Kingfisher,

If you don't want to reload nothing but hunting ammo for the shotgun, save your money on the press and just buy factory stuff. On ducks, steel kills them quite dead to 40 yards. 40 yards is farther than most folks can shoot. I shoot 200 rounds a week playing on the skeet fields, and 40 is a Loooooong ways out there. If you do not practice for long shots, do not expect hi tech ammo to make the shots for you. I am not implying anything of your skills with a shotgun. Just relaying my expensive ammo testing results to you.

With that said, I use steel for all my duck hunting. But geese get the hevi-shot. I can't point the gun as far as it can kill well, which makes the misses my fault and not the ammo.

Go gettum kid.

Mark and the dog.

[Firedog]

If you are going to get into reloading here is a great place to get supplies Midway. Bi-Mart is also pretty good for stuff. Check the link at the bottom of my post for accurate reloading page and go to the relaoding board there are a lot of pet loads and other info there to help learn.

[ 01-02-2003, 09:09 PM: Message edited by: firedog ]

[Chum King]

KingFisher85,
My recommendations for metallic reloading, in order:
1. Sit down and read a book or two on reloading. Get a feel for what you will need to do.
2. Find someone in your neighborhood who reloads and is willing to have you sit through a evening session or two, and will answer the thousand questions you will have during the session. A mentor is invaluable.
3. Take everything slow and easy with no distractions while you are loading i.e. don't try and watch TV while you are loading.
4. Start at the low end of the recommended power charge recipes and work up from there. I have several guns that do much better with loads at the low end of the published recipes.
5. For a rifle press as several others have mentioned you will need a good "O" frame single stage press for some of your loads. The RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, and others all make at least one good "O" frame press.
6. Getting a kit/package deal to start with is probably the best way to go. You will need a scale, lube pad, powder funnel, deburring tool, and a few other do-dads to get started. But don't compromise on your press choice because of what is in the package. Some good on-line or mail order places with decent prices for reloading supplies and kits include: Midway USA, Midsouth S******* Supply, and Natchez.
7. You'll need a sturdy table/workbench to mount your press. You will want to have plenty of light and a fair amount of table space to work with.
8. You will want to pick up a pair of calipers, and a cartridge trimming tool if that didn't come in your kit.
9. Then you'll need dies for each of the cartridges you will need to load for. There have been some new developments like the RCBS X dies that do some special things. I have used RCBS, Lee, Hornady, and Redding dies. Frankly I have been happy with all of them, so I generally buy Lee dies due to the significantly lower price tag.
10. Now you are ready to get bullets, primers, powder, and brass (unless you have enough saved up already). Make sure to inspect your brass before you load it for signs of failure, these are usually at the neck or near the rim/head of the cartridge. As was mentioned earlier, start with small test groups and work on one gun until you are satisfied with a cartridge that shoots well (that may be 1 MOA in one gun and 4 MOA in another), and then do a production load (40-50 rounds).

For shotshell reloading, I'll give you more scattered recommendations (get the joke?). I started with a Lee Load All II for my 12 gauge and used it for about 3 years before I moved on to a MEC Steelmaster. The Lee press was a bit hoakie, but it filled the void, and I probably loaded 3-4,000 rounds before moving on... oh and the press was still working.

I now also have a Hornady Apex progressive that I use to pump out a lot of loads in a hurry for trap shooting or upland, but for my waterfowl hunting loads I go back to the Steelmaster, or I use a set of RCBS 12 gauge dies that fit in my Reloader Special 5 press (they fit in the RCBS Rockchucker as well by taking out the bushing that holds your regular rifle dies).

The RCBS 12 gauge dies are a bit slower than a standard press, but work fine and are easier to adjust to different hull lengths.

For steel shot I often either weigh the pellets or count them out using old rifle primer trays that have excess holes taped over and are labeled for the load i.e. 1.25 oz. #2 steel shot equals 234 pellets so I tape over 22 holes and fill the tray three times for a load. To fill, just pour the shot into a bowl and spoon the shot over the tray until all the holes are filled. It really works pretty slick. As all the reloading manuals will tell you don't ever switch components or vary from a recipe for steel shot, the pressure dangers with steel are very real.

You will also eventually want to buy some form of a faster primer seating tool, an electronic scale, and a powder measure.

A few other comments. Lee Reloading seems to like to think outside the box, and often times they come up with a "better mousetrap". I like Lee's Autoprime, their dies, and I've heard that there "Perfect Powder Measure" is the only one reliable enough for STEEL powder.

Good luck!

[Bait O' Eggs]

KF85
If you want to try a RCBS Rockchucker I would be happy to loan you mine to play with. I usually only pull it out once or twice a year for one day, so it spends a lot of time sitting. I got my buddy reloading and he uses it one day every year.

I have a 10/10 scale, powder trickler, shell holders etc....

I would be happy to give you a quick lesson and get you started. The equipment is very durable and other than the scales I doubt you could hurt any of it. I have the 308 and 300 win mag dies from your list.

I am in Milwaukie, let me know if you want to borrow it for a month or so. I like the rockchucker, it meets all my needs. I had the fortune of using a set up before I bought mine, just offering you the same.

[KingFisher85]

Thanks Chum King for all the info you gave me there.

Now my 338 mag is an BAR (an auto), I have been told that reloaded ammo will not work out of autos? Is that true?

[KingFisher85]

Bait O' Eggs
we may just have to talk

[Flatfish]

Kingfisher, if I remember right, in autos you want to use a "Small base die" which is just a die that resizes to the minimum, so the self loader feeds well. I have never had to use one for an auto, but if I were starting from scratch I would get it up front.

Mark and the dog.

[HarpMan]

KingfFisher-85... FYI, The Rock Chucker and Rock Chucker kit from RCBS are being replaced by the Rock Chucker Supreme and Supreme Kit.

The Supreme has: Model #09356

Larger Window for Magnum Cals 4"
New Toggle Block
Ambi Handle
"O" Frame Design
Positive Spent Primer Retention

You may see some sales on the old RC as the new Supreme is shipping as of the 1st...

New Piggyback 4 as well!

The Supreme Master Kit has a suggested retail of $393.95, but you should find it less than that some place soon.

www.rcbs.com

Flatfish is right about the small base dies.

Any reloading manual will have what you need to start up. Read the manual and do what it says. Don't use diferent components than the manual cals for or mess with wild cats until you have many years experience. If you have any questions you have my email address.
RCBS makes good equiptment. I had an extra Pacific press but Nerta let his son-in-law have it :smile: I have a Rockchucker and a Dillon 550B set up on my bench now.

:smile: Your :smile: 35 Remington is a Contender? Thompson has a good manual for their pistols.

[ 01-03-2003, 08:21 AM: Message edited by: Keta ]

[KingFisher85]

yes the 35 rem is for the T/C
If I do get into reloading, should I load different for my T/C? :whazzup:

[Flatfish]

Kingfisher,

About the wildcats....

When reloading there are a thousand variables which affect how things go. The single most helpful tool in being safe( next to a good dose of common sense) is a chronograph. It reads bulles velocity. When you leaf thre all of the reloading guides, you will begin to see that a given cartridge is capable of basically a fairly given speed with any bullet weight. I understand that some powders may allow 100 fps more speed than the rest of the pack, but only in the gun they were fired in, with that load. If you try to force a gun to go fast, you are gambling with every shot fired. Not that reloading is more dangerous than any other hobby you may have. But when there is a meltdown, you do not want to be there. A chronograph tells you how fast your bullets are traveling. Speed is pressure. Pressure is safety. A chronograph will last a very long time. They are avail for as little as 75 bucks. It is money well spent.

Look very hard for loading data before proceeding with the wildcats. There are some formulas that will help you predict velocity potential of any given case capacity/bullet weight/ bore size . When you get there e-mail me or someone that is knowledgeable in such matters.

There are way too many details to cover onthe subject. Get a subscription to Handloader magazine. Get a bunch of back issues too. I am still learning after 50,000 rounds that I have loaded(and I have a lot to learn before I am real well versed at it). It is a slow process that only can be absorbed thru long term exposure.

I do not want to scare you from this wonderful hobby. But it is not without dangers. I just want to give you a map, so you can avoid some of the potential "oops" in the road.

Mark and the dog.

Flatfish hits it again. There are dangers here but if you are careful and aware you will have many years of shooting ahead of you.

Yes you should load the 35 Rem for the Contender. Most reloading manuals will have a section in them for it.

[KingFisher85]

Thanks for all the info guys.
Bait O' Eggs, I'm going to have to get a hold of you about that reloader.
Thanks, anymore info is still ok to be posted.

[garyk]

Hi KingFisher (soon to be KingReloader) just to let you know that I have Lee LoadAll (referred to in an earlier post) that I've been meaning to post in the Ifish 'CLASSIFIEDS', along with several bottles of steel shot and some various components including an OHaus scale - if I can find it.

It'll all go cheap, feel free to email me.

gk

[Bait O' Eggs]

Not long after getting my reloader I decided it was pretty cool to load to the maximums in the book. It was a more power thing. I was much younger and dumber then and did some pretty stupid stuff. I read in a reloading manual how they come up with the maximum loads is to keep loading more and more powder until they started to see failure in the casing (ie split necks etc..) and primers that were blown out of the casing, or primers that had square corners on them from being pushed out just far enough to flatten the bottom of them. Once they found this failure point they backed off 6% and called it maximum.

So I started loading a few percent hotter than maximum until I got up to the 6%. You could tell the difference in those hot rounds. One or two out of 10 rounds would split the case, usually the neck. I had a couple failures down near where the belt is on the 300 magumum. I was quite frankly playing with danger.

We went elk hunting that fall and we were packing the hot ammo. We had been watching a 5 point. Opening morning we are on the hill in pursuit of him. I peek over this bluff and there he stands about 100 yards from me at a very steep down hill shot. It is very difficult to try and shoot almost straight down hill and not fall off the edge of the bluff. I get an off hand shot off as I clung to the top edge of the bluff and missed. The ejector pin on the face of the bolt failed on that first shot and I couldnt get the brass off the bolt. I had to remove the bolt and beat the brass off the bolt. By the time I had figured out my problem and got it fixed the bull was long gone, and if the gun would have worked I could have shot an easy 5 shells before the bull would have gotten away.

My hot shells cost me a very nice bull. :depressed:

My brother has a 300 mag A bolt that looked just like mine and my first thought was to just borrow his bolt and put it in my gun. That would not work since the head spacing on a bolt needs set by a professional. I learned about the head spacing thing as I was trying to acquired the bolt and was gonna stick it in my gun.

I had to take my gun in to a gunsmith to get the ejector pin repaired. I ended up having to borrow a gun for the balance of the season and learned my lesson the hard way. I usually remember those hard learned lessons the best.

Anyway, dont shoot more than the maximum you will pay sooner or later. My payment was luckily not hurting myself just a missed bull. I have since read a lot more and have gotten a little smarter on the subject. [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]

KF85, shoot me an email when you are ready to get started and we can load a couple rounds before you get started so you get a feeling for what you are doing.