Reloading thread

Get a Lee decapper. The pin pops out instead of bending or breaking. I use a Lee universal decapper for everything. Their sizing dies work the same way, though.

>>31855239
yes, most places around the world do, in fact use berdan because it's thought to be more reliable and durable for ignition and powder burn, and they never cared about reloading ammunition to begin with. berdan is perfectly reloadable using a depriming tool or just water and a press.

boxer is unique to the US, and some sporting cartridges.

That is a Lee pin from a universal decapping die.

>>31855718
Then you fucked it up by cranking the lock nut too tight.
User headspace error.

>>31855239
>All that free 308 brass; into the scrap bucket it goes...

NOOOO. Don't give up on it. Fill the cases with water, and fit a wooden dowel the same size as the neck in there. You can blast them out with hydraulic pressure.

>>31855964
Does a boxer primer fit in the case the same?

Hey fellers, great idea here.
Get an impact bullet puller, pull the bullet off cheap but reliable fmj handgun ammo and replace with hollow points.

>>31856096
After you drill it out or some shit.

>>31855239
get a C size drill and convert them to use 209 primers

Whats the most accurate powder measure/thrower?
Im thinking about getting the redding 3br since i already have a redding press

>>31855239

Everone and their mom knows the german surplus DAG ammo is berdan primed, OP.

>>31855239
No reloader I know reloads berdan

New to reloading, found a guy that's willing to trade a midrange computer for most of his reloading supplies. Is it worth reloading 223? He's got dies for 300 mag, which I don't have, and the only things I do have that I'd be interested in loading is 357 mag, 45 acp, 9mm and 223... I don't shoot my 1911 often probably because of ammo cost, as well as my revolver.

Any tips for a beginner reloader? Is it worth it if I only shoot every other week? I'm going to do some more research during lunch, but I figure asking here would be good too.

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>>31860958
>Is it worth reloading 223?

It will be in about 9 days anon.

>>31856096
No, but you can order Berdan primers easily.

>>31860958
Me again

It's a Lyman rotating press, I think I'm going to get it with some 223 dies.

>>31860958
9mm and 223 arent worth reloading from a cost effective standpoint. for accuracy handloading 223/556 is fine

I bought some new Prvi brass, should I do a full length resize and trim before loading them for the first time?

>I'm new to reloading rifle rounds.

>>31861873
This.

Commiefornia here, I want to get a reloader because of the laws going into effect next year.

How much space does your reloaders take up? Can I just set up in a garage? I want to get a Dillon XL 650 because I heard it's pretty much idiot proof.

>>31861873
>>31861890
But would it be worth it to reload for 45 and 357?

This app hates me... But what are thoughts on reloading 357 and 45?

>>31861953
yes

>>31861881
Yes
>>31861873
I save money on 9mm and 223 if you don't count time which I don't since I don't get paid overtime... Comp time for the lose...
>>31861910
Mine takes up about a quarter of the garage, a closet, and half my office but I'm kind of messy.

>>31861953
I reload .40 cal and I'm about to start .38 SPC and .357 mag.

I also have .357 Sig, but I still need to get dies.
Necked cases = lube, it's gonna suck.

>>31860958
Reloading .223 on a single stage is really not worth it unless you are looking to improve accuracy. You get a marginal cost of about the same as cheap steel cased ammo.

If you get into casting, the cost to reload handgun ammo plummets.

The thing about reloading that no one really tells you is how it effects your range behavior. You start to get really protective of your brass cases.

>>31861910
I converted an old writing desk into my reloading desk. I store most of the bullets and dies in its drawers. I store the powder and primers on a shelf in my safe. Brass is my killer, it is kinda all over the place in my garage/house/car/friends place.
Not including my abhorrent brass storage practice, I take maybe an additional 12 square feet of floor space my garage.

>>31859459
Prometheus measure.

Most measures aren't the accurate part, they all suffer inaccuracies. You're better off buying a better scale and using ball/flake powders that meter really well.

>>31862078
I load 5.56 for about $170ish per 1,000 ($80 pills, $30 primers, $60 powder). Shit steel case is $250 a case.

>>31862078
>The thing about reloading that no one really tells you is how it effects your range behavior. You start to get really protective of your brass cases.
buying a case of tula and blasting away giving zero fucks about casings is incredibly relaxing.

>>31862078
Fuck you don't talk about my brass, that's MY brass...

>>31855239
Does anybody here reload shotshells?
I am toying with reloading my 2.5 in shells in stead of buying them (since they cost about 2x what I would pay for 2.75 in shells).

>>31862126
Yeah, 18CPR is about where I am at using a 55gr Zmax projectile and 16.5 for the soft points. Both will make my "precision" AR sub minute where m193 is minute and a half. Trimming lake city brass takes up most of my time. I try to pick up and much generic federal brass as I can since its usually way shorter.

>>31855665
I've got a Lee decapper and my pin is bent. Still use able but bent

>>31862078
I do believe I'll be getting a turret from him. But thing is I hear that the lyman is a pain to change out plates and die.

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>>31862078
I usually ask people if they are gonna use their brass as they pack up to leave and most shooters at my range don't reload

>>31862127
>seeing people at the range just sweep a PILE of brass away
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

>>31855239
Only surplus rusky and chinese ammo is berdan primed, never saw .308 with berdan so far. All NATO ammo I saw at the range was primed with Boxer but as we are limited in ammo here (France) reloading is a mandatory to shoot more than 1000 rounds a year so people will buy reloadable ammo.

Even in Boxer type there are variations in the hole that can lead to not reloadable ammo, for example GECO SX in 9x19mm ammo purchased by the police. All my Fiocchi cases have off center hole, it's ok with the dillon unprimer tool that has a lot of play and centers automatically without breaking the pin.

>>31862141
I tried with slugs for being able to say that I did it, I have no reliable recipe for the available powders. According to different sources you can reload a 12 ga plastic shell 2 to 3 times. Tools are very cheap and small, no need for a press.

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>>31862277
>Only surplus rusky and chinese ammo is berdan primed, never saw .308 with berdan so far.
>France

You're retarded, especially considering your own neighbor still stocks millions of berdan primed 7.62x51 NATO.
Most surplus .30-06 and lots of 7.62 NATO were manufactured with berdan primers.

>>31862319
We don't have much of other countries surplus because they are used by the army of these said countries.
I said that at the range there are very few berdan primed cases for NATO calibers left over. If Germany is stockpilling them don't mean they sell them to civilian market.
And you will not see a lot of them sold. Mostly because people have to reload because we are limited to buy 1000 rounds a year for most semi auto calibers.
There is a shitload of steel case for russian calibers.

>>31862200
You may be able to make it worth reloading with a turret press if you establish a good routine. Look for used dies in the calibers that you need as well. You can find decent dies for $20-25.

>>31862228
I mostly shoot milsurp so the brass isn't all that common so collecting other shooters brass isn't too useful.

>>31862277
I wasn't looking for recipes anyway. I was planning on making mostly target loads for shooting trap/sporting clays.

>>31862350
>If Germany is stockpilling them don't mean they sell them to civilian market.

Everyone from the US to Slovakia shoots DAG x51.

So, should I go with that Lyman turret press, or should I try to find a progressive press?

>>31862888
How much Jew gold do you store?

>>31863113
I only stole a few bullion from Sadam back in the 90's.

>>31863263
Like Dillon 650 dollars? Cause those are the only real progressive that work great. You can get a Lee pro 1000 for each caliber you reload for if you are poor and have a lot of space.

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>>31861264
Do powder, primer, and bullet prices go up during "panics"?

>>31863548
Powder definitely. That's the one that usually goes out of stock first. Primers and bullets are less variable, but I do see primers going up a little. Bullets don't seem to fluctuate as much as the other two.

>>31863548
Oh yes they do. Powder and primers more than bullets.

>>31863571
>>31863569
What about brass? once-fired?

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>>31863615
Brass for the most part stays the same, especially the once fired brass. Since a lot of it comes from military sources, it's usually crimped which means suaging the primer pocket in addition to all of the other brass prepwork. The only brass I see go way up in price is pristine new brass from Lapua or Hornady or the fancier Nickle Plated brass some vendors carry. Otherwise, the rest of the milsurp/commercial brass more or less stays the same.

>>31863644
Gracias. I was really debating spending $300 (or whatever it is right now) for another case of Wolf Gold ASAP, or just putting that money towards a reloading setup. Guess I'll just go with the setup

>>31863673
Piece of advice for your reloading setup is to buy used.
You can find decent reloading dies used for $20-25. New can be $45+ for the same dies.

when reloading for a bolt gun. is it worth it to get a neck only die to extend brass life? Or would I be better buying a headspace gauge and just reducing the case .001 from fire ormed?

>>31862191
Then go to their website and file a warranty claim. They'll send you a new one for free. I know because I've bent like 3 of the damn things.

>>31863673
Aye, particularly if you want to make your own match rounds, that's where reloading really saves you money. Federal Gold Medal Match 77gr stuff can easily go as high as 30bucks for a box of 20 rounds. I can make my 77gr for about 75c a round if I use fresh brass probably closer to 65 if I reuse themm.

>>31861910
All my reloading supplies, gunsmithing/cleaning tools, Hornady progressive press with case feeder, Lee single-stage press, Dillon swager, case trimmer, all my ammo, and a vise fits on a small workbench and a 5 heavy-duty shelves in the corner of my laundry room.

Organize and you'll be fine

>>31862228
Me too. People especially don't care at the indoor range, then I sweep the ENTIRE place up. Then I trade all the calibers I don't load on Armslist.

Reloading has made me a cheap bastard

>>31862109
>>31862020
>>31864351
So I can get a small shed in my backyard and work from there right? I won't die from fumes or whatever.

>>31864282
Good to know... I had a spare but as you know, two is one and one is none...

>>31861910
>>31864417

I reload 9x19 and .223, small batches at a time (no more than 500 rounds) and all my stuff has a footprint of roughly a square meter : a small bench with a dillon RL550b, and I put the other stuff under.

So far what I use :
ultrasonic cleaner (water + dish soap + baking soda + vinegar)
little plate from Lyman to put primers all on the same side to load them with the tube provided with the Dillon
Dillon press with the dies, a toolhead by caliber (decap/sizing, powder dispenser, bullet seater, crimper)
electronic scale Lyman microtouch 1500
RCBS primer pocket cleaner
electronic caliper
Lyman gauge for 9x19 and .223

My MO :
decap brass with the first station of the Dillon (just go to the click of the decapping tool, I don't fully resize at this step) then clean in the ultrasonic cleaner and dry it.
check if the powder dispenser has the setup I want
reload
shoot

>>31864417
>>31864417
Depends on what you ate...

>>31864417
No, it should be fine, but you might want to have it somewhere climate controlled so your shit doesn't rust... If I leave my dies in the garage they will start to surface rust because lol Lee... Also being out in the garage in the summer in your underwear gets you strange looks from the neighbors and fans screw up scales so I do all my non progressive powder charges inside.

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Finally found enough small rifle primers to probably get me through a year or so... They were hidden in the back of our Cabelas so I just got the 5k they had. My luck Cabelas will have them on sale next week... Maybe I should do that survey for $20 off $150 just in case.

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>>31864491

>>31855239

What is the normal amount of variance you see in your .223 brass?

First time reloading, and I reloaded some various powder weights for accuracy testing some 65gr bullets. One of my lowest powdered cartridges weighs roughly the same as one of my heaviest loaded cartridges. Is it normal to have a case make up the difference in 4 grains of powder?

Also, assuming I find the loading with the least vertical stringing, is it worth it to then fine tune it further down to .5 grain loads? What about testing various bullet seatings?

Finally, anybody else annoyed that manuals don't display in metric. I'm reusing an old chemistry scale, so I wish they'd show grams.

>>31864744
For rifle you definitely want to sort by head stamp at the very least. If you want to get all anal you can sort by case volume. For 223 I go by 0.2gr increments for final load development.

>>31864797

All Hornady cases. I use their American Gunner as offhand training rounds and for brass. I thought Hornady was supposed to be relatively uniform. Not Lapua/Nosler stuff, but still.... 3-4 grains seems like a lot.

> .2gr increments

Hoo boy, okay. What kind of group differences do you see from that? And does your powder thrower keep within those tolerances?

>>31864827
Most of the powders I use (h322, h335, and TAC) have like 2 to 3 grain min to max charges so it isn't that big of a deal. Powder throw is usually accurate to a tenth.

>>31862248
>comes here but doesn't know what tulammo is

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>>31864546
I haven't had a single failure in the few thousand 5.56 rounds I've loaded using those.

>>31865992
Yeah I had gone through about 6500 since the last time they were $18/1000 and have been waiting for them to go back down, but I figured they wouldn't any time soon so I bit the bullet... I tried some of the S&B pistol primers in my 300blk subsonic pistol loads but it would slam fire sometimes...

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>>31855239
>bend 3 LEE decappers
>order two at a time so I wouldn't be left high and dry again
>never bent one in two years since

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>>31866493
CCI primers do that for mine.

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How can you guys stand to load 223? It's just such a pain in the ass.

>have to trim them
>have to check to make sure there isn't a crimped primer pocket, if there is spend an ass load of time fixing them all
>have to lube them

That's why I like pistol reloading 1000x better.
>clean 'em
>load 'em
>shoot 'em

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>>31866546
pick the right kind of brass... poor people love shooting this shit, and I love picking up their brass because it needs very little prep...

>>31866749
That would take way too much time at my range. I don't even know where people buy all this shit. If I grab 20 cases out of my bucket and took a picture of the headstamps I shit you not every single one is from a different manufacturer, weird ones no one has heard of too.

>>31866546
>>31866749
>>31866781
I buy Lapua cases and get 15+ reloads out of the same lot right from the box.

>>31866885
>buying brass
That kinda defeats the whole purpose of reloading 223 though.

>>31863309
Thsts not true at all. Hornady & RCBS both offer a progressive press that is simply more modern than the 650.

>>31866900
Not when you want quality .223's.
You literally cannot beat Lapua. Brass prep is no longer a thing with this brass.100 pieces of lapua brass will outlast 1000 pieces of whatever trash you grab from the range.

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>>31862055
Think about getting 9mm and .40 cal carbide dies. Just for sizing no lube. Worth a thought.

>>31864486
Vinegar leaches zinc from brass. I would rather use citric acid which is actually good for the brass instead. That's why so many people use Lemishine. It's just a form of citric acid.

>>31866546
You have no idea what you're doing.
If you weren't such a normie faggot you would know how to do it with minimal fucking about.

>>31862055
Another clueless newfag.
Broham, mix up some Dillon case lube, throw all your brass in a bucket w/ lid, spray that shit in, shake it for like 10 fucking excruciating seconds, and you're done.

Somebody call the wambulance i gotta lube cases! ;(

>>31857699
Not smart. If you're going through that much effort, it's faster to just reload some hollow points from the get go.

>>31867306
thks for the advice, didn't know that. Primers pocket are not totally clean so I still have to clean them manually and it's a pain in the ass, maybe it's because I use cheap but dirty magtech primers (about 1 failure per 300 rounds) as soon as CCI are available again I am stockpiling them.

>>31866546

I reload .223 because no one sells 65gr spire point game kings.

I don't need the accuracy, but I'm also tired of spending $0.75 a trigger pull for ammo with 1" stddev vertical stringing.

>>31867353
k

>>31868638
Try wet tumbling. I get good results with that. It cleans it well enough to not do anything else. Though, I sometimes use an actual primer pocket cleaner in my brass prep machine but I just do it for my autism.

>>31871471
Stainless steel pin wet tumble is best tumble...

Literally every question in this thread is answered in "The ABCs Of Reloading."

There are multiple torrents of the book. Download it, read it twice, start loading.

>>31861910
My reloading "bench" is just a 5' section of the kitchen counter and the cupboards above and below it. It doesn't need to take up very much space, especially just starting out. Later, if you end up running multiple presses and all the shit that goes with them, it might take over half a garage.

550b and sometimes rock chucker user here. 650xl just sits off in a corner collecting dust, until I need to bang out a big pile of 223 a few times a year.

>>31863569
This

It pays to stock up on the more versatile powders that work in multiple calibers

>>31864140
I don't buy into neck only resizing. None of my funs are bench rest rifles, they are field guns and being able to chamber the rounds is pretty paramount. 0.001 under fired length has worked well for me so far in bolt guns.

>>31864417
The humidity will fuck your shit all up. I don't like messing around in basements either, for the same reason.

>>31871471
>>31872669
Wet tumbling master race

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>>31857699
>>31867501
you just going to let him talk to you like that?

>>31867000
But what if you get the blessing of Kek and pick up 1000 Lapua casings from the range ?

>>31861910
there will still be a background check on the gunpowder