Reloading General

Presumably a press, a die set, a reloading manual (always read the fucking manual) and maybe a scale for the powder.

I'd personally buy something to wash the brass and make it all pretty, but that's purely personal preference.

i'd jump on a RCBS Rockchucker kit with the powder measure and scale etc. order up some dies and components - manual is something you're required by reloading law to say but almost no one reads them so whatever.

watch a shitload of youtube videos and check out some reloading forums for good info.

>>32105900
If you can't be arsed to buy something special a hose clamp screwed to the trigger of a drill and a coffee can duct taped shut with some lemon Brite, crushed walnut (you can get this in pet stores) and your brass will work fine too.

If you are doing a lot it will be a decent bit of trouble and I'd recommend getting a dedicated tumbler and steel pins, much less dust and you almost never need to replace them. Also a little quieter.

>>32105864

You cant reload ammo that uses a box primer. Be sure your brass for russian calibers is not russian made and uses a reloadable primer

>>32105864
I reload 303 British quite a bit, it's hard for me to find heavier bullets for it so I typically shoot Sierra 150 grain Spitzer. I use IMR 3031 powder

>>32106131

You meant to say berdan, not box (presumably boxer).

Boxer primed brass is the most easily reloaded. Berdan CAN be reloaded but is really more trouble than it's worth.

>>32105864
Don't do what I did.
I bought one of the cheapest kits on the market and big surprise, it sucks hard.
Complete waste of money.

Buy a good press. Seriously, get something like an RCBS Rockchucker right away.
The flimsy little cast alloy presses that come in most cheap kits suck huge donkey balls.

You'll also need a good powder measure and scales.
Don't buy the cheapest powder measure you find, but don't spend crazy money either.
The old school beam scales work, but they're a bit tedious to work with, I recommend a digital scale.

You'll need a case trimmer too, and a some calipers to measure the cases and finished rounds, THIS IS IMPORTANT!

You'll need dies to size your cases and install new bullets, the cheap-o Lee brand dies work, but the nicer dies from Hornady or RCBS are much more pleasant to work with, and usually seats the bullets at a much more even depth. If I were you, I'd buy Lee pistol dies, and more expensive rifle dies.

If you're only going to reload your own spent cases, neck sizing dies are better.
If you're going to reload cases you've gotten from friends, or picked up at the range you'll need full length sizing dies.


You'll need a bunch of little small shit too.
A loading tray, a primer pocket cleaning tool, a deburring tool, a lube mat, and sizing lube.

The most important part of the whole setup is a good steady reloading bench, something heavy, or bolted to the floor.
You don't want your bench moving around or flexing.
General advice as a noob is to STRICTLY follow the load data from the powder manufacturer and log everything you load twice.
Get a book where you can write down what you've loaded and when, and how it shot in your guns.


Feel free to ask questions if you want to know something more specific.

>>32105900
Maybe a scale? Maybe?

>>32106396
Scoops work too if you're going full poorfag, although they are less than ideal.
Alternatively you can just fill all your cases to the brim with Trailboss and wipe the excess off the top.

Just kidding, don't actually do that, although it most likely won't blow up your gun.

Whats the best reloading manual? Its essentially the last thing i need before i can start reloading.
Ive got a press, .308 dies, powder thrower, scale, case trimmer, tumbler, and a bullet puller. Is there anything im missing?

>>32106366
Lee cast press is a competent enough press imo. It won't full length resize .50 BMG but if you keep it lubed as you should it'll do well enough.

>>32106532
>Whats the best reloading manual?
The one that is made by the powder manufacturer whose you're using.

If you're using Norma powder, use their manual.
If you're using Alliant powder, use their manual.
If you're using Hodgedon powder.... You get the gist of it, right?

>>32106532
I have Lyman's 50th, Hornady 9th and 10th, and Speer #14. All are good but Horady's are a little conservative on the cartridges I reload. I also use hodgdonreloading.com.

>>32106586
>Lee cast press is a competent enough press

Depends on which one you get, there are a few different models.
All but the cheapest one is okay.

The cheapest one is what I initially got (for obvious reasons it's the one they include in the cheap kits) and it's really shit.
It flexes a lot, and the stupid interchangeable breech-lock-ring-things wobble around in the press and as a result all the cartridges turn out crooked and bent.
I would absolutely not recommend that press to anyone.

>>32106637
Christ, I thought they discontinued that years ago. Yeah, spend like 20 bucks more for a month shit press at that rate.

>>32106532
Lyman

>>32106651
>Christ, I thought they discontinued that years ago

They might have been, I don't know.
Maybe the kit I bought had been lying around the store for 5 years because no one was retarded enough to buy it until I came along.
But it was cheap and the store had a 30% sale on reloading equipment that day so I though "How bad could it be?".
Turns out the answer to that question is "Really fucking terrible!".

>>32106201

Yeah that's what I meant

>>32106532
The Speer is the best written, IMHO. I recognize good tech pubs work when I see it. Very lucid. Very easy on the eyes and on the brain.

That said, you should always use the reloading manual for the bullets you're loading. Even bullets of the same weight can yield different pressures.

>>32105864
http://www.surplusfirearm.com/2011/06/04/reloading-the-7-62-nagant-revolver/

Favorite to reload for?
Ive always been a fan of .357, its what my dad taught me to reload with.

>>32106396
Go suck a nigger dick SAO.

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>>32106131
>reloading russian

>>32106532
older the better

>>32109647
I like reloading for my old .450 Adams revolver. Something about a tiny case and charge with a big bullet always gives me a giggle.

>>32109672
oh snap son!
forgot how hard that guy sucked

>>32109705
Why do you think the older manuals are better? I thought about grabbing the hornandy 10th edition and just loading their bullets

>>32109766
the newer manuals are nerfed by lawyers and the whole c.y.a. mentality

im fortunate to have access to manuals that go back to the sixties when a lot of these modern cartridges came into the mainstream. I love hornady, use to drive by the place every day as a kid. the new manual is really lacking in depth of info for things like .223/5.56
my 5.56 round is almost 2% beyond their published max and i got room for more

>26.4 grain TAC
>.223 fmj-bt hornady
>LC brass
>rem sm rifle primer
i got around a 3150fps ave at around 100ft sea level from a 20'' barrel

>>32109825
Makes sense. Ive heard that .357/.38 have way lower maxpressure now than back in the day

>>32109984
That would be bullshit.
Pressure ratings tend to be fixed. We have better ways of measuring now so less gun are blown to shit.

>>32109991
you arent wrong but i can say that if you compare newer too older books it shows how the industry has lowered the ceiling on the 'redline' of powder charges.
i started using blc-2 for my 308's and the mid 60's were closer to loads that would show things like flat primers

>>32110034
The industry actually measures stuff now. Quite a few of the earlier manuals used things like primer flow to base their pressures on. They aslo tended to use experts who used their own rifles to work up loads.
Standardised testing and universal fixtures mean actual repeatable data is now being used.

>>32110048
are you saying the scientific method has only been around for the last 30 years?

and fuck universal fixtures

>>32110068
Prior to the 40s ammo companies did not release data for reloaders.
Prior to the 70's most reloading data was acquired using whatever rig the writer had at the time.
The companies actually have standardized equipment and procedures now and publish to stay within the SAAMI guidelines. Before it was simply assumed a load was safe because the writers managed to get away with it.

When in doubt, send 10 cartridges to a proof house and have them checked.
Will cost you around 30-50 bucks in Europe and you will know your pressure.

>>32110103
guess ive been told
i still dont like tests using universal receivers with 20+ inch barrels

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>>32110103
>It was simply assumed the load was safe because the writers got away with it

>>32110206There was a fairly recent writeup on one example.
If I remember right one of Cooper's published .270 loads was something like 2 grains higher than anyone else could even fit in the case. He was reporting no pressure signs because of a loose chamber and tight headspace.

>>32110224
Wow. Just wow. This is why people think reloading is so dangerous.

>>32110128
Or you could just load up a few rounds with gradual increases in powder. Start with the lightest load and check how the case looks after firing it.

Indications that the load is too hot
>Excessive recoil
Pretty obvious, more powder, more bang, more recoil. If its really thumping you compared to factory loads then you've got a hot load.
>Its hard to extract the case.
The case gets fire formed when you shoot, an excessive amount of pressure from a hot load will push the case into chamber walls more, so you need more force to pull the case out.
>Flattened Primer
This is the big indicator. If the primer is being flattened out then the pressure is too much.

Save your self 50 bucks and learn something about shooting as well.

>>32110282
That kind of seems to be exactly what people tried moving away from. Proof loads aren't standard operating pressures, it's just a maximum pressure a gun can take as proof of concept

>>32110224
Surely the gas venting from the bolt would tell him something is amiss. Or at least the massive amount of powder wasted for seemingly no gain

>>32106430
Hmmm... .30-06 with a packed load of pistol powder behind a 220 grain bullet... Good thing I shoot a converted Arisaka. That'd blow fuck out of a standard production gun.

>>32105864
Get a good reloading book. Read it until you can quote it like a 90 year old woman can quote the KJV. Then buy a press and dies and powder throw and scale and case trimmer and (this part is very important) a kinetic bullet puller and good quality calipers.

Get a cheap propane torch and a gallon bucket that'll hold water for annealing brass. (Old fart trick: Hold brass case by the base in your hand. Heat the neck/shoulder area of the case with the torch. Drop the case in the water when it's too hot to hold comfortably. Do that with your cases before you reload them the first time and they'll last for a few extra loadings.

Pick a powder that will work (as in, the manufacturer has loading data for the cartridge) with all of your rifles and another with all of your handguns. My rifles (I load .308 winnie, .30-06, and 7.5 Frog) all like H414 powder. Don't load for handguns, can't help you on those. Pick a bullet and a primer. I like CCI primers and I've had good luck with Remington PSP bullets, but I haven't bought any bullets in years so I can't vouch for current quality. Load 3 at minimum load, three a half grain up, three a half grain above that, et cetera until you get to maximum load. Watch for signs of overpressure (split case sides, protruding primers, and the like) as you go. Shoot three shot groups one minute apart. The closest two groups are the starting point for your next round of reloading.

Starting at the lower load of the two closest groups. Go up .1 grain at a time to the larger group. Load 6 of each. Shoot two groups at each load. Average the results. One of those will be most accurate. That's the right load for your gun. Stick with it.

Check Cabela's RCBS Supreme Master reloading Kit. It's $275 sale plus you get $75 mail in rebate. So it's $200.

If nobody is stopping me for a good reason I'm getting one.

Has anyone had blue bullets that didn't shit themselves going down the barrel? Coworker whose main job is a ballistics analyst says a lot of the coatings partially melt going down the barrel.

Already sick of my Hornady sonic case cleaner. This thing kind of sucks I think.

Any reason not to upgrade to a Frankford Arsenal rotary pin tumbler? I would use it without the pins, but they appear to work just fine with water and dish soap.

>>32105864

strangely my reaction to looking at those bins is the same as when I was a kid and saw those candy bins at the grocery mart

when you go to do any reloading you want to make sure you've got a press that can handle multiple rounds at a time

you reeeeally dont want to be doing them 1 at a time...

even 5 at a time is gonna be annoying

>>32115761
other than money, no. I would spring for the pins though, makes it go faster and it gets the primer pockets clean.

>>32116193

Most people reload for fun; it's not for making money. It's hardly annoying.

I have Hornady 9th edition and the ABCs of Reloading. I would like to have one more current edition book to have as reference, and then get my recipes from online and cross reference them for safety.

Would Lyman 50th be a solid choice?

>>32116193
I use a single stage press and like it. Deprime/neck size (I don't have a need to full length size, if you load same caliber for multiple guns you might) everything, prime everything, then powder/seat everything. Works for me. YMMV, and that's OK. Much of reloading is universal, some is personal, some is dependent upon your firearm.

>>32109825
The .30-06 I reload for likes really hot loads. I use almost a half grain of H414 powder above the manufacturer's recommendation.

>>32105864
It's probably a stupid question, but I'm not unfamiliar with reloading (.357), but the cost of .30-06 is getting a little much for me. I assume it is among the most reloaded American rounds and information can be found literally everywhere about it?

>>32105864
Get a manual and read it

Then decide if you wanna jump to a progressive press or stick with a single stage

>>32117059
It's alright, but the load data is limited. It focuses a lot on cast bullets, with one table per standard bullet weight (in general)

Has a lot of basic info for the beginner reloader, but not a ton of data for any one caliber.

>>32117492
Yes, but is that info accurate? Probably want to check a reloaders manual if you want to shoot for max loads.

I only reload 338winmag and 45/70. Everything else I can find so cheap it's not worth my time to reload.

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>>32117492
.30-06 may be the most commonly reloaded round. Lots of powders out there work well for it. Try something that burns at a moderate pace. I use H414, but each rifle I load for likes it. Your rifle isn't mine, so it might not.

>>32117548

What would you choose?

>>32117701
I don't know, I have Lymans and it's a great book. But I don't know how much you will gain from it if you already have 2 good manuals.

If you just want to cross check any common calibers, it is a good buy. Or if you cast bullets, it has good stuff.

>>32117813

ABCs of Reloading doesn't have a whole lot of recipes in it if I remember right.

Maybe a RCBS or a Hodgedon book then.