Reloading Thread

Just go with the manual, don't listen to free internet advice. I covet that reloading room.

>>34661745
I just go with whatever my Lee dies expand the neck to. I also use the FCD to crimp all rounds.

>>34661745
I can almost guarantee that you are not enough of a marksman or shoot at enough range or require the level of accuracy for any pursuit you are likely to engage in to need to worry about minutiae like neck tension.

.308, 168gr hornady match, crimp or no crimp?

lee pacesetter dies with the factory crimp die, going to be used in a bolt gun.

>>34661745
How tightly I crimp at the neck depends on exactly what I'm loading and for what gun. You'll likely need to try various methods and see what works best for you.

Pretty much any gun I reload for I end up trying 10-20 different loadings before I get exactly what I want dialed in anyways, so no reason not to try things.

>>34663587
No crimp. After first use of brass only necksize from then on out unless you're gonna use the brass in more than one gun with very different chambers.

>>34663637
How many rounds of a specific load do you usually do at a time when figuring out the best one for the gun?

>>34663642
Suggested neck sizing dies?

>>34663564
Some of us can, but it's all about pursuit of perfection. Perfecting your reloading craft makes you a better shooter because it takes away any excuse of "my ammo is messing up." You are able to focus on honing your skills.

>>34661745
I honestly don't know because I take the expander ball out of all of my dies when I size and do neck tension by "feel." When I use my redding neck sizer, I use the bushing that gives me .003" of neck tension.

>>34663587
Are you single loading or magazine feeding? I crimp only when I'm not going to be single loading.

>>34663704
I've had good results with the Lee die on my .233 match loads. I'm a big fan of neck sizing. Aside from working your brass less, neck sizing also rocks because you don't have to waste time lubing your cases and then cleaning off the lube.

Here's the corresponding die for .308.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/555614/lee-collet-neck-sizer-die-308-winchester

>>34663735
It's OK to get super anal about your reloads if that's your hobby anon. It's just that a lot of guys starting out in the reloading game waste time on things that are at a level they will never be able to exploit for a variety of reasons. By all means hand hone every bullet anon if that cranks your tractor.

>>34663799
Understood, I thought you were just being a troll in the reloading thread, but I misinterpreted you. Especially when you start shooting at 600yds, the difference between group sizes from even little stuff like bullet concentricity and primer pocket uniforming is immense

>>34663836
That what makes it worth reloading imo, you know your taking out factory tolerances for your ammo and you can custom tailered any rifle for a specific load.

Does anyone do annealing here?
Want to start annealing my brass to extend their useful life.

>>34664426
I'm just starting to get into reloading and will probably do this for annealing. I know you can buy/make one of those automated spinning annealing machines but this is easy and cheap.

>original
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uPlbB6LHKE
>updated video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL0WnIip6VI

>>34663799
Isn't every /k/ommando an ammo pervert?

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My first home setup

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>>34664937

Shore home setup

>>34664937
>>34664992

I just finished pulling probably ~200 bad 9mm rounds that I had loaded before a trip (I was in a rush and didn't really check things carefully), so I can reload them again now that the dies are all set correctly

>>34665045
I couldn't do pistol, its just too damn tedious

>>34665557

Rifle is the tedious one. Pistol is the simple one

>>34663765

little of both depending on how i'm feeling. i fucking hate the magazine on my savage, stupid 4 round detachable, so i usually top it off once when i sit down and then single load it till a ceasefire.

also, anyone with a manual handy, what are the minimum and maximum loads for .308 with 168gr BTHP and IMR4895?

hodgdon online gives me 41gr min, and 45.4gr max, just want to make sure thats close.

Anyone reloading 375 H&H Mag?

I just got my (used) CZ550 and id like to maybe start.

>>34665628
>hodgdon online gives me 41gr min, and 45.4gr max, just want to make sure thats close.

I usually just use Hodgdon online - if that's what they say, that's what I use.

How important is tumbling your brass? Can I get away with just putting a hundred pieces in a bag with some soapy water and shaking it up, or do I really need to go buy a tumbler and media?

>>34665747

good enough for me.

gonna make up some loads and work my way up. broke my foot last week, so that might be the perfect excuse to get some midweek range time.

>>34665758

You need some sort of tumbling - doing it by hand isn't going to get it clean and also would be a pain in the ass.

You need the brass clean and shiny so you have minimal resistance when running them through the dies.

>>34665758
this Frankford Arsenal tumbler isn't too expensive and has good reviews. If every shekel counts you can wait a bit as I often see it go on sale for $30-35. You can also use cheaper household brass polish as some reloading manufacturers sell their brass polish for a premium price. And if you have a pet store near you get walnut lizard bedding. It usually costs less than walnut media you would be buying from a reloading company.

https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Arsenal-Quick-n-EZ-Case-Tumbler/dp/B001MYGLJC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1501102704&sr=8-3&keywords=frankford+arsenal+tumbler

NuFinish is honestly the go-to for a lot of people, and it works great.

I've used Walnut shell media, and also corncob pet bedding and they've worked well.

>>34664727
The method I learned a couple of decades ago is stupid simple- get a shallow, flat pan; stand 20 or 50 cartridges in it, well spaced. Pour water into the pan until it's at the level on the cartridges that you want the anneal to stop. Working from closest to farthest, heat the neck/shoulder of each cartridge until it's red. As soon as it hits the right redness, use the tip of your propane torch to knock each cartridge over.

It's not as finicky precise as other methods, it is fast and cheap.

Does anyone know what reloading manual contains data for the 7.5x54 French?

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>>34667303
Hornady 9th edition

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>>34667303

>>34667303
The 9th edition is also their previous version (on 10th now) so it's on sale for $14 on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Hornady-9th-Handbook-Cartridge-Reloading/dp/B00A95QWGM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1501109860&sr=8-2&keywords=hornady+reloading+manual

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>>34667303

>>34667363
>>34667374
>>34667375
>>34667419
Thanks!

>>34667375
Thanks, just ordered this. good deal

Anyone know what manual has 8mm Lebel loads?

>>34667439
Sorry about the orientation, but I can't be bothered to fix it

>>34667737
Sorry, but none of my 8 manuals has 8 lebel

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Only 3 reloads and this happens, not even at max load either.

>>34661745
I feel for the Dillon meme. Shittest support of any company I've ever worked with.

>>34664992
>>34664937
looks good anon!

>>34668342
First one I've heard say this.

>>34668333

You've shot that case 3 times?

It happens. Rifle brass doesn't really last long sadly.

>>34668342
>Shittest support of any company I've ever worked with.

0/10 replied to your obvious troll

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tfw just moved and reloading set up and bench have no space yet...


tfw i just want to reload in all this spare time i have.....

>>34668333
If you're only shooting them in one gun, neck size those sumbitches. The brass lasts a lot longer and the case is fireformed to your chamber. Although you probably shouldn't do it if you're shooting it through a semi auto.

Has there ever been an objective comparison between the different brands of single stage presses? All I ever read is
>feels sloppier
>tolerances feels

>>34670347
I've just heard old rock chucker are great tier and forster coax are god tier. I don't know what evidence there is for that though

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>.30-06
>have 175 and 180gr bullets I want to develop loads for.
>only powder I have is N165
>too poor to afford more powder
I want 175gr SMK to go 2700fps with minimum pressure, what powder should I eventually buy? I'm thinking of stuff like IMR 4350 and N160 but I don't want to fuck around since I can't afford to buy more than one, and it has to shoot good.

>>34665628
Speer says 44.0gr for 2656, Hodgdon says 42gr for 2514, Nosler says 42 for 2708.

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>get all set up to reload 6.5 Carcano
>get my dies and clean them
>set them up exactly as the manual states
>apply lube liberally to the case
>case gets stuck anyway

>>34671037
>forster coax
That's some damn fine engineering

>>34669761
>>34670116
Its for a bolt action, I have a FL die right now but set it up to only size the case .001" smaller with my headspace comparator.

>>34668333
Did you anneal?

>>34674674
No, worried ill heat it too much and fuck up the case, and the pan method seems like it will be a horribly uneven anneal job.

>>34674957
you can hold the case with some pliers and rotate it a bit to get it more even
>>34674674
how often should you anneal? I've heard after ~5 firings but that wouldn't have helped the other anon since his brass only lasted 3

>>34674995
> how often should you anneal?
some say every reload and some say every 5th reload, but you should always anneal before your first loading. It'll soften the case and relieve the stress from being formed and work hardened at the factory. Some cases come already annealed, but I anneal them anyways.
> if you do it right
annealing a case twice in a row isn't going to damage it either.

I have an annealing machine, so I end up annealing every reload. I'm not a heavy shooter, but I've got some cases well over 5 loadings with no signs of weakening. I also keep away from max loads so my cases don't get stretched out as much. Only the occasional case requires any trimming. The only ones I've tossed were due to extractor chewing up the rim, cases too badly dinged, cases I accidentally trimmed to small, or cases where the primer pocket has gotten too large.

The poorfag method uses a drill, a socket and extension, and a blow torch.

>>34677162
See, I have never annealed, and I get 15+ reloads on everything. Even m1A brass

>>34664937 here

I just came across this and I NEED IT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4F93tWTC7Q
https://inlinefabrication.com/collections/quick-change-press-mounting-system/products/ultramount-with-quick-change-base-plate-assembly-9-5-8-tall

>>34677162
Can you over anneal the necks only? I tried home annealing with a torch and just did the necks while holding and turning the case with my fingers. I know the bottom of the case wasnt overheated as I could still hold onto it without burning myself.

I'm looking to load some Hornady XTP bullets in .357. Anyone know what the difference is between the HP and the FP? Only difference I see is the BC.

https://www.hornady.com/bullets/handgun/38-cal-357-158-gr-hp-xtp#!/

https://www.hornady.com/bullets/handgun/38-cal-357-158-gr-fp-xtp#!/

>>34677772
yeah. if you over anneal the necks, they can become too soft, and won't hold a bullet. Loading these rounds in a semi-auto could cause the bullet be pushed into the case.

You should really work to anneal the neck, shoulder, and the very top of the case body. Aiming the torch at the seam between the neck and shoulder best.

The case heads are much thicker and take a lot more heat. You can actually get the necks red hot, while the case heads are still cool to the touch.

>>34677876
If my assumption that fp stands for flat point is correct, you shouldn't really have to worry about the difference. But I'd still cut by 10% and work back up if you're wanting to do hot loads. Time, patience, and a chronograph are you friends in this

>>34677989
Yeah I'd assume FP meant flat point too but that's not what the image shows on the product page...hence why I am asking if anyone knows different.