Reloading General

i use a dry tumbler. try not to go super cheap on this, the reasoning being this machine will be working for potentially hundreds of hours through its lifespan. buying something from harbor freight, for example, might not work out in the long run.

I reload for a Gew11, and they prefer bullets around 175gr in my experience.

Assuming you're doing el cheapo plinking rounds and not some super duper match grade stuff:
>engage brass jew powers and pick up ALL the brass
>sell this brass to fund your reloading
>always pick up your own brass and fend off other brass jews
>use bitch basic powder (e.g. H4895 since everyone and their mother has reloading data for it)
>use bitch basic bullets (speer or whatever is cheapest)
>get a Rock Chucker kit to reload with the appropriate Lee dies
>reload that shit
Reloading becomes economical the moment you go into ~50 cents per round ammo. To put the numbers into prospective, 7.7 Japanese is approximately $1.50 per round. If you do all your own reloading, you'll spend approximately 48 cents per round assuming you keep your brass and reuse it.

Stupid question: Is reloading 5.56 worth it other than making your own cartridges/having fun doing it?

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If you only buy one, get a wet tumbler with stainless steel pins.

Tula/Wolf is 18cpr. Unless you have some pissy gun that won't run steel or want to make match ammo, you'll never beat their prices even with reloading.

If you are trying to get that last iota of accuracy, yeah it can be worth it.
If you are in general just blasting away, it isn't worth it cost wise.

alright lads lets say I reload for only one cartridge. there is only one type of cartridge that i reload. only one type of bullet, only one type of brass, only one type of cartridge reloaded by me.

does it make sense to have three single stage presses in a row, one for each die? this way i never have to adjust case length of seating depth or anything. the reloading bench could also be made shallower, maybe more like a shelf, because i don't need a whole lot of components and my dies are already locktited in the presses. does this make any kind of sense? save any time/hassle over using one single stage and having to change three dies every time i use it?

You can cheap out on the media. Zilla desert blend lizard litter is much cheaper than Tufnut, and it doesn’t have the red dust.

I’d keep an eye on Hazard Fraught. Sometimes the stuff they have is the same as name brand reloading machines. It’s just branded with a different name.

A turret press or maybe a progressive press would suit your needs even better. That way instead of three or more presses, you only need one.

OP here. Started reloading to save money/ make better ammo. Now its an obsession & I don't save that much. I just wind up shooting 3 times+ as much.

Does anyone load p+ here? I load 9mm but I'm tempted to step into making some hot loads but not sure because I don't want to blow my shit up

9mm suppressor load
Berrys 147gr plated round nose
3.4gr titegroup
cci 500 pistol primer
OAL 1.150

> for me
Not when I’m stocked, it’s available, and generally less than 45¢/rd

I do it because I have an assload of .223 brass that's been piling up for about 4 years. Also, always wait until your components are on sale so you can maximize savings.

I reload hornady 75gr BTHP for $0.30 or
$0.40 if I buy a fresh batch of lake city once-fired processed brass.
I do not ever use other people's range brass.
Buying American Eagle is usually $0.25 - 0.30 after rebates if there is one ongoing.

I can always get submoa accuracy from the bench and my rounds are much much cleaner. The trajectory also actually matches my optic's BDC. It's basically a personalized version of hornady TAP, which costs $0.75.
I sometimes also load 62gr softpoints for $0.20

I get a sense of satisfaction from handloading, but the cost savings are small. Trimming is the most annoying part of it all. Tumbling is done in the background, I use a chargemaster for measuring powder and my press is also setup and needs very little adjustment.

If you purchase somewhat in bulk it can be. Plus the benefit of customized ammo for your rifle.

I priced out buying the cheapest bulk components and found I could get it to under 16cpr. It may be possible to get that even lower with sales.
Still not worth it to me, but it is possible.

anyone here reload shot shells? Id like to reload my own variety of shotgun shells from 00buck, slugs and dragon breath.

Initial tumble in walnut with polish. Lube then resize. Then I tumble in corncob w/ polish to remove oil. Will eventually get a wet tumbler. How do you like the ultrasonic?

A lot of savings to be had if you cast your own buckshot or slugs. If you can find reclaimed shot locally, it can be worth it to load target loads as well.

Woah neat even cheaper target loads.
Casting lead pellets does seem pretty cool too so I wouldnt mind

Whats range with range brass to plink with?

Like the other user said a turret would be your best bet. If your die set has decent lock rings, you can use a single stage with little tear down and set up time. The Lee dies I have are not set up for this but I've had good results with my RCBS dies.

yeh, the plan is RCBS cowboy dies. they aren't carbide afaik, but have good lock rings and are guaranteed forever anyway. i'm not sure why i'm biased against turrets. i already have a cheapie Lee single press, was thinking of getting a couple more. cost for two more would be like $80 shipped. a new turret would be twice that at least, and the offerings from rcbs and lyman don't look too hot for what you get.

It does an OK job, but I can’t do a large quantity. The wet tumbler does a better job, but I can’t justify the trouble for 50 pieces of brass.

Like I said I run 3 single stages. If you're cramped on space it's not ideal though. Never tried the Lee presses, But absolutly love my 2 RCBSs. Dont know your price range, but would recommend the rockchucker supreme. The primer catcher works well & saves some mess.

I wouldn't trust a Lee C Frame presses to do anything but decap brass. At the very most I might seat pistol bullets with one. I just have heard way too many horror stories about them.

not unless youre trying to load match/hunting/self defense ammunition where youll get a nice discount handloading and having them tuned for your specific gun

up to probably 10 cpr difference is not worth the time investment for me

Form it into 300 Blackout and it will be.

>reload, cast and powder coat 303 British
>Shit keyholes like crazy, pie plate MOA
>must keep trying
The struggle is real.

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Did you slug the bore of your gun? Lee Enfields can be very over bore.
Also what are you sizing your bullets to?

Haven't started casting (as all my calibers are common). I know the savings can be great , but what is the time consumption on that & the powder coating?

You can easily cast several hundred bullets in an afternoon.
Powder coating all of those will probably take you another afternoon (with your biggest time suck here being the 20 minute bake time).

Why the fuck do people even both with casting their own bullets now a days? It seems like just a big waste of time.

Go buy some FMJ's with a proper OGIVE and be done with it. Fiddle with the seating depth and charge, then maybe try a different primer. Jesus.

>Why the fuck do people even both with casting their own bullets now a days?
If you have access to free or nearly free lead, it is like getting free bullets. This is the primary reason for most people.

I also shoot big bore black powder cartridges. Stuff that was never made for jacketed bullets.

I have a friend who shoots 7mm nambu. You find me jacketed bullets for that.

I really regret not doing so. What I did was take the size of a bullet my Enfield likes (HXP .312) and bump it up a bit (.314).

Doesn't help that these are plain-base since I powercoat.

Thanks user. Will look into. At least want to try some handgun loads to do plinking on the dirt cheap.

maybe he's loading black power?

Bought some reloading stuff but not everything I need. I have a RCBS Chargemaster lite that I got on sale and a Rock Chucker with dies for 7.5x55 swiss and .41 swiss. I plan on getting dies for 8mm Mauser, 303 British and 3006 for M1 Garand. I need to find a bolt to convert to centerfire for my M78 Swiss Vetterli. I don't want to convert the original bolt if I can avoid it but m78 bolt bodys don't fall from the sky.

I also need good books for 7.5x55 swiss. I plan on loading up to gp11 but would like to down load a touch. I want to see how accurate I can get with my 96/11 with scope.

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Sounds like your rifling might make it down to .311/.312 but your bore might be something like .315 or bigger (not unheard of).
Something to note, the PC "jacket" is rather soft. What may spin with a metal jacket might just glide with a PC jacket.

Also what powder are you using? Too much pressure can also cause a soft bullet not to properly engage rifling.

The 96/11 is not as strong as the k31 or even the 1911 action. Start at the bottom and go till you get the best accuracy. Don't hot rod an old gun.

As far as your Vetterli, don't worry about the guns value. The decrease in value as a collector piece is offset by the increase of being able to shoot it. Pretty much a net zero action. Just make sure you go with someone who knows what they are doing.

Every published 7.5 Swiss load date I've found has been way underloaded so it should be fine for a 96/11

While my intent is not to hot rod my 96/11 It was made to handle the GP11 round. I get what you mean tho in regards to the action not as strong as the k31. I have like 600 rounds of GP11 and would rather shoot it thro the k31 and plan on watering down the loads for the 96/11.

As far as the Vertelli goes that is what I'm fighting myself with.

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The first you need to realize is that reloading to save money makes as much sense as buying a new car to save on repairs for your old car. You are only spending even more money 90% of the time. The only people who save are those loading cartridges larger then my hand like .338 or .50. This also assumes your time has no value.

Go into it for the right reasons. Precision through consistency impossible to get over the counter. I reload in batches of 52 and it takes me several hours per. You must measure everything and break all the steps into pieces to get the consistency. That takes more tools. Take Hornady Match for example. I can reload to shoot 3 times as accurately as their match (.3 MOA) ammo but it’s not easy and not cheap.

I was using IMR 4227 and couldn't find a proper load. Now I'm gonna try IMR 4064 and start with the starting load until I make the damn thing work.

Check over at castboolits for load data. I really think you may be pushing your bullets too hard now.
4064, while great for jacketed bullets (and my general use powder), might provide too much constant pressure on the bullet.

ebay.com/itm/Swiss-Vetterli-M78-Center-fire-bolt-assembly/183708799524?hash=item2ac5e5d224:g:R8wAAOSwAWNceEsJ

When I bought my spare bolt it was about as expensive as the gun itself. Also bought a Teflon firing pin carrier from Swiss Products, and a spare rcbs primer punch for the firing pin itself

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True & false. You CAN save money reloading almost any cartridge. You would have to be frugal & keep track of your expenses.
As far as "time is money": Would you rather watch TV to decompress in the evening or relax making quality ammo with the satisfaction of doing something on your own & crafting something by hand.
Yes, the goal should be to make precision matched ammo for your rifle.
Consider it a constructive hobby that's relaxing & productive. Money much more well spent that video games & anime. (Two bombs were not enough)

What do you use in your dragon's breath shells?

Now, let's assume I'm absolutely retarded for whatever follows. Talk down to me. I know nothing about reloading other than what a dictionary could tell you about the word. What is the very first thing I need to look into to get started. Is there a YT channel on reloading geared toward neanderthals?
Hogging brass, I've already been doing that ever since I started shooting. I'm betting most of it isn't suited for reloading. For example, I know my surplus GP11 doesn't have the reloading-friendly primer, whatever it's called.
Nice gat.

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can someone recommend a nice electric scale? i have a mechanical RCBS but want something to use as a secondary to make sure im getting accurate readings

reloading random brass you pick up is generally a bad idea since you dont know the history of it, how many times it was shot, trimmed, age, etc.

its probably ok to get away with low pressure pistol straight wall cartridges but i wouldnt risk it with high pressure bottle neck rifle rounds

you dont tumble some brass before sizing?

not really, unless you are looking to get great accuracy or use certain hunting projectiles. factory ammo is the cheapest its been in 2 decades

>Is there a YT channel on reloading geared toward neanderthals
Not really any specific channel but a lot of gun oriented YouTube channels have a video or two about reloading. May get some flak about this recommendation but IV8888 has some decent videos about reloading (at least beginner stuff). When I doubt, search "beginner reloading" into whatever search engine you use.

the red dust is the polishing compound

Johnny's Reloading Bench or old Ultimate Reloader vids.

Not that user but yeah, tumble before resizing. Keep any excess grit, grime, etc out of your dies if possible. Another user talked about wet tumblers. Don't have one but heard they are outstanding.

I have a Rock Chucker and I've been thinking about getting a cheap Lee press to supplement it. Do you like working with multiple single stages? I too want to avoid a multi stage press.

Yes. Was lucky enough to get multiple presses in buy out deals from private sellers. Worth it just to seat, check concentricity, & then crimp on a separate press. Not a fan of that two in one seat & crimp.

What does powder coating do? Please forgive me for being a retard

coats the bullet. prevents leading in the barrel, and lead from getting into your skin from handling rounds. ostensibly you could load the bullets a little hotter (but not as hot as if they had a copper jacket). also helps to categorize your hand loads from plinkers to cape buffalo by color.

Also not sure about the presses, but I do recommend the Lee factory crimp dies. Super fast & easy to set up.

>What does powder coating do?
It replaces the lube in a traditional cast bullet with something that is akin to the plating on a plated bullets. Instead of copper though, the coating is polymer.
If done correctly, it can prevent leading on the barrel and allows for velocities exceeding traditional cast bullets (I have seen reports of 3000+ fps). It is also fairly easy to do.

My broke ass with a broke ass table.
I replaced the table top with a cupboard shelf from my father's old house pantry.
Haven't done much reloading even since I repaired it. No place to shoot. :(

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Completely new to reloading here. I bought two boxes of magic voodoo sandpaper bullets to accurize my barrels. Retardedly for some reason I thought they'd be loaded, but they're not. I have brass but no primers or powder. All I want to do at this point is load 100 of these bullets (.308) with a light powder charge. What is the most cost-effective way to do this? Single stage press? What exactly do I need?

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How is the Lee turret. I have been thinking of picking one up.

I love it. I leave my dies set up in the different turrets, makes it super simple to swap out and change calibers.
I don't use the auto-indexing rod at all, I manually index, but that works fine for me.
Some people say you'll get more accurate loads out of a single stage, but my 308 loads off this setup have won me a couple matches, so I'm not complaining.
If you're on the fence, I'd go ahead and pick one up.

Same here user. Converted a computer desk into my bench. Had to put a 2x4 reinforcement on the top & remount my presses. Is that a Frankford arsenal tumbler in the pic? If so am running the same one. Not bad for the money.

Sweet, thanks. Guess I know what I am picking up when tax season is over.

I have a dillon 550c, a hornady lnl ap ( fucking hate it), a rcbs summit ( love it) and an rcbs rock chucker (use it to lube and sage cast pills

>What is the most cost-effective way to do this?
If you don't plan on reloading ever again, see if someone you know handloads. Maybe try your range and see if someone is willing to let you use their press.
If all else fails, you can always have a gunsmith load them up for you.

If you plan on handloading after the fact, a few others have asked how to here. Check to see the responses to that.

Hey guys. Stupid question, never reloaded, but say I had a cmp garand AND a .300 blk AR.
Now I know the garand wants 150gr M2 ball kinda bullets. But will that same projectile be good to put in a .300 blk case too? Or is that .300 blk only really worth it at 110gr? Should I adjustable my garand to shoot that 110gr too?

This

I have heard that the M2 ball style bullets are actually fairly well liked by some 300 BO reloaders.

>150gr
2 separate rifles. 2 separate rounds. Only going to be so accurate with a black out at distance anyway. Its designed for a specific window of use. Treat it as such.

That's basically how I load hot house 45-70 for my Mauser.

Why avoid progressive presses?

Yeah, Frankford was one of the cheaper options. I started reloading to save on 38 special since I was shooting 200 rounds a week at the time. Contrary to what people say, that actually did save me money considering how expensive 38 special was locally. The table I had lasted me a good 4 years surprisingly. My father had medical equipment on it at his office and when they threw it out, I just grabbed it. Once I'm graduated and no longer renting, I'll have a bigger more permanent table built.

My Frankfort is still going strong. Still using that desk too. A couple years & my kids will be grown. One of their rooms will be converted to a reloading/gun storage room. Hope the chitluns like sleeping on cots when they come to visit. Kek

Hi frens who else here /big bore/

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>dat meplat

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>t. trailboss

I'm assuming you mean what's wrong with range brass.

I already have thousands of LC brass and a brass catcher, there's no point for me to grab brass off the ground, even for plinking. It's not worth the extra effort to clean up range brass, and I would have to spend time tossing out the ones with deep dents and chipped necks from being stepped on. Not to mention case capacity varies between manufacturers and I like the consistency of always using LC.

I could grab the range brass and recycle it for money, but that's not worth my range time or the time it takes me to drive to the recycling center and wait in line with a bunch of hobos.

Can someone a few quickload calculations for me?
I want to load up some m2 ap for 308 and get the highest possible velocity(preferably around 2850 FPS from a 24 inch barrel in an ar10) at a safe pressure.
Same for 300 blackout but with a 10.5 barrel.

Also, does quickload give you loads based on a desired velocity and pressure? Like it would give you the powder, case and primer to use to achieve the velocity under x pressure or do you just have to play around with it to get what you desire?