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Sten Freak posted:Can I get some input on how many reloads people get from their brass? I know it differs with case pressure, how much resizing one has to do (and trimming where applicable), and possibly other things, but what is the consensus for pistol calibers? It depends Most folks will tell ya to run pistol rounds until the mouth cracks or the primers pocket is loose. Take it easy with the expander. If you're using a Lee expander, and case life is really important, you could swap it for something with a better design. Lee:  Lyman M: 
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| # ¿ Aug 3, 2011 15:34 |
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| # ¿ May 23, 2013 10:38 |
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DropsySufferer posted:
That's a fine idea and all but it ONLY works if your bullet happens to be the exact same length as a commercial round. Oh, and you'll have to adjust your powder weight if you deviate from the book. It's really best to follow what's printed in your reloading manual unless you're having feeding issues or the rounds don't fit in your magazine.
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| # ¿ Aug 18, 2011 05:53 |
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While we're on the topic of "not understanding the manual you just finished reading" can we get this loving idiotic paragraph changed in the op? Putting it at the bottom of the list and calling it optional?  Pursus posted:
Reloading manuals are not optional. This is seriously lovely advice that should have no place in a reloading thread let alone as a "newbie guide" primer. Every few months we hear about some jackass who thought he knew better blowing up his gun with reloads. I hate being the grumpy Read-the-loving-Reloading-Manual-Twice dude but I really don't want to hear from any more goons loosing a fingat and posting from the hospital.
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| # ¿ Aug 18, 2011 16:48 |
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Wa11y posted:I like it! Especially the clarification of what a good online source is. This is what you don't get with those little pamphlets and data off the manufacture's website. It also happens to be absolutely vital information. Remember, what set me off is the guy who just finished reading the ABC's and decided to go ahead and do something stupid anyways. Thanks for updating the OP Pursus. I think that's a fair compromise  I've used quite a bit of manufacture's data myself. Hell some of them print it out and give it away at decent shops. Even QuickLoad data and forum posts are a valid source if you can compare them to two published loads with the same components. We just don't need any modern day  reinventing the wheel and blowing up guns for  when it's all been done before and safe results have been published.
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| # ¿ Aug 19, 2011 07:34 |
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thermobollocks posted:I'm not sure if this is a general comment or directed at me, since I think I'm the most recent person in TFR to have blown up a gun (Glock 23, Titegroup). The reason for it was a double-charge, not any sort of experimenting. I pulled all of the rest of that lot of .40, and found 0 anomalies. I continue to be vexed that I don't know exactly what happened (other than I dumped two scale pans worth of powder in). I must have missed that incident. The comment was just a general one. Finding a decent group of powders that fill the case over 50%, don't result in compressed loads and finish burning before leaving the barrel is one of the few decent uses I've found for Quickload.
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| # ¿ Aug 20, 2011 07:52 |
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A 7 part series documenting the creation of a wildcat.
MisterOblivious fucked around with this message at Aug 23, 2011 around 13:26 |
| # ¿ Aug 23, 2011 13:19 |
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thermobollocks posted:That's the Pre-fire formed. I should have grabbed a less derpy example.  Pre and post firing comparison.
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| # ¿ Aug 23, 2011 20:02 |
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iest shoulder I've ever seen.
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shalafi4 posted:So tiny derail. Looks like they were made by Jack Ashurst Warning: .doc file.. quote:Jack Ashurst lived in Grangeville, Idaho, and took over Lyman McCrea's gunshop and cartridge line about 1941. He dropped the McCrea cartridge designs for his own. He had four .25 calibers, based on the .22 Savage HP, the .30-30, the .30-06 and the .275 H&H Magnum cases, and a .270, .280, 7MM and .300 cartridge series all based on the .300 H&H Magnum case. The cases featured the short necks and abrupt shoulders typical of wildcats of the period, although several of them retained the body taper of the parent cases. The usual blistering velocities were claimed for these creations. This from Wildcat Cartridges by Richard F. Simmons. I think P.O. Ackley described some Ashurst cartridges in his Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders. However, neither list a 6mm Ashurst.
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| # ¿ Sep 29, 2011 03:55 |
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$7.50 a pound for the small magnetic media. wet tumbling compound. I haven't used this particular product but in general this stuff suds up less than dish soap, contains brightening agents and a corrosion blocker. It's nice to have but not essential. GroovinPickle posted:At that point I've got a bucket with dirty/soapy water and media at the bottom. Just pour it off carefully. I add some more clean water and repeat the pouring a couple of times so that it's just media left in a little clean water. The stuff I have has been fine to store wet for at least moderate (6 months) periods. Stick a big magnet outside the bucket on the bottom. You don't need to pour with much care anymore. You should be able to store the media covered in water for years but Bar Keepers Friend will shine up your media if it starts getting blackened.
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| # ¿ Oct 1, 2011 23:25 |
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Unzip and Attack posted:
Stainless media is a wet tumbling process. You want a barrel tumbler or magnetic polisher.
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| # ¿ Oct 3, 2011 23:47 |
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Dr Ozziemandius posted:Anybody know anything about reloading shotgun shells? I've got the opportunity to buy a pair of full reloading setups, from an estate of a man that used to shoot competitive skeet and did his own reloads. It's apparently 2 full setups, his original kit and one that he upgraded to a few years ago. I'm gonna keep one and sell the other off at some point. Run the numbers. Lead shot is rather spendy and if you're happy shooting the cheap value pack loads you'll never even come close to breaking even. If you shoot nothing but AAs for trap/skeet/clays you can save a bit of money per-box. Reloading hunting loads can save money but the volume is lower. You may end up sitting on a bag of shot for quite a while. I reload because my old man gave me 250lbs of shot he had sitting around and the loads pattern a lot better than the value boxes do. Even with the equipment cost it didn't take long to come out ahead! BPI is your friend. If you shoot sporting clays, grouse, or the Judge check out the spreader wads MisterOblivious fucked around with this message at Jan 24, 2013 around 02:34 |
| # ¿ Oct 14, 2011 05:48 |
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Is it a typo? Is it a tested load? Who knows! This is why you don't use recipes off random websites.
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| # ¿ Nov 4, 2011 07:24 |
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Airbone Operation posted:We have bottle deposits so I have all my empties in a garbage can to the bottom left of the photo. You're realoading a round that headspaces on the case mouth. Overcrimping is a no-no . I've hosed up quite a few dummy rounds learning how to work crimp dies. You should probably take a clear profile macro shot of the crimp and let us eyeball it for you. At the very least pull a bullet and see how deformed it is. You're not really supposed to "crimp" the bullet in on that round. Your crimp die is there to remove the belled case mouth caused by the expander; not grip the bullet tightly. Neck tension should be sufficient to hold the bullet in place.
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| # ¿ Nov 8, 2011 23:03 |
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Airbone Operation posted:
That looks a bit excessive but it's hard to tell from a picture if it's an absolute dealkiller. It looks like there might be a bit of a bulge in the case which can be a problem on top of the jacket-separating-issue overcrimped plated bullets can have. Massive overcrimp looks like this when you pull a bullet:  I know those bullets for that round are a bit on the spendy side but you may as well pull one and take a look. IuniusBrutus posted:
Just get a pile of these locking rings if you're using Lee dies. Other dies come with decent locking rings by default. The Hornady lock rings have both wrench flats and a set-screw that doesn't bung up the threads on your die. Lee lock rings work fine if you use quick-change bushings or shell plates but bushings costs a lot more than lockrings and don't really speed things up that much.
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| # ¿ Nov 9, 2011 03:36 |
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Airbone Operation posted:
You see how it squeezed the lead in? Too much. Again, they might not be dangerous to shoot but for the next batch shoot for removing the bell and no more. If you don't have a mic try running your finger over the edge until you can't feel the lip while adjusting the crimp. One thing that helps a lot is limiting the amount you expand. A trick I've used is to start with the expander up too high to bell the case, balance a bullet in the mouth, adjust the die down a bit, balance a bullet.... Eventually the bullet will sit entirely inside the case mouth rather than one side hanging outside the case mouth.
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| # ¿ Nov 9, 2011 06:36 |
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IuniusBrutus posted:Thanks for all the help, guys. Shoot it as-is and deal with the cleaning, purchase commercial ammunition or reload with new projectiles and commercial brass. You're dealing with a lousy projectile and an unknown powder. At best you'll waste more time "reloading" the rounds than you would cleaning the rifle.
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| # ¿ Nov 11, 2011 00:39 |
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CainFortea posted:I got a mosin and I may be getting into hand loading sometime in the future. Right now i'm buying ammo that comes in brown paper packages tied up in string. The case is almost copper colored. Are these shells that I can save to use to reload later? I have no idea who the manufacturer is, and the back is only stamped with the numbers 22 and 08. Usually the code is Factory and Date. 22 looks like it's Romanian made but the 08 seems a bit odd. While it's possible you could reload them the easy answer is "No, surplus rounds aren't reloadable". You need to find modern brass casings either by tracking down a few boxes of reloadable rounds (wolf gold/winchester/norma/s&b) or purchasing new brass from Norma or Lapua CTD looks like they have reloadable stuff in stock if you don't mind ordering from them. Lapua brass in a Mosin sounds hilarious.
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| # ¿ Dec 18, 2011 07:01 |
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thermobollocks posted:I've heard the Lee shotshell presses are fragile. It might be good for dicking around use, but you might upgrade to a MEC if you decide you really like shotguns. A used MEC 600 jr should cost about $50-$60. Check craigslist. No real reason to buy-twice to save so little. Standard loads are really pretty simple compared to reloading for rifle or pistol. Find a recipe, purchase those exact* components and assemble them. Setting up the crimper is probably the toughest thing but that info is in the press's manual. Hodgdon Basic Reloading Manual Ballistic Products has a selection of manuals if you want to load slugs/buckshot/exotic shot or play around with specialized loads. *You can swap equivilent replacement/clone wads. Claybusters 1100-12 or Down Range DRA121 can be swapped for the Winchester AA12SL listed in the load data.
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| # ¿ Dec 21, 2011 03:48 |
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If you're talking about re-working cases to fit in some obsolete round maybe but probably not considering it's a wood lathe. You can't turn any sort of modern high pressure round. How cartridge brass is made.
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| # ¿ Dec 27, 2011 01:55 |
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Sten Freak posted:No, turning down a rim and cutting an extractor groove to go from .32 S&W long to 7.65 Longue. A few places claim to make it for you at $1/case and I'm going to be shooting a lot of it. You don't get many reloads due to a sloppy subgun chamber and a high pressure round. I'd rather buy .32 S&W brass new and make my own or maybe just buy loaded .32 long and shoot it in a revolver, then form the brass from there. So anyway, I need a lathe to turn the rim down and cut the groove. The case needs to be shortened too but I don't know if that's done on a hand lathe or a powered one. (?) A 7x12mini lathe will set you back $500-600 for the base machine. You might want to make friends with somebody that already owns a lathe. A $400'ish Micro Lathe would work fine I suppose. The larger unit can cut threads and will generally be more useful down the road if you want to use it for other projects. Here's a shot of Varmit Al's set up to act as a case trimmer & counter-bore:  Check out http://www.mini-lathe.com/ and http://www.littlemachineshop.com/ MisterOblivious fucked around with this message at Dec 27, 2011 around 09:51 |
| # ¿ Dec 27, 2011 09:21 |
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Sten Freak posted:Thanks. I have the feeling those mini and micro lathes are precision instruments, and I do not know if I need precision. Turning down the rim isn't a big deal. Not cutting the extractor too deep or too far up the case and causing the case to blow when fired is kinda a big deal. This is the best setup I've seen for reworking the cases. Because the jaws would crush the brass it looks like people either turn a mandrel, insert it into the round and clamp it in the chuck (which leaves marks on the case) or chuck the mandrel and then build a clamp like the guy above did. The tool he's using was made to make all the cuts at the same time. That's a pretty big time savings. You're making a single plunge into the material rather than making multiple cuts. This sort of thing sounds like a really fun project to me but if you don't know how to use a lathe and wouldn't have much use for one otherwise you may be getting in a bit over your head. I've wanted one of those little lathes for a while but my little apartment is already pretty cramped with tools. E: loving reddit MisterOblivious fucked around with this message at Jan 3, 2012 around 00:42 |
| # ¿ Dec 28, 2011 04:40 |
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I just need a tool that will hold and spin the piece so that I can make the cut and turn the rim down. Still, 400 may be worth it given what brass costs. The best possible solution is Privi Partisan steps up and makes it but I'm not holding my breath.
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Butch Cassidy posted:What is your casting setup? I am thinking of getting into it for most of my handgun calibers. $41 a bag with $16 shipping for 2 bags at BPI Bulk deals through your local trap club can probably beat that price.
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| # ¿ Jan 22, 2012 08:31 |
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AA2230 is another good choice ~55gr. It's not as popular as the internet's favorite go-to powders so I've had good luck finding it in stock when I've gone looking.
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| # ¿ Mar 6, 2012 06:12 |
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kwantam posted:I have read in several relatively trustworthy places (but have not confirmed) that you can dispose of primers by dropping them in a bucket of oil. Why would you want to?
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| # ¿ Apr 21, 2012 06:09 |
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Lyman or Lee for general loads. Bullet manufacture like Speer, Barnes or Sierra for specific bullets. Freebie powder manufactuer's pamphlets for cross-referencing.
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| # ¿ Apr 22, 2012 01:48 |
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blackknight5k posted:I'm not exactly sure if I want a single stage or progressive...I don't see myself reloading more than 100 - 200 rounds of any particular caliber at a time. I am going to start with .45 as it will save me the most money currently, then move to reloading for 9mm and .223 which I shoot a lot as well. After that, I'll probably add .270 and .30-30 but those aren't very important as I maybe shoot 20 - 30 rounds of those every 6 months (but would probably shoot more often if I reloaded for them. You'll need a case-specific trimmer length gauge, calipers and if you're looking to load accurate .223 you'll want a powder trickler and a better scale. The Lee scale is ok, I guess, for spot checking weights but it's really terrible to read. Digital scales are easier to work with but you shouldn't use them under fluorescent lights, they're prone to drifting and you need to watch out for static buildup. I picked up the $45 Hornady beam scale which is a different colored version of the old Pacific scale I grew up with. Lots of dudes swear by the RCBS scales. You also need a reloading manual of some sort. Lyman's is my go-to. The Rock Chucker kit comes out of the box with a better scale, a more robust hand primer, a reloading manual and a sturdier press. Throw in a set of RCBS dies+shellholder to take advantage of the $50 rebate. You'll need to add a case trimming system, caliper and maybe a trickler. thermobollocks posted:Also, what Lee stuff has broken in addition to one goon's C-press? The casting on one of the two linkage pieces was defective on my press.
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2012 22:38 |
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Do you have the primer seater cup thingies in a box somewhere?
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| # ¿ May 4, 2012 00:44 |
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GEEKABALL posted:No, I did not find any. Guess that will be one of my first purchases. Bugger. Those holes in the second station should have a steel insert that holds the primer in a spring-loaded cup. There should be a primer feed tray for what looks like a Sizemaster on the right and Primer Seating Assemblies for the 600 JRs. When you order replacement parts make sure to get spare brass washers because you never know when that little bugger will decide to take a hike. Two little tips for when you get them up and running: RTFM if your crimps look like poo poo and never, ever let the bottles slip out of your hand when you tilt them back. Cleaning up spilled shot when you snap the neck off the shot bottle and it rolls onto the ground sucks
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| # ¿ May 4, 2012 04:23 |
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No reloading guide is complete without a link to BPI Mec Powder Bushing Chart. Hodgdon/IMR Mec Bushing Chart. Alliant Powder Bushing Chart. I get my once-fired hulls off of craigslist. If there is a lot of trap shooting in your area there's bound to be a club or a guy selling bags of hulls. Current CL price in my area is $5/100. Cloned wads are safe to swap and can save you money. I usually load with Claybusters wads. $14/500 for Winchester vs $10/500 for Claybusters locally. To anybody looking at taking up shotshell reloading: do you shoot sporting clays or at a range where people just leave their hulls laying on the ground? Do yourself a favor and use something other than red hulls. Trying to track down your red hulls out of a pile of hundreds is really annoying.
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| # ¿ May 7, 2012 07:42 |
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Sten Freak posted:I don't get this but maybe different presses work differently. Why can't you just use a wrench on the die body to remove it while not disturbing the lock ring? You'd think with a name like "lock ring" they'd stay put but something always seems to go wrong.
If you turn the lockring it travels up the die and your setting is lost. If you use two wrenches and two hands to remove both the lockring and die at the same time one of them always seems to slip ahead of the other. If you use two wrenches in one hand to remove both the lockring and die at the same time it's because you have some sort of inhuman mutant appendage at the end of your limbs. The flats never line up and the vertical separation makes applying even pressure a pain (just like the two handed method!) Hornady rings solve those problems by using a proper "locking ring" clamp. It distributes the gripping force over a lot of surface area. RCBS style rings half-rear end it by pinching down over an extremely small area. Once you tighten that screw up enough to be useful you're bound to be flattening the threads. ** The "throw a piece of lead in der" workaround increases the area force is applied over and adds a bit of friction. Lee rings are a loving joke: it's just an o-ring sorta-kinda maybe providing a little friction on the threads. Lee rings works on the principal that you're either going to adjust the die ever time you swap it out, you're using a toolhead or you're spending $3-4 extra per die on a quick-change bushing. I use the bushing for dies it makes sense on like this example: Reloading 357 Sig I need to bump the shoulder back just the right amount so the case headspaces properly. To really dial it in you need to resize the case, seat a bullet to the right length, drop the dummy round in your barrel (meaning you also have to strip your pistol and clean it), measure the headspace, make adjustments to the die and repeat until you've got the round the round sitting the proper distance off the breech face. To me never having to go through that again is worth the few bucks a bushing costs. **Don't get me started on coworkers who manage to not only strip the screw head off this style ring but also ruin the threads of whatever that screw was clamping on when they attempted to remove the ring without loosening said stripped-screw. MisterOblivious fucked around with this message at May 16, 2012 around 08:15 |
| # ¿ May 16, 2012 08:08 |
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Sten Freak posted:I've got some dented expensive brass I'd like to salvage. Instead of firing to smooth this bump out that was a result of a misfeed, can anyone suggest a tool or method to flatten a case from the inside? I'm pretty sure the flaring die is going to bell the mouth so far by the time it gets to these dents that it won't fit in the resizing die. I was going to say "duh, toss it" until I remembered this is one of your fuckoff expensive cases. The shank of a N, 7.70mm, or 7.8mm drill bit should work to iron out the dents. You could try "seating" a .308 rifle bullet and then pulling it.
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| # ¿ Jul 22, 2012 21:38 |
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The die does what it says it does. If you haven't used a Lee style deprimer before the shaft is held by a collet so you won't snap it off on a berdan primer or get it stuck in undersized flash hole (gently caress RCBS's get-stuck-in-every-10th-case sliding decapping pin). It's not a must-have piece of kit but I find it pretty useful.
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| # ¿ Jul 23, 2012 01:02 |
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Lyman 310 dies 
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| # ¿ Jul 28, 2012 22:05 |
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Javid posted:Pretty sure that's a press for .410 shotshells. It's an old press that uses non-standard threaded dies. You used to be able to get new die plates for 'em but the guy quit making them. You can still find new and used dies for it. http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/...an-310-tool.php http://www.cnyauctions.com/the310shop.htm
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| # ¿ Jul 28, 2012 22:16 |
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Get a magnet and a bucket of some sort. Put the magnet underneath the bucket. Shake and stir your brass until all the the pins are at the bottom of the bucket. A colander helps.
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| # ¿ Aug 24, 2012 02:29 |
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Sten Freak posted:I use compressed air to clean my 505 so I'm glad to read that I probably am not damaging it. Still, I desperately need a cover if anyone can recommend a solution. Maybe just a big tupperware box... If you can find a toaster oven at a thrift store for ~$10 you can dry cases quite rapidly. Air drying is for suckers.
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| # ¿ Aug 24, 2012 22:22 |
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No way, back that thing out completely and learn how to make a proper crimp. Backing the crimp die out "a bit" would still be way too much crimp.
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| # ¿ Sep 2, 2012 06:20 |
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http://leeprecision.net/support/ind...it/RenderForm/4
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| # ¿ Oct 13, 2012 21:38 |
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One Legged Ninja posted:Everything? Can someone with Quickload work up a chart for that? the guy who writes Quickload posted:"09/14/08 07:42 AM H_Broemel - At this moment I see no way to implement TrailBoss data: First, I do not get any data from the manufacturer. Second, TrailBoss is working very smooth when using a case filling between 65 and 80 percent, above this it produces erratic pressures. I made some tests with 308 Win and 30-06 with a 165grain bullet: When I fill a case to 100% (no air gap between bullet and powder top) I get still get safe pressures about 2500 bars or 36000 psi, but a very high S.D. The pressure jumps about plus-minus 10000 psi up and down. This behaviour cannot be calculated. bunnielab posted:But that is what I don't understand, if the die is made to spec it will never touch the bullet as it should be sized to touch the case which is wider then the bullet. We are talking about Lee products remember? "In Spec" might mean ±.005 or something. MisterOblivious fucked around with this message at Oct 21, 2012 around 04:40 |
| # ¿ Oct 21, 2012 03:48 |
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| # ¿ May 23, 2013 10:38 |
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infrared35 posted:I just learned that you can't use stainless tumbling media in a vibratory tumbler. The hard way I take it. I want to make a magnetic tumbler/polisher. The Pritic M1 I used to use would clean a batch of brass to "factory new" condition in about 15 minutes. 10'ish if you didn't care about cleaning the primer pocket. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Scv113DHyhw
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| # ¿ Nov 22, 2012 18:00 |
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