2aHawaii
Tools and Uses => Reloading => Topic started by: Isaac on February 20, 2021, 10:24:05 AM
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Could anyone suggest/recommend some reading material and manuals related to reloading. Really interested in getting into reloading my own ammo. :shaka:
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I got started recently. Lots of more experienced folks will be by shortly to advise more. One that helped me was pick a reloading manual and read the basics. I thought I knew much of if, but was good to read. I now have three, but two of them are for the specific bullets that I narrowed things down to.
Also helpful to share what calibers and what you’re looking for, or type of shooting.
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Speer or lyman book are the old standards.
I suggest starting with the caliber you like to shoot the most.
Pistol is usually a lot easier to start with.
What calibers?
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Avoid data from Speer #8--some of the loads listed were way over-pressure. Later manuals are ok.
Load data isn't the only thing to get out of the manuals--headspacing, signs of pressure, how to adjust dies, bullet seating, etc. are all important things to learn and review often.
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My interest is more cast bullets so:
castboolits.gunloads.com
Will also buy out of print books from amazon sellers. Couple of my latest:
Gun Digest 1977 ed - for article on 30-30 squib loads.
Handloaders Digest 1994- for article on milsurp cast loads using 16 gr. IMR 2400 powder and 10 gr Unique.
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Yes get a manual first. But, see what you wanna reload. Rifle, pistol, caliber. Weight of bullets. What kind of powders being use for specific bullet weight and primers. Though, at this present time and probably going to next year, need to work with what you can get your hands on as far as components to reload. So, normally most will get all the reloading tools first before components. I say, start shopping or looking around for components first. Cause like otc ammo, reloading components are very hard to find on shelves right now. Even online.. :shaka:
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primers
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I've load black powder 50 cal, 44 cal. Reload shotgun 12 gauge. Have yet to start loading for pistol then rifle. Cost of equipment upfront is probably the biggest hurdle to get over. Only other factor would be time to do it. Loading manuals, and asking advice on the forum is a plus. Wealth of knowledge here!
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Projectiles and powder
Lyman manual
Hodgdon has a reloading reference online
YouTube from a knowledgable source
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Projectiles and powder
Lyman manual
Hodgdon has a reloading reference online
YouTube from a knowledgable source
Lyman is what I started with. Good reading, at least for me. Powder burn rates and other stuff to watch for.
YT has some great info. I follow a couple folks in Patreon too. I just gotta watch out for the goobers with camera and internet.
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https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/
This main page also has videos for the basic process of reloading pistol, rifle, and shotgun
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Thanks all, just purchased a Lyman 50th manual. Watched alot of videos on the press I purchased.
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Thanks all, just purchased a Lyman 50th manual. Watched alot of videos on the press I purchased.
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If you have a friend who reloads, go to his house and watch the process.
I have an open invitation to anyone interested in learning.
Quite a few people have gotten started by dropping by my house.
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Thanks all, just purchased a Lyman 50th manual. Watched alot of videos on the press I purchased.
what press did you buy?
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Thanks all, just purchased a Lyman 50th manual. Watched alot of videos on the press I purchased.
Good one on the manual. Though like I said in previous post, After studying your manual and more research. I’d start shopping for reloading components first before reloading tools or equipment. If you already know what calibers your gonna reload. #1 on the list.. PRIMERS.. then powders, bullets, and cases. Without any of these, reloading tools and equipment is useless. We’re going through the biggest shortage off all time.
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what press did you buy?
Starting of with the lee breech lock
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what calibers will you be reloading?
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Good one on the manual. Though like I said in previous post, After studying your manual and more research. I’d start shopping for reloading components first before reloading tools or equipment. If you already know what calibers your gonna reload. #1 on the list.. PRIMERS.. then powders, bullets, and cases. Without any of these, reloading tools and equipment is useless. We’re going through the biggest shortage off all time.
That's good advice, and generally how I went about getting reloading components and equipment. However, it did help a lot where my buddy already had the basic equipment needed. I am slowly supplementing his setup with equipment.
Depending on caliber, I've noticed that the shortages have started impacting boolits and brass, particularly for the common calibers. When I started buying/ordering stuff in later 2020, I primers and powder were already either low or out, but boolits and brass were med to low stock, but I was able to find what I wanted in stock lots of places. Then early Jan, boolits and brass for .308 were out everywhere. Could find some boolits, but many times was 25-50% more and usually limits on how much you could order. I seems like brass and bullets, at least for .308 is coming back in regular intervals.
Now I'm noticing dies, presses, and other reloading equipment either out of stock or long lead. I hoping that is because lots of folks getting into reloading.
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what calibers will you be reloading?
I will be reloading 7mm08 Remington, 9mm Remington, 223 Remington, maybe some .38, .308, 45acp when I get comfortable.
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I will be reloading 7mm08 Remington, 9mm Remington, 223 Remington, maybe some .38, .308, 45acp when I get comfortable.
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What is 9mm remington?
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What is 9mm remington?
Wasn't the founder of Remington named Luger?
:rofl:
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My bad, I meant luger :worship: it's been a long day for me.
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No worries. When the boy comes over to pick up his ammo, will be teaching him some magic techniques.
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I will be reloading 7mm08 Remington, 9mm Remington, 223 Remington, maybe some .38, .308, 45acp when I get comfortable.
Nice!
I went the backasswards way of getting into reloading, which is shouldered rifle cartridges first. Seems like you will be doing a mix. I will eventually get into reloading for 9 mm, .357 Mag, .44 Mag, etc, but my needs (or interests) is .308 Win first.
For .223 Rem, will you be reloading 5.56 brass? Like from 193 or 855. Just wondering as those will likely have crimped primers. If yes, recommend you spend some time reading up or watching videos on brass prep for crimped primers.
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Nice!
I went the backasswards way of getting into reloading, which is shouldered rifle cartridges first. Seems like you will be doing a mix. I will eventually get into reloading for 9 mm, .357 Mag, .44 Mag, etc, but my needs (or interests) is .308 Win first.
For .223 Rem, will you be reloading 5.56 brass? Like from 193 or 855. Just wondering as those will likely have crimped primers. If yes, recommend you spend some time reading up or watching videos on brass prep for crimped primers.
i like to stick with 223 brass. less work. :D
i started with revolver reloads. 44 and 357 bc i shoot those the most and 44 is more expensive handgun cartridge from what i shoot, so i wanted to save money by reloading and get some consistent accuracy
i have a single stage Lee press, so i cant reload that quickly, but all loads are consistent
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cheapest way to cut the crimp out https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012744621 (https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012744621)
I like to swage it out with the DIllon https://www.dillonprecision.com/super-swage-600_8_8_25263.html (https://www.dillonprecision.com/super-swage-600_8_8_25263.html)
I read that the Lee APP will swage it the fast and cheap https://leeprecision.com/app-automatic-processing-press/ (https://leeprecision.com/app-automatic-processing-press/)
or if you have the money https://www.dillonprecision.com/cp-2000-case-processing-machine_8_8_26778.html (https://www.dillonprecision.com/cp-2000-case-processing-machine_8_8_26778.html)
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You'll be needing dial or digital calipers to adjust stuff.
It's very important.
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how you going to clean the brass? tumbler, ultrasonic?
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You'll be needing dial or digital calipers to adjust stuff.
It's very important.
That's a good tip.
I've tested a range of cost/quality calipers. From the $20 digital, to mid range (iGaging), to Mitutoyo dial and digital. I would saw now I am comfortable with the $20 digital, but there are differences between the ranges.
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That's good advice, and generally how I went about getting reloading components and equipment. However, it did help a lot where my buddy already had the basic equipment needed. I am slowly supplementing his setup with equipment.
Depending on caliber, I've noticed that the shortages have started impacting boolits and brass, particularly for the common calibers. When I started buying/ordering stuff in later 2020, I primers and powder were already either low or out, but boolits and brass were med to low stock, but I was able to find what I wanted in stock lots of places. Then early Jan, boolits and brass for .308 were out everywhere. Could find some boolits, but many times was 25-50% more and usually limits on how much you could order. I seems like brass and bullets, at least for .308 is coming back in regular intervals.
Now I'm noticing dies, presses, and other reloading equipment either out of stock or long lead. I hoping that is because lots of folks getting into reloading.
Primers are #1 shortage for us reloaders. Next is powders, well there is powders show up here and there. Just can’t be choosy with personal preference of what powder we want no more. Just gotta grab what’s available and do load development. Or refer back to saved data logs.
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Primers are #1 shortage for us reloaders. Next is powders, well there is powders show up here and there. Just can’t be choosy with personal preference of what powder we want no more. Just gotta grab what’s available and do load development. Or refer back to saved data logs.
Yup on primers. I was lucky to pick up 5k of LRP at the start of this madness. So I think I'm ok for a "good" amount of time. I have some other LRP as well that I may do some testing with, but I'm thinking of sticking with one primer (CCi No. 200) for now and just vary powders. Limit variables, at least for now. I also have buddies that are starting up load testing on 308 as well, so will see how their developments progress as well.
I was also able to pick up an ok amount of powder, including two of the powders I was interested in. So I have some time to see if other powders become available.
I commented previously that I noticed out of stock notices for brass and boolits. I've been seeing stocks returning, particularly for Lapua brass and Berger boolits.
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Yup on primers. I was lucky to pick up 5k of LRP at the start of this madness. So I think I'm ok for a "good" amount of time. I have some other LRP as well that I may do some testing with, but I'm thinking of sticking with one primer (CCi No. 200) for now and just vary powders. Limit variables, at least for now. I also have buddies that are starting up load testing on 308 as well, so will see how their developments progress as well.
I was also able to pick up an ok amount of powder, including two of the powders I was interested in. So I have some time to see if other powders become available.
I commented previously that I noticed out of stock notices for brass and boolits. I've been seeing stocks returning, particularly for Lapua brass and Berger boolits.
heads
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Yup on primers. I was lucky to pick up 5k of LRP at the start of this madness. So I think I'm ok for a "good" amount of time. I have some other LRP as well that I may do some testing with, but I'm thinking of sticking with one primer (CCi No. 200) for now and just vary powders. Limit variables, at least for now. I also have buddies that are starting up load testing on 308 as well, so will see how their developments progress as well.
I was also able to pick up an ok amount of powder, including two of the powders I was interested in. So I have some time to see if other powders become available.
I commented previously that I noticed out of stock notices for brass and boolits. I've been seeing stocks returning, particularly for Lapua brass and Berger boolits.
Yes.. but for Lapua brass, don’t go brownells or mid. They up the price by 20$. Powder valley just got lapua 223 in stock for the usual price of 59.95. And 308, though out of stock for 79.95. Of course with some searching for coupon codes will save some.
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Yes.. but for Lapua brass, don’t go brownells or mid. They up the price by 20$. Powder valley just got lapua 223 in stock for the usual price of 59.95. And 308, though out of stock for 79.95. Of course with some searching for coupon codes will save some.
I missed when Powder Valley had some in stock about a month ago. Saw it in stock late one evening, but was sold out by next morning. Luckily I was able to find in stock a coupe of places for about the same price. Yeah, pricing on Lapua brass and Berger boolits are inflated on Midway and Brownells. Even pricing of Sierra boolits are inflated at times.
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I missed when Powder Valley had some in stock about a month ago. Saw it in stock late one evening, but was sold out by next morning. Luckily I was able to find in stock a coupe of places for about the same price. Yeah, pricing on Lapua brass and Berger boolits are inflated on Midway and Brownells. Even pricing of Sierra boolits are inflated at times.
It’ll probably be the new normal price from here on out. Even if when things start to go normal for stocks of ammo and reloading components IMO. It’s just in high demand now since there’s millions of new gun owners. So more pressure on manufacturers. I’ve stocked up quite a bit of everything for the past 2 years before election. But I never know was gonna get this bad. Especially with the pandemic, civil unrest, and demoass trying to take our guns.
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It’ll probably be the new normal price from here on out. Even if when things start to go normal for stocks of ammo and reloading components IMO. It’s just in high demand now since there’s millions of new gun owners. So more pressure on manufacturers. I’ve stocked up quite a bit of everything for the past 2 years before election. But I never know was gonna get this bad. Especially with the pandemic, civil unrest, and demoass trying to take our guns.
Sadly, I see paying a premium on things for a while. I mean it sucks, but firearms are something that I've resigned long ago as one of my expensive hobbies. I am pretty "decently" stocked up on many things, but unfortunately reloading wasn't one of them. Overall, I think I'm doing ok on stuff even for reloading.
Like many things in life, timing is everything. Just before recent stuff (pandemic, civil unrest, etc like you mentioned), I had gotten back into shooting a lot, so had stocked up on ammo. But I was also shooting a lot during that time.
Ah, probably a good thing that things are tighter now. Otherwise maybe I'd already have expanded to a different caliber, or two. ;D
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Accurate powders reloading data:
https://www.accuratepowder.com/load-data/
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I constantly refer to hogdon reloading data because it also covers Winchester powders.
In most cases, their data correlates well with my personal measurements.
https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/
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Perfect reloading weather we're having!(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210310/aa44363a06cd7fc33af254241c426792.jpg)
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This was my perfect reloading weather: :rofl:
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a lot of cartridges and a lot of different powders
i use this as a guide along with other sources
http://stevespages.com/page8a.htm
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a lot of cartridges and a lot of different powders
i use this as a guide along with other sources
http://stevespages.com/page8a.htm
Site not coming up, ERROR 1007
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Site not coming up, ERROR 1007
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you could try his main page and then go to bottom of main page table 4 is reloading data
http://stevespages.com/page8.htm
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you could try his main page and then go to bottom of main page table 4 is reloading data
http://stevespages.com/page8.htm
or if still no work, search for Steve's reloading pages
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or if still no work, search for Steve's reloading pages
don't trust anyone named steve...
(i hope i don't have to explain that this is a joke too)
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don't trust anyone named steve...
(i hope i don't have to explain that this is a joke too)
:rofl:
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don't trust anyone named steve...
(i hope i don't have to explain that this is a joke too)
It's not about needing to explain. It's about a supposed mod who has become the official peanut gallery.
It's impossible to tell other people to stay on topic when almost all your posts are off topic "jokes" (most of them repetitive -- #heads, #TWSS, etc, etc, etc, etc.).
Just an observation. Not trying to tell you what to do, since I know you don't care what I think.
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It's not about needing to explain. It's about a supposed mod who has become the official peanut gallery.
It's impossible to tell other people to stay on topic when almost all your posts are off topic "jokes" (most of them repetitive -- #heads, #TWSS, etc, etc, etc, etc.).
Just an observation. Not trying to tell you what to do, since I know you don't care what I think.
heads
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heads
Preoccupied with heads.
Must be a bald thing.
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Preoccupied with heads.
Must be a bald thing.
focus
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focus
And the redundant, repetitive, unrelated hits just keep on coming .....
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And the redundant, repetitive, unrelated hits just keep on coming .....
clips
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https://youtu.be/DU_Gd623HJo
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:rofl:
back in the day when SNL was funny
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:rofl:
back in the day when SNL was funny
Love Bill Murray!!! :love:
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a lot of cartridges and a lot of different powders
i use this as a guide along with other sources
http://stevespages.com/page8a.htm
weird. i go to 2 different work computers and get 2 different webpages
1 computer i get 1 load data per caliber, the other computer i get 50+ loads per caliber and bullet weight.
maybe 2 different operating systems
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weird. i go to 2 different work computers and get 2 different webpages
1 computer i get 1 load data per caliber, the other computer i get 50+ loads per caliber and bullet weight.
maybe 2 different operating systems
Big brotha (or sistah) watching you. . . :o