Ammo Reloading Thread

[F-14 Tomcat]

Good to know, thanks. Any other sites you guys recommend, and kind of a ballpark estimate of how much the hazmat charges tend to run, or does it vary by weight? I've got a neighbor who made copies of my dad's charts as well and I know he wants several bottles too. If it's just a single, flat charge I'm sure he'd wanna order some with me so if we can save by ordering 10-12 bottles at once I know he'd take the opportunity

I'll keep an eye on Midway and Powder Valley. If they can afford to run free promos I imagine it's not prohibitively expensive

Generally HAZMAT charges range in the ballpark of $15-30 on top of shipping. Midsouthshootersupply is another retailer I regularly use. One way to find other sellers is to check ammoseek.com, they can also search for the price of reloading components.

 

[TheOtherSideofMakeBelieve]

Looks like all three have pages for the powder I want (Alliant's Unique) but it's sold out with no option for backorder. I'll have to keep an eye out on them, really appreciate the info

 

[Procrastinhater]

while it's possible to mix powders, it's strongly not recommended unless you know what you're doing and even then it's not recommended. people have been injured or killed

Yeah mixing powders just isn't worth the negligable benefit you can get. I've been reloading and watching reloading since I was a kid, my Grandpappy taught me everything he knew about it and I've never heard of or seen any real benefit from duplex loads or mixing powders, but I've heard a lot of horror stories, from people ruining good rifles and pistols to people getting hurt.
You're dealing with explosives at the end of the day.

Get the best powders and primers you can, don't mix stuff, keep it labelled and lidded, and pay attention double loads and squibs (or combinations of the two, it happens and when it does its bad) will ruin your day and cost you an eye.
Its like people that fuck around with tannerite, its just dumb.
Respect the tools.

 

[biguglyboy]

Seconded. Don't buy something like a progressive loading press until you're comfortable doing each step in the process by hand. Most of my equipment is from Lee.

I committed this sin when I started about a year or two ago but I'm at least 1000 rounds in and haven't blown off a finger yet. I'd like to think it's because I'm technically and mechanically inclined, but I'm certain I owe it all for taking things at a snail's pace. Obviously with the actual reloading like others are saying, looking up manuals, start off with smaller loads and progressively work my way up, unload and rounds I was suspicious of, etc, but also when it came to shooting. I would load only one into the mag, fire, inspect the barrel, repeat. Definitely had a few squibs at the start that I had to remove but that's much more preferable to having one blow on me. Once I got through a couple batches without any misfire I graduated to loading 2 at a time to see how well they cycled. Even now with full mags I fire pretty slowly and if I don't hear or see an impact for any reason I stop and inspect.

 

[Obeah Mon]

A trick to get free range lead, is to look for logs on bulk garbage day. spray paint some bullshit on it like obama luv. The okies will fill it full. Recover & burn it... wa la free lead. Old water heaters are even better. I always have my cordless sawzall when i go out. all kinds of scrap wood, metal tubing n shit the peckerwood use for homemade target stands. the fuckers will dump water heater and some i cut open had 10 lbs in them more holes than solid but its quicker just cutting them open & yer not out there shaking a water heater stupidly. Another observation of the beings here, to a one hate percussion firearms. Why ? pita to load. And if they reload are too stupid to know how many times they pulled the press handle for 1 shot. The fuckers out here are such thickheads it was a culture shock moving out here. I hate them with a passion that makes my insides hurt fuck

 

[retard safari]

Anyone ever bought powder online? I've got my dad's old reloading charts that I want to keep using but I haven't been able to locally source the pistol powder that he used in several years at this point. It's available online at a reasonable price but I don't want to order several bottles of it and find out that they need to be shipped individually and each one gets a $200 hazardous material label or something and the websites don't have any shipping information listed even at checkout and they don't respond to emails either

I've used Precision reloading, midsouth, and ballistic products. Hazmat was $30 I think and it only applied to the overall box, not per item. So for example if you order 2 jars and a box of primers, they'll put them all in one box (or as few boxes as possible) and you just pay Hazmat for that.

 

[Obeah Mon]

Screw spring clamps to your bench for handling efficiency. pull out of first bag put into second. I hate lost motion.

 

[retard safari]

Do any of you do 12ga shotshells? That's the only thing I reload at the moment.
Cheddite hulls and primers (the only ones I could find online) with Gualandi wads.
I got some Remington STS and am in the process of getting ahold of CCI and winchester 209 primers so I can reload those too.

 

[Jotch]

Do any of you do 12ga shotshells? That's the only thing I reload at the moment.
Cheddite hulls and primers (the only ones I could find online) with Gualandi wads.
I got some Remington STS and am in the process of getting ahold of CCI and winchester 209 primers so I can reload those too.

12ga is the most obvious no-brainer thing to reload people should honestly start with. Not to mention the interesting loads you can put in.

 

[retard safari]

12ga is the most obvious no-brainer thing to reload people should honestly start with. Not to mention the interesting loads you can put in.

I agree, I'm still rather new to all this but am glad I got into it. It is nice to know how, it is honestly a fun activity, and it is slightly cheaper than buying them-- I worked it out and it's something like 74 cents per shell.

What would you say are some interesting loads?

The load I've been using is
#6 lead shot 1-1/4 ounce
26.5 gr Longshot (I think... Away from my stuff currently)

Originally I was using something like 32 gn but those were really heavy, felt and sounded like a cannon. I found the lighter recipe and it is much better for target shooting and conserves powder. The lower quantity of powder meant I was getting dished crimps however, so I put 1/3 of a 20g nitro card under the shot and it crimps and shoots great. (I have not shot anything besides targets with these, so I cannot speak to their effectiveness beyond that)

At some point I want to try using cork/felt/cardboard wads. I also want to load some buckshot but I have to order the right sized shot and I refuse to pay what is currently being asked.

 

[Jotch]

What would you say are some interesting loads?

I found a ball bearing that was almost the exact same size as your standard slug. It was pretty much a worse slug and went all over the place but it was neat and definitely easier to find (and way cheaper) than a slug, still punched right through stuff like a slug!
Honestly you can put anything you want in that little wadding bucket they use for shot. It protects the barrel if the load is abrasive.
I should just start putting tiny lengths of scrap rebar in the thing and hoping for the best.

 

[CEO of Gay]

It has been a while since investigating reloading, but when I did, the Dillion Precision progressive presses with multiple stations caught my eye. There was something appealing about pull handle, get round, with all powder measurement, case trimming, bullet pressing, and all the rest, all happening automatically.

But, I am an ignorant retard when it comes to reloading, so I might have simply been brainwashed by fancy advertising. Are the Dillon Precision presses worth the money? Do you need to be reloading so many rounds a month for a fancy machine like that to be worth it?

 

[retard safari]

I found a ball bearing that was almost the exact same size as your standard slug. It was pretty much a worse slug and went all over the place but it was neat and definitely easier to find (and way cheaper) than a slug, still punched right through stuff like a slug!
Honestly you can put anything you want in that little wadding bucket they use for shot. It protects the barrel if the load is abrasive.
I should just start putting tiny lengths of scrap rebar in the thing and hoping for the best.

As long as the weight of whatever is going in there is similar, right?
I have a ton of these clay balls that are about the size the shot I use, it's for shrimp tanks or something. Can't think of a better use for them, but they are quite light, and if they worked in a shell they'd be great for target shooting. But they also might fragment on impact which could be dangerous at close range.

Logically, I expect it would be OK for the weight of the "shot" to be UNDER, but not OVER. Meaning a lighter load would still get blasted out, but a heavier load might not clear the barrel. Not sure. I do not want to wreck my gun so I'll have to see if I can find any information about this.

It's hard to tell what is like competition trap shooter regulations / lethality for various animals VS "what just works." I think a lot of these guys are going really exact in the formulas which is great, but if I just want to shoot targets on my own, the ballistic performance isn't as important to me.

 

[Apis Mellifica]

I wanted to share some ideas and modifications I have done to my press for any beginners who want to make their cheap setups a little nicer.

When I started out I got the Lee Classic Turret press kit from Midway, I think it was around $250 on sale when I bought mine a few years ago. I had it bench mounted for a while, but found that it was too low and I would crane my neck down uncomfortably, so I picked up a riser for it, I think Inline Manufacturing made it. Keeping the press higher off the bench can help if you're taller or like to stand while working like I do. Another thing I did specifically for my Lee that should work for any other press that uses a metal clip to retain the shell holder, I popped the clip out and used a rubber O ring in its place, I think the size is 5/16th of an inch but I can't remember. The local auto parts store had the O rings, I picked up ten of them. I keep it lubricated with dielectric grease or coconut oil just to keep the rubber from drying, the actual ram of the press I lubricate with firearm grease (White lithium grease + 10W30 motor oil). The O ring allows the shell holder to free float and match the opening of the die on the upstroke perfectly. Other presses like the Area 419 ZERO use their free floating feature as a selling point. This modification can work on plenty of single stage presses like the RCBS Rockchucker, or really any press that uses a small metal clip for shell holder retention.

After a while I wanted a press that could give me excellent camming force with great concentricity so I bought a Forster Co-ax press. It has a much larger more solidly affixed lever which is great when I have to convert brass, I do quite a bit of .30-06 to 7.7 Jap converting and sometimes .223 to 7.62x25 Tokarev. The spring loaded jaws that retain the brass were kind of annoying and required a full downward stroke to operate effectively, so I bought an adapter plate that allowed me to use the shell holders I already have. With the plate I left the retaining allen screw loose as to allow for free floating alignment with the die, which on the Forster has a tiny bit of play to help facilitate this. I don't have a concentricity gauge but visually everything produced with either of these presses has been perfect.

For tools, buy the Hornady Bullet Comparator and Headspace Comparator complete set of gauges. They're great and an absolute necessity for accurately measuring setback on brass and consistency in bullet seating. Dies are generally up to user preference, I had Lee dies to start and have kept most of them. I have a Forster micrometer seating die for my .308 and 6.5 Grendel since they're a lot easier to finely adjust than the unmarked stock Lee ones.

 

[GamerGateSurvivor]

This, it's an offshoot of chemistry. While there is some room for error, it is not great depending on the ingredients used and which recipe you're following for what ammunition. There are many different kinds of powders and not understanding their intended use can be catastrophic. Adjusting your loads should be done very, very gradually and slowly, as large adjustments can cause a spike or drop in pressure. Poor quality primers can also fuck you, so make sure you read reviews and reviews that don't out themselves as user-error.

To begin I would recommend a Lee Loader kit that's fairly inexpensive and forces you to pay attention. Purchase an up-to-date manual, do not look up handloading recipes from 20 year old forum posts.
View attachment 6150095
Understand the concept of what you're doing before you move on to proper equipment that costs hundreds of dollars.

The Lee setup is decent... except for the scale.

When you're reloading, the key is consistency. You want consistent powder measures (measured in grains), consistent case lengths (the length of your empty brass. I measure mine after I've resized it with the primer out of it), and consistent case over-all lengths (notated as COAL in reloading manuals. This measures how long the finished cartridge is).

If you notice, the Lee scale is balanced with a metal ball bearing. You will never get a consistent powder measure with this thing. When I bought my first reloading kit, which was a Lee, a buddy of mine took my scale and compared it with an RCBS scale he had. His measures were consistent and mine were all over the fucking place.

If you're just starting out reloading and you don't want to spend a lot of money, you can get some decent results with a Lee kit. But you will want to spend the extra money to get a good scale.

 

[WhoBusTank69]

scale

I recommend, to people starting out with higher IQ than moldy cheese and aren't loading magnums their first time around, they get one of those digital drug dealer scales from Wal Mart.
But yes physical scales are great.

 

[GamerGateSurvivor]

I recommend, to people starting out with higher IQ than moldy cheese and aren't loading magnums their first time around, they get one of those digital drug dealer scales from Wal Mart.
But yes physical scales are great.

You need one that measures in grains, not grams.

 

[WhoBusTank69]

You need one that measures in grains, not grams.

I load by the pound, haven't lost a finger yet.
But no, you're right. There are specific digital scales that have grains as an option.

 

[Lord of the Large Pants]

I have a completely stupid question that should not be taken seriously, especially by the glowies assigned to Kiwi Farms.

What would be the legality/effectiveness/armor penetrating power of a shot shell loaded with 304 steel or tungsten ball bearings in place of lead? I know that steel and tungsten bird shot exist, and I think they're mostly for areas with concerns about lead leeching into the water supply. But, cost aside, what about buckshot versions? Is there some size limitation of the pellets that would cause them to be illegal when smaller ones aren't? is there any practical point to it?

 

[biguglyboy]

I have a completely stupid question that should not be taken seriously, especially by the glowies assigned to Kiwi Farms.

What would be the legality/effectiveness/armor penetrating power of a shot shell loaded with 304 steel or tungsten ball bearings in place of lead? I know that steel and tungsten bird shot exist, and I think they're mostly for areas with concerns about lead leeching into the water supply. But, cost aside, what about buckshot versions? Is there some size limitation of the pellets that would cause them to be illegal when smaller ones aren't? is there any practical point to it?

Totally legal, trust me bro, I don't glow, you should do it.

In all seriousness, all shotgun ammo is exempt from being AP legally, at least on a federal level. As for why they don't do it, I don't know, my best guess is that it's more penetration than most people want. And if you do want all that penetration there are probably more economical ways to do it.