Teach me about reloading..

[Ohiobellboy]

Since the wife has also taken up the sport of killing paper plates with bullets, I can see where this is going to get expensive real quick. My little brother and I have talked in the past about getting a reloading outfit together.


Who's using what?


Recommendations?


Experiences?


Any/all equipment needed?


Best place to get supplies?


How many times can you reload your brass?


and.....GO!

 

[Dirtbike]

You've got my curiosity sparked as well, is like to pick up some info as well

 

[RangerTim]

Save yourself alot of tears and buy a Dillon press. I've been using the square deal for 10 years. You can spend the money for a 550, 650, or even 1050 Super depending on what you plan to do and expected volume output. Join the Brian Enos forum. More reloading knowledge there than one could ever wish to remember. I load for USPSA competition and practice. 9mm, 45ACP, and 38special. I load a piece of brass until it splits down the side. You may not want to do that if loading to higher pressures. Get a GOOD reloading manual and USE IT! It will give you all your min/max dimensions and powder usage. Different powders each have a certain volume range. Read up on the BE forum and good luck!

 

[Shawn Agne]

I have a Dillon 550 it is nice for pistol and blasting ammo. I will also use it for the shortline (200/300yd) ammo for the service rifles and a couple of the course match rifles. However there is an with the powder hopper it doesn't drop extruded powder accurately enough for the longer lines. So all of my 600yd-1000yd (or farther if we're talking 338LM) is loaded on a Forester Co-Ax as I'm weighing out the charges. Plus I don't like some of the slop that you can get in the shell plates on the Dillon. As far as starter kit Hornady probably has the best deal out there right now but the RCBS starter kit isn't bad either. Dies it depends what you are shooting if pistol go carbide. Rifle I started with Forester but I've since switched out my sizing dies to Redding bushing dies.


As far as brass life that is dependent on the firearm. M14s are notoriously hard on brass usually 3-4 reloads and you want to stop using the cases due to possible case head separations. AR's are much more forgiving on the brass. In the 15s we haven't opened up the primer pockets to far yet on the 600yd loads after 5-6 firings same with the AR-10s in 308. The 260 AR-10s seem to be a little harder on brass but as long as you use surplus brass you can get easy 5-6 before your primer pockets start to open. Bolt guns you get better case life unless your shooting heavy loads. My 308 Palma load is the worst (185gr Berger at 2780fps) it will get 2-3 reloads before the primer pocket opens up to where it won't hold a primer. The other prone rifles are doing ok at 5-6 and the primer pockets are just starting to get a little loose but still usable, however again this is 1000yd shooting. If you are just doing 100yd plinking then you can run a lighter load and brass will last forever.


As far as places to get your stuff Powder Valley has good prices as does Weideners Reloading as does Proneshooter Reloading Supplies which is ran by a shooting friend of mine out of Oak Ridge TN.


If you PM me I can give you some better advice on this.

 

[Dirtbike]

So I'm looking at either a Dillon xl 650 or the Hornaday Ammo plant, now I know dillon is the cream of the crop but how about the Hornaday? If I were to go with the dillon here is my list off of the top of my head; those with experience am I on the right track?


Dillon xl 650 progressive press (comes with 9mm dies and shell plate


Table mount to lift it a bit


Bullet Tray


Set of .223 carbide dies


Automatic Case feeder


Besides powder and bullets (I have a local source 5 min down the road) what's your thoughts on what I'm leaving out here.


Edit: I should add that at some point I'm going to want to reload .45 acp, .454 casull, .357mag/.38, and .45-70, my goal here is to become as self sufficient with my ammunition as possible.

 

[RangerTim]

Good reloading manual


Kinetic bullet puller


Digital scale W/ calibration weight


Powder measuring pan


Primer flip tray


Primer pick up tubes (large and small)


Caliper (you're a machinist so I bet you have one)


Tumbler and media separated for cleaning brass


Media (crushed walnut hull, corn cob, etc)


If you plan to reload rifle there is a whole other list....


OAL guage


Case trimmer


Deburring tool


Dillon super swage if crimped 5.56 brass


That's the list off the top of my head...


@Shawn Agne can provide more info for rifle I'm sure.

 

[Dirtbike]

[QUOTE="Chris Timmerman]
Caliper (you're a machinist so I bet you have one)

[/QUOTE]
Lol ya I've got a "few" of them laying around lol

 

[Dirtbike]

I figure to buy one cry once if ya know what I mean, there will always be more that's needed but I figure to get what I need to get rolling after setup, and ya a good manual is key here, I'm looking forward to hearing what Shawns thoughts are as well on this

 

[Shawn Agne]

Chris pretty well mentioned everything except where I use different stuff.


Case Cleaning: Started with the corncob/walnut, then went to a rotary tumbler with ceramic media worked pretty nice, then replaced ceramic with stainless steel. I will never use anything again any case comes out looking brand new in the inside and the primer pockets. The last is where the corn cob doesn't touch.


Reloading Manuals: They work but they aren't to your firearm. What I use is a program called Quickload. It allows you to try a variety of powders tells you what the pressure, speed, etc. is going to be for your fire arm. You can set the case capacity of a fired case in your chamber and it is usually within 5-10fps. Helps as there are more powder choice/combinations out there you can use than what is listed in a manual.


If you are just loading smokeless in your 45-70 Chris's list will be fine. If you're going black powder there are some additional things you'll need die wise.


You mentioned .223 dies so I'm assuming you're loading .223 are you just loading mag length for an AR or you loading for a bolt gun? If the later I can go into more specifics about stuff.

 

[Dirtbike]

The only bolt guns I have are in .308, the .223 is for my AR'S, I've got thousands of of empty casings and my stock is hitting below my threshold of ya know what I mean, as for the .45-70 it'll be smokeless powder, well I'll add the above mentioned to my list, will the 650 load the .308 decent? About the farthest I'm out with it is 500 yds these days, or would that round be a better candidate for a single stage press?


In the beginning it'll be 9mm .45acp and .223 though, the other calibers will follow as I can buy the dies

 

[Shawn Agne]

The only "issue" with a progressive press is the automatic powder drops. They just don't drop extruded (stick) powder well, and that is typically what you load rifle with, although there is ball powder. Some extruded powders drop better than others. You can load accurate rifle rounds just fine on a Dillon. John Whidden (multi time Long Range national champ) loads his ammo on a Dillon. But he weighs his powder and then has the die that lets him add the powder to the case. If you're going to load 100yd blasting or just ball ammo the automatic powder drop is fine and really out to 300yd its fine. For the loads I shoot at the 500 or 600yd line or farther I'm weighing them out. So yes the Dillon is fine, just get a die where you can manually weigh your charge.


As far as other stuff for rifle you'll find you get better performance if you jump the bullets a certain distance off the lands. If you measure overall length this can vary as the meplats (tips) are uniform. The way you measure is off the ogive (where the bullet goes to caliber). Stoney Point makes a gauge that does this and you'll need the modified case for your cartridge. Then you'll need a comporator and the inserts. Now since your a machinest you can make your own inserts (what I did). Just make the interior hole to be 0.001" under bullet diameter so for a .308 make your insert .307" you can go .3075" if you want but your on the edge of a bullet slipping through. You then can measure out how far the throat is and sent the jump. This allows you to fine tune your loads more. Most bullets like Sierra Match Kings like to jump say 0.010" or so but if you play with it you'll see how your groups will tighten up then open up, then tighten up again as you move the bullet from hitting the lands back.

 

[Dirtbike]

Well the order has been made! I'm gonna have to pick up a few more jobs in the shop lol, a few sets of pegs on the lathe and she'll be paid off! Should have it in next week, I ordered my list then what we talked about above along with a good rotary tumbler and stainless steel media, I'm looking forward to this!


The upside to all this is I'll set it up in my spare room in the basement and the kids like to play down there anyway, how could my wife resist me not wanting to be downstairs with the kiddos while they play


Thanks for the advice! This thread is gonna get real active now!

 

[Dirtbike]

https://www.dillonprecision.com/xl-650_8_1_23803.html


Pretty much how it's coming in, I didn't get the fancy handle though add I can make it with nice bearings twice as nice and half the price lol

 

[Ohiobellboy]

Ok guys.Question for you.


Straight from Dillon's site... "Handgun Ammunition


The Dillon XL650 will produce match-quality ammo for a wide variety of rifle and handgun calibers. Priced at $566.95, the XL650 comes complete with one caliber conversion installed on the machine.Dies are not included with the machine, but are sold separately."





What the heck are they talking about when they say the "caliber conversion" ?

 

[Dirtbike]

The ability to change from one caliber to another. ....Damn it's early well off to work

 

[Dirtbike]

But I'm not even green into this yet lol, all of this kinda reminds me of how I was when I got my first lathe lol.

 

[Shawn Agne]

[QUOTE="Mike Weidleman]Ok guys.Question for you.
Straight from Dillon's site... "Handgun Ammunition


The Dillon XL650 will produce match-quality ammo for a wide variety of rifle and handgun calibers. Priced at $566.95, the XL650 comes complete with one caliber conversion installed on the machine.Dies are not included with the machine, but are sold separately."





What the heck are they talking about when they say the "caliber conversion" ?

[/QUOTE]
Caliber Conversion = Cartridge you can load for

 

[Dirtbike]

Just got my update on the press, should be in by Tuesday, to bad I gotta be in the road for work all next week


@Shawn Agne and @Chris Timmerman any recommendations On primers, bullets, and powder for 9mm? I'm currently shooting 124gr and I like it much better that the 115gr

 

[RangerTim]

If you're looking for good volume ammo and not some crazy bullseye match load look at Montana Gold, Precision Delta, Berry's Mfg. Bayou Bullets, or Extreme. I personally love MG bullets. These are the top brands in the USPSA world...and let me tell you, that crowd does som serious volume reloading!! As for powder, I started back in the day with Win231 but it was dirty. I LOVE Hogdon's Titegroup for 9mm and Clay's for .45ACP. You just have to play with the drop depending on what velocities you want out of a 115gr vs. a 124gr or 147gr. I load for USPSA Minor Power Factor so it's very specific. Get as low as you can without going under! I use nothing but CCI pistol primers. Federal are more sensitive if you're loading something with a really light hammer spring or striker spring. The Brian Enos forum is a gold mine for handgun reloading. Hope that helps!

 

[Dirtbike]

[QUOTE="Chris Timmerman]If you're looking for good volume ammo and not some crazy bullseye match load look at Montana Gold, Precision Delta, Berry's Mfg. Bayou Bullets, or Extreme. I personally love MG bullets. These are the top brands in the USPSA world...and let me tell you, that crowd does som serious volume reloading!! As for powder, I started back in the day with Win231 but it was dirty. I LOVE Hogdon's Titegroup for 9mm and Clay's for .45ACP. You just have to play with the drop depending on what velocities you want out of a 115gr vs. a 124gr or 147gr. I load for USPSA Minor Power Factor so it's very specific. Get as low as you can without going under! I use nothing but CCI pistol primers. Federal are more sensitive if you're loading something with a really light hammer spring or striker spring. The Brian Enos forum is a gold mine for handgun reloading. Hope that helps!

[/QUOTE]
Sure does! I'm gonna try and get on there and start reading up,