Reloading Evangelism: new convert

[blackeagle603]

I've found that for me reloading/shooting is something like repair/riding was when I was young and really into motorcycles. I value the work leading up to the activity as much or more than the activity. I had quite a run there as a teen trading for basket case motorcycles. They'd never stick around long after I got them together and running. There was always another basket case to trade for. I'm probably a bit of a closet romantic, the call of something needing repaired or restored hits a pretty deep chord in me (probably why I'm sitting here going down with the good ship CA).


So, if I'm completely honest with myself it's not so much that I reload so that I may shoot, but, I shoot so that I may reload.

Yeah that calls for a emoticon.

[Weetabix]

Did a quick inventory last night.

Dies for 7.62x54R and 9x18.
1000 large rifle primers
1500 small pistol primers
About 250 commercial rounds for 9x18 and a pile of cast
A few cast 7.62x54R
Molds for 9x18 and 7.62x54R
Ingot mold
Melting pot
1lb Titegroup
Dial caliper
Case trimmer for 9x18
a bajillion 9mm casings
Tumbler
40 lbs or so of lead ingots

I know there's at least one, maybe 2 manuals in the house.

I may just need the kit, some scales, and some more powder.

9mm may be the way to start since I have so much brass and the break looks fine on cost. I'd need dies.

Handgun powder recommendations?

Rifle powder recommendations?

[Flintlock Tom]

The thing requiring the most attention is putting your powder charge in.

...Now, in addition to a trashed gun, he's got to pull some 300 bullets to find the case without powder. ...

Why not just weigh the cartridges to find the light one?

[toad]

Weighing the cartridges would work if the brass all came from the same lot. Random pick up range brass can vary more than the weight of the powder charge for some pistol powders. Brass with the same head stamp can vary from lot to lot as press tooling wears and is replaced. A bullet puller is not real expensive and using it serves as a lesson to be more careful.
"Oh No, Mr. Bill not the bullet puller." "Anything but the bullet puller.", "......ANY...... THING?"., ".......sigh, the bullet puller."

[Flintlock Tom]

Oh.

I might be inclined to weigh them anyway and start pulling from lightest to heaviest.

[toad]

Back in ye olden days I got all OCD and tried to sort my pistol brass. I sorted out by head stamp, then I checked wall thickness, rim thickness, and OAL. Then I'd weigh a couple, then batch weigh them. Ended up sorting them into multiple groups. This gained me pretty much nothing.
For a precision rifle shooter who needs first shot accuracy it does help, those guys also measure run out from base to neck,but for somebody burning powder in a semi-auto pistol who is a mediocre shot to start with, eh. Better to concentrate on measuring powder, setting the bullet to correct OAL, crimping it properly, and having your primer flush to prevent slam fires.

[First Shirt]

On the economics of it, there are two advantages to reloading.

1. Making a bunch of cheap practice ammo. For example, let's say I'm shooting .45 ACP. I can get 230 gr. truncated-cone cast bullets for about 6 cents each (or I can cast them myself, from scrounged wheelweights, at which point they cost me the electricity to run the lead pot). At $25/lb for Unique, I'm spending less than 2.5 cents per charge. I've already got the brass, so I've eaten that expenditure already. Add 3 cents for a primer, I'm under 12 cents/round, and these are pretty much do-it-all loads. I can shoot targets, cans, game animals, or midnight door kickers.

2. When The Minions started hunting, I loaded 140 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips to about 2600 fps. Recoil was about the same as a .243, accuracy was outstanding, and downrange performance was excellent. Using once-fired brass, bulk purchase bullets, the same Reloader 15 powder and Large Rifle primers that I already had on hand for the '06s, they have loads that are both adequately powerful for the game they are hunting, exceptionally accurate, and lighter in recoil than factory loads, at about 1/2 the price. In fact, I just crunched the numbers, and it works out to 46 cents per round. The cheapest 7mm-08 I've found anywhere is $22.00 for a box of 20, with prices going up to $47.00/20

You won't save money by reloading. But you'll shoot a helluva lot more!

[Netpackrat]

Threw in some old RCBS lube and a lube pad I had sitting.

That was not a nice thing to do. When he discovers the spray lubes, he is gonna be pissed. But at least he will appreciate them.

[HTRN]

What about imperial die wax?

[Vonz90]

Threw in some old RCBS lube and a lube pad I had sitting.

That was not a nice thing to do. When he discovers the spray lubes, he is gonna be pissed. But at least he will appreciate them.

Amen to that. I've been using One Shot since I got back into reloading and it saves a ton of time vs the old way.

They also have the lube-less carbide dies for pistol rounds, but I don't see that they save all that much time vs the spray lubes.