Reloading Equipment question

[COplains]

You won't regret getting a turret press. As you learn and develop a method to your madness a turret will fit in nicely. I've only started reloading about a year ago after many years away and picked up a Hornady single stage kit on sale to start again. It was a decent choice and works fine but you will find you will be adding 'bits and pieces' to it, or any kit, as you go. I added a Lee turret awhile back and between the two it works out great.

[tufrthnails]

3 of the manuals showed up yesterday. Started reading Modern Reloading. Wow there is a lot of info to soak up, but it is pretty interesting at least if is not horrible reading.

[jhelmuth]

I can't say humidity has been much of a concern for me as my garage is semi-insulated and air conditioned off the house main unit so it's always climate controlled. I store my ammo, powder, primers and all reloading stuff there with no troubles.
Although, keeping some of my dies from showing a little rust has been a task, everything else has been fine. I suppose as long as you can keep the humidity at a reasonable level, you should be fine.
(Florida reasonable humidity level = under 70% - + or -)
The humidity reader thingie in my reload area never reads above 65 - 70%.
By the way, welcome to your new OCD / addiction.
Enjoy.

Frank....

Here is an easy way to keep 'em rust free.

50/50 White Vinegar and H2O... when you see ANY surface rust, drop the dies into the solution for 5 mins.
Take them out and rinse well, then quickly blow dry them as best you can (I have a compressor) and follow up with a good spray of WD-40 (and follow that up with a quick blow dry).


Jim

[fgw_in_fla]

Frank....

Here is an easy way to keep 'em rust free.

50/50 White Vinegar and H2O... when you see ANY surface rust, drop the dies into the solution for 5 mins.
Take them out and rinse well, then quickly blow dry them as best you can (I have a compressor) and follow up with a good spray of WD-40 (and follow that up with a quick blow dry).


Jim

That's good info, Jim.
I appreciate it. I probably don't have to tell you about keeping rust under control here in the swamps of Florida..
Thanks.

[tufrthnails]

Quick update: I have read the abc's of reloading and Modern reloading. Holy infomation overload Batman! I skimmed the speers Manual. I have bought a minimal amount of consumables to practice with. I am going to start with reloading the .270 win. the starting recipe is 150gr hornady interlock sp, 55.0gr of H1000, Winchester LR Primer. My first question is how many rounds should I load for an accurate test of the loads. Then I plan to increase by .5gr as I work the loads up toward the max of 59gr. Note: until I have gotten a good grasp of the fundamentals I am going to limit myself to a full gr below the max load so in this case 58gr will the max I will load. Especially since it states 59gr is a conpressed load.

[tufrthnails]

Oh I forgot to mention what I decided on for the reloading gear. RCBS rock Chucker supreme kit, RCBS case trimmer, RCBS dies in .223 and .270, Used digital scale and RCBS deburring and chamfer tool (picked up used), Frankfurt Arsenal tumbler kit, and Hornady digital calipers.

[Vince]

I'd eliminate the first load, minimum load, and work up as you plan.
Let your rifle tell you if you can safely go to Max. I have a 25-06 that shows pressure signs well before the max load due to it's chamber. My load is a lower middle charge weight, according to the manual, but I'm getting higher velocity than the manual says I should and the accuracy is great, 0.5" groups, so I stopped my load development there for that rifle.
Listen to your rifle. It will tell you. Read about pressure signs and don't be afraid of max loads, or compressed loads, if the rifle wants it.
Each rifle is a creature unto itself and has to be treated as an individual.

[fgw_in_fla]

^ What he said ^
Unless you take reload advice from Dean, you'll probably never have to load to the max before you find your groove.

And if you read your book, read it again. You'd be surprised how many little tid bits will expose themselves on the 2nd & 3rd reading.

Good luck.

[yobuck]

I'd eliminate the first load, minimum load, and work up as you plan.
Let your rifle tell you if you can safely go to Max. I have a 25-06 that shows pressure signs well before the max load due to it's chamber. My load is a lower middle charge weight, according to the manual, but I'm getting higher velocity than the manual says I should and the accuracy is great, 0.5" groups, so I stopped my load development there for that rifle.
Listen to your rifle. It will tell you. Read about pressure signs and don't be afraid of max loads, or compressed loads, if the rifle wants it.
Each rifle is a creature unto itself and has to be treated as an individual.

Make note of this advise as its as good as you will get. Always listen to your gun before listening to any other source.
Assuming you have factory guns you wont be dealing with the possibility of tight chambers. That tends to help with higher
pressures of max loads. You can take a fired case from the gun, which has been formed to the chamber. Then take a loaded
round and insert the pointed end of the bullet into the fired case. you could also just take a bullet from a box.
If it goes in with no resistance you have a typical sloppy factory chamber.
If there is considerable resistance inserting the bullet then the opposite is true and neck turning could be in order before attempting max loads.
I would be establishing that fact before going very far with your loading.
I personaly always want the most i can get from my guns. So my method is slightly different than most others use.
I pick a mid point charge with the powder and bullet id like. I then load 1 round and increase the charge by 1 grain for 1 round till i have 5 or 6 loaded.
I then shoot them into a safe place just from the hip. Inspect each case after firing and above all listen to the gun. Any resistance at all on lifting the bolt "STOP"
right there. Back up a grain of powder and then work backwards testing charge weights. from there you can tweek seating depths also.
Ive got my max load for that combination without wasting time and components doing it. I wouldnt be loading more than 3 shots for initial group testing.

[tufrthnails]

Thanks guys that was what I needed and yes I started reading abc's again and I already caught a few things that just didn't understand before because the meaning was in the next chapters and now it makes sense.

[tufrthnails]

well screw up number one. Bent the sizing die for the .270 At least I felt it when it happened felt funny and didn't take much pressure at all back to the drawing board. Not sure why it was out of center or if I didn't put the case in square. was trying to set the expander.

[yobuck]

Consider investing in a universal decaping die. They are very reasonable and one die will do all your depriming for all size cases.
You can then remove the pins from all your other dies. The expander button dosent have to be set as deep either,
just deep enough to expand the neck. A small bare bones seperate press just for depriming is also a good idea.

[emtrescue6]

Consider investing in a universal decaping die. They are very reasonable and one die will do all your depriming for all size cases.
You can then remove the pins from all your other dies. The expander button dosent have to be set as deep either,
just deep enough to expand the neck. A small bare bones seperate press just for depriming is also a good idea.

Very good advice....and will save you many headaches. Don't worry, I've been reloading for near 30 years and 2-3 years ago i bent the decapping rod on a 243 die due to not paying attention.

[Oscarflytyer]

Oh I forgot to mention what I decided on for the reloading gear. RCBS rock Chucker supreme kit, RCBS case trimmer, RCBS dies in .223 and .270, Used digital scale and RCBS deburring and chamfer tool (picked up used), Frankfurt Arsenal tumbler kit, and Hornady digital calipers.

Sounds like you are off to a great start. As said above, many will tell you go with what they use. Also as said, most of the brands out there have good kits. I have a 30+ yo RC, and don't think you will go wrong with yours. And YES - case prep SUCKS!

I am not a huge fan of the digital scales/calipers. I like to "see" the physical measurements. Have a digi scale, and use it to check things in spec occassionally, but mostly rely on my RCBS 505 balance beam. Some things I would recommend. Get a hand priming unit. You have WAY better feel than priming with a press. I have always hand primed and can always tell by feel when something is amiss. Mine is old RCBS, but can't get them anymore... Next - Lee Universal decap die. Stem pops out before you bend it. Didn't see a powder measure or powder trickler in your list. Would suggest those as well. Always make sure you lub the inside of case necks on rifle cases. I like Hornday's One Shot spray - others hate it... When you start resizing, resize a case and run it through the rifle action to make sure it chambers. Save doing a bunch and then redoing them if don't fit! Eventually might want to look at seating bullet depth by the bullet ogive and not OAL - but that is a tad advanced. But do run the finished round (I always make up a dummy round w/o primer/powder for chamber fit testing and cycling!) into the chamber and make sure you aren't pushing the bullet into the lands. If you do, you will see the marks, or leave the bullet in the bbl!

Your manuals sound spot on. I was actually reading my 1986 ver of ABCs of reloading last night! As you are trying to determine loads and powder combos, etc, it can be mind numbing.Add to that the difficulty in finding powder/components and it kills the fun real quick. I recently picked up a copy of Ken Waters' Pet Loads complete volumes. One of the best buys I have made! He give you great starting points and pet/best loads for nearly every caliber out there. The price of the book will be recouped by a pound of powder that is not preferred for a caliber.

Regarding test loads. Sounds like you are on the right track there. I agree you can usually leave off the lowest starting charge. Also agree on .5 grn increments. Seen tests that you have to get over .5 grn diff to make a difference. I also dislike compressed charges, and usually shy away from max loads unless they are hands down the best load. I only shoot 3 rnds of each .5 increment when I am working up a load. Don't need 5 and things are way too expensive as it is.

FWIW, while I tend to be an RCBS bigot, I have had good luck with Lee dies, and also their line of casting/sizing equipment.

[MrMarty51]

A good chronograph is a nice tool for reloading too.
Well, for after they are reloaded and You are out on the range doing Your test firing.

[foxx]

A good chronograph is a nice tool for reloading too.
Well, for after they are reloaded and You are out on the range doing Your test firing.

Care to elaborate?

[MrMarty51]

Care to elaborate?
The book tells us what We need to know about velocity, pressures etc; But, is that what We are really getting ???
I know it would be close but is that close good enough, say the scale gets bumped slightly, or, I have an auto feed/scale system, one of the best, after that system feeds the powder into the pan and shuts off at the desired weight, I then take the dispensing pan to My balance beam scale and find they may be off, plus or minus just a fraction.
When I first started reloading I did`nt realize that I was slightly moving the scale, any movement of the balance beam scale will throw it off, It was`nt until after I had charged ten or twenty casings that I realized what was happening. That is when I bought the auto-feed scale system.
It just so happened that I took ten of the .243 rounds and the rifle to the range, just so happened that there was a feller there with a Chrony and asked if He could fire My rifle and rounds through the chrony. I do not remember what the FPS was but they were varying.
Now, I have been double checking the loads, using the auto system, then the balance beam and the auto load system is most always off a kernel or five of the grains of powder.
OH YEAH, I laid down a patch of duct tape to keep the scale from moving around, sort of give its feet some traction on the charging bench.
I too have since then purchased a chrony, have not got a chance to try it out yet, next time to the range it will get its workout.
Take a BB gun along and fire it through the chrony to be sure it is reading. Cheap way of testing before burning powder and throwing lead. LOL

[yobuck]

There are those of us who cant get technical enough about the things we do, such as loading.
Not enough that its accurate, why is it accurate.
Then there are those of us who are satisfied with an accurate gun and just hitting what we shoot at.
Ive ownd chronagraphs for about 40 years. My current chrony will usually give different readings on
the same loads on different days. Some days it's drasticly different. I personaly dont give much credance
to the information i receive from them.

[emtrescue6]

I completely gave up on chrony's a long time ago....I shoot mostly for hunting purposes....accuracy out to 500 is all I really care about. I don't mind the extra time on the range...and with a little math you can get your velocity figured out close enough...

[tufrthnails]

Thanks guys! I have decided I hate waiting on a replacement part. should be here tomorrow.