Re-Loading Your Own

To learn and introduce new loaders. Tips and tricks from old timers.

Moderators: Chuck, Mustang380gal, Coordinators, Moderators

BigV
Posts: 1555
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:29 pm
Location: Akron, OH

Re-Loading Your Own

Post by BigV »

Like many others I have recently invested in my own re-loader and have began to make my own ammunition for range use. I started off with .45 and .40 handgun loads.

I first loaded up 50, .45, 230gr FMJRN loads using 6.0gr of Unique powder.
Then I loaded up 50, .40, 180gr FMJTC loads using 7.5gr of Unique powder and took a trip to the range. I fired all 50, .45 rounds through my Kimber Raptor without issues. The powder seemed fairly clean and the rounds hit right where they were aimed. The .40 were shot through my Sig P-239 with the same results as above.
Tonight I loaded up 100 more rounds of .45 and 100 .40 with the same components as the previous 50.
I also loaded up 20, .223 rounds using 55gr V-Max bullets and 24.5gr of Hodgdon H4895 powder. I will try them Saturday in my AR.

Anyone else out there giving re-loading a shot?? Hopefully I’m on the right track. Any more experienced re-loaders out there willing to offer some tips to us newbie’s??

Man, it sure would be nice if we could get a RELOADING section at OFCC…
BigV
Jake
OFCC Coordinator
OFCC Coordinator
Posts: 11325
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:04 am
Location: N.E. Ohio
Contact:

Post by Jake »

Man, it sure would be nice if we could get a RELOADING section at OFCC…
I wish I thought of that..... :lol:

Welcome aboard the reloading band wagon! :D

With (100) WWB .45's going for $30.00 a box....you'd be crazy NOT to reload.

I hit the range the other day and shot almost (100) 9mm and (100) .45's.

I may end up not saving a dime as much as I shoot, but I know that I shoot a lot better and am alot more confident in my abilities than when I bought factory ammo.

Reloading has allowed me to shoot significantly more than I could otherwise.

With rising costs in primers, bullets (lead and fmj) powder etc. I fear that one day I'll have to curtail my addiction. :cry:
NRA Certified Instructor: Pistol
NRA Certified Range Safety Officer

Hope for the Best. Plan for the Worst.


http://www.salemhuntingclub.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.nraila.org/get-involved-loca ... -reps.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
ScottyPotty
OFCC Member
OFCC Member
Posts: 1984
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:27 pm
Location: Akron

Post by ScottyPotty »

I will try them Saturday in my AR
Where do you shoot at? I need to test out my AR pistol 8)

welcome to the joys of reloading - Im making up some .40's my self.
A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader. Samuel Adams
Sasquatch.45
Posts: 570
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:05 pm
Location: Bellevue Ohio

Post by Sasquatch.45 »

I have a little advice that applies to anyone, using any press,

Get a Lyman reloading manual, (or its equivalent in another brand) and read it thoroughly, paying special attention to the sections that explain about powder burn speed, bullet weight, and seating depth, and how they all affect pressure.
I prefer to start with a medium load within any recipe, then work up from there, if you want.
I usually only load about ten rounds at a time, then test fire until I get it dialed in to where I want.
Even then, I will load and shoot about a hundred just to make sure before I go to town and load a bucket full.

Check your weights every hundred rounds or so, and watch your bullet seating depths. Most people are not aware of how over-seating bullets can dramatically increase pressure, even if the powder charge would have otherwise been OK.
Never load more than the recommended charge, even if someone tells you that they have done it with no problems.
Just because 4.4 grains of XYZ works fine, does not mean that 4.4 grains of ABC will work the same, even if they look the same.
Once again, I can’t reiterate enough, get a good reloading manual, and double check everything before you shoot a round.
If you are reloading, and you don’t do it right, then you have to be lucky.
The problem with being lucky is, if you are not lucky all of the time, you are going to eventually have a really-really-really bad day…
No law of prohibition ever prevented a crime of violence, They simply provide a framework for punishment for those who fail to commit suicide after going postal.

The devil never made me do anything…However, he did have a couple of really cool ideals…
BigV
Posts: 1555
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:29 pm
Location: Akron, OH

Post by BigV »

ScottyPotty wrote:
I will try them Saturday in my AR
Where do you shoot at? I need to test out my AR pistol 8)

welcome to the joys of reloading - Im making up some .40's my self.
I shoot at Riverside Range in Cuyahoga Falls. They will let you shoot anything except for shotgun with shot.
BigV
Jake
OFCC Coordinator
OFCC Coordinator
Posts: 11325
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:04 am
Location: N.E. Ohio
Contact:

Post by Jake »

If you do a Search in the Firearms and Gear section, using reloading as a keyword, there is a lot of info available.
NRA Certified Instructor: Pistol
NRA Certified Range Safety Officer

Hope for the Best. Plan for the Worst.


http://www.salemhuntingclub.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.nraila.org/get-involved-loca ... -reps.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
shooterwolf
Posts: 1455
Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 5:40 pm
Location: S.E.OHIO

Post by shooterwolf »

With your 45 load you are right around max. When you run Unique in medium to max loads it burns clean. Reduced loads with Unique are really dirty.

Welcome to the reloading section. :wink:


Shooterwolf.
Birdman
Posts: 1435
Joined: Fri Jun 09, 2006 3:22 pm
Location: Ashtabula County

Post by Birdman »

I've loaded about 5000 40's so far for use in both my XD's. No failures so far. Some folks elsewhere had suggested Clay's. Forget about it. It will not meter well at all in my powder measure. I'll use it in the MEC for trap loads, not pistol.
Excellent advice about loading a few to dial in what you are looking for. I went a bit too low in charge for a bunny fart load and the case did a little dance just out of battery and stovepiped almost every shot. Only loaded a half dozen, not 100.

TJ Conevera.com for jacketed bullets. $93/1000 for Winchester 165gr. Others are double his price.
“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds”-Sam Adams

"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."
- Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935
User avatar
BobK
Posts: 15602
Joined: Sun Jan 14, 2007 10:26 pm
Location: Houston TX (formerly Franklin County)

Post by BobK »

I am just new to reloading as well.

After a couple of hundred rounds, I haven't got a load dialed in that works for me yet (Reloading Problem: Failure to go into battery) but I am still "problem solving".

Overall, I have enjoyed the process of setting up and learning my new press, and tinkering with different load variables. With my problems listed above, I have two new avenues to chase down: getting a faster, cleaner powder, and shortening my OAL to 1.225".

I did make up a nice reloading form in Excel that lets me track all the loads. Each page corresponds to one 50 round case. I'll mark which magazine has which rounds and then track the results. For any 5 round group, I know the charge used, the OAL, the group size, and which rounds failed to feed.
I am a: NRA Life Member, Texas State Rifle Association Life Member, Texas Firearms Coalition Gold member, OFCC Patron Member, former JFPO member (pre-SAF).

This froggie ain't boiling! Shall not be infringed! Μολών Λαβέ
More Obamination. Idiots. Can't we find an electable (R) for 2016?
User avatar
dan dan the XD40 man
Posts: 8370
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 9:49 am
Location: Cleveland Ohio
Contact:

Post by dan dan the XD40 man »

BobK wrote:I am just new to reloading as well.

After a couple of hundred rounds, I haven't got a load dialed in that works for me yet (Reloading Problem: Failure to go into battery) but I am still "problem solving".

Overall, I have enjoyed the process of setting up and learning my new press, and tinkering with different load variables. With my problems listed above, I have two new avenues to chase down: getting a faster, cleaner powder, and shortening my OAL to 1.225".

I did make up a nice reloading form in Excel that lets me track all the loads. Each page corresponds to one 50 round case. I'll mark which magazine has which rounds and then track the results. For any 5 round group, I know the charge used, the OAL, the group size, and which rounds failed to feed.
Im still thinking that the bullets you used are more for revolvers and such than an autoloader.
Poop!
willbird
OFCC Member
OFCC Member
Posts: 11446
Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2005 9:19 am
Location: Exit 13 on the ohio Turnpike :-)

Post by willbird »

I've loaded about 5000 40's so far for use in both my XD's. No failures so far. Some folks elsewhere had suggested Clay's. Forget about it. It will not meter well at all in my powder measure. I'll use it in the MEC for trap loads, not pistol.
What kind of powder measure are you using Clays in that it does not work ?? It works GREAT in in my Dillon powder measure. The Dillon is very similar to many other progressive reloader powder measures in that is uses a sliding bar with a hole (simplified description, the cavity is not a round hole) in it to measure the powder.

Bill
Have a great day today unless you have made other plans :-).
User avatar
Sneakypete
OFCC Member
OFCC Member
Posts: 709
Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:43 pm
Location: NW Ohio Seneca

Reloading

Post by Sneakypete »

I reload .357 Mag, .44 Mag, .50 AE, 9 mm, .40, .45. 223, 303 Br, 7.62x51, .30 carbine, 45-70, 30-30Win, 30-06, in other words , everything . I have ran into a (very) few problems over the years, most of them were solved by reading the book. I use a Speer manual, but they are pretty much all the same, ATTENTION TO DETAIL is the key. I prefer to use the same powder for as many calibers as I can, cuts down on inventory, powder is fresher. Reloading is the only way to go if you put a lot of rounds downrange in a week, as I do. Autopistols (esp 1911's), generally don't like wadcutters :D
Duty, Honor, Country.
These three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.
-Gen Douglas MacArthur

You have never lived until you have almost died.
For those who have fought for it, life has a special flavor the protected will never know.
BigV
Posts: 1555
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:29 pm
Location: Akron, OH

Post by BigV »

shooterwolf wrote:With your 45 load you are right around max. When you run Unique in medium to max loads it burns clean. Reduced loads with Unique are really dirty.

Welcome to the reloading section. :wink:
Shooterwolf.
The reloading manual I am using is the Speer Reloading Manual #14 and it shows the range for the 230gr FMJ at 5.5 min to 6.5 Max using Unique powder.
Another publication (the name eludes me at this time) shows the optimum charge at 6.0gr. for 230 FMJ using Unique. Since I am new to reloading, I figured middle range at 6.0 would be fine.
I want to make sure I am not pushing the limits, so your saying 6.0 is pushing that limit using Unique?
Thanks
BigV
Birdman
Posts: 1435
Joined: Fri Jun 09, 2006 3:22 pm
Location: Ashtabula County

Post by Birdman »

Willbird, I am using a cheap Lee Perfect Powder Measure. Bargin basement $20, but usually performs well, certainly to .1 grain. I usually use Titegroup, at the very low end and below starting load.
“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds”-Sam Adams

"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."
- Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935
tjeffries
Posts: 2502
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:57 am
Location: Mercer County

Post by tjeffries »

Sasquatch.45 wrote:I have a little advice that applies to anyone, using any press,

Get a Lyman reloading manual, (or its equivalent in another brand) and read it thoroughly, paying special attention to the sections that explain about powder burn speed, bullet weight, and seating depth, and how they all affect pressure.
I prefer to start with a medium load within any recipe, then work up from there, if you want.
I usually only load about ten rounds at a time, then test fire until I get it dialed in to where I want.
Even then, I will load and shoot about a hundred just to make sure before I go to town and load a bucket full.

Check your weights every hundred rounds or so, and watch your bullet seating depths. Most people are not aware of how over-seating bullets can dramatically increase pressure, even if the powder charge would have otherwise been OK.
Never load more than the recommended charge, even if someone tells you that they have done it with no problems.
Just because 4.4 grains of XYZ works fine, does not mean that 4.4 grains of ABC will work the same, even if they look the same.
Once again, I can’t reiterate enough, get a good reloading manual, and double check everything before you shoot a round.
If you are reloading, and you don’t do it right, then you have to be lucky.
The problem with being lucky is, if you are not lucky all of the time, you are going to eventually have a really-really-really bad day…
Thanks for that post, it's probably the best advice on reloading so far :wink:
"How we burned in the prison camps later thinking: What would things have been like if every security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive?"-- Alexander Solzhenitzyn, Gulag Archipelago

To paraphrase George Santayana, those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

http://www.barefootsworld.net/tripwire.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Post Reply