What did you reload today?

[Tomiboy]

Loading some ladders of 6BRA

 

[Whisky Tahoe]

My Rem 700 in 308 is getting an additional barrel, 22 BR, with 7.5 twist. Ordered 200 pieces of Alpha 6BR with small primer pocket and normal flash hole.
My new Forster 22 BR sizing die has been honed to .245 and sizes 6 BR brass into 22 BR with very little effort. I used a tiny amount of imperial wax on the neck and body and finished 100 pieces then tumbled them.

I'll expand the necks with a gauge pin right before loading. No donuts!!!
When you resize a neck with a bushing you are left with a donut below where the bushing stops. Donuts in case necks drive me nuts as they meddle with bullets.

I only prepped 100 out of the 200 cases. I am conducting an experiment where the 100 pieces that were trimmed, beveled, chamfered, and neck turned .0005" will be compared with the unprepped brass that is just resized. While the prep is time consuming, you only have to do it once.

Plan is to load 60-80 gr bullets and reach varmints at 300-400 yds. I'm hoping this lets me phase out my 22-250 and rebarrel it with a faster twist.

Edit 6/7/24 Case prep is planned for all 200 cases. Managing multiple case types is challenging and there's benefit from having the cases prepped the same.
Shot 60gr V-max and 62gr ELD-VT for load development with great results.

 

[dangerranger]

I made 500 rounds of plinking and target ammo for my 38 spl.

 

[stbudge67]

I would not even know where to start if I decided to do reloading.

 

[Whisky Tahoe]

I would not even know where to start if I decided to do reloading.

No one does till they start. Questions do get answered for free on the forum. After that, it does require money.

 

[stbudge67]

That is what I figured.

 

[Whisky Tahoe]

That is what I figured.

One way to "justify" equipment is to work up the cost of ammo you want to shoot and figure out how much you would have to shoot to break even.

223 ammo is as low as $0.45 per round but that is full metal jacket. 223 ammo with Varmint bullets start at $2.00 a piece which is too spendy for me.

The components to reload are roughly $0.50 a round in low quantities depending on the cartridge.
Every 100 rounds of hunting ammo fired, you either pay or save $1.50x100 = $150.

That goes a long way with basic reloading supplies from Lee. Once you start you have opportunities to pay for more gear that is all about saving time.
The more you shoot the easier it is to talk through some of those choices.

If target shooting is your primary activity, you don't have to reload. If you are hunting anything other than varmints, it is prudent to use factory ammo anyways.

 

[nvshooter]

I would not even know where to start if I decided to do reloading.

I started with the simple Lee Re-Loder. Allows you to reload cases that have already been fired in your firearm. It's essentially a neck-sizer; the entirety of the case is not resized. That's why you most likely will not get a full lock-up of the bolt if you use the Re-Loder on brass you've rescued from the shootin' range. Takes a few minutes to reload a single case with the Re-Loder but if a "large" quantity of brass for you is twenty rounds, it's a good place to start. The kit comes to you with a single powder-dipper that can be used only with the powders that are also suggested for your cartridge.

Once you've reloaded several hundred with the Re-Loder, you'll want to get into powder measures, presses, powder scales and all the other stuff that handloading entails. Once you get that far into it, you'll start buying more guns in different calibers so you can see how a bolt-action .223Rem hits the target differently than does a .223Rem in an AR-type rifle, as just one example.

Handloading is a good way to spend cold and windy winter nights. Or long, hot, sweaty summer days when only those who are not 100 pounds overweight dare to go outside. You cannot be sloppy when handloading. Requires constant attention to detail because an overcharging of the powder can result in collateral and/or personal damage. Handloading is a good hobby for those who have an affection for precision and who believe that a job done slowly and with one's cranium decidedly removed from his rectum is "the way things are to be done."

A Lee Re-Loder is about thirty bucks. After that, you'll need a bottle of one of the suggested powders, a flat (100-count) of primers and a box of bullets (also usually 100-count). After that, the ambition to sit down and load at least twenty rounds. Go for it!

 

[DDRanch]

Just boxed up 350 plus rounds of 223, 55gr and 100 rounds of 45ACP 230gr.

 

[Whisky Tahoe]

Loaded several boxes of 223 Rem with 40gr & 53gr V-Max varmint bullets.

 

[PCA4208]

Did not reload per-se, but organized all the 50 years of shotgun reloading supplies from my dad and grandpa. Lots of vintage wads, hulls, machines. Going to be selling some of the very vintage stuff That I just dont need and then will start loading and shooting more. Most likely will be entering in some local trap shoots as I have the ammo for it!