Y'all are a bad influence!

[airedale]

The Lyman manuals are a good choice, I started out with the 44th edition and a few years ago grabbed a 49th edition. I still use a couple of those original loads today as I have found nothing better.

I used to subscribe to Ken Waters Handloader Magazine, he had what he called a pet load section in the issues where he would wring out everything he could from a cartridge performance wise. Some years ago they took all of those pet load articles and put them in one over 1100 page massive book called "Pet Loads", it is my go to book when I start getting real serious. Sometimes one can find a used second edition fairly cheap on ebay, it is well worth having in a serious reloader's arsenal. The only drawback is it does not have data for the latest new cartridges.

Al

[Moho81]

Just spied a Speer reloading manual #14 on eBay. $20 for a hard cover so now that’s on its way.


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[airedale]

17 hours ago, Moho81 said:

$20 for a hard cover so now that’s on its way.

Congrats, a good savings on a good manual, I have the number nine version and still use a couple of loads I found in it. I sure wish Speer would bring back those half jacket pistol bullets in both 44 and 357.

Al

[Moho81]

I’m just about out of excuses as to why I can’t reload.




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[mlammerhirt]

Agree......let's get this show rolling.

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[dbHunterNY]

That's right you heard me each and everyone of you are a bad influence especially [mention=5587]grampy[/mention] [mention=271]Lawdwaz[/mention] [mention=1357]airedale[/mention] [mention=729]mlammerhirt[/mention] [mention=5579]rob-c[/mention] and I'm sure many others that I'm forgetting.    
You guy's got me interested in reloading so I started to look around and ask question and look for used equipment. Well last night I stopped at a guys house that was selling some stuff and picked up a RCBS single stage press, misc. brass, tumbler with extra media, 1000 cci large rifle primers and 2 pounds of Hodgons Varget powder. I still have more to purchase before I can start but it looks like I am committed now. 
I mostly just want to reload for my 30-.06 and my daughters .243. [mention=729]mlammerhirt[/mention] and myself are working together to work up a light load for the .243 for our kids. If reloading for those goes well maybe I'll start to reload for other calibers. 
So thanks..... I think? 
 

Everyone's looking for reloading stuff. Varget is like gold right now. Surprised anyone gave it up.

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[Moho81]

I finally sat down to reload today and now I’m really frustrated. I took my time check all the measurements and went by the books that I got. Everything was going great until the last step when I went to seat the bullet. The neck was to big by what has to be thousands of an inch so the bullet just slipped right in and didn’t seat properly. It was all lose and crappy.

I went over everything again and it all checks out so I must not have done something right. I was going to load 10 bullets for now as a starting point and all 10 had the same problem.

I’m sure I missed a simple step in the resizing process but for now I dumped the powered in the bullets back into the container and I’ll have another go at it another day.


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[airedale]

The problem can be diagnosed through the process of elimination. The full length sizing-decapping die is where to start.

But first just for the heck of it take one of your unsized empty cases and see how one of your bullets fits inside the neck. The fit should not be sloppy as you described.

So if the fit is tight that points to a problem with the full length sizing die. Unscrew the decapping stem and remove it from the die and run a case through the die which will bring the case to factory specs and then check to see how a bullet fits in the case neck, if sized properly it will be a tight fit. If the bullet slides into the case neck easily the die is not sizing properly.

If the case neck it tight that means the expander button on the decapping stem is where the problem is and it is opening the case mouth too much.

The only other thing that would cause that problem though very remote is a batch of bullets that are slightly  undersized.

The expander button and bullets can easily be checked with a micrometer or Vernier caliper.

Al

 

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by airedale

[Moho81]

5 hours ago, airedale said:

The problem can be diagnosed through the process of elimination. The full length sizing-decapping die is where to start.

But first just for the heck of it take one of your unsized empty cases and see how one of your bullets fits inside the neck. The fit should not be sloppy as you described.

So if the fit is tight that points to a problem with the full length sizing die. Unscrew the decapping stem and remove it from the die and run a case through the die which will bring the case to factory specs and then check to see how a bullet fits in the case neck, if sized properly it will be a tight fit. If the bullet slides into the case neck easily the die is not sizing properly.

If the case neck it tight that means the expander button on the decapping stem is where the problem is and it is opening the case mouth too much.

The only other thing that would cause that problem though very remote is a batch of bullets that are slightly  undersized.

The expander button and bullets can easily be checked with a micrometer or Vernier caliper.

Al

 

 

Thanks, I'll check out everything you mentioned. 

I only have used brass at the house to reload. I do have a lot that have been fired once but not run in the sizing die that was something I didn't even think to check out last night. Of course it was getting late and I was frustrated to I just put it all away for another day. 

What happens if the sizing die does not size to factory spec? is there a way to adjust it or am I just buying a new die set at that point? 

[airedale]

3 hours ago, Moho81 said:

What happens if the sizing die does not size to factory spec? is there a way to adjust it or am I just buying a new die set at that point? 

From what I have seen all the loading equipment companies stand behind their stuff 100%, if you have anything defective box it up and send it back with a note explaining what is going on, they will replace it for free.

Al

[Shoots100]

Start at 9:40 

Sizing Die Adjustment

[Moho81]

I got home kinda late yesterday so I didnt have much time to mess with things but I did do the following. 

1. checked a never sized case with the bullet and it slipped right in

2. ran the case into the full length die and the bullet still slipped right in 

3. took the die off the press took it apart made sure it was clean and put it pack together 

4. re-installed the die again according to the RCBS directions. I think this is something that I messed up the first time. I'm pretty sure that after the die hit the case holder I backed it out about a 1/4 turn instead of turning it further in 1/4 of turn.

5. I took the same case that just tried to size and ran it through again. This time it was noticeable tighter when I put the bullet in. The bullet only went up to the shank. 

6. I took the 10 cases I tried the previous night and ran them through again with the new set up. 6 of 10 got smaller and only allowed the shank of the bullet into the neck. 

That's where I ended the night but I am now wondering if I turn the die down further into the press with that help form the 4 other cases that would not resize again? I am also concerned because when running the case in the full length die it seemed like I had to use quit a bit of pressure on the handle in order to get the neck to resize. When I watch video's of guys on you tube it seems like that do that process pretty effortlessly. How much effort/force do you apply on the handle during that process? 

I have some brass that only been fired once. I wonder if that will resize better than the older brass that might have been fired a few times even though the dimensions are right in line with what the books are telling me.  

[Shoots100]

Are you lubing the cases before sizing ?

Check the expander ball size before tightening the die down anymore.

If the ball is to large in diameter, your not going to do anything but ruin cases by sizing them more.

If you tighten it to much, your going to oversize the case and that'll cause excessive headspace and that's bad.

You should also get a case gauge for the cartridge your loading, as that'll let you know if you've oversized the case or not, unless you have a rifle with a custom chamber.

Since your getting better projo tension , load a dummy round and see if you can't pull it out after seating and if it'll chamber + extract in the rifle your loading for.

 

Edited September 13, 2022 by Shoots100

[Moho81]

13 hours ago, Shoots100 said:

Are you lubing the cases before sizing ?

Check the expander ball size before tightening the die down anymore.

If the ball is to large in diameter, your not going to do anything but ruin cases by sizing them more.

If you tighten it to much, your going to oversize the case and that'll cause excessive headspace and that's bad.

You should also get a case gauge for the cartridge your loading, as that'll let you know if you've oversized the case or not, unless you have a rifle with a custom chamber.

Since your getting better projo tension , load a dummy round and see if you can't pull it out after seating and if it'll chamber + extract in the rifle your loading for.

 

I am lubing the case's but maybe not enough. 

Do you know what the size of the expander ball should be for a 30-06? I'll take it back apart and check it out. 

I only hand tighten everything down. 

Doing a dummy round is what I want to do next just to see how the bullet fits. I was texting with a friend that reloads last night and it seems like I am on the right path. Maybe just need to make a few small adjustments and get comfortable with reloading. 

[Robhuntandfish]

This thread makes me feel better that i did not take this on as another hobby!  lol  Good luck though @Moho81 - you'll get it!  

[Moho81]

2 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

This thread makes me feel better that i did not take this on as another hobby!  lol  Good luck though @Moho81 - you'll get it!  

Lol, I really really didn't need this in my life however with that said I am still glad I am doing it. Once I get it figured out I will never really have to worry about hunting ammo again. I probably already have enough brass, primers, powder and bullets to last me a long long time. 

I feel like I'm far more particular about my ammo than a lot of guys I know that will just toss whatever they can find into their gun and not resight it in. To a lot of people I know let's say for the sake of argument that 150grain ammo is 150grain ammo. It doesn't matter to them that it's different brands and will pattern differently out of the same gun. 

I absolutely need to sight in a different brand of ammo. I can not go out in the woods with different ammo than what my gun is sighted in for. The thought of making a shot on a deer with ammo that might shoot low, high, left or right terrifies me. I can not live with myself if I make a bad shot that was entirely preventable and wound a deer. 

[airedale]

22 hours ago, Moho81 said:

but I am now wondering if I turn the die down further into the press with that help form the 4 other cases that would not resize again? I am also concerned because when running the case in the full length die it seemed like I had to use quit a bit of pressure on the handle in order to get the neck to resize. When I watch video's of guys on you tube it seems like that do that process pretty effortlessly. How much effort/force do you apply on the handle during that process? 

The shell holder is put on the top of the press ram, pull the handle all the way down so the ram is all the way up. Screw the sizing die all the way down until it makes contact with the shell holder. Screw the decapping rod down just far enough to knock out the old primer and tighten your die locking rings, that is it.

As far as cases being sized effortlessly that all depends on the case, some rifles have a bit of a sloppy chamber and when a cartridge is fired the case will expand and become enlarged and more out of spec than a gun with a tight chamber. I just did a batch of 30-30 once fired cases and I had to put some muscle into pulling the press handle and I have a very heavy duty press. Do not over do it with the case lube as you will put dents in the shoulder, a very thin coating is all the is needed.

As far as I am concerned there is zero downside to handloading and a huge multitude of upsides, like anything else a bit of experience goes a long way and once you get the hang of things handloading becomes practical, money saving along with great performance, personal satisfaction and fun.

Al

 

[Moho81]

1 hour ago, airedale said:

The shell holder is put on the top of the press ram, pull the handle all the way down so the ram is all the way up. Screw the sizing die all the way down until it makes contact with the shell holder. Screw the decapping rod down just far enough to knock out the old primer and tighten your die locking rings, that is it.

As far as cases being sized effortlessly that all depends on the case, some rifles have a bit of a sloppy chamber and when a cartridge is fired the case will expand and become enlarged and more out of spec than a gun with a tight chamber. I just did a batch of 30-30 once fired cases and I had to put some muscle into pulling the press handle and I have a very heavy duty press. Do not over do it with the case lube as you will put dents in the shoulder, a very thin coating is all the is needed.

As far as I am concerned there is zero downside to handloading and a huge multitude of upsides, like anything else a bit of experience goes a long way and once you get the hang of things handloading becomes practical, money saving along with great performance, personal satisfaction and fun.

Al

 

Sounds like I am on the right path and just need to get used to and get comfortable to doing it. 

Thanks for all your replies. I hope to get a chance to make a dummy round as a test then make my first live round. I'll be sure to post a picture. 

[Moho81]

Success!

Little more lube little more tinkering with the set up and I made 2 dummy rounds. Cycled both though the gun several times and had zero issues. Now to load some live rounds.

Thanks for all the help and talking me through this entire process.




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[Moho81]

Talk about an update LOL. Well two years later I have a good handle on the reloading process the .243 for some reason is a lot easier than the 30-06 that I still struggle with from time to time and in fact I talked to RCBS and am sending the 30-06 die back to them for them to clean, polish and inspect. I have enough 30-06 brass ready for powder and a bullet that I am not worried about RCBS having the die for an extended period of time. 

Most of the last 2 years has been fooling around with different powder charges to get as tight of a grouping as possible which I have a nice tight group with the .243 probably a tighter grouping than anything I ever had out of factory ammo. I have a decent group with the 30-06 but I still want to play around some more with different powder charges after the season is over to really get it tight. 

The best part of this adventure is my daughters doe on Saturday was shot with my .243 reload and it could not have been a better shot as she took the top of the heart out and got some of the lung. Had a big exit hole with a lot of blood on the ground. Not that we needed a blood trail as the doe died 20 yards away after bulldozing the ground and flipping a few times. 

[airedale]

Handloading is like most endeavors in life, with experience and practice your skills will become honed, sounds like your 243 handload is doing performance wise exactly what you hoped for, congrats. Your 30-06 loads will come around once you get things figured out.

These days with all the new manuals along with huge online data resources that can be printed out makes for much easier acquisition of accurate load recipes that perform great. I have been delving into the 264 cal cartridges and all the hard work has been done by reloading experts, I take their load recommendations and use them for a starting point and tweak them for my particular firearm with good success.

Al