New Reloader Stupid Questions

[mikemenzie]

People have gotten all of this information together and put it all in one place. It's called a "reloading manual".

Hahaha You caught that, did you?

Ok that's a no on the meplat trimmer.

And awesome. Glad to get some word on the ballistic tip projectiles, that was the direction I was looking already, except for the .30-30.

Finished mounting my progressive press to my little off-the-side-table i made for the toolbox I'm using. Pictures will follow sometime soon-ish. And I made sure to leave a bit of space for mounting a single stage if I end up finding one I can afford

 

[jordanka16]

Hahaha You caught that, did you?

Ok that's a no on the meplat trimmer.

And awesome. Glad to get some word on the ballistic tip projectiles, that was the direction I was looking already, except for the .30-30.

Finished mounting my progressive press to my little off-the-side-table i made for the toolbox I'm using. Pictures will follow sometime soon-ish. And I made sure to leave a bit of space for mounting a single stage if I end up finding one I can afford

Last year RCBS ran an awesome rebate on all their stuff, watch for that again.

 

[mikemenzie]

Last year RCBS ran an awesome rebate on all their stuff, watch for that again.

I have been trying to keep an eye out for various sales and such, for sure.

 

[tac]

I really don't know how I lived almost sixty years without MY meplat trimmer. Everybody should have at least one, if only to engender conversation. 'I've always meant to ask, tac, but felt kinda, well, shy about it, y'know? But, in confidence, of course, you don't just happen to have [looks around] one of those, uh, meplat trimmers, do you?'

 

[mikemenzie]

I really don't know how I lived almost sixty years without MY meplat trimmer. Everybody should have at least one, if only to engender conversation. 'I've always meant to ask, tac, but felt kinda, well, shy about it, y'know? But, in confidence, of course, you don't just happen to have [looks around] one of those, uh, meplat trimmers, do you?'

 

[orygun]

I'm a little late to the party here, but will add my few cents worth.

Several years ago I used to full length size my rifle rounds. After I settled on one rifle, I set my full length die to not touch the shoulder.
Later, when the gun was rechambered I bought neck sizing dies for it. Every once in a while there will be a case that's a little tight to chamber. Because these rounds are for hunting, every one is run thru the action before being boxed for use. I wouldn't say that full length sizing shortens case life unless you're loading for a gun that has a "long" chamber, like many ol 303s. I would not do anything but full length size if loading for more than one rifle or a semi auto. If using FL dies on cases that have been previously fired in the same rifle, I would set them up to just kiss the shoulder. Load a few up and if they chamber smoothly, good. If not turn the die down just a little more (1/4 turn) and try again. I load my rounds pretty hot and find that the primer pocket loosening up is what determines when the case goes into the scrap.

Pistol dies? Buy a decent carbide set. I use mostly Lee. Work great.

With new rifle brass, I'll do some spot checks, but if the case mouths aren't dented, I'll not resize. If you aren't actually fireforming to a different chambering, I see no reason to back off of the loading. I'd say there's more reason to be cautious because of inexperience than cuz yer using new brass. Pistol brass, load and shoot.

I'd only reload brass cases.

The reason for seating and crimping in one or two stations does rely on case design. Straight wall pistol seat and crimp in the same station. Bottleneck in two stations, if you crimp that is. Attempting to do both in the same step often results in a bulged shoulder. For a bolt action, crimping itself is a bigger question, I'd say. I don't crimp, but in some cases it can improve consistency. Bullets for semi auto and tube mag guns should be crimped.

Most definitely buy a kinetic bullet puller.

 

[mikemenzie]

@orygun Thanks for the input, bud. Even if something's been said already, it's never bad to say again. Sometimes how often a thing is said can help decision making.
The carbide pistol dies I've been leaning toward, from hearing about them so much. And from what I understand, Hornady titanium nitride accomplish the same thing - anyone know if that's correct?

If by kinetic bullet puller, you mean the plastic hammer deal, then yeppers, got one of those.

 

[mignuc]

The .30-30 bullets available include Hornady's "Flex Tip" bullets. These have pointed noses that collapse rather easily when they hit. Thus, they improve aerodynamics (ballistic coefficient) but yet they are stiff enough to go through a lever-action rifle. I haven't tried them yet, but I definitely will if I ever get a reloading room set up.

My .45 Auto cases are recycled when the primer pockets start loosening up. That's why I prime those individually, so I can tell. But those are low pressure loads. When you start getting into higher pressure loads usually they will crack longitudinally in the neck. Sometimes the shoulder. Case bodies seldom crack unless you have excessive headspace. What happens with the neck and shoulder is that brass work-hardens. New cases are hard at the base and the hardness becomes lesser up to the neck, which is soft. The base is not sized and so is only work-hardened when the case is manufactured. The neck, however, becomes harder and harder every time the case is sized. Annealing softens the neck and shoulder again so the cases usually have much longer lives. I am aware of a guy who only got two reloadings out of his cases when used in that particular rifle.

Your trivia of the day:
The .303 British is a very interesting rifle. Over time, as measured in rounds fired, they knew that their rifles would develop excessive headspace. They dealt with it by using different length bolt heads. When the gun was manufactured it had a "0" bolt head. As they got looser, the armorer would install either a "1", "2" or "3" bolt head. Weird.

Lee is not my first choice for dies. My first choice is Redding, then RCBS. However, I do have a few sets of their dies. They make dies for cartridges that are unusual, at an affordable price. I have sets of them for 7.62 X 38R, 7mm Super Mag and .577 Snider
(1-1/2" diameter). But definitely buy tungsten carbide or the kind of dies that Hornady makes. Theirs are not T/C but something that works in a similar manner. Yeah, they cost more, but if you're loading more than 100 rounds, they're worth their weight in gold!

As long as new brass is sized properly, it's actually better than spent brass. I full-length size all my new brass, though. I may choose to neck-size after that, but the first loading is full-length.

I also use separate size and crimp dies if possible, especially with lead bullets. With lead bullets, the crimp can force the brass into the crimping groove such that the mouth of the case can shave lead at the bottom of the crimping groove, especially if the brass is too long.

One other thing that I might mention for you to buy is very inexpensive: a Lyman case-length gauge. It's a flat piece of aluminum with steps milled into it that are of a known depth. To check case length, you just insert the case into the flat for that length. If it goes in, it's not too long. If it doesn't go in, the case needs to be trimmed. There are two of them now, one for pistol and one for rifle. They're called E-Z Case Gauges. The rifle one is > $20 and the pistol one is < $20.

Yes, you will need a kinetic bullet puller.

And, to conclude, remember: may the bird of paradise fly up your nose!

 

[mikemenzie]

.30-30 flex tip: got it. it's on the list to get, thank you. I love shooting my lever gun.

e-z case gauge: check. on the list.

separate seat and crimp, and FL sizing on new brass: already on the list.

ok good to know on the dies. From what I gathered, redding, rcbs and hornady were "the best" and lee were "good enough most of the time, and sometimes have stuff others don't"

.303 brit trivia love it.

Case neck hardening, excessive headspacing, etc. yeah I'd looked into that a fair bit and beginning to get a better handle on all the bits of info involved in that subject.

-Mike