Questions about reloading- Looking to get into it.

thebutcher

thebutcher

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
38   0   0
Location
Calgary, Alberta
SO I have been sitting on this thought for a while about reloading.
I have about 500 empty 30-06 shells that I have been wanting to reload but know nothing about it.

I have been doing some looking into presses and equipment etc. I was Looking at picking up a Lee 50th Anniversary kit form Cabelas. ( https://www.cabelas.ca/product/3534/lee-50th-anniversary-reloader-kit )

If I understand the specs on it the kit comes with everything but the powder, shells, bullets and the dies.

Can anyone give me some advice on the type of powder and bullet tips I should get?? As well as how much powder I would need to get through 400 +/- rounds.?

I was looking at doing 180 Gr. to match what I purchase from the store. As a side note I bought the gun from a friend who did a lot of reloading himself with the same gun so he has all the specs.

SO aside from the Lee Reloading Kit, the powder, Heads and the Dies, is there anything else that I should by to get set up for doing basic reloading?
 
For starters you also need: reloading manual, calipers, brass trimmer

Manual will tell you what powder and bullet combo. Regarding how much powder for 400 rounds; look up the grains of powder needed, there is 7000 grain per pound so just do the math.

Lee scale is not known for their quality, so you might want to look into something better instead of upgrading later.
 
Oh and don't crank out 400 rounds at a time in case you were planning to. You might want to find out first what your gun likes best.
 
I haven't used the Lee set you're looking at, but I did start with an all in one set from RCBS, and it included everything except bullets, brass, powder, primers, and dies. If your buddy reloaded for your particular rifle and had worked up a good load for it, I'd start by asking for that info. Verify it in your reloading manual to make sure it makes sense just incase he goes by memory, but it would at least give you a bullet and powder to start with. Also, like was mentioned above, don't load a huge batch without trying them out first. I typically load 5 each of various powder charges to try, then work either side of the most accurate set to fine tune a load.
Kristian
 
Dogleg said:
About all you need to know about powder for 180s in a 30-06 is H4350.

55-57 grains, 7000 grains in a pound.
Click to expand...

This is all you need right there. It works great for him, tried it in my few 30-06's also works great. I've used h4350 for bullets form 150gr up to 208gr. Ne need to try any other powders the is the one that just flat out works.
 
If you know nothing about reloading, go up to cabelas and pick up the Lyman 50th edition reloading manual. (Assuming its similar to the 49th that I have) read the entire beginning portion of the manual, it gives an incredibly indepth walk through on reloading and houses pretty much everything you'll need to know, plus you'll want a manual anyways so 2 birds with one stone.
 
Butcher,

PM me your email address. I got a number of pdf reloading manuals that I can share with you.

Cheers,
 
FoxAlpha said:
If you know nothing about reloading, go up to cabelas and pick up the Lyman 50th edition reloading manual. (Assuming its similar to the 49th that I have) read the entire beginning portion of the manual, it gives an incredibly indepth walk through on reloading and houses pretty much everything you'll need to know, plus you'll want a manual anyways so 2 birds with one stone.
Click to expand...
^^^^ Good advice and pickup more manuals if you can, if you can find a buddy at the local range who loads that can be invaluable..
 
bertn said:
Oh and don't crank out 400 rounds at a time in case you were planning to. You might want to find out first what your gun likes best.
Click to expand...

Good call. Years ago I had a friend turn out a pile of .223 reloads. When he went to use them, none of them worked because he just turned them out on his press thinking they'd be fine, but didn't bother to measure or trim his casings. haha. Every neck he had was too long and they wouldn't fit onto the barrel properly.

From the limited knowledge I do have of Reloading it is wise, and was my intent, when I get there, to turn out 5 or 10 a a time and try them out as was suggested by yourself and others.
 
Those "tips" have a technical name. We call them "bullets".

There are some bullets and powders that some of us can make work quite well.

But there are some bullets and powders that we would have to try real hard to make shoot poorly.

A flat base (not boat tail) 180gr soft point or hollow point tends to work well in most every 30-06.

IMR or H 4350 is an excellent choice.

It is important for you to understand that Max in the book means it was Max in their rifle. Your max might be much lower. That is why they give you a Start load. Start there and work up in 0.5 gr increments (say 5 of each) and see if your rifle has a clear favourite.

Be prepared to bring some ammo home, to pull. Stop shooting if you find any sign of excess pressure, such as a slight change in bolt lift effort.
 
thebutcher said:
Good call. Years ago I had a friend turn out a pile of .223 reloads. When he went to use them, none of them worked because he just turned them out on his press thinking they'd be fine, but didn't bother to measure or trim his casings. haha. Every neck he had was too long and they wouldn't fit onto the barrel properly.

From the limited knowledge I do have of Reloading it is wise, and was my intent, when I get there, to turn out 5 or 10 a a time and try them out as was suggested by yourself and others.
Click to expand...
I never make more than 5 of each till I know they are reliable and shoot well
 
Decide which type of bullet you want to shoot and buy their loading manual.
Myself I load for my high powered rifles including my 300 win mag and I tried Nosler, which were the worst, XBarnes....made a huge entrance hole and a tremendous wallup, was good at dropping game never went through and dispensed all energy inside the game, but left copper marks in the barrel, I finally settled on 180 grain Speer Grand Slam bullets which are similar to my favourite rem core lokt type but are bonded core even better and they are not overpriced.
I recommend the 180 gr Speer Grand Slam bullets.
I also use Reloader 22 and Federal magnum primers.
You will discover that being meticulous and weighing every charge and measuring every Cartridge Overall Length and staying consistent will greatly improve your accuracy.
And I also use Lee Anniversary loader, Lee crimper, Lee Dies, Lee depth gauge and trimmer
Lee loading equipment is great, don't believe other overpriced makers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom