.303 and reloads

Canuckguns said:
Nice! yes it does seem like a good method of just getting into the world of reloading. If you already have a bunch of brass, then buying primers, gunpowder and lead what do the costs look like per round at the moment in Canada? is it alot cheaper than buying $45 PPU boxes?
Click to expand...

Honestly, I've never done a cost comparison. I don't really care, I just enjoy the process. And then testing my recipe's.

I have built up a good stock of all calibers. I will normally do 100 in an evening.

It is a louder process, so be sure noise is ok.
 
Canuckguns said:
Nice! yes it does seem like a good method of just getting into the world of reloading. If you already have a bunch of brass, then buying primers, gunpowder and lead what do the costs look like per round at the moment in Canada? is it alot cheaper than buying $45 PPU boxes?
Click to expand...
Probably depends where in Canada that you live - in many places is simply NO Large Rifle Primers to buy, although they are slowly trickling in for some stores - and when you find some, expect to pay $0.30 or $0.40 each. Powder supply seems to be variable where I am - circa $60 to $90 per pound? Bullets is pretty much what you want to spend - plated versus jacketed versus cast lead - .311 or .312" diameter - weights commonly 150, 174 or 180. - might assume $75 per 100 bullets - others will make different choices and have different prices and availability where they live.

So, as above - $0.35 per primer. $90 per pound powder = 7000 grains. If the loading that you chose follows Hornady loadings, perhaps 40 grains per load with some powders - more or less with other powders - so 7000 / 40 = 175 loads per pound - but you are going to buy a pound, most likely. That works to $0.51 per round for powder, at $90 per pound. The prices above show $0.75 per bullet - they typically come in bags or boxes of 50 or 100 - so, $0.35 (primer) plus $0.51 (powder) plus $0.75 (bullet) = $1.57 per round. Times 20 rounds in normal box = $31.40 per box in components to make your own. Compared to $45.00 purchase, you get $13.60 per box to buy reloading gizmos, pay your time to reload, etc. However, regardless how many rounds you plan to reload, is probable that you will spend at least $35 for 100 primers, at least $75 for a pound of powder and at least $38 for 50 bullets - so you will spend $148 to buy minimum (or typical) quantities of each component. Some might find buying 3 boxes of shells at $45 each to be "cheaper".
 
fat tony, I don't know if you're serious or just trying to argue an abstract.

It doesn't matter which 303 British chambered rifle you shoot, all of them will shoot better with fireformed reloads, even those with custom chambers.

The chambers were purposely given generous specifications to alleviate battlefield issues and ammunition issues.

So, unless you have a custom reamer that is smaller in diameter than those used by military contractors, you're going to encounter a myriad of chamber dimensions, no matter which model or make of rifle the cartridge is chambered in.

I no longer have the die or reamer, but at one point I had a reamer made around 1917 from one of the British factories. I used that reamer to open up a sizing die and it worked quite well for forming "most" of the cases for the rifles I was shooting for a few decades. It didn't work on a few, whether they were No1, No3, 4, 5 or Enfield Pattern 14 rifles.

Contractors built those rifles as quickly and cheaply as possible, within the specified parameters of the contract. As such those chambers vary a lot.

There is no better mousetrap, other than setting the barrel back, and recutting the chamber with a custom reamer, IF, the bore dimensions are close enough to median spec to warrant the cost.
 
Potashminer said:
Probably depends where in Canada that you live - in many places is simply NO Large Rifle Primers to buy, although they are slowly trickling in for some stores - and when you find some, expect to pay $0.30 or $0.40 each. Powder supply seems to be variable where I am - circa $60 to $90 per pound? Bullets is pretty much what you want to spend - plated versus jacketed versus cast lead - .311 or .312" diameter - weights commonly 150, 174 or 180. - might assume $75 per 100 bullets - others will make different choices and have different prices and availability where they live.

So, as above - $0.35 per primer. $90 per pound powder = 7000 grains. If the loading that you chose follows Hornady loadings, perhaps 40 grains per load with some powders - more or less with other powders - so 7000 / 40 = 175 loads per pound - but you are going to buy a pound, most likely. That works to $0.51 per round for powder, at $90 per pound. The prices above show $0.75 per bullet - they typically come in bags or boxes of 50 or 100 - so, $0.35 (primer) plus $0.51 (powder) plus $0.75 (bullet) = $1.57 per round. Times 20 rounds in normal box = $31.40 per box in components to make your own. Compared to $45.00 purchase, you get $13.60 per box to buy reloading gizmos, pay your time to reload, etc. However, regardless how many rounds you plan to reload, is probable that you will spend at least $35 for 100 primers, at least $75 for a pound of powder and at least $38 for 50 bullets - so you will spend $148 to buy minimum (or typical) quantities of each component. Some might find buying 3 boxes of shells at $45 each to be "cheaper".
Click to expand...
Hey i really appreciate that detailed break down. I think in the long run it might make sense to do the reloading, still seems expensive though i thought it would have been substantially cheaper, like less than a $1 a round. I love my Enfield's but def hurts the wallet when i go shooting.
 
It was MUCH cheaper to reload some years ago - say $0.02 per primer, $30 per pound of powder ($0.17 per round), $9 per 100 for bullets ($0.09 per bullet), so USED to be able to reload for $0.28 per round - times 20 is $5.60 per box of 20 rounds - and many people got better prices on some components than that. That can become an issue - people who last bought components 15 years ago or more, think they know what those components might cost today, except they are WAY up from then - not just double the price!!! And, unfortunately, especially powder can go bad over the years, if it is not stored correctly - so get to throw out full, sealed one pound or 8 pound jugs, because it spoiled.
 
It's been rumored that powders are now manufactured in such a manner that they have a ten year shelf life at most.

I store my powders under very well controlled conditions, such as not to hot and don't freeze.

Over the last ten years, I've had both old stocks, from the 40s and new powders break down.

I usually like to purchase in bulk quantities if possible. The days of picking up 1000 pound containers of "4831" in 50 pound kegs are long gone.

I have appx 5 pounds of 1940s era "4831" left. Bought 2000 pounds of it and brought it back to Canada back in the seventies. I seem to remember around $650 for both 1000 pound crates, loaded onto my truck and trailer.

That was a lot of money back in the early seventies. Just over a month's take home pay at the job I had then.

I sold everything, other than three fifty pound kegs, for enough profit to purchase a new Dodge pickup, 3/4 ton, with a 383 Magnum engine.

The folks purchasing that powder were very happy as they got it for 65 cents on the dollar cheaper than they could get the same stuff in the LGS.

I've had recent manufacture IMR4320 and 4064 start to clump and cause the containers to rust over past ten years. Those powders were just over ten years old.

So, just for informational purposes, be aware, shelf life, even under proper conditions, is no longer a lifetime guarantee. I'm suspecting primers will become similar, if they aren't already.
 
Yes, the Lee tool requires a lot of tapping with a mallet to use as per the manual. However, if you've got a large enough bench vise, or maybe a cheap drill press with a cheater pipe on the drill press feed handle, you can theoretically do the neck sizing with less tapping. But in this case you should just buy the Lee hand press instead as it takes standard dies and no noisy tapping is required.
 
Last edited:
You're looking at the wrong tool.

The Lee "Hand Press" is completely different and utilizes regular 7/8NC threaded dies.

Look it up, I have one and it's very good.

It works with two levers, joined on the bottom as a fulcrum point and will neck size easily, decap, even partially resize if you want to.

It will easily full length resize handgun cartridges or straight wall rifle cartridges.

It does require a separate, handheld, priming tool.

The whole system is small enough to fit into a small fishing tackle box.

It's much different than the "Lee Loader" you're describing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom