Couple of Reloading Questions

7.62mm

7.62mm

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
89   0   0
Location
Some BBQ Joint, far....far...away!!!
First off I would like to thank anyone who responds to my questions. This forum has been great for general info, and the info gathered here has been great.

Now to my questions:

I finally have some denaro set aside for some reloading gear. I am pretty sure I have my mind made up on a RCBS Rockchucker Press.

I want to reload for 6.5x55 Swede, and now from a recent purchase, I will be wanting to reload for .44 Rem. Mag. for my Ruger Carbine. Will this press, the Rockchucker, be able to reload both, with out to much fuss and messing about with settings, or would I be better off buying a different press, which is easier to set up, or maybe two seperate presses. Forgive me, because I am a complete noobie to the reloading thing, but I want to make it easy on myself from the get go.

Scales: what to get. I don't forsee myself going through thousands of rounds a week, more like 50-100 over the course of 2 weeks: going to the range every Sat. to do target practice, load development. would a beam scale suffice or should I just spring for a Digital right away.

I already acquired 6.5 Swede dies from a fellow Gunnut, but as far as .44 Rem. Mag. Dies, what is the best, and is there a difference between rifle and pistol dies.

Is there any major differences between reloading for the 6.5 and the .44 Mag?

Questions, questions, questions. please help, oh gunnutz guru's.

If you think there is a better option for presses or a kit that I could purchase, please let me know, as I am open to all suggestions and options. I have already, a mircometer, RCBS primer pocket cleaner; will this work for both 6.5 and .44 mag? What else do I need?

Thanks
7.62mm

Oh yeah. Any one in the London, ON. area willing to give some lessons-pointers on reloading, will repay in Beverage of choice, although a bottle of Crown Royal would be my limit:D
 
Last edited:
For the amount you say your press is good to go. Once your dies are set, lock your lock ring in place and that is it. Your 44 mag cases should be belled (flared) before you insert bullet. You can get a carbide die for it also so as not to need to lube before resizing. A beam scale is fine as long as it is set up right. ie zeroed and checked. A powder dribbler is handy also to finish up weighing your charge. A tumbler to clean your brass is also handy, but you can do it by hand also. I use a Lee priming tool to insert primers, I find you can feel better than with the press. Get a good manual and read it cover to cover. Once you feel you understand everything in it ,readit again and notice what you missed. Anymore questions, don't be shy. Good Luck.
 
Is there any major differences between reloading for the 6.5 and the .44 Mag?
Click to expand...

Not trying to be rude, but it's questions like this that make me ask "Have you bought a reloading manual and read it?"

They are an invaluable source of info.....
 
joe-nwt said:
Not trying to be rude, but it's questions like this that make me ask "Have you bought a reloading manual and read it?"
Click to expand...


Yep. Got the Lee Manual. I guess the question should have been more like this; Are there any procedural differences between loading for the 6.5 and the .44 Mag. that you might know about that would be helpful?

7.62mm
 
Crimping the bullet in the shell is almost a must in your 44 carbine but not the swede.You might want to consider a crimp die.Lee makes a carbide factory crimp die for the 44mag for around twenty bucks.Redding makes a taper crimp die and a profile crimp die,the latter gives a better,more uniform roll type crimp and would be the one I would choose for the 44mag.(which I just might do as I picked up the same Ruger 44 carbine as you recently-I was amazed at the accuracy with just iron sights)
As far as presses go there is nothing wrong with the RCBS that you mentioned.
I personally use a Forster/Bonanza Coax for most of my sizing and seating but I do my crimping (if need be) on on older conventional press(also a forster)
Try to get your hands on another manual or two.I found the hornady manual to be one of the better ones for procedures.I have never taken a look at the lee book.
Good luck and there aren't any dumb or stupid questions.So fire away.
 
Last edited:
7.62mm said:
Are there any procedural differences between loading for the 6.5 and the .44 Mag. that you might know about that would be helpful?

7.62mm
Click to expand...

As mentioned, if you buy a carbide resizing die fo the .44 you won't need to use case lube. For the 6.5 x 55, you will need to lube the cases, then remove the lube before charging.

Although the principles are the same for both cartridges, the accuracy expected from rifle cartridges dictates the ammount of extra care you may take with loading and load development. For instance, generally the cartridge overall length for pistol is used from the data used to assemble the rounds and very few appreciable gains are realized by varying bullet seating depth. Not so with rifle. Neck sizing for rifle is another technique not normally used for pistol. The accuracy you hope to achieve with your rifle is the guide for how much extra care and time you want to spend crafting your ammunution beyond the basics employed for reloading pistol.
 
"...differences between loading for the 6.5 and the .44 Mag..." Yep. The 6.5 will use a two die set, the .44 a three die set. Read the manual for handgun loading for the .44. Even though it's going into a rifle.
"...be able to reload both..." Yep. Change dies and shell holder and load.
 
note- get the 44SPECIAL die, not the 44 mag, so you can do both- also get the 4 die set if you're going to go lee- you'll save about 12 bucks over purchasing it seperately and you'll find yourself wanting THE FACTORY CRIMP DIE- it forces the brass back to factory dimensions- while you CAN do both with your existing press, you may find yourself getting discouraged with all the screw/unscrew thing and go for a turret or progressive
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom