Easiest Milsurp of these 4 to reload for?

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Hi,

I am just getting into reloading and I have 4 expensive calibers I would like to reload for, the purpose of which is to supply myself with cheap, accurate plinking ammo.

The four calibers I would like to supply 1 of are:

6.5X55mm Swedish (M1896)
7.5X55mm Swiss (K31)
.303 British (Lee Enfield)
.30_06 Springfield (Garand)

I am interested to know which of these is mechanically simplest, using a Lee Loader hand equipment, to reload for. Which is cheapest in terms of buying brass and bullets? Which bullets and powders are easiest to acquire?

I am particularly interested in the M1 as I understand that the cartridges I have been using (150-180 gr. commercial) are too high powered with too heavy bullets and the wrong powders. So reloading an M1 load would be ideal.

Also 6.5 and 7.5 are very expensive so reloading them would save money.

.303 is okay as I have surplus but some more accuracy would be nice.

I plan to use really light loads if at all possible.
 
Sounds like you need to get into casting. A Lee furnace, a Lee mold, Alox lube, and wheelweights, and after a few hundred, the bullets are almost free.

Cast loads use very little powder and are very easy on brass and barrels. If I had to choose one of the four, it would be the 303 Brit, the Garand being a bit finicky if you are using low pressure cast loads.
 
Not worth loading for 303 as your brass does not last a long time 3 loads if you are lucky.
I would load for the 30/06 first
 
As Far as reloading is concerned I am going to go with the .30-06.
A large suite of bullets to play with and sufficient case capacity. Plus brass is extremely easy to come across.
 
Gas guns need the right pressure curve. The US military load was 150 at 2700,I think the powder was IMR4895??

6.5x55 is a well made 96 mauser,if you follow the manuals with heavier bullets ,it can be a lot of fun.
 
30-06 will be the cheapest and easiest to load for, but as far as saving money and trouble goes, 7.5x55 Swiss is probably the winner since factory ammo is almost non-existent in Canada and it takes .308" bullets which are very common. You can find 7.5x55 brass around here and there or you can resize .284 Winchester brass. I reload 7.5x55 and even with cheapo Remington 165 grain bullets and an ordinary powder like IMR4064 I can get some pretty good groups happening.
 
You have saved your brass from b4 right...? That would be the first thing to do. Save your brass...

And for re-loading, they are all about the same. I'd reload whatever one you like to shoot the most.

I have a fav load for 303, 38.5 g H335 with a 174 g bfmjbt and 30:06, 45.5 g IMR4064 with a 168 g fmjbthp.

The tirck is to pick a powder you can use in all of your shooters that was you only have to buy one kind. I would start with IMR4064 or H414.
 
Even if .303 brass is only good for 3 reloads, it is still worth it to reload. There is no great supply of lower cost .303 ammunition. The Lee tool you are referring to is the simple hammer type? Not a press? If it is, you will want to keep your brass sorted. Because you are only neck sizing, it is best if the cases were fired in that rifle previously. The basic Lee tool would be a poor choice if you are shooting an autoloading rifle. At the cost of the basic Lee, you could get one for each caliber. If you do any amount of shooting and reloading, you will soon outgrow the little Lee. If you want to keep the setup cost down, get a Lee Anniversary kit form Higginsons, and a die set for each caliber.
 
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I'd say everything but the 30-06.
I couldn't afford to shoot my 303 or 6.5X55 without reloading. Unfortunately, bullets are expensive in those calibers as well.

Brass in a Garand gets beat up so all that effort into brass prep is down the drain quickly. Plus full length re-sizing kills the brass. White box or UMC 30-06 is around $13 a box, not available for the others.
Get setup for the others, whichever you shoot the most. Then keep an eye out for cheap dies in the other calibers.
Save the 30-06 factory brass and keep an eye out for a cheap set of 30-06 dies. They are pretty common and you'll find a set for $20 or less eventually.
 
.30-06 bullets and brass is everywhere. The 7.5 uses the same bullet, but brass won't be easy to come by. The 6.5 should be easy enough to find brass and bullets for. The .303 should be easy enough too.
Suitable powders are easy to get, period.
M-1's don't beat up brass if it's loaded properly and the rifle is in good condition. Nor does FL sizing kill brass. Hot loads kill brass.
Like tiriaq says, the Lee hammer type of die is no good for a semi-auto. Any semi-auto. Full length resizing is required for semi's even if you're using the same brass in the same rifle. Neck sizing only for a semi-auto will give you feeding problems.
When I started loading for my M-1, long ago, there was no surplus ball available either. Commercial Winchester(220 grain Silvertips included) and IVI ammo worked just fine with no damage to the rifle. Mind you, that was 30 some years ago. While powders have changed, no manufacturer has ever been sued, Stateside, that I've ever heard of, for their products damaging a rifle. Factory hunting ammo is loaded hotter than military ball, but I've never seen nor heard of(prior to being on the Internet) factory ammo damaging any rifle in good condition.
 
Boer seun said:
Not worth loading for 303 as your brass does not last a long time 3 loads if you are lucky.
I would load for the 30/06 first
Click to expand...

Nobody's going to challenge this? It's Horsefeathers!

More people need to learn to neck-size and stop reading supposedly authoritative articles on the 303 Brit that pander this crap. I get 10 reloads with cast bullets, then discard for safety reasons and out of boredom. Probably a waste, but 303 Brit is cheap and easy to get.
 
ive got a good reloading article specifically in reference to reloading 30-06 for use in the m1 garand.....................5 pages from american rifleman magazine 1986 info for loads 150 to 200 grn bullets......powder info, ect. .....if wanted simply send me yer email address ill scan it fer anyone......
 
I you want to shoot cheap, cast bullets are the ticket. With a Lee collet die you will probably get 10+ reloads per case. Plus there is a guy Stevo on gunnutz who sells once fired .303 brass of excellent quality.

Another benefit of the .303 is that it is a rimmed case, so you can shoot reduced loads, 400fps to 900fps, that are very cheap and quiet, but you won't get the shoulder sizing problems that happen with cases headspacing on the shoulder when shooting reduced loads

The only problem is getting a mold and/or sizer die so you have bullets to match your particular rifle. I have one .303 that needs a 0.316 inch diameter bullet. Chances are a 30-06 will do fine with a .309 or .310 inch bullet, and you'd have plenty of molds to choose from
 
The old .303 will be the most forgiving, IF you neck size. As with most other calibres, some .303's don't like some cast bullets with some powder charges. Have fun!! I fired a zillion cast bullets out of nearly all my milsurps. Killed a large number of attack rocks. Some of the poor old .303 casings have been loaded many times - but not with hot loads.
 
Innnteresting. I do have commercial (Igman, Bell) .303 brass lying around, though some my unfired armmo is that C.I.A. 1950s surplus stuff. I would use light loads for the most part.

As for 6.5X55, it is getting so expensive (I saw a box of 20 for $42.00!) that it becomes far, far more economical to reload it.

But are there any reloading setups that can do more than 1 round at a time? The Lee Loader looks inexpensive, but time consuming for someone that is going to be plinking.
 
Also, does anyone have any idea ordering from a typical retailer in Ontario what pricing or what you think I would need to start making my own rounds? I think I would start with one lb. of appropriate powder, a basic order of 140 gr. bullets (for the Swedish M1896 in 6.5X55mm), and the smallest purchase (say 200-1000 rnds.) of brass.

Also, do they have Lee Collet dies in 6.5X55? I am glad there are some in .303for when I decide to start loading for that.
 
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