New rabbit hole to start down

Powder - A single power will make life easier. A ball power will throw almost perfect loads, so that would be my choice. Win 760 or H414 (same powder) would be good for those two calibers.

In order to size the brass, you must lubricate it. I lube about 100 rifle cases at a time in a round jug using Lee lube:
If you are sizing a few cases, the case lube technique does not matter very much. If you have a bucket or two of brass to size, there is a fast efficient way to lube the cases. I lube 100 or so cases (rifle) at a time. Takes about 30 seconds.



I use Lee case lube. It is a water soluble cream that is easy to clean off.



Dump brass in a plastic pail that has a lid.



lubebrass1.jpg




Then take a 1/2" worm of lube and smear it around the top inside wall of the pail. Picture shows too much lube.



lubebrass.jpg




Put lid on and swirl and shake for 15 seconds. This will lube all the cases and deposit a tiny dab on the case mouth, to lube the expander button.



 
AB3006, that's a great outfit to get into handloading with. Good on you.

As mentioned, one thing not present in your kit, is something to measure case lengths and overall cartridge lengths, as well as seating depths.

These are very important when working up loads to fine tune tension being exerted on the bullets by the necks, which can cause fliers, etc.

Then, you need to know how far your bullet is from the Leade of your throat (where the lands start).

If possible, you want the base of your bullets to be held by the case neck as it engages the leade.

You've got more stuff in that kit than 90% of handloaders start with.

As for electronic chargers, it's a personal thing, and before you put hard earned cash into one, try one out first.

I've had a couple of different types, I didn't like either of them or any of the others I've tried.

They're SLOOOWWWW. They don't produce charges any more accurately than I can with the powder throw and trickle charger when they're set up properly.

The scale you have is more than adequate for your present needs. If you want something better, Dillon electronic scales are nicer to use, but don't measure the charges any more accurately. Much more expensive.

Ganderite gave you a couple of choices for powder, however, depending on where you are and the local gun shop or big box store you utilize, those powders may be in short supply or they just don't carry them in stock.

Here are a couple of other powders, some of which won't flow as well out of your powder throw, but with a bit of practice, will work well or OK.

H4831, H4831sc, H4831ssc, will all work well with just about any bullet weight or type in either the 243Win or 30-06.

IMR4350 will also work well in a similar manner in both cartridges.

H100V will work well in both cartridges and meters very well.

N160 is another.

I only listed these powders, because I'm familiar with them in both cartridges, and if you can't find W760/H414, these will work just as well.

One other thing, if you can find them, IMHO, use MAGNUM PRIMERS. They help to keep velocities constant at all temperatures, from `-30 to +30C

Standard large rifle primers will do the job very well, just not quite as efficiently.

If the manual calls for Standard primers for the loads, I just use one grain less powder for my favorite loads.

When you start from the listed starting loads, you can figure out your own load.

Watch for such things as hard bolt lift, which will usually leave bright, shiny scrape marks on the bases of your fired cartridges and the primers will be flattened completely, filling all the recesses of the primer pocket and likely "cratering" around the edges of the firing pin strike dimple.

When you see such things, stop shooting those loads. Pressure is excessive for YOUR rifle, even if the manual lists it as safe.

When this happens, you will find a need for another tool, a BULLET PULLER.

You can purchase a decent "INERTIA" type Hammer Puller or a more expensive "COLLET TYPE" Both are excellent, but IMHO, unless you're going to pull down a lot of ammo, the Inertia type, is only around $25, taxes in and at Amazon, less.
 
I must admit that I did not read all the posts in detail - but perhaps you might want to consider the sequence that you do things with the tooling that you end up with. I personally have multiple Lee Case length tools - spinner studs, shell holders, cutters and case length gauges. I also use water based RCBS Case Lube-2 to lubricate my cleaned brass on an elderly Lyman roll pad - to lube the cases before resizing. Out of the die, into the spinner - which is installed in a battery drill - trim to length, chamfer the cut edges inside and out, then use a rag wet with water to spin off the case lube - one case done - much longer to type out than to do. I use same sequence every time - first or tenth loading of a brass, and I am probably one of those stupid old fools that will re-size brand new brass, then trim to length and chamfer the case mouth.
 
I full length resize and trim every new to me case I intend to shoot in my firearms.

For anyone that has measured even new in factory wrap case lengths, if it's something they worry about, and they should, then, not doing so results in unexplainable fliers, until the case lengths are all uniform.

Recently, I picked up a bunch of handloads at a garage sale. They were beautiful. All nicely polished, etc.

I should have looked closer. The case lengths were all over the place.

They all fit into the chamber and went bang, but the Garmin was showing inconsistent velocities and the groups were not acceptable.

Out of the sixty reloads in the box, four of them were fliers, as much as four inches out of a two inch group.

A couple of things I do when I'm working up a load or testing a batch, I check every shot for point of impact on target, once I've established a load that looks promising. If I get a "flier" that case is set aside for scrutiny. As often as not, that case will be much shorter or longer than the rest of the cases, or sometimes heavier.

I like what you're doing, however, I no longer bother with full follow through as you are doing. I do check the lengths of each case with calipers to make sure they haven't stretched out beyond where they function best.

I find many factory fresh cases don't meet this standard once they're resized and that means they will be out of spec as they're expanding/stretching during their first firing.
 
AB3006: Unless your goal is merely to put together a few reasonably accurate rounds for hunting each year, you need to give some thought to goals and testing of your product. You need to develop a repeatable approach for assessing accuracy which means lots of practice shooting with at least a front sandbag. Personally I find a chronograph mandatory for load development. My goal is top accuracy, not max velocity, and I look for accuracy "sweetspots" that give me adequate velocity. Until someone is very experienced I wouldn't advise the type of reloading where you are increasing charge until you see signs of excessive pressure.

Reloading can and should be very safe and yet many firearms "incidents" we read about are down to bad reloading practice. One good idea is to never work on two different projects simultaneously. Only have one type of powder on the bench and do everything slowly and methodically. If you don't enjoy tedium then handloading is probably not your cup of tea. The step I enjoy the least is measuring cases length and trimming- with batches of 100+ rounds it can be a drag. And, as mentioned by others, get a couple of good, up to date reloading manuals whose recommended loads you can rely on. I'll look to forum discussions for hints for some of the more esoteric reloading I do but newcomers should spend the bucks to have one or more proper manuals on the shelf.

milsurpo
 
don't do it !!! its a horrible addiction its starts innocent enough , and then bam* . all of a sudden you need the latest and greatest gizmo
you didn't even know existed before you read about it. and then in a short time something better comes along and the first one goes in a drawer somewhere and then it never ends
 
^^^ "addiction" - no kidding! There must be 25 case length gauges here - start out to be cheap to buy one or two - much less than a lathe type trimmer - after a while, not nearly so "cheap", once you get a few. Then you start making them - so cutting down a 7 mm Rem Mag to trim 7x61, because you can't find 7x61 to buy - Lee does not make or list 416 Rigby or 416 Rem Mag - going to have to try to make from scratch, I guess - and so on. Like "shell holders" - at one point I had two Lee hand primer tools - different shell holders, Then different again for the press. Case trimmers, etc. all may or may not need shell holders - was not a big issue at $3 or $4 each - a little "stiff" today at $35 for one - especially if you need three or four for one cartridge, and load or have loaded for 15 or 25 cartridges.
 
AB3006 If you're only going to load for a couple of cartridges, don't want to get into case trimmers etc, then just buy a "TRIM DIE" for each cartridge type. Cheap and easy, eliminates all sorts of "stuff"

I have a great Lyman electric case trimmer, never used it. It's gathering dust on a shelf.

It's much faster for me to just trim the cases on my lathe, which is another rabbit hole to be wary of.
 
bearhunter said:
AB3006 If you're only going to load for a couple of cartridges, don't want to get into case trimmers etc, then just buy a "TRIM DIE" for each cartridge type. Cheap and easy, eliminates all sorts of "stuff"

I have a great Lyman electric case trimmer, never used it. It's gathering dust on a shelf.

It's much faster for me to just trim the cases on my lathe, which is another rabbit hole to be wary of.
Click to expand...
I'll be loading for 3: 30-06, 243 and 6.5 Swede
 
Trim dies are available for all of them.

Easy to use, the only "tools" needed are a file and the inside/outside chamfer tools, which you already have.

Trim dies are an excellent method for keeping your cases a consistent length, which is necessary for all sorts of other important things, such as velocities and accuracy.
 
bearhunter said:
Trim dies are available for all of them.

Easy to use, the only "tools" needed are a file and the inside/outside chamfer tools, which you already have.

Trim dies are an excellent method for keeping your cases a consistent length, which is necessary for all sorts of other important things, such as velocities and accuracy.
Click to expand...
Also you mentioned trim dies and lathe in the same post. Can you use the trim die and lathe together? I don't see how you could, but since I have a small 7x13" with tooling, any excuse to fire it up is good.
 
Last edited:
AB3006 said:
Also you mentioned trim dies and lathe in the same post. Can you use the trim die and lathe together? I don't see how you could, but since I have a small 7x13" with tooling, any excuse to fire it up is good.
Click to expand...
No practical way that I know of.

I have special shell head holders I which I clamp in the lathe chuck, and a cutter head with the proper neck inserts which are held by the tail stock.

It's just quicker and faster when I'm prepping a few hundred or more cases at a time. Might be worth your while to pick up a clamp type case head holder for your lathe and some cutters with the right inserts for the case mouths.

I like using the lathe, because it's easier to get the case neck lengths uniform and do the chamfering at the same time.

One thing about trim dies, you don't have to fiddle around to ensure the neck lengths are all the same.

Before trimming, you should always resize, whether you full length resize or just neck resize.

I usually neck resize and partially resize the body, by setting back the shoulder .002 when I resize my cases. Still, the necks do tend to grow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom