Newb advice

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MusicianShooter

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Bit of a long post coming.

I’m just starting out and am wondering if it’s worth it, given my circumstances.

I have narrowed myself to two rifle calibres: 303Br and 7.62x39. Love my Lee Enfield and ammo aint cheap. For the 762 I love my commie blaster SKS and got a bolt 762x39 for when PM Fancy Socks goes after SKS. Let’s not get into that issue today OK?

For the 303, i got a Lee Classic Loader from my uncle. Read on the internet about guys pulling 7.62x39 rounds, reloading powder and bullet in 303 as a light plinking round. Ok, tried it (loaded rounds, haven’t fired yet) it chambers and OAL of round compared to factory is fine. Then read about problems light charging rifle cartridges, the powder can lie flat and all detonate at once, so guy wads his with TP.

For context, my nurse training has made me EXACTING with procedures. I treat reloading like a sterile surgical procedure. I like the Lee Classic because you do and finish one cartridge at a time. Works for me. Not high volume. But it isn't offered in 762x39.

Next option is to do the same taking bullet and primer from 7.62x54R. Obviously more powder in 762 Russian than 303 br so I’ll be reducing powder charge! Better option? How do you know what powder is loaded in military surplus from many other countries?

Next issue: loading 7.62x39. I don’t like firing corrosive primers through my bolt gun. Pain in the ass to clean. Also bolt gun doesn’t like hard primers.

I got a dues refund chq for $300 from the hospital and am just thinking of buying up factory non corrosive 762x39 for target and hunting rounds. Not a high volume shooter. But it offends my scottish cheapness to pay almost a buck a round for soft point.

I could see loading 12g at some point but thats a different set up so I’d just get the press and powder for that

So:
- need to wad light 303 loads? Or abandon this prospect and full load from 762X54 instead?
- reloading 762x39? Have to buy more gear for this. Or just buy factory ammo
- should i just dump all the 7.62x39 stuff, sell the rifles, get a second Enfield and two Mosins, a crate of 762x54 and be content with that? Seriously considering

Thanks. For me, reloading is a “government just passed a 100% tax on factory ammo so screw them” measure. I hunt and target shoot at 200yds max generally.
 
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A few thoughts. Treat them as free advice from an opinionated stranger with no proven qualifications. Meaning accept the ones that confirm your biases, and denounce the rest as a deliberate misinformation campaign by <pick a meme>.

Good Lord; now I'm Twitter.

Ahem:

I have been warned that cheap Chinese "non-corrosive" is usually corrosive. When you're buying at the bottom end of the market, expect bottom end of the market behavior from your suppliers.

A bolt action 303 is very reload friendly and forgiving. Load it way down and you can plink with shots no louder than a hand-clap . Load it to spec it'll poke holes through things well beyond your skill range.

Semis are too picky for my tastes/skill. For me most of the time between shots is the time to re-evaluate, get a sight picture back and stage a good trigger break. Time spent improving those skills is a better investment than an auto-loader.

This hobby isn't cheap, but unless you shoot a lot the ammo itself likely isn't going to be your largest expense. Beware the siren call of the EE...

Never tried shell reloading, can't comment.

And, if you're new at this: Spend time to get skill, not dollars to get gear.

There's going to be a forest of agents (I meant that in the game theory sense) framing this narrative in ways that will separate you from your $. That isn't evil, it's just how market forces work.

-need to wad

I've used a poof of cotton wool to fill the unused case volume for very light loads, but I don't know that it is necessary. Never use anything solid. Internal ballistics is a knotty subject, but smacking one dense object into another dense object at those speeds is always a bad idea.

-reloading

See below.

-should I just dump...

In order: yes. yes. yes. 2xno. no. yes.
 
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To answer your questions:

- need to wad light 303 loads? Or abandon this prospect and full load from 762X54 instead?
For starter, I highly recommend going with known data. This means do not tinker with powder of unknown origin from pulled rounds. Recycling the surplus 7.62x39 projectiles for 303 brit is fine, but use a commercial powder that have published data. H4895 would be a great choice in 303 brit. However I don't think you'll save a lot of money using pulled projectiles. 7.62x39 surplus is about $.30 and x54r is about $.50~60, compare this to quality 303 projectiles that usually comes in a $0.40-.50 each, you don't really save that much.

I'd say only start tinkering with surplus powder when you have a lot of reloading experience behind both caliber that you are pulling powder from, and the caliber you are stuffing these powder in. Of course work up your load slowly. Problem with powder from surplus round is even different batch of ammo from the same factory will not be consistent and requires to work up a new load. Not worth the trouble.

As for the case capacity problem, my rule of thumb is don't go below 80% case capacity. Note this might not be possible with relatively fast powder (from 7.62x39) in large case (303 brit) sometimes.

- reloading 762x39? Have to buy more gear for this. Or just buy factory ammo
I reload x39 brass case for my bolt gun. SKS eats surplus. Since you are planning on reloading more than 1 caliber, getting a cheap lee single stage press is my recommendation.

- should i just dump all the 7.62x39 stuff, sell the rifles, get a second Enfield and two Mosins, a crate of 762x54 and be content with that? Seriously considering
Get all, SKS, Mosin, SMLE, Kar98. They are all great rifles.
 
No need for wads. Light loads of very slow powders can cause the dreaded and not well understood “detonation “. But for those calibers you won’t be using those powders.

I agree with others above that you should dump any unknown powder. Just sprinkle it on the lawn. It is supposed to be good fertilizer.

You should buy powder and use published data. Hodgedon’s website is where I get most data for Hodgedon and IMR powders.

You need to know the weight and type of bullets to find correct data.

You need to measure powder. The Lee Loader you already have will have a dipper, so be sure the powder you buy is listed in the data which comes with the Lee Loader.

You should learn to interpret pressure signs. Look at your fired brass in good light with a magnifier.

Good luck!
 
>lay flat and detonate all at once.

I just read that part. It, um.... doesn't work that way.

Until you've got a good grasp of the physics going on in there to know the risks you're taking, you should follow published load data to the letter.

At homestead I found once a dozen banana'd .303 brass with flat/cratered primers. -Shudder- If one came out looking like that I'd have pulled the whole batch and gone back to find out what I'd done wrong. And imagine the kick.
 
J.Hancock said:
Completely off topic; what've you got against musicians?
Click to expand...

Awesome. Nobody’s ever asked!

When I joined CGN i was a classical musician who was into guns. Musician-Shooter.

I thereafter reformed my wayward life, figuring out that music pays no money, the arts are totally self-centred not oriented towards community, and that working with musicians is like herding cats while inebriated.

I would rename myself ArmedNurse or GunsRN but am not sure if you can change your handle.
 
Very good hints here. Thanks for tolerating new guy questions.

I’m thinking the factory surplus can feed the SKS, commercial sp can feed the 7.62 bolt, and the 303 can eat loads done with commercial powder
 
MusicianShooter said:
Awesome. Nobody’s ever asked!

When I joined CGN i was a classical musician who was into guns. Musician-Shooter.

I thereafter reformed my wayward life, figuring out that music pays no money, the arts are totally self-centred not oriented towards community, and that working with musicians is like herding cats while inebriated.

I would rename myself ArmedNurse or GunsRN but am not sure if you can change your handle.
Click to expand...

Lol! Well played sir! Carry on.
 
Burton Urnie said:
Off topic again,
Music, agreed.
Tell me about community.
Click to expand...


What i meant is, any time musicians talk about “music contributes so much to society”, it’s baloney. You’re worried about paying rent, getting the next gig, jockeying for position and prestige. The thought of your community was never mentioned.

I work with nurses and docs now who i would trust my child’s life to. If I’m ever stabbed cut or shot i pray to god it’s at work where my teammates would do everything possible to help me. Musicians i worked with for so long don’t hold a candle to these folks.
 
Sorry to necro this thread, but since the OP is "just starting out", I recently came across a good introductory course which might be useful reading for him.

https://webpath.med.utah.edu/TUTORIAL/GUNS/GUNINTRO.html

It's aimed at (Ha!) introductory forensics, so it concentrates mostly on the physical interaction of guns and people (Don't click on the pics. They're not pretty.) but it is a good survey of the subject.

And if you do click the pics, it'll help remind you to be careful about where you point the thing.
 
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