Reloading newbie needs help .

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Kazman1960

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Hi . Over the past year , it seems i have amassed quite a few rifles .

I want to get into reloading as one of the rifles is a .50 BMG , another is a .338 Lapua .

Can someone tell me exactly what is needed in regards to components to take me from a piece of brass to a fully made round .

Iknow i need a press and dies , but what else is needed and where to buy from .

Thanks for any help .
 
Options -

1 - search this part of CGN; this question has been covered many times in my short time here.
2 - YouTube also has many vids on this subject.
3 - there's a book you can buy from a gun store, called Lyman's Reloading Guide, 49th Edition; it has all the answers (and more!) within its pages. You'll need it anyway, and there are other guides out there as well.
4 - where to buy... your local gun shop of course!
 
Buy the Lyman reloading guide. Tells you everything you want to know. I have a few reloading books but think the Lyman guide is the best. You will need one anyways for recipes, but they do explain the process better than any other.
 
Just my opinion but get started reloading straight walled pistol rounds first.
There are less steps in brass preparation so there are less things likely to go wrong.
With necked down rifle cartridges you can push the shoulder back too far or not far enough.
Not trim the case to the proper length etc.
I purchase a case .gauge for every bottleneck rifle round I load for.
As a matter of fact I purchase them for my straight walled pistol cases too.
 
Congratulations, beginning 'reloading' is the only way to get the best out of your rifle. Personally I prefer 'custom precision loading' which is far different than 'reloading' and something you need to consider, especially judging by the calibers you mentioned. Those heavy calibers will have lower barrel life (before the 'throat' wears down too much), so you want to find your best bullet/powder/case combo for your rifles' twist rate. Since you've got the big 50, you need to decide on a couple single stage presses or one that can do both calibers (in think the Lee Classic cast can?). The best single stage for the money (my opinion) is the Forster but I've also used the Hornady LNL-AP (progressive) as a single stage with great results. Do you want to do precision (more $$$ in equipment) or just 'reload'?
  • Press: Single stage - Forster Co-Ax (and/or just Lee Classic Cast)
  • Hornady or Forster Die Set with bullet seating micrometer adjustment (Redding is way more expensive). The micrometer bullet seater adjustment makes a huge difference!
  • Bench powder dispenser
  • Digital scale (balance beams take forever)
  • Digital calipers for cartridge OAL & case measurement(2-3 needed for items below, on sale now at Canadian Tire, $16 vs $40).
  • For loading to OAL, just calipers needed but for precision loading to ogive you need - Hornady OAL gauge+modified cases; Hornady Headspace gauge kit; Hornady Bullet Comparator kit (doesn't have to be Hornady, but I find them best for price).
  • Basic brass prep - case trimmer (recommend Forster - 3in1 trimmer head, Hornady's OK, Wilson's the best), chamfer/deburr tool (unless you get Forster 3in1, but nice to have around)
  • Advanced brass prep (a) primer pocket reamer, flash hole deburr tool (b) Neck Turning - 21st Century lathe kit (no need to neck turn for factory chambers but can be minimally done just to get necks even)
  • Tumbler, media (corn cob & walnut), case polish
  • Load development shooting tests. If you loaded to OAL, you need to vary powder only to get best groups. Far more accurate is load testing at different seating depths, then tweaking powder too. Usually rifles shoot best with low drag bullets seated close to lands or into lands. Don't have time to explain it all now.

This was off the top of my head; might have missed some stuff :)

Reloading Manual for bullet companies you use and/or Hodgdon site http://www.hodgdon.com/ (go into reloading data centre)

Great resource: http://www.accurateshooter.com/

I learned this over years of loading AND from the collective experience of the BR/F class crowd (who have really brought precision to the rest of us - no need to rewrite the book, just learn and apply :) Although I don't compete, I'm OCD about loading. That's the nice thing about shooting, even if you don't compete against people, you always compete with the target & wind ;) If you need more info just get in touch. All the best in your loading adventure.

Example load dev I did for a friend's Savage Palma 308 - shows how dramatically bullet seating depth affects accuracy (I threw in a SAAMI/Factory overall length group in there too). btw the almost 1/5 MOA group was 10 thou (0.010) into the lands :)

http://s1350.photobucket.com/user/seraphimarmoury/slideshow/PRECISION%20LOAD%20TESTS/Savage%20Palma%20308
 
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Note that if you're going to reload the 50 you'll need a specialty press to handle the length and I believe the dies are a larger diameter than standard. Don't quote me on it, biggest I ever did was 300 Win mag. Anyways, be thourough, measure carefully, be safe and welcome to the club. Cheers.
 
no probs (accidentally double posted). 308, -06 is a great place to start or remain ;) . The nice thing is that the larger you go, 1/10 grain doesn't make as much ES (extreme spread fps) variation - high ES will really be noticed vertically the farther out you shoot [a chrono is great to have to test your loads for speed & ES]. Especially if you hunt, knowing your speed will enable you to know your ballistics.

P.S. I think the Lee Classic Cast does the big 50 but I don't like Lee dies as they feel cheap (but others love them). Enjoy :)
 
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miykael said:
no probs (accidentally double posted). 308, -06 is a great place to start. The nice thing is that the larger you go, 1/10 grain doesn't make as much ES (extreme spread fps) variation but the more fps variation you have will be noticed vertically the farther out you shoot [a chrono is great to have for this]. I think the Lee Classic Cast does the big 50 but I don't like Lee dies as they feel cheap (but others love them). Enjoy :)
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I picked up the Lee for the .50 , its also got a bushing in it so you can use smaller dies for the " Regular " rounds .
 
miykael said:
That's good, give us some updates on how it goes and for those of us who only dream about shooting a 50 or even a 338 Lapua :)
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For now , i can only speak to the .338 . This is one powerful round . I only got to shoot it a few times last year before winter set in . The rifle is a Savage BA110 , we didn't really completely Zero the scope , thats on the cards for this year as soon as this snow goes away . The rifle has way less kick than my older 308 ( likely due to the weight ) . As for the 50 Cal , well , as soon as the chance comes to get out , i'll let you know . Going to reload approx 50 rounds of .338 this week .
 
I was impressed with the Savage 110BA (someone brought it to a range I belong to). I was expecting much more ear busting sound too, but the muzzle brake seemed too deepen the noise (like more bass instead of treble).
 
I heard that Hornady Match brass isn't good for 338L (I found it great for 308). Lapua is touted as best all around - except I found it can't handle the super long Barnes LRX 175 gn (hunting) for 308 (Lapua has softer necks), for which Lake City (11) performed best, more concentric [side note, the load dev I did for my friend's Savage Palma 308 was with many times fired Lake City brass and still got almost 1/5 MOA best group]. Even with neck sizing, yyou need to FL size after a few rounds to bump the shoulders back. Most people don't realize that even with FL dies, you might not be bumping the shoulders (about 0.002" for bolt), and can even increase brass length (reason to either manually make sure brass fits chamber after resizing or use headspace gauges to check chamber/brass) - this probably happened if your rounds chamber tightly after FL resizing. The ultimate option is to send in your once fired brass to Forster, Redding, Hornady to have custom FL dies made for your rifle (minimal resizing, if your keeping it). Neck sizing is good but your brass won't spring back as much after a few 'reloads' and will be very tight to chamber (reason for FL sizing after about the 5th time). The principles for precision loading are essentially the same (most bolt rifles), regardless of how large the boom, some just have more fun doing it :)
 
miykael said:
I heard that Hornady Match brass isn't good for 338L (I found it great for 308). Lapua is touted as best all around - except I found it can't handle the super long Barnes LRX 175 gn (hunting) for 308 (Lapua has softer necks), for which Lake City (11) performed best, more concentric [side note, the load dev I did for my friend's Savage Palma 308 was with many times fired Lake City brass and still got almost 1/5 MOA best group]. Even with neck sizing, yyou need to FL size after a few rounds to bump the shoulders back. Most people don't realize that even with FL dies, you might not be bumping the shoulders (about 0.002" for bolt), and can even increase brass length (reason to either manually make sure brass fits chamber after resizing or use headspace gauges to check chamber/brass) - this probably happened if your rounds chamber tightly after FL resizing. The ultimate option is to send in your once fired brass to Forster, Redding, Hornady to have custom FL dies made for your rifle (minimal resizing, if your keeping it). Neck sizing is good but your brass won't spring back as much after a few 'reloads' and will be very tight to chamber (reason for FL sizing after about the 5th time). The principles for precision loading are essentially the same (most bolt rifles), regardless of how large the boom, some just have more fun doing it :)
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To me , thats what its all about , having fun doing something that you love . I'm really lucky at the moment , i have a guy who works for me that has been into re-loading for at least 20 somethings years . He has charts , loads , distances , powder and bullet comparisons galore . This though , is the first time he see's a .338 Lapua as well as the .50 , so , hopefully between us , we can come up with some decent loads .
 
With the 1:9 twist on the barrel, going with heavy & long bullets will probably work best. I don't see a point with going to limits on light or heavy end of the spectrum on most rifles (but I think fast twist - i.e. 1:9 - Lapua rifles prefer heavy). I'd rather find the most accurate load for a particular rifle in target & hunting and stick to it. It's better to go up or down in caliber (i.e. new rifle), instead of always changing bullet weights, which will affect accuracy - unless you don't care ;) Berger's Hybrids are less sensitive to seating depth than their VLDs BUT best accuracy usually comes from bullet seating just off or into the lands i.e. bullet ogive 0.010" into lands. If your loading to overall length (OAL) i.e. SAAMI/Factory spec, you won't get the true potential out of your rifle. You should be getting half MOA or better from the 110BA, if loads developed right, but keep in mind with heavy magnum, the bullets take longer distance before stabilized. Have fun :)

Might work good on your rifle:

110BA 1:9 Twist

TARGET
Hodgdon US869 powder (double benefit, this powder is also good for the 50cal)
Sierra 300gn MatchKing (SMK)
Berger 300gn Match Hybrid OTM Tactical

HUNTING
Barnes LRX 280gn [LRX all copper are awesome, accurate bullets!]

50
Hodgdon US869 or H50BMG powder
Try the 750gn Hornady AMAX

P.S. Generally speaking, throat erosion is what makes a 'barrel' wear out (groups open up). By seating bullets further out (after throat wears) you can keep the the accuracy of your barrel going for a while longer (this has limits too). Also, I only patch clean now (after seeing the Magpul shooting series) and even patching cleaning opens groups (meaning a few fouler shots to get tight again).
 
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