Any reloaders here?

'16 TT250 · 05-26-2016, 02:33 AM

I started shooting black powder a few years ago, it's basically reloading on the fly. It's extremely flexible and easy since BP pretty much can't be overloaded, but there are specs that are all over the place and many of them are ludicrously flawed. I started reloading metallic cartridges about 1 1/2 years ago. I've done .38, .9mm., 44mag., .223 & 5.56, .308 & 7.62, and .338WinMag. I plan to do .45, .30 carbine, 7.62x54, 30-06, and 7.62x39 but still have more rounds than I need so I haven't felt the desire to reload for those. I want to do .25acp but need a shell plate custom made which runs $135. A few weeks ago I got a 12ga. shotgun press and have run one pitiful batch, details below.

A few things I've learned along the way-

Wet tumbling brass with dish soap and LemiShine makes for some beautifully shiny cases, nicer than many of them started out, and it doesn't take more than 30 minutes tumbling for them to look great. The insides don't get very clean tho, need some media for that and gonna get stainless steel pins soon.

The Trim-It case trimmer is fast and precise. They originally came with a nice milling bit that left no burrs, now they come with a cheesy 4 flute cutter that requires chamfering & deburring. I replaced it with a 2 flute end mill after discovering the change and that leaves a nice sharp cut. It might shave lead for those who use lead bullets, but should be good to go for jacketed bullets. I was working primer pockets (uniforming and de-crimping) so I just went ahead and touched up the necks on the chamfer/deburr tools for good measure. I'm using a Lyman 5 station case prep machine so it's not much extra work to touch the necks to the 2 tools.

My AR15s have longer than spec chambers, not uncommon, so my case trimming length is not going to be to book spec any more. My shortest chamber is 1.285 so I'm tossing the book spec maximum of 1.26 out the window.

A Lyman chamfering tool makes a super fast primer crimp remover for 5.56 brass. It may cut more than needed, not sure, but it stops itself as it bottoms out in the pocket. The regular crimp cutter tool is slow and has no stop. Well, it'll eventually stop but I'm sure it would be way over cut. A swage tool is probably the best way to go but I don't think I can use one with my press.

A Ponsness Warren 800B progressive shotgun press is almost exactly like the Hornady progressive metallic press I use, except totally different. Being used to how the Hornady runs completely screwed me up in reloading shotgun shells on the P.W. and by the time I had about 40 good shells I also had about 20 scrap shells as well as powder, shot, and primers all over the place.

Loading manuals & specs; that may be the most frustrating part about this hobby. It's nearly impossible to find multiple sources that agree on a load. The most obviously flawed guidance is minimum charges. We've been told to not go under minimum charge weights due to possible catastrophic consequences. A glance at .223 and 5.56x45 charges tells a tale. The maximums being different makes perfect sense, they're supposed to be different. The minimums as far as detonation or other issues should be about the same since the case volumes are nearly identical, but they're way different. There are many other rules that are severely flawed that I've chosen to mostly ignore as well. One gleaming example is neck sizing for an AR15. SO many people say that it can cause an out of battery ignition or slam fire which is ignorant.

Shotshell reloading is way simpler in some ways, but also super confusing. There's not only the expected powder/payload weight balance like there is in metallic cartridge reloading, but the hull/wad/payload have to be matched as well. Then there's primers. I thought they were all 209 as that's what I've always heard is the standard but no, there's also a slightly oversized primer needed for some hulls. The oversized will work with 209 size hulls but not the other way around and once an oversized is used in a 209 hull that hull must always be loaded with oversized primers. Some people say that many of these shotshell reloading rules are BS and it may be true, but I don't have enough hands on time to start being inventive yet.

05-26-2016, 02:33 AM	#1
'16 TT250 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Hacienda Heights, Ca Posts: 281	Any reloaders here? I started shooting black powder a few years ago, it's basically reloading on the fly. It's extremely flexible and easy since BP pretty much can't be overloaded, but there are specs that are all over the place and many of them are ludicrously flawed. I started reloading metallic cartridges about 1 1/2 years ago. I've done .38, .9mm., 44mag., .223 & 5.56, .308 & 7.62, and .338WinMag. I plan to do .45, .30 carbine, 7.62x54, 30-06, and 7.62x39 but still have more rounds than I need so I haven't felt the desire to reload for those. I want to do .25acp but need a shell plate custom made which runs $135. A few weeks ago I got a 12ga. shotgun press and have run one pitiful batch, details below. A few things I've learned along the way- Wet tumbling brass with dish soap and LemiShine makes for some beautifully shiny cases, nicer than many of them started out, and it doesn't take more than 30 minutes tumbling for them to look great. The insides don't get very clean tho, need some media for that and gonna get stainless steel pins soon. The Trim-It case trimmer is fast and precise. They originally came with a nice milling bit that left no burrs, now they come with a cheesy 4 flute cutter that requires chamfering & deburring. I replaced it with a 2 flute end mill after discovering the change and that leaves a nice sharp cut. It might shave lead for those who use lead bullets, but should be good to go for jacketed bullets. I was working primer pockets (uniforming and de-crimping) so I just went ahead and touched up the necks on the chamfer/deburr tools for good measure. I'm using a Lyman 5 station case prep machine so it's not much extra work to touch the necks to the 2 tools. My AR15s have longer than spec chambers, not uncommon, so my case trimming length is not going to be to book spec any more. My shortest chamber is 1.285 so I'm tossing the book spec maximum of 1.26 out the window. A Lyman chamfering tool makes a super fast primer crimp remover for 5.56 brass. It may cut more than needed, not sure, but it stops itself as it bottoms out in the pocket. The regular crimp cutter tool is slow and has no stop. Well, it'll eventually stop but I'm sure it would be way over cut. A swage tool is probably the best way to go but I don't think I can use one with my press. A Ponsness Warren 800B progressive shotgun press is almost exactly like the Hornady progressive metallic press I use, except totally different. Being used to how the Hornady runs completely screwed me up in reloading shotgun shells on the P.W. and by the time I had about 40 good shells I also had about 20 scrap shells as well as powder, shot, and primers all over the place. Loading manuals & specs; that may be the most frustrating part about this hobby. It's nearly impossible to find multiple sources that agree on a load. The most obviously flawed guidance is minimum charges. We've been told to not go under minimum charge weights due to possible catastrophic consequences. A glance at .223 and 5.56x45 charges tells a tale. The maximums being different makes perfect sense, they're supposed to be different. The minimums as far as detonation or other issues should be about the same since the case volumes are nearly identical, but they're way different. There are many other rules that are severely flawed that I've chosen to mostly ignore as well. One gleaming example is neck sizing for an AR15. SO many people say that it can cause an out of battery ignition or slam fire which is ignorant. Shotshell reloading is way simpler in some ways, but also super confusing. There's not only the expected powder/payload weight balance like there is in metallic cartridge reloading, but the hull/wad/payload have to be matched as well. Then there's primers. I thought they were all 209 as that's what I've always heard is the standard but no, there's also a slightly oversized primer needed for some hulls. The oversized will work with 209 size hulls but not the other way around and once an oversized is used in a 209 hull that hull must always be loaded with oversized primers. Some people say that many of these shotshell reloading rules are BS and it may be true, but I don't have enough hands on time to start being inventive yet.
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