Just don’t spend much time here anymore. I’ve been hand loading for 30 years now, cast my own bullets also. For a first timer I’d recommend going onto RCSB’s website and reading up a little about it, nice vids there to. The cost savings are monstrous, one problem you might run into is very few if any indoor ranges will allow hand loads. If your not focusing 100% while loading the down side can be catastrophic to humorous.
I used to shoot 100yd metallic silhouette with a Dan Wesson 44mag, 8” vented heavy barrel with a 2x scope. First day before the match I was going to test a few 320gr round I loaded up, drew quite an audience, cocked the hammer, sight picture, sight alignment, took the slack out and squeezed thru to a heart crunching fffllluppp. Squib load – nice thing about DW revolvers, all I had to do is pull the barrel and knock the slug out.
You ever have any question holler, e-mail is on profile
Check the warranty on your weapon before firing reloads. I know Glock is very testy about reloads. We used a brand called Lawman for practice ammo. It is basically a relatively inexpensive , non-corrosive, ball ammo.
I love the squib load story! Lots of build up and then a little poop! When I took my NRA safety course, I had a squib during practice. The instructor said I was crazy. I told him I had shot before and know a popcorn fart when I fire one! Since the rules were that the instructor had to clear all firearms, he was a little surprised to see that - yes indeed - I had fired a popcorn fart!
Pat, using home loaded usually violates the warranty. I will only use them after the warranty is done and gone.
Also, I found Lawman and use them as practice rounds. By far, the cheapest ammo I found was at WalMart. Cheaper than Lawman!
Originally posted by drslouha: Just don’t spend much time here anymore. I’ve been hand loading for 30 years now, cast my own bullets also. For a first timer I’d recommend going onto RCSB’s website and reading up a little about it, nice vids there to. The cost savings are monstrous, one problem you might run into is very few if any indoor ranges will allow hand loads. If your not focusing 100% while loading the down side can be catastrophic to humorous.
I used to shoot 100yd metallic silhouette with a Dan Wesson 44mag, 8” vented heavy barrel with a 2x scope. First day before the match I was going to test a few 320gr round I loaded up, drew quite an audience, cocked the hammer, sight picture, sight alignment, took the slack out and squeezed thru to a heart crunching fffllluppp. Squib load – nice thing about DW revolvers, all I had to do is pull the barrel and knock the slug out.
You ever have any question holler, e-mail is on profile
don
I had a former co-worker who first bought a S&W 5906 9MM pistol, then bought a reloader. He had another co-worker set it up for him and show him how to used it (allegedly).
One day at the range, the first co-worker was shooting his 5906. I heard an "OUCH" and looked over to see the co-worker examining his hand, his pistol, and the remains of his plastic grips now on the floor. The overloaded cartridge pressure bowed the slide outward (cracking it), bent the extractor outward, and blew the plastic grips off the gun. Luckily, he wasn't hurt. He then tried to send the gun back to S&W (it was new) and say it was their fault. They obvisously didn't buy it and offered to fix the gun at his cost, not theirs.
On the flip side, the PD we worked for bought factory reloads for training purposes from a local commercial reloader (the reloads were loaded to .38 +P+ level, just like our duty rounds, but were cheaper than our duty loads) and we did experience the occasional squib round in our revolvers (S&W Model 65 .357 Magnums) with the commercial reloads. Actually had one instant where the projectile lodged just inside the forcing cone, locking the cylinder in place to the barrel. The agency finally stopped buying reloads when we transitioned to semi-autos.
Also, I found Lawman and use them as practice rounds. By far, the cheapest ammo I found was at WalMart. Cheaper than Lawman!
Be careful of some of the WalMart elcheapo ammo. It may have non-corrosive powder but often has corrosive primers. My son used it once in my Glock Model 27. It took forever to get it clean to my standards.
-ACP cart’s. using a fast powder like Win 231 use a lot less, which increases the chance of a double load. One of the advantages of a progressive press, never cared for them – personal thing. I have also seen a good police special blow a cylinder due to a double load. When loading with a single stage (RCBS Rockchucker) I’ll dump powder in 50 cases at a time, then before seating bullets just look over the casings from an angle, any casing with a double load will stick out like a slide-bit-thumb-knuckle on a firing line.
Copper Units of Pressure (CUP) is a fickle thing to mess with, when you start to get close to the upper end your first indicator will be blow back causing the primer to pick up a mirror image of the breech face & firing pin hole, difficulty in extracting rounds from the chamber/cylinder will be the next warning, 3rd warning will start costing something. Constantly shooting lead bullets will cause lead to line the barrel which will increase the resistance of the bullet increasing CUP pressure. I’ve fired up to 300rds of 45 SWC during IPSC matches and towards the end you can hold first magazine brass next to the last magazine brass and see a difference on the primer face.
I am an avid pistol reloader. I just got started a couple years ago. Haven't done any rifle yet. I started with a second hand single stage Lyman press. It is perfect to go slow and learn the ropes on. I advise getting a digital scale, and an inexpensive caliper for measuring the over all length on your finished product. There is tons of info on the internet, and all the manufacturers offer published data on recipes on their websites. It's not that hard, just go slow and pay attention. I have never had a squib load in about 3000 rounds of reloads. I did load some with half the powder that the recipe called for. They all went bang, just wouldn't cycle the slide on a semi-auto. I always do 50 rounds and go to the range to test before I do a large batch of several hundred. Good luck. IBO
IBO – you have just committed a sin in the gravest extreme, you have tipped the scale of both fate and the law of averages. Your first squib will be soon. I will say I’ve had one squib in 75,000 plus rounds over the past decades, which will almost guarantee a failure in the coming months – damn the fate. But primer failures happen a bit more often, I only use Winchester now, CCI & Rem I’ve had failures with both long ago. When chasing new loads I only do 9 per increment for rifle looking for tight groups, or 10 – 20 per increment for handguns looking for good groups and reliability. I’ve been keeping a record of loads that worked and just plain didn’t. One word of advice thou, never use handloads for home/personal defense. If you take the shot and it’s a good call you will probably be cleared, but will take a lot longer to get there.
I don't reload, but love to shoot and have thought about getting into reloading. Couple things to think about.. Right now, reloading componets (mainly primers) are harder to find than ammo. At least that was the case just a few months ago, and I can't imagine anything has changed. All the big reloading companies were way backordered. Not that this is any reason to not reload, but it's a bad time if you want to get the componets now.. or you can go to a local store and maybe score some stuff, but they have been charing quite a bit for the stuff since it's at a premium right now.
Hooligan, Walmart does not sell ammo with corrosive primers. Corrosive primers were never really used in commercial ammo anyways, just military. Walmart sells Blazer (CCI), Remington, Wichester and those companies most definitely don't use corrosive primers.
Back to reloading, I may be pickin up a .50 cal rifle in the near future, so I will definitely need to reload to keep prices down! Luckily, the .50 cal componets aren't as hard to find.
On-line catalogs like the Sportsman's Guide and Cheaper than Dirt have a tendancy to sell ammo manufactured overseas, that ammo having the corrosive primers. At least (it has been my experience) the ads for those sites list the ammo being sold as having the corrosive primers in them.
IBO – you have just committed a sin in the gravest extreme, you have tipped the scale of both fate and the law of averages. Your first squib will be soon.
I thought the exact same thing!
Jerry, since I live in MA, companies cannot send ammo to me! That is against the law.
Originally posted by JerryG: On-line catalogs like the Sportsman's Guide and Cheaper than Dirt have a tendancy to sell ammo manufactured overseas, that ammo having the corrosive primers. At least (it has been my experience) the ads for those sites list the ammo being sold as having the corrosive primers in them.
If it's corrosive, it's 99% going to be surplus ammo from the 70s and 80s. Tons of places sell this stuff. It is good ammo, just gotta take a couple extra steps while cleaning your gun to prevent it from rusting.
TJ, Years ago when I did a lot of skeet & trap shooting I did my own reloading. Sold everything since then... It was certainly a lot cheaper to do that back then.
Pat, every time I look at ammo on the Internet there is a caveat saying that, due to restrictive laws, they cannot send ammo to addresses in Massachusetts. I don't understand it because I am only buying stuff that can be fired through firearm that are legal in Massachusetts.
