Hunting Washington Forum
Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: PA BEN on November 12, 2008, 05:29:55 AM
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I'm going to start hand loading my own rounds. Is all the reloading data just in books? I hear about hot wild cat loads. Are these type of loads in books? Or do these loads come about on your own after time and experience in hand loading? I'm not new to guns and shooting, just reloading.
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Some of the problems I have found is that with all the different types of bullets there are many types of power to use with those. Best thing is to find a bullet you might like to try and get the book for that bullet manufacturer and try the different loads. I know manufacturers like Nosler put the most accurate load for their given bullet weight in there.
First thing I would do is find out for your gun what the proper case length and bullet depth should be as it varies from model to model. Then you know there is not too much space before the bullet hits the rifling which effects the accuracy.
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Start light and work your way up. I think it has to do with alot of what is in books and then lots of time on the range. Checking pressure on your brass, seeing how they shoot etc. Idabooner is the expert loader, but I have spent enough time out there shooting to know its a very precise science. Better have deep pockets though as this is becoming a very expensive hobby.
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It's stil cheaper then factory rounds. All the brass I have has been shot out of the guns I'm loading for. I've been saving it for years. All are bolt actions. So what you're saying is each gun likes a different load? Factory loads seem to by very accurate. :dunno: So what about hot loads, hotter then factory loads? Do the books have info? Or as you said time at the range?
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here is some starting tips. never load a round with slow powders (rl25, 7828, aa8700, retumbo.........) at light levels. if you have a large void in the case, add more powder or switch powders. slow powders can have a violent explosion if loaded too light. get a chronograph. when loading my 257roy I found speed changed by over 200fps in various lots/brands of brass. load to the area of the published speeds. if they are 3300 and you are at 3500 you are in for trouble sooner or later. pick one brand/lot of brass to work with. know your neck size and col. if you have a neck of .250 and a case that mics greater it is pressure spike city. it all needs to be dealt with carefully. it is pretty easy for anyone to grab an 06' case and stuff 56 grains of 4831 in it and go shoot. the baseline safe levels are well established in saami cases. many folks go whatthey think is a safe level above that. in wildcats there is no data to follow so start easy. do not use anyone elses load data for anything other then reference. you might have a tighter neck, tighter twist, lighter contour, less freebore.........yada. in reality it is a piece of cake, butyou need to work up a load not just load 3 loads from the book and go shoot. you could expect to shoot several loads to get where you want to go.
hope that helps.
greg
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another thing is to measure your case head dia before and after you shoot. if you are getting growth.......stop. calling companies like sierra and speer can yeild a starting point too.
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Start light and work your way up. I think it has to do with alot of what is in books and then lots of time on the range. Checking pressure on your brass, seeing how they shoot etc. Idabooner is the expert loader, but I have spent enough time out there shooting to know its a very precise science. Better have deep pockets though as this is becoming a very expensive hobby.
Just like Bone said. Need to really watch your pressures and case prep is VERY important as well. As far as wildcats go, yes you can drive more speed out of them , but you need to really pay attention to what the gun and the loads are telling you. One safe way to start is to find a factory load that is close to velocities that you are want to reach and slowly work your way up from there. 1/2 a grain can push you into a dangerous situation, so just be careful.
What wildcats are you looking at?
Sage
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I have 77MM REM MAG, 243 and 7MM-08.
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None of them are wildcats. A wildcat is a cartridge that you design, one that has been around but isnt loaded for by any of the factories. As such there is no set in stone guidelines by SAMMI (?). With what you have , you can get good recipes from a good loading manual.
Sage
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Its splitting hairs PA, but thats all the fun. Yes you can go grab a box of factory stuff, especialy nowadays, it didn't used to be so good or consistent, and hit a pie plate out there at 300 yards. BUT.....each rifle does prefer a certain load. This includes primer, powder, and brass. We will use all one type of brass for each load. ALso convienent if you have two of the same caliber. Then when you are dripping in one powder grain at a time and sitting there with your scale............. Sort of like hand tieing flies I guess. THen after lots of shooting, and thats what I was referring to the pocket book as you might shoot a 1000 rounds or more to work up a load, you can put your 1 inch groups out there at 300 yards. You can also dial in your bullet performanes for longer range stuff. You'll know your consistent bullet drops etc.
Sage is correct about the wildcat def. What you are referring to is just basically a load and each gun will have its own load for its own bullet. Such as each of my 06, I have a 180 and a 150 load.
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My 7mm rem mag hits the same at 100 yds out to 230 yds. Factory Rem. 150 gr corelocks. 1" groups
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Sierra has always been a big help to me, when I start working up loads. I spent over an hour one day talking to one of the guys there, as he helped me with bullet decisions, and issues I was having with one gun in paticular.
I also love the Pet Loads book. This is a bible for me to go by to start with. My reloading manual library is over 25 books, and counting. Not including 2 binders of my own data. I just feel I never have enough resources when it comes to my reloading. I love the anticipation and excitement of working up a new load. Plus, it is a stress reliever for me.
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My 7mm rem mag hits the same at 100 yds out to 230 yds. Factory Rem. 150 gr corelocks. 1" groups
This is pretty darn good performance out of factory.
Ask yourself, "What do I want to achieve by reloading?". Don't get me wrong, I think reloading is great, but you're likely not to save significant $ by doing it. Maybe down the road a piece after all your capital investment. If you are after stickly $ savings I'm not sure I'd recomend it for that.
It's kinda a natural progression in shooting rifles. Kinda like bone's analogy w/ flytying. You fine tune stuff for your particular rifle and applications. The main reason I do it is to shoot the particular bullet I like at a speed (still safely) that I wouldn't be able to get w/ factory stuff.
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I've always wanted to start reloading. I have saved all my brass over the years. And at 40.00 a box now, I think it's time to start. :rolleyes:
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It's actually pretty enjoyable. You really start getting into the finer points of shooting.... ballistics, terminal performance, accuracy, blah, blah, blah. It's kinda addictive.
I remember now....you were askin about the Lee Kits. Before you spend any $ you may want to see if you can do some loading w/ a buddy or someone and see some of the ins and outs. Get a feeling for the equipment etc. Not trying to talk you out of the kit but if you anything like me, you plan on getting into something a little bit and the next thing you know you're wanting to upgrade everything :chuckle:
Good luck and have some fun.....
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I got into Re-loading 2 years ago, Basically dredged all my dad's stuff out of his attic and set it up. Had to do a bit of reading before i got comfortable getting started, and i take a really tame aproach to reloading, I'm not out to reinvent the wheel, I've found and was going to look at the name last night but i forgot, a pamphlet that is compiled with most of the common bullets on the market for a specific caliber (mine 30-06) ( got it at shooters supply in yakima B4 the closed), and several differtent powders, I figure out what bullet/ weight i want to use, look in the book, they give you several different powders for that bullet, they tell you all the stats' and they mark one of them as the most accurate load, thats what I've been basing my reloading on, I'm very carefull with my powder, I measure every load. I do agree every rifle shoots differently, you can have 2 identical rifles and get different results for one specific load. so off to the range you go.
On the otherhand if you really want to make a hobbie out of it, you can get a cronograph and really do allot of shooting to figure out your own mix.
Me, i have my stuff set up at a desk specifically for reloading, if i get up one saturday morning and theres a blizzard out side, I can kill a pot of coffe and maybe reload a box of shells, it is fairly relaxing.
