Reloading

Diesel_Weasel

Diesel_Weasel

Well-known member
Reloading how many of you do it?  How big of stockpile of ammo do you have as a hunter before you go into a zombie hating post apocalypse type person?
 I realize i may have a habit? But the flip side of this , is that i go out to the range and now can routinely hit all the targets out to and beyond 500 m again. while I was in the infantry this was a common place range with successful target stikes WAY beyond this . My time with the Navy took me away from this skill so now I am rebuilding it, which means lots of shooting and having an ammo lockup that looks like I am preparing for all the bad things ..
 

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That is a fine round for that . I just put another 120 rounds of 30.06  and 40 of 300 Savage . into the collection. most of the 300 Savage ammo is wildcatted (resized ) ammo from another caliber. .243 , 7mm.08 or 308 can all be resized . whoot saves me a bundle, except for the fact I will be shooting all of it then reloading again... thats where it adds up. but a box of 30.06  of decent ammo can run near 60 $  i get that at 1/2 the cost. the target above has 9 rounds in it. and the rifle is a under 400 $ Savage Axis
 
I have loaded thouaands of rounds on the past. Used to have a manufacturers license. Loved it. Always enjoyed working up a load, then testing it.  Need go get back into it. Need more 300 blackout rounds.
 
Thats damn fine shootin for 25 yards Jim! Looks like you have that load dialed in, ha!

You get a deer this season yet? 
Me and my bud have been trying hard..........lots of miles on the hiking boots pushing the timber, but no luck yet. Haven't even seen a buck..........except for in my own yard! 
 
I only really  use the 25m for close shots with my pistol [lol]. No deer yet here also (yet). I went out today and plinked away through 80 rounds of .06 this am spent most of that on the longer side 400 + ranges [thumbsup] now to refill them with 54 gr of hagendazz H4350 and cap them with 168 grain Amaxs
this is me making rounds for my Savage 300 thats a 1954 production that was my dads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RCTrAxBJ00 

its all good as long as I dont end up as three finger Jim
 
I do :-). I reload mainly .308. Barely 9mm. Not sure if 9mm is worth the hassle. Shoots a bit nicer though. The .308 I reload is because I shoot long range and I need more precision for that.
 
I feel you on that  with my SKS I closed my grouping considerably its shoots almost as good as a standard western rifle  8)  with my new Savage Axis 30.06 it makes it a lot nicer i'm already ranging out to 500 m with a decent grouping  with no issues . The stock is a Boyds custom job with a Vortex sight. Now to find a longer area for reaching farther.
 

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I want to start reloading, but I am not sure what I need as a beginner. I would like to keep it simple (Simple Equipment).
 
When I have time, I reload for my 45 ACP, 303 Brit, and will soon be loading for 6.5x55 and 308.  Shooting and reloading is my main other hobby.
 
norzuki date=1452037602 said:
I want to start reloading, but I am not sure what I need as a beginner. I would like to keep it simple (Simple Equipment).
Click to expand...
Its actually more simple than you would think. A friend of mine who has all of the stuff got me into it. The basic set up is a scale for calibrating the grain feeder, then the grain feeder, then the shell (as I call it) popper that removes the det cap and the other half of the device pours the grain (pre-measured) and you load the projectile with the same device. Then just collect your brass, buy some grain, projectiles and det caps. Like OP said, it will cost you half of a box of ammo to reload one. Even though the initial cost up front might be more than a box of ammo, in the long run it will save you hundreds. This coming from a guy who has almost over 1k rounds of almost every common ammo known to man.
 
i use [ With no recommendations] RCBS press and dies from various manufacturers.  all of the stuff you should be able to get used . I have a digital scale  because at the time i could not find a beam scale  used and the digital one was way cheaper.  for dies as they are caliber specific i scoured the various FB pages and other internet ages . as a Canadian I joined CanadiannGunNutZ.  they have a forum much like this one with a for sale / wanted section. and it was off to the races. since then i have gotten fancy and invested some money into my setup.  I have since bought a tumbler length sizing lathe along with a powder dispenser. . Most of this is to allow ease of reloading at a higher rate.  As a Ex military guy  when i go out I generally bring at least three different firearms.  A pistol, my bolt action 3006 as in the pics and one of the SKS's in my locker. after a while it becomes a little easier for me to have a larger stock of ammo as then i dont have to start in and reloading right away.  Whenever I go to the range I always scour around and look for other brass that others may of left behind. I take it home and tumble it to clean it up and have a look at it, if its in good shape i add it to my collection so if someone posts they are looking for some XXXX caliber brass i may have some to sell / trade. 
to feed my SKS as it is a Russian beast that I generally dont hunt with and have a few of i  can afford to buy cheap surplus ammo and shoot that. as it is Berdan Primed [ a european way} vs Boxer North {american style easy to reload] and uses a steel case i do not reload that. but I do have some for it that I an and do reload and get good groups with it .Better then store bought and cheaper too.
 

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Just found this thread. [thumbsup]
I love to reload everything I can. Just finished an "AR-47" build last night. For the uninitiated this is an AR-15 with a 7.62x39mm barrel that allows you to shoot the AK-47 round out a platform that has a higher accuracy potential than the AK. As soon as the weather clears up I will be taking it out to the local range along with my newly built (Saturday) 300 Blackout AR-15. I also just purchased a Ruger LC9S Pro 9mm pistol  and a Ruger SP101 in 327 Federal Magnum for concealed carry. Haven't been able to shoot either pistol yet due to the weather.
I'm in a holding pattern with my reloading right now due to just moving. Everything is in storage, I mean everything!! :P :-[ :-\\\\ :\\\'(  I have to build a new house and shop. But, once again due to the weather we can't get anything done. My wife is being very understanding and is OK with me building the shop first, then the house. The shop will have a gun room/reloading room that will be heated and air conditioned. The winter here can be in the minus degrees on occasion and in the summer we can have temps over 100* for days at a time in SW Idaho. I need to be comfortable when I'm reloading. Don't need sweat dripping off your nose and forehead into your gunpowder! :P

 
I've reloaded for the past 20 years starting with a .270 and now with the same rifle but converted to a .280 Ackley improved. I was never worried about the cost difference, because really once you buy all the equipment its generally not cheaper at unless you reload hundreds of rounds or shoot a big magnum. For me it is a hobby and I like load development to get better accuracy. I've had the .280 Ackley for about 15 years so had to reload for that caliber as there wasn't any factory loads back then. I don't do that much range shooting anymore so I generally load quite hot for hunting. 
I used RCBC equipment for years but now have my own LEE kit, inexpensive but works not bad. I went with quality Redding dies. I use a digital scale but check its accuracy every 5 rounds with a beam scale. This hobby is like anything, you get more experienced and it can get carried away with the accuracy of your reloading process and more expensive equipment. I also have my "own" shooting range that I can go back 800 plus yards. I use a bipod and enjoy the long range plinking.   
 
Ruby,
I have been reloading since 1972. In 1969 I bought my first rifle, a Savage M110CL (southpaw) also in .270 Winchester. I still have it to this day, although it has been restocked and rebarreled to 6.5 x .284. I love this rifle. I harvested 4 deer this past fall with this rifle.  My wife's uncle (retired machinist) built it about 5 years ago. He also built another one at the same time for my wife on a military Mauser action. We have matching camoed guns with the same scopes. Women love that matching stuff.
I started reloading with a hammer and a set of Pacific Dies IIRC. You could only neck size because I didn't have a press at the time. Too POOR to buy one. Christmas of 1973 my wife bought me an RCBS press, scales and powder measure. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Still have all that same gear to this day. In the years that have passed I have accumulated a rather large entourage of reloading equipment. I now have 11 metallic presses, 5 of which are Dillons and 3 Mec shotshell presses.
I am a reloading junky [lol]  I really like to try and fine tune my loads. I shoot them over my chronograph to check velocity and then dial them in for distance shooting. It's a great hobby. I do it because I'm anal, not to save money. The more I load the more I shoot.
I'm the same way with my vehicles. Always trying to find a way to make it run better, handle better, and go faster [thumbsup]
Ain't life grand!! :)
Now that I am retired, I have moved to Idaho and will be building a new shop (with gun/reloading room) and a new house. When I get the shop built I will start doing a SPUA YJ swap on my Tin Top and a 1.6L 16V engine swap. I have a 1995 Sidekick already to strip for the parts.
 
Melbakid, I bet you have a wealth of knowledge for us youngins.  :) I was around 18 when I started reloading, so 20 years to me is a long time. My rifle is a tang safety ruger m77 that had been altered over the years. It was my first rifle at 14 and will stay with me until I pass it on to my kids.  
 
I think my reloading would be fairly easy ....... ;D

I have the 223 AR / 308 Savage Axis bolt action / 300 Black-Out AR and a Winchester model 94 30-30

Next payday I will be getting a kit to start reloading. I think I am just going to do the 223 until I get the hang of everything
 

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