Rolling your own
In comments below Matt says I’ll have to start handloading- and he’s right. I bought a case of ammo for the K31, but it’ll be gone someday, and then I’ll start rolling my own.
I know a lot of people won’t touch reloading for love or money, and I don’t blame them- if you’re not very meticulous about what you’re doing, handloading can be deadly dangerous.
On the other hand, if you want to keep your ammo costs down, if you want to shoot a lot for not a lot of cash, handloading is a good option.
I started handloading for my 45, and then for my 38 special, but lately those calibers are so plentiful and so cheap that it’s almost not worth it.
On the other hand, rifle ammo is expensive, and the most expensive part is the brass.
I buy new fresh ammunition of one variety and one only. Buying ammunition is a good way to get the brass, because loaded ammo isn’t a hell of a lot more expensive than new brass.
Once I’ve gotten the brass from the initial firing I begin to treat it. I decap it and polish it using corncob media. I have a tool I’ve made for cleaning the primer hole that makes the hole exactly the same on each round, and once they’re done I scribe a mark on the head.
Because I keep brass for a single rifle, (I have three rifles chambered for 30-06 and each has it’s own boxes of ammo) I neck resize only, cut the brass to length, and clean again.
I then prime as many cartridges as I can load in one period, usually fifty. I use Winchester (olin) standard large rifle primers.
I primarily shoot nosler partition bullets. I weigh each bullet and discard anything which varies more than 1/2 percent. I have thrown out bullets of all types but Nosler. I’ve never gotten a bad batch of those. I also use a go/nogo gauge to make sure I don’t have one bad diameter. Again, Nosler bullets seem to be the best bang for the buck.
I use several types of powder but I find the Vitavuori N150 nicest from an accuracy/cleanliness of burn standpoint. I have an old type RCBS measure that throws 95% of charge, and then I trickle the last 5% into the pan. I then dust the pan into the cartridge. I measure the pan to make sure it was completely emptied of powder. I use a beam balance scale by Lyman, the only one I can find that has an oil dampening system. It’s about 30 years old. I bought it new. I may upgrade to a digital scale someday.
When I put the charge in the cartridge, I immediately insert and seat the bullet. This makes sure I don’t accidentally double charge a round. With some rifles, a double charge is a death sentence. You cannot get this wrong. In order not to get this wrong I weigh all fifty rounds to make sure they don’t change from one to another. I then write down the weight, charge, powder, primer, and put it in a label which I stick on the top of the box. If I think I’m going to let the ammo sit for a long time (more than a couple of weeks) I light a beeswax candle and dip an artist’s brush into the hot wax, and paint a stripe of wax on the end of the cartridge where it meets the bullet.
This is not for the caffeine junkie. it’s not something you do unless you’re totally calm. It’s not something smokers should think about doing unless they can easily go a long time without a butt. You don’t need a nicotine jones to distract you and let you throw a double charge of powder in something as unforgiving as a 30-30 wcf.
No, reloading isn’t for everyone- but it can give you cheap ammo and better control over your shooting.
11 comments Og | Uncategorized
Never have been able to get into the whole reloading thing, though I’ve saved plenty of casings for my friends who enjoy the task. Seems to be a sport all it’s own.
As for me, I’ll always be a Lake City fan from the old days. You knew exactly what you were getting when it came out of the box.
Og, it sounds like you’re meticulous enough to do some precision reloading. Have you done any experimentation to “tune” loads to your rifle?
And as far as trying to save money doing handgun reloading, forget it – you won’t save a dime. You’ll just shoot a lot more for the same money.
Yes, this IS the voice of experience talking.
For Ma Bell, I have varied loads as much as 5% plus or minus to see if there’s any appreciable difference in point of impact. There isn’t. I have a spanish mauser (93) I’ve rebarrelled to 7.62 x 39, and I intend shooting some handloads in it for accuracy’s sake, and for hunting if I can ever get to a place where they allow it. (in Indiana it’s pretty much just muzzleloader and shotgun)
Did you look under the butt plate on your new K31 for the original owners info?
I began handloading in the early 1960’s to feed the shiny new M91 Argentine Mauser My Dad got me for my 16th birthday. Since then I figure with the cost of reloading tools and components I’ve “saved” at least a negative $15,000.00, maybe more.
Handloading to save money. BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA ! ! !
Actually, it can be quite cost effective. You can get started with a decent press, dies, scale, and misc for a couple hundred bucks. And that’s all you really have to spend, if you spend more it’s because you want to, not because you need to. Each new caliber I buy, I buy a set of dies to match, and i’m online.
Actually, the point I was aiming at (poorly) was that handloading, at least in my case, led to more shooting, a lot more shooting.
I suppose, if I had bought loaded ammo all these years I’d have spent a twentieth of what I have. I would also have shot less than a twentieth of what I have and had a hell of a lot less fun, both at the range and loading bench. I now load and shoot more than 55 calibers plus muzzleloaders. See what I mean? It sneaks up on ya.
I gotcha, Gerry. I have quite a few calibers myself.
I’ve tried varying both powder and charge weight in some rifles, and it can make a BIG difference.
Brass makes a big one, too. Have an old Turk 8mm Mauser I modified for hunting/target use. Federal and Remington brass both shoot the same load identically- EXCEPT the Rem brass loads are about 1″ higher on the target at 100 yards. Winchester cases? Groups are more than three times as big at the same distance. And the above holds true with factory ammo from those brands, too.
Been reloading since I was eighteen (1971).
I enjoy reloading because I’ve always been a craftsman, enjoying being a part of the making of anything I own or operate.
I even reload berdan primed cases. In fact I fished a bunch of those Swiss 7.5X55 cases out of the trash at the range recently.
Last, a note to Mr. Og. Norma 7.5X55 brass is very $, but it lasts durned near forever. I first started loading 7.5X55 in 1988 and have one box of cases that have gone eight or nine time. They look like they are good for eight or nine more.
I enjoy it.
I’m loading tons of 45 to practice for the next bulls-eye competition.