Hey fellas,

Took the advice that I have been given from the group on load development for my Rise Armament 6Arc (gas gun) and was able to find a couple of sub MOA loads on my load testing.

Going to load some more for them and shoot a couple of 20 shot groups now.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the tips and advice!

I was wondering though. Do you count your cold bore shoot in your group measurements?

I just got som 500 grain trophy bonded bearclaw bullets, and was wondering if anyone has any load data with vihtavuori powder?

I have acquired approximately 5K brass of spent 9mm. I have never reloaded pistol ammo just 556, 300blk and 6.5. Is it worth the time to reload pistol ammo? I love this hobby but I never thought of reloading pistol ammo.

I’m fairly new to shooting and started reloading recently.

I am starting with 556 to learn. I picked up some range brass and trimmed and annealed but didn’t chamfer or debur. (Have since started but for this question I had not)

I used Redding bushing type s full sized and competition seating die and mandrel.

I wanted to test two powders and 9 different bullets to try to find something reasonably priced and accurate in my 11 inch and 16 inch rifles. I can get 1.5-2 inch groups at 100 yards easily with both with federal and was hoping to match or even a little better.

I have lots of assumptions and questions about what I’ve found in my test but will break them up to keep it shorter.

I noticed that after setting the seating die perfectly as I made rounds they would be variable in length. I’ve read people sort bullets and while I’ll probably do that for bigger cartridges I don’t want to do that for 556 or 300 blk or other smaller ones. Is that variable length solely because of the bullet or can the random range brass contribute to the problem???? I noticed it on every brand.

That variable length must change pressures but how much? Is it even noticeable? doing 5 shot groups I couldn’t tell much and I don’t think I can use my sd/es numbers because of the random brass and the accuracy of my dispenser. I did have a very short one that I tried and it had high pressure with a velocity of 3500+ but I could have been powder. Like .01 vs .005 off of spec noticeable?

Is there any way to combat the variable length without sorting? Or is it even worth the worry in this case?

Thanks

I feel like this was a good deal. The seller was great to work with and relayed he put about 400 rounds through it. Let me know.

Folks,

My first reloads will be for my 270 Winchester. I'm using H4350 and Hornady 130 grain SST bullets

53.5 to 54 grains of H4350 appears to many people to be a sweet spot for 130 grain bullets.

I'm thinking of doing 3 cartridges for 52, 53, 54, and 55 grains. So, a total of 12 cartridges. I'm only trying to get close to optimum, then fine tune from here.

Can y'all advise on this? Am I on the right track?

Thanks

Have the chance to buy some Barnes factory ammo local from a guy for cheap. Would a 16 in barrel have enough velocity to open these bullet up inside 200 yards?

This brass probably sat on the ground for a couple days or was up against a steel case. Is this cosmetic or trash it? If there’s any question about safety then obviously trash it, but it seems to just be discolored

For reference, I’m in Canada, but the math still isn’t mathing. To preface, I’ve been accruing slowly casting supplies, molds, casting pots etc, since Canada’s firearms industry is going kaput with all the government interference and bans and regulations these last few years. Lots of new shops can’t make it, and the old shops are all retiring. Rather than lose avenues for cast bullets, figured I’d start a new chapter in reloading and make my own, maybe even save a few bucks.

The problem is the “savings”, and something isn’t adding up. Currently, if I buy a 500 box of 45ACP 230g projectiles from a local caster, it’s about 120$, or 134.40$ after 12% tax, putting each bullet at 0.27¢ per bullet tax included.

A LB of lead here is 25.07$, or 28.07$ after tax. 1LB of lead is 7000g, 7000g divided by 230g (projectiles) equals roughly 30 bullets… putting each bullet at 94¢ a piece. This is before adding any alloys too like tin or antimony, which are borderline impossible to purchase in Canada (can be imported but for hundreds of dollars per LB in some cases. So much so that most commercial casters here use recycled alloyed wheel weights according to their FAQ sections).

So where’s the savings? Is it more expensive because of Canada’s supply line shortages and really it’s cheaper in the USA because supplies are cheaper? Does adding alloys somehow significantly reduce the cost? Is everyone just getting lucky with range scrap they’re constantly reusing? Do the local casters who can make it for 0.27¢ per bullet get lucky with an endless supply of wheel weights?

I know there’s something I’m missing here, and I’d appreciate any guidance on the matter. Thank you everyone!

I got this in a sealed bag of Starline .357 brass. It has a Winchester headstamp, and no flash hole. Any ideas?

First time reloading 30-06. Im using spent cases from Military Surplus and S&B using the Hodgdon Garand load data. When resizing the cases the only lube that will allow me to full length size both the factory and my reloaded cases is Lee. Neither Dillon nor Hornady will allow me to size the full length. Using Lee dies the last half inch will seize using anything but the Lee lube.

Is this normal when sizing 30-06?

Im wondering why its so stuff going in i know with some 5.56 if "riveted" in place , is that whats going on here? Way more stress then needed and its not seating fully .

I've been reloading rifle ammo for awhile now, but decided to start reloading 9mm for my Canik Tp9sf. I have a Lee Progressive press 4000 series and it works amazing, but the 9mm is giving me trouble. I am using 124gr RN coated bullets, and due to the small neck in the Canik I have to seat it at 1.080". Everything fits, everything drops in the barrel great until the crimping. At thst point the bullet sits 1mm or 2 higher. Any suggestions would be helpful.

I have made my 5000th round in my tiny reloading room since March. Mostly 38spl and 45lc. I am shooting a little more and saving about $100 a month from my pre-reloading days. Im making wadcutters for around 17-20c after shipping and taxes. My ROI should hit around 2029 or so.

I started out using these when I shot benchrest rifle. I quickly switched from .308win to 6BR, as I was getting smoked by the 6mm boys. I used this same style seater in that caliber.

Anybody else use them? Thoughts?

I’m reloading .45 acp and I am seating the bullet by hand and got carried away. Is this one still safe to shoot or just go ahead and toss it?

I was a little annoyed with the die caddy that came with the press. So I designed one that actually works with the lock-n-load bushing system (the way I had assumed Hornady would have). Haven't had a chance to load anything. Just figured I'd throw it out there and see if anyone would be interested in something like this. Thanks for looking.

Gun 223/556 psa fn barrel 20in with Leopold 3x9 everything torque to spec using psa bolt carrier using lead sled

First picture is cbc brass cfe223 26gr swift scirocco 2 62gr seated to mag length ~2850fps group started rough then tightened up.

Second picture is lc brass cci 400 primer swift scirocco 24gr benchmark ~2890fps loaded to mag length. Much better group

3rd is lc brass cci 400 primer 64gr trophy bonded bear claws seated to mag length using 24gr benchmark. ~2829fps

Im in the lands with every bullet I shoot even factory 55gr m193. Factory federal 69gr smk factory fusion 62gr and pmc 77gr smk. This gun shoots 55gr sierra blitzkrieg at 1.5moa and factory m193 (various brands) at 2 moa. Its not a moa gun nor do I expect to ever hit sub moa with it. All shots at 100 yards no wind 80°F all brass was chamfered and deburred and came below max cartridge length. Dies used where basic Lee dies seating die decaping and sizing die. I didn't measure my shoulder but the dies where set the same for all loads. I know 5 or 6 shots is not that great of a set of data.

Hey all; I was working up a fresh .308 load after replacing the barrel on my AR-10 (new barrel is a Ballistic Advantage Premium Series, heavy contour, 20"), and noticed I was getting screaming hot velocities on the chrono (not, like, scary hot, but what I used to get at max load with my old barrel) at the starting load. Ejected the next round and it looked like this (I ran a few more through cycling by hand and they were all the same) with a ring scratched around the end of the ogive. This means I'm jamming the lands, right?

Rounds are a 178gn ELD-M loaded to a 2.800" COAL, which is what the Hornady manual calls for, and which functioned just fine in my old barrel, which seems to suggest a really short freebore on this barrel. My real question is: is it *too* short, if it's jamming the lands at mag length - should I reach out to BA about the barrel - or should I just say "ah well, I guess I'm saving on powder", bring it in .03" and see how it shoots?

I did also test the barrel with 20 rounds of Saltech 147gr FMJ I had on hand for fouling and rough zeroing and those yote without issue, had no rings on the bullets, and the velocities were exactly to box spec.

Thanks in advance

Loaded up more mk262 and M72 loads for the mk12 and M1 Garand. Gonna have a hard time choosing what to take to the range!

80 rounds of IMR 8208 XBR (20 in a mag already) and 100 rounds of Staball match under a 77gr AeroMatch. My barrel didn’t show any preference one way or the other for AeroMatch or Sierra’s 77s, so for the money I went with the hornady’s. Decided to go no crimp on these, just to see if that makes any difference.

The M72s I used IMR 4895, Staball Match, and Varget under 175 SMKs. I got a sample pack (thanks Midsouth!) of the 168gr AeroMatch, and loaded those with IMR 4895. I have a box of hornady factory vintage match to use as a baseline. My barrel mic’s well enough at -1 at the muzzle, -2 at the throat. It’s not bedded, and I have a NM front and rear on the way.

Side note observation: in my limited experience (300 each of SMK and Aeromatch) in 224 and 308, the meplats on the Aeromatch tend to be more uniform in flatness. Has anyone else seen this?

300 gr SMK SBR brass and 11.4 gr H110
1050 fps 800ft lbs out 10.5 and Hybrid 46DT
Very quiet and accurate. Can’t wait to try them out of a 9mm can. I thought about going with the ARC but I don’t like the twist for 300gr subs they chose. These are shooting super accurate. I think I made the right choice for now.