[Buckrun]

I thought I would post this to get something going in this room. While siting around watching TV, I have been belling the flash hole and truing the primer pockets on my 74 pieces of .17 Remington brass I have shot in my Rem. I will be handloading them soon. I have ordered my pilots for trimming to length and turning the necks for my Forester case trimmer. They should be here on Monday. I wanted to let you know that the tools I used to bell the flash hole and true the primer pockets were made by Sinclair International. I have used other makers tools to true the primer pockets on my .270 and other cartridges. After using the Sinclair tools tonight for the first time I feel they were superior and first class tools. I am very happy with their performance.

I was wondering how many of you go to the trouble of these steps for reloading your hunting rifle cases? I enjoy doing all the little things that might add to accuracy. Not that you need to shoot 1/4” groups to kill a coyote but I believe there is no such thing as a rifle that is too accurate. Besides if I am just sitting around why not?
Buckrun

 

[Ðe§perado™]

I'm looking into starting reloading this year. Is there a good start up kit or package to help me get started. I want to reload 30-06 and 12 ga..

 

[Buckrun]

Well you would need two different reloading outfits. One would be for the 12 ga. shotgun. The other would be for all of the rifle and pistol cartridges. I would suggest that you start with a press for your 30-06. I have seen some good reloading kits sell on Ebay that I thought would be a very good deal. There are a few ways to go here. The way I would advise a beginner is with a single stage press. Like a RCBS Rock Chucker.

Here is one on Ebay right now.
RCBS ROCK CHUCKER MASTER RELOADING KIT NEW Item #
1980677652

The reason I would go with the this first is because you can fine tune your loads to your rifle. Also you can load these a lot cheaper than you can buy factory loads. You will notice that a Speer loading manual comes with the above kit. I am a firm believer that you can’t have enough good loading information. You have to remember that you are dealing with something here that can potentially blow up in your face so you want to take every precaution while loading. Starting with good current manuals and a good set of scales. As far as a shotshell loader you can buy factory loads fairly cheap and reloading wont save you as much money in the long run as loading for your 30-06. I do load my own 12ga shells. I use a Mec 9000 G it is a progressive loader and is a big headache some times but when things are going right I can really crank out the shells.
Buckrun

 

[Catfish]

For first time reloaders I always recomand that if posible you get someone that been reloading for a while to help you get started. The RCBS Rockchucker starter kits are a good way to start, especially if you can`t find someone with experance to help you. If you know a reloader that is willing to help you out you can save afew bucks picking up used stuff at gun shows, but I recomand this only if you have someone that`s been reloading for sometime.
Buckrun
I`ve got 50 rounds through the new .17 cal. barrel and am ready to start working up a hunting load for it. If it get`s in the 40`s this week I should get that done.

 

[MadCatter]

You can't go wrong with the rock chucker kit, it has most of the things you need. One thing it don't have that you will need is the experience to make handloading safe. You really need to post and ask a lot of questions if you don't personally know anyone that handloads. Always read everything you can and take NO short cuts. I personally weigh each charge before putting it into a rifle case, I don't trust the powder measures enough ... they do vary from time to time or come out of adjustment. They are a great tool, but beginner shouldn't rush into making rounds too quick. I used the Powder measure mostly on handgun ammo, and always check the weight of the charge every 10 rds or so. I would recommed that you load up a few rounds of dummy ammo to get the feel of handloading. You will see this alot also ..Aways work up a load starting at the low velocity loads. When loading a new load with a new bullet, case ect. I start very low, load 1 or 2 rounds, then examine the case with a magnifying glass for signs of high pressure. Always load alone without any distractions. I read your post about varmits with a 30/06, so I know you are wanting to load down, that is a good way to start out, most people that start handloading want to load rounds that are too hot. I would say that the 30 cal. 110 grain soft points are very a very good bullet to start out with, they are very accurate, I shoot them in my 308 and can get 3 shots touching at 150 yards. Just remember, be safe and ask questions. Loading a great round that you can be proud of is as much work, and as much enjoyment as taking the game its self ... Since I started handloading I rarely even hunt, I love to shoot targets and long range.

Shotshell loading ... my opinion .. unless you shoot trap or just enjoy loading shotshell .. its a waste of time, it is very difficult to duplicate the ammo from the factory, there is not much to improve on, target loads are available everywhere so there is no advantage in loading down. It is a pain even with the best loaders. Not trying to scare you off, but you can buy a ton of great factory ammo for what it would cost you to set up a good shotshell press. Hope I could help

MadCatter

 

[Buckrun]

Reloading

Catfish
Glad to see you here. I haven't been able to get into the Hunt Chat room the last couple days. Do you know if they have a problem?

You will have to let me know your best load for that .17 Rem. I am just gearing up to load for mine. I have now trimmed to length and turned the necks of all my brass. I am still waiting on my Elk Ridge stock. I ordered it 10-23-02.

Do you think if I email Remington the serial # of my 700 would they tell me if it has a stainless barrel. I think it is but not sure. The "blueing" on the barrel looks different than the blueing on the action.

Ðe§perado™
There is a lot of good information available on a lot of these bulletin boards. Madcatter is right about loading for your 12 ga. I try to shoot a lot of sporting clays. Notice I said try! I also shoot almost every Wednesday night at a friends lighted range. So I go through a lot of 12 ga. shells.
Buckrun

 

[Catfish]

Shotgun reloads

I forgot to mention reloading shotgun ammo in my last post. I load alot of shot gun ammo because I shoot alot of trap or at least I was. I shot 7/8 oz. loads form the 16 yrd. line and can load them for. $2.05 a box, that is if I load them into hulls that I pick-up at the range. From long yardage I use 1 1/8 oz. loads and can load them for $2.55 a box, again with no cost for hulls. If you have to buy hulls you can add $.25 a box to your cost. I buy my shot 500 lbs. at a time, when the market is down and don`t wait untill I`m low on shot to buy. I buy primers and wads buy the 5,000 and the last can of powder I got weighted 26 lbs. If you don`t buy in this was, but buy 1 bag of shot and 100 primers at a time your cost will be 25% to 50% higher per box.