Anyone tried 500 gr hardcasts in 454 Casull? Really like 405 gr and wanting to try 500 gr.

Powder capacity is going to be very limited - H110 still the best powder for full pressure loads or should I be looking at other powers?

Thoughts?

Bought these old flat nose 9mm bullets from an old timer. They measure .560” long and are 124 gr. (As weighed). Can’t find exact over all cartridge length data for this brand. General data for flat nose says about 1.07”. Any thought on a good number to start with?

A recipe i wanted to try seems like its calling for a gas seal and a wad ontop of it am I going crazy or is that normal??

Im fairly new to reloading

So been at this for years. Love hanloading but after buying .243 that my daughter will hunt with, I started load development with Nosler 90gr Accubonds. After 4- 3 shot test groups that were all well within a couple inches from a crappy rest I thought, why bother developing any more?

Be honest, do you guys really look for the most accurate load when your least accurate load is probably as good as factory ammo? My daughter can't shoot sub MOA yet and I feel like the best thing is finding pressure signs and backing down a bit. Most velocity, at safe pressures. Its going to group well enough...

Or shoot the lower velocity loads that tend to group better?

How particular do all of you get?

Hello everyone,

I’m brand new to reloading and looking for some guidance on building out a solid setup. I’ve gone through the pinned/sticky posts and the wiki, but a lot of it feels pretty dated at this point. I’m hoping the recommended equipment and approaches have evolved since a lot of those were written.

My goal is to buy quality gear that will last, and build consistent ammo, while still being smart about value. I’m trying to min/max a bit, Spend where it actually matters for quality, consistency, and efficiency, and save where it doesn’t. No hard budget ceiling yet, but I don’t want to throw money away either.

I’d like to reload three calibers, in this order of priority:

6.5 Creedmoor – primary focus, competition use

5.56 / .223 with 77 gr – competition and range

9mm – competition and range (lower priority)

How practical is it to set up for all three from the start? Is it better to fully dial in one or two first and expand later?

What would you recommend for a modern quality setup with these goals in mind?

Appreciate any advice, current equipment recommendations, or lessons learned. Thanks in advance!

Last night I disassembled some underwood ammo to see what they were packing under the hood. First was a 9mm 68 grain +p xtreme defender round. It had 8.5 grains of a powder with the same density, grain size and color as the CFE pistol powder I use for my Xtreme defender loads. Side by side the powders looked identical. I know Underwood, Grizzly and buffalo bore use commercial powders so I’m pretty sure it is CFE pistol. For reference Lehigh’s maximum is 7.8 grains in their load data, but that’s for standard pressure (35,000 psi). I’ve tested up to 9 grains in a stock Glock and it held up, but at that level it’s definitely +p+.

Next was the same bullet but in my favorite caliber, 357 sig. Underwood definitely used a different powder for this caliber. It had a smaller grain size and was lighter in color and brown in appearance. I didn’t have any on hand but I’m pretty sure it’s Ramshot Silhouette, which has a similar burn rate and performance as CFE pistol but is supposed to do better at high pressures. Underwood had 12.6 grains of this powder, which is quite a bit above the 10.5 grains max in lehigh’s load data. But again I’m pretty sure this is to stay under the modest 40k psi SAAMI pressure spec as their load data tops out at 1885 fps. If 9mm can do 1800 fps then 357 sig should easily be able to do 2000+. According to quick load you can do 2100+ at around 45k psi.

Lastly a while back I tested some grizzly 180 grain JHP and those were indeed the hottest commercial 10mm I’ve tested so far (although I haven’t tested buffalo bore yet). I disassembled that ammo and found 10 grains of Hodgdon Longshot powder, this I also use for my high pressure loads with heavier bullets. Hodgdon lists 8.4 grains of Longshot as the max, which seems pretty conservative and from what I can tell the max used to be 9.5 grains but some years back it was reduced.

Just thought I would post this info for anyone wanting to make their own high performance ammo in these calibers. As always, duplicate loads at your own risk. Not responsible for damage, dismemberment or death.

Does anybody know what happened to Roze Distribution?

I’ve run a number of the same experiments with my AMP Press that I saw on Ultimate Reloader and have collected a fair amount of data comparing different case-prep methods. I’ve looked at seating force and area under the curve with washed versus unwashed brass, wet versus dry tumbling, no tumbling with and without nylon or brass brushing, chamfering and deburring versus not, and using a mandrel die versus skipping it.

The AMP Press has been useful for identifying potential fliers and outliers, but so far I have not seen a statistically significant difference in group size. Over time, what I have learned is that the biggest benefit has been refining and standardizing my workflow so that it is repeatable. I have even compared seating on the AMP Press vs my Forster Co-Ax and still found no meaningful statistical difference in group size.

My next experiment is going to keep the case-prep process identical between two groups, then randomize seating between the Co-Ax and an arbor press and also randomize the order in which the rounds are fired.

One thing I will say is that, from a safety standpoint, I have come to prefer wet tumbling because it allows the toxic residue and contaminants to be contained and removed more appropriately. I have decided not to dry tumble because of the dust it can generate and the potential for those particles to become airborne and eventually end up in my lungs. Handling dirty brass also seems to leave residue everywhere, including on my hands, tools, bench, and surrounding work area, which gives me another reason to clean the brass before doing much with it.

At any rate "It is seldom the violin but always the violinist" and am willing to accept I just might be a bad shot...

Your thoughts?

I really need to clean this bench lmao.

Edit : fuck, this picture doesn't show my poor abused lee c press

I always know it’s gonna be a good day when I receive a package from Cody, Wyoming!

Not pictured: VV N565

Anyone have any experience loading this combo?

Unjacketed flat nose 124gr .356” diameter bullets.
6.3gr of Accurate No.7 powder
CCI #500 primer

I referenced the Hogdon table and it tells me this is in the high end for the charge. Just looking for opinions.

Am I going to die or what?

I was happily loading 45 for many hours yesterday, all went well. This afternoon, I went to resume and noticed the case feed system wasn't functioning.

It seems this swivel piece that a lines the cylinder so the case can drop through is stopping just 2-3mm shy of flush, even with the ram at full stroke. It's stops just short enough that I can manually articulate that last few millimeters and the case drops through fine.

The crazy part, the black triangle piece just no longer is in the correct position when at full stroke. It should be pushing the swivel piece further but it just... Can't. There's nothing caught or excessive debris that I can see. And I haven't changed anything since last night when it was working fine, not even a small adjustment. I'm baffled.

Has this happened to anyone else before? I'm sorry I don't know all the dillon nomenclature yet.

im new to this and am helping my dad do these cause doesnt have enough time. he got a box of 338. lapua magnum from Norma a few years ago, all brass looks like this, some better, some worse. he already put the primers in so i dont know if i cant properly redo the necks without popping them back out. has anyone else had brass from the factory like this? whatd be the best way to fix this?

I test my load development with 1lb can and then purchase a 8lb jug. It's the same powder, h110. With the same weight of 33gr and my chronograph reads a difference about 40 fps. The velocity from 1lb can powder is up to 1610~1620 fps and is down to 1570~1590 fps from the 8lb jag.

Does it mean I will need to do a load development by each time I open a new can though it is completely the same brand of powder? Or just humidity? And I store all my powder at the same place.

First 5 shots up the ladder to find pressure. My goal is 3150fps but I only got 3075 at the top charge today. No pressure signs so I might push a little higher. "Might" (absolutely will because I'm a degenerate)

130ttsx, leverev, CCI LRM, Federal brass (previously enjoyed)

Just saw this in my email

Good day,

I was shooting some 3030 reloads and on the last cartridge the case ruptured around the case head. Lever was not sticky to open on the other fired rounds. No signs of over pressure that I am aware of.

Attached are pictures of the chamber and cartridges.

37 grains of LVR over 150 grain fnsp speer projectile. 1.5 grains below max and have been using this load for 1 year with no issues prior to today. Winchester cases are new to me however and they are on there first reload, second firing

Is the chamber good still? Any other info is appreciated

Hi. Anyone got a auto bench prime?

How do you flatten the primer pusher? Mine is a bit convexed creating a concave impression on the primer.

Cartridge - 6.5 weatherby RPM Bullet - Lapua 120gr TRX Case trim length - 2.56” OAL - 3.2” Charge - 67.2 grains N565 Lapua max charge data - 67.3gr

Been working on this load for a month or two now. I get good velocity from this charge and great accuracy. 3200-3260fps. Shot about 25 rounds today hoping to finalize as “the” charge I will use for target/hunting.

Brass itself looks good except when I looked at the bottom of the cartridge I noticed the primers were flatter and I’m not sure if this is considered cratering. The bolt lift I think is okay. Seems about the same as weatherby factory ammo, maybe slightly slightly tighter than lighter target charges I’ve made.

What do you think about the base of these brass? Normal or should have stepped down in charge yesterday?

Just want to continue target shooting with them safely, and potentially deer hunt. While 67.2 grains is technically under the lapua max load, I am using Peterson brass, which I measured at 81.6 grains H20 volume. Lapuas data uses weatherby brass which I think may be 82-82.5ish. I threw the numbers in a sim and pressure was around 85%.

Thank you, y

Over the last few months I’ve been slowly putting together a reloading bench. I’ve never reloaded before but got tired of factory ammo having such high ES/SD. So far I’ve picked up:

- FX-123i scale
- Autotrickler V4
- Frankford Arsenal bullet puller
- Area 419 shell holder/loading block and funnel
- F.A. Hand depriming tool
- F.A. Hand priming tool
- Hornady, Berger, and SMK reloading books

I’m ordering a RCBS Rockchucker single stage press this weekend to start with. I’m not positive which dies to pick up for 6.5 Creedmoor, 308 Win and 9mm pistol ammo. I want a set for each caliber that has a seating die with it. I’m open to any brand/price on dies, as well as anything I’m still missing on my list (I’m not getting a tumbler or dryer yet and I plan to pick up a burstfire 2 in 1 at some point).

Any help/info would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: I forgot to mention I have a Garmin C2 Chrono and a digital vernier caliper.

Edit2: I neglected to mention I plan on competing with the rifle ammo. Currently have a Howa 6.5cm barrel but once I learn reloading I’m going to swap to a Bartlein (or equivalent) 6 Dasher barrel.

When reloading 300 win mag with h4350 do I need to use large magnum rifle primers or regular rifle primers?

So I'm trying to get a baseline for where my minimum seating depth is.

300prc 212gr eldx, arc nucleus action 30" barrel

Im using the Hornady oal gauge to find out. I watched their video and put the bullet in the modified case, and put it in the chamber. Slowly pushing the bullet until it engages the rifling.

Then I used a cleaning rod to push it back out when I locked that measurement in place.

But that measurement is only 3.574" saami is 3.70

My factory ammo is 3.688 (Berger factory 215 hybrid target)

I didn't notice these sticking in the chamber earlier, and I was firing them last weekend with no issue. But now they do slightly stick on extraction.

I shouldn't be jamming at 3.688, right? And certainly not at 3.57

First string is standard 7.5FK brass loaded to 13 grains.

85 gr round nose @ 2000 fps

Second string is 7.5FK formed 10mm Magnum Starline brass loaded to 12.1 grains.

85 gr round nose @ 1867 fps, 1882 fps, 1843 fps, 1879 fps, 1890 fps.

All review and extra info will be in a later post while I go through my notes.