Any reloaders around?

Does anyone on here reload? Im about to take the jump into metallic reloading. Ive reloaded my fair share of shotshells, but want to move in to metallic stuff. I have some odd cartridges that I want to load for and would like to get some questions answered by someone who has done this a bitmore than I have. Thanks.

Pm me, and ask way. I've been rolling my own since about 1980. Be aware though I only have internet on the weekends so my replies might be a week out.

PM me.....been at it a good many years, would be willing to help you out the best I can!!!

I would like to suggest that you go get Lyman's latest reloading book. It is (IMHO) one of the best books for a reloader to learn from. It is also not bullet or powder specific like many of the others.....

Your in the NW; head up to Kesselring's 8 miles north of Burlington on HWY 9.

I haven't reloaded in years, but when I did that is where I went. I used to go there in the 50s with my dad and his reloading friends.

what "odd" brass do you have and what type of load are you wanting to end up with?

Im looking to reload for 6.5x52 (Carcano), 6.5x50 (6.5 Jap), 270WSM, and 9x18 Makarov (9.2x18 vs 9x19).

As far as the first two go, Im going to go the easy way and just reload factory brass, no big deal. But the thing I think I am finding is that after they are fire formed that they just need to be neck sized, but I cant seem to track down a neck sizing die that doesnt coast an arm and a leg.

With the 9mm Mak, I want to use 9x19 brass and turn them down to 9x18. Ive read a bit on this and looked at a few vids and it does not seem to be to difficult.

Any insight or experience on reloading any of the above rounds?

Sounds like you are a history buff:
I owned a Carcano in the '60s and wouldn't own another. finding a set of dies will be difficult; you might be best served to use brass that has been fired once in your rifle, the brass will form to that chamber without problem. You need to check neck and shoulder for stretch and cracks. Also trim to min. length before adding bullet. The neck die can be used from a similar 6.5 so it's no big deal. Can you even find load information on the Carcano?
The .270 and Makarov will be easier since it is a popular CCW in the US. The problem is two fold: first it is a blowback design which limits loading for power...too much powder and it will blow the slide off. Second, the actual bullet was 9.22mm in diameter, unlike the 9mm para. which is the common available in the US.

you have some real challenges ahead so use a pencil and paper (or computer) first to identify the issues, costs and goals.

you can do it but I would not.

There is actually quite a bit of carcano load data and dies around amazingly enough. Im with you on the neck cracks, I was looking at some "new" ammo at a GS a few months ago and half of the necks were cracked.

I dont want to load the Mak too hot, because its such a soft recoiling shooter that I dont want to ruin that. I know the bullets are a touch larger than traditional 9mm, but the components are widely available.

Again, I am with you on the costs. It really is not a cost issue. I have wanted to reload for a while and I happen to have a couple weapons that shoot either expensive ammo (read: costs more than the gun) or is either kind or hard to purchase (if I dont want to constantly order it). Plus, reloading is one of those skills that I think everyone should have at least a working knowledge of. I hate using things without understanding how they work. Thanks for the input.

I wouldn't worry about tracking down a set of neck-sizing only dies, just back off the regular sizing die so it doesn't contact the shoulder of the brass and you'll be good to go.

Only hitch I can think of with reloading 6.5 Carcano is that it is an odd 6.5. It isn't .264 like most, but instead .268 so most bullets you find will be undersized for the bore. Hornady did at one time and may still make these in the correct diameter.

Also, your dies may also be set up to size the neck to hold a .264 bullet and if you actually do end up using .268 bullets you'll be over-working your brass and shortening the life of it. Other than that, it is no different than reloading any of a host of similar sized, old military rounds. Annealing the brass may also help in this regard.

With the carcano, I'd slug the bore, and confirm the bore diameter.

In most, if not all of the old military calibers I've gotten best accuracy from IMR-4064 powder. It's cylindrical and a crunchy pain to meter so instead I dipper to near a full charge and let my RCBS auto powder dispenser, scale combo top it off.

You'll have no problems at all loading the 6.5 Jap.

Since many of these older military guns shoot to a surprising high point of aim at 100yds, it's generally not been my goal to duplicate original ballistics, but instead to create a load that more or less shoots to point of aim at 100yds for plinking purposes. Coupling that with making an accurate load as well is usually enough of a challenge.

Loading the other rounds you list should be no problem, but I would make the suggestion when starting to load for metallic cartridges you start with a rimmed revolver round, like the 38 special, 357 Mag, whatever. Get your feet under you and work from there. Buy multiple reloading manuals and cross-reference the data, there are occasionally mistakes.

Loading for rimless, semi-auto rounds the critical issue is the length of the case as it headspaces on the mouth of the brass so a good taper, not a roll crimp is used and you want good tension on the bullet from the brass so the bullet is not set back into the case upon making the transition from the magazine to the chamber. Bullet setback will DRAMATICALLY increase pressures.

Have fun.

It will be mind-numbingly boring. It's boring enough trimming brass as it is.

It will be mind-numbing boring. It's boring enough trimming brass as it is.

Trimming Brass boring? isn't reloading in general boring? Could be fun if you are using power tools.


Crackhead You Have a P.M.

That sounds about as much fun as reloading while petting a cat. Electricity, static or otherwise, doesn't go we'll with gunpowder.

You should be able to find a case trimmer from midwayusa, cabela's, or natches.

I too like the reloading manuals made by the same company as the reloading press to cross check other sources.

I hate petting cats. Well, kinda......

I have the power trimmer and even with that it is tedious. I usually buy handgun brass in lots of 500 and I'll set up the trimmer in front of the tv. Rifle brass gets purchased in lots of 100.

The reloading itself is done on a progressive press so taking my time I can crank out 500 rds in a little over a couple of hours on my Hornady Projector press.

Odd-ball stuff is done on a single stage press. You aren't going to find a shell plate for say 11mm Mauser or 577/450 Martini-Henry for a progressive press, so those are crafted one at a time. In general, I'll resize all my brass for rifles in one setting and have the brass ready to go to load at a later date. Priming the cases is another "sit in front of tv" process to help alleviate the tedium that reloading as a hobby can be sometimes. Loading the powder and bullet seating get my full attention.

I'm actually less of a volume shooter, than an odd-ball cartridge reloader. I collect WWII and prior military rifles as well as pre-WWI continental sporter rifles so I have a lot of really odd stuff to reload for. Cranking out volumes of 9mm is boring as snot. Cobbling together ammo for an old 11mm JP Sauer and Sons, blackpowder drilling was an interesting exercise. It would have been trivial if it was 11mm Mauser, but no, it was a real odd-ball I made from cutting down 400 Nitro-Express brass to 65mm and loading with a 320gr soft cast 44 bullet. Current project is getting a Swiss Vetterli to shoot.

Biggest challenge right now is figuring out how to cast a decent bullet!

So, to the OP, if you have any questions feel free to ping me. Been reloading weird calibers for 30 years now.

Thanks man. I think I am going to be in your camp. The challenge (or percieved challenge) of making a useable, working load for a next to obselete (due to ammo availability) but fully functional weapon seems to have an appeal to me.

I did the high volume thing for a while with shotshells. The cost was a touch cheaper than I could have bought generic shells for (I was using quality components), but the performance was outstanding and spot on everytime. I realized i was "into" the sport when I unknowingly stacked a row of factory loads in my reload box and dropped it in my shooting vest. I could tell that there was a 200-250fps difference in the shot speed and could mentally correct for it. I kind of scared myself, but it was cool at the same time.

Thanks for the offer, Im sure Ill be hitting you up.

I have a little experience in this area.

Re neck-resizing to save your cases from premature death, you can use standard dies. Just unscrew the resizing die and screw it back in only enough to touch the upper half of the case neck. You may want to use a candle to put some soot on a test cartridge case or two to ensure you are not touching the shoulder or the base of the cartridge case itself when the press ram is as far up as it can travel. Another hint: take out the expander button. This will often stretch case necks, and cases, when the ram is withdrawn. Use a few empty cases with just a bullet to make up some test rounds... you can use a bullet puller to try again, and you'll know you have it right when the test cartridge will chamber and eject. BTW you can use the soot trick to ensure the bullet is seated as far out as it can without touching the lands... you want a little bit of a gap, at least 0.010"... and you also want it to feed through the magazine.

Of course, you might want to use a runout gauge on a fired case to see if your Carcano's chamber is concentric. Some of the Axis WWII rifles, especially those made later in the conflict, or rebarrelled later on, have quality control issues... and as long as the gun went BANG and could hit a dinner plate at 100 yards, it was good enough.

Be mindful about case stretching and resultant high pressures... you should check for max case length and trim cases accordingly. Military chambers are notorious for sloppiness because absolute reliability was more important than absolute accuracy and cartridge case life. Also, if you get three or four firings out of a cartridge case in a military surplus rifle, that's enough to have reduced the cost of the case to way less than the bullet on a per-shot basis. There's a lot of pressure in a centerfire rifle cartridge once that trigger has been pulled, and that case is the only thing it and your face.

I have a bastard rifle that's big fun to shoot. Can't get ammo. I need .375 winchester for a tube feed magazine.
please pm me if you can help.

http://www.cabelas.com/rifle-ammunition-winchester-super-x-power-point-1.shtml

Cabela's has it in stock. Barnes makes bullets, I'll bet other manufacturers do too. I'd look for a set of dies, and keep an eye on the Old Western Scrounger website. Loading your own is the best bet. PM me if you need more reloading help, I've been doing it since the mid 70s.


1911fan

There's a good size reloading thread in Shiney Things. Not very busy, but reloaders keep an eye out for it.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=443379&highlight=reloading