What Have You Reloaded Recently

[NHForester]

Lets get a running thread going to talk about what we are working on in our loading rooms.

I spent a very productive winter stocking up on many calibers and have only just now started to whittle away at the piles. Right now I need to get back in to prep work. I have some 41 mag and 6.5 Swede cartridges to get cleaned up.

So what are people loading these days?

[DM]

My reloading room is a HUGE mess, but i'm "slowly" building another, and plan to get everything into the new one, "organized" as it goes in.

http://fototime.com/45AFC9241376516/orig.jpg

Dang! from the looks of the brass in the pict., i need to "tumble" that brass! lol

DM

[docsoos]

I reloaded a LOT this winter, so stocks are up to snuff right now.

Most recent loading was about 400 .44 Magnums (240 grain Hornady XTP's and Remington 240-grain SJHP's) back in February, but haven't touched off the first one yet, due to overtime on a new job! Hope to change that this weekend.....Bought a used 2" blued Model 10 S&W two weeks ago, gotta grab a few hundred .38 Specials (148-grain HBWC's and some 125-grain +P's) outta stock and give her a try, then if she shoots good, off to Ford's for a new Satin Blue finish.....

DocSoos

[gunsmoke]

Of late I've been loading lots of .38 Special. Afew years ago I got a great deal on 25k NORMA brass .38 SPL +P. Its just been laying about so I bought 10k of hard cast 200 gr, KEITHs and I've loaded about 2K so far and I'm getting bored.

I just got a terrific deal on 1k Hornady LEVEREVOLUTION 200 gr. .358s so I've got to get some .35 REM brass and load 'em up.

I wish had been able to get another 2k I'd like to load some for my .358 WINs 1 Ruger 77 1 Browning FN Medallion and a custom FN FAL IZZY Carbine. It should make for some really good Medium game getters in .358 WIN.

[NHForester]

Gunsmoke, 200 grainers in 38 special are some real thumpers. What powder are you using for those? Do you know what velocity you are getting with those?

[kawalekm]

I just picked up a new RCBS 9mm 125 grain TC mold that I put through it's very first casting session. Made about 1000 of them in Lyman #2 alloy and just finished lube/sizing them over the weekend.

I got it to replace the 120 grain TC Lee mold that I've been using for a while. Found the after-lubing weight is a just a few grains (about 127 grains) higher than the Lee bullets; just enough to warrant developing new load data for it.

I also have a new to me 9mm Walther P1 (German police surplus) which I discovered has a .357" bore. OK, maybe I can develop a load for that with the bunch of .357 hollowpoints I have on my shelf.

Uhh, so many cartridges, so little time!

[kawalekm]

I just got a terrific deal on 1k Hornady LEVEREVOLUTION 200 gr. .358s so I've got to get some .35 REM brass and load 'em up.

I wish had been able to get another 2k I'd like to load some for my .358 WINs 1 Ruger 77 1 Browning FN Medallion and a custom FN FAL IZZY Carbine. It should make for some really good Medium game getters in .358 WIN.
Hi Gunsmoke
Since you have two .35 caliber guns I thought I'd show you this pic of .35 caliber bullets I made from spent .223 cases I picked up off the ground. Basicly, I cut a .223 case in half, annealed the brass before sizing it to .356", then ran them up into a CH bullet swaging die (www.ch4d.com (http://www.ch4d.com)). I used the head of the case to make a 210 grain rifle bullet, and the shoulder of the case to make a 155 grain revolver bullet. By the way, I used the same technique to make jacketed bullets out of spent .380 auto brass.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/kawalekm/223caseto357jackets.jpg

[NHForester]

Wow, your serious about handloading!

I love it.

[BAM]

actively, I am loading mostly 10mm...on an RCBS RC with a piggy back II....

I won a lee pro 1000 in a contest on another forum that I am setting up for 40. I didn't really want a 40, but a 40 slide and barrel came with the last 10mm that I bought.

I also load for 454 in pistol.

I load for 410, 20 gauge and 12 gauge in shotgun.

for rifle I load for 30-06, .243, and .222

I am about to start loading for .223. I don't have a .223 riffle yet, but I am in the market for an AR just to have one while I still can. And I have quite a stock pile of .223 brass.

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BTW, speaking of brass, we should set up some sort of brass exchange. I have LOTS of range pickup brass that I won't use. I usually sell it (I think that is against the rules here) but I would be willing to trade for 10mm brass...

[NotSoFast]

Nothing. I'm waiting on brass. :mad:

That and my reloading room in in the midst of rearranging to fit more supplies into it. My bench is a mess. Guess I need to get on it and get busy. I haven't reached the recommended levels for any of my guns.

[NHForester]

BTW, speaking of brass, we should set up some sort of brass exchange. I have LOTS of range pickup brass that I won't use. I usually sell it (I think that is against the rules here) but I would be willing to trade for 10mm brass...
Good idea! You should start a thread. :)

[NHForester]

Calibers I load:

38 Special
357 Magnum
41 Magnum
Used to load for 40 S&W

6.5X55 - Swedish Mauser
8X57 - 8mm Mauser
303 British
7.62X54R

[gunsmoke]

Gunsmoke, 200 grainers in 38 special are some real thumpers. What powder are you using for those? Do you know what velocity you are getting with those?

Iuse IMR PB with CCI Magnum Primer. Very very clean burning chrony gives an avg of 817 fps instrumental 15 ft from muzzle from a 6" K38

[docsoos]

Iuse IMR PB with CCI Magnum Primer. Very very clean burning chrony gives an avg of 817 fps instrumental 15 ft from muzzle from a 6" K38

Now, There's a man that knows his weapons. :D

DocZeus

[NHForester]

Thanks, Gunsmoke.

[Fortyfour]

I reload for about 50 different calibers. But right now I'm working on building the most accurate load I can for my 4 3/4" Ruger FT 44 special. As of right now, an old standby, a plainbase 255gr SWC and 7 1/2 grs Unique seems to be getting the nod as groups are down around 1 1/4" for 10 shots at 25 yards. This is the same load I use in a 20" Marlin Cowboy in .44 spec/mag. Velocity from the pistol is about 950fps and around 1300fps in the rifle.

I'm also working on turning about 200 rounds of 30-06 brass into 35 Whelen. I'm just running them over a .338 and then .358 expander ball and then shooting a medium heavy cast load to make sure they are blown out all the way. That also gives me a chance to check and trim them for length.

44

[rice paddy daddy]

About a year ago I bought a Lee Aniversary set, along with dies for 45 Colt, 38 Special, and 30-06. also pistol primers, and Hornady LSWC for the 38 & 45. Bought some Universal Clays and was given a pound of IMR suitable for some of my rifles (but not the Garand). And that's as far as I got. I need to make room in my good barn to set everything up, and that requires moving stuff to the other shed, and well.................
(Did I mention I'm a procrastinator?)
But I'm gonna start soon.:D
I want to get some more trigger time with my 45-70, and at $2 a round commercial, I just gotta get my sorry behind in gear.

[kawalekm]

(Did I mention I'm a procrastinator?)

I want to get some more trigger time with my 45-70, and at $2 a round commercial, I just gotta get my sorry behind in gear.

Hi RPD
Well, I gotta promote bullet casting if you have a .45-70 too expensive to shoot. Your .45 is THE cast bullet cartridge for big game, and I just sat down and calculated you can reload your fired brass for about 25cents per cartridge if you are scrounging your own lead! Would you shoot it more if a box of .45-70's only cost 5 dollars?

[Pitdog]

8x57 (For my new Remington!)
6.5 Swede
6.5 Grendel
.257 Roberts
.30-06
.223
.222
.308
7-08
.50Beo
.500 Jeff (Lathe turning brass solids to make 3 dummy rounds for action proving as barrel goes on-then stuffing Woodleigh bullets into Bertram brass)

.45 acp
.38 Super
.38 spec

[Mikee Loxxer]

Right now I am loading 7.5 Swiss for my K31 that I have been shooting in matches.

[recoilless_57mm]

Really didn't load any ammo today. I and another fellow did make our first rifle barrel. It turned out great. We have been working on making a high grade barrel for over 3 years now. It is not as simple as it looks. The rewards are great though. OT:)

[Pitdog]

57 -What bore/twist? Chamber? You build the machine and grind the button?

[recoilless_57mm]

We made a 30cal barrel. The twist was 1-11. The barrel was chambered for .308. The barrel was single point cut. We made the cutter box and hook from scratch. That is the easy part. The hard part is winding up with the correct profile in the grooves. The machine belongs to the other fellow. He had it sitting around for about 6 years when I saw it. It needed a complete tear down and rebuild. That took about a year in our spare time. The last two years has been spent scratching our heads over the cutting operation. It is amazing the profiles a person can generate when you don't completely grasp the fine points.:D The machine is a pratt & whitney sine-bar machine. It was not in real bad shape it was neglected more than anything else. I will say one thing about the men that made it back around the turn of the last century. They were true craftsman! It is a real joy to watch operate. It is nearly all automatic. It indexes, a set number of times & advances the hook every revolution of the indexer. The only manual operation you need to preform is turn it on and off. Not bad for 1895 technology.

I was always interested in how hard it might be to cut rifle a barrel. The machine is not particularly complicated. A person could easly build one. The design of the hook is completely another issue. The cutter box and hook make or break the operation. The cutter box being the easier of the two to make.

Charlie

[NotSoFast]

I found some brass, shot some more empty. So I'm starting to build a load for a 158 gr RNDS .357 Magnum round for a SP101. I have the first test run ready to take to the range next Saturday.

Then comes the second test run based on the first, with the loads surroudning the sweet spot 0.1 gr apart rather than the 0.3 gr apart I ran for my first batch.

My concern is getting the pressure and velocity high enough that it flips the barrel enough to hit what I aim at. With a 125 gr factory load my POI is 3" below my POA. I understand the SP101 was designed around a 158 bullet though so I'm loading with that in mind.

[Shortstack]

Neat thread,
I currently load for about a dozen calibers. Most recently reloaded was a batch of .223 Rem. I had some odds and ends brass laying about and decided to load it up one last time, shoot it at the local range and leave it in the range scrap bucket. They sell the scrap brass to help support the range. A fun way to recycle.

[MEBrian]

This past year I've loaded :

.50 Beowulf
.375/06 JDJ fireforming loads
subsonic .223 Rem
.223 Rem deer loads
many many thousands of .45 ACP for Action Pistol

Soon I need to load some more .17 Rem, I'm getting low, and some more .45 ACP when my bullet caster gets the bullets cast for me. Lots of other loads to work up and load when I get to it, all in time.

[Pitdog]

Let me know if you need some 1x fired Beo Brass.

[MEBrian]

Pitdog, I'd love to have more brass to load some more ammo, but $ is in short supply today. I'm open to suggestions (PM me).

You can turn it into cash if you have enough to sell. If so, I'd put it on the http://www.50beowulf.com/bboard/ forum. It's pretty much always in very short supply. I can't remember, it might require registration to post. That's only to keep spammers away though.