Good news folks! I'm about to get a Ruger Blackhawk convertible (.357 mag/9mm swap cylinder). That being said, I've never loaded pistol cartridges. Any recommendations on manuals? I'm excited to add 3 new cartridges to my loading bench.

Hello. I am new to reloading and am looking to get decent equipment to get me started in the right direction. I plan on only doing 9, .38 special, and .223. Almost exclusively target/plinking ammo. I have a Nagant rifle and revolver so if these can also do 7.62x54r and 7.62 Nagant rounds then, great but not a deal breaker and something I'd worry about further down as I do not shoot those as often. After watching countless videos it seems like the four that I think would be good to get would be the RCBS Summit, Rock Chucker, Lock N Load, or Co-Ax. It seems that each one has sort of a feature or aspect that could make it better than the other options and being new, I am not sure how much things are make or break. I noticed some have priming built in but I do not know if the general consensus is to use hand primers and not have it be a part of the press or would something like the Lock N Load be substantially better on that front?

Lastly, is it best to piece out all other components for reloading or look for which one has the everything you need kit? Since I am just starting out, I probably do not want to break the bank, but at the same time, do not want to end up with things that I will probably need to replace very quickly after figuring all of this out. I have been shooting since I was 14, now 37, but never had gotten to reloading and with ammo prices the way they are, thinking it is time to get more involved with it.

Thank you for any suggestions.

I have not been able to get H4198 and loaded 40 rounds with N130 up to 1750 fps.

Finally found H335 and Hodgdon site has load data of 61 grain starting.

I was advised in earlier posts to not go below the minimum load data for this rifle, case capacity and powder combination. Manual says 2073 fps

I have loaded 40 rounds. What’s the chance I will have retina ejecting experience and will have to disassemble the bullets ?

Tomorrow afternoon is the test at an indoor range. Everyone will have fun 🤩

189.2 grains up to 196.4. It was enough I went to lapua 284 which unfortunately is now discontinued. I plan on trying Peterson next

OK. So I've been out of the scene for awhile. When I necked sized I used the bushing dies from Redding. Now I see people saying they use a mandrel. Is one better than the other? I use Lapua brass if that makes a difference. TIA

Looking at stepping up from my Lee Breechlock Challenger into an XL750. I have a process in mind but just want to make sure I’m not missing anything. I’m still newer to this so any help is appreciated. This will be only 223 (for now)

1. Dry tumble and polish brass
2. Lube cases
3. On Dillon, deprime, resize, trim with RT1500 tool head
4. Swage if needed with Lee APP
5. Back on the Dillon, Station 1 empty as resizing done with trimming, Station 2 prime/powder, Station 3 empty, Station 4 bullet seating, Station 5 crimp

I think I have all the parts/tools needed. Dillon carbide dies, case feed plate, extra primer tubes, trim die, toolheads, etc.

Appreciate any insight you guys have. Thanks!

I have very few components. I have some primed PPU brass, and some 115gr Acme coated flat points (not much of either). I may cast some 87gr coated grooveless flat points, if needed.

Possibly applicable powders I have are Alliant BE-86 and Hodgdon Perfect Pattern. I think everything else on hand will be too slow, and I'm not interested in buying more powders for a handful of ammo.

The pistol is an old Colt Police Positive with a 4-5" barrel, and doesn't belong to me.

GRT has produced some seemingly light loads, compared to factory ammo, in the past. I don't mind doing a little interpolation, but I've got nothing with these components to work from. So, any such experience is much appreciated. Thanks!

Basically the title, what facets of the GP11 do I need to replicate in my hand loads to attain the same consistency in velocity and point of impact? Projectiles are out unfortunately as the super high BC bullets used by the Swiss aren’t available in the US, but I hear most match bullets are acceptable substitutes, particularly the 175gn SMK. I’m currently using 168gn hornady hpbt match.

So I guess that leaves velocity? Do I need to be pushing them out at the same 2,600ish fps as the GP11? I would hope not as that’s going to wear my bore and brass faster than a more moderate load. Also, I know some others on this subreddit don’t believe velocity matters that much when measuring by point of impact consistency. I know another user here has published his GP11 clone data which I’m going to try next range day but curious what process others use to get the most out of their Swiss rifles.

Including a brief overview of my reloading process for reference, is there anything more I could be doing for meaningful improvements in consistency?

Brass- PPU wet tumbled and shoulder bumped with Redding deluxe dies. Thinking about breaking this into two steps and using a mandrel to improve neck tension consistency.

Primers - Using standard Remington large rifle as match grade large rifle is unobtanium atm. Making sure they’re all within a half a thousandth in seating depth.

Powder - I have plenty of Varget, AAC 4064, IMR 3031, N-160, and a splash of IMR 4350. All measured case by case to 1/10th gn.

Bullets - Like is said above, I’ve been mainly using 168gn hpbt hornady match bullets all seated with the Redding deluxe dies within 5 thousandths OAL of each other. Just got an ogive measuring tool so excited to see how consistent they are on that basis.

Anyways, thanks for reading my ramble, any and all feedback is appreciated.

These cases were loaded at the same time using 41.8 grs of IMR 4350. The projectile is 140 gr Barnes Match Burner. I used Barnes load data and 41.8 grs is about 99.6% of max load.

I did not use a chrono but looking at the primers and a couple of case head swipes, I may want to back down the powder charge a notch. Also, the powder charge was very accurate but some of the primers look flatter than others. I don't understand what is happening here. I still have a few rounds that I can chrono next time.

Am I on the right track?

https://preview.redd.it/w57c89886std1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9252f02ee605b89e0ef15b7ceb9424d3a31a6136

I googled all over without a difinitive answer. TIA

Email today from Powder Valley. Free Hazmat on orders over $99. Looks like lots of powder and primers in stock. Lots of stuff on sale at decent prices as well.

https://www.powdervalley.com/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly%20Deals&_kx=m0_qhV9rElBNa4uPIArU7sAgqbcKJpQ7X-iacQasF6s.SeB582

So currently I run a Dillon XL 750 press and love it most of the time. Aside from the cases sometimes tipping over feeding into sta 1. Currently I have a Mark 7 trimmer set up with a jofer short trim die head. Set up works great sort of. I’m waiting for my FW Arms popper decap die which will help with primers getting stuck in the case.

But my main thing is after sizing and trim I still have to swage by hand with the Dillon SS600. A few cases is fine but as of now I’m using ballistic tools swage gage to only swage cases that are needing it. Still takes me better part of a day to just do this. My thoughts were to buy a CP2000 but ffs I would need to sell a kidney to afford the press and everything needed to process brass. I have seen a few posts about the Frankford Arsenal X-10 on here and watched videos on it. Wondering if maybe just for case prep if that would be a good solution that wouldn’t break the bank. Any thoughts from anyone running one for that or if you have one how does it work for seating etc. Thanks!

1. Unpack brass and sort by weight in lots of either 50 or 20 depending on if it is for target or hunting.

2. De-burr flash hole, uniform the primer pocket

3. Full length re-size (If I have to, sometimes cheap brass needs it)

4. Trim to shortest in lot, as long as it is in spec

5. Chamfer and deburr case mouth

6. Anneal neck

7. Tumble in media and clean brass with a rag.

8. If its a brand I haven't used before, I'll figure out H2O capacity, which will give me an idea of where to start with loads. I keep records of each lot.

Am I missing anything???

I saw American reloading had a 10 pound can of MP252 for $208 which they claim is similar to Alliant Blue Dot. I ended up waiting too long and missed it because I could not find any information about the powder. Has anyone ever used it?

I’m going to be trying to make a good short barrel fast burning load for my 8.5in ar. Has any one else tried 1680 out of a SBR. any information would be appreciated it. I found a source that provided 17.0- 20.0gn is the range to stay in. Going to give er a go

Is anyone else using this projectile and cartridge? I have load data from Berger for their 133/135gr, but I'm getting crazy long COAL before hitting the lands with Hornady. FYI using Retumbo/ADI2225

I was poking around on Barnes’ site and it looks like they’ve got some new stuff coming down the line. I’m seeing loaded LRX ammo for 280AI in 152gr, and for 7 PRC in 160gr - those bullets aren’t showing up in the reloading components sections though I imagine they’ll be released sooner rather than later. Surprisingly, from the spec sheets it looks like the 160gr has a higher BC than the older 168gr LRX, and the 152gr has a BC lower than that of the 145gr and 139gr LRX’s. Which brings me to the next thing…

Looking at the BC’s listed in the new LRX ammo spec sheets, seems like Barnes has revised their BCs for the 139gr LRX (Now 0.434 down from 0.47) and the 145gr LRX (now 0.449 down from 0.486). Anecdotally, this fits my dope for my 280AI loads using the 139 much better, so on the one hand I’m glad it appears to have been a generous overestimate on Barnes’ part, but on the other I’m kinda ticked because…..come on guys, this is like the one numerical value we’re reliant on you to provide. You’ve got a product that works and a reputation for performance and precision, don’t fuckin fudge the numbers like that.

Not sure if the numbers have changed for bullets in any other caliber, but it’s worth looking into if you’re trying to push the limits on distance with these.

Load data from barnes with old BC numbers: https://www.barnesbullets.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/280-Ackley-Improved.pdf

Spec sheet from factory loaded LRX data with new BC numbers: https://www.barnesbullets.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/VOR-TX-LR-Web-8.5.2024.pdf

No hazmat fees, orders over $49 ship free, and they claim big savings on reloading equipment. Sale runs October 8th through 11th. I ran this past the mods before I posted it. I am not affiliated with Brownell's in any way.

I managed to catch the Midway sale on TAC and had Cabela’s price match them at $32.99/lb(-5%). Local store only had a couple of pounds and they wouldn’t price match when I asked the manager. So I left the store, called, and politely asked. They were happy to oblige. Local folks weren’t at all familiar with the policy or how it works, and told me they wouldn’t match a sale price. Which isn’t the policy, they match sales prices if it is not under their cost. So in the end they shipped it to the store for free and price matched, no hazmat or shipping cost to me.

I’m happy to have something other than $50/lb Varget to load 308 and 223 with! Thanks bass pro/cabelas!

What’s your favorite TAC load in 308 or 223? Name the brass/primer please. I’ll be starting from scratch with this powder.

7mm Remington Magnum Remington Model 700 26” 162 ELD-X H-1000 (68 grains) 2945.8 fps Hornady Brass Winchester Large Rifle Primers Seated Mag length 2.670 based OGIVE

I’ve always loved the factory round. But since I got into reloading I just mimicked the speed I was getting from them and made my own. I have done 2x10 round groups to finalizing my load. Letting barrel cool, 1 Moa on both groups at 100 yards. Took out to 300 yards and shot 3x and it was little under a sub moa. This rifle is one my dad gave me as a kid. I’ve changed nothing on it since he’s given it to me haha!

I have a small corner in the garage for reloading. Thinking of getting this mobile workbench so I can have storage inside the drawers and out of the way. Anyone use this as a reloading bench? Is the wood top thick enough?

https://preview.redd.it/vb6qp6vdwmtd1.png?width=505&format=png&auto=webp&s=5594d678a5086e48a9cc88dc99db6c962e1f3c8a

I’m looking at nosler 140gr accubond. My buddy said I should get h4831 but I cannot find any in stock. I see the load data say that H1000 is compatible but I wanted to see if anyone has any experiences with this. Shall I find some H1000 and grab it? Or wait for h4831 to come into stock.

Any other powders you recommend would be great too! These are just the ones I picked in general. Thank you

Hi - I've reloaded 50 cases of 50-70 Govt that I'm going to be using in my vintage Sharps carbine. Given that the cases are going stretch as I use them (according to research), is there a case trimmer that isn't $100+?

I've got a tube cutter that works, but I don't know if that is going to work well if I'm trying to take small amounts of metal off the end of the case.

I appreciate the help!

$10 for a tray of regular LR primers and $12 for magnums.