What did you do in the Reloading Room Today?

[Griff]

Me, I loaded about 45 .30-30 cartridges to continue my test of cast vs powder coated.


Once fired Winchester brass, sized, decapped then trimmed to 2.025". The broke out the case prep machine and chambered case mouths inside & out, deburred the primer pocket, (an unnecessary, but "feel-good" step), and then wire brushed the soot and carbon from the pockets.

I'd intended to only do a 30 round test, (15 of each), and discovered that I was down to my last CCI gaschecks. The new ones are from Hornady (be the last of those I buy until they make their .375" 220 gr flat nose again), so I figured I go with a 45 round test to see if there's any difference in gas-check performance on the PC bullets. So, I have 15 rounds of 150gr powder coated bullets with CCI GC, and 15 each of PC and plain lead, both gaschecked with Hornady checks.

As I set about start actual loading:


And the finished product:

[Mainehunter]

Griff, I'm really going to be interested in the powder coating experiment. I'm hearing excellent results using powder coated bullets in AR's and M1A's.

Mainehunter

[GunnyMack]

That's a heck of a lot more then my walking past my setup to fill the pellet stove this morning!

That powder coating in interesting, I too want to see some results!

[Griff]

Griff, I'm really going to be interested in the powder coating experiment. I'm hearing excellent results using powder coated bullets in AR's and M1A's.
Mainehunter

I used the same bullets, but coated in red in my M-1 this past weekend, and... well the load was too light to sight well and scrubbed that as a "test". If it's halfway nice tomorrow am, I'm headed to the pasture... since I changed the sight on my 20" 94 "rifle", so it'll (hopefully), shoot closer to POA! I'll use five of each bullet in that gun for group(s), then the 26" rifle, and the final five of each group in my 16" trapper! Each'll group of five will be on a separate target (maybe)... and from the bench, probably at 50 yards...

[Shrapnel]

Smaller bullets, but larger numbers. Nearly 600 17 Remington, varmint season soon approaches...

[J35]

This evening I cleaned the 60 pieces of .358 Win brass that I unloaded at the range yesterday

along with 250 45acp cases. All were cast bullet hand load's.

I used a citric acid bath and then a blow dryer to dry them.

----J

[JimT]

I loaded 250 .44 Specials ... 200 of them with the Keith 250 gr. SWC over 16.5 gr. 2400

50 of them loaded with the Keith 250 gr. SWC over 7 gr. Unique.

I loaded 200 45 ACP's with 230 gr. cast Flat Point over 6 gr. Unique.

Then I tried to find something to keep them in. Gonna have to buy some ammo boxes I guess.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I loaded about 4500 rounds of 9mm fmj plinking ammo in the last couple weeks. Now I am finishing up building a new gun cart for CAS.
I powder coated and loaded 1500 ea.200 gr. .45 Colts for CAS just before Christmas.

Our club only shoots CAS from March to September. The oldtimers thar run our CAS shoots like to head south in the winter months to attend the big shoots. One of our shooters, Big Iron Buster ,took a world championship last year at End Of Trail. Good shootin pard !!!

I like the silver/gray colors of powder coat paint, they are hard to tell from cast unless you look close and they shoot great and are much cleaner to handle and shoot.

[ollogger]

Unloaded a bunch of 44-40 & them loaded a bunch of 45 colt
couldn't find no bullets for the 44-40, need to get ta casting some!!!


Brad

[Sixgun]

I drank 8 Yuengling lagers and sold a 1878 Sharps Borchardt for $2400 and a Ruger/Lyman #1 45-70 for $1500.....did not tell the tax man nothing and got ready for the snow storm tonight.

It's nice to see your into "diversity" Griff....with all those different colored bullets.

I ain't gettin' up till at least 9 a.m. and then I got a shytload of brass to sort through to sell on the board.---6

[JerryB]

No loading today, last nite I loaded 50 rounds of .38spl with 5.0 grains of Unique and 158 grain cast round flat nose bullets to use in the Rossi 92 .357.

[claybob86]

Loaded a box of .357, 140 JHP.

The powder coat testing is interesting!

[Griff]

The test be cut by one rifle. The 20" Centennial doesn't have one on it. The one I thought I was putting on, is .700" high, I need a .494"... AARRGGHH!

[guido4198]

I cleaned my 40 caliber flintlock Southern Mountain rifle.
This sweetheart has "eaten my life" for the last year and a half since I got her...just soooo much FUN to shoot..!!!

[Borregos]

loaded 350 30-30 rounds for the start of the IHMSA season here (couple of months away yet!).
29.6gr 3031 with a 150gr Hornady FMJ (bulk) 11 times fired Winchester brass trimmed and chamfered.

[OldWin]

Snowing hard all day so I hit the gun room to crank out some .357 plinkers.
Gotta feed the Rossi 92, Colt SAA, and Smith 66 & 19.
They never seem to stop eatin'.

[Ysabel Kid]

Color me incredibly jealous!

I loaded a total of just over 100 measly rounds last year. My worst year since I started reloading over 30 years ago.

[Bill in Oregon]

Guido, that's a beautiful .40 flinter you have there. Roy Stroh is building me a .40 Poor Boy flinter. Can't wait!

[Griff]

The powder coat testing is interesting!

I tried waiting out the wind... and it finally died down... but it reduced the test to just one rifle. Winchester 94, 1978 with Numrich full octagon 26" octagon & full length mag. Ammo: 15 rounds of once fired Winchester brass, WLR primers, 27 grains of RE-7 and a 150 grain GCFN cast bullet from a Saeco #316 mold, sized to .309, 5 rounds were lubed with Lyman Alox lube and Hornday 30 cal gas-checks; and 5 each with powder coated (shake & bake, 1 coat) with CCI & Hornady gas-checks.

1st up, are the five rounds I used to adjust the sights... (yes, I'd moved the sights since the last time I shot to show someone the range of movement the sight has... ), 1st shot high & right, 1 click left and down a little for shot 2, repeat for shot 3 with more down than left... came back up a little and 2 clicks left for shots 4 & 5.


After moving rear sight one click back to the right, shot five shots of the plain, lubed GC bullets:


Finally, two sets of 5 shots of the powder coated bullets. 1st group inside the black circle, 2nd five in the red circle.


Barrel definitely warmed up by the end... I was dismayed by just how "fuzzy" that orange dot looked out there at just 50 yards... maybe time for a new prescription! But, for purposes of this experiment, I was glad the groups were distinguishable. If I was as young Sixgun, I'd have expected much better... At least at 50yards, I don't see a POI shift.

[cas]

I carried a jug of powder down from the living room to the basement and set it on my bench. That's the most reloading I've done in four months.

[earlmck]

This took a fair chunk of my day.

117grRanchDog7364.jpg

117 grain Ranch Dog 32/20 bullet, a little over a thousand in this tub. With the 6-cavity Lee mold the casting took an hour and a half to two hours, which I did a few days ago. The gas checking/lube-sizing took several hours today, and I had some adventures because the dimmer switch I control heat with for this lube that needs to be fairly warm to flow (dimmer switch to control heat to engine block heater attached to metal plate that the lube sizer bolts to) -- well the trusty dimmer switch that I've used for ten or fifteen years decided today was the day to fail. So I started off with lube that wouldn't flow very well and had a few short periods with things just right and several periods with real soupy lube. But I'm pretty sure they'll shoot!

Every 30 cal rifle I have likes these things at least a little bit; normally I size 'em to .309 for 30wcf, 30Rem, 300 Savage, 303 Savage. Mostly they would be OK (probably prefer) .311 but one of the 30's and the 300 Savage pump have to have .309 to chamber so I size there to simplify my life.

.313 for the 32/20's of course -- that's what these are sized to at the moment but I can run a bunch through the .309 die when I get to needing more of that size.

Reading Griff's posts I'm thinking I should try some with powder coat. But I was on a roll today and just went ahead and goobered 'em all. Maybe another day for powder coat.

[guido4198]

Guido, that's a beautiful .40 flinter you have there. Roy Stroh is building me a .40 Poor Boy flinter. Can't wait!

Thanks Bill. That rifle was built for me by Mike Davis. Mike specializes in the Southern Mountain style. I love the 40 caliber. I'm shooting .395 balls with 40-65 gns. Goex 3f. (40 for 25 yd., 50 for 50, and 65 at 100) all offhand, center hold on the target.
Rice barrel, Chambers lock, Davis trigger. Off a rest, she'll put 5 balls into a single hole you can cover with a quarter from 50 yds. even with my "old eyes".
BTW: if you haven't tried it yet..take a look at "Lehigh Valley Original Formula" liquid lube. Tom also has a grease type lube available now..but I haven't tried it yet. I'll pick some up at Friendship in June and give that one a try too.
You're going to love 40 caliber shooting..!!

[Sixgun]

Griff,
I read that! I'm no spring chicken at 62!

I think your shooting is pretty good, especially for a load that traveling probably 2200.

50 yards is now my limit on precise shooting with open sights. I can still shoot decent groups out to 300 and more with tang sights but flyers are more frequent as is the opening of the group from rifles I know can do better.

I've bought more scopes in the last 3 years than I have in the last 40+ years.

Funny thing with revolvers.....if I stand and shoot offhand, I tilt my head back to use the bifocal and I can still shoot clay birds at 100 meters and more. We have a new kind of silhouette match starting at the club next month and I was getting ready for it the other day. Nickel plated Model 27 with an 8 and 3/8" loaded with 4.5 gr. of 231 and a 150 Lyman sized .358 will drill clay birds dang near every shot out to 100 but will not be powerful enough for the Rams so they will get 13 gr. Of 296 and a 180 Hornady.-----6

[ollogger]

Boy can I relate to the eye thing, I have to year cheaters to read or see things close up
after that all is well, good shooting Griff!! The snow drift that melted after a month has
revealed bout 6 or 7 lbs, of cast bullets that I was firing into, a lot easier to pick them up
than digging into my saw dust pile


Brad

[J Miller]

I don't have a reloading room no more

But I solved that problem ...... I quit shooting ......



Joe

[JohndeFresno]

1) So sorry, Joe. Hope things change.

2) Fascinating thread!!! Great stuff!

JdeF

[fordwannabe]

I realized that the reason I was having so much trouble seating primers in the 223 cases was because.......I hadn't done any of the prep work to the cases, and the primer pockets were still full of corn cob. Now the other ones in the same exact style tub, sitting right next to the ones I was trying to load, those I had done. AAARRRGGGH. Can you get a graduate degree in DUMB AZZ?

[RIHMFIRE]

I don't have a reloading room no more

But I solved that problem ...... I quit shooting ......



Joe

Why Joe...
Today I shot skeet with one guy who, recently, had is shoulder replaced...he is 75....looks like he is barely 60 something
another guy in his mid 70s....shot a perfect score with a big ole cigar in his mouth!
another in his late 60s, he also shot a perfect score...
and on another field....a guy in a wheel chair....who is a fantastic shot...

Don't give up shooting!!!!