[snomad]

I wanted to start a discussion here on the do's and dont's/good and bad habits of reloading. Here are a few to start with:

1. NEVER shoot someone else's reloads.
2. Never have more than one type of powder on the reloading bench at a time.
3. Pick a time to reload when you will NOT be interrupted.
4. Always start with book (two books preferably) minimum loads and work up slowly.
5. Document everything.
6. Double check everything.

 

[Riggs]

Excellent! Safety is definitely the name of the reloading game.

 

[snomad]

Anyone want to add to the list?

 

[offshoreonly]

Don't shoot anyone else's loads eh? guess I cant shoot those 243 rounds you gave me

 

[Riggs]

Don't smoke while reloading. (Don't laugh...I've seen someone do it)

Don't watch tv, listen to the radio, mp3 player, i-pod, or anything else. Safe reloading requires your undivided attention.

 

[snomad]

Don't shoot anyone else's loads eh? guess I cant shoot those 243 rounds you gave me

That's true! That is one of the don'ts. If you helped with the reloading so you could confirm things were done properly that is OK. But ultimately it is your choice and a matter of trust/knowing the person. Or pull all the bullets, confirm the charge weights and reassemble them. What I find amazing is that there was someone selling reloads on one of the local selling forums until it disappeared.

 

[RedCat]

I would agree with the original post..... to a degree. I have done several workups and loads for friends. The loaded for them for years. Its only an issue if you are buying unknown reloads.

Disclaimer..... even if you load for yourself and do things wrong you can have issues. There are several places that you can get info from or even find a mentor when getting into it. Be safe and have fun

 

[RIVIR]

Buying once fired brass is OK sometimes if you FL sizing, but my Remington doesnt like other rifle fired brass same caliber still get the odd tight fit, my brother has same caliber rifle different brand and he can run anything through his action FL sizing, so im saying you shouldnt mix brass up that is fired from other rifles save your own brass and reload them (for first time reloaders read the book thats what its there for).

 

[snomad]

If you were using a small base die you likely wouldn't have any tight fits after FL sizing brass fired from other rifles. If that rifle has a tight chamber that some are tight in I would just toss those (or give them to your brother) and move on. The bigger issue is were they only once fired? As well it is good to sort by brand into batches and even weigh if you are picky. At that point it could be easier to just start with new brass. It all depends on what you want from the cartridges; accuracy, hunting or just plinking.
As for shooting someone else's reloads: it really is the buyers choice in the end. When reloads are offered with a rifle that is for sale it is understood (in reloading circles) that those reloads are sold as components that are to be disassembled. And to be crystal clear for those buyers who don't reload, that intent (as a disclaimer) should be stated and not just assumed. It's one thing to cause injury to myself if I screw up reloading but to someone else?

 

[RIVIR]

Whats your opinion on fire forming brass
My opinion is a waste of time, buy your brass, i know a fellow (not my buddy,but thinks he knows every thing) he uses 243 brass to make 308 brass. i told him to spend the $26 on a brand new box of federals. or anybody give your opinion

 

[snomad]

If you are after accuracy and are planning on reloading by neck sizing only for one particular rifle, fireforming just saves you loading and shooting all your brass just to get there. As for making brass for one caliber from another it can be done with different variants of the same cartridge. As in 30-06, 270, 25-06, 280. Or 243, 7mm-08, 308. Depending on which way you are going you will end up with brass with either slightly thicker or thinner brass in the neck. You may also need to trim a lot, like if you go from 270 to 25-06. I have done both 270 and 30-06 brass into 25-06 when I was unable to get 25-06 brass locally. If you have enough brass from one lot it is fine, just marked differently than what it has turned into.
Buying federal blue box ammo is a good way to plink yourself some good brass too.

 

[Riggs]

If you are after accuracy and are planning on reloading by neck sizing only for one particular rifle, fireforming just saves you loading and shooting all your brass just to get there. As for making brass for one caliber from another it can be done with different variants of the same cartridge. As in 30-06, 270, 25-06, 280. Or 243, 7mm-08, 308. Depending on which way you are going you will end up with brass with either slightly thicker or thinner brass in the neck. You may also need to trim a lot, like if you go from 270 to 25-06. I have done both 270 and 30-06 brass into 25-06 when I was unable to get 25-06 brass locally. If you have enough brass from one lot it is fine, just marked differently than what it has turned into.
Buying federal blue box ammo is a good way to plink yourself some good brass too.

[offtopic:emftwvbv]Ten or so years ago, I was in a small hardware store/gun shop in Northern Pennsylvania, and I noticed some old Federal Ammo in 375 H&H. The boxes were there so long that they had a heave coating of dust on them. I asked the owner how long they'd been there, and he couldn't even remember, it was so long. I asked how much he wanted for them, and he said if I bought all ten boxes, I could have them for $5.00 a box. They came in real handy, cause I used them to fireform the brass for my then new 375 Ackley.[/offtopic:emftwvbv]

 

[RedCat]

I would recommend neck sizing only for standard calibers to extend the life of brass. That means fire form to your chamber once and then neck size only until you see signs or wear on the brass. When I loaded for the 30-06 I could use the brass up to 20 times before seeing any signs of wear. Just be sure to trim the necks

With the idea of resizing .243 brass to .308, why not if you have a free supply of brass. It works but is a lot of work to do properly.

 

[chrism]

i get the heebie-jeebies when people cheap - out and dont buy the proper brass - i guess its ok if you are the only one that touches it, but what if you put your up-sized or downsized homemade brass in the wrong gun - and it fits! what happens to you and your gun when you put a 308 necked to a 243 into your 308 (because the headstamp says 308) or the 3006 necked to 270 and then put in a 3006? what if you shoot all the above calibers and you drop your rounds and they get mixed up and even though you have 3 diff calibers of cartridges, they all have the same 308 or 3006 headstamp?
Good grief - brass, new brass, or once fired factory brass is cheap - IMHO way cheaper than resizing, forming, trimming, (not to mention stressing) the brass to another caliber - that is, if your time is worth anything
Maybe its me, but i just dont get it....
However if you have a unique caliber, like a 22-416rigby, then yeah, its your only option - but for over the counter rounds, why bother? 95% of the calibers we use today, the brass that is, can be found with a quick internet search.

 

[RedCat]

i get the heebie-jeebies when people cheap - out and dont buy the proper brass - i guess its ok if you are the only one that touches it, but what if you put your up-sized or downsized homemade brass in the wrong gun - and it fits! what happens to you and your gun when you put a 308 necked to a 243 into your 308 (because the headstamp says 308) or the 3006 necked to 270 and then put in a 3006? what if you shoot all the above calibers and you drop your rounds and they get mixed up and even though you have 3 diff calibers of cartridges, they all have the same 308 or 3006 headstamp?
Good grief - brass, new brass, or once fired factory brass is cheap - IMHO way cheaper than resizing, forming, trimming, (not to mention stressing) the brass to another caliber - that is, if your time is worth anything
Maybe its me, but i just dont get it....
However if you have a unique caliber, like a 22-416rigby, then yeah, its your only option - but for over the counter rounds, why bother? 95% of the calibers we use today, the brass that is, can be found with a quick internet search.

I started reading P.O. Ackley books when I was pretty young, some great stories both scientific and otherwise but I remember one where he somebody had brought him a rifle because it was kicking like a mule..... It was an old Japanese 6.5mm Arisaka that had been rechambered to 30-06. It didn't take long for Ackley to figure it out...... the rifle had been rechambered but not rebarreled. Essentially the guy was resizing bullets everytime he fired it from .308 to .264.

Shooting a .270 cartridge in a 30-06 rifle would just make the round rattle down the barrel and would shoot inaccuratley. The 06 family of cartridges all use the same headspace guage so chamber pressure would not spike to the point that it would damage the rifle or cause any damage to the person behind the trigger.

The 06 family of cartridges headspace on the shoulder. Not the neck. If I still had my old 06 I would demonstrate for anyone but I don't.... It was old Mauser 98 built in 1946

 

[chrism]

I'd be more worried about damage to the rifling or excessive copper crud not to mention the bullets wouldnt go where they are pointed at... that would be an expensive lesson! if i read correct, I believe they moved the shoulder up on some cartridges, ie, 280, as to prevent it being chambered in the wrong rifle...
i have a 260 and 7-08 - i am just waiting for an oopsie! so far i have loaded all the rounds with colored tips (260 = red tip or hp, 7-08 white tip) so i dont mix up...

 

[RedCat]

I'd be more worried about damage to the rifling or excessive copper crud not to mention the bullets wouldnt go where they are pointed at... that would be an expensive lesson! if i read correct, I believe they moved the shoulder up on some cartridges, ie, 280, as to prevent it being chambered in the wrong rifle...
i have a 260 and 7-08 - i am just waiting for an oopsie! so far i have loaded all the rounds with colored tips (260 = red tip or hp, 7-08 white tip) so i dont mix up...

In your case I would have to agree.... Extra care must be taken to ensure that you are using the correct casing. I wouldn't have 2 calibers so close. I like both the .260 and the 7mm-08 but for me I would have the 7x57 mauser and the 6.5x55mm. or even better the 6.5x55mm and the .280. But that is for another thread :recon:

 

[snomad]

The organization of reloaded rounds is really no more difficult than organizing the supplies. I don't look at headstamps, I go by what is in the labelled ammo case. If you had two entirely different loads for the same caliber that you had reloaded the issue of organization is no different. Or how about neck sized reloads in the same caliber but for different rifles? The properly labelled ammo case is the key. If you were only shooting factory ammo in two different calibers what would you look at first? The description on the ammo box, right?

 

[MudChucker]

Whats your opinion on fire forming brass
My opinion is a waste of time, buy your brass, i know a fellow (not my buddy,but thinks he knows every thing) he uses 243 brass to make 308 brass. i told him to spend the $26 on a brand new box of federals. or anybody give your opinion

I have never seen anyone do as you have suggested, but I have seen people run their 30-06 brass through a FL 270win die... imagine the dangers of picking up a cartridge that says its a 30-06 on the head stamp and is a .270 bullet seated in the neck.

fire forming has 2 uses, as you mentioned to bump brass up, or to reshape the correct caliber ammo to the chamber of the gun it was meant for.

Bumping brass to resize for wildcat cartridges may be the only option as the brass required for your combination will not exist.

Fire forming your (for example) 30-06 cartridge in your personal 30-06 rifle is a very cool way to tune the cartridge to your gun. The reloading process requires that you only neck size your brass, and you must also be prepared for a tight closing bolt. I recommend to folks that they test chamber each live round in a place where it is safe and legal to fire a big bore firearms and an accidental discharge will not change someones life. Fire formed ammo is best suited for use in bolt action firearms where a stuck cartridge is easy to remove.

 

[snomad]

It's a labelling issue. I have both 260 and 7mm-08 and no problem identifying the ammo. Stick a pointy end of a bullet into the end of the barrel to confirm the caliber in the field if unsure.