Reloaders/hand loaders... Who's doing it?

[Thorpe]

Well, so far I am only 40 pages into my 9th edition hornady reloading book, and WOW, there are so many more details affecting accuracy then I ever knew... I am looking forward to trying to dial in my 7mm rem mag more now! Always felt it should be more accurate than it is! Also have a few irons in the fire for some 38 and 357 brass to load, but I have a lot more reading to do before that! Haven't even pulled my RCBS stuff out of the box yet! The one question I have come up with so far, why don't most handguns have bullet leade? I am sure there are exceptions, but revolvers don't, (I think) or my Sig 1911...

[plastikosmd]

Ok found pic


Custom loads is why I do it too

[Poco Loco]

Nice collection. Really nice set up. You have some $$$$ invested there. So thats where all the powder and primers went.

[plastikosmd]

Thx!
They went to a worthy cause!

[RIDE-RED 250r]

Well, so far I am only 40 pages into my 9th edition hornady reloading book, and WOW, there are so many more details affecting accuracy then I ever knew... I am looking forward to trying to dial in my 7mm rem mag more now! Always felt it should be more accurate than it is! Also have a few irons in the fire for some 38 and 357 brass to load, but I have a lot more reading to do before that! Haven't even pulled my RCBS stuff out of the box yet! The one question I have come up with so far, why don't most handguns have bullet leade? I am sure there are exceptions, but revolvers don't, (I think) or my Sig 1911...

Are you referring to the space the bullet gets a "head start" so to speak before it enters the rifling??

[Thorpe]

^^ Exactly....

[RIDE-RED 250r]

I don't think it is as big a deal with the much lower pressures handgun rounds produce relative to rifle rounds. (S&W 460 and 500 being the only exceptions here). But if you look into the forcing cone of a revolver, you will see that the rifling does not come all the way to the edge of the forcing cone. Which stands to reason since the forcing cone is just that, a funnel of sorts to guide the bullet into the barrel once it leaves the cylinder chamber.

As far as "lead in" and rifle chambers, you are only talking fractions of an inch. I haven't studied up on my rifle loading to that degree yet, but I believe I see alot of guys in forums talking reloading and throwing around .020-.030" for lead in. I could very well be mistaken on that, so don't take it as gospel. I understand the concept completely, I just have not fully studied up on it yet.

Auto pistols I am not as intimately familiar with, but by loading by the book as far as C.O.L. and crimp, I have not had any issues with my reloads for 45 Auto or 380 Auto. I hate to sound like a broken record here, but sticking to published loading data should keep you out of trouble. And by published data, I'm not referring to Joe Schmoe who cooks up his own loads based on whatever, I am referring to reputable published data put out by manufacturers of powder, bullets, etc....

Tip: When reloading auto pistol rounds, only crimp as much as necessary as most autos headspace via the case mouth (rimless shell). If you roll that case mouth down too far, the round may chamber improperly... (too deep)

Another tip: Any time you substitute a component, try and find trustworthy data for a starting point. Example: A 200gr Hornady XTP for a 44 mag may have different C.O.L. specs than a 200gr Barnes XPB. And C.O.L. can and does play a role in how much pressure is generated. Always seek out trustworthy data for the round you are loading and the components you are specifically using for that round. I have noticed this occurs more often than not.

When loading stout magnum revolver rounds, you want as tight a crimp as your case will allow before buckling. You will notice a common theme about the "ideal" magnum handgun powders, and that is that they like a good tight crimp for proper and consistent burn. A solid crimp here also prevents set-back or even bullets falling out of cases under the much heavier recoil of the magnum rounds due to the higher powered rounds themselves, and the fact that revolvers by their nature tend to allow more recoil energy to transfer through the piece. The cycling of the slide of an auto dampens recoil significantly compared to a wheelgun.

[Thorpe]

^^ That makes sense...

So, after much reading in my Horady #9, the only thing I don't have any idea about so far... How does one pick the proper primer? I haven't read anything to steer me in any direction other than confused

But on a good note, grabbed a set of Hornady 38/357/357 maximum dies today, a new caliper, and got some brass cooking in the tumbler, so I think I will spend a little time tomorrow removing primers and resizing 38 and 357 brass. Gotta take a drive down to the local reloading shop, and see if I can find some powder! H110 , Alliant 2400, accurate #9 seem to work in both 38/357 cases, so hopefully I can find a pound or two and start from there.

Got a little future project in mind for the 357 maximum brass I have coming too...

[plastikosmd]

Ball powder/spherical or some of the extruded stuff= mag primer

Beyond that, whatever works seems to be ok

I am a fan of unique in my 38/357 loads. Easy to use and hard to mess up, may burn dirty at lower pressure loads but safe

[RIDE-RED 250r]

I have yet to see any data whatsoever for 38spl using h110, 2400, or AA#9 powders! Those are all considered ideal for magnum handgun cartridges and while great for your 357 loads, I think you would be making a significant mistake using those for 38spl... I'm not going to say it is impossible, but I have not yet come across any loading data for those powders with 38spl.

As Plastikosmd said, Unique is a pretty versatile powder.. It's strong suits are 38spl, 45 auto and other "conventional" handgun cartridges. It can be used for magnums, but as you will see, charge levels with Unique will be significantly lighter than that of 110, 2400, AA#9 and other powders better suited for magnum rounds. That is because Unique is a faster burning powder... You can safely use it in your magnums, but you wont be able to safely achieve the same level of peak velocity with Unique as you will with the others.

Tip for safety: When using faster burning powders like Unique for 357 and other magnum rounds, be careful and check your charged cases for double charge. The faster burning powder charges being significantly lighter than the likes of h110, etc does leave enough space in the case for a double charge. A max charge of h110 in a 357 will mostly fill the case and a double charge would overflow it, while a double charge of Unique would not.

You will see this in black and white as you start looking at loading data more closely in your Hornady book (I have the same book) and other sources like the ones I linked you previously....

Another faster burning powder that is similar to Unique that I have had good results with is Allaint's Power Pistol.... There are several others in the same ballpark. I just haven't gotten around to trying them all yet!

Primers: All published data I use at minimum specifies the type of primer used, IE: small pistol, small magnum pistol, large pistol, large magnum pistol... Many go as far as to list the brand as well. You can use magnum primers in place of standard with rounds like 38spl for example... Just work up and be careful when approaching max charge levels as primers do also contribute to peak pressures achieved when fired.. I would not recommend using a standard primer when a magnum primer is called for.

Cool pic of a near max load of H110 pushing a 240gr XTP Mag out of my 460 S&W

[Thorpe]

Ah ... Red, you bring up a great point, I see no recipes for #9 and h110 for 38 loads! Guess I need not waste time on those pieces of brass at the moment. Looks like I will be trying to melt my 357 down with 357 loads, since that's what I bought for powder today! Got about 125) 357 cases cleaned and deprimed tonight, so resize and reload tomorrow! And maybe a run to the hand loading store!

[RIDE-RED 250r]

It's ALWAYS fun going to the gun shop!!


Do you already have powder, primers and bullets??? I know alot of folks like to play with lead but I'm a fan of jacketed bullets, particularly Hornady XTP's. That's pretty much all I use. Even with the jacketed hollow points, it's still cheaper per round than factory stuff.....

[Thorpe]

Correction, I picked up n110, not H... Still, only good for loading magnum rounds! Oh well. No primers or bullets yet... Gonna run to the other reloader store tomorrow, so maybe if I am lucky I can find some unique, universal or power pistol... Was eyeballing a 6" 629 today...

[RIDE-RED 250r]

Correction, I picked up n110, not H... Still, only good for loading magnum rounds! Oh well. No primers or bullets yet... Gonna run to the other reloader store tomorrow, so maybe if I am lucky I can find some unique, universal or power pistol... Was eyeballing a 6" 629 today...

Vihtavouri right?

629, 629 Classic, 629 MG??

I have a 629 Classic with 6.5" bbl.... I put a red fiber optic front sight on it over the winter. Was my big dog till I got the 460

[Thorpe]

Yes it's Vihtavouri... Just a standard 629, stainless... But the $859 tag kinda seemed steep to me