Reloading

[imissalot]

If I went down the road of reloading, wot is the cheapest way it's for 22 hornet, does the powder and heads after be lock up separately or can I put them with the normal ammo, thanks

[Underdog]

I just leave them on the shelves like in the shops.

 

A Lee hand press is more than enough for Hornet. About £25

 

Two die set £25

 

Shell holder £6

 

Some scales.

 

Case mouth chamfer tool and a primer seater.

 

 

 

U.

[Amazed]

you will be fine pal

[kent]

You should lock up expanding bullet heads in the home. Don't go out what the RFD does he has monitored alarms and bars on the windows etc. does he lock up all the guns in his rack to spec. for home storage? I know bullet heads are just lumps of lead and copper that pose no threat but that's the rules.

[Vince Green]

You should lock up expanding bullet heads in the home. Don't go out what the RFD does he has monitored alarms and bars on the windows etc. does he lock up all the guns in his rack to spec. for home storage? I know bullet heads are just lumps of lead and copper that pose no threat but that's the rules.

Agreed, that certainly is the accepted practice. You have just got me wondering where it says so in the so called rules, whatever that means in reality, or is this just another thing that has come to be?

[kent]

Agreed, that certainly is the accepted practice. You have just got me wondering where it says so in the so called rules, whatever that means in reality, or is this just another thing that has come to be?

 

its section 5 thats why, non expanding can be left in boxes by the thousand on your kitchen worktop etc as bullet heads only. I had this out with an FEO as I had a few thousand non expanding heads in my workshop and the matter was clarified. Stupid I know because powders should never be contained in a safe on safety grounds and primers likewise no storage conditions are applicable

[njc110381]

Cheapest way is a lee loader, but I'd go with a basic press. The Lee hand press as said above is good and cheap, and get a decent set of scales if you plan to do a lot. If it's just a few the Lee scales are ok, but they are slow to settle and a bit annoying.

 

I recon you can set up for around £100. It doesn't take long to pull that back when you consider you can make a round for 25p. Most Hornet factory is over 50p so in 400 rounds it's paid for.

[kent]

I use LE Wilson Benchrest hand dies with the hornet. They are the best dies you can get and can be used with a plastic mallet in place of the proper arbour press. Less than .002" run out is the norm and concentricity is key to accurate Hornet rounds. Using LilGun some just fill the case and don't even weigh the charge, simply put you cant fit too much in to give you problems on pressure

[alendil]

do you need depth setting mesurer or not for hornet.

[Amazed]

do you need depth setting mesurer or not for hornet.

If you mean the bullet seating die ?? Well if your not planning on any br comps

Then just cut a case down its mouth seat a bullet in it and press it in marking the nut at the top of the die with a fine marker pen at set depths using your callipers to check the size

I have found though you don't gain much unless your right up the spout then you carnt get them in the mag so its up to you.

 

You can use the same mock round to measure the distance to the lanz in the rifle. Just leav it sticking out and carefully load it, the bullet will slide down the case when it hits the lanz giving you the size. As long as you don't drop it as your taking it out ha ha ha

[al4x]

do you need depth setting mesurer or not for hornet.

Realistically it's ideal to measure the rounds you make anyway, if not how do you know you are making them safely and accurately. Whether that's just a set of calibers its not expensive

[kent]

do you need depth setting mesurer or not for hornet.

 

You don't need one for any calibre. It can be done with a high degree of accuracy using a case that has been fired in the rifle a marker pen (or engineers blue) and the bullet of choice. Jump length is over rated in factory rifles anyway, as long as its not going to touch your fine. load Hornet specific bullets to SAMMI spec COL in your hornet and forget about any measuring of length besides the COL imo

[Underdog]

All you want is;

1; the rounds to fit the magazine and feed into the chamber.

2; the bullet is not rammed into the rifling and gets left behind if an unfired round is extracted from the chamber.

 

As Kent says if your unsure stick to reloading data for a specific bullet, they will list the cartridge overall length (COL).

 

If you don't wish to use measuring devices as mentioned;

 

Re-size a case.

Don't add a primer or powder.

Start a bullet in the case, obviously too long.

Blacken the bullet with a marker pen to show the rifling everytime you TRY to close the bolt on it.

Keep seating the bullet into the case a little at a time until finally no rifling marks are left on the bullet. (And bolt closes with no resistance).

Done a little at a time you now know you are just off the lands.

Check magazine funtion.

 

Be patient, a bullet seated to deep is worse pressure wise than one far out!

 

Wrap some tape around your bullet seating die or mark it with a fine pen for reference.

 

U.

[kent]

All you want is;

1; the rounds to fit the magazine and feed into the chamber.

2; the bullet is not rammed into the rifling and gets left behind if an unfired round is extracted from the chamber.

 

As Kent says if your unsure stick to reloading data for a specific bullet, they will list the cartridge overall length (COL).

 

If you don't wish to use measuring devices as mentioned;

 

Re-size a case.

Don't add a primer or powder.

Start a bullet in the case, obviously too long.

Blacken the bullet with a marker pen to show the rifling everytime you TRY to close the bolt on it.

Keep seating the bullet into the case a little at a time until finally no rifling marks are left on the bullet. (And bolt closes with no resistance).

Done a little at a time you now know you are just off the lands.

Check magazine funtion.

 

Be patient, a bullet seated to deep is worse pressure wise than one far out!

 

Wrap some tape around your bullet seating die or mark it with a fine pen for reference.

 

U.

 

The pressure on the bullet from re-sizing the case down will prevent correct measuring I fear . Use a once fired case and with care flatten two sides of the neck (pressing lightly down on the bench will give the required tension) the idea is so the sides just scratch the marker off giving you the point of reference you require. You also want the case to be a sung fit in the chamber. The bullet will often stay stuck to the start of the rifling but bump the butt of the gun down and it will drop out. If your flats are way too much you might just have to drop a rod down but I never have. Leaving an over length bullet in a sized case is basically going to force said bullet into the rifling. Be aware that even with a box of bullets the curve and hence point of contact will vary. Those who think they are say .010" off the rifling consistently with hunting ammo are quite delusional unless they are checking rounds off the curve 1 round at a time. The next box will likely be different again! Stay away from the rifling unless you have a chamber cut specific for purpose

[al4x]

thats why its pretty much a waste of time unless you use a bullet comparator but most on here don't seem to.

[Amazed]

thats why its pretty much a waste of time unless you use a bullet comparator but most on here don't seem to.

Ha ha

[al4x]

its a decent point though if you look at a vmax bullet and the average soft point you can see you either have to measure the distance to the lands with every bullet type or use a comparator. Even measuring different bullets in a box you might be surprised at the variation,

[Amazed]

its a decent point though if you look at a vmax bullet and the average soft point you can see you either have to measure the distance to the lands with every bullet type or use a comparator. Even measuring different bullets in a box you might be surprised at the variation,

There is quite a large difference in the soft point hh I am using at the moment. I have a comparitor although its only one I got made at work out of a 12 mm nut

I did test out how much difference all the faffing makes with two batches of 25 rounds all componants the same.

The first lot I weighed every load and measured every bullet when seated.

The second I filled the cases with a powder thrower and just pressed them all in to the stop on the die.

There was very little difference in real life. And as I am only in a field with the rabbits to watch me miss I don't mind.

[kent]

When you have checked 100 bullets you will know why I say " just keep away from the rifling" its a non issue with hunting ammo, a myth perpetuated by bench rest shooters who are using very high quality bullets and custom cut chambers. At 200 yds 1/4 moa matters in BR

[Underdog]

The pressure on the bullet from re-sizing the case down will prevent correct measuring I fear . Use a once fired case and with care flatten two sides of the neck (pressing lightly down on the bench will give the required tension) the idea is so the sides just scratch the marker off giving you the point of reference you require. You also want the case to be a sung fit in the chamber. The bullet will often stay stuck to the start of the rifling but bump the butt of the gun down and it will drop out. If your flats are way too much you might just have to drop a rod down but I never have. Leaving an over length bullet in a sized case is basically going to force said bullet into the rifling. Be aware that even with a box of bullets the curve and hence point of contact will vary. Those who think they are say .010" off the rifling consistently with hunting ammo are quite delusional unless they are checking rounds off the curve 1 round at a time. The next box will likely be different again! Stay away from the rifling unless you have a chamber cut specific for purpose

Good points, thanks.

 

I was hoping to help folk with out good measuring devices establish a reference point for their chosen bullet.

But to be clear yes avoid bullet contact with the rifling with a degree of clearance.

 

Also, by counting how many threads per inch your bullet seater has or the die body it self one can guess/guage how much distance one turn will give. Then by dividing a turn a fairly accurate adjustment can be made.

 

For example;

Lets say the die body is 24 threads per inch (TPI).

One turn then is 1/24 of an inch, or .041" (41-42thou).

So half a turn would be just over 0.020" and so on.

 

U.

[malantone]

lee loader cheap and accurate :- http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=164_181_474&products_id=1743

[bullet1747]

lee loader cheap and accurate :- http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=164_181_474&products_id=1743

Wot else would I need please

[al4x]

It all depends some get on ok with scoops but I'd always want some scales, some calibers to measure your rounds and lots of other little bits. Yes some seem to do it fine with the lee loader but also look at their kits which have a press and priming tool and various bits for case preparation.

[bullet1747]

It all depends some get on ok with scoops but I'd always want some scales, some calibers to measure your rounds and lots of other little bits. Yes some seem to do it fine with the lee loader but also look at their kits which have a press and priming tool and various bits for case preparation.

Cheers mate

[bullet1747]

Might sound daft but can some one put a pic of a full set up so I have an idea