Vegeta Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Ok so I have been doing a bit of paper punching lately and I am spending a nice bit of money on ammo so I was thinking of reloading my own. Could someone with experience please break it down for me or point me to a good guide for someone only begining. Are there any good dvds or books you'd recommend Something like: What gear is required? What brand of gear is highly rated? steps involved? how to clean/lubricate cases? inspecting/neck turning/deburring etc what exactly are these? primer insertion, how to choose a good primer and seat it properly? powder choice/weight/insertion bullet choice/seating depth/crimping how to pick what works etc I would like to be able to load ammo which is more accurate than factory stuff. I shoot a tikka t3 varmint in .223 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Try the big sites, some like LEE have wee videos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 To be honest mate, as I have found myself, there is a WORLD of info out there about this! Best thing to do is to buy a guide and go through that to start with...then come back with more specific questions...as you will have plenty and there is simply too much to list here. RCBS have a very good basic guide to start on their website too: http://www.rcbs.com/guide/stepbystep.aspx Like I said, I'm just getting into it and this thread has my initial shopping list on it: http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/ind...c=34175&hl= Best way to buy your gear is to get a full and complete list together and then search around on UK & USA sites (remember to include import duty & shipping) and then put in a couple of big orders and save on the shipping (and less packages means less likely to be caught by duty too!!) Hope you make use of the link I PM'd you with, and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegeta Posted June 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 cheers folks this is exactly the kind of stuff I need I have seen little videos of it before and they were very informative but it was reloading with hunting in mind so they were not going for the same level of accuracy as target shooters or bench rest shooters. I will have a gander at all this and probably have even more questions then Thanks for the PM Oly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 If you are reloading for fun dive on in If you are thinking about doing just with hunting in mind, just do some quick sums before you dive in . . . Look at the cost of accurate cheap ammo - American Eagle for example Look at the realistic cost of setting up for reloading completely. Work out how many rounds you think you use in a year, say. You may surprised at the actual cost of setting up, including all the comsumables you will need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegeta Posted June 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 No, this is for both target and hunting but mainly targets, was at the range the other day and fired 30 .223 rounds and they are over 1 euro a go. In the last month I have spent over 80 euro on ammo for the .223 alone. so at 80 euro a month for 12 months that's 960 euro a year for the .223 ammo. I'd have the gear (consumables not included) paid for twice with that sort of money. This is a money saving (even if its only 10% saving that's a saving) and more accurate ammo exercise speaking of consumables: can someone give me a price for things like lapua brass, primers, bullets and powder. Re-loading is not very popular in ROI yet so its not easy to price this stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 speaking of consumables: can someone give me a price for things like lapua brass, primers, bullets and powder. Re-loading is not very popular in ROI yet so its not easy to price this stuff To give you an idea http://www.sportsmanguncentre.co.uk/Re-loading/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 No, this is for both target and hunting but mainly targets, was at the range the other day and fired 30 .223 rounds and they are over 1 euro a go. In the last month I have spent over 80 euro on ammo for the .223 alone. so at 80 euro a month for 12 months that's 960 euro a year for the .223 ammo. I'd have the gear (consumables not included) paid for twice with that sort of money. This is a money saving (even if its only 10% saving that's a saving) and more accurate ammo exercise speaking of consumables: can someone give me a price for things like lapua brass, primers, bullets and powder. Re-loading is not very popular in ROI yet so its not easy to price this stuff AE's are about £8 for 20 over here, I don't how much they are over there but Frank will tell you. Using that much ammo, and at those prices I would say, take the plunge I spent £111 on powder when I started, that came as a shock, that is a kilo of N133 and a kilo of N160 I got decent amount as it was starting to dry up, as people couldn't get Reloader and were buying up Viht instead + I have to drive about 60 miles to the shop & back Cases are about £35 ish for 100 if you haven't kept your empties (bit late now I know) Heads are roughly £15/100 Primers are about 2p each Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegeta Posted June 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 greatly appreciate the info lads. This site has a great deal of experienced shooters with top advice another question is where to get a book (insert other source here) of recipes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 The usual big names do them. I bought a Lyman book recently which is very good, for informing you of the different methods of reloading plus load data. There is a lot on the web...which no doubt others will put up on here (like reloadersnest) but for me books are clearer with good explainations, diagrams & pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegeta Posted June 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 The usual big names do them. I bought a Lyman book recently which is very good, for informing you of the different methods of reloading plus load data. There is a lot on the web...which no doubt others will put up on here (like reloadersnest) but for me books are clearer with good explainations, diagrams & pics. Hey Oly did you buy the book on-line, does it have load data for all common rounds, in particular .223 rem, .270 winchester and .308 winchester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 For specific load data you can get a guide from the powder manufacturers, as I use Viht powders I got a Viht book - they are free from decent gunshops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 The usual big names do them. I bought a Lyman book recently which is very good, for informing you of the different methods of reloading plus load data. There is a lot on the web...which no doubt others will put up on here (like reloadersnest) but for me books are clearer with good explainations, diagrams & pics. Hey Oly did you buy the book on-line, does it have load data for all common rounds, in particular .223 rem, .270 winchester and .308 winchester Yes it does, and yes I did. But like Stuart says best to get the load data from your powder manufacturer. I bought this book as a guide to the art of reloading itself...not because of the load data...HOWEVER - any good reloading book will tell you to have more than one reference guide of reloading data to double check...just in case there has been a mis-print etc! Hence I will use this book as my back-up reference for load data (if it confirms what my other load data publication says! ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegeta Posted June 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 For specific load data you can get a guide from the powder manufacturers, as I use Viht powders I got a Viht book - they are free from decent gunshops. Oh ok cool, another stupid question here I know. Sorry about all the dumb questions and i really appreciate the help. Who would be the big names in powder. So stuartp you use Viht, would you recommend it. Hve you had any regrets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 Sorry about all the dumb questions and i really appreciate the help. Who would be the big names in powder. No such thing as a stupid question in my book! If there is such a thing...we all ask them so why worry! The big names in powder (who I am only learning) are Hodgson, Viht, Varget(?)...plus others probably I'm not too familar with yet myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy22 Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 greatly appreciate the info lads. :blink: This site has a great deal of experienced shooters with top advice another question is where to get a book (insert other source here) of recipes http://www.lapua.com/index.php?id=850 (RHS of page) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 The big names in powder (who I am only learning) are Hodgson, Viht, Varget(?)...plus others probably I'm not too familar with yet myself! VihtaVuori is good for me, I only reload .223 and 6.5 and they have powders recommended for both. I believe the power is slightly more expensive than the American stuff but I bought in quantity so that probably helped the price a bit. There have been supply issues with some manufacturers, so spending time developing a load with a powder that is no longer available must be very frustrating. Varget is a powder made by Hodgson :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegeta Posted June 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 wow 6.5 and .223, 2 of my favourite calibers The problem with Ireland is that the powder and primers are classed as explosives so it is going to be very difficult to get a steady supply of powder Thanks again folks. I am meeting another member of this board tonight to chat about the reloading Veg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 wow 6.5 and .223, 2 of my favourite calibers I will give you my recipes for both, if I ever work them out :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegeta Posted June 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 well even info on bullets themselves would be appreciated. So for the .223 what brand have you found to be good quality, hornady, lapua etc etc I'm guessing lapua brass is the way to go as it seems very popular Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 OK, after much research (basically what you are doing now) I went for.. .223 52grn A-Max it's a target round [that may or may not expand :blink: ] the advantage for me is that they can be posted If you mainly after foxes go for 55grn V Max Vihtavouri N133 I have used Sako and Federal brass ('cos that is what I had hunderds of them) I find the Federals fine, they are empty AE cases with the primer pocket crimp removed. CCI standard small rifle primers 6.5 140grn Sierra Game Kings Vihtavuori N160 Federal brass (I had hundreds of those as well) CCI standard large rifle primers I am still playing about with powder weight and COL, but I am getting warmer, I am glad to say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 I'm guessing lapua brass is the way to go as it seems very popular Lapua is a good way to go if your starting out...they are what I have just ordered my first 200 from! Generally they are supossed to be better, with reloading up to 10 times and also no requirment for flash hole deburring/cleaning due to their design. For the extra money I think they're worth the extra ££ Bullet wise I'm starting to think along the lines of Nosler, but not made a desicion as yet. Primer Fed 210M or CCI BR Just trying to figure out powder now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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