Thread: Notes for New and Newish Hand Loaders from an Old Fudd

Greetings All,
I've noted a couple of new and prospective handloaders on the Forum that are using the lock down to progress their knowledge. Admirable. I thought it might be useful to share how I go about the mechanics of handloading and keep myself out of trouble at least most of the time. This is my system and it works for me. You are not me and you will develop a system that works for you over time. This series of posts is intended to help with that process. I hope this does.

Post 1 Cases.

Initial Sort Out.
Hand loading starts with cartridge cases. If you already have a good supply of once fired brass, all of the same manufacture, fired in your rifle and in good condition you are indeed blessed. More likely you will have a motley collection of cases that you have remembered to pick up, of several makes, some of unknown history and perhaps a bit cruddy as well. The first step is to get them all out, sort by head stamp and put them in loading blocks. If you don't have any loading blocks make some. My first loading blocks were scrap lengths of 75 x 50 mm (probably called 3 x 2 at the time) with holes drilled part way through with a suitable size spade bit. Don't just make one, make several, you will need them. After the sorting select the largest lot of hopefully once fired Boxer primed cases to work with and put the rest away. All of my current use cases are stored in the 50 round flip top boxes and the reserve cases are stored in clear plastic takeaway containers labelled with type and number of cases.

Military Cases.
There are still a lot of military surplus cases about. I use them in .303 Brit, .308 Win and .223 Rem. Most .303 cases are Berdan primed and were originally fired with mercuric primers. These have a larger diameter primer and are scrap. Some like the currently available Greek stuff and cartridges made in the US and Canada are boxer primed and can be re loaded. Some ex military cases for .308 (7.62 mm)and .223 (5.56 mm) are also Berdan primed and need to be culled before decapping. You can check for Berdan primers by looking down through the case mouth with the light behind you to see if there is one large flash hole (Boxer primer) or two smaller flash holes (Berdan primer). You can reload Berdan primed cases but need some special kit and the Berdan primers to do so. I have both but so far have not loaded a single round, perhaps later in the shut down.

Basic Case Preparation.
Before we even start sizing we need to do some basic preparation. First the cases need to be clean. If you or your cobber has a tumbler great but remember to decap the brass first. You don't want grubby cases anywhere near a die so you can use a Lee punch and base set or a Lee universal decapping die to do this. I don't have a tumbler (probably should) so clean the outside of the necks and bodies if required with steel wool. Some may use a pot scourer instead. I mostly also decap the cases using a Lee punch and base set and give the primer pockets a good scrape out using a slightly modified small screw driver. A quick polish up with a dry Chux cloth and the cases go neck down in the loading block. ready for the next step.

Post 2 Tomorrow. Regards Grandpamac.

Awesome. I haven't handloaded for about 30-years. I'm not a newbie but to say I'm rusty is an understatement! Maybe making the tutorial a "sticky thread" would be a good idea? Thank you!!!!

Greetings Again,

Post 2 Case inspection and Sizing.

Cracks, Head Separation and Other Faults.
Now is the time to have a good look at the cases. If your selected cases have only been fired once and in your rifle they should be good to go. Most factory sporting cartridges have brass coloured primers and reloads silver coloured primers so this is a way to tell them apart. Any cases showing corrosion or significant dents should go in the brass recycle bin. For cases fired more than once carefully inspect the necks for cracks. These should show up clearly on the cleaned necks. The cracks can be quite short but bin any cracked cases. Cases also need to be checked for incipient head separation. This sounds a mouthful but it is just a crack or thinning that develops around the inside of the case about 5 mm up from the base. It is caused by repeated full length resizing of cases fired in a maximum sized chamber. This can't always be seen from the outside and I check for it using a metal paper clip. some thin wire will do. Straighten the paper clip out and sharpen one end to a chisel point. Now bend that end about 4 mm from the end with the chisel point is perpendicular to the length of the wire. Now slide the wire into the case from the mouth until it meets the head. Now pull the wire back feeling for a groove with the chisel point. turn the case slightly and try again. The groove mostly only goes part the way round the case. if there is a groove you will feel the wire catch slightly in it. Bin any cases with a groove. This sounds complex but is quick and easy after a little practice. A separated head leaves most of the case in the chamber. A quick second shot is off the menu.

Sizing Options.
There are two basic options for resizing the cases. Neck sizing and full length resizing. Cases that have been fired in a different rifle will almost always need full length resizing. Cases previously fired in the same rifle generally can be neck sized, especially if less than maximum loads are used. Cases from book maximum loads can generally be neck sized two or three times before they become hard to chamber and need full length resizing. Cases from the soft loads I use in my old soldiers can be neck sized indefinitely.
While there are options for the types of full length sizing dies these are mostly specialist dies so we won't discuss them here. Options for neck sizing dies include the Lee Loader dies, The Lee Collet dies, generic calibre specific dies offered by Hornady, cartridge specific dies offered by most die makers and the bushing dies offered by Redding, Hornady and perhaps others. I seem to have some of all of the above but mostly use Lee Loader dies for the old soldiers and cartridge specific neck sizing dies from RCBS, Lyman and CH for the more recent rifles. As most new or newish handloaders will have either a two die set including a full length sizing die or a Lee three die set that also has a collet die we will stick with those for the moment.

Tomorrow we will discuss die adjustment and actually size some cases.
Regards Grandpamac

This is good work @grandpamac
I would like to ask that other experienced reloaders AVOID chiming in and leave you to run the whole process, so that it can be left as a sticky for beginners and refreshers.
Any other methods / ideas will just aid confusion and could be better put in a seperate thread.

Awesome, loving the posts!thanks a lot

Greetings Once More,

Post 3 Sizing Die Adjustment, Sizing and Trouble Shooting.

Sizing Die Adjustment.
Full length sizing dies need to be adjusted so that excess head space is not created when sizing. Head space is the dimension between the bolt face and a datum point on the case shoulder. If adjusted to be hard down on the shell holder most dies will produce a case that is close to the minimum head space so the case will chamber in all rifles. Rifles are mostly chambered close to maximum head space. When a minimum head space cartridge is fired in a maximum head space chamber the case stretches. Over time a groove develops inside the case and eventually the case breaks in half about 5 mm up from the head, sometimes as early as the third or fourth firing. We talked about checking for incipient head separation last time however it it easy to prevent by correct die adjustment. Take the decapping stem out of your full length sizing die and screw it into your press until it is about two turns short of touching the shell holder. Take a deprimed case, preferably one that chambers a little tight, lube and size it. Clean the lube off and try the case in your rifle. It probably won't chamber at all. Don't panic. Turn the die down about 1/16 of a turn, size and try again. Repeat until the case almost chambers, now go slower until the case chambers with the slightest resistance. Lock the ring on your die and size a second case and try. You may have to make some more adjustment with the second case and may wish to adjust the die so the case just chambers freely. Your call. You have now adjusted your die to produce cases that match your chamber for head space. Congratulations. Go and have a cup of tea. When you come back don't forget to put your decapping stem back in the die and run the expander button through the necks of the cases you have sized. I also measure the gap between the die and shell holder with a feeler gauge and write it down in my notes for that cartridge. For my 6.5 x 55 the gap is 0.2 mm (.008 inches)! There are some fancy shell holders and measuring gizmo's that help with this process but I don't have any and you probably don't either so we will ignore them.
For the Lee Collet dies just follow the directions in the box and for traditional neck sizing dies adjust the die so that no more than 80% of the neck is sized. If the die touches the neck shoulder junction the shoulder can be bulged and the case won't chamber.

Sizing.
Once your dies are adjusted sizing can begin. Cases need to be lubed for sizing with traditional dies but not with the Lee Collet dies. Currently I am using the Hornady One Shot sizing wax and am unlikely to change to anything else. I just smooth it on with my fingers to the neck and body if full length sizing and neck only if neck sizing. You don't need much and your fingers will tell you if there is enough. Try not to get too much on the shoulder of the case to prevent lube dents. I used to use a lube pad but now think that my fingers and the die wax are a better option for me at least. Don't be tempted to skimp on case lubricant. The chap who sold me my first press recommended Raw Linseed Oil. This worked fine with the .303 but I stuck my first .308 case in the die. You don't want to go there believe me. I also lubricate the inside of the case necks with the merest trace of lube using a strip if Chux cloth wound around an old bore brush. Others use a dry lube for this so if you prefer dry lube feel free.
Run your lubricated cases onto the die slowly and if you encounter resistance back off a little and go again. Once sized clean the lube off the cases. I use a dry kitchen paper towel for this for the sizing wax. Other lubes have different recommendations. Read the instructions. As each case is sized and cleaned I place them neck down in the block again.

Trouble Shooting.
There are a couple of problems that you may encounter that are worth mentioning. Some belted cases will chamber tight, if at all, even with the die hard down on the shell holder. The cause is often traced to a tight spot just in front of the belt. The cause of this is a miss match between the cases and dies that leaves a small section of the case body unsized. There are special sizing things available to deal with this but there is an option. A friend had this problem years ago with his .308 Norma Mag (yes that is .308). .308 Norma mag cases were as rare as rocking horse shit at the time and half his would not chamber. I suggested using a .300 Win mag die less the decapping stem and running the cases into the die with the case sitting on top of the shell holder. The case was then knocked out with a rod from a Lee Loader. Worked a treat.
Some may also have problems with the Lee Collet dies not sizing necks enough to hold the projectile, often after a couple of loads. This is often traced the the case necks being too hard and needing to be annealed. We will cover case annealing another time.

Tomorrow more checks and priming.
Regards Grandpamac.

Greetings Once More,

Post 4 Case Trimming, Primers and Priming.

Case Trimming.
Now that we have our batch of cases all sized and sitting in the block we are all ready to load. Right? Not quite we still have the matter of case length to deal with. Each time a cartridge is fired and sized it becomes a little longer especially if the cases are full length resized. Cases that are too long can jam between the front of the chamber and the projectile. Pressure goes through the roof and accuracy becomes non existent. This is something to be avoided. Case trimming tools don't seem to be included in many of the reloading kits but cases need to be trimmed back to a little less than maximum length. For the new or newish hand loader with perhaps only one cartridge to load the Lee case trimmer is a good option. At about $30.00 for 1 cartridge it lets you trim cases to the right length without the need for and measurements. You can add another cartridge for less than $15.00. Later you may wish to add a lath type case trimmer and measuring equipment that costs rather more. After trimming the burrs on the case mouth need to be removed. There are tools for this and there should be one in the kit if you bought one. Otherwise the cash strapped can use a counter sink bit for the inside and a file for the outside as I did when I started out. One last thing, military cases will need the primer crimp removed. As always there are tools for this but it can be done with a narrow bladed knife and care.

Primers.
There always seems to be some confusion on which primers to use. The powder manufacturers data will give some guidance on this but in general with stick type single base powders (such as the ADI rifle powders all I use) charges below 60 grains require standard rifle primers and above 60 grains need magnum rifle primers. Winchester and other ball powders often require a hotter primer. Obviously large rifle primers go in large rifle pockets and ditto for small. Check the manufacturers data. A few years back I read some tests that showed that the Winchester Large Rifle Magnum primers gave high pressure when used with the slower stick powders, in particular H4831 in .300 Win mag and 7 mm Rem mag.

Priming.
There are a couple of things to remember about primers when priming. The priming compound is explosive, more powerful than Dynamite I understand. Primers are packed so that they are separated and need to be kept in that packaging until used. If stored or handled together a bump can set the whole lot off and some people have been killed because of this. Handle them gently. Also primers are sensitive to oil so make sure that your hands are clean when handling them and that case lube does not get into the primer pocket. Otherwise priming is pretty straight forward. Your press will have a priming arm but you may prefer to use a hand priming tool as I do. Once primed put the cases back in the block neck down. Some of you may wonder about this neck down thing. It lets me see where each case is up to in the process. As before this is my system, yours may differ.

Tomorrow Picking a Load.
Regards Grandpamac.

That very last point is a good one. I was loading up some rounds the other night, when my 11 year old boy came out to have a look and ask about the process. I was at the powder filling and bullet seating stage. I pulled out a sized but not primed case to show him. One thing lead to another, not watching what I was doing and next thing I had a unprimed case full of powder and a seated bullet. The boy suggested I just put a primer in there

Greetings Yet Again.

Post 5 Some Notes on Safety and Picking a Load.

Inattention and Safety.
Dama dama was gracious in sharing his handloading whoopsie with us yesterday and it is only fair that I share mine. I was loading powder and seating projectiles in a batch of 50 .223 cases last week and unusually had the radio on. I had just seated a projectile and looked across to see a charge of powder sitting in the scale pan. Oh oh! A quick check of the weight of the suspect round showed that there was no powder in it. The radio was turned off, put back in the cupboard, the projectile pulled and loaded with powder this time. The following day all the cartridges in the batch were weighed and were OK. Dama dama's primer less load would have been safe enough but the primer in my load can have enough push to send the projectile far enough into a long throated barrel to allow a second to chamber behind it. Only bad things happen after this. We will talk about this more in future posts.

Picking a Load.
This is the part that will give the most trouble to new or newish hand loaders. Compared to 40 years ago there is a vast range of projectile types with outrageous claims made for each by their manufacturers. Much of this is best ignored for the moment. The same is true for powders with frequent new powders appearing almost weekly with claims as above. For the last 20 years or so I have used a lot of Hornady projectiles both Interlock and SST with a few ELDX lately. Powders have mostly been the appropriate ADI offering. Both projectiles and powder are usually available, unlike some of the flasher stuff And good online data is available from Hodgdon, ADI and others.
So what do we use? Projectiles in the middle of the weight range often give the best overall performance. In the cartridges I have loaded for 129 to 140 grain in 6.5 mm, 140 to 160 grain in 7 mm. 150 to 165 grain in .308 and 174 to 180 grain in .303. For powder charges I mostly use AR2206H, AR2209, AR2213SC and a little AR2217. Look at the online data to see which powder gives decent velocity with your chosen projectile without needing to compress charges. Found one? If so you have found your load but we still have to work up to it which we will talk about over the next two posts.

Tomorrow Putting a load together and Keeping out of Trouble Most of The Time.

Post 6 Working Up a Load, Seating Projectiles and Keeping out of Trouble Most of the Time.

Working Up a Load.
You will have heard the phrase start low and work up slowly. Good advice but what does that mean. Lets use the 150 grain Hornady SST and AR2206H powder in the .308 Win as an example. Hodgdon lists a start load off 43 grains of AR2206H behind the 150 grain Nosler BT for 2,742 fps and 45.5 grains for 2,870 fps as max. The Nosler 150 grain BT and the Hornady 150 grain SST are both soft skinned projectiles so we can use the same data. We should not start below the start load given as this may cause problems. My approach would be to load 2 or 3 rounds each of 43 grains and 44 grains and test fire them preferably over a chronograph. I would check for any sign of a sticky bolt lift or an ejector hole mark on the case head for signs of high pressure but would not expect to find any. The chronograph would tell me if my load combination was developing more velocity than the test barrel and components also indicating higher pressure. It is likely that velocity would be a little lower due to a shorter barrel. The chronograph gives the most reliable indication of pressure. If your velocities are the same or a little less due to a shorter barrel then the pressure will be about the same. If all is good then I would probably try 44.5 and 45 grains as before and pick the one that shot the best.
You may have noticed that I have not mentioned primer appearance as a method of judging pressures. To me at least there are too many variables that make primer appearance practically worthless. A chronograph together with pressure tested data (not the computer generated stuff) are easily the best indication of pressure. I realise that most new or newish handloaders will not have a chronograph but there will be people in your area that do. You just need to find them. A bit of asking around should turn one up. Also don't be offended if they want to do the shooting, they may just want to protect their chronograph. In time buy your own.

Measuring and Loading Powder and Seating Projectiles.
Powder needs careful measurement on scales. If you have a powder measure in your kit I suggest you leave it in its box for the moment. Most scales are easy to use but the cheaper ones can be a bit cranky especially the electronic ones. Scales need to be zeroed or calibrated before use, look in the instruction book for this. Your seating die also needs to be adjusted to ensure that it does not crimp the case and for seating length. Once again the instructions will show you how to do this. If you don't have a caliper to measure overall cartridge length the die can be set using a factory round.
I have used the Lee plastic powder measures for some time together with a powder trickler for dispensing powder into the pan. The Lee measures come in a set of 15 for less than $30.00 and I wouldn't be without them. Go carefully dispensing powder into the pan and then pour the powder into the case using the funnel. Transfer the case to the press, place the projectile in the case neck and gently seat it.

Keeping Out of Trouble Most of the Time.
The actual mechanics of loading powder and seating projectiles is pretty straight forward but this is the stage when most whoopsies occur and I have some rules and methods designed to keep me out of trouble.
Keep your loading records open on the bench next to you all the time so you can check what is being loaded. Have only one can of powder on the loading bench at any time. No exceptions. Most handloading incidents involve either the wrong powder being used or too much powder. Powder measures, if you use one, need to be emptied as soon as the last case is loaded. If you manage to mix powders then the powder is scrap. I mentioned before that the primed cases were placed neck down in the block after priming. This lets me see that the case is primed and is empty. Once the powder is measured the case is turned neck up and placed in the front of the block. Powder is then poured in and the case transferred to the press looking into the case to check the powder level. Clearly something went pear shaped here last week but to continue. Next the projectile is seated and the completed round placed in its storage box. As before this is my method etc. I know that some charge all of the cases prior to seating the projectiles and look down the necks to check for even powder level. Clearly it works for them.

Tomorrow Record keeping and Load Management.

Greetings.

Post 6 Record Keeping, Load Management and What's Next.

Record Keeping.
Early on I kept no records. There was one rifle in the cupboard, a No 1 .303 and one load, 180 grain Norma soft point boat tail over 34 grains of AR2201 in CAC cases and CCI 200 primers. In time the .303 changed to a .308 but the load was similar. Norma 180 grain soft point over 37 grains of AR2201 in CAC cases with CCI 200 primers. In late 1979, armed with a Speer Handbook, a can of DuPont IMR4064 and some new WW Super cases I actually worked up a load. I had made the transition from a re loader to a hand loader the need for some sort of record system became obvious. Being a draughtsman at that time a quick form was whipped up with copies printed off that have been in use ever since. The form includes columns for date loaded, number loaded, projectile, powder, powder charge, case, times loaded, primer and notes. The notes column is becoming a little crowded these days and more data is being crammed into the other columns like powder lot. The form in on A4 and in landscape format. I also started keeping targets shot (actually the center trimmed down to A4) background notes and hard copies of load data downloads Handloader load data etc, etc, etc. This is all stored in ring binders, 6 currently, on a shelf next to my loading bench. I should really do some editing and scan a back up copy perhaps this winter or if the lock down lasts longer than we hope.
Once again this is my system and your will almost certainly differ. If I was starting now I would probably use an Excel spreadsheet. The important thing is to have one and record as much as possible as carefully as possible.

Load Management.
The best hand load record keeping system in the world is useless if you can't match the cartridges with it. As additional rifles have appeared in my rifle cupboard, often more than one for cartridge, keeping track of whats for what and whats in it has become more complicated. This is how I do it and it works most of the time. I have an awful lot of those flip top plastic 50 cartridge boxes. Each rifle has its own set of boxes marked for the rifle and box number and my loading records show which box the loads are stored in. As a back up there is a slip of paper taped under the lid with the load data on it. Each box has cases with one head stamp but two boxes with the same load will normally have cases with different head stamps but the same weight to stop mix ups as one box is finished. Now I fully understand that this sounds anally pedantic to any one with a few rifles and just starting out but once the number of rifles being loaded for gets much past 10 some extreme measures are required. Please feel free to develop your own system that works for you.

Whats Next.
This post completes the series of posts for new and newish hand loaders but there is much that has needed to be glossed over. After a wee break I will do a few more posts covering some of these areas such as measuring the crush length for projectiles without a lot of expensive kit , annealing, worked examples and others. If there is anything anyone particularly hear about let me know and I will try to oblige.

Regards Grandpamac.

Greetings All,

Post 8 Simple Ways of Setting Cartridge Overall Length and Annealing Cases.

There are both high tech and low tech ways of carrying out our hand loading. These are usually matched by high and low cost. For those starting out the high tech path may strain the budget so here are a couple of low to nil cost options to get you started.

Setting Cartridge Overall Length.
For many short action rifles cartridge overall length is set by the magazine length and a maximum length is often included in the loading data. Other rifles, like my 6.5 x 55 T3, benefit from the projectile being seated further out. In any case the first step is to determine what the cartridge overall length is with the selected projectile seated touching the rifling. For this you need a cleaning rod and a dial caliper of some sort. Both these items should be in any hand loaders kit. You need a cleaning rod with a flat end. The old Parker Hale rods had this once the jag has been screwed of and a little filing done. For later rods with the US type threads you will need to file the spear point of a jag to achieve this. Set your rifle up in a padded vice with the bolt in and the firing mechanism cocked. This stops the rod tip touching the firing pin tip and giving a false reading. Next slide the cleaning rod into the bore until it touches the bolt face. I then put a wrap of tape on the rod in line with the muzzle.
Next pull the rod back a bit and slide the selected projectile into the throat and hold it there with a short piece of rod. The projectile needs to have a well formed and undamaged tip. Slide the cleaning rod back into the barrel to touch the projectile tip and carefully measure the distance from the tape to the muzzle with the inside jaws of your calipers. This measurement is your maximum cartridge overall length or crush length.
I set my 6.5mm projectiles to be 1mm (0.040 inches) shorter than the crush length. Others may seat them closer. Barnes recommends a minimum of 1.25mm (0.050 inches) for their projectiles. We also need to ensure that the projectiles are seated in the case far enough to be stable. This used to be one projectile diameter but some, including me, seat them down to 0.7 projectile diameters. As an example my .308 has a maximum COAL of 73.2mm for Norma 150 grain SP projectiles and 75.4mm for the Hornady 150 grain SP projectiles. The magazine needs them seated to 71mm.

Neck Annealing.
There seems to be two schools of thought on neck annealing of cartridge cases. One is to ignore it completely and through the batch of cases away when the first one splits. The second is to anneal after a certain number of firings. Early on I was in the first camp but have gradually moved into the second over time. The secret of case neck annealing is not to overdo it and to anneal only the neck and shoulder and never the head. A quick internet search will turn up all types of kit but to me the method needs to be able to control the extent of annealing. The induction annealers are top of the heap but expensive and I don't have one. There are clock times flame type annealers like the one my son built but I don't have one of those either. Use of his has been offered but at my time of life I like the hands on approach and have the time to indulge it. A few years back John Barsness wrote an article on candle annealing of case necks for Handloader Magazine that appealed to me. It is breathtakingly simple. Hold the case between your thumb and forefinger and gently rotate the case in the tip of a candle flame until it is almost too hot to hold. Next wipe the case all over with a damp Chux cloth to cool it. I mark the case necks with a felt marker and roll the case in each direction until that is on top to keep the heat even. I have been using this method for a few years now with good results.

Regards Grandpamac.

@Ftx325

Thanks for this, good advice