What type of weather is best to reload in?

[aarhunt]

I heard it`s better to reload ammo in winter because of the cold dry air.Instead of any other time of the year when there is more moister in the air.I was just wondering if that was true or not.

[youp]

In my limited experience, I find the worse the weather is outside, the better it is to reload inside.

[hickstick_10]

unless your using lee hand tools to reload for your trusty lever gun in the alaskan wilderness in the dead of winter

I'd say its irelevant

[Don P]

There is always moisture present. I never heard of it being a problem. With that said I would not try to reload out side in the rain and I can't see someones home being so humid inside that reloading would be impossible or a problem.

[Uncle Buck]

I agree with Youp. But I only load a limited number of cartridges at this time.

I have loaded with a foot of snow outside my window and the temps hovering around zero, in the heat of summer when it was so hot outside the cactus was dragging themselves to water, and in the spring when the wife wanted my help in the garden... Never saw a difference in the rounds I produced.

[jmorris]

I'm with youp too. When it's too nasty outside to shoot is the best time to reload.

[Magnum Mike]

I'm with the others too! Why waste a good shooting day reloading?

[ragsxd]

everyday is a good loading day,

[Tex S]

September - May is my prime reloading time. Its too damn hot in the garage any other time of the year.

[vranasaurus]

I have the day off tommorow. If by chance it rains I'll be loading if not I'll be shooting in the morning and I may load in the afternoon.

[Peter M. Eick]

Right now is a good loading time. The loading room is warm and I don't want to be outside because it is raining. For that reason I have made up about 2000 rounds in the last 2 days. I will get in another 5 to 6 thousand before the weekend is up.

I have all of my 10mm brass loaded, all 40 and right now I am working on 357 sig. After that 45 acp, then the 38/357mag/357max's.

[Randy 1911]

I have loaded year around for over a quarter of a century and can't tell it has made any differecne.

[Jim243]

I reload year round, what you are referring too is the amount of static electricity in the air. During the winter with dryier air you will have more static than when the humitity is up. Powder will cling to the plastic parts of your reloading equipment, but if you use a used dryer sheet and rub the outer surfaces it will eleminate static cling.

The other issue is weither you load by volume or weight. During high humitity periods your powder will hold more moisture during the summer and be drier during the winter. So if you load by volume you will have more grains of powder in the same space during the winter. And use fewer gains if you load by weight during the same period of time (winter).

There is no perfect time to reload unless you have a tempature and humitity controlled reloading area. Just keep your powder dry and try not to reload in a electrical storm.

Jim

[aarhunt]

Jim243 Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

[snuffy]

There is no bad time to load.....period.... Neither powder nor primers soak up humidity, and the water vapor in the air that gets trapped in the case makes no difference.

It's been proven many times in carefully done experiments, not just my opinion.

[abber]

September - May is my prime reloading time. Its too damn hot in the garage any other time of the year.

I hear ya Tex. I think we need to move our operations out of the garage, and into the house! Who needs a guest room, anyway?

[wncchester]

When working outdoors, I hate both rain and snow. Otherwise....??

[sc928porsche]

I dont reload in the outdoors. It is too difficult to weigh charges with any wind blowing. My reloading room is both air conditioned and heated, so temps in the room range from 70-75 degrees.

[FrankenMauser]

It's been proven many times in carefully done experiments, not just my opinion.

Snuffy, can you provide some references? I have seen first-hand results to the contrary.


I reload year-round. I do live in Utah, which is fairly stable at very low humidity levels.

However, my dad had some fun with unexpected, weather-induced reloading results.

After an expensive divorce (his fault), my dad spent a few years in tiny apartments; forcing him to keep his reloading equipment at my grandfather's house.

A few times a year, he would manage to get up there (3 hour drive) for some reloading. There were some complications, though: The house was a turn-of-the-century colonial/homestead style two story. It has also (still, today) been under renovation since 1978. Only half of the first story, and two rooms in the second story are heated by the one wood-burning stove. Between the lack of heat, and lack of insulation; in the winter, he had to reload in temperatures ranging from freezing, to below zero (as low as -20F).

Over the next few years, he noticed a lot of his 'pet' loads showing increased pressure. More alarming, were major increases in pressure with his large capacity cartridges. His .270 Win, .220 Swift, .300 Win Mag, and .375 H&H were blowing primers and stretching case heads with previously known-good loads (especially the magnums). It took a few years of head scratching for him to realize the dates on all the "bad" ammo correlated with freezing reloading sessions.

Whether it was the cold itself, or the low humidity as a by product of cold weather; he had to start heating his reloading area.
Once he started heating the area for at least 24 hours prior; the problems went away. (With the same loads: Same primer. Same powder. Same lot of cases. Same bullet. Same OAL. Same crimp, or lack thereof.)

So, Snuffy-
Again, I'd like some references, if you can provide them.
As a reloader, I know there are countless variables for putting a cartridge together. Even the viewing angle of a scale (same chair and desk, in this case), the method used to pour powder into a case (compressed loads), or the technique used to work a powder measure (gloved hand, here) can cause changes. If the cold is not to blame, I'd like to rehash the 'freezing' reloads theory with my dad. However, I currently have no evidence to believe it wasn't due to the extreme temperature.

[snuffy]

Frank, it was many years ago, IIRC over on the AR,(accurate Reloading) forum. The goal in that experiment was with humidity and higher temps. The atmosphere was controlled as to temp and relative humidity, the results were tested via chrono readings and groups size. No difference was found. Obviously the same rifle, same day, same cleaning methods, yada yada.

I never thought of extreme cold affecting things that drastically. I could see a volumetric measure contracting to throw larger charges, but a scale would catch that. Perhaps the highER humidity of a summer day slows the burn rate? Lack of humidity results in faster rates?

The AR forum has gone through several software changes in the last ten years. Many of the old threads were lost. I'll see if there's any of those experiments left.

[bpratl]

JIM243 is correct about static on dry days. That has been my biggest problem this winter as I have been keeping my reloading room, in the back of my garage, heated. I have been having ball powder clink to all the plastic parts, especially the reloading funnel where .5 grains have been sticking on the sides. I will try the dryer anti-static papers because it takes an extra step in tapping the powder off the funnel sides.

[brickeyee]

Smokeless powder is not especially hygroscopic, but it will absorb moisture if left in the open air until it reaches equilibrium with the ambient humidity.

This can affect the weight of charges.
Powder that has absorbed water vapor will be heavier, resulting in lower available energy per grain.

The actual absolute moisture content of air is very low so it is not going to have any great affect on the 'burning' of the powder.

Temperature has a much larger effect, so that loads safe when fired at lower temperature will be 'hotter' if fired at higher temperature (especially if they sit in a hot chamber before being fired).

If the load was not anywhere near maximum it should not be an issue (commercial ammunition is loaded for use at any ambient temperature).

[Malamute]

I prefer warmish weather.


I don't have heat in my main reloading area.