Need reloading advice

[bat22]

I do alot of 30-06 shooting (M1 Garands) and have a large amount of boxer-primed brass. With ammo prices the way they are today, I'd like to get into reloading as my new "hobby". I'd like a few tips from the experts: reloading equipment to get, best manufacturers, best options for powder, bullets and primers, etc...

Any guidance would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

[DiscoRacing]

i have lee turret press... lee dies,,, use imr powder 4895 and 4064...sierra and hornady bullets,,,, cci primers... for my howa 1500 .06 i use 150grain full metal jacket bullets.

[jimkim]

This is from Handloader Issue # 114.

Warning: Powders such as IMR-4350, IMR-4831, H-4831 and others with similar burning rates, cause short cyclings, increased recoil, erratic port pressure and accelerated wear in an M1. They should never be used to reload any cartridge intended to be used in a Garand.

When you reload for your Garand use only loads developed specifically for the M1 Garand. You should be fine as long as you do that. They have Garand data in Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading 7th Edition. You can aslo find data in Handloader Issue numbers 68,114,139,239 and 254.

The Lee Classic Turret press would be a good one. The Lee Classic Cast, Lyman Crusher, RCBS Rock Chucker(used if you can find one), Hornady Lock-N-Load, Lee Breech Lock ETC ETC are all good. The trick is to make sure the linkages are made of steel. Don't get a Lee Reloader and be aware that the linkage on the old Lee Challenger has a reputation for breaking. If you get a used Challenger you can upgrade the toggle links with parts from Lee. Look on Fleabay and you might find a good deal on there. Check with us before you bid though.

[crowbeaner]

Try these in your Garand; they won't hurt the op-rod and will cycle reliably.
1) LC68 brass, fully prepped, CCI 200 primer, 48.0 of WW748 or BLC2, 150 grain M2 flatbase bullet, slight crimp in groove
2) LC68 brass, as above, CCI 250 primer, 47.0 of IMR 4320, Hornady or Sierra 168 BTHP, 3.250 inches overall
3) LC68 brass as above, CCI milspec primer, 46.0 of H4895, 147 grain ball bullet, slight crimp in groove.

DON'T try to hotrod your M1; they shoot best with medium powders and 150 to 173 grain bullets.

[Lost Sheep]

Welcome to your new obsession. Reloading can become quite engrossing as a hobby in itself.

I have thought of a few things I think are useful for handloaders to know or to consider which seem to be almost universal, so I put together this list.

So much is a matter of personal taste and circumstance, though. So, all advice carries this caveat, "your mileage may vary".

Now, here are my Ten Advices.

Advice #1 Use Reliable Reference Sources Wisely - Books, Videos, Web Sites, etc.

Study up in loading manuals until you understand the process well, before spending a lot of money on equipment.

I found "The ABC's of Reloading" to be a very good reference. Short on loading data but full of knowledge and understanding of the process. Check out offerings in your local library. Dated, perhaps but the basics are pretty unchanging.

Read as many manuals as you can, for the discussion of the how-to steps. What one manual covers thinly, another will cover well. As far as load data in older manuals, the powder manufacturers and bullet manufacturers may have better information and their web sites are probably more up to date. But pay attention to what the ammunition was test-fired from. (regular firearm vs a sealed-breech pressure test barrel, for example)

The reason you want more than one or two manuals is that you want to read differing authors/editors writing styles and find ones that "speak" to you. You also get better coverage of the subject; one author or editor may cover parts of the subject more thoroughly than the others.

The public library should have manuals you can read, then decide which ones you want to buy.

There are instructional videos now that did not exist in the '70s when I started.

Richard Lee's book "Modern Reloading" has a lot of food for thought, and does discuss the reasoning behind his opinions (unlike many manuals, and postings). Whether right or wrong, the issues merit thought, which that book initiates. It is not a simple book, though and you will find it provocative reading for many years.

Only after you know the steps can you look at the contents of of a dealer's shelves, a mail-order catalog or a reloading kit and know what equipment you want to buy. If you are considering a loading kit, you will be in a better position to know what parts you don't need and what parts the kits lack.

Advice #2 All equipment is good. But is it good FOR YOU?

Almost every manufacturer of loading equipment makes good stuff; if they didn't, they would lose reputation fast and disappear from the marketplace. Better equipment costs more generally. Cast aluminum is lighter and less expensive but not so abrasion resistant as cast iron. Cast iron lasts practically forever. Lee makes good equipment, but is generally considered the "economy" equipment maker, though some of their stuff is considered preferable to more expensive makes. Just think about what you buy. Ask around. Testimonials are nice. But if you thing Ford/Cheby owners have brand loyalty, you have not met handloaders. Testimonials with reasoning behind them are better. RCBS equipment is almost all green, Dillon, blue, Lee red. Almost no manufacturers cross color lines and many handloaders simply identify themselves as "Blue" or whatever. Make your own choices.

On Kits: Almost every manufacturer makes a kit that contains everything you need to do reloading (except dies and the consumables). A kit is decent way to get started. Eventually most people wind up replacing most of the components of the kit as their personal taste develops, but you will have gotten started, at least..

Advice #3 While Learning, don't get fancy Progressive or Single Stage? Experimental loads?

While you are learning, load mid-range at first so overpressures are not concerns. Just concentrate on getting the loading steps right and being VERY VERY consistent (charge weight, crimp strength, seating depth, primer seating force, all that). Use a "fluffy" powder that is, one that will overflow your cartridge case if you mistakenly put two powder charges in it.

Learn on a single stage press or a turret press. Do not learn on a progressive press. Too many things happen at the same time, thus are hard to keep track of. Mistakes DO happen and you want to watch for them ONE AT A TIME. Until handloading becomes second nature to you.

Note: A turret press is essentially a single stage press with a moveable head which can mount several dies at the same time. What makes it like a single stage rather than a progressive is that you are still using only one die at a time, not three or four dies simultaneously at each stroke.

Also, a good, strong, single stage press is in the stable of every reloader I know, no matter how many progressives they have. They always keep at least one.

Advice #4 Find a mentor.

There is no substitute for someone watching you load a few cartridges and critiquing your technigue BEFORE you develop bad habits or make a dangerous mistake. (A mistake that might not have consequences right away, but maybe only after you have escaped trouble a hundred times until one day you get bit, for instance having case lube on your fingers when you handle primers 99 times, no problem because primers are coated with a sealant, but the hundredth primer may not be perfectly sealed and now winds up "dead")

I started loading with the guy who sold me my press watching over my shoulder as I loaded my first 6 rounds to make sure I did not blow myself up, load a powderless cartridge or set off a primer in the press. I could have learned more, faster with a longer mentoring period, but I learned a lot in those first 6 rounds, as he explained each step. I educated myself after that. But now, on the internet, I have learned a WHOLE LOT MORE. But in-person is still the best.

After you have been mentored, mentor someone else. Not necessarily in loading or the shooting sports, but in SOMETHING in which you are enthusiastic and qualified. Just give back to the community.

Advice #5 Design your loading space for safety, efficiency, cleanliness

When I started reloading, I did not use a loading bench at all. I just mounted the press on a 2" x 6" plank long enough to wedge into the drawer of an end table My loading gear all fit in a footlocker and spread out on the coffeetable and the lid of the footlocker. Good leverage meant the table did not lift or rock. I still use the same plank, but now it is mounted in a Black & Decker folding workbench. A loading bench "bolted to the center of the earth" (as some describe thier setups) would be more stable, but I do not feel deprived without it.

You will probably spill powder or drop a primer eventually, so consider what you have for a floor covering when you pick your reloading room/workspace. I would not try to vacuum up spilt gunpowder unless using a Rainbow vacuum which uses water as the filter medium.

Advice #6 Keep Current on loading tecnology

Always use a CURRENT loading manual. Powder chemistry has changed over the years. They make some powders differently than they used to and even some powder names may have changed. However, if you are using 10 year old powder, you may want to check a 10 year old manual for the recipe. Then double check with a modern manual andthen triple check with the powder maker.

Read previous threads on reloading, here are a couple I read.
http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=13543
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/view...fbd5ae1f754eec
The second one is a thread started by a new recruit to reloading which the moderators thought highly enough of to make it "sticky" so it stays on the top of the list of threads. (Later, the moderator asked me to post this list on it.)

Advice #7 You never regret buying the best (but once)

When you buy the very best, it hurts only once, in the wallet. When you buy too cheaply it hurts every time you use the gear. The trick is to buy good enough (on the scale between high quality and low price) to keep you happy without overpaying.

Advice #8 Tungsten Carbide dies (or Titanium Nitride)

T-C dies instead of regular tool steel (which require lubrication for sizing your brass) for your straight-walled cartridge cases. T-C dies do not require lubrication, which will save you time. Carbide expander button for your bottlenecked cases. Keeps lube out of the inside of the cases.

Advice #9 Safety Always Safety All Ways.

Wear eye protection, especially when seating primers. Gloves are good, too, especially if using the Lee "Hammer" Tools. Children (unless they are good helpers, not just playing around) are at risk and are a risk. Pets, too unless they have been vetted (no, not that kind of vetting). Any distractions that might induce you to forget charging a case (no charge or a double charge, equally disturbing). Imagine everything that CAN go wrong. Then imagine everything that you CAN'T imagine. I could go on, but it's your eyes, your fingers, your house, your children. Enough said?

Advice #10 Verify for yourself everything you learn. Believe only half of what you see and one quarter of what you hear. That goes double for everything you find on the internet (with the possible exception of the actual web sites of the bullet and powder manufacturers). This advice applies to my message as much as anything else and especially to personal load recipes. Hare-brained reloaders might have dangerous habits and even an honest typographical error could be deadly. I heard about a powder manufacturer's web site that dropped a decimal point once. It was fixed REAL FAST, but mistakes happen. I work in accounting and frequently hit "7" instead of "4" because the are next to each other on the keypad.

Good luck.


Bonus advice/caveat. Military brass often has crimped in primers. IT ensures that a primer backing out of its pocket would not jam up a rifle in the middle of a firefight. However, it makes them hard to remove for reloading. After depriming, you will want to ream the primer pocket a bit so insertion of a new primer will be possible. For that, you will want to a primer pocket reamer tool.

Lost Sheep

[rwilson452]

Your IMR 4895 is the powder that was used for a long time by the military for 30-06. I can't recall the charge I use with it off hand. I can tell you the cartridge used in the M1 was a 147 gr FMJ and had a muzzle velocity of 2800 fps.

[kraigwy]

4895 was designed for the military '06 round, they used everything from 46-50 grs depending on the lot.

I have shot tons of M72 LC Match with 173s (which again very depending on lot and year from 172-175 grains).

When I retired from the NG I had a good deal of '68 M72s but its playing out. Of course I kept the brass, and I have several thousand pulled 173s (from making mexican match). I like the '68 lots, they seemed to be the most accurate M72s I've seen in target shooting with M1s and my sniper schools using M1c&d's.

I wanted to work up a load matching the '68 lot. I found that using '68 brass, Fed Match Primers and 47 grns of 4895, I can match the '68 stuff both in velocity & accuracy. I can also use the same sight settings I used with the '68 M72s. This is in my M1, yours may or may not be the same.

I also put together a Model 70 Win, Vietnam era sniper rifle that likes the same load. Although when I use the Model 70 in 1000 yard matches I switch out the military 173s with Sierra 175 Match Kings. Velocity is about the same but its a lot more accurate at extended ranges, again IN MY RIFLE.

Best thing is to find some Military '06 you like, get a crony, and work your way to the same results.

In my opinion 4895 is as good as powder for the '06 as you'll find out there. It worked for the military for a long time.