[heckinohio]

I fooled with reloading some Garand stuff today, there must be some way to streamline this operation. I rather like doing it, but it soon gets trite and my wandering mind..........wanders.....and I quit. I dont have one of those fancy dan outfits where is spits out a loaded round every pull of the handle, but it is a turret jobby. I have been making 7.7 Jap out of the split/damaged '06s. I have a 7.7 barrel on one Jap MG and only get to shoot it after an ambitious reloading session....coming up with bullets for the Jap is a bit tedious too.....happens after I try to shoot surplus British .303, lots of duds.........cabin fever time!!!

 

[Shattered]

Something to help pass the time.

Load up a cd with MP3's of "Coast to Coast". It's on Am radio and some of the wildest stuff to have as background noise while you're reloading.

They run the gamut from Atlantis to UFO's. It's on late night. If you want I'll email you the segment on the "concealed carry". Believe it or not, for what I thought was a liberal format, they are pro-gun. I can put a month's worth on a cd as MP3's or 2 hours worth (1/2 a show) as a regular talk cd.

I usually run out of projos or something then the wife arrives home from work. Where the hell did the whole damn day go? and there's another couple thousand 223's ...

 

[mt-ac]

No Short Cuts

Sorry to say with a single stage reloading operation you invest time instead of money. The only short cut I can suggest for now is that the CMP is still offering 30-06 on Garand clips for less than the cost of reloading, plus you get the clips and very good brass for reloading. When you have enough of these you sell the extras off for about $.50 each. Beyond that just keeping all your components well organized is the biggest time saver so you can complete one operation and then move all the cases on to the next step.
To tear down your .303 duds it may help to use your .303 seating die and push the bullets back in the case mouth, this breaks the tar sealant making them easier to pull. Also when tearing down old British .303 ammo DO NOT play with the long strands of powder. They are coated with a form of nitroglycerin which can be absorbed by skin contact. If you are wondering how they got those strands in the cases, it was done by first inserting the powder strands and then forming the case neck.
You might also want to try your 7.7 MG (uses .311-.313 diameter bullets) with the .308 bullets from tearing down 30-06 as depending on the condition of the barrel accuracy may be good enough. You may also look on the Graf & Sons website as they have been offering new brass in 7.7 Jap at reasonable prices.

 

[heckinohio]

Hey.......come in there!!!!!! Good comments!!! I do not have a CD player, I am not sure I know what a CD is. I have a radio that plays ZZ Tops, The Skorpians, Ram Jam, Don Felder, 'Stones, Guess Who and Ted Nugent. Is that OK???? Dont forget, I drive '60s cars and have dial telephones..............I have money for guns, ammo and drag racing. Nothing for CDs or cell phones!!!!

Is 'single stage ' correct description of a turret press dealy??? Mine holds full length resize/decap die, powder dispenser, and bullet seat/crimp die all at once........clean in tumbler, decap/resize/reprime in one motion, powder next, seat bullet/crimp next, remove ready to go cartridge. Fumbling with the little primer puncher is the biggest drawback on my set up.......

Good tip on the .303 bullet loosening, wife will like doing that even though we never have a big bunch of them. I have stored a couple ounces of Cordite. Thought to make an exploding target of some kind............is that possible???

Re; '06, I have 10,000 reloadable US WW 2 demilled empties and more bullets, several 5 pound tins of 4895 & scads of primers. Hard to justify paying .30-.40 cent per with the stock pile I have. I did buy some of the CMP stuff at Knob Creek for a pretty good number but sold most of it at a bit of a profit to pay for the 7.62 x 54R I will use. And, I am 70 now, I aint gonna last long enuff to use this stuff up as it is!!!!!!

I have two Jap MGs, both M-99s. I have 3 .308 barrels. One gun has a match number original 7.7 barrel. I find the guns work fine with the .308 cartridges in whatever bore size they are, I agree .311/313, even though they no longer have sharp crisp rifling. When spraying bullets at a bowling pin in a farm pond, accuracy is not a primary factor, I have to 'lob' bullets at a friends 900 yard target and have never hit it.

 

[Roc Rat]

Could be worse,,, I have an old RCBS Rock Chucker,, single stage. I have a Belding & Mull powder measure,, oldie but goodie. I did spring for a new scale a couple of years ago. I de-cap and size a hundred or so,, then prime,, then fill and seat. Slow but sure,,, I don't want to even think about how many times I've pulled that handle,,, Its a winter thing!

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

My best advice: Quit NOW while you're ahead!

If you don't have the knowledge, patience, discipline and concentration to reload, especially rifle ammo, DON"T! You will eventually make a very costly mistake.

If you want easier/faster reloading, buy better equipment.

There are no shortcuts to brass prep which is most of the work when reloading rifle ammo. You either do it right or or you encounter the problems you induce by trying to cut corners.....and that could ultimately be fatal.

 

[kkkriverrats]

Using a single stage press

I used, for 30 years and still do for some things, a RCBS Jr. My method, using two die sets, which was about all that was available for rifle then, was to clean, inspect, deprime and resize all the available cases, trim to length the overlength cases, prime everything. Then change dies, charge with powder and seat projectiles. I always found the radio to be distracting, and allowed no one in the garage, no drinking of anything, no eating, no nothing, just reloading. As was stated earlier, if you don't have the ability to devote your entire concentration to reloading, do yourself a favor, and don't do it. If you find reloading tedious, you probably should just buy your ammo. Reloading is safe, but you really need to keep your focus. You need have enough time to devote to the process so you won't be temped to rush production.

With "better" equipment, Dillon 550B and a Dillon 1200 power trimmer my process changed to clean, inspect, resize/trim, necksize/deprime/prime, charge, seat projectile, "factory crimp". Production increased about 500%. There is really no substitute for good equipment if you want to shorten the process time.

 

[heckinohio]

I have been reloading for 50 years; I am not uncomfortable with doing all the operations in such a fashion as to insure safe to use reloads, remember I am the one whose FN 49 was firing out of battery because I used soft magnum primers instead of mil. spec. I have been there and done that in regard to possible problems. No one I presented the out-of-battery ignition to guessed it was the primers. Most insisted it was a mechanical failure. Took me a year to find out about the primers. was rightly scared of the gun.....hard to test. And by the way, another safety tip, use mil spec primers in military self loaders. Drop a cartridge in the chamber of a Hakim and let the bolt slam forward and you WILL get ignition!!!!

Back to the current reloading, I am at the point of case sizing now, as that has to be done before continuing any other portion of the process. I did 100 between yesterday afternoon and this morning. As I have several hundred already in clips, there is no rush. I stay at reloading until I think of a more pressing job...........then go to it and come back later. Mom is here and it is like having a 2 year old to watch (she is 88 and talk about mind wandering, I had a car buddy who up and she thought it was the police to arrest me!!!!!)..........

 

[brassmagnet]

I've been reloading for nearly 30 years myself. Started with a RC press and eventually picked up a Lee Pro 2000 I think it's called. I still use the rock chucker today - in fact I'll be doing some 45-70 loads now that I picked up a trapdoor and a sharps. It's a great way to spend a rainy or wintery afternoon or evening. Simple rule is, no matter what you use, use caution.......

 

[heckinohio]

Hey, Brass.......I have a full scale Gatling with a 250 rnd Accles drum. I have been buying all the relaods and other small quantitys of 45-70 as I find them. Know anything about firing a Gatling???? This thing is so big and heavy that it is not an easy matter to go back and re-set up just to see what may have gone wrong the first time, which it will be......... It being a mechanical device, I cant see that it could ever be ammo sensitive........your advice??? I am going to ask this in Open talk under a new thread.

 

[brassmagnet]

Hey, Brass.......I have a full scale Gatling with a 250 rnd Accles drum. I have been buying all the relaods and other small quantitys of 45-70 as I find them. Know anything about firing a Gatling???? This thing is so big and heavy that it is not an easy matter to go back and re-set up just to see what may have gone wrong the first time, which it will be......... It being a mechanical device, I cant see that it could ever be ammo sensitive........your advice??? I am going to ask this in Open talk under a new thread.

Can't help you much with the GG - I've only seen one, and that was behind glass in a museum. I'm sure others will be able to help with troubleshooting, etc. I've just recently aquired my 45-70's (long time wish list) so I'm even learning load data as I go on these.....

 

[Shattered]

Brass, you reloading the 45-70's with black powder?

 

[brassmagnet]

I plan on using Pyrodex to get the effect of the smoke. I fired a few BP pistols using "P", including 2 Walkers, and the effect was quite realistic. I'll probably also work up some smokeless loads for the stronger Sharps rifle. So far all I've fired in either is the 405 gr. SP Remington loads for "all rifles" - I'm guessing they run at 1300 fps or so, and low pressure. I haven't really looked into the various loads or data yet - still cleaning guns from last weekend's shoot.

 

[rugman59]

regarding gatling problem

I have never messed with one before,but I am very mechanically inclined.Ifyou could ship the gun to me,I am certain I would have the problem resolved in a year or two! Bruce

 

[heckinohio]

I once loaned this thing to John Stemple who said he was going to make him self a copy............I cant remember that I know if he did it. Anyone else know??? Kept it for 9 months.........met in Bob Evans parking lot in Cols and got it back from him. He had it in an open bed truck wrapped in an old used to be pink electric blanket..........come to think of it, that was my blanket too!!!!!

 

[Shattered]

He had it in an open bed truck wrapped in an old used to be pink electric blanket..........come to think of it, that was my blanket too!!!!!

Hope you got your pink blankie back

 

[heckinohio]

Back to reloading........I built a deer stand out of some of that newer pressure treated 2 x 6. I had a 6" square of it in my garage and drilled a hole all the way through the same OD as the resized case neck. Then I drilled another hole right on top of it only about 2/3 way through the size of the case at a point just short of the thickness of the square of wood ( I used 1 1/4"). I insert the deprimed mil crimp brass, run a bit the size of the primer into the primer pocket until it touches the flash hole. I have cut out the primer crimp/swag, Then I use a 3/8 bit and just touch it down on the primer pocket to champher the edges. You need to set your stop when doing these different height drillings.......Do all cartridges first step, adjust drill stop, do second step etc........