M61 Reloads

7.62 NATO AP projectiles (M61 pulldowns) can be had on Gunbroker.  A forum linked to a page showing reload recipes.

USE LAKE CITY BRASS, CCI LARGE RIFLE PRIMERS, "147"GR .30 AP BULLETS, AND 46.0 GRAINS OF HODGDON'S "VARGET". SEAT BULLET TO THE FIRST CANNELURE. VELOCITY MEASURED 2645 fps OUT OF A FAL. UNSCIENTIFIC TESTING AGAINST A STOUT ROAD BARRICADE (THAT IS KEEPING THE PEASANTS OUT OF "FEDERAL" LAND) SHOWED COMPLETE PENETRATION WHERE ALL OTHER BULLET STRIKES FROM CALIBERS UNKNOWN MERELY SCRATCHED THE PAINT. YOU CAN SUBSTITUE 44.3 GRAINS OF WC844 FOR A VELOCITY OF 2630. VELOCITIES COULD BE IMPROVED SOMEWHAT WITH THE VARGET POWDER; TESTING CONTINUES...

Processing 300 BLK Brass

Here's one process, anyway:

The brass is first cleaned and polished including a final polish in stainless steel to get that new car shine. It is then deprimed using a Dillon Universal Depriming Die and trimmed to 300 BLK length using a Dillon RT1200. All cases are trimmed to no longer than 1.355 +/- .003 to fall within SAAMI specs, which should allow you to reload several times before having to do any trimming yourself. The cases are then swagged [sic] using a Dillon Swagging [sic] tool to remove the military crimp from the primer pocket.

Chronys

Market research.

• Shooting Chrony F1 Master [Midway]
• Competition Electronics ProChrono Digital [Midway]
• MagnetoSpeed V1 [Midway]
• CED Millenium 2 [Midway]
• PACT Model 1 XP [Midway]

E-Book on Milling an AR-15 Forging

For those with the time and the talent, there's a free e-book on how to machine an AR-15 "0%" forging into a finished lower receiver.  Also on the site is an interesting label format for brass prep and loading.

Primer Cup Measurements

A page I came across has a table with various manufacturers' primers and their measurements.  In particular, the thickness of the cup is interesting.  Federal small rifle primers have the thinnest cup in the lineup, which goes with the empirical observation from a local authority that Federal has softer primers.

Case Cleaning

Found on the Appleseed forum:

I just received a new case cleaning machine from Thumlers. I got the Model B High Speed and use Stainless pin media with Lemi shine and Dawn dish soap. I had been using a Thumler vibratory tumbler with corn cob media & case polish for years and yes, it gets the cases clean on the outside, but the inside and the primer pocket never got the crud out. (even after 8 hours of tumbling!) This new “wet” tumbler is simply the best thing I have ever used for cleaning the brass cases before reloading. It cleans the outside (even the really cruddy range brass), the primer pockets and the inside of the case to spotless squeaky clean.

Before I was using a brass brush to remove the carbon from the necks so it wouldn’t damage the expander in the die, and using a primer pocket cleaner to remove most of the heavy primer residue from the primer pocket. Now its just clean directly after tumbling. No additional steps needed. Here is what I do and if anybody else has any experience or suggestions with this type of tumbling I’d love to hear it.

1. Fill the tumbler with 5 lbs. of Stainless Media
2. Fill the tumbler with just under 1 gallon of the hottest water I can get from the faucet
3. Put in 2 tbs. of Dawn dish soap
4. Put in 1 tsp. of Lemi shine
5. Put in about 50 or so cases depending on the size (I use 8mm Mauser, 7.62x54R, 8x56RS)
6. Assemble the gasket, cover panel, and thumb screws
7. Run it on the machine for 4 hrs.
8. Remove the brass from the drum and dump the media out of the case as I remove it (make sure the media comes out, it’s a B*&ch to pick up out of the sink)
9. Rinse the brass with clear water
10. Towel dry and then let air dry to make sure the water is out of the inside of the case

Then I lube the cases, size them, and trim them & run them through again using the same process above for about 2 hrs. to remove any case lube or brass shavings. Then they dry again and its prime, powder, bullet, bang! Then do it all over again.

Honestly the brass looks new when its done in the tumbler and it is well worth the investment. I got mine for about $220 delivered with the media and the machine. Lemi-shine is $3.50 a container and the Dawn I stole from the Wife.. (sorry honey…)

Anyway, I just started with this new thingy and would welcome any advice. I'll try and post some Pic.'s of the cases when i can.

Cheers,
Mauser

Might have to give it a try.

Decrimping Military Primers

I was looking for opinions on primer decrimpers, in particular, to see if the Dillon Super Swage 600 was really the one to get.  One site had an interesting review of several products.  He covers both reaming and swaging tools.

There was another article about bullet pullers, too.  He claims that Lee has a bullet puller in development.  He didn't like the RCBS tool.  Other reviews I read on the Hornady tool said the cam system has problems, but he didn't have anything bad to say about it.

Reloading Components

Just to make sure I'm really getting the best prices, I'm surveying other online shops that sell reloading components.  Prices checked 2012.10.25.

• Wideners: CCI34 $133/5k [oos forever]; CCI41 $125/5k; IMR4895 $137/8lb; Varget $20/1lb; H4895 $140/8lb; Nosler CC .308 168gr HPBT $226/1k; M193 55gr $435/5k [pp]; SS109 62gr $510/5k [pp]; M80 145gr $300/2k [pp]; 7.62 OFB mixed $290/2k; 5.56 OFB FC $180/3k, LC $204/3k
• Midway USA: CCI34 $185/5k [oos]; CCI41 $190/5k; IMR4895 $162/8lb; Nosler CC .308 168gr HPBT $220/1k [oos]
• Graf & Sons: CCI34 $185/5k; CCI41 $183/5k; Tula Berdan 7.62 $32/1k; IMR4895 $159/8lb; H4895 $162/8lb; Varget $162/8lb; Nosler CC .308 168gr HPBT $72/250
• Natchez Shooter Supply: CCI34/41 $35/1k; IMR4895 $148/8lb; H4895 $152/8lb; Varget $152/8lb; Nosler CC .308 168gr HPBT $67/250 [$268/1k]; Sierra MK .308 168gr HPBT $149/500 [$298/1k]
• Powder Valley: CCI34/41 $33/1k; Tula Berdan 7.62 $28/1k; IMR4895 $142/8lb; H4895 $145/8lb; Varget $145/8lb; Nosler CC .308 168gr HPBT $214/1k [Oct. special: order 32 lb of powder and hazmat is prepaid]
• Midsouth Shooters Supply: CCI34/41 $35/1k; IMR4895 $142/8lb; Varget $144/8lb [oos]; Nosler CC .308 168gr HPBT $210/1k [oos]
• Bruno Shooters Supply: CCI34 $33/1k [oos]; CCI41 $36/1k; IMR4895 $142/8lb; H4895 $145/8lb; Varget $145/8lb [oos]; Nosler CC .308 168gr HPBT $212/1k; Sierra MK .308 168gr HPBT $140/500
• R&R Arms: IMR4895 $178/8lb
• Ballistic Products: Varget $24/1lb [mostly shotgun]
• Everglades Ammo: M193 $170/2k [pp]; 5.56 OFB mixed $80/1k [pp]; 7.62 OFB mixed $85/500 [pp] [won't ship primers/powder]
• 10 Ring: 7.62 p/d 148gr $60/500 [won't ship primers/powder]
• Target Sports USA: [nothing in stock]

That's quite a spread of prices--it pays to shop around.  A couple other places are cheaper when it comes to primers, but unfortunately their powder selection is limited.

Other places to check later:
Arms & Ammo
T&T Reloading
RR Guns
Precision Reloading
Montana Gold Bullet [projectiles]
Track of the Wolf [black powder]

50shooter

Found a site that has some very interesting methods for reloading .50 BMG.

Primer/Powder Storage

There are guidelines for primer/powder storage in publication 495 by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).  The residential limits are 10k primers and 20 lbs (smokeless) powder, although if the latter is in wooden magazines with 1" thick walls, the limit is 50 lbs.  Apparently many municipalities have adopted NFPA 495 as the law.

SAAMI published three PDFs with the relevant excerpts from NFPA 495: primers, powder, and loaded ammunition.  The text is on the last or 2nd to last page of each document.

I also found an interesting paper produced in the UK circa 1998 regarding detonation risks associated with storing powder in buildings.  Strangely enough, the study noted found that smokeless powder is less volatile than black powder (called simply 'gunpowder' in the paper).

Certified Scales

To weigh metals in trade and gunpowder for repackaging and resale, a certified scale is necessary.  That is, one with a pedigree traceable back to standardized weights, which is legal for business use.  Required accuracy and maximum load determine what kind of scale is needed.  For 1-gram accuracy, the CAS ED series looks good.  For 0.1-gram/0.005-ozt accuracy, there's the Citizen CZ1200.

Emergency Primers

No idea if this will work, but it sounds like a fun experiment:

1. Extract the anvil out of the fired primer. Using the multipurpose tool, gently hold the primer cup and carefully pull out any old primer with a metal pick. Place the primer cup on a hard, flat surface. Examine the case carefully to ensure there are no defects. For safety's sake, defective cups must be discarded. Keep the anvil with the cup.
2.  Insert the point of the star-tipped driver into the primer cup and tap very gently with the plastic mallet to remove the slight protrusion inside. Insert the flat-tipped screwdriver into the primer cup to clean out any remains of the previously used primer material. To minimize any undesirable results, get the cup as clean as possible. 
3. Using the box cutter, gently scrape off the white tip portion only of the match onto the folded index card. The white tip is a chlorinated compound that serves as the "ignitor" for the primer. You'll need about 10 to 12 matches for each primer. Avoid scraping off the sulphur portion of the match.
4. Roll the plastic mallet across the scrapings, being careful to "crush" rather than rub the material. Place the primer cup on a flat surface and, using the crease in the index card, pour the match scrapings into the cap until it is full. Use the bottom of a matchstick to gently tap down the primer.
5. Use the large tweezers to carefully set the primer cup into your machine press, being careful not to spill any of the primer material. Place the anvil into the primer, point down, to seat. Raise the ram of the press up and seal the primer into the shell casing. Keep your face a safe distance away while you're doing this step, as the primer material may pop.

Berdan Rifle Primers

On a whim, I googled "Berdan primers" and the top hit was a place actually selling them.  I'd read that RWS Berdan primers used to be available in the U.S., but sources dried up.  These are TulAmmo non-corrosive primers for 7.62 NATO.

One concern I have is that the dimensions (incorrect on the DAG Ammo KV762N page) don't match the information I found previously on Berdan primers.  Still, it might be worth experimenting with, considering the amount of 7.62 NATO ammo with nice brass cases and Berdan primers.  All of a sudden, the 33% cost advantage looks more attractive!

Reloading Benches

Over at "Steve's Pages" there're plans for a fixed reloading bench by NRMA that looks pretty slick.  Then I found a better copy of the plans.

On the theme of Workmate reloading benches, there's this one (although it's not really a Workmate).  The problem I've seen with many Workmate benches is that they want to remove the vise, which makes the bench single-function.  Another one (about halfway down) clamps a piece of plywood with an attached 2x4 into the vice; I have my doubts about the stability of that one!

Toward the bottom of this thread there's a cute box with a press mounted to it.

Innovative Technologies

While searching for Workmate-based reloading bench designs, I came across a link to the "Innovative Technologies website for shooters", which has a few reloading tools for sale, such as a digital headspace gauge and a belted magnum collet resizing die, as well as some interesting tips on reloading.

Nagant Revolver

Turns out that my first C&R gun will be a novel revolver, the Nagant M1895.  I had been kicking myself for not getting one when they were available a year or two ago, and then several shops, such as AIM Surplus and J&G Sales, got shipments in again.  Sweet!  One of the tricky things is the ammo, 7.62 Nagant, aka 7.62x38R.  The bullet is completely seated in the brass, since the mouth of the cartridge forms a gas seal with the chamber, eliminating loss of gas in the cylinder gap.  Since ammo is in relatively low supply, and is thus expensive (200 rds of ammo costs as much as the gun), reloading is a must.  One site has a few loads for the 7.62 Nagant reformed from .32-20 brass using Lee dies, and .32 ACP for use with the replacement cylinder that Century sells.

Of course Surplus Rifle has some useful pictures on how to remove the cylinder.  Yet another site remarks that .32 S&W Long and .32 H&R Magnums can be fed through the revolver.  That'd be interesting to try out—if I can find those cartridges (and have faith enough to hazard it)!  The site also presents this bit of poetry:

I know, with certainty
that in that lacquered purse of yours
nestled against powder case and mirror
sleeps a black stone; seven deaths

Vladimir Nabokov,
in a poem to his fiancee, Vera Slonim

Brings a tear to the eye.

And THR has a forum post detailing quite a handloading ritual for brass made out of .32-20:

I have joined the ranks of those who use the re-sized .32-20 brass homebrews in my Nagants, albeit after a bit of a ritual. I obtained 200 new Starline .32-20 cases and first sanded ~ 10 thousandths off the headstamp with 320-600 grit Si/C paper on a flat. This permits the thicker rims to work well with a stock breech block in all Nagants. I then turn ~ 24 thousandths off the rim diameter, using a Taig micro-lathe, to permit self-centering of the rounds in the chamber bores when loading. I size the brass through a Lee carbide M1 Carbine size, then bell and drop powder with an M1 Carbine powder funnel, and seat and crimp with a .32-20 Lee die from the special 'Nagant' set made by Lee for Midway & Graf's (It uses .32-20 brass...). I hold the cases with a .32-20 shellplate in my Dillon 550B. With Meister 100gr DEWC .312" lead over 2.3gr TiteGroup, I get better results than with either the yellow boxed Russian target or the $50/box Fiocchi ammo. I have just started experimenting with the Berry's clad 85gr .311" DEWC's.

Well, one would really have to like handloading to go through all that!

Update [2010.12.14]: Since the Lee/Midway dies are for re-forming .32-20 brass, an RCBS shell holder is necessary for using the dies with original 7.62 Nagant brass.

Ballistic Coefficient

The subject of ballistic coefficients has become of interest to me lately.  I found a site with information on bullets and their BCs with downloadable spreadsheets.

Large Caliber Miscellany

So I was searching for information on loading large caliber projectiles.  Though I haven't even gotten my .50 yet, I'm already looking at larger bores....  Having found a source for 20mm Vulcan brass, I was curious about what it takes to load the monster.  That led me to a site on THR that has a bunch of links that are useful, as well as information from a guy who shoots PTRD and PTRS rifles.

The useful links:

• Reloading the .50 BMG - Good info on how it's done!
• CH4D - Reloading equipment for eccentric calibers such as 20mm Vulcan, Solothurn, and Lahti.
• The Gatling Gun - History from an Army website.
• Bartlett Reloaders - For once-fired brass.
• Pat's Reloading - .50 BMG projectiles.
• Hi-Tech Ammunition - .50 BMG projectiles.

Reloading Berdan

Apparently it's possible to reload cases with Berdan priming. The hard part might be finding primers of the right size. Apparenly PMC imports them from Russia? RCBS makes a tool for depriming. What's this about a hydraulic method, reforming the case a second time while it's filled with water...?

Berdan v. Boxer
Depriming Berdan Cases