Montana Hunting and Fishing Journal

Clarke's Reloading Tips

by John R. Clarke, Shooting & Firearms Editor ©

Always, use good reloading equipment. - For single-stage rifle and pistol reloading - RCBS's "Rock Chucker" provides excellent accuracy at a reasonable cost. For progressive reloaders - the Dillon 550 is the best. For shotshells, the MEC single-stage Model 600 is the standard and their progressive series of presses provide excellent results at reasonable cost.

Always, purchase a good reloading manual. - Most reloading manuals are "good," although they all seem to exaggerate in many instances the velocity you will obtain from a certain powder/bullet weight combination. This is normal because their groups are shot in "minimum dimension" SAAMI specification receiver barrels, which will giver higher velocities and pressures than a standard "run-of-the-mill" rifle barrel. The most accurate reloading manuals are those sold by Sierra and Speer, although Hornady and Nosler provide excellent reloading manuals.

If possible, invest in a good chronograph. I use only Oehler chronographs, but PACT and even Crony make excellent chronographs. If you do not have a chronograph, you will never know how much velocity your "home grown" loads are producing.

Never forget, cartridge cases are not the same - cases from various manufactures have different internal capacities, which translate into velocities proportional to their differences in internal capacities. Cartridge cases from various manufacturers also are annealed differently, which translates into differing pressures they will handle. Never treat cases from different manufacturers as if they are identical - they are not. Sometimes, they are not even similar from lot-to-lot from the same manufacturer.

Always, segregate cases - according to lot and manufacturer. I have always found it best to store cartridges in their original boxes and reload them in some multiple of 20 (rifle cases), 25 (shotshells), or 50 (pistol cases). Reloading them in this fashion allows the use of projectiles and primers in even proportion to their standard packaging (100 per box).

Always, clean cases and inspect cases before reloading. Vibrating case tumblers from either RCBS, Lyman, or others are good investments and combined with an impregnated walnut media will polish cases to a factory new luster. When inspecting cases look for major bulges or dents, cracks, signs of internal or external corrosion, or signs of an impending head separation. Discard any case that has any of these defects. While shotshell cases are not cleaned in case tumblers, they, too, get dirty during firing and the best way to clean them is to wipe them down with a slightly dampened cloth. Extremely dirty shotshells or cartridge cases can be washed in a pillow case in your washing machine, but detergents usually remove any writing from the shotshell. It is always best to resize (remove the primer) from all cartridge cases before cleaning, because this facilitates draining and drying of the case. After washing, allow a week or more for the cases to dry.

Always, perform these additional steps required before you begin reloading - trim cases to their factory specified length, clean primer pockets, and chamfer case mouths before you begin reloading. If reloading cast, handgun, or certain rifle projectiles, you must also slightly "bell" the case mouth to allow the projectile to be seated. The key to this process is to only "bell" the case enough to allow the projectile to be inserted, slightly, in the case. To much "belling" of the case can cause seating problems or cracks to later form in the end of the case.

Always, follow the following steps in this order when reloading - clean cases, lubricate if necessary, resize, trim cases, clean primer pockets, chamfer case mouth, bell case mouth (if necessary), re-prime, charge with powder, seat bullet, and crimp (if necessary).

Reloading dies - There are many types. Some die sets require three or more dies (pistol or revolver cases) and some require only two dies - FL resizing and bullet seating die. The best dies are those sold by RCBS and Bonanza although Lyman, Hornady, and Redding produce excellent products. Carbide dies - use reloading dies with carbide inserts whenever possible, because they make resizing cases much easier by doing away with the case lubrication step. If you want the most accurate ammunition possible - use RCBS "Competition" or Bonanza "Bench Rest" dies. They provide the best accuracy, although they are more expensive than standard "full length" dies.

Always, resize cases to a minimum - never set back the case shoulder back, excessively. Excessive working of the brass shortens their life and can cause incipient or total head separations. The use of a an RCBS "Precision Mic" for the caliber you are reloading will help determine the maximum amount the shoulder should be set back during resizing. Resizing of cases for both "bottle-neck and belted" cases is critical - too little and they won't chamber and too much and you can get head separations.

Bullet Seating - Before seating a projectile, you must determine the OAL (overall length) of the reloaded cartridge case. This dimension should be cartridge maximum length, which allows the projectile to travel 1/16 of an inch before contacting the lands of the bore. There are several methods to determine this length, but a discussion of this process is to long and complicated to be included, here.

Bullet seating process - I have found it best to seat projectiles in a "three step process." First, the bullet is seated approximately 1/3 of its final depth. The case is then rotated 90 degrees in the shell holder and the projectile is seated another 1/3 of its final depth. Then, the case is rotated 180 degrees and the bullet is seated to its final depth. This multi-step process will provide the best accuracy by keeping "bullet run-out" to a minimum, usually less than .001 inches.

Bullet crimping - Never crimp a projectile unless it has a cannalure. A cannalure is a groove on the projectile where the seating die can crimp the case neck. For pistol cartridges, you should always use a "Taper Crimp" die set, especially for cartridges that headspace on the case neck like the .45 ACP, .38 Super, 9MM, .40 S&W, and 10MM. Certain cases, like the 7.62MM NATO and the 5.56MM NATO. require the case to be crimped to insure proper feeding, but this crimping should be kept to a minimum because excessive crimping can cause the collapse and bulging of the case body, causing the case to be to large to chamber.

Which projectiles - I have two rules for projectiles. If the load is for "varmints" or "paper" - Sierra has no peers. If the load is for large big game where deep penetration is required - Nosler's "Partition" has few peers. Speer, Hornady, and Barnes also produce excellent projectiles. The best of the "new breed" of projectiles are Bear Claw's "Trophy Bonded" projectile and Winchester's new "Fail Safe." The Bear Claw "Trophy Bonded" projectile will give 250% expansion with 90% weight retention and the new WW "Fail Safe" will give about 150% expansion with 85-90% weight retention.

Which powders - I generally like slower burning powders for larger cases like the .300 WIN MAG and "moderate burning" powders (IMR 3031 to IMR-4230) for smaller capacity cases, like the .308 WIN. Where accuracy is the requirement - I like powder like WW-748, IMR-4895, and H-322. Where velocity is the requirement, I like powders like IMR-4350, IMR-4831 and H4831. I have always found it best to stick with one powder for each bullet weight and case combination. While experimenting does help you determine which powder works best in a particular case - this is over blown by many experts. Once you get a good load - "stick with it." Like the old saying - "If it ain't broke - don't fix it."

Weighing each charge verses dropping each charge - this argument has been going on since the first powder measurer was offered to the public, so which one is best? While some swear weighing is more accurate, most bench rest shooters only use the powder scale to set and verify loads dropped by their powder measurer. So, take your pick. I personally use the BR method although when shooting test data for for articles I usually weigh each charge.

Primers - When rifle accuracy is the requirement the only primers to use are Federal's 205M, Remington's 7½ BR, or Federal's 210M primers. For magnum rifle cases - the Winchester WLRM primer or Federal 215 are my choices. For "run of the mill" rifle or any pistol ammunition, my choices are any of Olin's or CCI's primers - take your pick. For shotshells, either Winchester or CCI primers are my choices.

Brass cartridge cases - Winchester cases are the best and will give the longest life. WW cases are followed closely by those from Federal and more distantly by those from Remington and others. Norma produces excellent cases, but they are hard to find and are costly when compared
to domestic cases.

Shotshell Cases - the best are those produced by Winchester followed closely by those produced by Remington. The only shotshells worth reloading are the Winchester "compression formed" ("AA." Upland, etc) and the Remington/Peters "Target" (RXP, "Blue Magic", etc) type, but only those with eight point crimps. Federal "Gold Medal" cases are excellent, but they require different wads than do the WW or RP cases, which complicates the reloading process by requiring different wads.

Wads - I have always been very partial to WW wads, although I have fired thousands and thousands of RP wads. Winchester and Remington wads are not exactly interchangeable, but they are close enough for most "Government Work." However, you cannot use WW or RP wads in Federal cases, which is the reason I do not reload Federal shotshells.

Breech Pressure - This is really a relative subject dependent upon more things than just the particular powder charge and bullet weight/shot charge combination in use. I am sure many of my loads would not make it through a SAAMI pressure barrels without raising a few eyebrows. However, as long as they are safe and do not show signs of excessive pressure in my rifles, that is all that matters. This is why I test my loads at 90 to 100 degrees F. If they do not give heavy bolt lift or show other signs of excessive pressure at these temperatures, I stick with them. If they are "hot," I pull them down, immediately. I do not shoot them just to get rid of these load and never store them among other loads, because it is all to easy to forget test results several months later.

The "Keys" to reloading are very simple - "do the same things - every time." The quickest way to get into trouble is - get in a hurry, skip a few steps in the reloading process, or substitute a different component. My reloading process is so regimented it is all but impossible to make mistakes, because I build in so many quality control steps to the process. This is not to say - I have never made a mistake, I have. Since a beginning reloader does not have 30 odd years experience reloading, they should read everything available on reloading, compare their loads
against those from reliable sources, watch for signs of excessive pressures, and, most of all, "do it by the book." If not, these persons
are just asking for trouble.