Happy April Fools!
But this isn’t totally a joke! Check out this video of a user who built a functional brass tumbler our of tinker toys!
Archive for the 'Reloading Articles' Category
As you continue reloading ammunition, sooner or later your going to realize “Whoah! How do I organize all my components like brass because I have a lot of stuff!”
Well, many people just put brass in bags, or back in the original ammo boxes after a day at the range.
The video below will shed a little light on storing and stockpiling your brass for reloading.
While there are many different ways to install primers into your pistol brass, one of the popular tools to install primers in the Lee Priming Tool.
This nifty hand held tool will make installing brass a breeze.
Watch the video below as this user demonstrates how to lee priming tool works, and to see if it’s for you.
Many shooters leave their brass on the range when they shoot it.
SCORE FOR YOU, THE RELOADER!
As you have likely seen, especially at outdoor ranges, range brass can be VERY dirty. One of the first things you’ll want to do is soak all the “junk” off the brass before you run it through your tumbler, dies, and equipment.
Many folks boil their brass in dish soap. Others use cleaners like “Simple Green” to safely remove all the nasty stuff before they get down to work.
But a word to the wise! Be careful how long you soak and clean brass in Simple Green. As the user in the video below will show us, Simple Green can work wonders for your super-dirty brass, but let soak too long, and you can end up with a tarnished mess.
Watch the video below to see the potential tarnishing effects if let to soak for too long! Be careful!
Some advanced reloaders, especially precision long range high-power shooters will know about the advantages of shooting with Moly Coated Bullets.
The theory behind firing moly coated bullets is that they will increase the accuracy by limiting the drag of a bullet traveling down a rifles barrel.
Moly coated bullets can at time be difficult to find in stores, so many reloaders familiar with shooting Moly may find the below video useful.
It is important to realize however that there may be some downsides to shooting Moly Coated Bullets. Many claim the Moly Coating actually will foul your rifles barrel fast, and that once you make it a habbit to shoot Moly, you shouldn’t go back to copper or brass jackets projectiles.
Many precision shooters swear that JHP boat tailed bullets can be just as accurate, so make sure and do a little research before you make the jump to Moly.
However, if your set on shooting Moly, the video below will help you get started making your own Moly Coated bullets.
One of the first things all reloaders need ot do before they start reloading is to consult a quality reloading manual. A decent manual will match the caliber and weight of your bullet with the proper powder along with the amount of powder which is safe to reload with.
Also of great importance in good modern reloading manuals is the MAXIMUM amount of powder safe for a certain load. NEVER EXCEED THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF POWDER IN YOUR RELOADS as set forth by your reloading manual.
It can be difficult to select a reloading manual. If you do a little research online, you’ll often find thread after thread of people arguing back and forth over what is the “best” reloading manual to use. This guy likes the Lyman manual, while this guy likes the Lee Precision manual… and on… and on… This can be quite intimidating and confusing for the novice reloader or the reloader on a budget!
But there is good news! Hodgdon powders, one of the largest gunpowder manufactures in the world, publishes safe reloading recipes and data on their website for most all of their powders FREE OF CHARGE!
While it is often a good idea to compare one or two manuals recipes, we have found the the data on the Hogdon site is VERY accurate, and is all the data that many casual reloaders will need. The best thing about it is that is is periodically updated with any changes that may come about.
You can find the Hogdon’s reloading data on their website at http://www.hodgdon.com/basic-manual-inquiry.html
Sooner or later you are going to wonder what are the optimum reloading recipes for your reloaded rounds. Just how fast ARE those bullets travelling in FPS (feet per second)?
This is where the chronograph comes in handy. The chronograph is an affordable and easy to use instrument that measures the speed in FPS (feet per second) of a bullet shot out of your gun.
By using a chronograph, you are able to accurately see and record bullet velocities so you can adjust your reloading recipes accordingly.
In the past few years, the cost of chronographs have plummeted, making them a must-have tool for most reloaders.
In the video tutorial below, we will learn more about how to set up and and use a chronograph, how they work, and how they can help us as we reload our own ammunition.
One of the questions that often comes up with new reloaders is how to make a reloading bench, and where to put it.
If you’re like the staff at ReloadingMadeEasy, you probably have more hobbies and interests than corners of your basement, and space often comes at a premium!
The following video explains how you can make a fully functional reloading bench and workspace in a way that won’t take over your basement or work area! It is amazing what kind of reloading bench you can set up in a space only 2′x3′!
This is probably one of the most efficient and practical setups we have seen. Enjoy!
Resizing dies are made to make handloads fit in the very smallest chamber designed for a particular cartridge. This means hand loaded rounds will always be smaller than your rifle’s chamber. What’s more, rifle chambers are usually sized to accommodate the largest factory loads produced by commercial ammunition manufacturers. Machinists call this “acceptable tolerances”. Loose-fitting cartridges can have a detrimental effect on accuracy. They also allow extra stretching and expansion when the cartridge is fired, potentially reducing case life.
You may wish to take a look at the new Digital Headspace Gauge from Larry Willis at Innovative Technologies. It does the job of several different reloading tools, and it’s incredibly easy to operate.
Willis has found that most shooters need to keep a much closer eye on their chamber clearance (at the shoulder). This clearance should be kept to a minimum, like -.002″ or less. This requires going beyond the instructions that come with reloading dies. He designed the Digital Headspace Gauge to show how YOUR hand loads fit in YOUR particular chamber. It displays this information after comparing one of your resized cases to one of your fired cases. This allows you to adjust your die height to make your hand loads fit perfectly – without guessing about chamber clearance.
This gauge can also measure the bullet “jump” to your rifling, and it works on ALL different calibers without needing expensive bushings or special adapters.
If you are interested in learning more about Innovative Technologies Digital Headspace Gauge, visit http://www.larrywillis.com.
