Cartridges and my thoughts

A free flow thought on reloading cartridges and what factory loads I found useful.

I began shooting at a very young age using a .22 rifle on my Dad's lap shooting cans in a town dump.  He gave me a very good education in trigger control and aim.

Around the age of 12 he went down to a pawn shop in Las Vegas and bought me a bolt action .22 which to this day is STILL the most accurate .22 long rifle firearm I have seen.  It needed some repair and came cheap but was dear to me.

Since then I have owned a number of firearms in various configurations and calibers.  My dad once reloaded for hunting rifles but stopped and I began reloading in my early 30s for a variety of firearms.

The entire catalog of calibers I once reloaded are not shown here.  Age, illness and disuse has led to me pretty much giving up the hobby of shooting about 9 years ago.  For the citizen a good semi auto can be fun and useful, if you can't do it with the standard arms of the day you are in the wrong fight.

Shotguns or handguns (revolvers or semi autos) for urban self defense and semi auto rifles for target shooting and hunting and self defense away from urban areas.  In self defense, select the proper arm and ammunition, always remember bullets carry a long ways and your neighbor may take exception to bullets flying thru their walls.

When I could I got military surplus rounds of various types and shot them as they were cheap in the 80s and 90s.  I have owned every major caliber except the French calibers of military rifles used in World War II.  Surplus ammunition rarely misfired and was accurate enough for even long range shooting at steel targets.  My favorite remains the Swedish 6.5x55 round and their Mauser Military rifles.

All major cartridge companies produce usable ammunition.  But even their match ammunition will not equal the good hand load.  It is important that you educate yourself in the types of bullets and the cost of various ammunition.  For reloading or with factory ammunition I prefer to buy in bulk as that saves money in the long run.

I first reloaded for my .308 bolt action rifle.  Ruger made a quite nice carbine style rifle in the lightweight hunting variation I wanted and I bought one in the 80s.  My preference was for heavier bullets in the 165 (Sierra match) to 180 grain (Sierra or Remington spire point) range.  I used the powders which gave me the best velocity and at the same time filled the case up as much as possible.  I changed powders and primer manufacturers from time to time.

I also reloaded for my 30-30s using the 150 to 180 grain bullets depending on what was needed.  Once again primer and powder were selected on performance need and what was available at the time.

Neither of the rifle calibers above like to be hot rodded.or forced to do more than they are designed to do.  Both are great calibers in mid range velocity with proper bullets.  Turning a rifle into a bomb near your face is not the preferred method of handloading.  Always double check your weights and ensure you are using the proper weight of bullet and powder.  Each type of powder varies in volume and weight it prefers.   Some calibers need to be crimped at the case mouth and some do not.

My favorite for both calibers are the mid weight carbine style rifles in lever action (30-30)  or bolt action (.308).  The Ruger .308 has a long ledd throat which allows a heavier bullet to move forward from the case before engaging the rifling.  This never seemed to degrade performance with factory or military light weight bullets.

Lever actions with tube magazines require the avoidance of spire or sharp nosed bullets.  A sharp nosed bullet might detonate the round ahead of it in the magazine.  It is vital that you know the purpose of the rifle and it's peculiar types of ammunition.

My choice for all handgun (revolver) reloading is the Semi Wad Cutter (SWC) cast lead bullet.  I buy mine from small casting companies in the west.  I prefer the Elmer Keith designs from the last century.  The 150 or 158 grain SWC in .38s or .357s and the 240 or 250 grain SWC in the .44s.

My favorite handgun powder is Unique powder which is an old favorite among many reloaders.  But I have had good results in all types of pistols from Accurate number 5.  All brands of primers work in the moderate loads I prefer.  I use any good case from any major producer and I prefer to use nickel plated brass cases for .38 or .44 specials.  I use unplated brass for the magnum pistol calibers.

Each of the types of pistol reloads require attention to detail and the knowledge of what makes the reloads work in the pistol.  Automatics often use the case mouth for head spacing which means crimping of autos may be an incorrect move.  In revolvers you MUST crimp the bullet into the case without crushing the bullet or over crimping.  Without crimping in a revolver the loads yet to be shot may lose their bullet under recoil locking up the firearm.

For all hunting or self defense I would advise the use of factory ammunition.  This goes for rifles or pistols.  Currently 9MMs are too cheap to buy versus reloading them.  Right now the .40 caliber automatic pistols might be good prospects for reloading as factory ammunition is hard to come by.

More later......