Reloading

Discuss guns and ammo in this forum. This will be a good place to keep all that info together for reference. We will move relevent threads into this forum as we find them, and you will have your gun info in one place.

Moderators: Pike Ridge Beagles, Aaron Bartlett

User avatar
Pike Ridge Beagles
Site Admin
Posts: 1745
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:11 am
Location: Ohio

Reloading

Post by Pike Ridge Beagles »

How many of you guys and gals on here reload? What type presses, dies, etc. do you use?

TallDog
Posts: 163
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:41 pm
Location: Neosho, MO

Re: Reloading

Post by TallDog »

I've been reloading for .220 Swift, .243, .270, 30-06 and 45-70 since 1973. Back then I bought a RCBS RockChucker, scales, dies, etc. and have been pleased with it all. There's some newer, better equipment out since those olden days but all of my stuff works as well as it did 35 years ago. Sure wish someone would invent a case tumbler that would clean 'em up in about 10 minutes though.
"We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us." George Orwell

User avatar
DIXIEDOG
Posts: 1174
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2006 6:26 pm
Location: MAINE

Re: Reloading

Post by DIXIEDOG »

I reload my larger caliber ammo using a RCBS Rockchucker Supreme, I use a Hornady LNL progressive for pistol calibers and .223, everything else I have is RCBS except my tumbler which is Lyman. The only reason my progressive press isn't RCBS is that the progressive they had at the time didn't have auto indexing. I strongly recommend RCBS , they work great and if they ever break RCBS will take care of you.

wvduece
Posts: 1833
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2005 12:49 pm
Location: Gilbert WV

Re: Reloading

Post by wvduece »

i dont reload myself but thats all i use for deer hunting my lil brother does it for me n has been doing it for several years guess im just too darn lazy no need to do it as long as he does it for me i dont have the patience jb
.ImageJUST AS JOHN SEES IT

User avatar
Pike Ridge Beagles
Site Admin
Posts: 1745
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:11 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Reloading

Post by Pike Ridge Beagles »

I use the Dillon Square Deal for 45acp.
The Forster Coax for large rifle.
The Redding Boss for smaller rifle and pistopl rounds.
The Lee Turret for general purpose work.
Seriously thinking about another dedicated Dillon to reload 44 mag.
I prefer Redding Dies for rifle and Hornady for pistol.
RCBS scales is my choice for powder measuring and I would like to buy a Rock Chucker press at some point in time. RCBS makes good stuff.
For the man on a limited budget one can not beat the price that Lee sells their products for and they make a quality but inexpensive reloading die.

fulcount
Posts: 865
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2005 11:23 am
Location: North Creek NY

Re: Reloading

Post by fulcount »

anyone reload 7mm08?
what do you find are the best loads for deer powder and bullets
I reloa dfor a TC Encore pistol 15 in bbl in 7-08 would pistol powder work better for the short bbl? Im just a neophyte at thie reloading thing

John O

User avatar
Pike Ridge Beagles
Site Admin
Posts: 1745
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:11 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Reloading

Post by Pike Ridge Beagles »

fulcount wrote:anyone reload 7mm08?
what do you find are the best loads for deer powder and bullets
I reloa dfor a TC Encore pistol 15 in bbl in 7-08 would pistol powder work better for the short bbl? Im just a neophyte at thie reloading thing

John O
Absolutely, NEVER use pistol powder in a rifle case. You'll blow the gun up and it won't be pretty.
Since you have a short 15" barrel what you want is the fastest burning rifle powder that you can find. I like Winchester Ball powder because it meters so well. I reccomend buying a reloading book from Hornady, Speer, Sierra, Nosler or your favorite bullet manufacturer. It will list loads for the 7mm-08 and some books have loads developed exclusively for the Encore.
If you have any other questions please feel free to post them or drop me a PM.

User avatar
DIXIEDOG
Posts: 1174
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2006 6:26 pm
Location: MAINE

Re: Reloading

Post by DIXIEDOG »

Pike Ridge Beagles wrote:
fulcount wrote:anyone reload 7mm08?
what do you find are the best loads for deer powder and bullets
I reloa dfor a TC Encore pistol 15 in bbl in 7-08 would pistol powder work better for the short bbl? Im just a neophyte at thie reloading thing

John O
Absolutely, NEVER use pistol powder in a rifle case. You'll blow the gun up and it won't be pretty.
Since you have a short 15" barrel what you want is the fastest burning rifle powder that you can find. I like Winchester Ball powder because it meters so well. I reccomend buying a reloading book from Hornady, Speer, Sierra, Nosler or your favorite bullet manufacturer. It will list loads for the 7mm-08 and soe books have loads developed exclusively for the Encore.
If you have any other questions please feel free to post them or drop my a PM.
Or depending on how much you reload it could be worth buying Quickload reloading software, it will help you narrow down your selection of powders and estimate your velocities with any powder charge you enter. (Estimates have been within 20 FPS when I've used it so far) It really helps selecting the best performing loads for add firearms like the Encore with it's shorter than 24" barrel to give you the best performance for your specific barrel length.

User avatar
Pike Ridge Beagles
Site Admin
Posts: 1745
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:11 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Reloading

Post by Pike Ridge Beagles »

Dixie brings up another viable option is you like computer software programs.
Many bigber gunstores offer smaller reloading pamphlets or manuals for free. I have picked them up by Hodgon, Winchester, Accurate and IMR. They are pretty good if you want to compare various loads.
If I were to buy one hardback book it would be either Hornady or Sierra, since I use their bullets almost exclusively. Nosler would be third.

fulcount
Posts: 865
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2005 11:23 am
Location: North Creek NY

Re: Reloading

Post by fulcount »

Can you give me an idea of where to get the book for Encore reloading info for the 7-08

User avatar
Pike Ridge Beagles
Site Admin
Posts: 1745
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:11 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Reloading

Post by Pike Ridge Beagles »

fulcount wrote:Can you give me an idea of where to get the book for Encore reloading info for the 7-08
Yes....buy the Hornady 7th edition hardback reloading book. It has a handgun reloading section that lists loads for various Encore pistol configurations using rifle cartridges, including the 7mm-08. It lists loads by Hornady bullet type but you can also use the same loads for other bullets besides Hornady bullets as long as you use the same bullet weight, i.e. 100 grain, 120 grain, 139 grain, 154 grain, 162 grain, 175 grain, etc.
You can get the Hornady book for less than 20 bucks. It is an excellent book.
Don't be fooled by the handgun reloading book section title, many of these are rifle cartridges shot out of long barreled handguns (Encore/Contender).

User avatar
DIXIEDOG
Posts: 1174
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2006 6:26 pm
Location: MAINE

Re: Reloading

Post by DIXIEDOG »

Pike Ridge Beagles wrote:
fulcount wrote:Can you give me an idea of where to get the book for Encore reloading info for the 7-08
Yes....buy the Hornady 7th edition hardback reloading book. It has a handgun reloading section that lists loads for various Encore pistol configurations using rifle cartridges, including the 7mm-08. It lists loads by Hornady bullet type but you can also use the same loads for other bullets besides Hornady bullets as long as you use the same bullet weight, i.e. 100 grain, 120 grain, 139 grain, 154 grain, 162 grain, 175 grain, etc.
You can get the Hornady book for less than 20 bucks. It is an excellent book.
Don't be fooled by the handgun reloading book section title, many of these are rifle cartridges shot out of long barreled handguns (Encore/Contender).
Be careful substituting bullets of the same weight when using load data. The ogives of the bullets aren't generally the same and you will get excessive pressures when swapping among different manufacturers. Make sure you back your load off and work up slowly while watching for pressure signs.

fulcount
Posts: 865
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2005 11:23 am
Location: North Creek NY

Re: Reloading

Post by fulcount »

Thanks for the info guys really appreciate it
john

User avatar
Pike Ridge Beagles
Site Admin
Posts: 1745
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:11 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Reloading

Post by Pike Ridge Beagles »

DIXIEDOG wrote:
Pike Ridge Beagles wrote:
fulcount wrote:Can you give me an idea of where to get the book for Encore reloading info for the 7-08
Yes....buy the Hornady 7th edition hardback reloading book. It has a handgun reloading section that lists loads for various Encore pistol configurations using rifle cartridges, including the 7mm-08. It lists loads by Hornady bullet type but you can also use the same loads for other bullets besides Hornady bullets as long as you use the same bullet weight, i.e. 100 grain, 120 grain, 139 grain, 154 grain, 162 grain, 175 grain, etc.
You can get the Hornady book for less than 20 bucks. It is an excellent book.
Don't be fooled by the handgun reloading book section title, many of these are rifle cartridges shot out of long barreled handguns (Encore/Contender).
Be careful substituting bullets of the same weight when using load data. The ogives of the bullets aren't generally the same and you will get excessive pressures when swapping among different manufacturers. Make sure you back your load off and work up slowly while watching for pressure signs.
I have found that loading by weight normally works as a general rule. The hardback Lee reloading book only lists bullets by weight and does not list manufacturer. I am currently using Hornady, Speer, Sierra, Lee and several powder manufacturer handbooks as my main source of reference. I usually never load at the highest powder charges anyways and find the most accurate loads usually fall just shy of the manuals suggested hottest charges...in most cases. Usually, the major handbooks hottest loads are below the danger zone due to liablilty of publishing reloading data due to gun working condition and age. It is a good practice if you are new to reloading to buy a book like the ABC's of Reloading or various other manuals. In addition, there is a wealth of free information on the web.
A good sign of excess pressure is flattened primers and other case anomalies.
It is a good practice to compare loading data between several manuals and you can always get data for free online. I have several manuals so if anyone has a particular question concerning a certain load feel free to post your question up here. Seems we have several knowledgable reloaders on this site.
Here is one of many websites dedicated to reloading.... http://www.reloadersnest.com/rifle.asp

fulcount
Posts: 865
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2005 11:23 am
Location: North Creek NY

Re: Reloading

Post by fulcount »

Pike Ridge
I bought the abcs of reloading awhile back it does help a lot
I'm looking for a good load for a 145 gr 7-08 speer bullet
do you have one that works well
have also some new 140 gr combined tech ballistic silver tips to try have any
ideas?
John

Post Reply