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wildone
climber
GHOST TOWN
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Jan 13, 2010 - 01:43pm PT
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I just don't understand how people can become shooters without making their own loads. I hear a lot of bitching about the cost of ammo from some shooters on this board...if you can afford some fancy gun, you can afford a dillon, a rock chucker, a lee hand primer, some dies, and a powder scale. It's more work to make 20 rounds of a particular round, go shoot them, take notes, tweak the load a little bit, shoot them again, change projectiles, start from scratch, etc, but when you put in the time to do these things you get an awareness of how different changes in your load affect accuracy with a particular rifle (weight/size of projectile vs. innate harmonics of a rifle barrel) and then you find the "golden load" for that gun. For whatever reason, it is the load that the gun was made for. A speer 182 bt vs a sierra 182 gr bt, vs blue dot vs hodgdon H322...
As for bullet drop with different loads, I submit that if you put the time in to find the right load for your rifle, you're going to know where it hits when you switch loads. If you're not able to compensate in your mind, use a bdc reticle scope.
I have two loads for my deer rifle, one uses a 180 gr barnes mrx bt, and the other a 165 gr nosler partition spitzer. I carry both and use one or the other depending on distance of shot, brushiness of the area, etc. I can hit what I want with either load.
To me, being a shooter who isn't a reloader, is like owning some big show truck and living in a single wide with no heat.
Or owning a racecar and no trailer. Or a 1935 gibson 12 string but no case.
But, my first job I ever had for my dad, long before helping him pour concrete, or build houses, was sitting cross-legged on the floor in our reloading room, and hand priming a mountain of rifle shells. He would use the progressive to prime the handgun loads, but for the accuracy demands of the rifle, my dad had me use the hand primer. Or I'd load the bullets into the hopper, or go get the particular powder can he wanted from the shelf, all the while getting a running commentary on how each variable would affect the trajectory.
Good times.
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Minerals
Social climber
The Deli
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Jan 13, 2010 - 02:07pm PT
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Hey Wildone, what do you suggest as far as reloading? There is a Hornady that is on sale here for $399 and a friend has one of the Dillon models. I am interested in reloading the standard calibers – 9, .40, .45, 5.56, and 7.62, but am mostly interested in 7.62 as far as any “custom” loads. It would also be nice to put some 77gr loads (5.56) through my SDMR (space gun…). AKs will eat anything so I’ll keep putting the steel-cased Wolf stuff through ‘em.
I think this is the Hornady model that is on sale:
http://www.hornady.com/store/Lock-N-Load-AP/
Which Dillon?
http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/Dillon_Reloading_Machines-8-1.html
I’ve got a lot to learn on this stuff so any other info that you can provide will be helpful. What else should I be thinking about? Thanks!
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Jan 13, 2010 - 02:40pm PT
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I don't know a whole lot about rifle reloading but had a ton of experience with dillon when competeing with pistols. Dillion was an exceptional company with as good customer service as I have ever experienced.
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wildone
climber
GHOST TOWN
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Jan 13, 2010 - 02:41pm PT
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I have a dillon rl550b and an old hornady. They are both very nice machines, and that hornady sounds like quite a deal.
Something you should know, however, is that Dillon is reputed, and in my experience has earned the title of having the best customer service of any company, anywhere, ever.
I've heard a couple of stories to this effect from other people, but here's mine: My dad couldn't find the little copper dish for powder on his dillon powder scale. He writes them a letter asking for a replacement dish to be shipped to him, and includes his credit card number. Well, they receive the letter, and call him up telling him that they don't make that model scale anymore, and the little dishes they have for their current scales won't really fit right on his old scale. They ask him what other dillon products he has, and he tells them about our rl. They tell him they will "make it right".
Couple days later, he gets a top of the line dillon digital scale in the mail, free of charge.
That's not to say that hornady wouldn't do the same thing.
They're both nice.
For accuracy, if you can afford it, Newlon Precision Dies are the best. Many champion long range shooters use them. It's all about repeatability...
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wildone
climber
GHOST TOWN
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Jan 13, 2010 - 02:53pm PT
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See? TMC knows.
TMC, did you shoot ipsc?
My dad did, in north texas, mid to late eighties. He was really, really fast. One match, he beat leatham and plaxco, those kinda guys. I remember the match he won, there were three florida 8s at standard distance, the two on the sides, level with each other and the center raised a couple feet. You had to shoot with one foot in a tire on the ground. Two rounds per target, run to the right a few feet, mandatory reload, foot in another tire, repeat the drill.
Six double taps, a reload, and about a six foot run. He did it in like 4.5 seconds from leather to the last double tap. He beat leatham by a few hundredths of a second I think. That match was his brush with greatness. He was so psyched that those guys were patting him on the back and genuinely amazed at his shooting, he being a cocncrete contractor not a professional shooter. After that, it was back to an occaisional good placement, good days and bad days. But I'll never forget the day he beat the greats.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Jan 13, 2010 - 03:06pm PT
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I did shoot IPSC and dillon gave me numerous free spare parts for my 550B Allways within a few days and I allways offered to pay.
My greatest moment was at the 7th stage of the 91 miller invitational. I was setting in the top 16 with all the big boys. The pressure got to me and after the 8th stage I was back where I belonged. 135th ;) I did beat Russ James once at a club match but only because he self destructed :)
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Minerals
Social climber
The Deli
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Jan 13, 2010 - 03:08pm PT
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Hey, thanks guys! Customer service and warranty are definitely things to consider. I took a quick look at the Newlon dies online - $70 each? Whew… Got more research to do. Need to go talk with The Wise Man at one of the gun shops around here…
What’s the greatest number of reloads that you have been able to get out of a single brass rifle casing, provided that it’s good brass and doesn’t get beat up during ejection?
Wildone, it sounds like you got to do quite a bit of shooting as a kid. Nice.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 13, 2010 - 03:51pm PT
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I'm set with Dillon stuff for all kinds of handgun ammo, but after shooting a 6.5x284 last month I see rifle reloading on the horizon, although I anticipated shotshells next in order to cook up special loads for the Judge.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Jan 13, 2010 - 05:21pm PT
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I have very little experience with rifel reloading. I just had the hand held lee kit for my .303 British when I was a kid and my take on it is that it is much harder and more involved than pistol reloading. I never had to bother trimming cases for .357 9mm and .45ACP.. I would not count on that brass lasting too long though.
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