Important things I've learned today

[johnf]

I got me Lee challenger kit last week and had a crash course in reloading yesterday. I got my bench set up today and started working. I've got about 85 pieces of brass prepped for powder and bullets and have 3 successful loaded cases. I have learned some things today that I thought I would pass on to those of you who are thinking about reloading, and to possibly amuse some of you who already do.

1. A tumbler is more of a necessity than a want.

2. I probably should have waited for my trickler. A coffee straw isn't nearly as efficient.

3. When deciding what depth you want to seat your bullets it's best to start out shallow and go deeper until you reach the desired depth.

4. If you don't have a bullet puller use a shell that already has powder in it. 1 unsuccessful case

5. A crimping die does a great job getting the bullets tight in the brass.

6. After crimping a shell you cannot seat the bullet in deeper. 2 unsuccessful cases

7. It takes very little motion to cause powder to spill out of the pan.

8. When taking your powder dump apart have something under it to catch powder.

9. When chambering a load make sure that the bullet is deep enough.

10. You can get a stuck load out of the chamber with a cleaning rod.

11. Make sure you have plenty extra brass because you are probably going to screw some of it up.

[huntinguide]

it takes a while too teach yourself. theres alot of tricks that are nice to know..... im still learning and reload all the time.

[PA_Spike_King]

Yep John don't beat yourself up, I have been helping my dad since the late 70's and I still am learning also.

[Strut10]

Sounds like you got yerself a good deal of experience for one day. Just think, though.......that's 11 things you won't mess up next time.

1. A tumbler is more of a necessity than a want........Tumblers are kinda like microwaves and cell phones. We survived just fine before they existed. We just can't remember how.

2. I probably should have waited for my trickler. A coffee straw isn't nearly as efficient.........But an empty casing filled almost to the top with powder works pretty darned good.

3. When deciding what depth you want to seat your bullets it's best to start out shallow and go deeper until you reach the desired depth. ........The old "cut it 3 times and it's till too short" dilemma.

4. If you don't have a bullet puller use a shell that already has powder in it. 1 unsuccessful case........Kinetic bullet pullers rank right up there with electric light and sliced bread.

5. A crimping die does a great job getting the bullets tight in the brass.........Hence the name.

6. After crimping a shell you cannot seat the bullet in deeper. 2 unsuccessful cases.......Nope. But you can crush the crap out of the shoulder of a loaded round.

7. It takes very little motion to cause powder to spill out of the pan.........VERY little.

8. When taking your powder dump apart have something under it to catch powder...........The carpet is generally not a suitable receptacle. I always just stick the dump tube down into the powder can and run the handle repeatedly.

9. When chambering a load make sure that the bullet is deep enough........Bullets can get pretty stuck in the lands by camming the bolt on an over-long round. Yep.

10. You can get a stuck load out of the chamber with a cleaning rod...........Insert vertically in the muzzle and drop.

11. Make sure you have plenty extra brass because you are probably going to screw some of it up...........But not as much tomorrow as you did today.

[johnf]

6. After crimping a shell you cannot seat the bullet in deeper. 2 unsuccessful cases.......Nope. But you can crush the crap out of the shoulder of a loaded round.

I can get pictures if you like. Are those cases ruined or can I pull the bullets and resize?

9. When chambering a load make sure that the bullet is deep enough........Bullets can get pretty stuck in the lands by camming the bolt on an over-long round. Yep.

Ok, the gun I'll be using these in is a single shot NEF, the bullet seems to be going into the grooves about 1/8". Is that ok, or do I need to dump those shells too?

[PA_RIDGE_RUNNER]

What caliber are you crimping?. I only crimp those rounds that go into a tubular magazine. I then only crimp those bullets that have a canular for crimping. For instance I crimp only 30/30 loads. When you do crimp those loads that require it you must start with all cases exactly the same length or you will crimp some harder than the others and cause accuracy problems.

Here is how I try to find the best bullet seating depth. I take a resized but empty case that is no primer or powder and start a bullet into the case. Try it in the rifle using only very easy pressure. If it will not go I push the bullet ever so slightly deeper and blacken the bullet in a candle and try again. You should get several bright spots on the bullet on the next try. By doing this till the bolt closes easily you now are close to your goal. Now you blacken the bullet once again after seating it only a couple of thousandths of an inch. Once you only get a very light series of bright spots on the bullet you are nearly where you want it. Now you want to seat that bullet about 1/16 of an inch more and you have it. Be sure to check to see if it will fit in the magazine though. I once spent 45 minutes playing with a seating depth and got it perfect but it would not fit down in the magazine.

In my opinion I never shoot a bullet that is already touching the lands this can cause an over pressure situation.

If the bulge in the shoulder is not too bad you can dump the load and try to resize the case.

[johnf]

Guess I'll start over then. I don't want to do something that isn't safe.

I'm shooting a single shot NEF.