Good day at the range with AH members

[njc110381]

So many great sportsmen handload as if it's nothing ... And here l am still afraid to handload even a .375 HH Magnum . I wish l could learn someday.

Hand loading isn't something folk should just wade into without some degree of knowledge but it's not that difficult and done properly it's not dangerous either. As others have already said, read up on it first and learn the basics. I find the Lee book very good as a starting point. He sells his own kit pretty strongly but also gives some good information. Any reasonably intelligent person can load ammunition.

As for making your own bullets, I guess if you are skilled enough to run a lathe to that degree of accuracy then why not? It may be easier though to specify a design for a lead bullet mold and have one custom made. Casting bullets is much easier and faster than turning them and you'd be amazed how well they turn out once you get the hang of it. I cast for my .45-70 and .357 lever guns and have just got a mold to make bullets for my .416 Rigby too. Although not ideal for dangerous game, cast bullets are great for firing at the range and allow you to get a lot more rounds down range for a fraction of the cost of factory ammunition. Hornady rounds for my .416 cost about £6 each here in the UK. Using bullets made of scrap lead and brass from shooters who don't reload I can get that price down to around £1.50. Quite a saving!

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Hand loading isn't something folk should just wade into without some degree of knowledge but it's not that difficult and done properly it's not dangerous either. As others have already said, read up on it first and learn the basics. I find the Lee book very good as a starting point. He sells his own kit pretty strongly but also gives some good information. Any reasonably intelligent person can load ammunition.

As for making your own bullets, I guess if you are skilled enough to run a lathe to that degree of accuracy then why not? It may be easier though to specify a design for a lead bullet mold and have one custom made. Casting bullets is much easier and faster than turning them and you'd be amazed how well they turn out once you get the hang of it. I cast for my .45-70 and .357 lever guns and have just got a mold to make bullets for my .416 Rigby too. Although not ideal for dangerous game, cast bullets are great for firing at the range and allow you to get a lot more rounds down range for a fraction of the cost of factory ammunition. Hornady rounds for my .416 cost about £6 each here in the UK. Using bullets made of scrap lead and brass from shooters who don't reload I can get that price down to around £1.50. Quite a saving!

Wow , that's informative ! Thank you so much. I occasionally come across 11.2 × 72 mm Schuler rifles on online auctions , but l have been reluctant to get one since no body makes solid bullets for it anymore. Only Woodleigh does a 401 grain soft nose bullet. So l thought of cutting some solids from brass bar stock.
I have worked on a lathe before. I helped a friend make bullets for his .50 caliber muzzle loader

 

[Inline6]

Wow , that's informative ! Thank you so much. I occasionally come across 11.2 × 72 mm Schuler rifles on online auctions , but l have been reluctant to get one since no body makes solid bullets for it anymore. Only Woodleigh does a 401 grain soft nose bullet. So l thought of cutting some solids from brass bar stock.
I have worked on a lathe before. I helped a friend make bullets for his .50 caliber muzzle loader

If you can do that you can reload without a problem. I started reloading at age 14, just read and follow directions.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

If you can do that you can reload without a problem. I started reloading at age 14, just read and follow directions.

Well, that settles it then. When l get my 11.2 Schuler , I'm going to cut bullets for it from brass bar stock !

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Well, that settles it then. When l get my 11.2 Schuler , I'm going to cut bullets for it from brass bar stock !

If you have all of the dimensions of the case, Hornady will make a custom die set for you. Probably a bit pricy, but it's a one off so that's to be expected.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

If you have all of the dimensions of the case, Hornady will make a custom die set for you. Probably a bit pricy, but it's a one off so that's to be expected.

Cases , l can make ! I can turn off the belts of .404 Jeffery cases and form them to size . Since No one makes a solid bullet for the 11.2 Schuler , l will resort to cutting bullets from brass bar stock

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

View attachment 303091 From left to right Robert McCloud, @USMA84DAB, @Shootist43, @Art Lambart II and CAustin taking a few shots at the range!

Nice guys.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Cases , l can make ! I can turn off the belts of .404 Jeffery cases and form them to size . Since No one makes a solid bullet for the 11.2 Schuler , l will resort to cutting bullets from brass bar stock

But once shot, they'll need resized and you can save yourself some money and time getting multiple shots from a single piece of brass.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

But once shot, they'll need resized and you can save yourself some money and time getting multiple shots from a single piece of brass.

Hey , l didn't think about this , Phil. Could you elaborate ?

 

[njc110381]

Cases expand a little when fired so they need to be squeezed back to size again before you reload them. Not a hard process, you use a press to push them into a die that is reamed out to a slightly smaller size than the chamber specs, so the case will fit easily into the rifle again and will also grip the bullet.

From reading your posts on here you seem fairly knowledgeable in other areas. I don't doubt for a second that you could reload ammunition easily and safely if you just spent a little time learning about it. Buy yourself Modern Reloading by Richard Lee - it's cheap and full of information.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Hey , l didn't think about this , Phil. Could you elaborate ?

What @njc110381 said covers it in short. I could give you a longer answer but not till later this evening.

I’m sure if you search you can also find online resources to show you the process which boils down to four basic steps:

1. Size and clean your brass
2. Prime your brass
3. Put some powder in your brass
4. Cap your brass with a bullet

Now that said there are measurements to adhere to in these steps to be certain. But it really isn’t terribly difficult.

 

[sgt_zim]

Got me, amigo. Seems like there are a couple guys on here who've done that. I shoot "normal" calibers, so I've never run across that. Any competent machinist should be able to tell you as well.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Okay. I will start this Saturday with something basic : #4 Buck shot loads for my 10 gauge Browning Gold
Thanks guys !

 

[tarbe]

How hard is it to make solid bullets yourself from Brass Bar stock ? I would imagine there are some risks involved.

Three basics you must get correct:

1. Dimensions
2. Form/profile
3. Hardness/temper

If you’re only shooting targets, you can get by with some mistakes on number two and to a limited extent number three.

For hunting, you need to get all three correct.

 

[Forrest Halley]

Well, that settles it then. When l get my 11.2 Schuler , I'm going to cut bullets for it from brass bar stock !

I think you should perfect your .375's for that magical seven shooter before you go through the headache of making your own bullets. Remember to use case lube and to watch a video on setting your dies up properly. Other than that, the .375 isn't rocket science. Have fun, be safe, and enjoy.

 

[Scrumbag]

Hand loading isn't something folk should just wade into without some degree of knowledge but it's not that difficult and done properly it's not dangerous either. As others have already said, read up on it first and learn the basics. I find the Lee book very good as a starting point. He sells his own kit pretty strongly but also gives some good information. Any reasonably intelligent person can load ammunition.

As for making your own bullets, I guess if you are skilled enough to run a lathe to that degree of accuracy then why not? It may be easier though to specify a design for a lead bullet mold and have one custom made. Casting bullets is much easier and faster than turning them and you'd be amazed how well they turn out once you get the hang of it. I cast for my .45-70 and .357 lever guns and have just got a mold to make bullets for my .416 Rigby too. Although not ideal for dangerous game, cast bullets are great for firing at the range and allow you to get a lot more rounds down range for a fraction of the cost of factory ammunition. Hornady rounds for my .416 cost about £6 each here in the UK. Using bullets made of scrap lead and brass from shooters who don't reload I can get that price down to around £1.50. Quite a saving!

Considering doing the same for my .404J

 

[njc110381]

Considering doing the same for my .404J

It's well worth sourcing a mould. If you think about the cost of bullets, £1/$1 or more each isn't unusual for this type of firearm, a mould will cost you 100ish, and maybe a nice bottom pour lead pot another 100. So 200 bullets and you've paid for the kit. Lead is really cheap and once you get up and running you can cast a lot of bullets pretty quickly. With a two cavity mould I can easily do 100+ per hour.