reloading questions

[burchesss]

I have been thinking about geting in to reloading ammo. And have a few questions, how many times can you reuse brass? I know they make case trimmers, and you must mesure to be sure they fall within specs,but is their a definate life range? Also what are the dissadvantages of LRN (lead round nose) vs FMJ (full metal jacket) for practise ammo? It would seem that the LRN would cause extra fouling in the rifleing, as the surface is softer. thanks!

[murph50]

I have only been reloading for a little over 3 years. I only reload handgun ammo--9mm,38,357 and 45 acp. Hopefully will start doing .223 this winter.
Pistol cases rarely have to be trimmed. I measure some every so often and have never had to trim one.
Rifle needs trimming pistols do not.
Some say just reload the casees till they split. I have 9mm cases that have been reloaded 5+ times and look as good as new. I was just doing a batch of about 300 38 and 3 of the cases had split. Those go in the recycling can and the rest got reloaded.
For bullets I prefer copper jacketed. I've heard that lead can cause some nasty fouling and others say it's fine. I'd just as soon not take any chances plus I reload in my house and I don't really need a bunch of lead dust floating around.
Hope this helps

[KimberPB]

+1 Murph

I reload 9mm, .45 ACP, and .223. I also do not trim pistol brass. Just inspect it and reload it. The life span will also depend on what its being shot out of. The brass expands a lot more out of Glocks or other pistols that do not have a fully supported chamber. .223 brass does get trimmed and inspected for signs of case separation. I've had some brass last a couple reloads and looked questionable. Then some that have been loaded the same that look fine. So your mileage will very. One nice thing is once you start reloading you'll have all you friends saving brass and picking up everything you can get your hands on at the range. It'll add up quick.

As far as lead vs FMJ I load lead round nose, except for the .223, because its cheaper and allows me to practice more. The lead will leave some leading in the barrel. Adjusting your loads can minimize this but some will still happen. One trick that works great for cleaning your barrel is to get one of the chore boy brass scrub pads. Cut off a small piece and wrap it in your cleaning brush. It'll clean it right up.

[Red Hat]

If you want to use lead then the best thing is to cast your own. You can make them hard enough to minimize lead fowling. Using a gas check will also help plus allow for higher velocities. I use lead all the time without any problems.

[Jack_Williamson]

I have reloades for 40 years and I agree with red hat. If you cast your own bullets with Lyman #2 alloy you can shoot almost any pistol load without excessive fouling. If you are using magnum loads I would recommend a gas check also. Above 2200 feet per second jacketed bullets are necessary. No.2 alloy wont expand much, so may not bee appropriate for hunting some game. With hand loads you can use a 30-06 to hunt anything from squirrel to brown bear. 100 grain hard cast lead for squirrel @ 1400-1600 fps; 250 grain Barns solid copper bullet at about 2200 fps for big bear.

[burchesss]

what is ment by gas check? Im new to this.

[KimberPB]

Originally Posted by burchesss

what is ment by gas check? Im new to this.

A gas check is a device used in some types of firearms ammunition. Gas checks are used when non-jacketed bullets are used in high pressure cartridges, to prevent the buildup of lead in the barrel and aid in accuracy.

Here is more info then you'll probably ever need.

Gas check - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[willyNH]

Burchesss, what caliber are you looking to reload and what are you gonna shoot the reloaded rounds out of.

Reason for asking, Glocks, Kahrs, and probably some other handguns have polygonal rifling instead of conventional rifling. Manufacturers of those barrels strongly recommend NOT shooting lead bullets through those bores.

From what I understand, the polygonal rifling will build up lead faster and could cause dangerous overpressures. I don't know if that is true or not, but I am not going to be the one to find out either.

For 9mm, I reload most often with Rainier 115gr FMJ or JHP bullets. These are a coated, not a jacketed bullet. Because the cladding is lighter, they are usually cheaper than true jacketed bullets. They are clean, consistent, and accurate.

Good luck.