General Ammo Talk...

[jamesryan]

Since I’ve added a few calibers lately, I’ve done a new inventory. I’m back up to normal levels, at no small expense (understatement of the year). Got 11k of 22lr on hand so I’ll be switching gears a little and doing some shooting with that soon. I’ve got 8 guns that shoot .22 so I shouldn’t get bored with it.

Replaced a ton of missing pistol brass with factory ammo. I have a couple hundred of most semi-auto pistol rounds waiting to be loaded. I need to find some 10mm brass somewhere. If y’all have a lead on that PM me.

Looking to start reloading rifle soon. I’ve got that .243 and 300 prc that I’m only in the double digits on ammo count. .243 won’t be so bad buying a box here and there. 300 prc is a special order item and close to $90/40 rds. That’s going to be a very slow buildup of inventory. Reloading these are on the back burner for now until I’ve gotten my feet wet on less powerful rounds.

7.62x39 and .308, while I have a few thousand rounds on hand, almost all my inventory is steel case. So I’m SOL on reloading those. I’m going to have to start replacing with brass as I burn them up.

Got maybe 500-700 of .223 brass that could be reloaded. All of my live ammo is currently steel case. .223 is probably a good place to start given it’s the smallest of the rifle cartridges I have. I’ll learn the reloading rifle there. That AR should be fairly forgiving. I’m not sure 7.62x 39 will be worth the trouble but I may for the practice before going to .243, 30-30, .308.

6.5cm and 300 prc will likely come last as they are precision cartridges.

[crbutler]

If you are talking about learning on something, the .223/5.56 is a high pressure round and can be very sensitive to minor changes. It’s not a “beginner” round just because it’s small. Given the small volumes, minimal changes can make big differences.

If you want to start low and work up, start with the .30-30, then move to the .308.

The 7.62x39 isn’t a bad one to reload, but it has all kinds of things that make it not the easiest to start with.

To be honest, the 6.5 creed is easy to work with and if you have a factory load that is good, it will be the best one to iron out your techniques with.

Going to someone like Oldman and having him teach you probably will save a lot of time and frustration as well.

[OldmanFCSA]

Going to someone like Oldman and having him teach you probably will save a lot of time and frustration as well.

Best suggestion I've heard.

I've got all your cartridge needs covered with components for most.

300PRC is not covered.

I teach for free - best way to learn whether 1 hour or 11 hours as some have been here.

[BigDog58]

Going to someone like Oldman and having him teach you probably will save a lot of time and frustration as well.

Best suggestion I've heard.

I've got all your cartridge needs covered with components for most.

300PRC is not covered.

I teach for free - best way to learn whether 1 hour or 11 hours as some have been here.

Best RTOS (Return on Time Spent. You'll learn more in a day with OM than you'll learn on your own in 6+ months (I'm being VERY Conservative). I still learn tips and get new ideas from him, every time I have the time to go over and actually do some reloading together. There isn't a better teacher/mentor, in the art of reloading, within 500 miles.

[linksep]

As for reloading 7.62x39... I've read (no first had knowledge) that an AK will beat the hell out of your brass eliminating any cost savings from reloading. I've also seen where people add rubber brass bumpers to their AKs to eliminate dented brass.

Also, while Oldman teaches for free, consider that everyones time is worth something and the things you will learn will save you tons of your own time and materials (and possibly kabooms) in experimenting as well... I would recommend making a cash donation to Oldman's shop propane fund.

Just some things to think about.

[crbutler]

To me, the issues with 7.62x39 are:

.308 vs .311 bore/bullet diameters

Lots of berdan cases around

Lots of steel cases around

Semiauto rifles of varying gas needs for function.

Relatively small case volume (not as bad as .223) making minor powder fluctuations have more significance

The fact that most rifles made in it have high tolerances, so getting my desired accuracy out of it can be difficult.

The AK/SKS does tend to beat up cases and fling them all over the place, making having a consistent lot of brass more difficult.

[OldmanFCSA]

I shoot 7.62X39 out of an AR-15 style rifle with a dedicated upper in 7.62X39 with a 0.310" bore groove size.

A properly fitting projectile is required to shoot with accuracy and to not destroy the brass casings.

Correct pressure curve with proper powder choice determines accuracy after proper fitting projectile.

[crbutler]

My point is that there are rifles with both bore sizes out there.

That loading for the .30 Russian requires more knowledge than the average cartridge does.

If you have the knowledge of what bore size you are dealing with, that helps. I’m in the position that I have some with both bore sizes. Like you, with one of the rifles (also an AR 15) I get good accuracy, but what shoots best in my mini Mauser doesn’t do well with the AR, and is minute of IPSC target at 50 yards from the AK.