Beginner Questions

[specialfx78]

I've been slowly piecing together my reloading kit for the past couple of years and finally loaded my first rounds last night (15 rounds of SMK 177 BTHP, 43gr RL15, OAL 2.81) I hope to get out Monday and see how they shoot.

Everything has been pretty straight forward but I have a few general practice questions.

1) If you're reloading every couple weeks is it safe/wise to leave powder in the hopper or should it go back in the bottle after every session. (My bench is in my garage.)

2) Right now I'm loading new brass but I'll be starting with spent brass soon. I had a guy tell be that he tumbles AFTER they've been reloaded. Anyone else do this?

3) My aim is to reload for accuracy more than quantity. I have a RCBS Competition powder dispenser. Once I verify that I'm throwing the proper amount should I still check every load?

4) I do not currently have a case trimmer. Anyone have a favorite to suggest? I don't think I want to spend the $$ for one of the powered ones right now.

Any other tips for a noob are appreciated. Right now I'm only loading .223 and .308.

Thanks!

 

[ASP785]

1. Most double base powders are not very hyrgroscopic. I personally leave my powder in a capped powder dispenser.

2. I do lightly clean my brass in a vibratory case cleaner after reloading to remove sizing residue. Be prepared for people to say this is very dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. Surprisingly enough I have never had an issue.

3. If you are consistent in your motions, your powder charges will be consistent. With ball powder my Hornandy does not vary more than .1 grain. So after I feel comfortable with the charge, I will only check every 10 or less.

4. One of the Wilson's.

 

[ASP785]

I should probably also state that single base (extruded) powders are slightly hygroscopic. Modern flash suppressants are basically salts, so there will be a tendency for powders containing those to be slightly more hygroscopic than ones without.

 

[specialfx78]

Thanks for the info.

I'm using Reloader 15 which I think is a double base so I should be good there. Last night I measured between every load and was getting up to a .2 variance about every 3-4 loads. This was probably an inconsistency on my part.

 

[Old Fart]

I usually don't tumble my reloads, just a wipe down. But it's my understanding the the ammo manufacturer's tumble their loaded rounds before packing.

 

[david1289]

I've always been careful to keep my powders in some kind of humidity controlled environment, but it might be pointless.. I just like to eliminate the possibilities of errors in shooting accuracy!

 

[Calamity Jake]

I've been slowly piecing together my reloading kit for the past couple of years and finally loaded my first rounds last night (15 rounds of SMK 177 BTHP, 43gr RL15, OAL 2.81) I hope to get out Monday and see how they shoot.

Everything has been pretty straight forward but I have a few general practice questions.

1) If you're reloading every couple weeks is it safe/wise to leave powder in the hopper or should it go back in the bottle after every session. (My bench is in my garage.)

If your loading one caliber or using the same powder for two or more calibers then it may be safe to leave the powder in the hopper but the powder will discolor the plastic hopper.
If using different powders for other calibers then it is wise to return the powder to its container when your finshed for that loading session so you won't get them mixed up, beleave me it is easy to do.
and NEVER have more than ONE can of powder on your loading bench during the loading of any ammo.

2) Right now I'm loading new brass but I'll be starting with spent brass soon. I had a guy tell be that he tumbles AFTER they've been reloaded. Anyone else do this?

Its a extra step but I size all my brass that requires lube for sizing then tumble to remove the lube, check flash holes for
tumbling media then resume the loading process.
Any lube left in the neck after loading can reduce neck tension which can be a bad thing for semiauto shooting or heavy recoiling guns.

3) My aim is to reload for accuracy more than quantity. I have a RCBS Competition powder dispenser. Once I verify that I'm throwing the proper amount should I still check every load?

Yes check every load, I will get rebuttle here but I always weight every charge.

4) I do not currently have a case trimmer. Anyone have a favorite to suggest? I don't think I want to spend the $$ for one of the powered ones right now.

The Lee case trimmers work very well and are cheap.

Any other tips for a noob are appreciated. Right now I'm only loading .223 and .308.

Thanks!

Get more than one load book(3-4 is better) so you can compare loads for any one caliber.

 

[Calamity Jake]

I should probably also state that single base (extruded) powders are slightly hygroscopic. Modern flash suppressants are basically salts, so there will be a tendency for powders containing those to be slightly more hygroscopic than ones without.

Suppressants are graphite not salts as salt is corrosive in any form.

 

[daniel1daniel2]

The reason people say tumbling cases after loading can cause higher pressures is that it often will start to crumble the powder if tumbled for very long which will cause it to burn faster therefore causing pressures to rise. To go a little more in depth think of a log that you are going to burn lets say that it will burn for 1 hour, for simplicity sake, if you split it in half that half will burn in 30 min so you get the same amount of heat produced in 30 min that was produced in a hour. Now lets split it again and again and again now you have 8 smaller pieces that will burn even faster and produce the same amount of heat. It is all a surface area to volume ratio, the more surface area compared to volume the faster it will burn. It should not matter if you don't do it for long, I like Old Fart wipe them off.

As for leaving powder in the hopper, I don't just because mine does not seal and the lid comes off very easy.

For rifle when I want it to be very accurate I will weigh every charge and add or subtract as needed. That also depends on what you call accurate my .223 is down in the 0.31 center to center and will open up to about 0.58 when i just dump the powder. My 300 win mag will open up to just under a inch from 0.48 outside to outside when weighed. Then again I am using a well used RCBS that is older than me, by several years. It also matters with what type of powder you are using a small ball powder (ex BL-C2) will weigh more consistent than a large extruded powder (ex H1000) (yes I do know those are on opposite ends of the spectrum for rifle powders)

I use a Lee trimmer again older than me that still works good, which is probably not much help

 

[ASP785]

Suppressants are graphite not salts as salt is corrosive in any form.

This is incorrect.

Potassium Chloride, Potassium Nitrate, and Potassium Sulfate are all salts. All of them are also flash suppressants in smokeless powder. The link below shows components of smokeless powder. The MSDS of a particular powder will list one of these components. You can Google the specific component for more information. The graphite coating serves simply to reduce the chance of unwanted ignition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokeless_powder#Smokeless_propellant_components