About to Start - Will be asking for advice

[USAF Ret]

Got my brass primed tonight. 20 rounds of 6.5 CR and 20 of 308. Thanks Shadow 9mm for all the help and suggestions. Hardest part was getting the stupid hand primer set up.

Loading H4350 for the 6.5CR. 10 each incrementally at about 4 grains difference to max with the 130 grain Sierra Gamechanger and 125 grain Nosler Partition.

Varget for 308. Same method with 150 grain Hornady Interlock and 168 grain Hornady A-Max (not in production anymore, but getting stocked up on clearance sales).

Checking velocity on each starting from low to high and will stop at the first sign of over pressure and back down to the previous loading for next step.

Next step will be to take the top 3 loads below max pressure and check for velocity deviation.

Rifles - CVA Cascade 6.5 CR and Christensen Mesa 308.

 

[Shadow9mm]

Glad it went smoothly

 

[2wheelwander]

No one has mentioned the case prep station. I have one and like it. Its great to scrubbing up primer pockets, deburring necks after resizing. Works quickly, so don't bear down on it. For me, its a great tool. I am not a competition bench shooter but enjoy the hobby

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TABTWU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Shadow9mm]

No one has mentioned the case prep station. I have one and like it. Its great to scrubbing up primer pockets, deburring necks after resizing. Works quickly, so don't bear down on it. For me, its a great tool. I am not a competition bench shooter but enjoy the hobby

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TABTWU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Never got a case prep station so to speak. Got the hornady 3 slot case prep trio tool. After getting the rcbs tri way cutter for my trimmer i rarely have to deburr anymore. I do use it with a rcbs crimp removal cutter. I tried the primer pocket brushes years back. Found it made no difference for my uses. Dont get me wrong, case prep stations can be great. But i have upgraded over the years where i dont need most of the functions, and not having to debur saves a lot of time.

 

[USAF Ret]

No one has mentioned the case prep station. I have one and like it. Its great to scrubbing up primer pockets, deburring necks after resizing. Works quickly, so don't bear down on it. For me, its a great tool. I am not a competition bench shooter but enjoy the hobby

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TABTWU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's nice ($$$), but I am already maxed out on the tools I have. Maybe in the future.

 

[USAF Ret]

Just want to say thank you to the folks who have reached out personally and helped me along. Both with reloading and information on hunting. You know who you are. God Bless you!

 

[stagpanther]

I like to say "brass tells the story"--so firing your handload is only part of the story; it's not a bad idea to examine your brass after firing.

 

[USAF Ret]

I like to say "brass tells the story"--so firing your handload is only part of the story; it's not a bad idea to examine your brass after firing.

Yes sir, that will be exactly what I will be doing next weekend. Looking at the primer and case for any signs of over-pressure.

Would have been this weekend, but was not able to load powder. I needed my trickler. Looked all over for it. Found it still sitting in the cart at the online store. I never ordered it. It was suggested to use a spoon, but with my arthritis and shaky hands, it might have taken me 10-15 min just to get one powder charge right.

 

[jetinteriorguy]

I like to say "brass tells the story"--so firing your handload is only part of the story; it's not a bad idea to examine your brass after firing.

It’s also a good idea to examine brass before firing if it’s been previously fired. I use a lot of previously fired brass, and sometimes they’ll have evidence from previous over pressure loads, such as ejector swipe etc. This can be misleading when working up new loads, so I always make sure not to use brass like this when working up a load.

 

[USAF Ret]

It’s also a good idea to examine brass before firing if it’s been previously fired. I use a lot of previously fired brass, and sometimes they’ll have evidence from previous over pressure loads, such as ejector swipe etc. This can be misleading when working up new loads, so I always make sure not to use brass like this when working up a load.

Yeah, I noticed that on one of the Grendel primers from Hornady Black, which runs at a scalding speed for the Grendel. The primer had a crater in it.

 

[jetinteriorguy]

Yeah, I noticed that on one of the Grendel primers from Hornady Black, which runs at a scalding speed for the Grendel. The primer had a crater in it.

If there are no ejector swipe marks or ejector imprints on the brass I wouldn’t sweat a cratered primer too much as far as reloading it. But I would watch for any case head separation.

 

[USAF Ret]

Just worked up 10 loads each for 6.5 Creedmoor. 125 grain Nosler Partition and 130 grain Sierra TGK. 5 grain increments from min-max. Made a lot of mistakes. Bumped my cartridge cases twice spilling powder and starting over. Ruined one cartridge because it was not lined up correctly when seating the bullet. Went by both Sierra and Nosler specs.

I am shooting them out of a Ruger American. It is my beater rifle and want to get it all down before I start reloading for my more expensive hunting rifles. Learned a lot with help of a few folks on here providing advice and contacting me offline. Got a good deal on some 140 grain Nosler match bullets I am going to play with for a while on the Ruger before I kick in to my 308 and 270 for hunting loads with premium bullets.

Headed to the range tomorrow to run them through looking for the pressure stop point and annotating veocities. Since those bullets are a little more costly, I will be loading cheaper rounds in the future to get me through the basics to feel comfortable.

Much thanks to everyone.

 

[USAF Ret]

First outing. Data and pictures below (125 Grain Partition). No case deformation, but one primer I think is questionable for over pressure. Bottom left on the picture with the nine cartridges. That was the max load for the Partition. Thoughts?

 

[USAF Ret]

130 Gr TGK

 

[USAF Ret]

Pardon the grammar. West TN education system.