By Duane Thomas
A lot of people these days kind of turn their nose up at loading bare lead bullets, instead going for jacketed, plated or coated. Partly this is due to concerns over lead poisoning due to inhaling lead-laden smoke after firing, but a large part of it is the huge amount of time-consuming,…
By John Kleespies
I started competitive shooting with a Gen 2 Glock 17 that patterned like a shotgun, so (like many newbies) for a cool minute I achieved my accuracy via volume. As soon as I had the pennies saved, though, I transitioned to a Single Stack .45acp that I shot to the point of…
By Duane Thomas
Over-crimping, i.e. applying more crimp to the case mouth than is necessary or desirable, will deform even jacketed or hard cast lead bullets, degrading accuracy. With plated bullets, given the fact they have an extremely soft lead core, that’s even more likely to happen, Bear in mind the plating’s relative thinness compared…
By John Kleespies
I’m currently in the process of building a new .308win rifle and went to Lapua.com for some new brass. There, I discovered that they have two offerings for my rifle: “.308win” and “.308win Palma.”
Curious, I reached out to Lapua to learn the difference between the two types of brass, and I was informed…
By John Kleespies
Let’s say that “I have this friend” who was doing a bolt-action build that might be viewable at my website, CloverSpear.com. The last part to arrive was the Zermatt Arms action, and so when it showed up, he excitedly rushed to get the 8oz Timney HIT trigger installed. And, of course, the…
By John Kleespies
I’m currently researching a new .308win load for a rifle that I’m building, and in the process I discovered that there are actually two .308win brass choices offered by Lapua: “.308win” and “.308win Palma.”
When I asked Lapua what the difference between them was, they informed me that the brass is identical, except that…
By Duane Thomas
Many people choose plated bullets to handload, since they cost less than jacketed but don’t cause barrel leading like bare lead. Problem: most people can’t load such bullets so they shoot accurately. Simply using the same procedures we can get away with, when using jacketed bullets or even hard cast lead, and…
By John Bibby
.300 PRC
6.5 PRC
6mm Creedmoor
For those of us who reload, there are tons of options that factory ammo shooters do not have. This comes in many options, such as reduced load charges, subsonic options, heavy-for-caliber bullets and ammunition tailored to what a barrel likes. All these options fit squarely within…
By John Kleespies
A lot can be learned from gathering your spent brass and reading the primers. Here’s a few things to look for… but first…
As I discussed in a previous article, different brands of primers behave in different ways, so proceed accordingly. For instance, Federal primers are soft, whereas CCI primers are hard. Therefore,…
By John Kleespies
My car has a “hidden” storage compartment in the trunk, and I recently thought, “Hey, that’s a perfect place to transport my pistol and ammo.” I loaded up and headed to the range. When I got to my club, I had an “Uh-oh” moment when I found my 9mm ammunition almost too…
By John Bibby
Reloaders have customization options that factory options will not fulfill. They are targeting the sweet spot of the buying market, not the smaller niches. We as reloaders can put together powder, projectile and even barrel twist combinations far outside the ranges factories are willing to support. Here are five options that are…
By John Kleespies
One of the never-ending “discussions” in load development is the distance at which groups should be tested. Here are some of my considerations…
The range at which a round should be tested depends upon the cartridge and intended use of the round. For instance, it would make sense to test a .248win…