In other words, pay upwards of a grand for a straight-pull bolt-action?
Exactly.
In other words, pay upwards of a grand for a straight-pull bolt-action?
I am totally a believer in custom loads for accuracy. I knocked a Browning BLR chambered in .308 from over 2" with factory loads down to a consistant 1". The big difference came when I used an overall length gauge and set my OAL to almost touching the lands. No bullet jump.
The Army is trying to field "Green Ammo"; of course the Marines are going with the more deadly bullet...
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/04/army_deadlier_round_040210w/
Here's a good start:Any advice for an absolute rookie? I have no clue what I am doing.
There is, but the only thing that has changed is newer powders and newer calibers. The manual is still good. You can still load any pistol with Unique and any rifle with H4895. Some things are timeless.I'm pretty sure that there is a manual in there, but it was probably printed in 1975. I'm guessing that there is new material out there.
As long as it didn't get wet, it will be fine. I've got some circa 70s DuPont powders that I still use. If they are sealed, that's even better.Does powder keep for a long time or should I junk the stuff that's in there and start new?
Range pick-up is the cheapest brass source. for 25-06, you might have to order from Graf's and sons, or you could reform some 30-06 brass. If you are ordering bulk (like 5k+ primers) Powder Valley Inc is hard to beat. Same with Graf's and sons. There should be a local gun shop that sells reloading components; find out what their price on 1000 primers is, and compare it online. There is a $20 hazmat fee for shipping primers and powder, but the bulk savings make up for it.Best place to get the materials (brass, powder, primers, etc.)?
One question about "range pick up": Will any .308 brass do for reloading? I mean if the guy next to me is shooting plain-jane Remington, Winchester, Federal can I just steal his stuff or is there something I need to look for?
In the reading that I did yesterday, I came across a nugget that I was not aware of:
I previously knew that 5.56 and .233 are (while normally compatable) not identical. I THOUGHT .308 Winchester and 7.62 surplus was the same...it isn't. Max case pressures for 7.62 are lower, which explains why my surplus ammo was impacting 2 inches lower when the bullet was 10% lighter.
I am not sure how that impacts reloading, since there was not a warning against putting a .308 powder charge into surplus brass. Something to keep in mind when bringing loads out to the range though. The complexity of this stuff feels like drinking from a fire hose at first, but I am starting to pick up the vocabulary.
One question about "range pick up": Will any .308 brass do for reloading? I mean if the guy next to me is shooting plain-jane Remington, Winchester, Federal can I just steal his stuff or is there something I need to look for?
One question about "range pick up": Will any .308 brass do for reloading? I mean if the guy next to me is shooting plain-jane Remington, Winchester, Federal can I just steal his stuff or is there something I need to look for?
This brings to mind an experience I had when I was competing with the Navy Pistol team. We were shooting a 2700 at the 12th Precinct Pistol Club (DC area) back around '74. We always left our brass for the civilian competitors to pick up as it was supplied by Uncle and no one on the team needed to reload anyway.
I'm in the middle of a 10 shot slow fire string and I look down to see a hand reaching for a piece of .45 brass between my legs, from behind! I couldn't decide whether to stomp on the hand, put a round in it or fart in the guy's face. Needless to say, it blew my concentration for the last 2 shots.
In the reading that I did yesterday, I came across a nugget that I was not aware of:
I previously knew that 5.56 and .233 are (while normally compatable) not identical. I THOUGHT .308 Winchester and 7.62 surplus was the same...it isn't. Max case pressures for 7.62 are lower, which explains why my surplus ammo was impacting 2 inches lower when the bullet was 10% lighter.
I am not sure how that impacts reloading, since there was not a warning against putting a .308 powder charge into surplus brass. Something to keep in mind when bringing loads out to the range though. The complexity of this stuff feels like drinking from a fire hose at first, but I am starting to pick up the vocabulary.