Beginner reloader question
Last night I was priming my first batch of .357 brass. They were Winchester and PMC. All once fired stuff I have been saving. It was very clear that the primer pockets in the PMC brass were much tighter than the Winchester. The Winchester primers were much easier so seat. I am going to be loading some reduced loads and some full power loads. Logic would tell me to use the PMC for the full power loads because of the higher pressures and the tighter pockets. Am I correct? Any comments or suggestions welcome. I plan on starting with Unique powder. Any pet loads. I have 125g. plated Berry bullets and 158g xtp. Thanks in advance.
SALLY
Committee member-Ducks Unlimited
SALLY
Committee member-Ducks Unlimited
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Some PMC brass I have used has had crimped in primers. Not a big deal as long as you aren't having trouble getting the primers in. make sure you use Data for lead bullets with the Berry's as th eplated bullets wrok like a lead bullet no a jacketed.
My border collie is smarter than your honor student.0 -
Frankly...I think PMC brass is snote! At standard loadings, I am getting 3 reloads from their 6.5x55 mauser. This is totally unacceptable. Anyway, I have several different makes of brass that seat primers differently from one manufacturer to the next. The only time I worry much is when the primers fall out of the cup, and believe it or not I have had this happen with once fired brass a number of times! It is ussually PMC that does this. I have found Winchester to be much harder than RP, and Norma is somewhere in between. Even though there seems to be a big difference in the Brinell harness, the Norma will outlast the Winchester by a 2 to 1 margin. Really great stuff but you pay for it!
Sound advice as to what level to load plated bullets...while it is jacketed, it still is much more malleable than a normal jacketed round and must be loaded down a tad to allow for the excessive obturation. The XTP's are some of my favorite 357 bullets, so I think you have a winner there. The only advice I would give you is this; since the twist rate in your revolver is a little slow for that weight bullet, think about the 140 grainers. I have always had trouble stabilizing the 158's out of my 586, while the 140 XTP's seem to perform wonderfully! I use Unique alot, but Vita Vourri makes a wonderful pistol powder that burns super clean. Many of my buddies are very fond of the Hodgdon powders and swear by them for the heavy loads. Have fun with the new hobby and keep up with the questions as we are all very happy to see people get into the hobby, as I'm sure you will enjoy it!
"When I cease learning...I'm dead"(Me)
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"You get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone!"(Al Capone)
"There is nothing lower than the human race...except the French" (Samuel Clemens)0 -
Last batch of PMC brass that I loaded some of the primers only partial came out but not all.These primers I believe were cemented in not crimped? [:)] 
When a worm wants to relax,does he go fishing?
ATF,Eagle Guns0 -
Welcome to reloading !
Loading for revolvers is generally more forgiving, so you are starting at a good spot. Starting at .357 is a good deal also so you can get the feel of working up lighter loads and heavier loads. .... Ya-see, you are already doing well !
I've been at it for more than 30 years and still enjoy it. You don't say if you are using your press or a hand tool to prime the cases. I used the press for a long time, then used a hand held priming tool made by Lee while loading with a friend. For me, it seemed to have a much better 'feel' of how things were seating with the hand tool. I bought me one on the way home (they are not expensive)...just a thought.
I keep track of my brass in different 'lots'. A single lot certainly has all of the same type brass, but I keep the history of how that lot was loaded, components, results, etc. If it comes to where the brass needs trimming, you trim the whole lot. If you have any failure, like a split, or a primer pocket problem, I generally toss the whole lot out (they have already been loaded many times anyway).
Someone may ding me, but don't worry about 'tighter fitting primers for the hotter loads'... if the primers seat properly they will be fine...tighter or not... they will be supported in the gun anyway. (If the load is wrong, and too hot, it will not matter how tight the primer fit.) I will assume you have take the first advice everybody gets...READ READ READ... and have more than one loading book (once you get going). If you keep your records consistent, you will know how to duplicate that 'sweet' load when you find it. You can load several different loadings, all that are correct, and your gun will prefer one more than the other. It is there for everybody, and a little different for everybody. I know when we have 'grudge matches' at the range we either 1)all use the range's ammo, or 2)anything goes and everone uses whatever they choose. For me it can be the difference in 3 inch groups (using the range's ammo), and 1/2 inch groups (using a load specific for the gun I'm using ).
For some unknown reason, I have never had much PMC brass on hand, so I can't comment on that. For lighter loads I may use bullseye or win231 (mostly 'cause I still have a lot of bullseye), but the heavier loads that work best for me all use IMR4227. It is usually a compressed load (you have to push the powder down when you seat the bullet), but with heavier bullets it is the most accurate load in my Super Blackhawk revolvers.
One last comment.. when I have primed a case, I will charge it, seat the bullet, and crimp. Once I have a primed case it does not leave my hand until it is finished. That makes it hard to double charge using the faster burning powders that don't take up much case space.
(If you are using an IMR type powder at the time, you can't double charge because there is no room in the case.)
ENOUGH HUH .... Enjoy your self looking for those 'sweet' loads for each of your guns.
Don't reload for someone else (If ANYTHING goes wrong..it is your fault).
Don't use your reloads for home/self defence. ("This person enjoyed making this custom, mankiller, ammo ... waiting for a chance to use it")
If we do not hang together,
We will most certainly hang separately.0 -
You can get a primer pocket uniformer for around 10.00. It should solve your problem and help accuracy too. 0 -
Hi bsally,
I started years ago with the .357 mag and really enjoyed it. It is a relatively easy cartridge to load and has a wide variety of bullets and powder charges available. This really makes the cartridge flexible to suit whatever purpose is needed.
Personally, I prefer the Federal brass because it has proved to be very sturdy and durable over the years. It is a very strong case and I have read that it is among the strongest of all cases. Midway brass was pretty sturdy as well and used a lot of it. I don't know who made their brass but it was good.
If I were you, I would download myself a loading manual from one of the powder companies so I had some loading data study and follow. Since you are starting with Unique powder here is the Alliant link.
www.alliantpowder.com
You can also obtain data online from Alliant. Follow the tables. Do not - repeat do not exceed the data in these manuals. I would also ground truth any "Pet" load that comes from the internet and ground truth it in a loading manual before ever loading it in a cartridge. Make certain that the load is within the boundaries of the loading data from both powder charge, bullet type, and bullet weight.
Having said this, a fun load to shoot is a 110 grain hollow point over 16.0 grains of Alliant Blue Dot powder. (Yes, this is within boundary of the load data) This little honey zips along at about 2000 fps from a 6 inch barrel, probably less that in a revolver barrel, but its still fast and you may have to readjust your sights due to the trajectory. The bullets need to have high pull and there is fireball at the muzzle. Recoil is minimal because of the light bullet and the load is very accurate.
Now check this recipe in the Alliant Manual to make sure I haven't made a typo.
Regards,
Heavyiron[8D]0 -
Thanks for all the advice. I do have several manuals and have been reading for a couple monthes now. I planned on starting low, and this will be used indoors. 6" Gp100 that shoots very well with the 125gr factory loads. I hope to have fun finding one that is better, my own.[:)] Any tips on the crimping? The Berry bullets have no groove, so what is the best for those? Thanks again.
SALLY
Committee member-Ducks Unlimited0
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