A blackpowder shooter once told me that part of the pleasure in hunting with a muzzleloader was all the effort that went into preparing for the shot. He felt shooting a muzzleloader gave his hunting a near mystical connection to his hunter ancestors.
I could understand his reasoning. That was how I feel about building my own fishing rods and tying my own flies. There is a feeling of having earned the right to claim the victory over a trophy fish.
A number of years ago I added another dimension to my shooting, I took up reloading, but not in the same spirit as my fly tying efforts. My justification at the time was that by reloading some specific loads, ideally those calibers that I shoot a lot of whenever I go to the range, I would reduce my per cost shot. I have.
I also justified my reloading in the belief that I could get better accuracy out of my rifles by knowing exactly how each load was going to perform. That was also true.
What I hadn't planned on was gaining a greater connection to my other shooting activities. Reloading does that to you. It builds an awareness of what you are doing, and why you are doing it. In short, being a reloader brings each of the shooting sports you participate in back full circle.
It isn't so different from the motivation of many muzzleloaders, nor is it far removed from the motivations that compel a fly fisherman to spend hours hunched over a bench tying tiny flies. The flies are "his." Reloading makes shooting, "yours."
History and Today
The development of reloading closely parallels the development of the metallic cartridges. Blackpowder was still the primary propellant for bullets when metallic cartridges were invented, and it wasn't really until the development of smokeless powder in the mid-1880s that reloading began to take on a resemblance of its present form.
Getting into reloading today is much easier than it was even 20 years ago because modern technology is driving reloading, just as it is every aspect of the shooting sports. Reloading today is safer and more precise because of digital scales, precision dies, presses, electric trimming tools, portable and inexpensive chronographs, and computer programs for calculating ballistics tables.
Reloading Goals
There are different motivations and goals for reloading. The mass reloader turns out hundreds of rounds of ammunition at each reloading session. Although his loads and ammunition are seldom any more precise than match-grade factory ammunition, the high-volume shooter enjoys a substantial savings in his cost per bullet. Most competitive shooters have found that reloading is the most cost-effective way of reducing ammunition costs.
Among many shooters, shooting accuracy is more important than saving money. The average shooter doesn't really care if reloading will save a few pennies on each shot. What is attractive is the accuracy it is possible to achieve on the range or in the field.
Some reloaders take great pains to develop the perfect, load--tweaking the powder charge as little as one-tenth of a grain and experimenting with different powders, primers, and even changing the seating depth of the bullet. Reloading makes this possible because the reloader is in complete control of each step of the cartridge assembly process, and the reloader can match the bullet's exit from the muzzle to the harmonics of the barrel.
The goal of these shooters is to shoot the highest possible score or tightest group. And the hunter, too, wants accuracy to make a one-shot kill on his deer, elk, or other big-game animal.
Reloading helps the shooter and hunter achieve those goals because it gives greater control over the bullet.
Jumping In
If you have ever thought of reloading rifle or pistol ammunition (or both) there isn't a better time to do it. Manufacturers have made reloading a simple process.
Three reloading companies that offer reloading kits are Lee, Lyman, and RCBS. Lee Precision, Inc. offers an anniversary reloading kit that includes Lee's Challenger Press, a powder measure, scale, and several other tools including the Lee auto-prime. If you don't have a workbench Lee also offers a handpress reloading kit.
Lyman offers several complete kits starting with the Lyman Acculine Starter Kit. Their Orange Crusher Starter Kit includes press, scale, case lube kit, loading block, funnel, and other items. Lyman's top-of-the-line kit is the Lyman Expert Reloading Kit which will completely equip the reloader's bench except for a tumbler.
A third company offering reloading kits is RCBS. Their starter kit is the RCBS Partner Press reloading kit which has the Partner press, powder scale, plus other tools. Another kit, the RCBS Starter Kit, has the Reloader Special-5 press, scale, manual, and assorted tools. The RCBS Rock Chucker Master Reloading Kit includes the RCBS Rock Chucker press, powder measure, scale, and other tools.
Basic kits begin at around $100 and more advanced ones will cost over $300.
Beyond the kits, there is a wide assortment of extra tools that make the reloading process more enjoyable and precise, including ones to trim cases to uniform length and to trim the necks of the cases to the same dimensions.
Developing A Load
All of the reloading manufacturers offer various reloading manuals with established reloading formulas for each caliber, bullet type, and powder type. The minimum and maximum dimensions of the finished cartridge are listed, and each of the loads has a minimum and a maximum powder charge.
A few reloaders want to believe that manufacturers put the maximum charge below what really is maximum. Usually it is the gun alone that pays the prices for exceeding maximum loads and not the shooter's life, although sometimes an eye is the penalty for not heeding instructions. Some guns can withstand the higher pressures of excessive loads, most won't. Hidden flaws in the metal, that gradually begin to give under the strain of excess loads pressures, probably won't show up until the last shot is fired, then it will be with a real bang when the pressures blow the gun's action apart.
The time-honored way to begin building a load is to load a half-dozen rounds using the minimum load formula, then load a half-dozen more with a few grains more powder, on up until the maximum load is reached. Each batch of bullets should be carefully labeled so you know exactly what the load is. You will usually end up with five or six sets of test bullets.
A chronograph allows you to set up your bench rest and target so you can shoot through the chronograph's sky screens. Take a notebook with you and note where each shot hit on the target, and the velocity of each shot fired. At the end of the day you will know which test load performed best in your rifle. Back at your reloading bench take the best performing load and make up another test batch, this time changing the amount of powder one or two grains more and another set of test bullets with one or two grains less. When you're ready go back to the range, repeat the test firing and note which load performs better than the others.
You can continue to adjust your loads, finding the right powder first, then trying different primers and even altering the bullet seating depth by just a few thousandths of an inch, keeping within the safety parameters for that bullet. All of these little adjustments will move you toward the final load which becomes your "formula" for a particular rifle.
There is nothing quite like achieving that final level--where the ammunition in your rifle is something you assembled using a loading formula you developed. You feel just a little smug when you watch another hunter open a box of factory loads.
Copyright (c) 1996 Galen Geer. All rights reserved.
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