Reloading for Handgunners. Patrick Sweeney
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(which I do not cover in this book, it is just too much bother even for me to load), the .38 ACP and the Ruger-only loads of the .45 Colt.
Then, at 35K, we have a slew of cartridges that run from there to 37.5K, and finally, our big one, the .454 Casull at 50K.
Revolver/pistol
The obvious sort, revolver vs. pistol cartridges, is not as clear-cut as you’d think. The 9mm and .45 ACP, along with the .38 Super, have all been chambered in revolvers. And, the .38 Special and .357 Magnum have been chambered in pistols, the Special for Bullseye shooting, half a century ago, and the .357 In the Coonan, from the mid-1990s and again today. The .32 S&W Long is a special case, due to its having been for a long time the centerfire international competition cartridge. The bureaucrats who run the Olympics seem intent on getting gunpowder out of “sport” and they are pushing towards an all-airgun format. But for a long time, .32 wadcutter guns were the norm for international centerfire competition.
While some cartridges are more commonly seen with jacketed bullets only, they can all be loaded with lead bullets, so we really can’t sort them that way. We can, however, sort according to how accommodating they are to length and bullet shape.
A revolver can take a loaded round up to the length of the cylinder, and of any shape. We used to load 230 grain wadcutter bullets in .38 or .357 cases, for bowling pin shooting. (No, that is not a typo – 230 grains.) We loaded them as long as possible, using whatever crimp groove allowed the assembly to stay under cylinder length. Pistols, on the other hand, since they have to rudely shove the cartridge up a feed ramp of some kind, are a lot less forgiving of bullet shape and length. It has to be within a range (which can vary from pistol model to model) and the shape allowed depends on the pistol design and skill of your gunsmith. That many gunsmiths were able to get the 1911 to feed bullets that otherwise were thought un-feedable is a testament more to their skills than anything.
One temptation in the field of reloading is to make a cartridge do something it wasn’t intended to do. I still recall a reloading article of some 35 years ago, using 4756 to boost performance of the .38 Special. Now, the Special can be a softy, delivering average performance, but the intent was to make it a pocket magnum. Then, as now, my take is simple: you want a magnum, go get a magnum. Don’t try to grossly exceed the performance of a cartridge just because you can. You will end up paying for it, somehow, if only in decreased service life of your firearm.
Ease of reloading
There is one more division, and that is ease of reloading. Some cartridges are easier to reload than others. A pair of really easy ones to load are the .45 ACP and the .38 Special. The .45 is so short, the cases do not wobble much on your shell plate or shell holder. As a result, you can work your press pretty quickly, knowing the cases won’t catch on the edge of a die and crumple from the impact. The Special wobbles a bit, but not a lot, and both of them run at such low pressures that resizing is a dream.
On the other end, we have cartridges like the .32 Auto, which is so small just holding things is tough. Between placing teensy cases onto the shellplate or shell holder and perching tiny bullets on top of case mouths, the .32 is an effort. Another .32, the .327, is so long that wobble is in effect magnified as you lift the ram, and you have to have a smooth and steady hand to get speed loading it.
One that might not seem tough but can pose problems is the 9mm Parabellum. In the hottest loads, the case is so filled with powder that any untoward vibration spills some. The problem isn’t in lost velocity due to spilled powder, but the mess and subsequent binding of the press when it builds up enough.
A different problem comes up with the .44 Magnum if you are reloading maximum loads on a progressive press. The cases can be so difficult to resize that you can’t help but jerk the press around, and you practically stand on the handle to get each resized. If you are going to load right to the redline in the .44 Magnum (and other, even more robust rounds, like the 454 Casull), you might consider a separate, single-stage press. Use the single-stage press, with the longest handle that will fit, as a sizing-only station. Long leverage, and no need to worry about seating bullets or dispensing powder, can make the task easier. Once sized, then you can feed the cases into your progressive reloader for smoother, more consistent loading.
Your loading speed can be quite dependant on the caliber you are loading and the performance you expect out of it. Don’t be thrown off by your buddies and their “I can load X number of rounds an hour.” They are probably exaggerating an estimate and haven’t a clue. What matters is that your ammo all works, safely, and performs in the manner you intend.
Why detail this? Simple:
BRASS LIFE
“How long will my brass last?” Good question. And as with so many questions in life, the answer starts out with, “It depends.” First off, is it brass with a reputation for fragility? The cowboy .38-40 and .44-40 cases are classic examples where a slight dent on the case mouth (in some production batches) can damage a case so much it won’t reload at all. So, treat them gently.
Other cases are indestructible, the .45 ACP being one of them. It is large and easy to handle. It is sturdy and operates at a low pressure. I have .45 ACP cases on hand that have been reloaded so many times that you can’t read the headstamp from the battering the ejector delivers on each shot.
Pressure also matters. The higher the pressure, the more the case is worked and the shorter its useful life. The match between chamber size and re-sizing die size also matters. If the chamber is too big, and the sizing die is at the bottom end of the allowable specs, the case will be over-expanded and then sized down past the average. That works it even more, shortening its useful life.
In a test that is still relevant to this day, one of the writers of Guns & Ammo reloaded some .38 Special cases to see how long they’d last. It was the common target load of a 148 grain wadcutter and 2.7 grains of Bullseye, with the dies adjusted to work the case as little as possible while still providing proper ammo function. After a dozen loadings with no change, he gave up on the batch and simply loaded a single case over and over. 144 loadings later, he finally noticed a tiny crack in the case mouth.
The more careful you are to treat your brass gently, and the more you avoid brass-busting pressures, the longer your brass will last.
When you handle brass, get in the habit of “jingling” each handful. Learn the sound of good brass, and the sound of cracked brass.
To get the brass and media separated, get a five-gallon bucket and the screen that came with your tumbler.
Take the top off the tumbler, and put the screen on it.
Put the five-gallon bucket on the screen.
Turn the whole thing over, and shake or even turn on the tumbler. (Hold it in place, lest it vibrate off and break.)
If you stay within the proper limits, most cases will last a dozen loadings or more, which makes the per-shot cost of the brass cases, if you had to buy them to start with, just about nothing. And if you get brass free, or find it at the range, so much the better.
LUCKY HANDGUN LOADERS
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