Reloading common sense!

[jonbearman]

I have around 30 reloading manuals and then some. I have noticed over the years that folks are looking for starting loads to pet loads for any caliber that exists. I myself have asked for help with pet loads however no matter what a person suggests to me ,I go back to the books and double check that information to see if it is within parameters within published data. Now I know that published data is lawyered up imfo to prevent injury to the end user. However I have seen a trend in some folks that asking for help clearly don't have reloading manuals from the bullet manufacturer or any publisher to begin with. I see suggestions of recipe's that are clearly over the book hottest loads to light loads. When I ask which manuals they have I get no answer sometimes which alarms me. Without load info from whomever you are inviting disaster. We are in this for fun and precision and suggesting super hot loads in an unknown rifle or chamber is just foolish.I hope those of us that only have a book at best will invest in several when they are able and always start low and work up to what their personal rifle chamber can use safely.I invite suggestions to help those without extra resources to obtain extra books to help them on their way.Even the free publications from alliant or hodgdon would be better than nothing.Even the last edition would be better than no imfo at all. We need to make young shooters aware of the actual need to start reading these manuals from cover to cover to obtain the initial knowledge of standard reloading practice's to make it safe and fun working up loads.I know I am ranting but I really care about people in general and especially the ranks of shooters to make the experience safe and without danger to their personal safety.

 

[22BRGUY]

Great Post Jon! +100

 

[Preacher]

Plus 1 for what he said......

 

[BoydAllen]

+1

 

[CaptainMal]

Good.

Just hope novice reloaders will read this.

You wanna mess 'em up? Let them see the loads in my early 60's Parker Ackley manual.

 

[K22]

Going outside published data is risky at best especially for the novice. Using "Uncle Willie's Super Duper Elk Load" can result in loosing a few fingers or worse.

Good post.

"The problem with common sense is that it's not very common."

 

[Clod-NC]

Hi Jon,hi all

Bravo Jon!!A very good one on you mate,but I'm not surprised,being as you are....We can never be too educated or learned anyway,so to play it safe,as you recommend,read,compare,ask,and then double check again..Take care gentlemen,and thanks again Jon.

 

[Pulpit]

As a beginner to reloading and bench shooting, I appreciate this advice. I enjoy reading the manuals, but feel I am wasting you pros' time when asking simplistic questions. But we all start somewhere.

I'd rather ask and find than not ask and mess up.

 

[338 Mollett]

Pulpit your attitude is wise, if you fool with this long enough something bad will happen let's hope it's not major. So ask away .In your testing you might discover something very important . Please share also Thanks !

 

[Lapua40X]

As a beginner to reloading and bench shooting, I appreciate this advice. I enjoy reading the manuals, but feel I am wasting you pros' time when asking simplistic questions. But we all start somewhere.

I'd rather ask and find than not ask and mess up.

No question is ever a waste of time. If someone feels their time is being wasted they can move to the next thread. Please ask ... and take time to weed out what doesn't coincide with published data.

 

[Lapua40X]

... I have noticed over the years that folks are looking for starting loads to pet loads for any caliber that exists. ... I see suggestions of recipe's that are clearly over the book hottest loads to light loads.

A fitting post for your number 5000 Jon. Thanks for putting it on the line. These "aedificator cavete" posts need to show up from time to time so that none of us get too big fer our britches.

 

[treeman]

that reminds me of a situation I got in when I first started reloading in the mid 80's I blew a primer by shooting the highest load first instead of the lowest. the gas pushed the ejector through the pin and crushed the spring. I've always been extra careful since then. on the lighter side I would not use IMR4831 for about 15 years after that
always safety first!

 

[TheOtherZilla]

Good post Jon. My biggest pet peeve about any gun forum is people asking for and receiving "pet' loads from others. I may provide my experience with a bullet powder combo for a caliber, but I have a personal rule never give out load advice other than type of powder and bullet.

Once again what works for me and my weapon may or may not work for you. Usually "may not" is the correct answer. And who's to know if a typo was made. People need to learn to work up their own loads. There are no shortcuts.

 

[Pulpit]

Thank you to those who have posted.

I agree with the above poster who stated that what works in one rifle may not in another.

Also, I believe I will get a sense of accomplishment by the trial of working up the right load/recipe for my rifles!

 

[wmdron]

Good post Jon!!!

 

[jonbearman]

Just to be clear,any questions are always welcome even if the question is about the pet load thing however it is important to drop 10 percent after we as reloaders extrapulate the imfo from a few different reloading manuals to make sure the powder combo is even listed.

 

[Milo 2.0]

Jon,
Good thread, can't agree more on the issue. I'm probably going to hijack your thread here, but people asking for pet loads and not doing any ground work at all, I feel has added greatly to this component shortage, on the powder side anyway. I hang on snipers hide mostly, and people can't shoot a .308 or .223 without Varget, or any 6.5 without H4350. I'm hoping this crunch will help people diversify.

I witnessed a guy this summer make a .223 load, 69-77gr bullets and IMR 3031, the velocity and accuracy from it was amazing, from a bolt and semi gun, had my head spinning. :

 

[NorCalMikie]

Only thing? How many of us that have been reloading for a "while" have actually read a reloading book cover to cover. My guess on not many if none at all.
You pick your load close to mid range and work from there.
You start too low and have problems. You start too high and have problems.
Lots of guys are hotrodders. They want fast and wonder why ther're brass is junk after a few loads, if they can get the bolt open. ???
Use any recommended load with caution and remember, EVERYBODY makes mistakes but only a few will tell about it. :-[
What works for me probably won't work for the next guy so keep that in mind when you start loading.

 

[BoydAllen]

While we are hijacking, the other thing that drives me nuts is fellows that seem to be looking for fine accuracy, and going through a lot of components in the process without first bedding their action, and or the ones that tell you that they only test when their is no wind (without some sort of flags). Over the years, I have run into a lot of fellows who would like to shoot better, and in some cases it is how they are actually shooting the rifle, which can be changed with the equipment and loads that they have, but many times if there is something significant that needs to be seen about, they do not, preferring to continue trying harder, instead of trying different.

 

[KevinThomas]

NorCalMikie,

Actually, I have read a couple of reloading manuals cover to cover, and it was a tremendous benefit to me. When I got into reloading, I didn't know anyone who was a reloader, had ever been a reloader, or knew anything about the process. I was literally on my own, save for several different reloading manuals. First was a Speer #9, the Sierra First Edition, and a Lyman that I'll be damned if I can recall the number of. It was several editions back and was spiral bound. Reading those manuals gave me everything I needed to know to get started safely in the game, as well as a pretty decent understanding of WHY there were differences between them, and how to more properly use them. What I didn't get, was any of the misinformation or bad habits I too often see/hear imparted to new handloaders by their well intentioned buddies, uncles, cousins, etc., who have never read a manual.

I've authored manuals since, knowing full well that the vast majority of the handloaders using them would 1) open the manuals to the page containing their cartridge, 2) look up the maximum load for the powder/bullet combination they were using, and 3) proceed directly to the reloading bench to fire up a production run. I don't know any guaranteed way around that, other than to try to make the information as interesting as possible (not always easy with what can be a 'dry' topic), and gear it towards a true, novice handloader, precisely as I was. The internet has changed a ton of how we do things today, some for the better . . . some not so much.