Reloading questions

OnTheReel · November 16, 2020

Small pistol primers would be money if you can find ‘em. They’ll get your 9mm operation running, and if you have any .45 brass made by Federal (Blazer, Speer, etc), those use SPP too.

Pissed me off when they started doing that because it added a new sorting step. But depending on what .45 brass you have on hand, and what primers you can find, it might work to your advantage.

Thejet07 · November 16, 2020

Good to know. I was under the impression 45 acp only took large pistol primers. I actually have some once used blazer and federal brass that I kept. Man, now I’m really hoping my lgs has primers. I may call around tomorrow. Thanks again. Good stuff!

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OnTheReel · November 17, 2020

Another find today. Since I am just about out of powder and primers I figured I’d grab two boxes. Just happened to be one of my favorite loads, Fiocchi 142gr. $24.99 a box used to be expensive, now it’s a bargain.

I’ve had the most luck popping into stores in the late morning/ early afternoon. By the evening, everything is gone. And any place that doesn’t have some kind of limit is a waste of time. One jackass will come in and clear their entire shipment within minutes. I’ve seen them pull 1000 round cases right off the pallet and into their cart.

The thrill of the hunt is fun but I try to be considerate and not buy anything I don’t really need. I’ve passed on a lot of 10mm, 45, 44, lately because I have loaded enough of it, don’t shoot it a lot, and/ or the price was just not favorable.

Good luck.

Bash74 · November 17, 2020

That's a good find. Every morning I do a sweep of the 4 shops in the area just to check. It is the best time to come across items. Most of the stuff I find is reloading stuff which is fine by me.

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Thejet07 · November 17, 2020

Well, just passed by one of my lgs. They had shot shell primers only. They actually went to look like they had primers and got my hopes up. Several types of of rifle powder but no pistol powder. Plenty of ammo with limits and decently expensive prices. I guess the search continues. I have several more gun shops around but probably gonna strike out. It’s a bit annoying that people are selling them online for soo much but I guess I really can’t blame them, idiots are buying. Just doesn’t make sense to me because you might as well just buy ammo then for the price they’re selling for

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OnTheReel · November 17, 2020

Bummer. As others have said, it’s just a really tough time to get started because people are seeing the value in reloading right now.

When 9mm ammo was 16 cents a round last year, nobody could give a crap about reloading it. Myself included, I stopped doing it and focused on other calibers. Now we sit at $1.00 a round and that is another story.

The ammo auctions on Gun Broker are unbelievable. Guys are making a good living off the panic. And the first time owners who bought a pistol but don’t have two bullets to rub together.

Edited November 17, 2020 by OnTheReel

Bash74 · November 17, 2020

Well, just passed by one of my lgs. They had shot shell primers only. They actually went to look like they had primers and got my hopes up. Several types of of rifle powder but no pistol powder. Plenty of ammo with limits and decently expensive prices. I guess the search continues. I have several more gun shops around but probably gonna strike out. It’s a bit annoying that people are selling them online for soo much but I guess I really can’t blame them, idiots are buying. Just doesn’t make sense to me because you might as well just buy ammo then for the price they’re selling for

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So with time and getting more experience reloading you will find out you can actually use some rifle powders for pistols, and magnum primers in pistol ammo that takes standard primers. Doing this though takes more care.

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Bash74 · November 17, 2020

Bummer. As others have said, it’s just a really tough time to get started because people are seeing the value in reloading right now.

When 9mm ammo was 16 cents a round last year, nobody could give a crap about reloading it. Myself included, I stopped doing it and focused on other calibers. Now we sit at $1.00 a round and that is another story.

The ammo auctions on Gun Broker are unbelievable. Guys are making a good living off the panic. And the first time owners who bought a pistol but don’t have two bullets to rub together.

I never could understand how people didn't see value in reloading all the time. Might be because of where I live you just can't get ammo shipped directly and have to rely on shops. It's not because of some state law but because of hazmat shipping laws and cost.

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OnTheReel · November 18, 2020

Yeah, here I can get it direct to my door. Usually use Outdoor Limited or Target Sports USA. Free shipping on a case so there is no other costs involved.

Personally, something like 9mm that was costing me 13 cents a round to load as I wanted them, I was happy to pay a few cents more each and just have it done. If I could cast my own bullets and still have reliable ammo, that would have helped a lot on the cost per round and made it worth the effort. Unfortunately I am just not there yet in the free time and skill level departments.

Nevertheless, I focused on doing a ton of .380 and .45 last year. And that has paid off just fine in light of today’s prices.

Thejet07 · November 18, 2020

My lgs is selling ammo for more than a dollar a round for several different calibers. My eyes almost fell out of my head when I saw 38 special for $40. Two dollars a round is nuts. I only have one revolver that I could use 38 special(gp100 .357) so I’m not worried about that. But I’m really annoyed at myself for waiting too long. Figured now at least I could pick your brains since I have time to wait and you guys are pretty knowledgeable.

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Thejet07 · November 18, 2020

My lgs is selling ammo for more than a dollar a round for several different calibers. My eyes almost fell out of my head when I saw 38 special for $40. Two dollars a round is nuts. I only have one revolver that I could use 38 special(gp100 .357) so I’m not worried about that. But I’m really annoyed at myself for waiting too long. Figured now at least I could pick your brains since I have time to wait and you guys are pretty knowledgeable.

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lonestardiver · November 18, 2020

My lgs is selling ammo for more than a dollar a round for several different calibers. My eyes almost fell out of my head when I saw 38 special for $40. Two dollars a round is nuts. I only have one revolver that I could use 38 special(gp100 .357) so I’m not worried about that. But I’m really annoyed at myself for waiting too long. Figured now at least I could pick your brains since I have time to wait and you guys are pretty knowledgeable.

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Dillon is your friend.

Thejet07 · November 18, 2020

In regards to powder, so far I’ve found three that seem available. Hodgden hp38, w231 which I’ve read is similar to hp38, w244 which sounds good as well. Whatcha think is best for 9mm/45? The hp38/w231 seems like the old try and true whereas the 244 sounds more modern type powder. But what the hell so I know. Lol

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HeySkippyDog · November 18, 2020

In regards to powder, so far I’ve found three that seem available. Hodgden hp38, w231 which I’ve read is similar to hp38, w244 which sounds good as well. Whatcha think is best for 9mm/45? The hp38/w231 seems like the old try and true whereas the 244 sounds more modern type powder. But what the hell so I know. Lol

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HP38 and W231 would be prime candidates for 9mm powder. I was, in my reloading days, a die hard Hodgdon Universal Clays guy for .40 and 9mm. But I'd use either of those 2 powders you named.

Find the longest OAL you can load and fit in your magazine. By that, I mean get some sized and flared brass ready (no primers) and start at the longest OAL by caliber (9mm round nose is 1.145" btw). See if you can lock your slide back, insert a magazine with 1 of those inert rounds, and hit your slide lock lever and let the spring send it home. If it feeds it, you're good.

Then start at the low end of the charge range and make 10. Bump up a little on powder and make 10 more. So on and so forth.

Range test them for accuracy at 10 or 15 yards. Use a chronograph if you got one. Whichever shoots the tightest group, use that.

Shortening your OAL (overall length) has a similar effect of increasing powder charge because you are decreasing available case volume.

If you are using flat nose 9mm or hollowpoint, you have a little more work to do on measuring OAL. And here's how you do it.

Take a prepped case, and measure it's length with a caliper. Write it down. Call it measurement A.

Take the flat nose or hollowpoint projectile and measure its length. Write that down. This is measurement B.

Set your seating die in the press and try to seat the bullet. Take it out, and measure its overall finished length. With this measurement, subtract the length of the case, measurement A. Write down this result, it is measurement C.

Take measurement B and subtract C, and you have your seated depth, D.

Repeat this process for your round nose load, and tailor your seating die so that your flat nose round has the same depth D. With the same powder load, they will have the same operating pressure.

With that process, you can change bullet type and generally retain all the performance of the standard round nose. With that said, the flat nose usually has more bearing surface and will probably be a more accurate round.

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