Give me the skinny on reloading for bottleneck rifle calibers.

OK, I posted before Christmas that I was getting a reloading kit and getting into the hobby, several locals offered to help teach me how to reload. Things happened, it took me forever to get my bench built and press mounted, but I finally turned out my first few .38 Spl loads a few weeks ago.

I have since bought a universal decapper and a primer pocket reamer, because I have been given a lot of 30-06 Lake City brass and some .223 brass. I wanted to start doing what I could to process this, and have decapped a few hundred rounds of each.

Here is where I am at: I am ready to start reloading these rifle calibers, but I am a little unsure of what all needs to be done. As of yet, I don't have a case trimmer. And seeing as how I would load these to shoot out of a Garand and an AR-15, I am unsure if I am dead in the water until I can buy a trimmer or not. So what exactly is NECESSARY to reload rifle rounds, and what is not? I have the RCBS Supreme Master Reloading Kit, which came with a chamfer/deburring tool but not a case trimmer. Do I have to trim brass every time I want to reload for .223 or .30-06? If not, when is it necessary?

I think I have the straight-wall pistol loading pretty much down pat, but I am a little more hesitant about the rifle reloading both because the cartridges are bottlenecked, and because of lubing/trimming/etc. Just not sure how much is necessary vs. nice, and if I need to buy more stuff before I start reloading for semi-automatic rifles.

Anybody around Clinton want to help me learn about reloading for semi-auto rifle cartridges?

A couple of things I'll add is if you plan to load for a M1 Garand find a reloading manual that specially shows Garand loads. A regular 30-06 commercial load can damage the rifle operating rod.
Another is make sure to bump the shoulder back on brass about .002" to .003" that you will shoot in semi-autos.

I have a Harbor Freight digital caliper I can use to measure case length. I know the Garand takes a specific powder burn rate, and in the interest of saving money, I was hoping to find a single powder to load both my 30-06 and .223 loads with. Can IMR 4895 do this? Any other powder recommendations?

RStewart wrote:Another is make sure to bump the shoulder back on brass about .002" to .003" that you will shoot in semi-autos.

What does this mean? Am I "compressing" the shoulder down into the case body this amount? How do I measure it?

Thanks for all the advice.

grasshopper wrote:I'll try to give you a what to do next list: 1. military brass has crimped in primers. This crimp needs to be removed BEFORE you put a new primer in. A primer crimp removal tool is needed.

I bought a Lyman "large" primer pocket reamer last weekend, thinking this would do the trick on the crimps for my Lake City brass. Do I need something different?

SubGunFan wrote:Your deburring tool will remove crimped primer pockets.

Best to have someone show you.....................

.

Just saw this after I posted my previous post. I assume you are talking about the RCBS tool that came with my kit. Now I wish I had asked before I bought the separate Lyman tool last weekend!

Reloader wrote:Just got another post about bumping shoulder back. Most rifle dies say to screw the die down until it touches the shell holder. That is what SAAMI specs require. That is until they have been fired and then you can do neck sizing only.

For a bolt rifle that works fine, but for a semi-auto that uses part of the gases to force the bolt back the brass needs to be able to expand a wee bit.

RStewart wrote:

Reloader wrote:Just got another post about bumping shoulder back. Most rifle dies say to screw the die down until it touches the shell holder. That is what SAAMI specs require. That is until they have been fired and then you can do neck sizing only.

For a bolt rifle that works fine, but for a semi-auto that uses part of the gases to force the bolt back the brass needs to be able to expand a wee bit.

RStewart, can you explain how this is done? Is it a die adjustment, or something else? I haven't heard of this before today. Thanks!

wesm wrote:I have a Harbor Freight digital caliper I can use to measure case length. I know the Garand takes a specific powder burn rate, and in the interest of saving money, I was hoping to find a single powder to load both my 30-06 and .223 loads with. Can IMR 4895 do this? Any other powder recommendations?

Varget will work fine, also

RStewart wrote:Another is make sure to bump the shoulder back on brass about .002" to .003" that you will shoot in semi-autos.

What does this mean? Am I "compressing" the shoulder down into the case body this amount? How do I measure it?

Thanks for all the advice.

[b]

When fired in a semi-auto, brass needs to have a little room for expansion into the chamber. I use this to measure the shoulder of my fired AR brass. http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/sid=69676/pid=33476/Product/RCBS-Precision-Mic-Cartridge-Headspace-Tool?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&mc_id=s8000&gdftrk=gdfV21820_a_7c291_a_7c3470_a_7c749006299_d_749006314_d_5599
Drop a fired cartridge in, screw on the cap and look at the reading. Let's say it is +4. I then slowly tighten my full length sizing die and recheck until the number is +1. That is bumping the shoulder back .003". Because you bump the shoulder each time, you will not get near the reloads from brass fired in an AR versus brass fired in a bolt rifle. That 's why most AR shooters use Lake City, Winchester, etc., rather than Lapua.