Today I started reloading. I spent yesterday getting my bench built and set up.
I have the rock chucker master supreme loading kit and a few extra goodies to get me started.
First thing I learned was my bench is way too small… ugh.
The second thing I learned was that they are not kidding about keeping the case lube off of the shoulder! I dropped the lube pad and switched to fingers for lubricating.
Priming was trickier than I imagined. I had zero luck with the primer press on the rock chucker. First one went in sideways. At that point I switched to the hand primer. I crushed 2 primers before I got it right. Then it was easy.
I experimented with several different ways of measuring powder. I also learned that it is probably a good idea to use a q-tip and remove the case lube from inside the neck. ugh… start over again. By that time I had the powder measure dialed in pretty close. God bless the trickeler!!! I probably went was overboard for consistency, but I guess I will learn as I go how much is really important.
I ran into problems with bullet seating depth. For the Hornady 55 gr. VMax, hornady recommends C.O.A.L. of 2.230". I hope this saves at least one person a phone call! I started out long. too long to fit the magazine. I did the soot trick and chambered the round (dummy round) and extracted. I saw a few scratche that were not consistent enough for rifleings. I went down further and tried again, and again, and again, and again before I finally realized they can’t be rifleings. Digital calipers suck for precision and repeatability. I am going to upgrade to a real set soon. At this stage, fatigue was setting in, and I haven’t eaten in over 24 hours, but I was determined. I couldn’t nail down the magic 2.230 so I settled on 2.247" COAL. I hope this is okay.
Sorry for being so long, but I hope someone can learn from my mistakes.
I spent over 8 hours at the bench, non stop, to make my first 10 rounds!
My starting recipe is:
Federal .223 brass
Hornady 55gr VMax
Hodgden BL-C(2) 25.5 gr. (Varget was unavailable)
CCI small rifle primers
COAL 2.247"
Is my length going to be a problem?
Why could I not find the rifle grooves during initial depth testing? I am supposed to be chambered for the 5.56, but on a commercial gun, who really knows (not me!).
is there any thing other than not trimming the cases I am doing wrong?
Lube pad always worked great for me. Make sure the neck/shoulder of the case(s) are off the side of the pad when you roll them, that way no lube on the neck/shoulder.
pilotguyo540 I am new to reloading also and also using a rockchucker also.
My very first time I kept sticking the cases it was giving me some fits. I polished the sizer die with a .410 chamber mop and the polishing compound from a dremel polishing kit chucked it in a drill 2-min later it was working a lot better.
Sorry its the only tip I got:p still learning
You’ll be happier with Imperial Sizing Die Wax. You’ll be happy with a Starrett dial caliper. You should get a Wilson case gage to make sure you’re not setting shoulders back too far. Get a Wilson manual trimmer with the appropriate case holder.
Forget about trying to reach the lands. Seat the bullet so it measures in the 2.5-2.58 range and they’ll feed through the mags.
Forget about using the press for primer seating. Get a cheapo RCBS hand tool or better yet a K&M tool with a set of Lee shell holders. I use a pair of them, and the only one that is better made is the expensive Sinclair.
Also what works for me with my Rock Chucker is to resize/deprime in batches. I do 100 cases at a sitting. Then prime them all with a hand tool. Then either store them for later or proceed to add powder and bullet. I measure every one before it goes into a plastic ziplock bag with date, load specs and number of rounds. Then into an ammo can it goes.
Is it possible the die needs to be cleaned? Do they ship with some type of protectant coating or grease inside?
I’ve never used Imperial Sizing Wax as the process seems slow for me. I have heard good things about it though. I’ve used the Lee Lube and it worked well but now I use Dillon Spray on lube. It’s much quicker and so far it has worked fine.
For consistent COL measure 10 of you bullets and see if they are all the same length. I doubt they will be.
Redhat:
Wow, you were right. I thought the COAL would be identical. We are still very close. it seems I have 2 measurements +/- .0005" each. 2.247 and 2.250 its really a 50/50 split
JSTOR:
Thanks for the recommendations. I will have to wait till payday.
If I can sneak out, I will test these today and see how we group. I wish I had an optic now. 100 yds w/ irons will have to do.
My next question is:
Where do I go from here? Do I increase powder? 0.1 gr. or 0.5 gr.? It sounds like 2.250 to 2.258 is good COL, so should I leave it where I am at or draw it out another 0.005"?
I can’t offer any advice on the powder you have been using as far as weight goes, but for 55 grain bullets, 26.5 grs. Varget or 26.5 grs. 748 is where it’s at.
Imperial Die Wax is fast, easy, and hard to screw up. Took me about 5 cases to figure out that I needed a little more of it, and I never looked back. Once it’s on your fingers you only need to swipe up some more every few casings. I’ve done about 1600 casings on my one little tin and you can barely tell that I’ve even used any; I expect I could get about 40k resizings out of it.
I have Wilson guages for calibers I don’t even load yet. Just watch out, they rust easily. I also use a Frankford Arsenal guage that measures the same things as the Wilson, but also does OAL.
I also prime by hand, despite having a Dillon 550B. It’s simply easier and lets me focus on other things while operating the press later.
I typically use mixed headstamp brass so weighing each round doesn’t do much for me. For most I just shake and guage every round to make sure it’s charged and not obviously out of spec. I also check the powder throw every 50 rounds or so on the 550.