Guns

Scap said:
What are you reloading?
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Currently my project is .223. I am working through...well...a bunch. I've got around 1975 reloaded now, and probably 10x that to go. This is on a Dillon 550B. My XL750 is currently set up for 308, but I had a problem with the magazine primer tube for lg primers. Just got the replacements saturday but havent replaced it yet. Once thats replaced and running I've got maybe 300 or so 308's for reload.

Eventually, .45's, although I havent priced that out yet to see how feasible that is to start yet. (lg pistol primers are just silly expensive yet). 9's I've got priced out to reload at around .22 cents each. So not really a 'savings' to do those yet, other than the satisfaction of doing it....and the use of the reloads for target/drill/plinking and saving factory for SHTF.

At *some* point, 7mm rem mag (maybe 50 - but I will tailor those for extreme precision), then 45-70. (I need to find dies for that one)

I'm really interested in hearing others input/experiences with different powders and bullets. And of course....my 'book' is open, my 'pencils' are sharpened, my eyes and ears are open, and I am ready to absorb any info that gets shared. :)
 
I reload a bunch of stuff, almost as fun as shooting, at least for me.

Savings, lol, not sure about that. But if I ever do load all my components I’ll definitely have saved a bunch. I have six, 5-gallon buckets of once-fired Lake City 5.56 brass, for instance. Plus the bullets, powder, primers, to load them.
 
JCinPA said:
I reload a bunch of stuff, almost as fun as shooting, at least for me.

Savings, lol, not sure about that. But if I ever do load all my components I’ll definitely have saved a bunch. I have six, 5-gallon buckets of once-fired Lake City 5.56 brass, for instance. Plus the bullets, powder, primers, to load them.
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Ooooo....

You have a couple more than me to load up. :) heh heh

I have a lot of 556 brass. I'm just reloading them with 223 for now. I do not have any real desire to get into annealing the brass for 556. (maybe you dont have to do that, but the material I have watched/read/heard about says its a thing)
 
You’re overthinking it. Annealing is a process needed only if you reload a case several times which causes the brass to become brittle. You can reload a case several times before annealing is needed. Precision shooters (the real long range guys, like F Class competitors) anneal as an aid to consistency. I’ve never done it.

The once-fired Lake City brass is fine to reload without annealing. With the number of cases I have (a lifetime supply for me, my son, and my grandson … at least), I likely won’t bother collecting the brass from my reloads, leaving it for my club to sell.

You don’t need to worry about annealing, probably ever. If you do it will likely be because you got into F Class competition. ARFCOM threads indicate you are likely fine reloading LC brass after full resizing at least three times. You could probably do more, but at some point you’ll see neck cracks, but many say they get 5-6 out of it without annealing. If I was keeping my Lake City brass, I’d reload it 3X then toss it. I’d rather get more once-fired brass than fiddle with annealing. Which either requires expensive equipment or truly Rube Goldberg processes.

If you are going to shoot a LOT of 5.56 one thing you might look into for speed is an electric trimmer, but that’s about it. Don’t overthink 5.56 reloading. And the sites like Ammosmith are very, very OCD in their approach. You should be safe, and you’ll learn a lot there. But reloading is not rocket science.
 
JCinPA said:
You’re overthinking it. Annealing is a process needed only if you reload a case several times which causes the brass to become brittle. You can reload a case several times before annealing is needed. Precision shooters (the real long range guys, like F Class competitors) anneal as an aid to consistency. I’ve never done it.

The once-fired Lake City brass is fine to reload without annealing. With the number of cases I have (a lifetime supply for me, my son, and my grandson … at least), I likely won’t bother collecting the brass from my reloads, leaving it for my club to sell.

You don’t need to worry about annealing, probably ever. If you do it will likely be because you got into F Class competition. ARFCOM threads indicate you are likely fine reloading LC brass after full resizing at least three times. You could probably do more, but at some point you’ll see neck cracks, but many say they get 5-6 out of it without annealing. If I was keeping my Lake City brass, I’d reload it 3X then toss it. I’d rather get more once-fired brass than fiddle with annealing. Which either requires expensive equipment or truly Rube Goldberg processes.

If you are going to shoot a LOT of 5.56 one thing you might look into for speed is an electric trimmer, but that’s about it. Don’t overthink 5.56 reloading. And the sites like Ammosmith are very, very OCD in their approach. You should be safe, and you’ll learn a lot there. But reloading is not rocket science.
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Very interesting. Thats the first time I've heard something like that about annealing. Due to the things I *had* heard, I havent looked into 556 that much. I cant say I remember seeing powder loads for 556, but I'll look into it and see what it would be like.

As for the trimming. Where does that come into play? What purpose does it serve?
 
DomnioMaestro said:
Very interesting. Thats the first time I've heard something like that about annealing. Due to the things I *had* heard, I havent looked into 556 that much. I cant say I remember seeing powder loads for 556, but I'll look into it and see what it would be like.

As for the trimming. Where does that come into play? What purpose does it serve?
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When you fire a round, the case expands to fit the chamber, and that includes longitudinally--it stretches. When you resize, you bring the exterior dimensions of the case back to spec so it will chamber again. If you did not resize you would have problems with rounds chambering reliably.

A case trimmer uses a pilot that controls depth, and a cutter that trims the length of the case. Then you need to chamfer the edges of the case neck so the bullet will seat. Here are some case trimmers.

thegunzone.com

{The 8} Best Case Trimmers on the Market in 2025 [June Tested]

Find The Top 8 Case Trimmers In 2025! June Testing Reveals The Best Models.
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Mine is electric, and it trims and chamfers in one step, and indexes off the shoulder. I did that because I was planning on loading many thousands of 5.56 rounds, it's not necessary. You can probably reload twice before trimming. My process was.

Resize once-fired LC brass and reload.
Resize and trim after that and reload again.
Reload one more time, then I'd toss it. But you could reload one more time and never worry about annealing.

Reloading too many times can lead to other problems other than split necks, like case/head separation, which you've probably read about. That's why I would, at most, use my once-fired brass for three reloads. I had a high degree of confidence that my brass would be safe at that point. I would begin to worry about it after that. Trying to reload more to save money began to have a safety tradeoff, IMO, and I didn't try to squeeze the nickel until the buffalo shit, if you know what I mean.

For low volume use, the Lee or the Lyman are the way to go. If you are going to do thousands and thousands of rounds, the Frankford Arsenal machine is the bees' knees.
 
Sorry, rereading this later I realized I wasn’t clear. You can full length resize to knock the shoulder back, but the leading edge of the case could have stretched to the point that it, also, interfered with rechambering. The case headspaces on the case shoulder in the chamber. But the overall case length is still important.

If I’ve confused you at all (and I apologize) PM me and I’ll chat with you. There are a lot of things you may read in the Internet that people say are important when they’re not. And a lot of folks say ignore this when it’s important.

You’ve prolly picked up on my posts I’m kinda anal retentive (and OCD). I will say I’m both about reloading ammunition. PM me with your digits and I’d be happy to chat with you on this.

I love reloading but would hate to steer someone in an unsafe direction.

You should not reload 5.56 rounds (a tactical use round) to the point you need to anneal. That’s crazy. But you should know about case trimming. If that makes sense.

If you want to get into $6-7,000 rifles and F-Class competition, I’ll hook you up with buddies who are way more knowledgeable than I am on that.

If you want to reload your 5.56 for your AR,

I’m your huckleberry. 🤣
 
I think @lucasbuck gets this. The 5.56 round is one you should be worrying about reliability when loaded to high pressures and that means not going for maximum # of reloads. When reloading for F-Class shooting you do.

And my buddy weighs and sorts his brass, trims his necks, weighs each charge.

That’s not the 5.56 defensive reloading game. Completely different endeavors.
 
I haven’t reloaded in years but I did make countless thousands of rounds way back when. Was once obsessed with sub MOA shooting. I did all that wacky weighing, measuring etc etc. It was one helluva lot of fun. Me and my best friend at the time used to load to ridiculous over pressure. We felt the need for speed. One of our favorites was the 7mm Mag. We both had cheapie old Remington 700 bolt actions. We got well in excess of 4000fps with 100 grain bullets and close to 1/2 MOA if you can believe it. Yes we were dumb kids and lucky we didn’t blow up those guns and many others. I could tell you stories that you may never believe but all true. Good times!
 
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