My favorite powders
Monday, May 14, 2007 Filed in: Permalink
Every reloader has his or her
favorite powders. When I first started reloading handgun
cartridges, I used what everyone around me used - which I found
weren't always the best choices for my needs. After experimenting
with lots of powders, I settled on a few favorites.
As a general rule I prefer flaked powders over ball (spherical) powders. I've found that they meter more consistently in a wide variety of measures, and they seem to burn a bit cleaner than their ball equivalents - this may have something to do with the graphite coating all ball powders appear to use.
For all-around use in a wide variety of pistol cartridges I really like Hodgdon Universal Clays. It is extremely clean (the cleanest I've yet used) and is useful in a large number of calibers. My only complaint is that is isn't suitable for light loads in spacious cases, because it often fails to burn fully. This results in lots of unburned powder flakes that always seem to end up under the extractor. I'd like to find an equivalent powder that is more suitable for light loads, but haven't found it yet.
For magnum cartridges, I like Alliant Blue Dot. It is very consistent, burns cleanly, and gives superb velocities. I've used it in the .357 Magnum, the .44 Magnum, the fire-breathing .445 SuperMag, and the obscure .451 Detonics Magnum. In each case it performed superbly. So pleased am I with Blue Dot that one of these days I plan to try some of the other "Dot" powders.
Though I've tried lots of others, these are the ones I keep coming back to. There's nothing like "old friends" that you can count on!
-=[ Grant ]=-
As a general rule I prefer flaked powders over ball (spherical) powders. I've found that they meter more consistently in a wide variety of measures, and they seem to burn a bit cleaner than their ball equivalents - this may have something to do with the graphite coating all ball powders appear to use.
For all-around use in a wide variety of pistol cartridges I really like Hodgdon Universal Clays. It is extremely clean (the cleanest I've yet used) and is useful in a large number of calibers. My only complaint is that is isn't suitable for light loads in spacious cases, because it often fails to burn fully. This results in lots of unburned powder flakes that always seem to end up under the extractor. I'd like to find an equivalent powder that is more suitable for light loads, but haven't found it yet.
For magnum cartridges, I like Alliant Blue Dot. It is very consistent, burns cleanly, and gives superb velocities. I've used it in the .357 Magnum, the .44 Magnum, the fire-breathing .445 SuperMag, and the obscure .451 Detonics Magnum. In each case it performed superbly. So pleased am I with Blue Dot that one of these days I plan to try some of the other "Dot" powders.
Though I've tried lots of others, these are the ones I keep coming back to. There's nothing like "old friends" that you can count on!
-=[ Grant ]=-
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Have those primer tube blues?
Wednesday, May 09, 2007 Filed in: Permalink
Unless you're using a Lee
reloading press, one of the biggest bottlenecks in reloading is the
chore of filling primer tubes. It is definitely a time waster, and
anything that can speed up the process is welcome here!
Yes, I know all about the Dillon primer tube loader. It only works with Dillon tubes, isn't all that fast, and is really expensive. Luckily, the folks at Midway came up with a solution: the Frankford Arsenal Vibra-Prime!
This little doohickey takes a package of primers and, with the pull of the trigger, loads their own primer tubes - which, happily, easily interface with Hornady, RCBS, and even Dillon presses.
This thing is fast - easily 2 or 3 times as fast as it's Dillon competition. The great part? It's only $32.99! Check it out.
-=[ Grant ]=-
Yes, I know all about the Dillon primer tube loader. It only works with Dillon tubes, isn't all that fast, and is really expensive. Luckily, the folks at Midway came up with a solution: the Frankford Arsenal Vibra-Prime!
This little doohickey takes a package of primers and, with the pull of the trigger, loads their own primer tubes - which, happily, easily interface with Hornady, RCBS, and even Dillon presses.
This thing is fast - easily 2 or 3 times as fast as it's Dillon competition. The great part? It's only $32.99! Check it out.
-=[ Grant ]=-
Biting the bullets
Monday, April 23, 2007 Filed in: Permalink
Since it's my policy to test fire
every gun I work on (and, it would seem, I'm the only gunsmith who
does), I reload huge amounts of ammunition. This is not new for me,
because for many years I've reloaded everything except my
self-defense ("carry") ammunition. Competing on a regular basis, as
I used to do, burns up a lot of ammo - which means I'm no stranger
to pulling the reloading press handle!
As you might imagine, all of those lovingly reloaded rounds have left me with some strong opinions on such things as bullets, powder, primers, and brass. Let's start with bullets.
Many folks cast their own slugs; personally, I could never get excited about that activity. Aside from the health hazards, the amount of lead I go through would make getting the proper constituents to make consistent bullets a bit difficult. (Come on - just how much Linotype is being produced these days?)
So I buy my bullets. For a long time I used lead bullets exclusively, and the best I found were the "LaserCast" line from Oregon Trail Bullets. They're hard, consistent, reasonably priced, and quite accurate. (At one time they'd even custom size them, though I don't know if they do any longer.) Of course, being a lubricated lead bullet they produce a lot of smoke, and even though very hard - and very resistant to leading - they will leave a bit of lead in the bore at higher velocities. If you've ever read through the main site, you know I hate cleaning guns!
My inherent laziness and the increasing number of ranges (particularly indoor ranges) that won't allow exposed lead bullets pushed me to make some changes in components. The solution, I reasoned, was some sort of encapsulated bullet, and my search began.
Star Bullets made a very nice jacketed bullet of superb accuracy; sadly, Star is no more and I don't know if anyone has taken their place. I tried the Montana Gold bullets, and though happy with the quality I deemed them too expensive for the quantity I use.
This cost consciousness lead me to Rainier Ballistics plated bullets. Their price is certainly right, but I have never been able to get sterling accuracy out of them. This is a common complaint with plated bullets, not just Rainier, and constant experimentation has failed to solve the problem. I've relegated them to testing guns when the utmost accuracy isn't required, and they fill that niche quite nicely.
Most recently, I've been playing around with the polymer coated bullets from MasterBlasters. I'm not yet sure about them, as I haven't been able to shoot enough to determine how they'll perform. The USPSA crowd seems to love them, but shooting fast "A" zone hits at 10 yards is a very different thing than hitting 200 rams in IHMSA competition, and I tend to favor the demands of the latter. (Hey, I did the run-n-gun thing at one time, but the harsh reality is that I just don't run as fast as I used to!)
So for now, I've settled on the Rainier bullets for test ammo where accuracy isn't paramount, the LaserCast bullets for best accuracy when I'm allowed to use them, and in the meantime I'll be testing the MasterBlasters to take the place of one (or both) of those.
-=[ Grant ]=-
As you might imagine, all of those lovingly reloaded rounds have left me with some strong opinions on such things as bullets, powder, primers, and brass. Let's start with bullets.
Many folks cast their own slugs; personally, I could never get excited about that activity. Aside from the health hazards, the amount of lead I go through would make getting the proper constituents to make consistent bullets a bit difficult. (Come on - just how much Linotype is being produced these days?)
So I buy my bullets. For a long time I used lead bullets exclusively, and the best I found were the "LaserCast" line from Oregon Trail Bullets. They're hard, consistent, reasonably priced, and quite accurate. (At one time they'd even custom size them, though I don't know if they do any longer.) Of course, being a lubricated lead bullet they produce a lot of smoke, and even though very hard - and very resistant to leading - they will leave a bit of lead in the bore at higher velocities. If you've ever read through the main site, you know I hate cleaning guns!
My inherent laziness and the increasing number of ranges (particularly indoor ranges) that won't allow exposed lead bullets pushed me to make some changes in components. The solution, I reasoned, was some sort of encapsulated bullet, and my search began.
Star Bullets made a very nice jacketed bullet of superb accuracy; sadly, Star is no more and I don't know if anyone has taken their place. I tried the Montana Gold bullets, and though happy with the quality I deemed them too expensive for the quantity I use.
This cost consciousness lead me to Rainier Ballistics plated bullets. Their price is certainly right, but I have never been able to get sterling accuracy out of them. This is a common complaint with plated bullets, not just Rainier, and constant experimentation has failed to solve the problem. I've relegated them to testing guns when the utmost accuracy isn't required, and they fill that niche quite nicely.
Most recently, I've been playing around with the polymer coated bullets from MasterBlasters. I'm not yet sure about them, as I haven't been able to shoot enough to determine how they'll perform. The USPSA crowd seems to love them, but shooting fast "A" zone hits at 10 yards is a very different thing than hitting 200 rams in IHMSA competition, and I tend to favor the demands of the latter. (Hey, I did the run-n-gun thing at one time, but the harsh reality is that I just don't run as fast as I used to!)
So for now, I've settled on the Rainier bullets for test ammo where accuracy isn't paramount, the LaserCast bullets for best accuracy when I'm allowed to use them, and in the meantime I'll be testing the MasterBlasters to take the place of one (or both) of those.
-=[ Grant ]=-
A primer about primers
Monday, December 11, 2006 Filed in: Permalink
When doing action work, I ask my
clients how they'll be using the gun. For instance, a competition
shooter who handloads their own ammunition can utilize a lighter
action than someone who needs the gun to work with a variety of
factory ammunition.
Why is this? Well, primers are not created equal - the brands vary in terms of their sensitivity. Some of this is due to the type and thickness of the metal that the cup is made from, but there is also some difference in the primer material itself.
In general, Federal primers are the easiest to ignite; their cup material is slightly thinner, and softer, than their competitors. Combined with a primer mix that is well known for its sensitivity, they require less force to "pop." This translates to being able to use a hammer with a lighter mainspring, which allows for a lighter trigger pull.
The primers generally conceded to be the most difficult to ignite are CCI brand. Their cups are hard and thick, and require a real "wallop" to work properly. This means that the action is going to need full-power springs, with the increase in trigger pull that they bring. Winchesters fall in the middle, slightly more to the Federal half than the CCI.
In any brand, the magnum version of the primer will be more difficult to ignite. This is because they typically have harder and/or thicker cups to withstand the higher pressures that heavier loads deliver.
This isn't the end of the story though. The Czechoslovakian Sellier & Bellot ammunition uses what may be the hardest primers made. Sometimes even the heaviest, hardest-hitting hammers are insufficient to set this ammunition off, and is one of the reasons I recommend you stay away from it. CCI Blazer ammunition is known for being unreliable with lighter actions, as is the "green" or non-toxic ammunition that's on the market today.
Back to action work...when someone tells me that the gun is for self-defense, that usually means that utmost reliability is desired. To get such reliability, it's imperative that the gun work with any kind of ammunition that one might find on the shelf. In these cases, I test the gun with CCI Magnum primers - the hardest-to-ignite primers that you can get outside of the aforementioned Czech fodder. If the gun will reliably detonate the CCI Magnums (with zero failures), it should ignite anything you're likely to encounter.
On the other hand, if the requirement is for a light competition action I'll test the gun with Federal primers; if I've done my job right, such a gun will shoot Federals perfectly, Winchesters somewhat less reliably, and CCI primers very badly. That's the price for a low trigger weight!
This brings up another topic: that of live fire testing. I'll leave that for another day, as I've got a story to tell!
-=[ Grant ]=-
Why is this? Well, primers are not created equal - the brands vary in terms of their sensitivity. Some of this is due to the type and thickness of the metal that the cup is made from, but there is also some difference in the primer material itself.
In general, Federal primers are the easiest to ignite; their cup material is slightly thinner, and softer, than their competitors. Combined with a primer mix that is well known for its sensitivity, they require less force to "pop." This translates to being able to use a hammer with a lighter mainspring, which allows for a lighter trigger pull.
The primers generally conceded to be the most difficult to ignite are CCI brand. Their cups are hard and thick, and require a real "wallop" to work properly. This means that the action is going to need full-power springs, with the increase in trigger pull that they bring. Winchesters fall in the middle, slightly more to the Federal half than the CCI.
In any brand, the magnum version of the primer will be more difficult to ignite. This is because they typically have harder and/or thicker cups to withstand the higher pressures that heavier loads deliver.
This isn't the end of the story though. The Czechoslovakian Sellier & Bellot ammunition uses what may be the hardest primers made. Sometimes even the heaviest, hardest-hitting hammers are insufficient to set this ammunition off, and is one of the reasons I recommend you stay away from it. CCI Blazer ammunition is known for being unreliable with lighter actions, as is the "green" or non-toxic ammunition that's on the market today.
Back to action work...when someone tells me that the gun is for self-defense, that usually means that utmost reliability is desired. To get such reliability, it's imperative that the gun work with any kind of ammunition that one might find on the shelf. In these cases, I test the gun with CCI Magnum primers - the hardest-to-ignite primers that you can get outside of the aforementioned Czech fodder. If the gun will reliably detonate the CCI Magnums (with zero failures), it should ignite anything you're likely to encounter.
On the other hand, if the requirement is for a light competition action I'll test the gun with Federal primers; if I've done my job right, such a gun will shoot Federals perfectly, Winchesters somewhat less reliably, and CCI primers very badly. That's the price for a low trigger weight!
This brings up another topic: that of live fire testing. I'll leave that for another day, as I've got a story to tell!
-=[ Grant ]=-
What is it with the reloading press
fanatics??
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Filed in: Permalink
Funny thing...the other day, my
favorite gun blogger (Tamara K.) posted this rant about brand fanaticism
over at her blog. Yeah
yeah, I know I mentioned it before, but the subject popped up again
this week in a different context.
You see, I'd popped in to a couple of the reloading forums to ask a question about dies (I'm considering new ones.) Reading through some of the past posts on the boards would lead one to believe that there is a Reloading Press Jihad going on! Take a look for yourself sometime...the subject is getting very close to joining religion and politics as something one does not discuss in polite company!
The invective, blind loyalty, outright falsehoods, tall tales...the only thing missing is "let's take it outside, fella!"
This is particularly interesting to me, for as it happens I've owned a progressive press from each of the three major brands. The Dillon and Lee presses I used for more than 30,000 rounds each, while my new Hornady is a baby - only about 10k so far. This gives me sufficient experience, I think, to quote a perennial South Park line: "I've learned something today!"
You see, no currently available progressive press is of terribly high quality when compared to, say, a Star Universal or an RDP Reloading Tool. They simply aren't. Anyone who has ever used one of the latter can easily see that the design, material choice, and construction quality of even the best presses made today pale in comparison. It seems to me that arguing about whether Lee, Dillon, RCBS, or Hornady is the "best" is a little like arguing who has the best deck chair on the Titanic!
The only thing keeping me from buying a used Star is simply the availability of parts and accessories. I'm waiting for someone - maybe Spolar, or Ponsness-Warren, or even Redding - to build a progressive reloading press of equivalent quality to what was available just a couple of decades ago. I'd love to own a truly high end, built-to-outlast-me progressive reloading press with modern features and factory support. Until then, these arguments about reloading presses are about as interesting as watching paint dry - and you can take your pick of blue, red, or green!
-=[ Grant ]=-
You see, I'd popped in to a couple of the reloading forums to ask a question about dies (I'm considering new ones.) Reading through some of the past posts on the boards would lead one to believe that there is a Reloading Press Jihad going on! Take a look for yourself sometime...the subject is getting very close to joining religion and politics as something one does not discuss in polite company!
The invective, blind loyalty, outright falsehoods, tall tales...the only thing missing is "let's take it outside, fella!"
This is particularly interesting to me, for as it happens I've owned a progressive press from each of the three major brands. The Dillon and Lee presses I used for more than 30,000 rounds each, while my new Hornady is a baby - only about 10k so far. This gives me sufficient experience, I think, to quote a perennial South Park line: "I've learned something today!"
You see, no currently available progressive press is of terribly high quality when compared to, say, a Star Universal or an RDP Reloading Tool. They simply aren't. Anyone who has ever used one of the latter can easily see that the design, material choice, and construction quality of even the best presses made today pale in comparison. It seems to me that arguing about whether Lee, Dillon, RCBS, or Hornady is the "best" is a little like arguing who has the best deck chair on the Titanic!
The only thing keeping me from buying a used Star is simply the availability of parts and accessories. I'm waiting for someone - maybe Spolar, or Ponsness-Warren, or even Redding - to build a progressive reloading press of equivalent quality to what was available just a couple of decades ago. I'd love to own a truly high end, built-to-outlast-me progressive reloading press with modern features and factory support. Until then, these arguments about reloading presses are about as interesting as watching paint dry - and you can take your pick of blue, red, or green!
-=[ Grant ]=-