Any Handloaders Out There?

[BarnesX.308]

I hand load rifles only. Never got into shotgun shells and only did a few pistols. I currently load for:

300 Wby Mag
300 Win Mag
30-06
308 Win
7mm Rem Mag
25-06 Rem.

For target shooting, I use the standard pointed softpoints from Speer, Hornady or Sierra. For hunting, it's been exclusively Barnes X bullets since 1997. Used to shoot Trophy Bonded Bear Claws but they're too expensive. Was only mildly impressed with Nosler Partitions or Ballistic Tips.

What are you guys loading and with what?

Oh yeah, absolute favorite powder is RL22, with IMR4350 in 2nd place.

[chum stains]

I was wondering the same thing. I used to hand load alot of shot gun shells when i was younger up in bradford co. pa. We used to raise and stock pheasent up there but the minks and fishers and fox and coyote started to get them before us. So that was the end of that.

I shoot a 220 swift for predator/varmint hunting and the shells are hard to find in the stores and usally have to order them. The best store bought shells for that gun are federal 52grain hollow points. But i met a guy at the range one day that had the same gun and he hand loads all his rounds and offerd my brass for a few of his hand loads. I put 5 shells in the diamiter of a 1/2 doller at 100 yrds. that was the tightest group i ever shot out of that gun. I was gonna have the guy make me a few boxs but lost his number.

did you ever hand load 220 swifts before? I always wanted to do hand loads for that gun but have no experance with rifle rounds.

[BarnesX.308]

Never handloaded 220 Swift. I have dies for the 222 Remington but that's that only 22 centerfire we have.

That would be a round I could spend a lot of time with. Always knowing I could get it that much more accurate. :D

[chum stains]

I will buy the die and start saveing my brass in you wanaa hold a re-load course for me.:D How mutch, on avarage would everything cost to get me set up.

[BarnesX.308]

You'd need a press, the dies, a powder scale and a few other ins and outs. Probably $150-200. You can get starter kits that include all that. Then you need primers, powder and bullets. Probably $50 for the equivalent of 100 rounds.

[Pagrizz]

I have been reloading for almost forty years now.I load for
375 H&H
35 WHELEN
338 WIN
300 ULTRA MAG
330 WIN MAG
30-06
308
7 REM MAG
270 WIN
280 REM
25-06
6MM REM
243WIN
IMR4350 IS MY FIRST CHOICE WITH IMR4064 AND RELOADER 25 CLOSE BEHIND.My baby is the 280 mountain rifle. Loaded with 57 grs of IMR4350 with a 145 GR BT.

[BuckHammer43]

I'm reclaiming my loading bench from my Renzetti vice. Not much has been loaded in the last 10 years.

This past Christmas Santa brought me an Encore 50 cal M/L that I intend to use for Jersey 'gun' hunting. [Anybody need a Savage 210 12-gauge bolt gun?]

I'm going to work up a load for the BarnesX 150 in my '06 for PA/NY deer. [Lighter bullet acting like a bigger bullet at higher speed, can't be bad.]

My favorite rifle is my 6mm in a Rem 722. The '06 is a Rem 721.

Favorite powders: IMR 4350 / Win 760.

I'm looking forward to posting with local hunters/shooters with our 'unique' set of issues.

[dockedwages]

22-250 with balistic tips for varmints
223 with fmj/hpbt/bt have pistil n rifle
30-30with fnsp
308 with bt/partitions
308 fmj m-1
30-06 fmj m-1

3006 sp/tsx sons hunting rifle
300wm partitions sp bt tsx
depends what im using it for
44mag sp

[chum stains]

You'd need a press, the dies, a powder scale and a few other ins and outs. Probably $150-200. You can get starter kits that include all that. Then you need primers, powder and bullets. Probably $50 for the equivalent of 100 rounds.


That would definetly be cheaper in the long run then buying them over the internet at $32 a box, plus shipping. iam gonna look in to it and if i have a quitions i will ask ya. Thanks man:thup:

[BarnesX.308]

I'm going to work up a load for the BarnesX 150 in my '06 for PA/NY deer

Make sure you get the Triple Shocks (TSX). Definitely the fastest and most accurate of everything they have out. Except for maybe the MRX (their tipped bullet). I've never tried it because the gain over the TSX wouldn't be worth the cost. Especially when shooting under 200 yards.

Chumstains - here's something that will get you started for $100

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=121744

It doesn't include the case trimmer or tumbler but those aren't necessary to start loading. I usually shoot my rounds 3 or 4 times and chuck them. No need to trim at that stage. You could get a case length gauge which would tell you when your cases are getting too long. Then you could trim or chuck them. I started out with a ton of brass and only shoot about 40 rounds through each gun a year.

[chum stains]

Thanks man, :thup:. That is actully the web site i order my rounds through now. they have everything.

[BarnesX.308]

They do have everything and good prices, too.

[Rickhem]

I'm a competition shooter so I've been loading for a long, long time. Started out loading 12 gauge trap loads at about 12 years old. Really not all that much to loading for shotgun, it's pretty much an issue of economy, and that you can load about 100 rounds for what it costs to buy 25.

Got into bullseye pistol and started loading for .38 and .45 to support that pursuit. Also have loaded .357, .40S&W, 44spl and .44 mag, along with a .45 Colt.

Presently shooting a lot of NRA Highpower, so I load .223 for my AR, and 30-06 for the Garand. I'm also loading .243, 6mmBR, 6.5x55, 7-08, and .308 for other rifles I have.

While there are some factory loads that can be very precise from a number of different firearms, the only way you'll squeeze the last bit of what you equipment can give you is to handload. It's a door to a world of variables that you never knew existed, and will make you a better shooter in the long run. Don't think it's going to save you tons of money though, while the cost per round does drop dramatically, you'll be shooting more and still spending about the same overall.

[BarnesX.308]

It's a door to a world of variables that you never knew existed

So true. It's as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. And you can really get complicated if you want to. For target shooting, every little thing counts. Every last little variable. If you just want to shoot a deer at 50 yards, prime a case, fill it with powder, put a bullet on top and shoot :D. Well, a little more than that. :D

I got into handloading because my favorite hunting bullets and weights of those bullets might not be available in certain factory loads. When the Barnes X bullets first became popular, the only factory loads were PMC. They were loaded incredibly slow. 7mm Rem Mag at 2800fps. 30-06 150gr was around 2750fps.

[RUSS0079]

Barnes Triple Shock X!!!!! I used them in Africa and will never shoot anything else on Big Game. Accuracy and Dependabiltiy that is unsurpassed. Took a trophy KUDO Bull at 240 yards with a 8x57 JS. One shot in the neck and severed the spine...

I use CastCore Bullets when I reload for my 44 Mag(handgun) Took a couple nice wild boar with that... I handload for the .270 Win,300 Savage and 45-70 Govt.

Want more accurate hand loads? Make sure your flash holes are uniform and use Barnes Bullets. Nice!!!!!!!

[BuckHammer43]

BarnesX.308

The good folks at Barnes were good enough to e-mail the 30-06 loading page for the latest 'X' bullet [three driving bands]. The velocities are impressive for the 130/150. I tried for the 130's without any luck, but did picked up a box of the 150's at Cabela's this spring.

I'm going to see which powder does best [IMR4350 or W760] and give it a whirl in NY.

I'm looking forward to using the Encore .50 M/L in Jersey. By the by, can I use it during 'gun' season instead of a shotgun?

I'm getting cranked again. After some surgery I didn't do much for a while.

Jim

[BarnesX.308]

In PA you can use an inline in shotgun season. Don't know about NJ.

For my 30-06, I had the best luck with the 150gr Triple Shocks using IMR4350. I'm not sure how much offhand. 50 something grains. :huh::D

[Makoman]

You can definitely use the ml for NJ deer hunting. Any season except bow!!!!!!!

[BarnesX.308]

I'll always grab the inline over the shotgun. I find I get better accuracy.

[WoodsHunter]

I load for all three (pistol, rifle, shotgun) I use the rifles most so thats where most of the shooting is done. Have pet loads for the 30.06 and 7M/M, use .243(85gr. hollow point) for the groundhogs. I use to uses bullets from Speer, they were called Gran Slams, can't find them anymore,
maybe they just changed their names. I used these bullets in Wyoming for deer & antelope and was really impressed. I loaded about 500 bullets for the 7M/M ,the .308, 30.06 and the .300mag. that I been living off of these rounds probably for the last 20yrs. Looks like I will start reloading again in the winter, start working up new loads for these rifles. Anyone who doesn't reload should start, you can get more out of reloads then you do from store bought bullets... Ron

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[IMR]

Currently loading .308 and .270. My pre '60 Model 70 seems to favor the 130 Nosler BT and H4831. .308's are not to picky. I use Sierrs 2125- 150BT and 4064, but the Rem. Varmit Special loves 4894 and 168 matchkings, 150 Nosler Ballistic Tips.

[rishowl54]

Just started reloading with classic lee loaders 30-06, 308, 32 win spl, 44 mag. Looking for any help I can get.

[BarnesX.308]

Ask any questions, you'll get an answer that day. :thup:

[WoodsHunter]

I was able to find my "Gran Slams"(Speer) there now offered by Cabela's. Ifyou never tried these bullets they are worth a look see.
I used them in Wyoming in '78, they weren't really being advertised
back then. Me & my buddy took a nice antelope & mule deer with these
bullets, good weight retention, great expansion. And on the bottom of the bullet there is a GS (Gran Slam) in case there becomes a issue on who shot what. Ron
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