Reloading Ammo?

[Afy]

Does anyone reload their own Ammo?

I dont hunt... but to shoot copious amounts of ammunition each week. And now that I have gotten into larger calibers... the costs are significant...

I have never reloaded ammo? So would greatly appreciate any pointers...

[JohnandCaroline]

Hello Afy,

I used to reload in large quantities in those halcyon days before the pirates relieved us of our pistols.  As you can tell from this I still live in the UK and only have a holliday cottage in the Dordogne.

There isn't a lot to reloading once you have  purchased your equipment.  You need a press (progressive if you can afford it and load a lot), a set of dies and shell holder for each caliber you are going to reload,  a powder measure (tea caddy type is best, get a good one), and a set of powder scales.

A good shooting magazine will provide you with the names of the major manufactures of equipment and they will probably have web sites. The reloading companies usually will send out loading information if you ask them.

The real important part of re-loading is, safety, care and careful measurement.  It is not a job to be rushed or taken lightly.  A carelessly loaded round whether with too much or too little powder can be dangerous but this is usually only a problem when cases are double loaded in error. small weighing differences may cause inaccuracy but is unlikely to be dangerous.

Getting the right load for your gun is a metter of trial and error and you need to make small test batches and record all your results until you get the right load.  Target shooting loads are usually lower than the factory recommended loads as reduced recoil is an advantage.

Please be aware that I am totally ignorant on French firearm legislation so I have no idea if you would be contravening the law by reloading.  If you are a member of a shooting club I think the best thing would be to ask other club members for advice.

I would be interested to know what type of target shooting you do and how you found shooting targets in France compares with your experience in England as I hope to emigrate in due course and will probably take up pistol shooting again.

John

[Afy]

John,

I havent actually ever "lived" in the UK per se. However I have lived in the US for a while and in India. In the former ammo is cheap enough not to really bother with reloading, and in India equipment is expensive enough to make buying ammo cheaper.

French gun laws are wierd. hand guns are strictly controlled other than Black powder, which is considered less dangerous than a Paintball gun. However once you are a part of a shooting club, buying rifles in calibers other than those deemed military (.223/5.56/7.63x39/.308/9 mm) is straight forward. I currently have a .222 Magnum (Case is longer than a .222) where ammo is not easy to come by. Which is why I want to get into it.

I also have a Mauser 98k in 8x64 and a .300 WSM on the way... so it makes sense. From a laws viewpoint again fairly straight forward as long as you have a license youre good to go or so my armourie tells me.

I currently shoot hand guns at 25/50 meters and rifles at 50-100 meters currently though would like to work up to 600-1000 meters ultimately.