DXman – Excellent point. I should have been clearer and you are absolutely correct about the difference in brass prep for a bolt action rifle.
For bolt action rifles I clean the brass individually by hand with a rag and use hand tools to clean primer pockets and inside the case just like DXman seems to. 7mm RM is my go to bolt-action rifle caliber and I don’t think I’ve ever ran any of that brass thru a tumbler.
From the Factory there is a very thin layer of varnish on the brass casings. This is enough to protect the brass for several firings when cleaned by hand.
Thank you DXman for pointing out my omission. I take reloading very seriously and try to get as many people involved as I can. I pride myself on giving sound advice to new people that are interested in learning the hobby and one of the first things I always say is to get as many books on the subject as you can and learn them. Don’t just skim the pages, but actually take the time to learn the material. What DXman just mentioned and what I mentioned earlier are in various reloading manuals.
One more thing. If you ever come across an old reloading manual, grab it if you can. Over the years the information has changed – especially load data. The information in the old manuals though is just as relevant today as it once was. For example, I would have never been able to get that 7mm to shoot right if I had followed a new manual because the charge weights were several grains lower than in an old manual. It was in an old manual that I found the sweet spot on charge weight that a new manual said was way overcharged. We can thank lawyers for this extreme abundance of caution from the manufacturers.
Anyway, just do your homework on this stuff. Reloading accidents are extremely rare and I hope it stays that way.
For bolt action rifles I clean the brass individually by hand with a rag and use hand tools to clean primer pockets and inside the case just like DXman seems to. 7mm RM is my go to bolt-action rifle caliber and I don’t think I’ve ever ran any of that brass thru a tumbler.
From the Factory there is a very thin layer of varnish on the brass casings. This is enough to protect the brass for several firings when cleaned by hand.
Thank you DXman for pointing out my omission. I take reloading very seriously and try to get as many people involved as I can. I pride myself on giving sound advice to new people that are interested in learning the hobby and one of the first things I always say is to get as many books on the subject as you can and learn them. Don’t just skim the pages, but actually take the time to learn the material. What DXman just mentioned and what I mentioned earlier are in various reloading manuals.
One more thing. If you ever come across an old reloading manual, grab it if you can. Over the years the information has changed – especially load data. The information in the old manuals though is just as relevant today as it once was. For example, I would have never been able to get that 7mm to shoot right if I had followed a new manual because the charge weights were several grains lower than in an old manual. It was in an old manual that I found the sweet spot on charge weight that a new manual said was way overcharged. We can thank lawyers for this extreme abundance of caution from the manufacturers.
Anyway, just do your homework on this stuff. Reloading accidents are extremely rare and I hope it stays that way.
My homemade belt tumbler broke again yesterday , having a hard time finding the right belt & O-Rings don't last !
Off to HF to buy a tumbler . I use a cut up dryer sheet w/ Mothers liquid leaner wax ( shot glass ) , I got the corn cob media @ Walmart that they use for animal bedding , cheap & suits mine needs . I also got a recipe of Youtube for case lube , lanolin & 100 percent rubbing alcohol , put the cases in a baggy spray , let them dry & it works well on the cheap . Lanolin is a little $ but you don't use much . I still use my RCBS case lube pad on occasion . Here's a question , anyone got a recipe using 148 gn cast lswc's using HS-6 powder ? I have a bunch of Hs-6 & 1000 rnds of Wc's . Iv'e check all over & can't find anything . I know it's not the right powder but I already loaded 1000 rnds of 38 spl's in different powder weights & want to load some of these Wc's in 357 & really don't want to buy more powder . But might end up buy some 231 or Unique because of the burn rate of HS-6 . But it shoots awesome in 38 spl .
