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What did you do in the reloading room recently?

I want to say that some Hi-Tek loads are smokier than others...for reasons unknown. Pretty sure the worst ones I've seen were 158 grain SWC's in .357M loaded over Titegroup. I had forgotten about that. But maybe they are all smokey. Not like I've actually tried to compare that directly.
 
meh said:
I want to say that some Hi-Tek loads are smokier than others...for reasons unknown. Pretty sure the worst ones I've seen were 158 grain SWC's in .357M loaded over Titegroup. I had forgotten about that. But maybe they are all smokey. Not like I've actually tried to compare that directly.
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I bet it has to do with the type of powder. Single vs Double base or something.
I know when I used to buy bullets from blackbulletsinternational they had recommended certain powders that "worked better" the coating was very similar to Hi-Tek
 
Michael J. Spangler said:
I bet it has to do with the type of powder. Single vs Double base or something.
I know when I used to buy bullets from blackbulletsinternational they had recommended certain powders that "worked better" the coating was very similar to Hi-Tek
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Hmmm, I may have to put that to the test sometime... you know, for "science."
 
Over the last couple days I tumbled a ton of 357 and 44 mag brass. Then resized the new PPU 7.5x55 brass.
 
I started reloading 9mm about two years ago when my wife bought me a Dillon XL650.
This summer I bought the conversion kits for .357SIG and .38/.357.

Sunday I went through both setups and loaded up trial rounds.

18 rounds of .38 Special using 135gn Montana Gold over 13gn of Accurate #9
and 16 rounds of .357SIG using 124gn Xtreme plated RN over 4.0 gn of Titegroup.

Went to the range and they tested fine.
 
Eric H said:
13 BnH 147gr. .357" Hi-tek Coated Bullets
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Looking to learn something. Is 13 BnH considered hard enough for .357mag? What is the rule of thumb for hardness by caliber? For example, you can use up to X BnH up to Y calliber, etc.

ETA: Thinking more about this, isn't it really the make up of the alloy that's important as well as hardness? That is, I would assume you could theoretically have two different bullets with the same hardness, but one could be more brittle than the other because of alloy composition. Am I way off base here? So I guess the right question is what hardness and alloy composition are the best within various caliber ranges?
 
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jek said:
Looking to learn something. Is 13 BnH considered hard enough for .357mag? What is the rule of thumb for hardness by caliber? For example, you can use up to X BnH up to Y calliber, etc.

ETA: Thinking more about this, isn't it really the make up of the alloy that's important as well as hardness? That is, I would assume you could theoretically have two different bullets with the same hardness, but one could be more brittle than the other because of alloy composition. Am I way off base here? So I guess the right question is what hardness and alloy composition are the best within various caliber ranges?
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Cast bullet reference on lead alloy's, min / max pressure, lube, shrinkage,

there are a few articles about alloy and pressures. One is something along the lines of “is my alloy soft enough”

yes alloy does matter too. There’s hardness and toughness to balance.
 
jek said:
Looking to learn something. Is 13 BnH considered hard enough for .357mag? What is the rule of thumb for hardness by caliber? For example, you can use up to X BnH up to Y calliber, etc.

ETA: Thinking more about this, isn't it really the make up of the alloy that's important as well as hardness? That is, I would assume you could theoretically have two different bullets with the same hardness, but one could be more brittle than the other because of alloy composition. Am I way off base here? So I guess the right question is what hardness and alloy composition are the best within various caliber ranges?
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Are you Hi-Tek coating? If so then I would suggest about 1.5% Sb and 1%Sn. It’s kind of like 50/50 “wheel weight” and pure with added tin.

Works perfect for me. Accurate enough to plink with. No leading.
I have to check my notes but I think I was using the “wheel weight” plus tin water dropped with carnauba red and not getting and leading. That was with full house 2400 loads. I can’t remember if I gas checked or not. It was with the 358156 with barely holds any lube at all.
 
gerrycaruso said:
Has anyone shot any gp11 out of their swiss rifle? Someone just gave me a box and it's supposed to be pretty accurate. Judging by the price on the box it's also pretty expensive.
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I’ve shot quite a bit out of my K31. It is VERY accurate ammo. It’s loaded warm but I can shoot half inch groups at 100 yards with my scoped K31.

I think I probably have 300 rounds left or so. Once I burn through that I’ll start burning through my reloads.
 
jek said:
Looking to learn something. Is 13 BnH considered hard enough for .357mag? What is the rule of thumb for hardness by caliber? For example, you can use up to X BnH up to Y calliber, etc. . . .
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I'm not well-versed enough in cast bullets and their composition to really say. I'd leave that to Michael and the others. But in my experiences, I think they would be fine for light .357 velocities, probably better for .38 Special.

I'm running these .357" projectiles for my 9mm loads.
 
gerrycaruso said:
Has anyone shot any gp11 out of their swiss rifle? Someone just gave me a box and it's supposed to be pretty accurate. Judging by the price on the box it's also pretty expensive.
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Diddo what's been said already. I'm not a marksman, so the GP11 doesn't do much better for me than my reloads. It is a fine product nonetheless.
If you can find the LRB primers, this stuff is easily reloaded; primers pop out with water very nicely.
Can't say that I've seen the GP11 ammo for sale locally, but it used to be about $6 for the 10-pak. What are you paying?
 
Michael J. Spangler said:
Are you Hi-Tek coating?
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Unfortunately, I never got around to casting my own. I took your seminar last year and really enjoyed it, but decided to hold off on the casting for a while.

I was asking relative to the differences I'm seeing in various companies online. The latest being the 13 BHN mentioned above. All of their projectiles appear to have a BHN of 13.
 
Uzi2 said:
Started numbering my magazines to keep track of them while on the range.

View attachment 307164

Not my safe pictured but so far, magazine wise this guy^^^^^^^^ is an amature.
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IMG_20191015_162657_01.jpg this is my safe. It's at max capacity and I have two smaller safes. The majority of the ammo is stored elsewhere.
 
milktree said:
What’s your lead exposure mitigation protocol?

I’m super spooked by lead exposure so I only use FMJ or plated bullets unless there’s no other option. (e.g. .45-70)
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Basically don’t lick your fingers or pick your nose. The most lead exposure comes from brass and tumbling media. The lead stynphate priming compound is the biggest culprit. I’ve been casting for a decade and with good hygiene practices I have never had elevated lead levels. Same goes for guys that have been casting longer than I’ve been around.
Lead causes issues when ingested or vapors and oxide dust is inhaled. Lead doesn’t give off vapor unless heated way above normal casting temperatures. As far as oxide and fine dust that’s all in the tumbling media. I just make sure that I take a damn good shower after casting and make sure not to eat or drink or for you smokers no cigarettes or any mouth or nose contact while you’re casting. The same good habits should be followed when you’re reloading too.
So basically don’t worry about casting causing issues with your health. Reloading is the part that’s way worse for you and you’re already doing that.
Also coating your bullets with Hi-Tek is basically turning them into a plated bullet.
Casting seminar is a month away you should sign up now!

jek said:
Unfortunately, I never got around to casting my own. I took your seminar last year and really enjoyed it, but decided to hold off on the casting for a while.

I was asking relative to the differences I'm seeing in various companies online. The latest being the 13 BHN mentioned above. All of their projectiles appear to have a BHN of 13.
Click to expand...

Ahh I see now. I would worry more about bullet fit than alloy hardness.
 
Michael J. Spangler said:
Basically don’t lick your fingers or pick your nose. The most lead exposure comes from brass and tumbling media. The lead stynphate priming compound is the biggest culprit.

(snip)

As far as oxide and fine dust that’s all in the tumbling media.
Click to expand...

Well, that answers that then. :(

My lead test in January was 10 (lead units) and then 8 a month ago.

Since then I've moved the tumbler outside.
 
Just finished mounting this light to my handguard.

Had to remove the inner aluminum liner and trim it in one spot for clearance of the nuts and dremel down two spots on the external ridges.
Need to replace the current hardware with some black pan heads or hex.....just used what was handy for now.

image.jpeg image.jpeg
 
I intended to shoot the gp11 against my match bullet reloads in the swiss 1911 but it was so windy I thought I'd just be wasting expensive ammo so I just banged away at a steel target with a .45/60 lever action. We'll see if the weekend brings calmer weather
 
gerrycaruso said:
I intended to shoot the gp11 against my match bullet reloads in the swiss 1911 but it was so windy I thought I'd just be wasting expensive ammo so I just banged away at a steel target with a .45/60 lever action. We'll see if the weekend brings calmer weather
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My reloads were pretty much the same in the accuracy department as the GP11. 44 gr of IMR-4064 under a Nosler 168 gr CC. From a rest it's not hard to get 1/2" to 3/4" groups at 100 yards with my scoped K31.
 
The brass and dies for the 7mm rolling block showed up today so I loaded 20 rounds with a cast bullet and a light charge of Unique to fire form the cases to the rolling block chamber. If it works, I'll do this with the rest of the cases then load them all with a cast bullet and 20 grains of 5744. The fire forming loads worked fine and were accurate enough to keep all the shots on the head of the silhouette target at 100 yards so I took them to the 200 yard range and they did fine on the steel. The load was 9 grains of unique and a 170 grain cast bullet. It shot better than the 20 grains of 5744 but that might be my lousy shooting. I'll try that load again along with 18 grains of 4759 and 10 grains of Unique. I'm out of 2400 but will get more and try 16 grains.
 
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jek said:
Unfortunately, I never got around to casting my own. I took your seminar last year and really enjoyed it, but decided to hold off on the casting for a while.

I was asking relative to the differences I'm seeing in various companies online. The latest being the 13 BHN mentioned above. All of their projectiles appear to have a BHN of 13.
Click to expand...
Proper fit will go a long way vs alloy or hardness. Then when you get to a threshold in velocity you will need gas checks.
I can drive 160 grain wheel weight alloy to 2000fps with out leading but accuracy is not great.
 
image.jpg Have not cleaned out my pot in a long time, started to clog on me often so got it done.
Decided to fill it with poormans Lyman #2.
9ish pounds of Clip on Wheel Weights
1ish pounds of 60/40 solder.

Should make some pretty bullets.

Straight wheel weights serve me well but sometimes I like nice shiny bullets
The extra tin seems to add to the looks.
 

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