I am still in my first year of reloading. I mainly load for my .270 Win, and my brother's 7mm Rem Mag. I have spent days on end reading manuals and books on reloading (had lotsa time... just got back from Iraq). I have come up with a couple of questions that I'm not really getting from the books.

What is the story on nickel plated cases? Before I started reloading, I was shooting the WW Supreme factory ammo, and have a lot of cases left, so does my brother. Some manuals say it's ok to use the nickel plated, and list the reasons... less corrosion etc. Then other ones say don't do it b/c the nickel will flake off and ruin dies. Who's right? Is it ok to use them?

Second, what would be a good process to go about finding the most accurate loadings for a particular gun? There seem to be so many combinations of powder/bullets/primers/powder weight/seating depth/etc etc etc that it is a little overwhelming for me. Where is a good starting point, and how do I find the best finished product?

Also just any other tips for a new guy would be really helpful.

HI steel slinger,
about the nickel plated cases, I'll leave that to someone else cause i've never tried them other than to say if you have enough brass saved up a $25 set of rcbs dies dedicated to just the nickel pl. brass is not that hard.
and if they are flaking don't use em...
The second question is the 42,000$ qeustion , the answer is, THAT is the fun of reloading, what powder, primer, seating depth will work best for my gun or need?

I go about it like this. Some calibers have powders that are just great starting places with a given caliber (ie H-380 and a 22-250) If it's a new caliber for me I look at my reloading manuels and pick the powder I see most often listed for that caliber. Like say IMR 4064 for your .270.
I rarley find enough diference by changing primers to worry much about it so I just go with Rem 9 1/2 or 7 1/2 depending...
I buy a couple boxes of quality bullets in the weight I want and then I start loading them up.
I start by seating my bullets just off the lands, (there is a ton of info on that if you do a search) then I load up five rounds starting 2 grains below Max. Say if max load was listed as 50 grains, I'll load 5 rounds each at 48gr,48.5gr,49gr,49.5gr,and 50gr. Only if I have no signs of pressure will I go above that. Then I'm off to the range.

I only do load development shooting in optimal conditions, cause I want to know how the load is shooting, not how well I can judge the wind. I shoot each 5 shot group, making sure the barrell is the same (ie, cleanliness and temp.) for each group. I then take any group that looks promising and try the minor tweeks like seating depth or up and down .2 gr to see if it improves. If my best load was the hottest one, and there was no pressure problems I might bump the charge a tad, in .5gr increments. When I like the load, I'll load up say 15 more and shoot 3 more groups to make sure it is repeatable. Then I load up say 100 rounds and call it good...Till I'm bored and want to mess around some more.

If I'm not happy with the results I'll start again with a different powder. Most guns will like a specific combo of components much better than anything else. My 22-250 shoots almost any load to MOA and the "right load" to less than half of that, but my .270 is very picky and took much tinkering to figure out. Some loads looked like shotgun pattens, but when the right combo was found (49 gr R-15 with a 130 gr speer boat tail, and OAL of 3.271) it is a sub MOA gun. Which is plenty good for deer etc.
Ricky

Steel Slinger
Welcome to AR
I have loaded thousands of rifle and pistol rounds with Nickel Brass with no problems.

Well, I've been loading nickel cases since the early 1960's and have yet have one ruin either a die or a chamber.

As for finding the "best" load, it is all a process of elimination. There is no answer and there is no short-cut.

However, here are a few hints:

#1) Find all the bullets that are compatable with the twist ratio of your firearm;

#2) Select the bullet that will be proper for your intended use;

#3) select the powder that will give you at least a 95% load density in your particular caliber with that bullet, at what is uselessly called a "max" load;

#4) Using the bullet and powder you have selected, start working-up a load until you either reach indications of excessive pressure or the accuracy and velocity level you decide is proper for your intended use ... STOP when the first of the above two occur;

#5) Play with seating depth after you have decided on a powder charge;

#6) Finally try different primers with your final powder charge and OAL to see if any one does better than what you originally started with.

Hey steel slinger
I have never used nickle plated cases but that don't mean they can't be reloaded. I know what you mean when you start out with a bunch of powders and primers to choose from. Most all calibers have a powder that shoots fairly well for a start. Every rifle is differant and will have to be adjusted with the powder load to shoot more accruate. A good place to go to check out some reloadiong data is: [COLOR:BLUE]http://stevespages.com
It is a good idea to find a reloader who has reloaded a lot and has been for awhile. Most will help you with some good advice. Beware of all the BS that comes out of the walls when you ask a question. Take each step slow and easy and keep everything clean. You don't have to buy $10,000 dollers worth of stuff either. Ask Steve and he will answer anything you need to know.

I loaded nickle plated cases exclusivly for my .300 Win mag. I never had a problem. The biggest advantage for me is I don't tumble my brass. I've found the nickle doesn't tarnish like my other brass cases do from case lube and general handling. Anything on the nickle cases wipes off easily. Good shooting.

First of all Steel Slinger, welcome back and thank you for your service, I'm glad to see you made it back alright.

Everyone has given you good advice already here and I can only say to pick the bullet that you want to use according to the end result desired first. Super accuracy, explosive performance on varmints, deep penetration, etc. Certain bullets are better than others in each area.

I`ve only loaded pistol with plated brass but never had any provlems other then chamfering is a bit toughter due to the nickels hardness.
There is a lot of good advice on the other posts but one way to search for a good powder I didn`t see mentioned is to check the Sierra and Nosler books for their "accuracy" load. The Lyman books used to list one also, but now only give a sprinkle of powders they recommend in the cartridge description, as does Hornady and Speer. They all load far more, and hear from many other shooters as to their result, so their recommendations are usually a real good place to begin.

Nickel is good but the necks seem to split
a little quicker.They look good too.
If you can find someone to reload with I would suggest that for a while till you feel comfortable on your own.lots of good info here
also but an experianced salt next to you is
a good way to go.
glad you made it back safe

I can't bad mouth Ni cases as they have worked for me, however last year I ran into a batch of Remington Ni in 280 calibre that absolutely refused to resize or fit the chamber at all. It was just like they had a "memory" and would spring right back to the oversized condition. It was returned for regular cases and all went well. Too bad tho, I really wanted to use them because my friend took his kids hunting and one boy has a 270, the other a 280.
Where I have had problems tho was in the case necks. Either the Ni flaked during trimming, or when the neck was chamfured. In any event, all brass wears out. I just don't see anything to get excited about.

All good advice, you don't have to try all combinations, eg. if you have some components on hand that are in some loading manuals I'd start with them. AS soon as you get acceptable accuracy, the rest can be experiments if and when you get the time.
John.

quote:

Originally posted by Steel Slinger:
... just got back from Iraq ...

Hey Steel Slinger, Welcome Aboard!

From a tired old MARINE, just want to say Thank You for your Service and SEMPER FI!

Thanks for all the advice everybody. I think that I'll just steer clear of the nickel cases. I don't really care if the cartridges are pretty, just want them to shoot well. It also sounds like those cases are a little more high maintenance when it comes to trimming. Plus regular brass is a little cheaper. I'm in college, so money's tight. I've worked up a few loadings, and it's off to the range today to let the fun begin.
Thanks again