my question is this: the little load chart that comes with the kit was printed in 1978, and i want to make sure that the information there is still good information. i do plan to get a powder scale as soon as i can afford one, but for now i am stuck with the little measuring scoop. i would like to know if there is any new or better information out there. all loads are based on a 150grn bullet at 3.1cc VOLUME.

dupont imr 3031 - 40.7grn - 2600fps
dupont imr 4895 - 42.6grn - 2650fps
dupont imr 4320 - 43.3grn - 2650fps
dupont imr 4064 - 41.6grn - 2600fps

winchester 760 - 46.5grn - 2600fps

nobel rifle #1 - 41.1grn - 2550fps

hodgdon h414 - 46.9grn - 2554fps
hodgdon h380 - 44.8grn - 2550fps

if y�ll don't mind, i would appreciate knowing if these loads are still considered safe, and also if they can be used in the 7.62 cases that olin makes for the military. finally, if there are any other powders, etc that will work great at 3.1cc volume, i would appreciate knowing about them.

<<3 days later>>
i decided to try to load a few, and will definately get a powder scale soon. i took extra care to level off each scoop of the powder so that the charges were never MORE then the recommended, and were hopefully all the same or at least as close as could be to the same; be that as it may, i would like the back-up of a scale to make sure i am getting consistent weights along with my consistent measuring.

i am fairly proud of myself! i loaded 50 of them exactly the same and perfectly consistenly every time, and only screwed up ONCE. the screw-up however, was so ridiculous that i am hesitant to relate it here.

my question is this: the bullets i bought were hornady 150grn boat-tail spirepoints, i guess known as INTERLOCK bullets. i was not sure where to seat them. i looked at the factory loads i already have, and noticed that some were seated in the middle of the grooved ring that belts around the circumfrence of the bullet, and others looked like they were seated right at the very top of this grooved ring (looks like the edge of a coin) with only a tiny bit showing. on most of the bullets, however, i did not see this ring around the middle of the bullet, and assumed that they were seated deeper than the ring. what i decided to do was compromise and seat them all at the exact top of the ring (i believe this is called a cannelure???), right up to the very point where you could no longer see it.

should i have seated only halfway up the ring? should i have seated at the bottom of the ring? i took great care to seat them all exactly the same so i could remain consistent. below is a link to hornady's site and a picture of the interlock bullet, showing this ring that runs around the bullet that i am talking about....anyone who has had experience with hornady bullets, i would appreciate a reply.

https://gateway.hornady.com/web_store.cgi?page=interfeat.html&cart_id=1011027.230948

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tash
www.baitshopboys.com

Are you using the Lee Reloader (hand die with a mallet that only neck sizes) or the Lee Hand Press? The Hand Press uses conventional threaded dies and can be used to full length resize.

A couple of suggestions:

(1) Try to get your bullets close to the lands if at all possible. By close I'm talking seating them anywhere from .020 - .050 off of the lands. There are several tools on the market to help you figure out this measurement, with the Stoney Point tool being one of the more popular. I'm not sure if this fits in your budget, but the whole setup probably runs $30-40. Sinclair also has one of their own design that's a bit cheaper. Either will require you to measure with a set of calipers, which if you don't have those will also run $25-30 -- welcome to reloading and all the gadgetry involved!

I mention this because typically, when bullets are seated to the cannelure, they are outside of this measurement. Functioning will still be good, but I'm guessing accuracy will be a bit off.

(2) If you can't get close to the lands or you can't afford these tools, I recommend crimping with Lee's Factory Crimp die. They run about $15. This is a threaded die which will work if you are using the Hand Press, but won't work with the Lee Loader. There's a way to crimp using using the Lee Loader, directions should be included with it. If using the Loader die, make sure all cases are trimmed to the same length to get consistent crimping.

Good luck, have fun relaoding, and congratulations on your impending addition to the family (make sure you teach all of them reloading along the way).

Martindog

It makes a big difference whether you tap the scoop on the side to shake off powder above the rim, or scrape it off with a straightedge.

Had four kids of my own, so I well understand the budget limitation. I'd suggest that you borrow someone's scale and reloading manual for an evening, and practice a bit. Keep well below the max, and you'll be fine. You'll be able to make economy ammo that will keep you shooting, and the less than max loads will also reduce wear on your gun.

quote:

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Originally posted by denton:
It makes a big difference whether you tap the scoop on the side to shake off powder above the rim, or scrape it off with a straightedge.

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Without a doubt. Even Lee admits this, but Lee also reccomends that you develop your own method of loading the dipper and then consistently load the dipper in that manner. I never use the dippers for measuring powder in my loads - only because I've always used a scale - but I've found that the dippers ARE very accurate.

If you follow the Lee reccommended method of settling the dipper into the powder, tapping the dipper, and then leveling off with a credit card, you can get a very accurate charge. The problem is that you would never know it(at the bench) unless you had a scale on which to double check.

I would actually trust the dipper over Lee's scale - and I totally believe Lee's statements regarding both dippers and their Lee loader kits.