General Reloading Question(s)

As for case trimming, I check cases and if they are under the max listed length, I leave them. When I find some that are creeping over, I set my trimmer to the min listed length and trim all of them at once.

I don't anneal my cases. Set your die to bump the shoulder back as little as possible at each loading. The less you work the brass the less likely you are to have abnormal issues with split necks, etc.
 
There are a ton of guys who love the stuff but I've never liked the Reloader series of powders due to their temperature sensitivity. I had a delay fire in the subzero temps in 2007 with my 7mmMag (using Federal Mag Primers) that cost me my first elk. I have since switched to Retumbo but I am hearing the new IMR7977 (copper fouling eliminator) is no slouch either.

Wow, never thought about that with the R powders ! That would suck big time to miss an opportunity at an Elk or Deer because of the powder!! I have read that the R 22 was temp sensitive but I thought that meant pressure would increase when temp got higher, and decrease when it got colder which would change the point of impact. I never thought about it causing misfires or hangfires. I read that R 22 is similar to Norma MRP in burn rate and temp sensitivity, and Norma MRP is what all Weatherby ammo is loaded with. I usually hunt with Weatherby factory ammo in my .340, but since it was rebarreled I have found a 225 grain Swift A-Frame load using R 22 powder. You have me thinking I should reconsider. Don't want to miss my chance at the only Elk I might see on my trip in October.
Anyone else encountered the same problem with the R 22 ?
 
I have shot a lot of Re22 in 7 mag and especially in my 6mm, with some being in very cold temps. I have never had one problem that was attributed to the powder. I would say that the powder problem was not temperature, but some other issue such as primer failure or some powder that got tainted or something. Hard to say, but the bottom line was the same-missed opportunity.

I will stay with Reloder powders. The velocity and accuracy that I have gotten is outstanding.
 
As for case trimming, I check cases and if they are under the max listed length, I leave them. When I find some that are creeping over, I set my trimmer to the min listed length and trim all of them at once.

I don't anneal my cases. Set your die to bump the shoulder back as little as possible at each loading. The less you work the brass the less likely you are to have abnormal issues with split necks, etc.

I'm going to have to do some studying about precision die setting. I read the same yesterday and I really do not know what "bumping" means. I have always set it as directed in the die instructions. I think I understand the principle as it applies to work hardening but how to control it will take some more reading
Thank you .... I enjoy picking up new processes and obscure information.

I have a case trimmer but have not used it. Even after several firings I've not found any that were out of spec which is kind of why I asked. It seemed odd to me but I blamed it on my lack of experience.
 
When you fire a round, the cartridge casing expands to fit the chamber. Each chamber can vary slightly in headspacing. A chamber with a lot of headspacing will allow the shoulder to move forward as the case expands. When you resize this, you are "bumping" the shoulder. How much you do this will affect the longevity of your brass.

Ideally, you will take some fired casings and adjust your die to the rifle so that you are only bumping that shoulder back a slight amount. It's a fine line, if you don't do it enough you can get hard chambering rounds, which for hunting is not a good thing. If you are setting the shoulder back too far, you are needlessly shortening the life of your brass.
 
I'm sure I have less experience reloading than most here, but I've had no problems in the last 6 years I've been using rl-22 for various bullets and calibers. I've had really good luck with accuracy too.
 
Thank you JLS... the link was very helpful in clearing up some of my questions.

Typically my loads end up in the top third of the charge range and I don't push them too much. So I do not consider them hot really. Probably why I have not had to do any trimming.
 
I'm going to have to do some studying about precision die setting. I read the same yesterday and I really do not know what "bumping" means. I have always set it as directed in the die instructions. I think I understand the principle as it applies to work hardening but how to control it will take some more reading
Thank you .... I enjoy picking up new processes and obscure information.

I have a case trimmer but have not used it. Even after several firings I've not found any that were out of spec which is kind of why I asked. It seemed odd to me but I blamed it on my lack of experience.

Another option is to purchase neck sizing dies. It helps extend the life of your brass and only sizes the neck, versus working more of the brass. I neck size all of my hunting rounds. Sometimes you can have a round that's difficult to chamber, but feeding them through your rifle before you hunt will help ensure that all of your cartridges feed reliably in the field. It's an easy issue to over come.
 
Another option is to purchase neck sizing dies. It helps extend the life of your brass and only sizes the neck, versus working more of the brass. I neck size all of my hunting rounds. Sometimes you can have a round that's difficult to chamber, but feeding them through your rifle before you hunt will help ensure that all of your cartridges feed reliably in the field. It's an easy issue to over come.

So would your cases be considered "fire formed" with exception of the necks? I would assume if that is the case then headspace is a non-issue?

Not trying to run this thread into multiple pages, I just like hearing everyone's thoughts. My favorite way of learning and confirming.
 
So would your cases be considered "fire formed" with exception of the necks? I would assume if that is the case then headspace is a non-issue?

Not trying to run this thread into multiple pages, I just like hearing everyone's thoughts. My favorite way of learning and confirming.

Yes. Basically all you are doing is sizing the neck so that the proper tension is on the bullet. The case is fire-formed to your particular rifle. Of couse this doesn't work when you are using the same load in multiple rifles. It should be specific ammo for a specific rifle.
 
Also, I might add that the first firing will cause you to see the most stretching of the case. If you trim it after the first firing, you might not have to trim again for 2 or 3 firings, but you should always measure the resized case, and trim it to the recommended "trim to" length if the case is longer than the "Max Length".
 
So would your cases be considered "fire formed" with exception of the necks? I would assume if that is the case then headspace is a non-issue?

Not trying to run this thread into multiple pages, I just like hearing everyone's thoughts. My favorite way of learning and confirming.

Neck sizing is fine and it may let you get a bit more use out of the casing, BUT you are also more apt to have chambering issues. Full-length resize and be done with it. If you are in the field, you don't want to hope that your round will chamber with some dirt on it or something. All things can go wrong at the worst time.
 
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