Last year I had the opportunity to visit the brand-new Sig Sauer Ammunition factory in Arkansas. At the time, the folks there were already manufacturing millions of rounds of completed ammo. Also at that time, they were ramping up production capabilities to make their own brass cases in-house, not only for their branded ammunition, but […]
Reloading: Bullet Materials and Shapes
Bullets are bullets, right? Well, not really. There are a wide array of variables in bullet shape, weight, materials, and construction. Each of these variables can have a dramatic impact on the performance, and safety, of any given load. In other words, loading recipe data for one 147-grain, .308 bullet may be incorrect, and even […]
RCBS Announces New Reloading Gear
It’s SHOT Show time. That means new product season and an avalanche of new guns, gear, and ammo announcements. From the company: OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – January 13, 2017 – RCBS, the leading manufacturer of ammunition reloading equipment for rifles and pistols, will launch several new products to dealers at booth 14551 at the 2017 […]
Can You Start Reloading For Less Than $200? A Look at Lee Breech Lock Challenger Kit
Without fail, when I’m at the range, picking up spent brass like a squirrel coming off the Jenny Craig Diet, people always ask me if I reload. The very next comment, again without fail, is something like “I’ve always wanted to do that. How much does it cost to get started?” Reloading is one of […]
Does Bullet Concentricity Really Improve Accuracy?
As an avid reloader, I try really, really hard to make sure that I seat my rifle bullets straight in the case so that they are perfectly centered and aligned with the case itself. As an avid shooter, I assume that ammo companies do the same for the rifle cartridges I buy. Why? If a […]
Reloading: Priming For Success
In case you haven’t been following our series on how to reload your own ammunition, we’re well on our way to reaching the end of the process. So far, we’ve covered the following: Want To Reload Your Own Ammo? Basic Questions to Consider The Reloading Process Reloading: The Gear You Need And What It’ll Cost […]
Reloading: All About Primers
We don’t give primers a lot of attention, but they have the most important job in the cartridge “go bang” process. It’s the primer that converts mechanical energy into a small conflagration that ignites the powder charge in the cartridge. A primer contains a primary explosive, which basically means that it’s unstable and volatile. Propellants […]
How To Reload Pistol Ammunition
This article originally appeared at OutdoorHub. A couple of months ago we talked about how to reload rifle cartridges. Reloading for pistol calibers, while similar, is even simpler. The core steps are basically the same: Clean and inspect the brass cartridge case. Remove the spent primer. Resize the case. Insert a new primer. Add in […]
Reloading: Powder, Propellants, and Pressure
While the stuff stored in wooden casks on old pirate ships was considered a “low explosive,” modern gun powder is not the same as the black powder of old. As much as I’d love to have my reloading room filled with those wooden casks, the modern stuff comes in plastic bottles. Besides that, it’s […]
Reloading: Trimming Cartridge Cases
While touring the FN factory last week, I got an up close and personal look at their process for cold hammer forging barrels. In case you don’t know how that works, they stuff a steel rod, with an oversize hole for a bore, into a machine that hammers the living snot out of the barrel […]