Reloading for hunting ,my reasons

[Bullshop Junior]

I shoot NOTHING but hand loads. excrped for 22lr. I reload for evrything, Pistol,Rifle,Shot gun, exc....

[jlb300]

Hi bigo,
It's interesting that you would be asking about .338's. There's a guy at my club shoots one for pleasure, about ten rounds at a time, always Rem factory stuff. I have some of the brass sitting in my extras box and was just looking at it yesterday.

Belted magnums are kind of a world unto themselves as far as reloading them goes. If you are thinking about light target loads or cast bullets, if you necksized your brass, you might get twenty or more reloads from a lot of cases. BUT, and it is a big one, in the real world, they can be a royal PITA to load for. Some are not, though, and they can behave just like regular rifles if you get a lucky one.
For serious hunting/dangerous game loads, they need to be Full Length sized (because any feeding problems can possibly be fatal). Fl sizing, depending on how tight the chamber dimensions are and how closely those dimensions match those of your sizing die can work harden the brass very quickly, requiring anealing often (sometimes every other firing) and limiting brass life significantly. The high pressures tend to make the brass flow more that it would in a smaller chamber/lighter pressure situation, and that means they might require more frequent trimming. This tends to thin the brass of the case body just above the case web and leaves the area weakened, increasing likelihood of a head separation. Again, an unacceptable situation in a dangerous game rifle.
So, if you are going to hunt something that will hunt you, make up handloads with brand new brass and premium bullets. If you are part of the 99.99% of the rest of us who won't and don't, look at it as you would any rifle new to you: a puzzle to work out. Only by actually doing it can you find how your rifle is going to behave and what kind of brass life you are going to get. Some magnum shooters are lucky to get two or three loadings from a case with hot loads. In big magnums, milder loads always put less stress on brass (and on shooters) and ought to give you better case life, especially if you can get away with neck sizing. Some rifles require FL sizing for good feeding, and some even require Small Base sizing (and I don't even want to speculate on how much a custom SB die would cost). A lot of magnum owners really enjoy shooting light cast loads for much less wear and tear on both barrel and shooter.

And yes, it sounds like your uncle used a Lee loader (a neck sizing only tool) on the rounds he gave you. Neck sized brass is always only to be used in the same rifle. It was probably an older one with a fatter, worn chamber.

I must add that Innovative Technologies makes a die that resizes the case just above the belt for belted mag cases. The web site is www.larrywillis.com There you can find lots of info for this great tool. I believe all brass built on the 375 H&H base is capable of being resized with this die.

[Baldy]

Sometimes I buy bullets and brass, but factory loads?

Haven't
you taught your neighborhood kids how to go to the mall parking lots and "find" wheelweights?

ROTFLMAO!

[nambu1]

The only factory stuff my guns see is what I have been given or traded for. I have even reloaded for a few friends that do not like the usual stuff they find on the store shelves or feel that it is too expensive.

[1Shirt]

Can't remember the last time I fired a center fire factory rifle or hand gun load. Shoot a lot of cast, and truely enjoy reloading. There is a great deal of satisfaction out of loading and tailoring your load to your specific needs. On top of that, can't afford factory ammo, and wouldn't buy it if I could. Exception is shotgun which doesn't much interest me.
1Shirt!

[qajaq59]

Yup, and if you shoot reloads in a 30-30 then you really can't kill anything.

Oh oh, you mean to say I've been cutting up and eating live hogs? You'd think they would have squealed or something!!!

[DKA]

I reload all of my hunting loads, because every bullet is just like the others. Very consistant grouping.

[Tom W.]

And of course, we all know that our factory warranties are null and void if we shoot handloads. Especially those with home cast bullets!

[GH1]

I started reloading so I could shoot more and develop some level of proficiency with my guns. Since hunting is all about shot placement, it makes sense to me that I should hunt with what I practice with.
GH1

[Paul B]

The last time I made a big buy of factory ammo was when a K-Mart shut down because the Walmart next door was outselling them. I went to their liquidation sale and bout 27 boxes of Winchester 30-30 ammo for $4.00 a box, 7 boxes of .Winchester .308 ammo for $5.00 a box and 9 boxes of 30-06 for $6.00 a box. I couldn't handload them for those prices.
hese days, the only time I buy a box of factory ammo is if I buy a new rifle, even if it's in a aliber I already own, I use the box of factory to do pressure ring expansion and case head exxpansion measurements. Then I do a load work up to find out what is max in the new rifle. Most of the time my already determined pet loads work just fine but sometimes what works in one rifle is way too hot in another. A load with the 140 gr. Nosler ballistic tip that is just fine in my Model 70 Featherweight will lock up the bolt on my custom FN Mauser. Two cartridges I will buy factory amo for are my 7x57 mauser (for the custom rifle) and my custom .35 Whelen. I prefer the Winchester 145 gr. Power Points for the Mauser and while 200 gr. loads for the Whelen are easy to find, the gun stores around here don't seem to have, or maybe keep on the shelves the 250 gr. load for the Whelen. No matter as I hand load for that rifle anyway. If push comes to shove, I can always convert 30-06 brass to feed that rifle.
Paul B.