New to reloading(like a baby duck.) looking for advice .

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Ronald Jones

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Hi guys and gals like the title says I'm very new to reloading . I am looking for advice on reloding my 6.5x55se . The components I have achieved to get are n165 lupus brass and federal 210 primers and hornady 129 grain sst bullets. Can hardly find any load data . Can you help?
Thanks in advance
 
You kind of put yourself in a bind by purchasing the components without finding the data first.
I looked in my manuals and at Vihtavuori's online data. There is no data for N165 using that weight cup and core bullet.
You have two options. Call or email Hornady& Vihtavuori for data. Or substitute the 136 grain data on Vihtavuori's website.
I would suggest getting one of the 4350s or 4831s. There is a lot more data available. Or get a bullet that has data using your n165.
 
Baby ducks reload? Who knew?

Unfortunately, none of the manuals I have on my laptop have data for N165. I'll check the Lyman 50th when I get home.

I'll echo DMW1116's comment and recommend investing in a good manual. If you're dead set on going cheap, go to
marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manuals/Reloading/Reloading%20Manuals/ and you can download some older ones for free. Any of them will have a good outline of the reloading process even if they don't have the data you seek.

Good luck, be safe, have fun, and welcome to THR!
 
Missed that part. I don’t know anything about the VV powders. I usually just use Hodgden or Alliant. I hear they’re good, but I haven’t seen any in a long time.
 
Get the VV app on your phone, the only data they they show for N165 is with 139g bullets
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As said above, get a few or more manuals and read them twice or thrice. As far as reloading, get powder and bullets for the caliber you want to reload. You don't buy tires and build a car around it, Don't put the cart before the horse. Use online powder mfgs. data and follow it.
 
Get a few different reloading manuals, read them, process as much information as you can, ask more questions, read some more, ask more questions.
That is what we are here for...
The reason we are having you go down this road is so you do not hurt yourself or someone else.
We want you to learn this sport and enjoy it for years to come...
 
What are you shooting out of. The SE ammunition is for modern rifles not the older sweed mouser. There is lots of data available for the sweed but it's lower pressure.
 
It's a modern rifel
What are you shooting out of. The SE ammunition is for modern rifles not the older sweed mouser. There is lots of data available for the sweed but it's lower pressure.
Baby ducks reload? Who knew?

Unfortunately, none of the manuals I have on my laptop have data for N165. I'll check the Lyman 50th when I get home.

I'll echo DMW1116's comment and recommend investing in a good manual. If you're dead set on going cheap, go to
marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manuals/Reloading/Reloading%20Manuals/ and you can download some older ones for free. Any of them will have a good outline of the reloading process even if they don't have the data you seek.

Good luck, be safe, have fun, and welcome to
 
Get a manual. 14X !

Duh!

Doesn’t really help the OP.

VV165 is analogous to H4831, which is a slow powder. Not a bad choice and given that with the current situation with all things reloading, a wise choice.

Use the 139gr data and proceed carefully.

Welcome to the quagmire!
 
This reminds me to look through any of my reloading manuals

This sentiment is honestly why I absolutely HATE “new reloader threads.”

Everyone will pile on with “buy a few manuals and read them over and over…” all while they sit at their own bench and use BETTER processes which are NOT described in the manual.

Reading reloading manuals and following their prescribed process design WILL produce safe, reliable ammunition which will fit in any firearm. That’s it.

It won’t be fast to produce, it likely won’t be terribly accurate, it won’t be a time-efficient process, it won’t be well fit for your rifle… in other words, it won’t be anything in line with what most of us are wanting to achieve by reloading.

So personally, I cringe when I go back each year and re-read manuals so I can better communicate about manuals to folks I’m inevitably mentoring into reloading. I don’t find myself with an invaluable resource of proper recommendations, but rather a mis-guiding script which needs tons of corrections which I know I’ll have to address with the new reloaders… for example, the conflict between the manual instructions for setting a sizing die, the die manufacturer’s instructions, and a proper process to find the correct headspace length for setting their die… so reading these things first creates corrections and questions later when we’re in front of the bench, rather than actually providing answers. We have to spend time then talking about “why are we doing it this way instead of doing what Lee says in the manual?” or “why does Hornady say to this and RCBS says to do that?” or “why is this step not in the manual?” or “why doesn’t that manual recommend using this tool?”... Not always a bad exercise. As it forces conversation about alternative processes and helps define between the optimum and the generic, but when a new reloader is drinking from a firehose and wanting to know ONE path so they know what to buy and how to use it, rather than trying to learn everything everywhere all at once…
 
Reading reloading manuals and following their prescribed process design WILL produce safe, reliable ammunition which will fit in any firearm. That’s it.

This is the best way for those new to reloading to start.

After we gain knowledge and experience from our own trials, and from input from more experienced reloaders/handloaders is when we learn possible better steps in the process.

Not that it matters, but I agree with your entire post on the matter- very well stated.
 
This sentiment is honestly why I absolutely HATE “new reloader threads.”

Everyone will pile on with “buy a few manuals and read them over and over…” all while they sit at their own bench and use BETTER processes which are NOT described in the manual.

Reading reloading manuals and following their prescribed process design WILL produce safe, reliable ammunition which will fit in any firearm. That’s it.

It won’t be fast to produce, it likely won’t be terribly accurate, it won’t be a time-efficient process, it won’t be well fit for your rifle… in other words, it won’t be anything in line with what most of us are wanting to achieve by reloading.

So personally, I cringe when I go back each year and re-read manuals so I can better communicate about manuals to folks I’m inevitably mentoring into reloading. I don’t find myself with an invaluable resource of proper recommendations, but rather a mis-guiding script which needs tons of corrections which I know I’ll have to address with the new reloaders… for example, the conflict between the manual instructions for setting a sizing die, the die manufacturer’s instructions, and a proper process to find the correct headspace length for setting their die… so reading these things first creates corrections and questions later when we’re in front of the bench, rather than actually providing answers. We have to spend time then talking about “why are we doing it this way instead of doing what Lee says in the manual?” or “why does Hornady say to this and RCBS says to do that?” or “why is this step not in the manual?” or “why doesn’t that manual recommend using this tool?”... Not always a bad exercise. As it forces conversation about alternative processes and helps define between the optimum and the generic, but when a new reloader is drinking from a firehose and wanting to know ONE path so they know what to buy and how to use it, rather than trying to learn everything everywhere all at once…
Sounds like you need to write a Reloading Manual Translation Manual. Seriously, if you've mentored a goodly number of new reloaders and have a good feel for where the pitfalls typically are, such a tome could be useful and popular.

If the OP is truly a rank amateur and doesn't have an in-person mentor, I think a manual is as good a place to start as any. As you say, it will tell them how to go through the process safely. Once they are confident in the basics, they can learn where and when it's OK to deviate from them. Kind of like one of the reasons they don't use Gold Wings and Road Kings in motorcycle safety classes. Put new riders on KLR and Ninja 250s that are easy to handle at first. Once they master that, they can figure what their "big kid bike" will be.
 
Oh good grief. Not yet another, “Get a manual,” vs. “Just trust the internet” food fight. Really?

If the OP is using a Hornady bullet, then Hornady data is a great place to start and having a reference at the bench is a good idea. Guessing and trial-n-error probably won’t blow up anything or do any personal harm - you probably won’t put your eye out, kid. Question is, who wants to gamble on “probably”? If yes, go for it! If no, do that, too.
 
This sentiment is honestly why I absolutely HATE “new reloader threads.”

Everyone will pile on with “buy a few manuals and read them over and over…” all while they sit at their own bench and use BETTER processes which are NOT described in the manual.

Reading reloading manuals and following their prescribed process design WILL produce safe, reliable ammunition which will fit in any firearm. That’s it.

It won’t be fast to produce, it likely won’t be terribly accurate, it won’t be a time-efficient process, it won’t be well fit for your rifle… in other words, it won’t be anything in line with what most of us are wanting to achieve by reloading.

So personally, I cringe when I go back each year and re-read manuals so I can better communicate about manuals to folks I’m inevitably mentoring into reloading. I don’t find myself with an invaluable resource of proper recommendations, but rather a mis-guiding script which needs tons of corrections which I know I’ll have to address with the new reloaders… for example, the conflict between the manual instructions for setting a sizing die, the die manufacturer’s instructions, and a proper process to find the correct headspace length for setting their die… so reading these things first creates corrections and questions later when we’re in front of the bench, rather than actually providing answers. We have to spend time then talking about “why are we doing it this way instead of doing what Lee says in the manual?” or “why does Hornady say to this and RCBS says to do that?” or “why is this step not in the manual?” or “why doesn’t that manual recommend using this tool?”... Not always a bad exercise. As it forces conversation about alternative processes and helps define between the optimum and the generic, but when a new reloader is drinking from a firehose and wanting to know ONE path so they know what to buy and how to use it, rather than trying to learn everything everywhere all at once…
While you are correct that a lot of us are no longer using the manual exactly, we started riding a bike with training wheels before they were taken off. In the best case senerio a mentor is the training wheels and passes piles of knowledge, explaining where small changes are important and why. One could skip it all by reading the applied ballistics tombs as he is arguably one of the best in the game. Step one is understanding that load manuals are just controlled tests and your not guaranteed even those results.
 
@barnfrog - the point I was trying to make isn’t that any single process design which can be described to ONE objective cannot and will not fit the objectives of all, or even most reloaders. When I teach reloading classes or mentor new reloaders, we define their specific objectives, then design a process and subsequent equipment package to deliver against those objectives. One size does not fit all - and thousands of dollars can be wasted if new reloaders don’t realize the manuals’ recommended processes don’t fit their goals.

Manuals describe, almost unilaterally, loading on a single stage press, typically using hand tools for most brass prep - which is a fine description of how to make small batches of generic ammo. But a 3 gun competitor shooting 20-50,000 rounds per year won’t be well served by a single stage press and trimming by hand. Benchrest competitors will employ all kinds of brass sorting and prep processes which ONLY apply for their game, and obviously, their process won’t look anything at all like that of the 3 gun shooter, once you peel deeper than “size, prime, charge, seat, repeat.”

We also do see some manuals with dated recommendations which have not survived since their drafting. For example, recently it came up here that the Lee manual touts neck-sizing-only as the pinnacle of precision, which is based on a fad in the 1990’s in which a lot of BR competitors and subsequently EVERYONE ELSE chased one dude who won some matches by just neck sizing… but BR matches and records have been set since then, and were before then, predominantly with full length sizing… but still, new reloaders get recommended Lee’s manual, and they might unfortunately buy neck sizing dies and think they’re doing themselves a favor… then end up stranded with loaded rounds which won’t close in their rifles, all because Lee didn’t update his manual to correct that FL sizing (with custom dies matched to your rifle chamber) is producing the pinnacle of precision and didn’t address the risks of using the outdated method in field applications by unwitting newbies…

So were I to write a reloading process guide for publication, the resulting product would be just as wrong for just as many reloaders as any manual.

But luckily, we live now in the age of virtual networks, so connecting directly with mentors and advisors to gain access to objective-relevant guidance is easier than ever.
 
While you are correct that a lot of us are no longer using the manual exactly, we started riding a bike with training wheels before they were taken off.

This is a poor analogy for your argument, actually for a lot of reasons. Guys say this all of the time in this particular discussion, and it’s become a recurring thorn in my side. It sounds good, so guys say it, but it’s really bad justification and misleads new reloaders to spend money they shouldn’t.

1) When a child takes the training wheels off of their bike - a zero cost modification - they have a bike to ride, and it’s the right equipment. For the majority of children, a bike is the right equipment for riding a bike… However, for the majority of reloaders, the equipment found in reloading manuals is not the right equipment for their respective objectives. So for example, buying a single stage press when learning to reload - because that’s what the manual recommends - when your objective is high volume shooting is like buying a bike with training wheels when you’re rather wanting to learn to roller skate… that single stage press isn’t a bike with training wheels, it’s just the wrong equipment to the wrong objective, but unlike removign literal training wheels from a bike, replacing the single stage press or hand trimmer with the right gear incurs unnecessary expense.

2) Children grow physically, so any given bike doesn’t have much duration of life - equipment changes are forced by physical growth, so incremental reinvestment in equipment is inevitable. I know the 24” bike I just bought for my son won’t fit him forever, so he’s not expecting to buy ONE bike and have use for it forever. This is not the case with reloading - I’ve never physically grown too big for any of my reloading presses, and I expect nobody else in the world has either. It’s reasonable to think our first press will always be useful for the task - as long as we don’t first buy the wrong press for the task…

3) For good reason, nobody teaches adults to ride a bike with training wheels, and frankly, training wheels are not the best means of teaching children. “Balance bikes” and “Striders” and simply removing the pedals from kid’s bikes have proven to be the better method for teaching kids to ride bikes. Nobody teaches adults to ride motorcycles with training wheels. Why? Because they don’t teach kids bad habits like leaning on the training wheel when riding straight and turning the bike like a car rather than leaning, and have consequences which limit learning, like creating a fulcrum which lifts the rear wheel and causes crashes if kids excel and lean intentionally into turns - so even within learning to ride a bike, literally, no metaphor, a bike with training wheels isn’t the best tool for the task.
 
With the help of this thread, find a manual with good load data for 6.5x55. Buy that manual and read the instructions in the beginning, then get the rest of the gear you'll need. This way, you'll have good load data, and good instructions.

Aside from the components you listed, do you have any of the reloading tools you'll need?
  • Press
  • Dies
  • Case trimmer
  • Reloading trays
  • Powder measure or dippers
  • Powder scale
  • Priming tool
  • Primer pocket tool
Varminterror is kind of getting ahead of you here. Don't listen to him yet unless you want to pull out your hair. ;-)

Last thing: Consider adding at least a general geographic location to your profile, so we can see under your name where you are. Maybe there's someone local, who can help you in person? A lot of members don't do it out of paranoia that someone is going to track them down and steal their guns, but I've found it to be more useful than a risk.
 
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