Reloading rifle rounds

There are a few loads that workout very well. All depends on what your use is, hunting, target. I don't know hat you have for powders but H4350 is the most popular. Paired with a 140gr ELD-M and you have a sub moa capable gun. You do have options for this caliber to get SR or LR primers. The SR will handle the pressure better than the LR giving you more loads before the pocket loosens up (10). In my area LR is non existent. When I built mine years ago I went with SR and glad I did. Enjoy your new gun. Install a good set of optics and your set.

Federal has srp factory loads should you decide to buy the first few boxes and reload those.

What a great wife!!! (but not a very good Santa Claus for spoiling the Christmas surprise)
I am rather particular when it comes to rifle loading. Pistol rounds I will just crank out as fast as I can go on my Lee Classic Turret press and be plenty happy with the +- accuracy of my powder dispenser. But with rifle, I go much slower. I meticulously weigh each charge, right down to a kernel of powder. I load on a single stage press and measure the length and check concentricity of every 5th round. If I didn't have a SS press I would be using my LCT in SS mode and run batches through 1 stage at a time. I'm not familiar with your Lyman american, but you should be able to run it 1 stage at a time, as well.

The main difference between loading rifle and pistol is that you need to trim the rifle brass. The Lee trimmer is cheap and works well. Get the adapter to use a drill. You will also need to chamfer the case mouth after trimming. Use your rifle to set the resizing die to just bump the case shoulder.

The only rifle I load for is 223 Rem. I have Lee equip. I also use a drill to run the trimmer and it works well for me I'm not a speed loader so i'm not in any hurry. I have the Lyman multi tool for case prep. Getting on in years so i have a tendency to fumble things that's why i stopped riding my two Shovelhead Harleys. Those are ny two hobbies, after that it's off to the old folks home and pudding.

Ah, you’re venturing into a whole new world. It’s already been mentioned, but the brass will need to be trimmed. That being said, full size your rifle brass the first time you load it, then trim. At some point, you may venture into neck sizing but that’s a whole other topic. Bumping the shoulders, oh the pain and joy of adjusting the dies to get it “just right” and then after a few rounds it’s off again (WTH! ). Lube… too much and you dent the brass, too little and you need new dies…. Crimp, yes for semi auto (but not too much) and no for bolt action and lever action.

Welcome to rifle reloading. Your going to love it… or hate it. Haha.

One of the simplest techniques, that I learned from my machinest dad was called clocking. A black sharpie and your in business. The second hack is a set of the the Hornaday locking rings. Those two things and a tin of Redding sizing wax will reduce the amount of frustration a loooooot.

I use a Hornady bullet comparator and bushings with a caliper to help measure and adjust shoulder bump and seating depth.

Crazy Horse said:

Any items i should keep in mind and advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Building on @splattergun … great wife! Do something VERY nice for her! Often!

I full length size rifle brass for sure functioning.

I use hornady one shot or imperial sizing wax which is a wipe on lube. If ya get the latter type lube on the shoulder you get dents. So no lube on the shoulder or neck.

You can add a third die to your set so you have an expander die. It’s arguably easier on the brass and easier on the arm to load too. Ya just got to use a slightly smaller expander button in your sizing die. Anyways. That’s the way I set my 30-30 up for cast and I like it enough i do it for those rare jacketed bullets I venture to load.

Reloading rifle isn't that difficult.
For the past six or seven years I have been making my own spray lube.
Ten parts of red bottle of dry gas
To one part liquid lanolin.
Spray it on and give it five minutes to dry before you resize.
If you dont give any spray on lube time to dry you will get stuck cases.

Do yourself a favor and buy a stuck case removal set up before you start reloading rife cases.

Reloading rifle is not more difficult than handgun, but different.

You will have to deal with lubricating your cases when sizing. Carbide rifle dies are available for a few rifle cartridges but they are expensing, made for high volume loaders, and still require lubricating.

To that end, you will need to learn how much lubricant to put on the case so that you do not get hydraulic dents in the shoulder of the case. Dents are not the end of the world, for the most part, they will blow out on the next firing, but you really do not want to have them.

I tumble clean my cases after lubricating and sizing but before reloading them.

Trimming is a must as already said. Cases will grow in length on sizing. The Lee trimming system is pretty good. I like the WFT style trimmers. The Wilson trimmer with the Sinclair International base is another good system. This is a case where you need to try different ones and find what works for you. Trimming should be done after sizing the cases.

I do not crimp most of my rifle rounds. Rifle rounds destine for a tubular magazine on a lever action rifle is the exception.

I hope this helps and enjoy your new rifle.

You may consider obtaining a case gauge.

As mentioned previously, cases will need cut/chamfered/deburred etc. I have one of these:

https://www.frankfordarsenal.com/ca...-series-case-trim-and-prep-center/903156.html

Been using it for several years now. No complaints worth mentioning.

The big difference for me is that I reload rifle on a turret and weigh each powder charge but with pistol I run them on a Dillon 550. It's just my personal preference.

There are two things I can think of to tell you to help you out reloading.
The rifle brass grows every time you fire it. So buy a way to trim brass. My suggestion is to get the Lee cutter & case length gauge.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012835597
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012838679

The here is a way to up date your Chargemaster to be more accurate & faster.

When you resize the rifle cases it stretches when the ball on the resizing stem comes back out of the case.
I use to check each case with dial calipers and trim what needed to be tried which is time consuming.
I started placing every case in my trimmer and have at it instead of measuring all the cases.
I do have a couple of case gauges but do not use them.
When you buy yourself a set of calipers I recommend a good set of dial calipers.
I bought a set of digital calipers and when the batteries get low I was getting different readings.

Highland Lofts said:

When you resize the rifle cases it stretches when the ball on the resizing stem comes back out of the case.
I use to check each case with dial calipers and trim what needed to be tried which is time consuming.
I started placing every case in my trimmer and have at it instead of measuring all the cases.
I do have a couple of case gauges but do not use them.
When you buy yourself a set of calipers I recommend a good set of dial calipers.
I bought a set of digital calipers and when the batteries get low I was getting different readings.

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A cheap dial caliper will last you much longer & be more accurate than a digital caliper.
Something like this.

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-dial-caliper-63730.html

I have had new expensive (for me) factory ammo jam in my semi-auto chamber. These cases also failed a case gauge. Better to find this out on my reloading bench rather than at the range. The Sheridan Slotted Case Gauges also checks the need for case trimming.

AK Hunter said:

A cheap dial caliper will last you much longer & be more accurate than a digital caliper.
Something like this.

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-dial-caliper-63730.html

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I don't skimp on quality when it comes to reloading equipment. For dial calipers I want a high quality set.

Highland Lofts said:

I don't skimp on quality when it comes to reloading equipment. For dial calipers I want a high quality set.

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Because industry is going all digital the good mechanicals are a good buy second hand. That's how I get my mitatoyo and Sterrett.

I buy alot of used stuff as well.
I bought several sets of brown &Sharpe dial calipers on ebay. As well as dies and other reloading equipment.