Difficulty of one caliber vs. another

[candt]

What makes one caliber easier to reload for than another? I have heard people say that .223 is easy to reload....compared to what? I would consider straight walled pistol cartridges to be easier than a rifle cartridge, just because there are fewer steps. But what makes one rifle caliber easier to reload than another?

 

[MarineTech]

I think one of the reasons that .223 is more "difficult" to load for comes from the AR owners. Being a gas operated semiauto, the AR15/M16 type rifles can be very finicky about ammunition. It requires a certain pressure curve to operate correctly, and loading within that curve requires more attention to detail. Same goes for the .308 when used with M14 type rifles, and 30-06 when used in the Garand.

 

[Art Eatman]

? Pistol cases take one more step than rifle cases. Gotta bell the case mouth.

I've never had any trouble reloading .22 centerfires, other than a bit more care with "tiny" bullets and in making sure the funnel fits.

Reloading any semi-auto rifle round commonly means full-length resizing, and often with small-base dies. For a bolt-action, neck-resizing is sufficient. But, there's no real "difficulty" in the two types.

Art

 

[candt]

The straight walled pistol cases have been easier for me because I havent had to trim them, or chamfer the case mouths, or debur, or set up a sizing die correctly so they headspace properly. Theres a lot more prep work on bottle necked brass.

 

[theCZ]

It seems that you could also take it a step further and say that one caliber is not harder to load than another necessarily, but whether or not your gun is finicky. I tried about 15 different loads in my Anschutz 22-Hornet and ended up not getting anything satisfactory (that was before I got my COL comparator), yet in my Win. Model 70 .270 I tried the suggested load in the Sierra manual for the 110 grains and managed an even .75" groups even with variations in col.

I think bottlenecks are easier to load than pistol straightwall because I don't have to open the case mouth and crimp the bullets on my rifle.

 

[Okiecruffler]

I've always heard the 22 Hornet is difficult to reload due to the thin brass.

 

[Dave R]

17 cals are kinda hard. Its harder to get the powder in the case (particularly stick powders.) And its harder to handle those itty bitty bullets.

That's the first thing I reloaded. Everything else has been easier