Easy to reload cartrages

[Kachok]

Is it just me or does it seem that some cartrages are really easy to work up loads for and some are just plain picky? I don't know if it is just a difference in the rifles or if the cartrage has something to do with it so I would like some feedback from those of you who load several different calibers.
Here are a few observations.
30-06 seems quite a bit easier to work up loads for then the 308 in any weight.
308 is alot less picky then the 7mm-08.
6.5x55 is so easy a child could pick a load out of the manual and it will shoot good.
Most magnums are vastly more fussy then their standard counterparts.
I have never once had a 30-06 or 6.5x55 give me any trouble, they have always been very simple to work up, the bread and butter loads seem to work across the board in darn near any rifle (aka 165gr w/57gr IMR4350 and 46.5gr RL22 w/140gr...etc) while with some other it is hit or miss.

 

[jmorris]

Nothing more easy than 38 spl, in a 357 mag.

 

[45lcshooter]

Everything i reload for is pretty simple, i find powders that are mostly universal for rifle and powder that are mostly universal for pistol. The only thing im not sure about is when i start casting, going to get new powders for that for the rifles.

 

[rsrocket1]

45ACP is super easy to load and has lots of latitude.

.308 tends to be inherently accurate (at least on my 788) so loading is mostly just a preference of what velocity I want. Then adjust the scope to the center of the group and you are GTG.

 

[BYJO4]

Handgun calibers have been relatively easy to work up loads for.

 

[Kachok]

Yeah but with handguns I only expect so much accuracy, with rifles I am not happy until they are shooting bug holes at 100 yd or longer. Handguns are easy in comparison, I am happy if they are holding a 3" group at 20yds offhand because I am unlikely to be using them much past that.

 

[VAPOPO]

I dont find the 7mm08 any more difficult to load for than my 30/06 and easier than my 22-250. the 9mm Luger gets me every time because of big fingers and little bullets and cases. My process is the same no matter what rifle cartridge I load for. Also the same for every handgun cartridge.

 

[Reefinmike]

Nothing more easy than 38 spl, in a 357 mag.

Amen brotha! (Comment edited.) My favorite charge is 3.4 gr win231/hp38. 38 is a very forgiving low pressure cartridge and I feel very safe as a 1 year reloading veteran knowing that even a double charge shouldnt cause any real issues other than shock in a 357.

 

[greenlion]

Have you owned several guns in each caliber with the same results in each? It could be that you have a particular GUN that is difficult to find the perfect load for, and it is not so much the cartridge. I may have lucked out, but the first load I tried with Varget powder in 7mm-08 was perfect.

 

[Fanky]

My .260 is borderline boring to load for. I tried a couple different charges when I started loading for it, but it refused to do anything besides sub-MOA groups at a hundred yards. Makes it a lot easier for me when I'm allowed a few tenths of a grain variance on my powder charges.

 

[jmorris]

Yeah but with handguns I only expect so much accuracy, with rifles I am not happy until they are shooting bug holes at 100 yd or longer.

That would certainly make them easier to reload.

 

[Reloadron]

For me it is always a matter of what gun I am loading for. Example being if I am loading .308 for my M1A. That particular rifle seems more forgiving than my match .308 bolt rifle. When working up an accurate load for the M1A once I am into a good accurate load the rifle is forgiving with plus or minus several tenths of a grain in powder charge. That includes chronograph differences of several hundred FPS at the muzzle. However, that does not hold as true for my bolt gun where a few tenths of a grain using the same bullets will move the point of impact and group size to a greater extent. Those two rifles just being one example.

Even with my handgun loads it always comes down to the gun. I can say based on my experience and only my experiences that it always comes down to the individual gun and how forgiving it is while maintaining accuracy. All of my loadings are generally one round at a time on my old RCBS Rock Chucker so I really do not find any cartridges easier than others to load.

Ron

 

[GLOOB]

I've never made an inaccurate load with any of my calibers. They all shoot pretty good. I mean, at least on par with factory ammo, anyways. All this work up hoopla has me wondering, esp when people do a ladder with only 5-10 rds of each charge and declare one charge weight clearly superior. They must be much better shots than me.

 

[boredintr]

45/70 is real easy what I learned on nice straight wall case easy to work with lots of cast and jacketed bullets load it mild to wild what ever your shoulder can take

 

[rikman]

45acp & 38 spl, 41 mag,44mag, 44spl

 

[Grumulkin]

Part of it is luck of the draw. You just happen on the best powder/primer/bullet combination. Another part is gun design; I believe for some cartridges gun manufacturers get the wrong barrel twist.

I also think it's hard to judge how easy load workup is when you aren't expecting much from the gun, i.e., you're only shooting a handgun at 25 yards.

That said, there are some cartridges I've had to work a lot harder to get good accuracy out of than others the 460 S&W Magnum being the hardest in a couple of different platforms and the 444 Marlin one of the easiest. Of course for both the 460 S&W and the 444 Marlin I was asking a handgun to do better than an inch at 100 yards. I can't say I've had a lot of trouble with any bottlenecked cartridge I've loaded for and that's a bunch. Some of the bottle necked cartridges do better than others but I think that's more to do with an individual gun than the cartridge.

 

[NELSONs02]

223/556

 

[FROGO207]

All that I have reloaded are what I consider easy and as accurate as factory without major issues. Handgun ammo is the easiest to reload while bottlenecked rifle ammo is more difficult in that case inspection/prep is more involved. Otherwise it is all the same IMHO. At the other end of the spectrum rifle ammo due to having more internal volume has less issue with charge weight variation--- and therefore less pressure problems, at least in my firearms it seems. As far as difficulty I load all my ammo using a SS or turret press along with using the batch method.

 

[Ky Larry]

It's almost impossible to find a bad load for .223 Rem. .38Spl is the same.

 

[Patocazador]

I dont find the 7mm08 any more difficult to load for than my 30/06 and easier than my 22-250.

Amen Brother on the .22-250. I have 2 of them and cannot interchange load data to achieve the best accuracy - very picky cartridge.

 

[336A]

.38 SPL, .41 Mag both are easy to load and find accurate loads for.

Also 12GA and 20 GA shotgun shells.

 

[Nasty Ned]

Black powder loading

I love loading my 45-70 as all I have to do is fill the case up and shake out enough to get the bullet in. I get 5/16" groups at 30 feet. Lots of smoke though. Is that stuff supposed to smoke that bad and smell like sulphur.

Cleaning the gun is easy though. I just put it in the horse trough over nite, dry it off in the morning and pour some 5/20 down the barrel.

I'm due to get out of the hospital next week. They say my mind will get better if I take my medicene regular.




(Horse laugh)