Welcome to Ammosmith.com, we're reloading, inside and out. Ammosmith represents Ammosmith.com. A website dedicated to the loading of the modern metallic cartridge. It's more than just a website, it's a tutorial that starts with the basics and will guide you to the most advanced forms of making your own premium quality ammunition in you own home. The cost of ammuniton is reaching unprecidented levels. Here is a way to not only save more than three quartes of what you pay for in factory ammunition but to make it better than they can...we'll show you how! If you have questions we'll answer them as fast and as best as we can. Remember, be safe and have fun! We will be showing you many techniques from cartridge conversions to annealing. We will be posting videos on how to use some of the tools need for reloading and bullet casting as well. Please feel free to comment or make suggestions. Shoot safe and live free!
I had issues with about 5 cases where I pushed the shoulder back and it would not chamber … then had to full size those pieces, but I do like neck sizing 😊
I had some remanufactured 50cal ammo, one was so hot the shell had an actual large rim & had to be beaten out of the bolt with a hammer & punch. The primer hole was real big too😊
That's pretty simple all right. I just got my first gun with interrupted threads on march 30th. It's a singleshot chambered for the 20x102mm vulcan ctg. I haven't shot it yet, still making reloading dies😊
2:34 hey ammosmith! Thanks for all you’ve done and do for us. In regards to the two casings in which you describe the webbing, I noticed the extractor groove on the left case is elongated compared to the right case. Is this also a sign of higher pressures?
When it comes to .44 mag, when using H110 with a heavy bullet, I would argue that a heavy crimp is necessary to ensure proper ignition before the bullet leaves the cartridge case
This is fantastic information! I love how easy this is to do with the most common range brass you can find, plus 9x19 casings are thicker. I have a set of 9x18 Makarov dies and will be trying this soon, so I have my skills and an abundance of ammo stockpiled for Civil War II.
I always figured the Pmc might have more consistency in the loadings even though it didn’t necessarily seem that way from your other test video. Although lake city had that one round loaded poorly in your test, with a lot of offset wobble on the nose. (May explain some of the accuracy issues of the lake city) still there’s no explanation as to why the Pmc seems to group the best..
I call BS! You still had to beat the powder from the funnel and from the hopper, so it was still sticking. The best way to keep powder from sticking to your funnel is not use a plastic funnel, or any other reloading tool that the powder will come close to. Metallic Cartridge reloading, on bottom right of page 6, states - accidents do happen in handloading, either at the bench or with the firing of dangerous handloads. Loading one's own ammunition at home is not a lot different than the assembly of cartridges in a large ammunition factory, the primary difference being the degree of care, caution, or whatever name by which common sense may be known. Shooter's Bible Guide To Handloading, in the "Introduction", on the bottom left of page X, states - Handloading requires a bit of study. because handloading puts you close to things that could impair or abbreviate your life, you're smart to mind these caveats: Yes you can handload at home, but ... Handload only if you can honestly claim a reasonable level of intelligence, proof of which is your willingness to read all caveats twice, take them to heart, and admit in all humility that, no matter how long you've been shooting or how many times you've pumped a press handle, you do not know all there is to know about handloading. And won't ever. Metallic Cartridge reloading, on bottom right of page 16, states - ignorance can get even the most careful of men into trouble if there is some key element that he needs to watch closely and cautiously but he knows nothing about it. Lyman 51st Handloading Handbook, at the bottom left of page 60, states - CAUTION: Static electricity may cause primers to explode. Hodgdon Powder No. 27 Data Manual, section 6-10, under "Handling Primers" states - They demand the respect and careful handling due any device containing explosives. Primers should never be handled, used, ... in bulk, since primers in bulk can explode simultaneously. ... ... ... Precautions should be taken to avoid buildup of static electricity on the person when handling primers or conducting handloading procedures. Loading equipment should be electrically grounded. Speer Handloading Manual Number 15, on page 41, states - Static electricity and the Reloader 1. Static electricity can be highly hazardous for the reloader. 2. primers are most sensitive to static charges. The energy is enough to ignite primer dust in and around priming tools. The dust can ignite and propagate to all the primers in the tube [or tray]. The result is a serious explosion. This is the reason to keep those tubes [and trays] clean! 3. Static charges prefer low humidity environments. take some simple precautions. a. Use a humidifier. b. remove carpets from reloading areas. This is the prime source of static energy accidents. c. Clean the reloading area on a schedule. Routine cleaning removes residues of primers and propellants that can react to static energy. d. Use an anti-static product. Reloader's Guide - Complete, Fully Illustrated Step-By-Step Guide to Handloading Ammunition, on page 129, under Common Reloading Problems states: Plastic powder funnels often pick up a far amount of static electricity ... ... ... this is annoying because powder granules stick to the side of the funnel, and you have to keep tapping the funnel to remove the last granule of powder. [Yes, one big hassle? And tapping on the funnel for the next 50 years could give one Reloader's elbow! I kid you not.] Metallic Cartridge reloading, on bottom right of page 11, states - One deadly enemy of the handloader is static electricity, which lurks constantly around anything plastic. An aluminum powder funnel avoids the problem of static electricity generated by the sliding of powder granules across its inner face. However, only Pacific makes aluminum powder funnels. The other makers use plastic, and these can cause erratic powder charges, some of which are excessive. Lyman 51st Handloading Handbook, on pages 30 and 40, states - Lyman lab technicians have observed a potential serious phenomenon involving mechanical powder scales, plastic loading blocks, Styrofoam packaging, and other objects made of plastic. These materials sometimes retain static electric charge, enough to create an electro-static field of varying radii. This electro-static field has proven capable of causing radical deflection of uncharged and zeroed scales. Dependent upon circumstances, powder in the scale pan tends to dampen the amount of deflection by varying degrees. We strongly urge that the loading bench be cleared before setting up the scale. Then replace equipment one piece at a time while observing the scale pointer. Any item that causes a scale deflection should be removed from the reloading bench. The ABCs of Reloading 10th Edition, upon top left of page 161, under "Environmental Conditions" states - conditions that can compromise your safety or loaded ammunition's integrity. static electricity which is never a good thing around powder. Modern Reloading Second Edition Richard Lee Revised 2021, about the bottom half of page 85, under the heading "What are the causes of excessive pressure?" states - "It seems that some shooters were experiencing hot loads from what should have been quite safe. With much detective work, they found the problem occurred only when loading from the bench and immediately firing the round. Ammunition loaded away from the range worked fine. They discovered that the normal jostling of travel reduced the pressure to correct levels. Accurate recommends that ammunition loaded at the shooting bench be rolled back and forth a couple of times to rearrange the powder granules." [Rolling the cartridges around releases the static charge in the powder due to the use of plastic powder thrower reservoirs, plastic dippers, plastic powder pans, plastic funnels, and even plastic loading blocks, as well as any and all plastic primer trays. One should also avoid plastic laminated counter tops too.] Here one from a Black Powder Manual, in case anyone is thinking about using plastic stuff to handle Black Powder. SPG Lubricants, BP Cartridge Reloading Primer: Chapter 1 - Powder, page 22, WARNING: "BLACK POWDER IS CONSIDERED AN EXPLOSIVE AND IS EXTREMELY SENSITIVE TO SPARKS OR STATIC ELECTRICITY. ITS USE WITH PLASTIC FUNNELS OR POWDER MEASURE HOPPERS IS TO BE AVOIDED. HEED ALL WARNINGS FOUND ON THE CANS OF BLACK POWDER." So Plastic tools around Black Powder is an extreme no no, and should never be done, period! So why buy a cheap plastic funnel for smokeless powders only to turn around and have to buy a descent aluminum funnel later on when one decides to do black powder too. And yes according to many manuals static electricity can be a highly hazardous - deadly enemy - to the reloader of which can compromise the integrity of their smokeless powder ammunition and even explode modern primers, as quoted in my previous comment. One may live in a high humidity area of which they have no issues with static electricity, but for them to tell others, that may actually live in lower humidity areas where static electricity abounds, not to worry about such is just plain irresponsible.
Ammosmith , even after all these years you always come up trumps. Have just been given a old 450 ( with the ratchet and spanner ) Also with four dies and the thing that seats the gas checks . Now thanks to you I understand a lot more. Thank you.
In regards to primer mals, I heard a story of someone who was rechambering the same 2 rounds everyday for a long time in an edc pistol, maybe months maybe years, and the wolf came knocking one day and when he fired those 2 specific rounds, no bang. These rounds were constantly the first 2 that would be fired in succession at any given time. However all the other rounds in the mag performed. It was determined that rechambering everyday for a length of time caused the primers to come undone/damaged somehow. Not sure what the dynamics are but thats my question. Can primers really get destroyed inside of them through constant rechambering? What is happening to them?
4 years later we have the same issue. The sell them as Russians yet at least some seem to be specials. The Russian is a fine round but while most 44 Magnum rifles will feed specials fine most will not feed Russians. So for CAS one would want specials so that you don't have to keep ammo separated. It would be a shame to order two $1300-$1500 pistols just to have to go to the trouble and expense of rechambering them.
