(quoted from post at 04:30:39 08/03/20) Mark B. Are you a SASS member?
I replied to this earlier, but cannot find it. No I am not a SASS member. I have been reloading my own shells since 1974. I have not purchased any factory ammunition for any caliber or gun since 1975. I buy the various components and make a load for each gun I use, except shotguns. never could make reliable shotgun shells.
The very first thing I do is to choose a bullet for a specific caliber based on what I will be hunting. The 300 mag and 30-06 each have 3 loadings (bullets), the 444 2 loadings, and pistols generally one loading as I use them for plinking, except the.357.
I quickly found out to ignor the velocity hype. I load for accuracy, not velocity. Velocity of my hand loads falls within 75-85 % of the max load velocity. I can live with that.
I start with the bullet, then pick 4-5 powders on the load charts that provide the largest case volume. I fire form the cases with minimum powder loads, then neck size only. Full length sizing reduces case life.
I usually start with a mid range load and increase it by 2 grains until I cross the accuracy/ velocity line. Sometimes this is at the top of the loading charts, sometimes at the starting point. I load 10 shells at each point, then go to back yard range to test fire. I quit on a load when I can fire 5 rounds at 100 yards you can cover with a dime.
This is not simple. It takes 4-5 months of constant work to achieve the desired results for each load. I demonstrated this to my FIL. I used one bullet of 300 mag on a 185 class deer at 450 yards. He hounded me for the remaining 19 in the lot I took to hunt, although I told him they probably not work in his 300 mag.
When he test fired, the best group was 2 1/2 inches at 100 yds. All guns are slightly different, and my ammo is specific to my gun.
Pistols are a little different. Using cast lead bullets I keep the velocity below 1000 fps to prevent heavy leading of the barrel. Any load above 1000 fps gets jacketed bullets. I make my own bullet lube from beeswax and vasoline. I add crayon for coloring on the different batches. All my pistols will shoot a 2"group at 25 yards offhand. Better when a rest is used. Try some fun. Shoot at a 12"round swinging target at 50 yards. I hit roughly 85%. What a Blast.
My current project is to shoot BP in the Blackhawk with cast bullets. I use home made black powder I made at $2.40 a pound, my cast bullets and home made wads. I fill the cases with 40 grains of BP, about 3/16 down from the case 1/16 , add a 1/16 lubed paper wad, and compress the load to the crimping groove.
You cannot overload a BP cartridge, but you can underload. Make sure you have 3/16" compression on a BP load. If you underload and leave any air gap in a BP cartridge, you have a bomb that will destroy the best revolver.
What a blast. I love the smell and smoke of BP in a pistol, even though you have to wait 10 seconds to see if you hit the target. I usually shoot 250-300 rounds each time I shoot, and the BP requires a quickie clean every 50 rounds or the cylinder rotation gets very stiff. These loads are not a joke. They clock in better than the factory 45 LC loads by almost 150 fps. They are pushing the 1000 fps limit on lead bullets.
Attached are photos of the 45 LC Blackhawk. My first ever wood working project was these cherry grips from 50 year old cherry stored in Dad's attic. they are 3/16 wider than the cheap plastic grips that came from Ruger. I embedded them in 1/16 neoprere rubber to reduce recoil. I think they came out nice. No machines, hand carved and finished. Final finish is 40 hand rubbed layers of linseed oil.