We are just returned from another visit to the shooting industry’s big show – The SHOT Show. The show was held in Las Vegas this year and is the industry’s showcase of new products for manufacturers, distributors, and dealers. It was good to see some old friends and make some new ones.

Our new 2010-A Sinclair catalog will be printing soon and you should see it arrive in your mailbox sometime in mid to late February. Showcased in the catalog are a couple of new Hornady products that will be available soon – one is the new Lock-N-Load Auto Charge Powder Dispenser and the other is their Lock-N-Load Sonic Cleaner designed for case cleaning. I was given a prototype Sonic Cleaner a few weeks ago and it promises to be a very handy tool. I was amazed how clean the inside of my dirty cases were. I am still waiting on the arrival of the new Auto Charge Powder Dispenser so I can give it a workout.

Lapua has finally decided to produce some 22-250 Remington brass – this unprimed brass won’t be available until later this spring but we wanted to make sure you were aware that it is coming. We have been after them to make this cartridge for a long time. I am sure it will be of the same great quality as all of the other Lapua products. Another new product offering this year from Lapua will be their 308 Winchester Palma brass with a small primer pocket. There will be a big demand from both 308 shooters and wildcat reloaders. We should see this cartridge arrive in a few months.

I would be remiss in not mentioning two old product names that will be back in the Sinclair catalog. Redfield scopes are being re-introduced into the market by Leupold and Birchwood Casey has brought back the RIG products (RIG grease, RIG-Rags, etc.). Both of these product lines will be welcome additions. I am looking forward to trying out one of the new Redfield 4-12 scopes and also their compact, digital laser rangefinders. We should see these on our shelves shortly.

Good Shooting,

Bill Gravatt
President – Sinclair International, Inc.

The SHOT Show, for those of you unfamiliar with it, is the largest shooting and hunting exposition in the world. Designed for distributors and dealers to see new products and prepare their buying activities for the new year. It was held in Las Vegas this year and will return there in 2011 and 2012.

Three of us from Sinclair walked the show for four (4) days and met with many of the manufacturers we deal with. I wanted to try to give you a brief rundown of some of the things we saw that may be of interest to you.

Lapua

The big news from Lapua is the introduction of their new .308 Winchester brass with the small primer pocket. A lot of reloaders and wildcatters have been looking forward to this and their will be quite a demand when it hits the shelf. Lapua is also adding the 22-250 Remington case in their line. We have been after them to make the 22-250 case for years. Not only will this be a plus for the 22-250 Remington reloaders but also for the folks wanting to use it as a parent case.

We also will be adding some additional Lapua bullets and Lapua ammunition to our line in the near future.

Berger Bullets

We spent quite a bit of time with the crew from Berger. They are working additional shifts to try to get their production up to meet the increased demand for their product – that’s great news. They also let us know that they are working on some new 7mm bullets in the 180 grain weight range that promise to have some of the highest B.C.’s of any bullets they have ever produced. Also, getting ready to be tested are some 6mmm benchrest bullets of a new design. We will continue to keep you posted as we get more details when these new bullets will be available.

Norma Precision

The 6 PPC brass from Norma is back and will be stronger and longer lasting than before. We are looking forward to seeing this brass in the next couple of months. We’ll be adding some target bullets from the Norma line soon along with some of their super accurate ammunition.

Hornady Manufacturing

I mentioned in the cover letter about a couple of their new reloading tools; the Hornady Sonic Brass Cleaner and the Hornady Lock N’ Load Auto Charge Powder Dispenser. We are looking forward to their arrival in the next month or so. A big talk lately has been Hornady’s Superformance Ammunition. This ammunition utilizes progressive propellants that add 100 to 200 FPS over conventional factory ammunition. These specially blended powders increase velocity without increases in felt recoil, muzzle blast, temperature sensitivity, fouling or loss of accuracy. This stuff will be hard to get but we should be getting some allocated to us as soon as it becomes available.

Military brass, range brass, “once fired” brass bought at a gun show. We are all looking for ways to save money these days on reloading components.  Buying new brass is always the best way especially if you are just starting out as a reloader. The staff at Sinclair suggests that even the more experienced reloader follow this advice for the safety and aggravation issues that “used” brass may cause.

What are some of the pitfalls we may encounter by using brass that has not been fired in the rifle we intend to reload for? Well first of all we have to realize that brass is a very “elastic” metal and it has a “memory”. When a new piece of brass is fired in a rifle, that is the last step in its forming process and as a result it will try to “spring back” to that form after resizing. This is why brass that was not fired in your rifle’s chamber may not fit even after full length sizing. This is especially true for military brass that may have been fired in an automatic weapon – these weapons usually have very large chambers in them to aid in feeding and extraction. You may be able to get around this sizing issue with a “small base” full length die that will size your brass down to a point below where the spring back will be reduced to a point where it will chamber in your rifle but don’t count on it. In any event we suggest having a Wilson or some other type of case gage on your bench to check your resized brass for headspace, trim length and spring back of the case body. Also when it comes to military brass it has generally has thicker walls due to the fact that it is designed for rough handling and long storage so you should start with the lowest powder charge listed for your bullet, cartridge, powder combination and work up from there while looking for pressure signs. Other issues with military brass include the crimped in primers, badly off center flash holes and Berdan primed cases (two flash holes) instead of Boxer primed cases (standard one flash hole). You can check your cases to determine whether they are Berdan or Boxer primed by looking down through the case mouth. Do this before you try to de-prime any fired cartridges of unknown origin. If the cases are Berdan primed I suggest you discard them.

Now that we have touched on the down side of military and range brass, what are some of the procedures and tools we need to process this brass to where it may be useable again? In my case I was given a large amount of 5.56×45 brass that was known to be once fired out of M-16 military shooting team rifles so I knew right off the bat what I was dealing with, you may not know where your military brass came from so my suggestions may not work for all situations. My first step was to clean all this brass in hot soapy water to remove all the mud and spiders. I rinsed it and then let it sit in the sun to dry. An RCBS decapping die (#87580) was used to remove all the primers before tumbling. This die was used instead of a full length or neck die because I don’t like running brass that may still have some gunk on it through my reloading dies to prevent damage to them. Step two was to run the brass through a Redding small base full length die (RD91323) with the carbide expander ball upgrade kit (RD48223). The set up on the die in the press is so the base of the die is just above the shell holder with the press ram fully raised. In some situations the die may have to be set up so that you “cam over” the press ram to get a little extra shoulder bump if you need it. Step three is to check the resized piece of brass with a Wilson .223 Remington case gage (W223G).What this case gage will tell us is:

1. Have the case body and shoulder sprung back so the case will not fit in the gage? (If so discard the piece and go to the next case)

2. If the case does go into the gage, is the case head above the top of the base of the case gage? If so, adjust the full length die down so the press cams over, then resize the piece and try it in the gage again. If the case head is still above the top of the gage, discard it.

3.I f the case head is below the second step of the Wilson gage you are pushing the shoulder back too far and you need to readjust the die up away from the shoulder until the case head of the sized case falls between the top and bottom steps of the gage.

4. If the case mouth protrudes above the top step of the case gage we need to trim the case to the proper length.

Now we need to remove the crimp from around the primer pocket so we can re-prime the case. To do this you can use a primer pocket swaging tool from RCBS or Dillon. If you have a Wilson trimmer you can use a Wilson primer pocket reamer (Small Rifle – WR175, Large Rifle – WR210). I use one of our Wilson/Sinclair deburring tool and holder kits (05-150) with the inside case mouth chamfering end out along with a Skil electric screw pistol I got from Home Depot (about $25.00). Be careful not to take too much brass out of the primer pocket using this method.

Now it’s time to load up a few “dummy” rounds to test their function through the rifle. If the dummy rounds manually feed and extract okay, load up a few live test rounds using the lowest powder charge listed for your cartridge, bullet, powder combination and test them out at the range. If you are good to go there, start working up your load in small increments looking for pressure signs as you go along. Remember, military brass is thicker and heavier than standard brass so it has less capacity and you will probably see pressure signs before you get to the maximum load listed.

Be safe and good shooting!

Phil H.

Sinclair International Reloading Technician

Certified NRA Metallic Reloading Instructor

Certified NRA Shot Shell Reloading Instructor

Editor’s Note: We continue to focus an article occasionally on introductory subjects for new reloaders.

There are several good reloading handbooks on the market today. They are generally updated every few years and contain valuable information on new cartridges and new components. Most new reloaders start out with one handbook but most find themselves acquiring additional titles because of cartridge or component voids in their first book.

Most reloading handbooks provide two functions;

1)      They provide the basic steps of metallic cartridge reloading

2)      They provide the basic recipes (loads) for most common metallic cartridges

A few of my favorites are the Hornady Reloading Handbook, the Sierra Reloading Manual, the Nosler Handbook, and the Speer Manual. A unique concept in reloading manuals is the Hodgdon Reloading Manual. Hodgdon produces their reloading manual in a magazine format that they can update every year with the latest cartridges, powders, and other components.

 The Foundation

Each reloading manual is developed differently but they usually include the basic testing information that is important to look at and compare to your own particular situation. Some of the important points to take note of in any reloading manual are as follows:

1)      What temperature was the load data tested? For example, the data in the Hornady Reloading Handbook was developed and tested at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure you take the temperature into account that you will be shooting your reloads in. Higher temperatures will usually increase pressure and velocity. Lower temperatures will usually create lower pressures and reduce velocities.

2)      Most reloading handbooks will detail the specifications for the firearm that the data was tested in. They will usually list the action, barrel length, and twist rate.

3)      Another factor that is usually listed for each cartridge is the primer. In most cases the reloading handbook developer will use standard primers but in larger cases with slow burning powders they may choose to use a magnum primer.

General Data

Each cartridge section will usually contain some brief history about the cartridge such as the date it was developed, the original purpose it was developed for, and suggested applications. Most manuals will also list what loads were most accurate in their test firearm and sometimes will list the best hunting load.

Each cartridge will have several bullets listed that are appropriate beginning with the lightest weight bullet. The spread of bullets may not apply to your firearm because the twist rate of your barrel may be different. It could be that you can shoot heavier bullets because of a faster twist rate but generally the handbook provides a great starting point.

Some other valuable data will include the cartridge dimensions that are useful when comparing one cartridge versus another. The maximum case length is usually listed, which is the maximum length you should allow the case to grow to before trimming. The trim length is of course shorter than the maximum length and is the recommended length to trim your cases to when trimming. Failure to pay attention to case length can lead to extreme pressures and can end up crimping the bullet in the case when the round is chambered.

Specific Data

Some things to take note of in the detailed data are the style of bullet. Many reloaders will ask if they can use the data for the same weight bullet even though they are using a different brand of bullet. An example would be using a Hornady manual which is going to list Hornady bullets, of course, then choosing to use a Sierra bullet for a particular application. In most cases you can use the load data if the bullets are of the same style, but if they are of different styles it is advisable to reduce the load slightly. I definitely recommend reducing an established charge and then gradually working upward to a new load for a new bullet while watching for indications of high pressure.

Generally, the data listed in a reloading handbook under a specific bullet will include the various powders tested by the authors and increasing velocities (in Feet per second – FPS) with the amount of powder in grains listed below each velocity. Most manuals will highlight the maximum loads and provide warnings to be careful when using these loads. Remember, the velocities listed were obtained with the particular lot of powder used in testing, the test rifle, the primers used, and the environmental conditions existing during testing. Velocities are expressed as muzzle velocities.

Other valuable data in many reloading handbooks would include cartridge overall length for a particular bullet, sectional density, and ballistic coefficient. The cartridge overall length is the dimension from the base of the case to the tip of the particular bullet. These dimensions are obtained from SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturer’s Institute). SAAMI is charged with providing the standard specifications for both cartridge case dimensions and chamber dimensions. This overall cartridge length is valuable to use especially when loading for use in magazine fed rifles. It can be exceeded when loading rounds on top of the magazine follower in single shot mode. As the bullet is loaded further out, the reloader needs to pay close attention to the position of the bullet with respect to the beginning of the rifling since pressures can dramatically increase as the bullet is loaded further into the throat. There are special tools on the market such as the Sinclair Seating Depth Tool and Bullet Comparators that can help you determine how far out you can seat the bullet with respect to the beginning of the rifling.

The sectional density is a relative value among bullets and is expressed as the ratio of the weight of the bullet in pounds with respect to the square of its diameter in inches. Bullets with a higher sectional density compared to other bullets of the same shape will usually retain their velocity and energy better.

The ballistic coefficient (B.C.) is an index of the manner is which a bullet decelerates while in flight. This index is a means to express the ability of a particular bullet to overcome air resistance in flight. Ballistic coefficients are very useful in comparing bullets but shouldn’t be the last word in determining whether one bullet is better than another. B.C.’s can change with velocity, altitude, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure. B.C.s are extremely valuable when utilizing ballistic programs to calculate wind drift and bullet trajectory.

Other Notes

A couple of points I want to bring special attention to are the use of military surplus brass or recycled military brass and the use of solid bullets. First, military brass usually is more robust than commercial cases and generally will have thicker walls. Once sized, the case capacity of this brass will usually be smaller and reduced loads should be adhered to. I would begin with around 15% less powder than a load used in commercial brass. Again, as stated before work your way up with the load.

Solid bullets such as Barnes are great bullets but special consideration to the loads used should be given. Refer to a reloading manual (Barnes would be best) that has specific data for these bullets. They usually require reduced loads.