HANDLOADING

WHAT WORKS BEST FROM OUR EXPERTS

Reloading the .32 Magnum

When the .32 Magnum first arrived I did not take it seriously. My friend Joe Penner, who takes all the pictures of me shooting, changed this as he acquired one of the first 9-1/2" Ruger...

The Contender And The .22 Jet

In the early 1960s sixgun manufacturers began searching for better varmint hunting cartridges than the big magnums.

Acme ‘Lipstick’ Bullets

The Acme Bullet Company itself labels these as “Lipstick” Bullets, due to the bright red coating.

Handloading With Acme...

My copy of the Oxford Dictionary defines “Acme” as “the highest point; the peak of perfection.”

Reloading the .357 Magnum ...

In 1935, Smith & Wesson introduced the .357 Magnum. It was not long before Winchester Model 1892s originally in .32-20 were converted to .357 Magnum.

Trail-Bossin’ Trappers

Even though I’m stuck here in the second decade of the 21st century, my shooting soul still goes back to the couple decades before and after the turn of...

The .44 Magnum Opus

The .44 Magnum has now been around for well over 60 years and it seems like a good time to look back at this excellent — perhaps even all around —...

The .455 Webley: Part 2

It’s a whole lot easier to remove metal than to replace it. This is especially true when working with firearms — particularly in the sad case of the...

Feed The Beast

Fifty BMG. Say it out loud. Let the words roll off your tongue. Now can you feel it? The tingly rush you inevitably got is a tiny surge in serum...

The .455 Webley: Part 1

America and Great Britain have been tied together in many ways. It did take two wars to convince the Brits we were going to be independent, but since then...

The .256 Winchester Magnum

In the early 1960s there was a great deal of interest in long-range, small-bore handgun cartridges. Remington introduced the radical (at the time) XP-100...

Loading For .32 Leverguns

Short-action leverguns were the high-capacity “assault rifles” of the frontier period. The .44 Rimfire and .44-40 lever actions were necessary equipment...

Double-Action Dash

There was a time not too many years ago when it was possible to find small gun shops every few miles. There’s still one about 20 miles south of town and I...

Super 6.5

When the .26 Nosler cartridge was announced in late 2013, some older hunters wondered why we needed a hot 6.5mm, when America’s other “magnum” 6.5...

Combat Copper Fouling!

When you shoot jacketed bullets, barrel fouling can occur and there’s not much we can do except just keep shooting — then clean. Cleaning has been made...

Last Gun To Go?

When a visitor recently asked me, “Which gun would you sell dead last?” I couldn’t give an answer.

A Speedier Spin

Many rifle shooters remain semi-stuck in the British mists of 1879, when a math professor named George Greenhill developed his famous formula for...

You’re a Mean One, Mr....

You’re as cuddly as a cactus, you’re as charming as an eel, Mr. Fliiiinch...!” Dr. Seuss nails it with this Christmas favorite when describing the...

.30 Carbine

After graduating from high school in 1956 and trading my paper route for a real job, I had enough money to allow me to get serious about shooting. In those...

Alternative Varmint Whackers

As rimfire riflemen and pistoleros, we love our HP ammo for enhanced performance, but over the years there’ve been plenty of alternative bullet styles...

The .38-40

The year 1873 saw Colt introduce the Single Action Army in .45 Colt and Winchester upgrade the Yellow Boy to the Model of 1873, chambered in the equally new...

Cast Bullets And The .30-30

For full power deer loads in the .30-30 I mostly use 150-gr. jacketed bullets — either Sierra FPs or Winchester Silvertips but for everyday use, my choice...

Casting Call

Reloading tool companies like Lyman, Redding/SAECO, RCBS and Lee do a fine job of supplying quality bullet molds. That’s if you stick more or less to the...

More than the AK: 7.62x39

I find the 7.62x39 cartridge intriguing but I never spent time reloading it for two reasons. First, steel-cased, non-reloadable FMJ rounds are so cheap and...

The .222 Remington

In the year 1950 firearms had not yet become a great interest to me because I was only 11 years old but I could name the roster of every baseball team....

Case Trimming

While a few handloaders actually like trimming rifle cases, they tend to use the loading room as a refuge from real life. Most well-adjusted handloaders...

Hodgdon’s Clays And Your .45

The .45 Colt arrived in 1873 and for the next 60-plus years it was the most powerful factory loaded cartridge available. The original load consisting of...

6.5/300 Weatherby Magnum

Any rifle loony who’s spent much time awake in the 21st Century knows the 6.5mm dominates new cartridge development these days. Whether they’re in love...

.38 Wadcutters

Just this past week a young woman who already carries concealed asked me to recommend a CCW revolver. Up to this time she’d been packing a small semi-auto...

Perfect Casting!

I first heard about MP Molds around 10 years ago on a cast-bullet website. People were talking about these beautiful brass hollowpoint molds from...

A Speedier Spin

Many rifle shooters remain semi-stuck in the British mists of 1879, when a math professor named George Greenhill developed his famous formula for...

Duck Shot: Being Lead-Free...

When the US banned lead shot for all waterfowl hunting in 1991, many duck hunters quit, some because they worried about “steel” shot ruining older...

Alternative Varmint Whackers

As rimfire riflemen and pistoleros, we love our HP ammo for enhanced performance, but over the years there’ve been plenty of alternative bullet styles...

Combat Copper Fouling!

When you shoot jacketed bullets, barrel fouling can occur and there’s not much we can do except just keep shooting — then clean. Cleaning has been made...

Super 6.5

When the .26 Nosler cartridge was announced in late 2013, some older hunters wondered why we needed a hot 6.5mm, when America’s other “magnum” 6.5...

Double-Action Dash

There was a time not too many years ago when it was possible to find small gun shops every few miles. There’s still one about 20 miles south of town and I...

Why The 6.5 Creedmoor?

Apparently the 6.5 Creedmoor has caused more confusion among some male hunters than any other rifle cartridge introduced in the past several decades. Target...

A Most Pressing Pastime

Recently, by consulting various reloading manuals and research books, I determined in my 48 years of handloading, I’ve put together loads for at least 125...

Shoot More For Less

So you’ve grown weary of paying for factory ammo and decided to start handloading. That’s all well and good, but I’ve known at least 1,000 handloaders...

Timesavers

Many shooters handload so they can shoot more, but often spend more time handloading than shooting. Like most hobbyists, they’re partly in it to forget...

True Confessions

Historically, metallic cartridge handloaders have believed they have wide latitude in load parameters—bullet type and seating depth, propellant type and...