HANDLOADING

WHAT WORKS BEST FROM OUR EXPERTS
Pickle Jar Plinkers

Reaching into the large mason jar, I grab a handful of my favorite plinking centerfire ammo. Having several favorites, today’s flavor is 9mm and .38...
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Blackpowder Blues

Pyrodex is a great black powder substitute and is popular with the in-line folks, along with Triple Seven.
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The .41 Remington Magnum

The .41 Remington Magnum is in many ways the handgun equivalent of the .280 Remington and 16 gauge, a cartridge regarded by a relatively few True Believers...
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Alliant’s Red Dot and...

For most of my 62 years of Handloading/Reloading, I have leaned to the heavy side of loads.
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Redding Competition...

Redding Competition Shellholders allow you to fine-tune your shoulder bump without having to take about your resizing die.
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Handloading The .38 Special:

The modern era of the 2" revolvers/pocket pistol/snub gun/belly gun began in 1926 when Colt introduced the Detective Special by trimming the barrel of their...
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RCBS Brass Boss Case Prep...

The RCBS Brass Boss Case Prep Center has six variable high-speed rotating stations and eight interchangeable tools.
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Clamtainer Ammo Buddy

Clamtainer offers a variety of storage solutions for not only ammunition but various objects. I have found countless uses for their plain boxes with hang...
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Cast Bullets and Old...

As this is written, the United States is perhaps experiencing the worst ammunition and reloading component shortage since World War II.
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Handloading the .45 ACP Part V

Today’s latest idea in bullets is powder coating. Several companies offer powder-coated bullets and it’s pretty easy as a do-it-yourself project.
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Handloading the .45 ACP:...

The U.S. Military used the 1911 through two world wars and then in 1947 the Army began looking at the possibility of adopting a smaller, lighter .45 ACP pistol.
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The .45 ACP Part I

As this is written we are at the apex — hopefully — of the Corona Virus Lockdown.
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Handloading the .45 ACP:...

In 1905 John Browning designed a semi-automatic pistol firing a new .45 cartridge the style of which we now label “rimless,” even though it does...
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Range Rats, Scavengers &...

Every range has them — Range Rats. They’re not beady-eyed, long-tailed rodents, but die-hard shooters who frequent the range almost daily
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Handloading the .45 ACP Part 2

I load and shoot large amounts of cast bullets of several types in my 1911s. As outlined in the first installment of this series, all of my .45 ACP rounds —
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False Pretenses

I’ve been the Lord High Protector of the GUNS realm for a couple of years now and it’s finally time to fess up to both regular readers of this corner...
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DIY heavy hitters for your...

I could happily end my shooting days with the .45 Colt cartridge and never feel cheated. With handloads, the .45 Colt offers a versatility many cartridges lack.
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Levergun Loads: .38 W.C.F.

Reloading the .38-40, more commonly known as the .38 WCF, is not quite the same as loading, say, the .44 Special or .45 Colt.
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Beat the ammunition...

Well, it’s 2021 and despite assurances from every major ammunition manufacturer they are working 24/7 to churn out new ammunition, industry insiders have...
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Levergun Loads: .45 Colt...

The .45 Colt arrived in the early 1870s mostly due to the fact the military would not accept the ’71-72 Open-Top .44 Colt had submitted for the trials.
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Marlin’s Triple-Four

The lure of the lever gun is a contagious one. Once bitten, the symptoms rapidly progress. Cures include names like Marlin, Winchester, or Rossi.
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The .22-250

Big-case .22 centerfires such as the .220 Swift, .22-250 Rem. and .223 WSSM aren’t in big demand at present.
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The .41 Colt

What I hate is the .41 Colt is not exactly a handloading sweetheart. When I first started handloading for a nice Colt SAA .41 in 1982, factory ammo was...
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Don’t Let Primer Crimps...

Handloaders are frugal by nature. We enjoy bargains and freebies so we can load as much ammo as cheaply as possible, so we can shoot more.
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One-piece SAA grips

Like so many readers of my age I grew up on Skeeter Skelton’s great articles. One that has influenced me unto this day came out in the late ’60s or...
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Levergun Loads: .45 Colt...

In part one of this series we saw the history of .45 Colt leverguns, which turned out to be quite recent, beginning in the early 1980s.
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Levergun Loads: .45 Colt...

The levergun that never was, is. It took over a century, however it finally happened. Why did it take so long?
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Cast bullets for .44 WCF...

Today we have a large choice when it comes to .44-40 (.44 WCF) leverguns. Replicas are available patterned after the Model’s 1860, 1866, 1873 and 1892.
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Cast Bullets in .44 Magnum...

There are several factors involved when choosing a cast bullet for use in the .44 Magnum levergun. First is Overall Length (OAL). If the bullet makes the...
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Levergun Loads: .44 Magnum

The first issue of GUNS Magazine arrived in January 1955 when I was a junior in high school. It was notable as the first magazine ever dedicated to articles...
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Levergun Loads: .44 WCF

In 1860, B. Tyler Henry received a patent for a truly landmark rifle. With a lever-operated action using a copper cartridge case, the Model of 1860 (or...
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The .38 Special and .44...

It seems everyone is always talking about .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum leverguns but what about .38 Special and .44 Special loads in leverguns which were...
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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...
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All-Time Favorites

More shooters handload the .38 Special and .357 Magnum than any other handgun cartridges, despite the .38 being 108 years old.
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The Contender And The .22 Jet

In the early 1960s sixgun manufacturers began searching for better varmint hunting cartridges than the big magnums.
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Acme ‘Lipstick’ Bullets

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

My copy of the Oxford Dictionary defines “Acme” as “the highest point; the peak of perfection.”
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Levergun Loads: The .41 Magnum

I spotted what looked to be a pre-Remington Marlin levergun on the used gun rack in a local shop.
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Reloading the 7.62x39

I have found the 7.62x39mm cartridge quite intriguing over the years, however I never spent time with much serious reloading for two reasons:
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The .32 Winchester Special

The first John M. Browning-designed Winchester arrived as the Model 1886. Browning then basically reduced the size of the action to come up with the Model 1892
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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.
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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...
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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 —...
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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...
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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...
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Rubber Bullet Plinkin'

Some out-of-town visitors told me how much fun they had shooting cowboy guns at a local dude ranch. Knowing the dude ranch was within the city limits, I...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Last Gun To Go?

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

How’d you like to engage in an utterly relaxing endeavor while building up your stockpile of expensive reloading components? Sounds good? If so, do what I...
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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...
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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.
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Case Trimming

While a few handloaders actually like trimming rifle cases, they tend to use the loading room as a refuge from real life.
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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...
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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.
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.38 Wadcutters

Just this past week a young woman who already carries concealed asked me to recommend a CCW revolver.
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Condition Orange

Do you remember Roy G. Biv? Long before I knew of Roy Huntington, Roy Campanella, Roy Acuff, even Roy Rogers and Rob Roy, I met Roy G. Biv in my early grade...
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The .25-35 Winchester

The .25-35 Winchester Center Fire (WCF) was introduced in 1895 in the Model 1894 Winchester lever-action, along with the .30 WCF, better known as the .30-30.
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True Confessions

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

Nearly 30 years after Elmer Keith discovered the .44 Special and its capabilities, Dick Casull began experimenting with the .45 Colt using many loads,...
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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...
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The “Other” .38

The .38 S&W, not to be confused with the .38 S&W Special, is one of our older cartridges. According to who you believe, the .38 Special arrived in 1899 or...
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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...
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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...
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Sometimes It's Not The Gun

Gunsmiths are much like farmers. They have to know a little about everything. Every good gunsmith and every good farmer is a Jack of all trades.
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