I am extremely limited on both physical space and on budget, but I’m going to see how I like reloading.

Update: I started reloading in the camper but am in an apartment for 2026 due to surgery/recovery. Because of this I now use >1 rifle and >1 pistol powder.

backstory

I like learning how things work, and being able to make stuff under challenging situations. Homebrewing beer (all-grain, ranching yeast), baking bread, whatever. I like activities that require attention to detail and knowledge. I measure my cooking ingredients and coffee grounds with a gram scale. :-)

I’ve always thought I would enjoy handloading (aka reloading) both as an activity and as a way to get useful product on the end. Seems like the kind of thing my father and I would have done together but we didn’t and now he’s gone. He raised me around useful and potentially dangerous items and expected I would respect them. When he would teach me some new skill he’s start off with “remember, son, a [fill in the blank]1 is a tool, not a toy”.

intent

  1. learn another useful skill
  2. make 8x57mm in the configuration I want. It is not a popular round, and the ammo that is available is often derated or corrosive.
  3. make 9mm so I can practice more. Specifically I want to practice with ammo that is the same or similar to what I actually carry.

why these calibers?

In general, common calibers like NATO standards are inexpensive to load and would be useful trade bait during the Zombie Uprising2 that will surely happen Any Day Now. :-) Uncommon calibers are often the only thing left on the shelves when others are hoarding.

.380 ACP - Niche, allows a small and lightweight pocket carry sidearm (LCP in this case).

9mm - NATO standard and a ubiquitous general purpose round. I already have carry sidearms in this caliber. Knowing how to make 9mm ammo and trade with others would be a very useful skill in the aforementioned Zombie Uprising. Also works decently in a PCC.

.38spl/.357 mag - I wanted a break-action or lever carbine and this combo made sense. The .38 is quiet and soft out of a carbine with power levels similar to the .22 Magnum. The magnum picks up a lot of velocity out of a carbine and starts to look like 10mm or even .44 mag out of a handgun. I might pick up a revolver later, or, you know, trading in a Zombie Uprising since .38spl is probably the most common revolver cartridge in the US.

.40 S&W - niche, widely available during COVID. Can be used normally or downloaded to 9mm power levels. Available cheap since so many police departments traded theirs in when the FBI went back to 9mm.

.308 Win - full power NATO rifle round. They don’t call it the three-oh-hate for nothin’.

8x57mm Mauser - I inherited a milsurp and want to load for it. Similar ballistically to the .30-063, but a little bigger diameter.

.22lr

I have a stock of .22lr and LOVE to shoot it. But since rimfire cartridges are not reloadable, practically speaking, I didn’t mention it above. IMO the .22lr is the most useful cartridge during a Zombie Uprising but directly and also for trading. It’s the most popular small arms cartridge in the world, and has been since the 19th century. A paper box of 50 rounds weighs about the same as a medium-sized apple.

bucket list

  • make reloading “stool”
  • learn to clean brass
  • build cheap tumbler

  • learn to deprime

  • .380 ACP
    • work up FMJ load
    • work up hollow point load (of dubious value?)
  • 9mm
    • make first minimal loads
    • fire first handloads first minimal loads with FMJ, work up to normal loads, practice shooting
    • 9mm carbine? 124gr normal? 147gr with reduced throw?
    • bookmarks
      • https://forums.brianenos.com/topic/245972-best-powder-for-9mm-blowback-carbine/
      • https://www.rugerforum.net/threads/reloading-specifically-for-9mm-pc-carbine.377749/

  • .40 S&W

    • make first minimal loads for practice (180gr Berry’s FN) and SD (155gr Gold Dot)
    • fire first handloads first minimal loads with Berry’s, work up to normal loads, practice shooting
  • 8x57mm Mauser
    • make first minimal loads
    • fire first handloads with FMJ, work up to normal loads, practice shooting
    • reform .30-06, .270, etc brass into 8x57

working assumptions

… until I see evidence to the contrary

  • conservatively, plated bullets are loaded as plain lead. Plated manufacturers demonstrate a bit more confidence:
    • X-treme: “Our Copper Plated Bullets can be run at mid-range jacketed velocities or higher end lead velocities. We recommend keeping velocities to less than 1500 FPS (Feet Per Second) and using only a light taper crimp”
    • Rainer: “We recommend a starting powder charge directly between the listed minimum and maximum load [for FMJ) found in various published and reputable reloading manuals.”
    • Berry’s: :Full-metal jacketed, lead bullet, or plated bullet load data can be used… Load data containing bullet descriptions such as Plated (P,) Berry’s Bullet (BERB,) Total Metal Jacket (TMJ,) Copper Plated (CP,) or CPJ (Copper Plated Jacket,) refers to plated bullet data. “
    • thick plated load like FMJ?
  • plated Berry’s should run <1250 fps . Reminds me a bit of the decisions made when going from round-nose larger calibers to smaller spitzer bullets.

blue sky

If I won the lottery I’d pick up a Garmin Xero chronograph.

to research / comprehend

If the bullets are the same weight and shape (other than the truncation), then it would seem plausible that the OAL should be equal to the “normal” OAL of the RN bullet minus the difference in bullet lengths, plus a small amount which compensates for the fact that more of the weight is included in the full-width base of the bullet rather than in the rounded tip.

While you are PROBABLY safe using HP data for FMJ of the same weight this is NOT TRUE for HP using FMJ data

Some data suggests that plated and jacketed bullets produce about the same velocity with the same load. It’s less clear if they produce about the same pressure with the same load.

Pistol loads are hard to evaluate pressure because most of the traditional signs don’t show up until you’re into ‘oh shit’ territory.

I was a little leery when I could not find the exact bullet I wanted to use with the powder I was using. In cases like this 9mm I would use the start data for the next heavier slug if that was there

Most reloaders in the competition world, at least, throw out S&B brass because of this. Other “into the garbage” brass include Norma (smaller than normal flash holes) and X-treme (case dimensions taper towards the base, reducing case volume)

reduce (9mm loads) it until it won’t function and then increase about .3 or until it feels right and is accurate in your gun.

At some point, well below the max load cartridge the velocity increase will start to drop off. This is the point where pressure in increasing but velocity is not increasing proportionally.

f you don’t have data for your specific bullet, match the bullet weight first, and surface material second. By surface material, I mean lead/coated, plated, jacketed. There’s a reason lead bullets typically use less powder in published data, and that’s because the bullets are typically larger in diameter than jacketed, and they are softer and obturate better, which results in higher pressure for a given powder and charge weight.

FBI paper; handgun wounding factors and effectiveness

any increase or decrease in mass is something like 95% offset by a corresponding change in pressure.

Increased bullet mass will increase penetration. Increased velocity will increase penetration but only until the bullet begins to deform, at which point increased velocity decreases penetration. Permanent cavity can be increased by the use of expanding bullets, and/or larger diameter bullets, which have adequate penetration. However, in no case should selection of a bullet be made where bullet expansion is necessary to achieve desired performance. (FBI)

Bullet selection should be determined based on penetration first, and the unexpanded diameter of the bullet second, as that is all the shooter can reliably expect

Probably more people in this country have been killed by .22 rimfires than all other calibers combined, which, based on body count, would compel the use of .22’s for self-defense. The more important question, which is sadly seldom asked, is what did the individual do when hit?

Srsly: do not take my word (or anyone else’s) on matters of reloading. Get some manuals, start with light charges and work up, etc. You are responsible for your own loads as I am mine.

Also see the BSK reloading calculator announced in this reddit thread.

  1. gun, tractor, hand tool, frog gig, trot line, knife, stove, fire, etc ↩

  2. Zombies are metaphorical rather than literal. In this usage a zombie is anything that causes an emergency situation. Could be pandemic, natural disaster, aggressive criminals, etc. I mean, I suppose there could be actual undead creatures chasing humans but there’s not much precedent for it. ↩

  3. The .30-06 was based on the .30-03, which was based on the 7x57mm Mauser, which was based on the 8x57mm Mauser. ↩