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Ammo Reloaders GITT

Chris Farley

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Just bought the Hornady Lock n Load AP press....however it didn’t come with a shell plate. Looking online and through the shell plate #s, I can’t find the right one for 5.56.....anyone know which one to get? Also any advice you have ia gladly accepted, I’m a noob.
 

MBAEer13

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Check out hornady’s website. There should be a chart where you can find the 223/556 shell holder.

primers you will only find on gunbroker, where you will be raped, or from calling around to local guys. You never know who may have some.
 

Chris Farley

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Are there specific powders I should use for specific calibers? What am I looking for when buying powder?
 

GarnetPild

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Are there specific powders I should use for specific calibers? What am I looking for when buying powder?
Absolutely, yes. You need to buy a couple of reloading manuals. Lyman is a good one. These books, there are some websites too, will have tons of loads for just about every caliber. It will tell you the powder used, how much is used, the type and weight of bullet, and the velocity, at a minimum. Many powders can be used for many different calibers, but certainly not every powder can be used for every caliber. Get some reloading manuals!
 

Zigjr

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Are there specific powders I should use for specific calibers? What am I looking for when buying powder?
Getting powder now is apparently a huge problem too. My dad always reloaded our rifle ammo and once he passed away I gave all the stuff to my step brother. He was just better at it than me and took in more info from him than me. We are lucky dad had loaded up on everything but we are getting a little short on powder. I wouldn’t have known until I called him the other day to make up some 30-06 and he let me know. We are gonna load up next time we can get some. But my dad told me he taught himself by reading one book and a lot of trial and error. I have the book somewhere if I can find it. Luckily he let us exactly what we need for all our rifles he left behind. Only quick tips I can remember is don’t forgot to have a oil pad things to roll your brass on before you put them in the press to load. They can get stuck and be a son of a bitch to get out of you do. Also the primer press he said it’s easy to load them in the wrong way and you’ll press them in backwards. Even in 30-40 years of loading he would slip sometimes haha.

edit-found a pic I had on my phone of the book he used the most.
 

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Chris Farley

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Getting powder now is apparently a huge problem too. My dad always reloaded our rifle ammo and once he passed away I gave all the stuff to my step brother. He was just better at it than me and took in more info from him than me. We are lucky dad had loaded up on everything but we are getting a little short on powder. I wouldn’t have known until I called him the other day to make up some 30-06 and he let me know. We are gonna load up next time we can get some. But my dad told me he taught himself by reading one book and a lot of trial and error. I have the book somewhere if I can find it. Luckily he let us exactly what we need for all our rifles he left behind. Only quick tips I can remember is don’t forgot to have a oil pad things to roll your brass on before you put them in the press to load. They can get stuck and be a son of a bitch to get out of you do. Also the primer press he said it’s easy to load them in the wrong way and you’ll press them in backwards. Even in 30-40 years of loading he would slip sometimes haha.

edit-found a pic I had on my phone of the book he used the most.
Wow! Great advice! Thank you my friend!
 

GarnetPild

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Getting powder now is apparently a huge problem too. My dad always reloaded our rifle ammo and once he passed away I gave all the stuff to my step brother. He was just better at it than me and took in more info from him than me. We are lucky dad had loaded up on everything but we are getting a little short on powder. I wouldn’t have known until I called him the other day to make up some 30-06 and he let me know. We are gonna load up next time we can get some. But my dad told me he taught himself by reading one book and a lot of trial and error. I have the book somewhere if I can find it. Luckily he let us exactly what we need for all our rifles he left behind. Only quick tips I can remember is don’t forgot to have a oil pad things to roll your brass on before you put them in the press to load. They can get stuck and be a son of a bitch to get out of you do. Also the primer press he said it’s easy to load them in the wrong way and you’ll press them in backwards. Even in 30-40 years of loading he would slip sometimes haha.

edit-found a pic I had on my phone of the book he used the most.
Yes, powder and primers are as hard to find, and as expensive as ammo nowadays. I stocked up last spring when this panic began with covid. Wish I had gotten a few thousand more primers and bullets, but I'm mostly well stocked for the long haul. Shitty time to be getting into shooting or reloading, for many folks out there.
 

hmt5000

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Why not? Made in China?
One ammo manufacturer said he met his 2021 sales goals already this year.... Nobody expected this much ammo to be gobbled up. There just isn't enough primers out there. That's the bottleneck. People are already working on it though. Some alternatives will be out shortly and things will mellow out in a month or so if everything works out.
 

GarnetPild

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One ammo manufacturer said he met his 2021 sales goals already this year.... Nobody expected this much ammo to be gobbled up. There just isn't enough primers out there. That's the bottleneck. People are already working on it though. Some alternatives will be out shortly and things will mellow out in a month or so if everything works out.

I sure hope so. The post Sandy Hook shortage lasted a long time, several years for .22lr, and this shortage is much worse.
 

Chris Farley

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One ammo manufacturer said he met his 2021 sales goals already this year.... Nobody expected this much ammo to be gobbled up. There just isn't enough primers out there. That's the bottleneck. People are already working on it though. Some alternatives will be out shortly and things will mellow out in a month or so if everything works out.
I ended up winning a bid for 2000 short rifle primers for $550. How screwed did I get?
 

hmt5000

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I ended up winning a bid for 2000 short rifle primers for $550. How screwed did I get?
You'll find out in a month or so. People are making primers at home. A couple look to be promising for mass production. Just have to wait and see. One was having failures in 1 in 5 on first test and 1 in 15 on 2nd. Granted, its all internet message board talk. They might all be pie in the sky.
 

Zigjr

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Yes, powder and primers are as hard to find, and as expensive as ammo nowadays. I stocked up last spring when this panic began with covid. Wish I had gotten a few thousand more primers and bullets, but I'm mostly well stocked for the long haul. Shitty time to be getting into shooting or reloading, for many folks out there.
I’m glad that my dad was a hoarder of anything ammo for a long time. When he died he had 27 cases of shotguns shells in my old rooms closet haha. I’ve got turkey loads everywhere, .22 rounds. Found a 500 block of CCI he bought for 2.95 back in the day. Good luck doing that now. I still have a bunch of rifle loads he made up but even with all that I still wish I would have loaded up more. Me and my step brother are gonna load up whenever we can get ahold of anything.
 

GarnetPild

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I’m glad that my dad was a hoarder of anything ammo for a long time. When he died he had 27 cases of shotguns shells in my old rooms closet haha. I’ve got turkey loads everywhere, .22 rounds. Found a 500 block of CCI he bought for 2.95 back in the day. Good luck doing that now. I still have a bunch of rifle loads he made up but even with all that I still wish I would have loaded up more. Me and my step brother are gonna load up whenever we can get ahold of anything.

I stocked up pretty well over the last few years when it was cheap, until last spring. Like everyone else, wish I'd bought more. Shit, makes me angry looking at prices now, knowing this time last year you could get 9mm for 16 cents a round, .22 for 4c...and this is much worse than the last shortage, which lasted several years.:mad:😢
 

FBTrap4k

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As already said....get a couple of different manuals. In my opinion, the Lyman manual is must have. Read it twice.
I like to get a manual from each bullet manufacturer I use but there's alot more info on the interwebz now than there used to be, so up too you. Having at least 2 manuals available for cross referencing loads is a good idea.

It's almost impossible to find anything ammo related right now. Check local message boards and gun shops for supplies. You never know what you can find.

My buddy used to give me shit about the amount of powder, primers, and casings I kept on-hand. Not anymore. He's struggling to track down more 6.8 ammo for one of his AR's for a hog hunt we have next month. I stocked up bigly after the 2012 panic when I could find what I wanted.
 

Chris Farley

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The only place I can find anything is on gunbroker.com. Even there, you have to bid on what you want.
 

FBTrap4k

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The only place I can find anything is on gunbroker.com. Even there, you have to bid on what you want.
I'm seeing the same thing. It sucks.

I sign up for email alerts for back-in-stock products I need/want on sites like MidwayUSA, Powder Valley, Graf & Sons etc. You have act fast but it works.
 
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