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Info for reloading: .32S&W short, and .303 British

3K views 22 replies 9 participants last post by  soundguy 
#1 ·
Need some info for reloading, and where to get the materials needed, including a good single stage press. (noob to reloading here)
 
#2 ·
First thing you need is a good reliading manual or two. These can sometimes be found at your local library. Your major reloading manuals will have the technique in the first third. Read this and then reread it. Reloading presses will bring you a dozen different answers. What's your budget? Is there anyone close by that reloads that could help teach you? You're going toget a lot of ggreat advice here, just wait for the others and process what they give.

Oh yeah, welcome to TFF.
 
#3 ·
agreed, get at least one manual if not more, and that one, should not be a lee manual. Fine to have a lee manual, but not as your only one. If only one. lyman is49 is good, however, I like to get a manual from every projectile maker i'm using.

if you are doing bottleneck brass you will need a case trimmer, i'd get a case gauge and a micrometer or simple hand caliper to read down to .001

i'd personally reccomend a rcbs rock chucker supreme kit, but they go for about 300. a rcbs partner kit is a hundred less. could use that hundred to bup a manual case trimmer and a caliper.

figure about 30$ for a manual ( per ).

i would invest in a hand primer as well.

die sets will cost anywhere from 30$ and up.

many times you can get cheaper die sets from lee in the 25-35$ range...

there are other kits, lee, hornady, etc. all will make ammo.. etc..
 
#8 ·
agreed, get at least one manual if not more, and that one, should not be a lee manual. Fine to have a lee manual, but not as your only one.
You shoulda capitalized, bolded and underlined that. "that one should NOT be a lee". :) Can't say that loud or often enough.
 
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#4 ·
#5 ·
Welcome to the forum! The first 3 guys who responded are great sources of information. I concur with everything said so far. First thing is to get a good manual, and the Lyman reloading manual is a great start because they explain everything well and in common sense terms.

As you are starting out, I'd suggest that you buy a good used reloading press. My first choice would be an RCBS or similar because it will out-last you. After you do your reading-up in that manual, you will find that you will need the dies, shell holders, a good powder scale and powder dispenser and a case trimmer (Lee makes very inexpensive trimmers that will more than get you going) and a set of calipers to measure your case lengths. The press, powder scale and dispenser can be had used for under $100 if you look around at gun shows, and I've even seen them pretty inexpensive at 'antique' shops. A full set of Lee dies can he had for under $30 new. If you've got a Harbor Freight Tools store in your area the calipers there are fine for reloading, and inexpensive as well. Good luck!
 
#6 ·
If times were normal I'd suggest starting with the 32 S&W as it won't require trimming and getting the head space correct is as easy as falling off a cart. But the only powder Hodgdon lists for it is 231 and that is as rare as hen's teeth right now.

So thanks to powder availability the 303 British is going to have to be what you reload for now. Thankfully it takes several good powders that are starting to become more readily available. Some examples that I have been seeing more often are Winchester 760/H-414 and IMR-4064. Several other good choices exist, but these are the most likely to turn up. The down side of the 303 is that you'll need to trim after a few reloads and lathe style trimmers are expensive and can require special shellholders and pilots. What I've found to be inexpensive, fast, and very effect is one of the Lee systems. You need one of these to start with and then one of these for each cartridge.

As far as brands go, Lee is made to a low price point sometimes at the expense of quality or durability. RCBS, Lyman, and Hornady are in the middle range and produce a solidly good product at a moderate price point. Redding and Dillon are the cream of the crop and you will pay for it, sometimes dearly. All of the above brands are used to make quality ammo so your budget will likely dictate the choice you make. Personally I prefer Hornady dies and find their tools to work very well, but that is not a reflection on the other manufacturers as I have little personal experience with other brands.

Here is some load data:
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/pistol
http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/index.aspx
http://www.ramshot.com/load-data/
 
#7 ·
I'd like to chirp in one little thing more. For the .303 British, you may want to go with a "neck sizer" die only vs the full length sizer die set. This caliber is notorious for short case life due to very wide ranges of actual chamber sizes for just about any rifle in this caliber. You will end up over-working the brass cases very fast with full length sizing dies and maybe get only a few reloads before the cases show that 'bright ring' indicating nearing case failure. You will get more reloadings per case if you use that neck sizer die.
 
#11 ·
My .303 is a 1944 Lee Enfield no.4 Mk.1, with a nice bore, not a SMLE, and the .32 is a 1896 Iver Johnson Safety hammer pocket revolver, in case they need any special treatment. The brass for the .303 will be remington and Prvi Partizan, and the brass for the Iver will likely be magtech
 
#12 ·
For all intents and purposes, I think it IS OK to refer to a Number 4 as an "SMLE". That stands for Short Magazine Lee Enfield, which is what the evolution of your rifle is. I'm not looking at it this moment, but I believe that my 1916 No1 Mk III is stamped "SMLE". Calling your Mk4 is like calling an M1903 Rock Island Armory a "Springfield". Not exactly correct, but close enough for hand grenades and horse shoes. I've handled and fired many .303s, but the only one I've had in my hands over the past 20 years is my own, and it has the British Crown and the SMLE stamp.

Soundguy is correct in that you can back off a full-length die so that you do not size the case body, but just part of the neck. While I agree that is an option, the dedicated neck sizer die will size all of the neck (not just part of it), and that is why I consider it a better option. That PRIVI brass is a very good option for the .303.

If it were me I'd have that .32 revolver checked over for safety before I got real heavy into reloading for it. That's because the steel is old, and also it was made at about the time when there was still plenty of black powder ammo around. Just for grins and giggles I'd have it checked - maybe even magnafluxed to check for cracks in the frame and cylinder.
 
#13 ·
I have a 7x57 Mauser with a bit of a sloppy chamber. And by sloppy I mean well within SAAMI specs but since factory ammo has a headspace shorter than SAAMI minimum spec the resulting difference is around 0.014". Factory loads shows signs of head separation after their first firing. If starting with empty brass you can use some other techniques to fire form the brass to the chamber. Once so formed it is neck sizing only if the brass is to survive another firing. I suspect that your Enfield may have a similar sloppiness to it which is a good thing for military uses.
 
#15 ·
Steve - I'm not "the wise man of the mountain" here, but I'm thinking the problem with your 7X57mm might be a tad different than that common to the .303 British. As mentioned before, the sloppy chambers on most .303s is intentional to let dirty or slightly imperfect ammo feed under battlefield conditions. I don't remember the Germans or the Spanish doing that. Besides, the Brits were not all that into reloading their military ammo and didn't give a hoot about the brass after they fired it.

I'd assume (and you know that makes an ass of U and me) that your rifle is likely a 93 or 95 Mauser and NOT a 98 action. The earlier actions only had the twin bolt locking lugs, and most were made from turn-of-the-century steel. I'd be likely to suspect that maybe you either have a mis-matched bolt or your action is a tad stretched - rather than an over size chamber.

There are lots of real gunsmiths here who can address this better than I can, but I'm thinking you could have your barrel set back a thread or two and eliminate the headspace problem. You might get away with what you are doing, but I'd definitely stay away from the warmer side of loads.
 
#16 ·
I'd assume (and you know that makes an ass of U and me) that your rifle is likely a 93 or 95 Mauser and NOT a 98 action.
It was made by FN and as best I can tell it is an M93 and it for certain is not an M98. When I read about "generous chambers of some old military rifles" in an article on fire forming brass I thought it was the same issue so I am happy to learn something new.

I have investigated having the barrel set back and the cost is more than what it would be to replace it with a similar rifle. It is not a thing of beauty either and as you know many claim it to not be able to handle hotter loads so it's not worth putting money into. The serial number on the bolt was lost when its handle was bent to clear a scope so I cannot be sure if that is the cause. My intention is to form brass to the chamber and use starting level load of 760 as I no longer hunt with it. I'd just like to keep the old girl in operation and with safe loads.
 
#18 ·
I've been banging away with factory ammo since I got it sometime around the early 90's and the old timer I got it from had been reloading for it and either he or his late wife had done plenty of shooting with it. I had to toss over 100 pieces of brass I got from him due to signs of thinning in the case head so I'm not sure that he was that great of a reloader to have not noticed it.

But honestly, when in the past 100+ years would this rifle have been fed a diet low pressure ammo? Supposedly the SAAMI spec of 46000 CUP and US factory ammo is already reduced in pressure because of rifles such as this one. There is data out there to suggest that the original ammo was even higher pressure (such as what the CIP is using for their spec) and old surplus 7x57 ammo could conceivably damage a modern 7x57 built to SAAMI specs. Anyhow, that is all conflicting info to rattle around in my head and not drag this thread off topic with. I do appreciate the input though and will try to keep pressures down as I'm partial to my face and hands.
 
#19 ·
Back when that rifle was new, and you and me were just twinkles in Grandpappy's eyes, I'm pretty sure that chamber pressure wasn't much of a worry to the guy who fired that rifle. There's been lots of carbon and copper thru that barrel in the time between then and now. You are wise to keep the pressures low.

That 7X57mm is a great caliber. Back in the 50s I remember reading about professional African Hunters who favored it for just about anything up to near elephant sized game, but those stories were about hunters from the 1920s and 1930s. Today's favorite loads are based on the 139-140 grain bullets, but the old pros used 175 grain bullets.
 
#20 ·
To SteveM and jim brady. This may or may not have anything to with what youse guys are talking about. It's more about 7x57 ammo. A few years back a friend of mine had a custom built 7x57 made on a new SAKO action. He sent it to a very reputable gunsmith for the barrel fitting/chambering and the other work involved in completely finishing his gun. After putting all the components together to make the rifle shootable he finally shot his first round. After ejecting the case it was partially blackened, the primer had backed out and it gave all the primary appearances of excessive head-space. The gun was sent back to the 'smith along with the ammo also. After a thorough examination it was concluded that that the American manufactured ammo (new factory ammo) was loaded to a ridiculously low pressure, and wouldn't fill out in the chamber.
 
#21 ·
I have reloaded for.the 32 SW and 32 SWL. The short 32 has such a small case it doesn't work too well with powder measures or scales. I much prefer dippers. However the smallest Lee dipper is too big. I file down 22 lr empty cases to various lengths. They can be calibrated against a scale. I measure the volumes with an insulin srynge. The column for the 1 cc dipper on the Lee dipper chart is the density of various powders in grains/cc. VOLUME OF POWDER IN CC×DENSITY OF POWDER IN GRAINS/CC= GRAINS OF POWDER. I have used the Hornady #0 buck shot run through a sizing die and tumble lubed with Lee liquid alox for projectiles. Because the buckshot are much lighter than 32 caliber bullets these loads do not shoot to point of aim. You can make these old guns go "BANG" and shoot things that need to be shoot. To use these combinations for defense poke the gun into some bodily orfice and pull the trigger. A 38 works better and you can use 000 buckshot.
 
#22 ·
>However the smallest Lee dipper is too big.<

Maybe you need to change powder. The smallest Lee dipper is what I use to load 25 auto. It dips out 1.0 of Unique.

Now, I don't know what type of ANY smokeless to use in a 32 S&W, as they have not put 32 S&W loads in manuals for years. Lyman said something like, "As the majority of guns chambered for this round were manufacture prior to the invention of smokeless powder, we do not consider them safe for use with smokeless powder, and will therefore not list loads".
 
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