I'm a bit surprised at how little discussion there is of ammunition
reloading. While the .223 Remington (5.56x45 NATO) is an imperfect
military round, its very easy to reload and the cases last pretty
well if
you are precise
and careful about your loads. Midsized calibers like .308 loads even
better, and is less fussy than small calibers are. I realize than an
autoloader doesn't take well to reloads, nor is it reasonable collecting
spent brass ejected from one on a battlefield. In addition, most milsurp
brass is Berdan primed which is almost impossible (very difficult)
to reload. Same with steel or aluminum cases.
In a bolt action rifle that's another
story.
Reloading
lets
you do
something
that
large quantities
of money won't. It gains you accuracy at a modest price for a modest
firearm. It is reasonably easy to learn how to tune a load to a specific
rifle so that it shoots its best. Sometimes that means 3 rounds in
the X ring at 100 yards. Sometimes that means 5 in an even smaller
hole. I know from experience that even cheap bolt action milsurp rifles
can be tuned to the level of small overlapping holes with even modest
barrels. If that's all you can afford, you need it to hit what you
aim at. There's little point investing your whole budget on arms when
you also need food and water and hopefully a small solar panel for
a radio so you can find out what is going on. Information is worth
gold in a Post Peak scenario. You have to make do with what you can
afford.
Yes, stocking up on reloading supplies is another expense, but its
a satisfying one if you're already bunkered in place, and it gives
your shooting training a purpose: testing loads and bullets on paper
and steel at various ranges. Isn't it expensive to get into reloading
ammunition? (you ask) Not really. About $150 for a single stage press
and dies for one caliber, plus brass, primers, and powder as much as
you care to fiddle with (another $20-$100). There's lots of information
online, but reloadingbench.com is a useful resource, as well as a means
to help you choose a caliber. Not everyone can take the recoil of the
.308 Winchester (7.62x51 NATO), and most want more power downrange
than the 7.62x39 can deliver. Finding the right cartridge for your
area's
terrain,
game,
and conditions can be an enjoyable bit of research. While the .308
is often the right caliber for most grown men, .243 Winchester is dandy
for many applications (with a 24" barrel), and .270 Winchester
has a nice bit of range capability. Target shooters love the .308,
western hunters like the .270, and those who do both like the .260
Remington (duplicates the 6.5mm Swede but in a .308 case) and the 7mm
Magnum (though it is tough on cases). When you reload, the caliber
doesn't matter very much (same amount of work to load .308 as it is
to load 6.5x284, 8x57JS Mauser, or 6mm PPC) so choose the one with
recoil, range, and punch that suits you best. Its also useful to note
that some calibers which can be abusive in a light carry rifle (like
the Mosin Nagant M44 or M39) with 170 or 200 grain bullets can turn
into pussycats with real range shooting 125 grain .311 bullets and
the appropriate powder (3200 fps and 10 ft-lbs recoil instead of 2700
fps and 32 ft-lbs with a 200 grain). Cuts down on muzzle flash and
recoil. Tune your load to your barrel and you can turn a wincing rifle
into a marksman's rifle. I have done it, so I know.
If you'd like a link describing what it is like to load your own ammo,
a gent of the shooting persuasion writes articles at Realguns.com. Here's
the link to his articles, which has three parts. Be sure
to read these. He's a great old guy and moved to Maine from California
to enjoy better gun laws and lower taxes. I encourage all survivalists
to learn and practice reloading with their bolt or break action rifles.
It is great practice and will give you good appreciation of what an
accurate rifle can do. Sincerely, - Inyokern
JWR Replies: Sorry that I've been remiss in covering reloading topics. Some of our readers in Europe and Canada might disagree with your assertion that it is difficult to reload Berdan-primed brass. It can be done, but it takes a special two-pronged Berdan de-capping tool. The real bugaboo here in the States is finding a source for Berdan primers. My favorite source is The Old Western Scrounger. OBTW, for our readers down in Oz, I've heard that Berdan primers are also available from NIOA Trading in Australia.
Rawles Disaster Preparedness SurvivalBlog Reloading Primers Berdan Primers
