[scarpydooooo]

First off hello everyone and nice to meet ya.

I live in humboldt county and i dont know crap about rifles or handguns. Now, that said I bought a Sig P226 9mm - Sig 556 .223 - and a Barrett 98B 27 inch barrel .338 lapua.

I wanted to have a long range rifle a handgun and an AR. I spent 10k on these 3 guns.

The question I have is what is the best round for all 3 guns for weekend fun?
Would like to know what the best round is for serious target shooting, ( more accurate)

I plan on learning how to reload these rounds and have been looking at RCBS kits and its kinda overwelming. I have tried to find peple in my city that can help and teach me but im having a hard time finding people that actually know something.

Any advice on what i should use for reloading these runds.

powder, primers. ect...... thanks for any info and im very sorry if i ask retarded questions thanks

 

[broom_jm]

Buy a 22LR rimfire rifle. Buy a bunch of ammo for the 22LR, 9mm and 223. Go into Mendocino National Forest (not now, it's huntin' season!) and have at it.

The RCBS RockChucker kit is excellent and will get you well on your way to reloading all three of the guns you listed. Since money does not seem to be an object, all that is left is to do a lot of reading. Pick up 2 or 3 books on reloading, including the latest from Lee, as well as the 49th edition of the Lyman manual. Read them both...at least twice.

Reloading metallic cartridges is as simple as:

1) Resize and deprime (one step)
2) Seat new primer
3) Charge case with powder
4) Seat new bullet

This process can literally take 15 minutes to learn, if someone is showing you. However, reloading is like playing the game of chess, in that you can spend a lifetime trying to master something that you learned the basics of in 15 minutes. Educate yourself with some good books, be safe and cautious (not scared) and have some fun.

By the way, the guns you bought are all high quality, but you went from a moped to a 100cc and then all the way up to a 1300 V-Twin! That Barret is a cool gun, but IMHO, you'd have been better served with a more reserved rifle and cartridge combination, especially since you're new to the shooting sports.

 

[scarpydooooo]

Thanks for the reply broom. I agree on buying a lot of the three smaller cartridges and learning how to correctly shoot before shoting the barrett. Its hard to do though lol. I actually found a local range guy that has keys to the range and is willing to g out to my proprty and do some long range shoting, but i think it would be a good idea to get a smaller rifle like you reccomended before actually firing the barrett.

You make reloading sound very easy ha ha. I read my question and i realize i worded it horribly. Sorry. I was trying to see if there were a cheaper and a more expensive bullet in the same caliber. I knw there is a okay, better, good and the best in each caliber and im just trying to see if its cheaper to load the average one.

I would like to know which primers and powder and brass t use for the .338.

federal #215 primers?
Lapua brass?
Powder i have no idea. 300 grain is what i was thinking?
Have no idea what the best bullet is


thanks again and sorry im uneducated..

 

[pisgah]

My friend, your questions are honest and good. The best advice I can give is to buy several reloading manuals and read them, cover to cover. At the same time, look for articles online and in magazines regarding loading various loads for your calibers. The best way to get answers to your questions is to answer them yourself. A load that might be peachy-keen in my rifle might not work worth a hoot in yours, so rolling your own is the best way to go.

 

[kdub]

Also, a word of caution.

Load information posted on the internet (other than that posted by bullet/powder/reloading equipment mfgr's) should be viewed with skepticism as some of them are over the top of sane loading. Like pisgah said, what works well in one firearm might be a potential bomb in another. Best to stick with what the manuals recommend and carefully tweak your handloads to maximum accuracy while still within the bounds of safety.

 

[scarpydooooo]

Thanks

Thanks guys. I have learned a lot the last week compared to were i started. Any reccomendations on a exact book? i have seen many different books that claim to have the same read, is that true?

Thanks for the input everyone. Ill stick to the manufactureers recc and go from there. Im sure ill have some more questions as I go. Like is a nightforce scope really worth the money?

they claim to be the best but are they?

 

[broom_jm]

Thanks guys. I have learned a lot the last week compared to were i started. Any reccomendations on a exact book? i have seen many different books that claim to have the same read, is that true?

Thanks for the input everyone. Ill stick to the manufactureers recc and go from there. Im sure ill have some more questions as I go. Like is a nightforce scope really worth the money?

they claim to be the best but are they?

I own at least 15 different books on reloading. I have read them all, cover-to-cover, 2 or 3 times, in the 20+ years I've been enjoying this hobby. There are some topics for which you cannot be over-educated, and reloading is certainly one of them! Again, the 49th edition of the Lyman manual is a very good one. I was recently given the 8th edition of "The ABC's of Reloading" and found it to be informative and laid out well. They're all pretty good, frankly.

To answer an earlier question you had: You can load "average" 338 bullets for your Lapua and get very good results for a substantial cost savings over factory ammo. This is not to say you will find shooting that big-jugged case to be cheap, as you'll be be going through powder so fast you'll think there's a hole in the bottom of the can. For all but competition or die-hard shooters, over-bore magnums like the 338 Lapua are not shot with a great deal of regularity. They cost too much and kick too hard for shooting lots of rounds. That's what your 22LR and 223 are for.

The components you listed are all very good, particularly the Lapua brass which has an excellent and well-deserved reputation. Note that they are not inexpensive, by any means, and considerably more than other brands, in most "cases".

 

[BKeith]

Cost savings. You will find there is a huge variation in the cost of bullets and not a huge difference in accuracy with many. I've been teaching my granddaughter how to shoot for a while now and built her a rifle chambered in the Remington 260. I have her shooting 129/130 grain bullets. Some of these cost more for 50 than others cost for 100. As long as you know how each bullet groups, the cheap bullets work just fine for general target practice. Her rifle will shoot .5 - .7 moa groups with Hornady 129gr Interlocks, and shoot .25 - .4 moa groups with 130gr Nosler Accubonds, that cost almost twice with the Interlocks cost. She can still hit her 6" square steel plates at 500yds she likes to shoot. Yes, she will get the occassional miss because of a flyer with the cheaper bullets but she understands why and it doesn't bother her. Just buying cheaper bullets for her's and my rifle, I save over $100 per month.

Is a Night Force scope worth the money? Depends on who you're talking too. They are heavy, they are tough, and they can take a beating, they track almost perfectly and still hold POI. Oh yea, they also have very good optics so if you talk to someone who's life or someone else life might depend on them making a kill on the first shot, they would probably say they are worth every penny. Now, if you don't plan to beat the crap out of your scope but want one with very good optics and also tracks great, look at the Sightron SIII scopes, I just bought my fourth one. I think they are as good as any scope you can get at twice the money. They are rated for a 50BMG so your 338 should not be a problem for one.

 

[TheDownRanger]

Go find Handloader Magazine!

You might want to start regularly buying and reading Wolf Publishing's Handloader magazine as well. It's readily available at most supermarkets and is full of useful articles, as well as advertisements for any and all equipment you'll ever need. I have about 20 yrs of their issues, and they all contain very useful information that doesn't necessarily get out of date.

You can search their website online and then purchase or download past articles on reloading all those particular cartridges. Be careful with the .338 Lapua; don't try reduced loads, an perhaps practice on the smaller rounds first. The brass alone for the .338 is staggeringly expensive. In fact, you'll pretty much have to handload that one if you don't want to break the bank on factory loaded ammo, which is, if I recall, about $120 per box of 20 rounds. Or more. Meantime, you can handload them for about, oh, $35 a box. Big $$$ difference, and eventually, when you get good at the details of handloading, you'll be able to create truly accurate loads for your specific rifle.

I'd also have to recommend the Redding equipment. I've used RCBS and Redding for > 40 years; Redding is the boss dog as far as quality and accuracy. BTw, if you'd bought a .50BMG Barret, you'd have to get a press that will allow that tall round to fit in. This raises the price of that round; their .416 Barret round is a far better choice, is faster and more accurate and has far better downrange ballistics than the .50. Just a slightly off-topic comment.

Welcome to the hobby, BTW. It's very satisfying, and beats the heck out of hanging out and spending your money on fast cars, fast women and bad whiskey!

 

[unclepaddy]

While I'm not a big fan of Hornady as a brand, I really liked the way their latest handloading book was detailed about head-spacing and various other details relating to the pressure curve in different scenarios. I've used their words and illustrations to help explain a few things to beginners and learned a lot from it myself.