Gifts for Outdoor-minded people, Part 2

This is the second of a four-part series about buying gifts for outdoor-minded people.

We are closing in on Christmas and, as happens every year, several readers have asked me about gifts for their friends, relatives and family members. Thus, committing the December columns to gift suggestions has become a tradition.

Today we discuss just one outdoor process, but it involves many items which would make great gifts.

Reloading

Years ago, perhaps 20 or a few more, Bill Witt introduced me to the world of rifle reloading. This added another dimension to the shooting sports and hunting experience. The following is a compressed picture of reloading

We had been hunting deer and elk for years and, as a result, had many spent casings, also known as brass, of different calibers. This means we had a place to begin the reloading adventure.

The reason for reloading needs to be discussed at this point. There was a time when factory ammunition was considered inferior to hand loads. This is not necessarily true now, as factory ammo has improved greatly.

Increased performance/accuracy

However, reloading for a specific rifle may improve the performance (accuracy) of the specific rifle. This means reloading a cartridge for my .30-06 with measurements for my rifle. Bill, on the other hand, might have different measurements for his .30-06. We call this, “Working up a load.” So, the first reason to reload is increased performance or accuracy of a rifle.

Save money

This is a questionable aspect of reloading. There are several parts to the answer. Purchasing the equipment is the initial investment.

The reloading brand we prefer is RCBS, which stands for Rock Chucker Bullet Swage, but is known simply as RCBS. A reloading kit containing all of the equipment necessary to begin the process sells for around $330, not counting brass, powder, bullets and primers.

Scenario: A group of four hunters, each owning a .30-06, decide to begin reloading ammo for their rifles. The initial cost may be around $500, with powder, bullets and primers included. The cost would be $125 each.

This may sound a bit on the expensive side, but consider this equipment will be used for years, even decades. We have two reloading presses at our reloading bench. One was purchased by Bill when he was in high school.

Over time, the initial cost of the equipment must be divided by the number of years used. On the sixth year, the cost of the reloading equipment would be zero, figuring a deduction of $25 a year. Of course, this doesn’t count additional bullets, primers and powder.

Camaraderie

Reloading takes time. A shooter doesn’t sit down to the bench and leave 10 minutes later with 50 completed bullets. Thus, another advantage of reloading is spending time with friends.

Scenario: There are 200 casings for .30-06, 100 for Bill and 100 for me. This brass has been shot only once, either hunting or at the range. First, we need to remove the spent primer and clean the brass. We would put Bill’s 100 in a vibrating tumbler with crushed corn cob as the media. The next day, Bill will empty the tumbler and add my 100 and turn on the tumbler.

The brass is then inspected, to make sure it is not cracked or damaged in any way. Because the brass has expanded during the firing process, it will need to be trimmed to the exact length desired. The next step is to resize the casings back to their normal size, again because it has expanded a bit.

The chamfer and deburring tool will be used to bevel the inside and outside of the neck. Polishing the brass takes hours, but it is not necessary to be in attendance for this step, just turn the tumbler on and leave it running overnight. Most of the other processes takes but a few minutes. Now we have 200 cases ready to reload, 100 for Bill and 100 for me.

A priming tool is used to seat a new primer at the end of the casing. Next the proper amount of powder is measured and poured into the casing. The bullet is then seated to the proper depth into the casing. The cartridge is complete and ready to load and fire in the rifle.

There are a few more steps to this entire process, but this explanation provides a rough idea of the procedure.

The camaraderie continues at the shooting range as we hone our shooting skills while we test our work for velocity and accuracy.

Attention to detail

As expected, attention to detail is important when reloading rifle cartridges. Becoming complacent about the amount of powder, depth of bullet defective brass and other parts of the process could result in a dangerous or fatal situation.

Reloading tools

There are other reloading tools than mentioned above. Improved technology has produced tools to make the process easier and faster.

Gifts

Beginning reloaders need all of the tools and any part of the kit would make an appropriate gift. Established reloaders may enjoy one of the new and improved tools or more bullets or powder.

Next week: Gifts for Outdoor-minded people, Part 3