Reloading is a rewarding pastime

This is the second of a multi-part series about reloading rifle cartridges.

A rewarding part of my life is tying or securing one part of the outdoor experience to another. Shoot a mallard duck. Clean the duck and save the feathers. Eat the duck and use the feathers to tie a fishing fly used to catch trout in Corral Lake. Eat the trout.

This scenario is easily carried to another level. Reload the shotgun shell used to shoot the duck. Reloading rifle cartridges can also fit into this situation. Not for hunting ducks, but big game.

Reload a .30-06 cartridge and use it to shoot an elk. Eat the elk meat and use some of the elk hair to tie a fly, such as an elk-hair caddis. Use the caddis to catch a trout in Soda Lake. Eat the trout.

The more involvement at each level of the outdoor experience the more satisfaction felt at my level. Now, back to reloading rifle cartridges.

There are many manufactures of rifle bullets including: Barnes, Federal, Nosler, Federal, Hornady, Lapua, Remington, Winchester and about 20 more.

The bullet is important, because it is the part of the reloaded cartridge hitting the target, a mule deer near Davenport or an elk in the hills south of Wenatchee.

Bullets are designed for different game, so they come with various weights. The Nosler Reloading Guide lists reloading recipes for six different weight bullets for the .30-06.

The 165-grain bullet has formulas for using five different powders. Each powder lists three different powder weights to load a particular cartridge. The powder is measured in grains.

A reloader may begin with powder H4831. The suggested powder weights are 58.5, 60.5 and 62.5 grains, with the 62.5 listed as the maximum load.

The middle weight of 60.5 grains might be used when beginning to test a new load. The idea is to increase the amount of powder, little by little, to find a load which suits the rifle. A reloader may load 10 rounds with 60.5 grains of powder and 10 rounds with 61.0 grains. A trip to the range will determine which powder amounts works best. The load will be refined with more or less powder used.

This seems to be a lot of work, so why reload? Received from Lucky Devil Leitzke:

Great topic Dennis. By reloading you can get people shooting more and more often. They can save money, expand a cartridge usefulness with different bullet weights and powders. They can have fun save money and even learn something. If you were at the horse track this would be the trifecta.

Next week: More reloading information.