So, I load a lot of 380. Mostly just bulk stuff that is either just powerful enough to cycle most actions, or hot full power loads. There is obviously a difference in these loads shooting suppressed and unsuppressed. So, my wimpiest loads won't cycle in the suppressor host reliably, and the hot loads are significantly louder. So now I need a new load.

What are recommendations for a load that will cycle reliably? Probably start with 100 grain plates projectiles and 700x, but figured someone else has tried this and will save me the leg work.

3.5" barrel

Hey everyone. I’m trying to get into reloading but not sure where to start. I’ll be starting with 9mm and 5.56. What the hell do I need to get started? It seems like a lot not sure where to start.

Once fired brass that didn't need trimming and sized perfect in ammo checker after depriming. Reloaded bullet and 8 out of 60 stick out about ½" from ammo checker. No burrs on brass or dents after reloading

I'm a newbie at reloading and don't know why. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Howdy. Finally finished my 18" Ar-15 in 5.56, and want to start loading for it. I've heard the 77gr SMK HPBT is a great match projectile. I intend to load some and find out how it does in my new rifle.

That being said, are there any other projectiles I should check out if I also wanted to shoot hogs and maybe deer with it? I know there probably isn't a "Universal" load everyone agrees on but any projectiles you would trust to do both reliably? I am in Texas so the deer aren't monsters. Pigs, eh. Sometimes. But really I want to know if there is a bullet that is a decent enough hunting bullet for limited hunting applications without sacrificing paper punching accuracy? What recipes are you guys using for your 5.56 match rounds? If it matters I've got a SOLGW SPR .223 Wylde barrel.

Powders I've been suggested with the 69gr and 77gr SMK:

Varget
IMR 8208 XBR

Hello all, my buddy found these in his grandpas box of reloading stuff, we have been trying to figure out what it could be. The expertise of the sub would be greatly appreciated!

I got some factory second 300gr .338 bullets to feed my malnourished ARC today and was loading up when i found these guys in the box. Now thanks to Mr.Potterfeild i have 5 .270 bullets and dont have any guns to feed them to so now the hunt is on for something .270 that isnt .270 win. On the bright side i got 115 .338 bullets in the box instead of 100 and those little guys. The person running the bullet packer must have not been giving a crap that day. Lol

I ordered a Lee reloading stand from Midway and put it together tonight. I can already tell it’s going to be a huge upgrade from the folding table I was using.

At the Walmart, I noticed this grill cover and thought it would be a good way to cover the stand when it’s not in use.

I tried to search but didnt find this specific answer. I know lee is not the best and can have a learning curve....but if you dial that in would this be good if my goal was to make the most precise 308 rounds? Hoping to save a little money here so incan go all in on a scale cuz I've read thats probably most important for precision rounds.

Still in the early stages and havent bought anything yet, so im wondering if i should hold off on buying equipment until I get a few hundred spent casings...or just dive in and months new brass route....which I wonder if its the best move for me period since I read that "precision brass" is a thing and thats 100% my goal, to hand load precision rounds for my ar10.

Thanks for any help

Late edit: thank you all I wasn't expecting this many replies! You all fired me up more to dive into this 🙏

Met someone getting out of the game... all full and unopened.

I wet tumbled my brass for 3 hours with bore tech bras cleaner and the bras was blueish. I don’t know if I poured to much or something. After I cleaned them I washed them with distilled water and put them in oven for 1 hour. Is it problem or just aesthetic

I've been working on a little side project that started out as a simple loading block for my .300 BLK brass and turned into something considerably more versatile. This is a completely free tool for my fellow reloaders, I get absolutely nothing from it besides gratification from making something useful.

Rather than making a bunch of individual STLs for different cartridges, I built a fully parametric loading block generator in OpenSCAD and published it on MakerWorld.

Here's what it does:

25 cartridge presets, covering common rifle, pistol, and revolver cartridges, with dimensions derived from SAAMI specifications

Fully customizable dimensions for wildcats, obscure cartridges, or whatever else you're working with

Dual-stage holes designed to accommodate empty cases in either orientation—mouth-up or mouth-down

Adjustable hole counts and layouts, including rectangular and staggered patterns

Bambu Lab printer selection, with automatic build-plate sizing and fit checks

Optional recessed caliber labels and adjustable block dimensions

2×2 fit-test mode, so you can check the fit on your printer without wasting filament on a full-sized block

The whole thing runs through MakerWorld, so you don't need OpenSCAD or any CAD experience to use it. Just pick your cartridge, choose your configuration, and generate a printable model.

I've printed and physically tested the .300 BLK and .38 Special versions, including both case orientations, with excellent results. The other cartridge presets are dimensionally derived and still undergoing physical fit validation.

This has been a really enjoyable project, and I'd love to get some feedback from fellow reloaders and 3D-printing enthusiasts.

In particular, I'd love to hear:

What calibers are missing?

What additional customization options would be useful?

Any bugs, features, or additional calibers your like addressed, now that the base code is laid down under the hood it's super easy to tweak.

Here's the model:

https://makerworld.com/models/3484544

Hope some of you find it useful. And if you print one, I'd love to hear how it fits your brass.

Cheers!

An interesting Hornady podcast that came out last week about their new SBR Suppressed line of ammo. They talked about the 5.56 SKU basically paired a heavier bullet (73gn) with a faster burning powder. Data is 2425fps out of an 11.5”. They said there wasn’t a commercially available powder that checked all the boxes so they formulated a specific blend with the provider.

I’m curious what burn rate powder you speculate they’re using, or if you’ve done this yourself.

I assume we’re not talking 9mm fast burn since an AR needs gas and that quick of a burn would be a good way to get hurt. I’m not familiar with powder for other pistol cartridges though like 45, etc. Maybe it’s just 300BO appropriate powder? Thoughts?

Finally picked up a WWII production Garand. Now I need to feed it. I have a decent amount of brass (will need to check head stamp but probably LC and "others"). I have the following bullets:
M80 147Gr
M72 173gr

M2 168gr

I have a pretty wide variety of powder to test. I know the Garand needs loads with faster burning powders and have read that powders that are in the range of 44-50gr would be better.
A few powders I have that I could start with are IMR4064, WC844 (similar to H335) and WC846 (similar to BL-C(2)) that I have a decent amount of. I have less (under 4#) of IMR4895, H4895, Varget, and H4350.

Anyone have some suggestions for places to start with any of the bullets. The data for the M80 rounds is pretty common and I have multiple reloading books with data going back to the 70's but thought I'd see if anyone had particular luck with any of the above combinations. Particularly the M2 and M72 bullets. Leaning towards the WC bulk powders as I have a lot of those and seems like they may have been from the original loads.