What is the most reloaded caliber in the USA ? Years ago, I believe it was the 38 Spl, but I doubt it now!
Most Reloaded
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- Last Post 22 July 2017
I believe that the most common requests that I am seeing is for the 9MM and 223. Perhaps not the most reloaded, but at least the most often asked about. Perhaps because the semi autos are hard on the cases, or loss is greater. Perhaps revolver brass is not lost as often so the demand is lower. 40 is a little harder to lose so less demand or so it seems to me.
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If you go by eBay which lists the top 5 calibers of loading dies sold, they are:
1) 9mm
2) .45 acp
3) .30-06
4) .223
5) .308
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YEAH, YEAH, YEAH !!!!!!. 9MM, .45ACP, .223, .308 . All the black gun calibers. Big DEAL, We all know how much the black gunners shoot. 9MM is the cheapest handgun ammo around, .223 the cheapest rifle round. Lots of online bulk reloading components for them, at super cheap prices.
But what calibers do we, the BULLET CASTERS RELOAD/SHOOT the most ? The folks who cast their OWN bullets with their own hands. Carefully inspecting/rejecting each little jewel. Sizing to the correct dia. for that one particular gun. Keeping all the cases together with proper head stamps, lot #'s.
For instance I have 5 boxes of PMC .30-30 cases that I was given quite a while ago. A run of PMC factory lead ammo for Cowboy Shooters. All the same lot. I put them in 5 MTM 20rd slip top boxes numbered 1-5.
I load .44mag starline brass for my Chiropractor who shoots that caliber in both rifle & revolver for Cowboy Shooting. About 250 rounds every month. I load mostly .38spl for myself because I just can't handle recoil much any more ( I gots the Rheumatiz ). And for my daughter I load 9mm for her GLOCK (WOLF BBL) & .38spl Cowboy loads, actually the same as mine: 158gr cast RNFP & 3.0grs TiteGroup or 2.8grs of BullEye . I shoot that .30-30 in a old Win 94 & an H & R Handi-Rifle. I use a light load in my .44spl to feed my COLT SAA & S & W 624. For the .45acp I use 3.5grs Bullseye behind a LYMAN #452488 (192gr) with a light spring. I shoot that in a 1911 with 3 coils cut off the spring & my BlackHawk .45 CONV. And the 7X57 model 93 Mauser get the LYMAN # 287405 148gr SemiRN Loverin with 13.5grs of 4759. And so on.
For me the most popular rounds are:
.38spl .44mag 9mm .44spl .45acp .30-30 7x57
Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.
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I don't believe the 9's and 223's are reloaded that much. At the range, most people I talk with just buy a few hundred rounds and then shoot it up. 9 and 223 brass is everywhere. I've gone back to the old tried and true 38 Spl and my revolvers. I just don't like chasing brass anymore.
Monday I'm going to call RCBS and ask them.
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357 Magnum ?
Most guys I talk with at the public range do not reload and leave their brass.
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That's true. The indoor range I go to is almost knee deep in 9mm, .45acp & some .40cal brass by closing time, people just scatter handfulls of revolver brass on the floor at will. The floor starts out swept clean every morning. the only brass I've bought in at least 15yrs is .32cal for pistol & revolver. With some .44mag for my Cowboy partner. I must have 5-6 5 gal buckets of 9, 40,45 & .223/308 & another of mixed 38/357 44spl/mag & 45colt. And a bunch of everything else. My old man woulda thought he'd died & gone to Heaven if he could see the ground at the 2 outdoor rifle ranges we got left in LA CA at the end of the day.
Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.
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Today per RCBS, the top two reloaded cartridges are: #1 45ACP and #2 223. I didn't ask where the 38 Spl was on the list.
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I think the .357 and .38 are going to be hard to separate from each other, (in terms of die sales) most all die sets have that .10" washer so you can set the dies for .38, and then put in the washer to load .357. Rarely have met anyone who loads only for the 38 Special, maybe a guy who is just heavily into bulleseye shooting with a revolver and does not shoot anything else (a rare bird).
I'm not sure anyone makes a dedicated die set only for .38 Special, if I found one I would think it's from back in the 1920's before the .357 was commercialized.
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Actually it is the other way around. Almost no .357 dies were sold until the mid 1960's and the introduction of jacketed bullets. I still have my hardened washer to put under my 38 special dies to load .357 cases. The .357 dies came out because the jacketed bullets were really 0.355" diameter and wouldn't hold in 38 die sized cases.
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I just checked my 38/357 die sets. I have an old RCBS set that has a seat/crimp die & expand/decap die dated '76, they are both marked .38spl, as is the box. The carbide sizer is dated '84 & the seat/taper crimp die is dated '92 Those last 2 dies are marked 38/357. Don' t ask why the set has mixed dates, I only remember buying an extra sizer in carbide because my 1st LYMAN set had a steel sizer. It was all that I could afford back in '75 when I started building my own reloading set up.
Only the RCBS dies are dated. The LYMAN dies from '75 are marked 38/357.
Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.
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So: Does this mean that the 38/357 is the most common cartridge that we cast for? Me, I cast for my 357, but shoot more cast bullets thru my 30-06. And all my roundball spitting muzzleloaders eat up my lead supply the fastest. How about the rest of you ? Which cartridge do you shoot the most cast bullets with?
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Ross: the MOST for me, 38/357. Then 41mag and 9mm. Gp
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I shoot 1000 30-06's for practice and match shooting. Then about 500 32/20's from rifle and pistol. Maybe 500 32 longs/32 H&R's, and couple hundred 38's and 45's. However, when working for Ed Harris's new bullets, there maybe a couple of hundred "exotics" in there too!!
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A couple bricks of primers a year, more or less, mostly 30's for the military matches and 38-55's for cowboy lever action silhouette. With a few odd balls thrown in depending what I'm dinging with at the time 44 specials, 357's, 218 B, couple of 7mm's etc.
Seems to be slowing down a little though.
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Most years it is 1,000 308s and a few hundred handgun loads - mostly 38 Spec. This year I am going to hit 3,000 243 Winchester and 500 41 mags. Other than matches I seem to be reloading less and shooting more 22 LR.
Jim
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I think the .357 and .38 are going to be hard to separate from each other, (in terms of die sales) most all die sets have that .10" washer so you can set the dies for .38, and then put in the washer to load .357. Rarely have met anyone who loads only for the 38 Special, maybe a guy who is just heavily into bulleseye shooting with a revolver and does not shoot anything else (a rare bird).
I'm not sure anyone makes a dedicated die set only for .38 Special, if I found one I would think it's from back in the 1920's before the .357 was commercialized.
I shoot and reload 38 Spl and not 357 Mag because i cannot tolerate the magnum recoil. I purchased 38 Spl dies within the last 5 years. They didn't come with a .1" washer.
Lifetime NRA since 1956, NRA Benefactor, USN Member, CBA Member
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.45Colt is my first Love, with .44spl a close 2nd. But these days I find myself shooting my old COLT'S & SMITH'S chambered in .38spl the most. Guess my old hands prefer the lighter recoil.
Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.
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