whats the hardest round you've loaded?

[cfullgraf]

I do not find any round more difficult to reload than any other, sticking to ammunition available to the civilian shooter.

22x6.8 has the most steps to reduce the case mouth diameter from 6.8 SPC to 22.

300 Blackout requires serious case trimming.

38/45 Clerke requires care to not damage the case when resizing it.

6,5x54 Kurz Mauser has a short case life. 7x57 Mauser lasts a but longer than others parent cases but 7mm-08 is not too bad. 7mm-08 is a bit short when first formed but grows with each shooting.

17 Remington requires some care when reloading. the small case neck causes some problems charging the case and 17 caliber bullets can be different to handle.

 

[Weflyfast]

38-40 and 44-40 are tricky .....and the 17 hornet is a pain with those little needles they call bullets-

 

[racepres]

5.7mm Johnson.

It's a 30 Carbine case necked down to .22.

Contradictory load data, inconsistent barrel diameters (i.e. .233, .2235 and .224), differences in feed-ramp dimensions, all combine to make this the wildcat's wildcat.

Once you conquer all of this - and it has taken me nearly 40 years to do so - you are rewarded with a 40 or 45 grain bullet speeding off to the target at 2,800 to 3,000 fps with essentially no perceived recoil.

Yup...
Like I said...22-30 Oreskey...same same.. Been using 218 Bee data with Zero Problems...Not a speed demon tho!!! Using 10" Contender

 

[DanK3Pos]

8x58R (Danish) isn’t hard to load despite lack of load data - but forming the obsolete cartridge cases from 45-90 brass is a real pain! (finding 45-90 brass isn’t so easy either!)

Starline makes 45-90. It is backordered right now, which means it will ship in a week or two, in my experience.

 

[DanK3Pos]

50 BMG

Waiting on my charge master to dispense 218 grains of powder, takes forever it seems LOL.

Keith

You can gently pour a scoop of powder (Lee powder scoops) while the Chargemaster is dropping powder to speed things up. Of course, as much powder as you are dropping, a plastic protein powder scoop might work better. This only works with larger powder charges.

 

[racepres]

For that much powder...You can bet yer last dollar I make a measure...and forget weighing altogether..
But, I rarely weigh, except to check the Measure (s)

 

[conan32120]

Y'all naming cartridges I never even heard of, guess I'll quit complaining about .380

 

[flyingtiger85]

The hardest round I reload is 223/.556 because there are so many steps involved.You have to lube the shells or they get stuck in the die unlike straight walled cartridges.You have to trim the brass.You also have to remove many of the military crimp primer pockets or the primer will get ruined trying to seat it into position.
And finally the bullet crimping die after all those many other steps are completed.
But I must say,all the work is worth it in the end because factory rounds have gotten so expensive now.

 

[Master Blaster]

.32 acp since it is so small, bullets are hard to handle and seat, powder charge is very small and sensitive to varriation. I cant imagine doing .25 acp.

 

[AJC1]

38-40 and 44-40 are tricky .....and the 17 hornet is a pain with those little needles they call bullets-

Have you seen the rcbs match master seating dies. You just drop a bullet into the window and pull the lever. My first one was 308, pretty nice, but my greatest joy was 223 because I no longer pinched my fingers... there may be other window style dies.

 

[blue32]

.32 acp since it is so small, bullets are hard to handle and seat, powder charge is very small and sensitive to varriation. I cant imagine doing .25 acp.

I began reloading 32 auto with Hornady 71 gr FMJs. Those little things were so slippery!

 

[loadedround]

Took me awhile to get 357 Sig rounds to where I had 100% chambering and ejection. Found that seating and case length are critical to factory specs in my Sig pistol.

 

[twarr1]

5.7x28, It’s not rocket science, it’s more complex

 

[GW Staar]

.22-.243 wildcat. Not because it was inherently hard, but because I got probably the only custom Redding Rifle sizer in history that they goofed up on.

But now-a-days it'll probably be the next (if there is a next) NEW caliber I reload. It's the New vs. Old. New caliber ..... old reloader.

17 Remington small bullets thin necks small hole to get powder in

I have one of those......I buy the ammo.

 

[kerreckt]

32acp is the only one that gives me aggravation. I have just started loading it so that is probably the biggest factor. It is also the smallest round I reload with my big fat hands. Best wishes!!

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

I'd have to say the 357 Herrett.
A wildcat? case.

The brass prep was interesting.
Making the cases out of .30.30 Winchester brass.
Tedious but fun.

I currently have over 200 rounds loaded, more brass ready to go.
Should last me the rest of my life. or

 

[Jimster]

I’ve been lucky but of all the calibers I’ve reload only the 44-40 took two cases destroyed before before I got it dialed in just right. Now it’s my favorite cartridge to reload (blackpowder of course).