Lately, it's been .38-55, but probably over the years, .45 Colt or .30-06. 7x57 is up there too.
Lately, it's been .38-55, but probably over the years, .45 Colt or .30-06. 7x57 is up there too.
Some time back it was the 45-70 strong actions to the weaker actions black powder or smokeless and even duplex heavy or light cast or jacketed bullets or round ball .
.45 ACP, .38 spcl, .357 magnum, 9mm, .41 magnum, .44 magnum, 223, 25/06, 30/06, guess I just like reloading a whole lot. It keeps me away from the nightly news. My wife said she would rather see me making freedom seeds than watching the news because after I'm done I have a smile on my face instead of a scowl.
For Boolits its 375 Ruger. Love those big heavy rounds. My friend named his Howie the howitzer for the trajectory, altho I find at 100 yards I am shooting within 2 inches of the full power round.
At 75 yrs old, I value any cartridge that's easy to manipulate through the press...for handguns on my pair of Dillon 550B's, it's the .44 Spl. (short for caliber brass so it doesn't tip around, relatively thick case mouth that makes flaring easy to feel and doesn't buckle when crimped (like a 32-20), fat bullets that I can easily place on the flared case mouth, large size primer that's easy to see if it pops out on the floor, and enough loaded cartridge weight that it makes a satisfying 'plunk' when it drops into the load bin.
Add to that...damned near any reasonable load with a good LSWC will produce sub-2" groups in my .44's with holes big enough that you can poke a fore finger in 'em on good target stock. What's not to like...every time I stuff six into my guns, I give a nod to old Elmer and Skeeter for their tutoring on what a grand old cartridge it really is.
Best Regards Rod
Rod
Toss up. 7mmTCU or 250 Sav
35Rem, 9x39 & 300BLK, all narrow shoulders
...Speak softly & carry a big stick...
.300 Weatherby mag and 41 mag.
Steve,
Life Member NRA
Colorado Rifle Club member
Rocky Mtn Gun Owners member
NAGR member
1] Straight wall case, easy to see powder levels
2] Bullets wide enough to hold easily
3] Short enough for fast strokes, light pressure needed to seat the bullet so it is all easy on the arms.
38 Special with swc or wfn and a minimum 5 gr powder charge.
[The Montana Gianni] Front sight and squeeze
.45-70!
Or really any rimmed, straight wall case...
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For me all the ammo I reload are my Favorites, if I have choose a particular cartridge it is still a toss up 30-06 and .45ACP.
For me .38 Special. Started at the kitchen table with a Lyman tong tool.
2nd place is .44 Magnum. Easy to handle.
That's a tricky question , I can't think of a single cartridge I don't enjoy loading .
Hmmm. That is a question that has never crossed my mind. Honestly, I would have to say the one I am currently loading. 4 days ago that was brass, 16 bore shotshells with BP and traditional column. The next day it was plastic hulls cut for 2 1/2 in. chambers on my Lee Load All. Today it might be 10.5 X 47R or 45-90 SS....or any of a couple dozen others. They're all favorites.
"In general, the art of government is to take as much money as possible from one class of citizens and give it to another class of citizens" Voltaire'
The common virtue of capitalism is the sharing of equal opportunity. The common vice of socialism is the equal sharing of misery
NRA Benefactor 2008
30 Badger -small bullet that saves lead, miniscule powder charge (4000 rounds to a pound of powder), no recoil, cheap brass, easy to form, most any soft alloy, works in rifles and pistols - at the height of the ammunition madness cheaper than a 22 if you cast your own.
Like others, the ubiquitous Smith & Wesson .38 Special! Getting over three thousand rounds from but one pound of Bullseye; its almost always-forgiving using cast bullets which, well, might be culled in other calibres; its ability to use cases over and over (albeit some, mostly for me many nickel ones will crack/split after three or four uses -- but other cases -- well, I have some I've used *over* a dozen times), and overall general ease of reloading on my Dillon 550B: Hey, imho, this calibre can not be beaten!
geo
357 magnum, easily. No case lube, lots of different boolit weights and powders to choose from, the cases don't get dirty because they never hit the ground, components of a size easy to handle, doesn't take much lead or powder to make fun loads, and the cases last forever. I have stopped counting how many times I have reloaded my brass, I have literally never had one crack or anything. I bought 1000pcs of Starline brass a while back and I don't think I'll ever have to buy more.
I'm a big fan of data-driven decisions. You want to make me smile, show me a spreadsheet! Extra points for graphs and best-fit predictive equations.
Hard to choose a favorite, I’m like many others here, I enjoy reloading all of them. But.......... having said that, the only one I will load thousands of, is the .38 special. Just something about a button nose wad cutter, and some Bullseye, that is kinda soothing, I feel sure you guys know what I mean. Just my opinion. Be safe.
I firmly believe that you should only get treated by how you act, not by who or what you are!!
30-06 , with rimmed revolver cartridges being a close second .
Jack
Buy it cheap and stack it deep , you may need it !
Black Rifles Matter
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |