Reloading

Crosshair

Hi all,
This is my first post so here goes!
I was looking at the possibility of reloading cartridges, i know
there is quite a bit of this going on, mostly for target shooters,
however I am interested only as a means of reducing bullet cost,
rather that improving accuracy.
I shoot a swift and most of you will probably know these are quite
expensive to feed with cartridges.
The issue of dies and presses isnt a problem to obtain, but it
seems that components are not to be got on this island.
Any one have any ideas/opinions on sourcing the above?
Thanks in advance

Irishglockfan

Welcome to the group crosshair,
you are right.it is sofar legally impossible AFIK to get powder or primers or the shell cases,but since you have those the first two are more important.They fall under explosives and the revelant act.There is no problem"customising" your ammo.IE ripping down factory ammo and setting it to your specs,hence the availibility of the presses,etc.Altho why bother?factory ammo is always a safer and more consistent option.
Maybe if one could get a blaster/demolition liscense one could possibly import then some nitro powder,but for the trouble involved,is it worth it?

bernard93

Hi cross hair,

If you want to get into reloading to cut down on ammo costs for your .22 hornet, then I think your wasting your time! The initial cost of press, dies and all the other stuff that you need is going to come to around £350 to £400, that’s if you’re getting decent stuff.

The idea behind reloading I think is the ability to customize the load you are using for your rifle and in turn maximize your overall accuracy, not saving money.

If you wanted to get components in the U.K. then it is possible to get them send across to you, there some dealers there that will ship to you, or you could go over by ferry and get the stuff in North Wales.

In England and Wales it’s possible to purchase primers and powder over the counter in gun shops as it’s not illegal to hold these as individual units but once you load a round of ammo which you do not hold a license for that’s when it becomes illegal!

Hope this helps

Bernard

civdef

Has any formal approach ever been made by a shooting organisation to the DoJ to allow reloading?

Also, an anyone indicate the specific pieces of legislation used to ban reloading? - This isn't a rhetorical question btw - I'm genuinely ignorant on this matter

Musashi

Bernard93,
He did say he shoots a .220 Swift, not a hornet. If he were to find a dealer to ship powder or small rifle primers to him, he does not have a legal right to have them here in Ireland (Republic of). If he is in the Northern counties there should be no need to get gear shipped over as it could be sourced locally to him.
Customising loads is allowed but unless you are a serious shooter, Bench Rest or Long Range for example, you will not really reap the rewards accuracy wise.
There is no reason a reloaded round can not be as safe or more consistent than factory loads, match ammo notwithstanding.
There is an awful lot of work in reloading for accuracy,or just mass producing rounds for some cheap target shooting! Brass has to be sorted and cleaned,old primers ejected, all brass resized and trimmed and measured. Necks chamfered,powder weighed,cases reprimed Carefully! Heads seated and measured.Do you want a compressed loading? What rate of burn do you want depending on barrel length and rate of twist and Grain weight of the head,are you shooting a Spitzer or a BoatTail, A Ballistic Tip or Black Talon?
You need a good book or someone who knows what they are at to get into loading, if it is ever legalised over here.
The Swift is an accurate round out of a slightly longer barrel than average,like the Remington rifles with the heavy "bull" barrell, but does have a tendency to hang in the mag or floorplate if incorectly stacked due to the rim on the case.
Overall a fine gun for Fox and great fun for long range target blasting, have fun with yours!!

bernard93

Sorry about the using the wrong calibre!

Musashi can you show me the piece of legislation which states that reloading is illegal in the south of Ireland! as far as I know reloading is not illegal and the only way shooters are being stopped doing it is the dept of justice will not grant an import license for powder and primers...

If you can source those items yourself (either by post or by collection in the U.k) then as far as Im aware you should be able to do so!

I know a lot of people, who are doing it now, and they enjoy the fact that there is brass work involved; if you have a proper reloading set up (tumbler, full length or neck dies, press, lube, powder measure, load book and a good bullet seater) you should be able to reload 100 rounds in around an hour! There really is nothing to it!

And I think its adds a little bit more to your shooting as a whole, you feel like your taking variables out of your shooting position, once you know you have a 1/4 or 1/2moa load that will go where you point it, you can concentrate on building your position, focusing on trigger control, breathing and the front and rear sights of your rifle.

bernard

gouda

civdef wrote:

Has any formal approach ever been made by a shooting organisation to the DoJ to allow reloading?

Also, an anyone indicate the specific pieces of legislation used to ban reloading? - This isn't a rhetorical question btw - I'm genuinely ignorant on this matter

DoJ Catch 22. Under the Firearms Act(s), "a firearms licence entitles the holder to have in his/her possession X (usually 100) rounds of ammunition or the component parts thereof". Ergo, anyone with reloading components in their possession for their particular calibre is not in breach of the Firearms Act(s), provided that they do not make more than is covered by their licence. However, an Import licence is required to import Primers or Powder and current DoJ policy is not to issue such Import licences. The NRPAI and FLAG have made comprehensive submissions on this issue and reloading is one of the items being considered under the proposed review of firearms legislation. There is no specific "ban" on reloading and if you can check the Firearms Act(s) you will find that it states what I have quoted or pretty close. I think the wording is almost identical. Anyway, I have searched the Act(s) previously and could not find any direct reference to a ban on reloading. In summary,you can have them but you cannot import them without an Import licence. However, if you travel to the UK and purchase them and return with them in your possession it gets very cloudy. You are allowed to have them, you can't import them,you are allowed purchase items in other EU countries that are not banned here,so it should be OK, however if they are classed as explosives they are covered by other Oireachtas Acts. I have tried Customs for clarification on this to no avail, however,considering that the DoJ have a Firearms and Explosives unit, they probably are classed as explosives. I have been told by a Garda Sergeant friend that the Gardai tried (and failed) to prosecute two members of the Gardai for reloading. I don't know on what grounds the prosecution failed but both people concerned are still in the Gardai. Does that makes it all very clear for you,civ.

Irishglockfan

travel to the UK and purchase them and return with them in your possession

DONT DO THAT!!!!
you will fall foul[if caught] of the air navigation act,regarding transporting of explosive substances.airlines take a very dim view of people transporting explosive substances without their say so.ditto for ferry operators.not to mind that the stuff will proably set off every explosive detector in the airport as well.All in all not worth the risk.

I have been told by a Garda Sergeant friend that the Gardai tried (and failed) to prosecute two members of the Gardai for reloading. I don't know on what grounds the prosecution failed but both people concerned are still in the Gardai.

Thats odd.Considering that in 1992/3? a SB garda was awarded a prize for suggesting and setting up a reloading facility for garda ammo used in firearms training.Only other case i heard was a prosecution in the NW where the gardai tried to do a deer hunter for possesion of components to manufacture ammo.It was thrown out due to the fact that it was proven that the hunter was custom building his loads and didnt have any extra supply of powder or primers.[belive this was in the Irish shooters digest as well].

Sheesh!! if the gun laws here in this great little country are clear as mud,what are the reloading laws like??

civdef

Does that makes it all very clear for you,civ.

Yep, that's pretty much my understanding too, in other words another dose of the wonderful DoJ "current policy"

Any legal experts here, if we are allowed have something in our possession by virtue of having a firearms licence, how can the DoJ legally prevent us from doing so?

Sparks

Probably because possession and importation are seperate things civ (legally at least). Same thing as is causing all the confusion with pistols at the moment.

Traumadoc

I reload (here in Australia), its very enjoyable, and you can get very into it- there is not much saving on the factory stuff which costs 10-15 euro for 20.

Reloading 1000 rounds of 270 win costs about 315 euro (powder, primer and projectiles).

If you do decide to reload a good idea is to get a reloading video (RCBS do a good one). it will save you a lot of time and money in the longrun.

Last time I was in Dublin 20 rounds were nearly 30 euro has that price dropped?

Musashi

If it helps when my best friend was arrested all his reloading gear was seized and he was summonsed for every bit of it he had.He totalled 69 summonses under the offences against the state act.In the end the judge did not prosecute him too heavily but he lost his licence to hold a firearm,which was possibly the worst outcome for him!
He also did not get any of his gear back,legal or not.They were also very curious why anyone would want 10,000 small rifle primers,apparently "they were on sale" was not good enough! :cool:
I have loaded on a multi station press and you will fling out serviceable ammo in short order.For hunting I prefer to use a single station press and measure everything to produce "clones" which will go where I want them every time.
I think the single stage press was a "Rock Chucker", big beast of a yoke.
I do not reload here in Ireland though,but was very into the whole thing when I was doing it, even going to the length of having a piece of barrel blank cut so I could measure rounds from the Ogive rather than overall length