Misplaced Pages

#623376

89-702: With the introduction of modern firearms in the 19th century, and mass-production of reloadable cartridges beginning with the Murata rifle , the need for group hunting for bear has diminished, leading to a decline in Matagi culture. Matagi hamlets are found in the districts of Nishitsugaru and Nakatsugaru ( Aomori Prefecture ), Kitaakita and Senboku ( Akita Prefecture ), Waga ( Iwate Prefecture ), Nishiokitama and Tsuruoka ( Yamagata Prefecture ), Murakami and Nakauonuma ( Niigata Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture ). Specialised Matagi hunting vocabulary contains

178-416: A 25 lb. bag of lead shot can only reload approximately 355 shotshells. At 7/8 oz. per shotshell, a 25 lb. of lead shot can reload 457 shotshells. At 24 grams per shotshell, a 25 lb of lead shot can reload approximately 472 shotshells. Stretching the number of hulls that it is possible to reload from an industry-standard 25 lb. bag of lead shot by 117 shells has significantly helped mitigate

267-475: A Matagi character named Souichirou Kumatori who attempts to hunt the main character, a deer, for a procession of a local festival in his hometown in Hokkaido . The main character, Hitomi, of the comic book series with the same name by HS Take and Isabella Mazantini is said to be a Matagi. Handloading Handloading , or reloading , is the practice of making firearm cartridges by manually assembling

356-511: A case will stretch depends upon load pressure, cartridge design, chamber size, functional cartridge headspace (usually the most important factor), and other variables. Periodically cases need to be trimmed to bring them back to proper specifications. Most reloading manuals list both a trim size and a max length . Long cases can create a safety hazard through improper headspace and possible increased pressure. Several kinds of case trimmers are available. Die-based trimmers have an open top and allow

445-435: A certain make of reloading press, while modern dies are standardized and will fit a wide variety of presses. Different shell holders than those used for dies are also required for use with some hand priming tools (e.g., Lee Autoprime tool.) A precision weighing scale is a near necessity for reloading. While it is possible to load using nothing but a powder measure and a weight-to-volume conversion chart, this greatly limits

534-476: A charge bar to drop precise amounts of shot and powder. Most commonly, these charge bars are fixed in their capacities, with a single charge bar rated at, say, 1-1/8 oz. of lead shot, with a switchable powder bushing that permits dropping precisely measured fixed amounts of different types of powder repetitively (e.g., MEC.) On the other hand, some charge bars are drilled to accept bushings for dropping different fixed amounts of both shot and powder (e.g. Texan.) For

623-471: A crimp. Special crimping dies are often used to apply a stronger crimp after the bullet is seated. Progressive presses sometimes use an additional "die" to meter powder into the case (though it is arguably not a real die as it does not shape the case). Standard dies are made from hardened steel , and require that the case be lubricated, for the resizing operation, which requires a large amount of force. Rifle cartridges require lubrication of every case, due to

712-467: A die, there are stuck case remover tools that are available to remove a stuck case from the die, albeit at the loss of the particular case that became stuck.) Powder should always be stored in original containers since they are designed to split open at low pressure to prevent a dangerous pressure buildup, and any cabinet they are stored in should similarly prevent pressure buildup by allowing venting and expansion. Production line A production line

801-401: A different ogive shape. It is only by measuring from a fixed diameter point on a bullet ogive to the start of a bore's rifling that proper spacing can be determined to maximize accuracy. A modified case gauge can provide the means by which to achieve an improvement in accuracy with precision handloads. Such head space gauges and modified case gauges can, respectively, permit greatly increasing

890-410: A firearm owner to tailor fresh ammunition to a specific firearm, and to precisely measured tolerances far improving the comparatively wide tolerances within which commercial ammunition manufacturers must operate. Recurring shortages of commercial ammunition are also reasons to reload cartridges and shotshells. Store-bought ammunition may be unavailable at when commercial supplies are exhausted, but having

979-437: A hunter in a family already has a full-power rifle and a new hunter in the family wishes to learn the sport. This technique also enables hunters to use the same rifle and caliber to hunt a greater diversity of game. There are three aspects to ballistics : internal ballistics , external ballistics , and terminal ballistics . Internal ballistics refers to things that happen inside the firearm during and after firing, but before

SECTION 10

#1732773396624

1068-468: A month, progressive presses are often chosen. A single-stage press can typically reload 100 hulls in approximately an hour. Progressive presses can typically reload upwards of 400 or 500 hulls an hour. Shotshell presses are most commonly operated in non-batch modes. That is, a single hull will often be deprimed, reshaped, primed, loaded with powder, have a wad pressed in, be loaded with shot, be pre-crimped, and then be final crimped before being removed and

1157-514: A more equal distribution of flame from the primer to ignite the powder charge, resulting in consistent ignition from case to case. Bottleneck rifle cartridges are particularly prone to encounter incipient head separations if they are full-length re-sized and re-trimmed to their maximum permitted case lengths each time they are reloaded. In some such cartridges, such as the .303 British when used in Enfield rifles, as few as 1 or 2 reloadings can be

1246-414: A motor (electric drills are sometimes used) and special dies or fittings that hold the case to be trimmed at the appropriate length, letting the motor do the work of trimming. Primer pocket cleaning tools are used to remove residual combustion debris remaining in the primer pocket; both brush designs and single blade designs are commonly used. Dirty primer pockets can prevent setting primers at, or below,

1335-400: A myriad of various measuring tools and accessory products on the market for use in conjunction with handloading. The quintessential handloading equipment is the press , which uses compound leverage to push the cases into a die that performs the loading operations. Presses vary from simple, inexpensive single-stage models, to complex "progressive" models that operate with each pull of

1424-406: A new hull being placed on the shotshell press at station 1. An alternative, somewhat faster method, often used on a single stage press is to work on 5 hulls in parallel sequentially, with but a single processed hull being located at each of the 5 stations available on a single stage shotshell press, while manually removing the finished shotshell from station 5 and then moving the 4 in-process hulls to

1513-465: A number of Ainu language words. The word "matagi" itself may be Ainu, from matangi or matangitono , meaning "man of winter" or "hunter". According to Lee and Hasegawa, the Matagi are the historical descendants of Ainu-speaking hunters and fishermen who migrated down from Hokkaido into parts of Honshu. They also contributed several Ainu derived toponyms and loanwords, related to geography and certain forest and water animals which they hunted, to

1602-598: A press to remove military case primer pocket crimps. Shotshell presses are generally a single unit of the "H" configuration that handles all functions, dedicated to reloading just one gauge of shotshell. Shotshell reloading is similar to cartridge reloading, except that, instead of a bullet, a wad and a measure of shot are used, and after loading the shot, the shell is crimped shut. Both 6 and 8 fold crimps are in use, for paper hulls and plastic hulls, respectively. Likewise, roll crimps are in use for metallic, paper, and plastic hulls. The shotshell loader contains stations to resize

1691-504: A progressive press. Turret press , most commonly of the "C" type, is similar to a single-stage press, but has an indexed mounting disc that allows multiple dies to be quickly interchanged, with each die being fastened with lock rings. Batch operations are performed similar to a single-stage press, different procedures can be switched by simply rotating the turret and placing a different die into position. Although turret presses operate much like single-stage presses, they eliminate much of

1780-604: A real modern day Matagi named Uesugi, who was a friend of the main characters who helped preserve the Akita breed of dog, which they used extensively for hunting. Matagi figure as primary characters in the novel, The Girl with the Face of the Moon by Ellis Amdur. In the manga series Golden Kamuy a Matagi hunter named Tanigaki Genjirou is prominently featured, as well as Ainu culture in general. My Deer Friend Nokotan also features

1869-589: A sequence of treatments to render them useful. For metal, the processes include crushing, smelting and further refining. For plants, the useful material has to be separated from husks or contaminants and then treated for onward sale. Early production processes were constrained by the availability of a source of energy , with wind mills and water mills providing power for the crude heavy processes and manpower being used for activities requiring more precision. In earlier centuries, with raw materials, power and people often being in different locations, production

SECTION 20

#1732773396624

1958-436: A shotshell press often exceeds the cost of buying a new shotshell press outright, as shotshell presses typically come from the factory already set up to reload one gauge or bore of shotshell. Hence, it is common to use a dedicated shotshell press for reloading each gauge or bore of shotshell used. Likewise, the price of shot for reloading shotshells over the last several years has also risen significantly, such that lead shot that

2047-417: A single caliber of cartridge, although they can be, but are configured for reloading various cartridge calibers as needed. In contrast, shotshell presses are most often configured for reloading just one gauge of shotshell, e.g., 12 gauge, and are rarely, if ever, reconfigured for reloading other gauges of shotshells, as the cost of buying all new dies, shot bar, and powder bushing as required to switch gauges on

2136-681: A special swage anvil die that can be mounted into a standard "O" style loading press, along with a special shell holder insert with either a large or a small primer pocket insert swage that is then inserted into the position on the "O" press where a normal shell holder is usually clicked into position. This way, both small and large primer pockets on different types of military cases can be properly processed to remove primer pocket crimps. Both types of presses can be used to remove either ring crimps or stab crimps found on military cartridges when reloading them. Reamers for removing primer pocket crimps are not associated with presses, being an alternative to using

2225-606: A third is added for crimping. This is an extra operation and is not needed unless a gun's magazine or action design requires crimped ammunition for safe operation, such as autoloading firearms, where the cycling of the action may push the bullet back in the case, resulting in poor accuracy and increased pressures. Crimping is also sometimes recommended to achieve full velocity for bullets, through increasing pressures so as to make powders burn more efficiently, and for heavy recoiling loads, to prevent bullets from moving under recoil. For FMJ bullets mounted in bottleneck cases, roll crimping

2314-519: A time in the forest. In the modern day, some Matagi have come into conflict with environmental activists, due to concerns over deforestation and the depletion of certain animal species. The Matagi no longer hunt the Japanese serow , which is protected, but continue to hunt bear by special license. Matagi are referenced and described in the biographical novel Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain by Martha Sherrill, alongside descriptions of

2403-768: A time, before proceeding to the next processing step. This difference is largely a result of shotshell presses having 5 stations available for use simultaneously, unlike a single-stage cartridge press which typically has but one station available for use. In general, though, shotshell reloading is far more complex than rifle and pistol cartridge reloading, and hence far fewer shotshell presses are therefore used relative to rifle and pistol cartridge reloading presses. Reloading presses for reloading .50 BMG and larger cartridges are also typically caliber-specific, much like shotshell presses, as standard-size rifle and pistol reloading presses are not capable of being pressed into such exotic reloading service. The reloading of such large cartridges

2492-525: Is a fundamental prerequisite for success where the most extreme accuracy is demanded, such as in rifle benchrest shooting , but can only be done consistently accurately following load development to determine what cartridge components work best with a specific rifle. Customized performance is a common goal of handloaders. Hunters may desire cartridges with specialized bullets with specific terminal performance . Target shooters often experiment extensively with component combinations in an effort to achieve

2581-399: Is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward consumption. Typically, raw materials such as metal ores or agricultural products such as foodstuffs or textile source plants like cotton and flax require

2670-446: Is also much more complex, as developing a load using a specific lot of powder can require nearly all of a 5 lb. bottle of powder and a load must be developed with a single load of powder for reasons of safety. Dies are generally sold in sets of two or three units, depending on the shape of the case. A three-die set is needed for straight cases, while a two-die set is used for bottlenecked cases. The first die of either set performs

2759-610: Is for making specialized shotgun shells, such as for providing lowered recoil, when making low-cost "poppers" used for training retrievers before hunting season to acclimate hunting dogs to the sound of a gun firing without actually shooting projectiles, for achieving better shot patterning, or for providing other improvements or features not available in commercially loaded shotshells at any price, such as when handloading obsolete shotshells with brass cases for gauges of shotshells that are no longer commercially manufactured. Rifle and pistol loading presses are usually not dedicated to reloading

Matagi - Misplaced Pages Continue

2848-764: Is generally not ever used unless a cannelure is present on the bullet, to prevent causing bullet deformation when crimping. Rimless, straight wall cases, on the other hand, require a taper crimp, because they have headspace on the case mouth; roll crimping causes headspacing problems on these cartridges. Rimmed, belted, or bottleneck cartridges, however, generally can safely be roll crimped when needed. Three dies are normally supplied for straight-walled cases, with an optional fourth die for crimping. Crimps for straight wall cases may be taper crimps, suitable for rimless cartridges used in autoloaders, or roll crimps, which are best for rimmed cartridges such as are used in revolvers. There are also specialty dies. Bump dies are designed to move

2937-404: Is often faster than trying to integrate a priming step to a press step, and also often more robust than a model that needs to be mounted and fitted onto a press, resulting in a more consistent primer seating depth. Beginning reloading kits often include a weight-to-volume conversion chart for a selection of common powders and a set of powder volume measures graduated in small increments. By adding

3026-474: Is possible to measure precisely the distance from a bullet ogive to the start of rifling in a particular rifle for a given bottleneck cartridge. Maximum accuracy for a rifle is often found to occur for only one particular fixed distance from the start of rifling in a bore to a datum line on a bullet ogive. Measuring the overall cartridge length does not permit setting such fixed distances accurately, as different bullets from different manufacturers will often have

3115-417: Is the "hand die". A hand die has no threads and is operated—as the name suggests—by hand or by use of a hand-operated arbor press. Hand dies are available for most popular cartridges, and although available as full-length resizing dies, they are most commonly seen as neck sizing dies. These use an interchangeable insert to size the neck, and these inserts come in 1/1000-inch steps so that the user can custom fit

3204-474: Is the more general term, and refers generically to the manual assembly of ammunition cartridges. Reloading refers more specifically to handloading using previously fired cases and shotshells . The terms are often used interchangeably however, as the techniques are largely the same, whether the handloader is using new or recycled components. The differences lie in the initial preparation of cases or shells — new components are generally ready to load straight out of

3293-412: Is used for uniforming small rifle/pistol primer pockets. Flash hole uniforming tools are used to remove any burrs, which are residual brass remaining from the manufacturing punching operation used in creating flash holes. These tools resemble primer pocket uniformer tools, except being thinner, and commonly include deburring, chamfering, and uniforming functions. The purpose of these tools is to achieve

3382-563: The Industrial Revolutions of Europe and North America . Thus, from the processing of raw materials into useful goods, the next step was the concept of the assembly line , as introduced by Eli Whitney . This was taken to the next stage at the Ford Motor Company in 1913, where Henry Ford introduced the innovation of continuously moving the cars being assembled past individual workstations. This introduced

3471-523: The SAAMI standards common in the United States, and will not permit seating a Boxer primer manufactured to U.S. standards; the use of a primer pocket uniformer tool on such brass avoids setting Boxer primers high when reloading, which would be a safety issue. Two sizes of primer pocket uniformer tools exist, the larger one is for large rifle (0.130-inch nominal depth) primer pockets and the smaller one

3560-467: The ability to reload one's own cartridges and shotshells allows continue shooting despite shortages. Collectors of rare, antique and foreign-made firearms must often turn to handloading because the appropriate cartridges and shotshells are no longer commercially available. Handloaders can also create cartridges for which no commercial equivalent has ever existed — the so-called wildcat cartridges , some of which can eventually acquire mainstream acceptance if

3649-518: The ballistic performance is proven to be good enough. Handloading components can be acquired at discounted prices when purchased in bulk. Inexpensive "tong" tools have been used for reloading since the mid-19th century. They resemble a large pair of pliers and can be caliber-specific or have interchangeable dies. However, in modern days, handloading equipments are sophisticated machine tools that emphasize on precision and reliability, and often cost more than high-end shooting optics . There are also

Matagi - Misplaced Pages Continue

3738-517: The base disc, and often also include an additional vacant station where the powder levels are manually checked to prevent over- or under-charges. Progressive presses can load hundreds of cartridges sequentially with streamlined efficiency, and all the user has to do is pulling the lever, occasionally provide manual inputs such as placing the bullet in place on the case mouth (if a bullet feeder is not used). Primer pocket swages can be either standalone, bench-mounted, specialized presses, or, alternatively,

3827-411: The best and most consistent bullet trajectories , often using cartridge cases that have been fire formed in order to best fit the chamber of a specific firearm. Shotgun shooters can make specialty rounds unavailable through commercial inventories at any price. Some handloaders even customize cartridges and shotshells to reduce recoil for shooters who might otherwise avoid shooting sports because of

3916-408: The box, while previously fired components often need additional preparation procedures, such as removal of expended primers ("depriming"), case cleaning (to remove any fouling or rust ) and the reshaping and resizing of cases (to correct any pre-existing deformations or to experiment with custom modifications ). Some consider handloading cartridges or shotshells a hobby, but reloading can save

4005-619: The bullet leaves the muzzle. The handloading process can realize increased accuracy and precision through improved consistency of manufacture, by selecting the optimal bullet weight and design, and tailoring bullet velocity to the purpose. Each cartridge reloaded can have each component carefully matched to the rest of the cartridges in the batch. Brass cases can be matched by volume, weight, and concentricity, bullets by weight and design, powder charges by weight, type, case filling (amount of total usable case capacity filled by charge), and packing scheme (characteristics of granule packing). Handloading

4094-400: The bullet puller from functioning. Pushing the bullet into the case slightly with a seating die will break the seal, and allow the bullet to be pulled. Primers are a more problematic issue. If a primer is not seated deeply enough, the cartridge (if loaded) can be pulled, and the primer re-seated with the seating tool. Primers that must be removed are frequently deactivated first—either firing

4183-406: The bullet, and are often shaped like hammers . When in use, the case is locked in place in a head-down fashion inside the far end of the "hammer", and then the device is swung and struck against a firm surface. The sharp impact will suddenly decelerate the case, but the inertia exerted by the heavier mass of the bullet will keep it moving and thus pull it free from the case in a few blows, while

4272-482: The cartridge head. Primer pocket reamers or swagers are used to remove military crimps in primer pockets. Primer pocket uniformer tools are used to achieve a uniform primer pocket depth. These are small endmills with a fixed depth-spacing ring attached, and are mounted either in a handle for use as a handtool, or are sometimes mounted in a battery-operated screwdriver. Some commercial cartridges (notably Sellier & Bellot) use large rifle primers that are thinner than

4361-426: The case mouth. There are 3 types of reloading scales: Single-stage presses often do not provide an easy way of installing primers to ("priming") cases. Various add-on tools can be used for priming the case on the down-stroke, or a separate tool can be used. Since cases loaded by a single-stage press are done in steps, with the die being changed between steps, a purpose-made priming tool (so-called "primer" tool) —

4450-486: The case to be trimmed with a file during the loading process. Manual trimmers usually have a base that has a shellholder at one end and a cutting bit at the opposite end, with a locking mechanism to hold the case tight and in alignment with the axis of the cutter, similar to a small lathe. Typically the device is cranked by hand, but sometimes they have attachments to allow the use of a drill or powered screwdriver. Powered case trimmers are also available. They usually consist of

4539-478: The case. In contrast to full-length resizing of bottleneck rifle cartridges, which can rapidly thin out the wall thickness of bottleneck rifle cartridges due to case stretching that occurs each time when fired, partial length re-sizing of the bottleneck case pushes shoulders back only a few thousandths of an inch will often permit a case to be safely reloaded 5 times or more, even up to 10 times, or more for very light loads. Similarly, by using modified case gauges, it

SECTION 50

#1732773396624

4628-422: The complexity and difficulty of reloading shotshells. Substitution of components is not considered safe, as changing just one component, such as a brand of primer, can increase pressures by as much as 3500 PSI, which may exceed SAAMI pressure limits. Reloading shotshells is therefore more along the lines of precisely following a recipe with non-fungible components. Where shotshell reloading remains popular, however,

4717-414: The components can be salvaged for re-use. Surplus military ammunition is often pulled for components, particularly cartridge cases, which are often difficult to obtain for older foreign military rifles. Military ammunition is often tightly sealed, to make it resistant to water and rough handling, such as in machine gun feeding mechanisms. In this case, the seal between the bullet and cartridge can prevent

4806-541: The cost of needed equipment, but those who shoot more frequently will see cost-savings over time, as the brass cartridge cases and shotgun shell hulls, which are often the most expensive components, can be reused with proper maintenance. Rather than purchasing a special purpose rifle, which a novice or adolescent shooter might outgrow, a single rifle can be used with special handloaded rounds until such time more powerful rounds become appropriate. This use of specialized handloading techniques may offer significant cost savings when

4895-414: The dies used. Carbide pistol dies do not require case lubricant. For this reason, they are preferred by many, being inherently less messy in operation. In contrast, all dies for bottleneck cartridges, whether made of high-strength steel or carbide, and steel dies for pistols do require the use of a case lubricant to prevent a case become stuck in a die. (In the event that a case does ever become stuck in

4984-456: The distance from the head of the cartridge to the middle of the shoulder of the bottleneck cartridge case. For semi-automatic and automatic rifles, the customary practice is to move the midpoint of this shoulder back by no more than 0.005 inches, for reliable operation, when resizing the case. For bolt-action rifles, with their additional camming action, the customary practice is to move this shoulder back by only 0.001 to 0.002 inches when resizing

5073-661: The functioning die/module need to be manually removed and changed. When using a single-stage press, cases are loaded in batches , one step for each cartridge per batch at a time. The batch sizes are kept small, about 20–50 cases at a time, so the cases are never left in a partially completed state for long because extended exposure to humidity and light can degrade the powder. Single-stage presses are commonly most used for high-precision rifle cartridge handloading, but may be used for high-precision reloading of all cartridge types, and for fine-tuning loads (developing loading recipes) for ultimately mass-producing large numbers of cartridges on

5162-415: The high recoil of certain firearms. Some handloaders make increased-power ammunition (i.e. "hot loads") if higher muzzle velocities (hence flatter trajectories) are desired. The equipment used to assemble the cartridge has an effect on its uniformity/consistency and optimal shape/size. Dies used to size the cartridges can be matched to the chamber of a given gun. Modern handloading equipment enables

5251-422: The idea of standardization . The assembly line was a contraption of many chains and links that moved to place different parts into various places throughout the car. The chassis of the car was moved along the 45-metre line by a chain conveyor and then 140 workers applied their assigned parts to the chassis. Other workers brought additional parts to the car builders to keep them stocked. The assembly line decreased

5340-420: The individual components ( metallic / polymer case , primer , propellant and projectile ), rather than purchasing mass-assembled , factory-loaded commercial ammunition. (It should not be confused with the reloading of a firearm with cartridges, such as by swapping detachable magazines , or using a stripper clip or speedloader to quickly insert new cartridges into a magazine.) The term handloading

5429-632: The large amount of force required, while smaller, thinner handgun cartridges can get away with alternating lubricated and unlubricated cases. Carbide dies have a ring of tungsten carbide , which is far harder and slicker than tool steel, and so carbide dies do not require lubrication. Modern reloading dies are generally standardized with 7/8-14 (or, for the case of .50 BMG dies, with 1-1/4×12) threads and are interchangeable with all common brands of presses, although older dies may use other threads and be press-specific. Dies for bottleneck cases usually are supplied in sets of at least two dies, though sometimes

SECTION 60

#1732773396624

5518-417: The large increase in the price of lead shot. That this change has also resulted in minimal changes to scores in shooting sports such as skeet and trap has only expedited the switch among high volume shooters to shooting 24 gm. shotshells with their lesser amounts of shot. With the recent shortages over 2012–2013 of 12 gauge shotshells in the United States (among all other types of rifle and pistol ammunition),

5607-420: The letter "C". Both steel and aluminum construction are seen with "C" presses. Some users prefer "C" style presses over "O" presses, as there is more room to place bullets into cartridge mouths on "C" presses. Shotshell style presses, intended for non-batch use, for which each shotshell or cartridge is cycled through the dies before commencing onto the next shotshell or cartridge to be reloaded, commonly resemble

5696-403: The letter "H". Single-stage press , generally of the "O" or "C" types, is the simplest of press designs. These presses can only hold one die and perform a single procedure on a single case at any time. They are usually only used to crimp the case neck onto the bullet, and if the user wants to perform any different procedures with the press (e.g. priming, powder dispensing, neck resizing),

5785-526: The lever like an assembly line at rates up to 10 rounds per minute. Loading presses are often categorized by the letter of the English alphabet that they most resemble in shape: "O", "C", and "H". The sturdiest presses, suitable for bullet swaging functions as well as for normal reloading die usage, are of the "O" type. Heavy steel completely encloses the single die on these presses. Equally sturdy presses for all but bullet swaging use often resemble

5874-437: The limit before the head of the cartridge will physically separate from the body of the cartridge when fired. The solution to this problem, of avoiding overstretching of the brass case, and thereby avoiding the excessive thinning of the wall thickness of the brass case due to case stretching, is to use what is called a "headspace gauge". Contrary to its name, it does not actually measure a rifle's headspace . Rather, it measures

5963-426: The local Japonic-speaking people. The Matagi have a unique culture that centers around their belief in mountain gods and distinct law. For them, hunting is a way of life, and not a form of sport. The animals hunted are perceived as gifts from the mountain gods, and the Matagi have a certain way to butcher and prepare the animal. After the animal is killed, it is praised, and the spirit comforted. Then, to recompense for

6052-439: The loss of life, everything, from the fur to the internal organs, is used. Emphasis is put on the act of taking an animal's life through ceremony and reflection, which is then passed along to future generations of Matagi. The Matagi live in small hamlets of the mountain beech forests of Tōhoku and engage in agriculture during the planting and harvest season. In the winter and early spring, they form hunting bands that spend weeks at

6141-443: The neck of the case to his own chamber or have greater control over neck tension on the bullet. A shell holder, generally sold separately, is needed to hold the case in place as it is forced into and out of the dies. The reason shellholders are sold separately is that many cartridges share the same base dimensions, and a single shell holder can service many different cases. Shellholders are also specialized, and will generally only fit

6230-410: The next station (1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5) before adding a new hull at the deprimer (station 1) location. Both these modes of shotshell reloading are in distinct contrast to the common practice used with reloading pistol and rifle cartridges on a single-stage press, which is most often processed in batch modes, where a common operation will commonly be done on a batch of up to 50 or 100 cartridges at

6319-510: The number of times a rifle bottleneck case can be reloaded safely, as well as improve greatly the accuracy of such handloads. Unlike the situation with using expensive factory ammunition, handloaded match ammunition can be made that is vastly more accurate, and, through reloading, that can be much more affordable than anything that can be purchased, being customized for a particular rifle. The following materials are needed for handloading ammunition: Case lubrication may also be needed depending on

6408-430: The other hand, are capable of reloading both lead and steel shot, being adjustable. Like their pistol and rifle counterparts, shotshell presses are available in both single-stage and progressive varieties. For shooters shooting fewer than approximately 500 shells a month, and especially shooting fewer than 100 shells a month, a single-stage press is often found to be adequate. For shooters shooting larger numbers of shells

6497-647: The popularity of reloading 12 gauge shotshells has seen a widespread resurgence. Field use of the International 24 gm. 12 gauge shells has proven them to be effective on small game, while stretching the number of reloads possible from a bag of shot, and they have subsequently become popular for hunting small game. Since shot shells are typically reloaded at least 5 times, although upwards of 15 times are often possible for lightly loaded shells, this transition to field use of 24 gm. loads has helped mitigate ammunition shortages for hunters. Shotshell presses typically use

6586-532: The powder and bullet will get caught by a trapping container within the puller after the separation. Collet -type pullers are also available, which use a caliber-specific clamp to grip the bullet, while a loading press is used to pull the case downwards. It is essential that the collet be a good match for the bullet diameter because a poor match can result in significant deformation of the bullet. Bullet pullers are also used to disassemble loaded ammunition of questionable provenance or undesirable configuration so that

6675-429: The precision with which a load can be adjusted, increasing the danger of accidentally overloading cartridges with powder for loads near or at the maximum safe load. With a powder scale, an adjustable powder measure can be calibrated more precisely for the powder in question, and spot checks can be made during loading to make sure that the measure is not drifting. With a powder trickler, a charge can be measured directly into

6764-446: The primed case in the appropriate firearm or soaking in penetrating oil , which penetrates the water-resistant coatings in the primer. Components pulled from loaded cartridges should be reused with care. Unknown or potentially contaminated powders, contaminated primers, and bullets that are damaged or incorrectly sized can all cause dangerous conditions upon firing. Cases, especially bottleneck cases, will stretch upon firing. How much

6853-432: The processing of goods moved to either the source of the materials or the location of people to perform the tasks. Separate processes for different treatment stages were brought into the same building, and the various stages of refining or manufacture were combined. With increasing use of steam power, and increasing use of machinery to supplant the use of people, the integrated use of techniques in production lines spurred

6942-508: The reloading of 12 gauge shotshells, for which promotional shotshells are usually readily available from many retailers. These smaller bore and gauge shotshells also require much less lead shot, further lessening the effect of the rapid rises seen in the price of lead shot. The industry change to steel shot, arising from the US and Canadian Federal bans on using lead shotshells while hunting migratory wildfowl, has also affected reloading shotshells, as

7031-593: The scale, giving the most accurate measure. A scale also allows bullets and cases to be sorted by weight, which can increase consistency further. Sorting bullets by weight has obvious benefits, as each set of matched bullets will perform more consistently. Sorting cases by weight is done to group cases by case wall thickness, and match cases with similar interior volumes. Military cases, for example, tend to be thicker, while cases that have been reloaded numerous times will have thinner walls due to brass flowing forward under firing, and excess case length being later trimmed from

7120-418: The setup time required in positioning individual dies correctly. Progressive press is far more complex in design and can handle several cases at once. These presses have a rotating base that turns with each pull of the lever. All the dies/loading modules needed (often including a case hopper, a primer feed, a powder measure, and sometimes also a bullet feeder) are mounted in alignment with each case slot on

7209-639: The shell, measure powder, load the wad, measure shot, and crimp the shell. Due to the low cost of modern plastic shotshells, and the additional complexity of reloading fired shells, shotshell handloading is not as popular as cartridge handloading. For example, unlike when handloading rifle and pistol cartridges, where all the various components (cases, gas checks, powder, primers, etc.) from different manufacturers are usually all interchangeable, shotshells typically are loaded for particular brands of shotshell cases (called hulls) only with one specific brand of wad, shot cup (if used), primer, and powder, further increasing

7298-440: The shooter money, providing a greater quantity of higher quality ammunition within a given budget. However, hobbyists' enjoyment of the reloading process may be a significant benefit. Handloading ammunition avoids the labor costs of commercial production lines , reducing the expenditure to only the cost of purchasing components and equipment. Reloading may not be cost effective for occasional shooters, as it takes time to recoup

7387-596: The shot bar and powder bushing required on a dedicated shotshell press also must be changed for each hull type reloaded, and are different than what would be used for reloading shotshells with lead shot, further complicating the reloading of shotshells. With the recent rampant rise in lead shot prices, though, a major change in handloading shotshells has also occurred. Namely, a transition among high volume 12 gauge shooters from loading traditional 1-1/8 oz. shot loads to 7/8 oz. shot loads or even 24 gm. (so-called International) shot loads have occurred. At 1-1/8 oz. per shotshell,

7476-423: The shoulder of a bottleneck case back just a bit to facilitate chambering. These are frequently used in conjunction with neck dies, as the bump die itself does not manipulate the neck of the case whatsoever. A bump die can be a very useful tool to anyone who owns a fine shooting rifle with a chamber that is cut to minimum headspace dimensions, as the die allows the case to be fitted to this unique chamber. Another die

7565-422: The sizing and decapping operation, except in some cases in the 3-die set, where decapping may be done by the second die. The middle die in a three-die set is used to expand the case mouth of straight cases (and decap in the case where this is not done by the first die), while in a two-die set the entire neck is expanded as the case is extracted from the first die. The last die in the set seats the bullet and may apply

7654-491: The ultimate in flexibility, though, universal charge bars with micrometers dropping fixed volumes of powder and shot are also available; these are able to select differing fixed amounts of both powder and shot, and are popular for handloaders who load more than just a few published recipes, or, especially, among those who wish to experiment with numerous different published recipes. Fixed charge bars are rated for either lead or steel shot, but not for both. Universal charge bars, on

7743-474: The various measures of powder the desired charge can be measured with a safe degree of accuracy. However, since multiple measures of powder are often needed, and since powder lots may vary slightly in density, a powder measure accurate to 1 ⁄ 10 grain (6.5 mg) is desirable. Like any complex process, mistakes in handloading are easy to make, and a bullet puller device allows the handloader to disassemble mistakes. Most pullers use inertia to pull

7832-416: Was distributed across a number of sites. The concentration of numbers of people in manufactories, and later the factory as exemplified by the cotton mills of Richard Arkwright , started the move towards co-locating individual processes. With the development of the steam engine in the latter half of the 18th century, the production elements became less reliant on the location of the power source, and so

7921-754: Was readily available for around $ 0.50/lb. (c. 2005) now reaches $ 2.00 per pound (2013.) Due to this large increase in the price of lead shot, the economy of reloading 12 gauge shotshells vs. just using promotional (low-cost) 12 gauge shotshells only starts to make economic sense for higher volume shooters, who may shoot more than 50,000 rounds a year. In contrast, the reloading of shotshells that are usually not available in low-cost, promotional pricings, such as .410 bore, 12 ga. slugs, 16 ga, 20 ga., and 28 ga., becomes more economical to reload in much smaller quantities, perhaps within only 3-5 boxes of shells per year. Reloading .410 bore, 12 ga. slugs, 16 ga., 20 ga, and 28 ga. shells, therefore, remains relatively common, more so than

#623376