ammunition reloading?

Question
Hi, I am a budding amatuer shooter, and I am interested in reloading. My main question is what is the best powder (excellerent) and primer to use? Also, just because I am curious ( from watching too much Discovery channel probably), I know high velosity excellerents like c4, semtex etc. at fairly stable, Would it be possible to swap powder for a one of those, given a stronger casing? Like I said I am just curious, I know civilians can't get their hands on that kind of stuff. Last question, whether possible or not what velocity would a projectile be traveling if launched/fired using a high velocity substance like that? Thanks for any help you can offer.

Answer
Hi Michael.

There are four main components to modern centerfire cartridges:  bullet, case, powder, and primer.  There are literally hundreds if not thousands of types of each component: different manufacturers, brands, models, materials, shapes, styles, etc.  Many of these individual components can be assembled with the other components to achieve different results so there is virtually no limit to the number of possible cartridge combinations.  Thus there is not a single best powder or primer to use, it all just depends on what type of cartridge you are assembling and how you plan to use that cartridge.

Reloading is a very precise science where things are measured down to one thousandth of an inch (0.001 inch) and it involves very dangerous materials which generate excessive pressure when ignited (30,000 to 50,000 psi inside many modern cartridges).  In order to reload safely and generate cartridges that are safe and appropriate for a given firearm or purpose, you have to learn quite a bit and refer to numerous textbooks which contain a lot of factual data provided by the component manufacturers and the SAAMI organization (www.saami.org) which governs standards in this field.

The process of assembling and igniting a cartridge and all the related factors which go into safety and performance are quite complex so it would not be safe to simply substitute one of the major components with another material or to experiment with new components that were not designed and tested for that purpose.

The actual velocity of a given projectile depends on many factors including the type of cartridge and firearm used, weather conditions, distance traveled prior to measurement, angle of flight path respective to level ground, altitude respective to sea level, etc.  Many modern centerfire cartridges and firearm combinations will release projectiles in the 600 to 2,500 fps (feet per second) range but some can be slower or faster depending on the purpose.

If you are interested in reloading then you should look for an NRA class in your area.  The class is not taught often due to the equipment and prep time needed but it is well worth the cost if you can go.  Visit www.nra.org for more info.

Hope this helps.

Bob