short guide to reloading 5.7x28

[saki302]

I figured it out, and did it with success.

1. wash cases in 5 gallon bucket with a pinch of dish soap. Swirl around with your hand, hose-rinse, and towel dry.
2. resize your cases, use case lube. I use the Lee dies- cheap, and they work 100%.
3. trim your cases. I used a Little Crow WFT2. Won't dream of fitting my Lyman universal trimmer.

4. Fun part- deburr, then remove the primer crimp on FN cases. I used an RCBS power case center thing, small rifle primer crimp remover.

5. Load as any other case. I used a very light crimp, per other reloaders' recommendations.

The powder range is TIGHT on these things, so you don't want to mess around.. 5.0 min to 5.6 max with true blue powder and a 40gr Hornady projectile, per Hornady's data, I think. Use at your own risk.

DO NOT chase maximum. I chose to go .2-.3 under max, giving room for error. Worked well, no signs of excess pressure, no excess shoulder movement.

I have read you can expect 2-3 loadings from each case. I have a small batch on its 3rd loading, going to see how far these can go.

[12yak]

I do exactly the same except that I have a Hornady Lock-n-Load sonic cleaner that I use. With the 5.7, I can fit plenty of brass in the relatively small cleaner. I recently got the Little Crow for 5.7, .223 and .308 and I love it. What used to be my least favorite part of the process, trimming, is easy now. I've decided to limit myself to 2 reloads because the case neck thickness starts to get too thin and I find that I get many more cases collapsing at the neck once I get to 2 reloads. Otherwise, it's just like any other reload except for the tight powder range and your cautions which I fully agree with. I've done thousands of reloads on this caliber without a single issue. Good luck.

[Whiterabbit]

The powder range is TIGHT on these things, so you don't want to mess around.. 5.0 min to 5.6 max with true blue powder and a 40gr Hornady projectile, per Hornady's data, I think. Use at your own risk.

DO NOT chase maximum. I chose to go .2-.3 under max, giving room for error. Worked well, no signs of excess pressure, no excess shoulder movement.

Thanks for putting the post up.

But I have to ask: does a .6 grain spread really translate to high risk? Who here accepts variability of .6 grains when loading less than 25 grains of powder in any cartridge, even with a powder drop?

Would you accept .6 grain variability in your 223 loading?

Would you accept .6 grain variability in any cartridge for any gun you were at max at?

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Don't get me wrong, not attacking you, but I hear lots of people say 5.7x28 is risky, dangerous, and hard to load for, but I just don't see it. Especially if you solved the brass coating issue, the rest should be a slam dunk.

[Romeo_alpha01]

Subbed. Will be reloading this cartridge soon.

[the_tunaman]

Ditto... Just got mine, and have always planned to dive into reloading for the caliber.

[saki302]

.6 grains is over a 10% variance when you're in the 5 grain range.
The load manual quotes 5.0-5.6 grains of true blue. In reality some folks have pushed them higher, but why? I'm not using my rehashed ammo for defense.

My guns run well on 5.4 grains, and my powder measure has at least a +/- 0.1gr accuracy, so I feel safe with it.
Impact is almost a match for SS197, which is milder than SS195. One way to tell with 5.7 is to see how far the case necks push forwards. SS195 pushes much more forwards than either 197 or my loading, so I feel pretty safe with it.

I tested a double charge to see how it looks, you'll know

-Dave

[Spaceghost]

I sincerely hope you're kidding about intentionally loading a double charge and firing it.

.6 grains is over a 10% variance when you're in the 5 grain range.
The load manual quotes 5.0-5.6 grains of true blue. In reality some folks have pushed them higher, but why? I'm not using my rehashed ammo for defense.

My guns run well on 5.4 grains, and my powder measure has at least a +/- 0.1gr accuracy, so I feel safe with it.
Impact is almost a match for SS197, which is milder than SS195. One way to tell with 5.7 is to see how far the case necks push forwards. SS195 pushes much more forwards than either 197 or my loading, so I feel pretty safe with it.

I tested a double charge to see how it looks, you'll know

-Dave

[superdave50]

who said he fired it?

[Howitzer1987]

5.7 is one of those rounds that has to have 100% concentration. The pressure curve on this round is no joke and it has to be respected. Its definitely not a round for people looking to load in high quantity and definitely not a round where you don't measure every single load and measure every single case. The QC and time it takes to load 5.7 safely is way more than the occasional reloader is willing to give it. With that being said, it can be safely loaded but be prepared to put many hours and exacting measurements to do so.

[saki302]

who said he fired it?

This

I did it to see what a double charge would LOOK like. You can't accidentally do it and load one, it nearly fills the case to the top, bullet won't fit.

Don't be scared of loading 5.7, it's not any harder than single loading any other rifle round.

you do need a GOOD and PRECISE powder measure (+/- 0.1 grain per drop), and don't go chasing maximum power. You'll be fine.

Would I load on a progressive press? Probably not. I have much more control with the single stage, and can check each process as I load.

Up to 250 rounds loaded so far. I'm trying out some 35gr HP projectiles which are a little shorter to see how they work.

[the_tunaman]

Necro alert... figured this would be as best a place to post this question as any...
I spent a good couple of hours searching here and elsewhere and haven’t found a thread which addresses my question.

I’m starting to load, and picked up a Redding die set. I was planning to only resize the neck, but after reading and looking at my once-fired cases, the amount of stretch at the shoulder makes me rethink that plan.

The brass should be fire-formed to my chamber, but I’m not sure that this has much relevance with this cartridge?

Anyone have insight and experience here?

[SoCal Gunner]

@the_tunaman - have you tried checking https://www.fivesevenforum.com ?

I know there are some people there that might be able to help.

I'm still too scared to try it, but I read everything I can about 5.7

[the_tunaman]

Thanks. Yeah, I have been perusing that forum a lot, and did some searching specifically against that forum earlier on this topic.

I figured I’d start here, since I’m already a member and trust the CalGuns collective - someone here likely has dealt with this quandary.

[the_tunaman]

Well, I got my shellplate, dies, primers, projectiles and True Blue and went to work the other day.

First observation was how much the shoulder moves when fired... thought it was abnormal until I was able to research other posts and found it to be the norm.

I bought the Redding three-die set, so I first tried the full length die. First test case still didn’t appear to have re-formed the shoulder much, if at all, compared to a virgin factory round. I tried running the die a little further in the holder with no noticeable difference, then ran it just a little further and collapsed the neck on a case. I backed it out a partial turn and sized another case, and then worked on the seating die.

Once I had the die set properly for the COAL, I took the dummy round and ran it through the pistol. It loaded fine, breach went to full lock, and then the round ejected fine.

I did some more research and wasn’t able to find any relevant discussions debating full vs neck sizing, so I then tried out the neck sizer die and didn’t discern a difference between the neck and shoulder of either case. I then seated a projectile in the dummy round and tried cycling it in the pistol, and it worked fine also. I figured since that was the case, and my ammo will only be used for my FiveseveN, I would just neck size and try to minimize the wear on the brass and make it last an extra reload or two.

I had 10 pieces of brass to use as testers, so I carefully prepped the cases. I decided to start at the low nd of the powder range, and manually weighed out 5.2 grains of True Blue for each.

I had a chance to hit the range briefly yesterday, and loaded the 10 rounds in the mag. They all went bang, seemed to have plenty of power, and cycled the pistol just fine.

I may try going up to 5.4 grains (5.8 is the listed max), but I was very happy with the first rounds’ performance.

I didn’t have a target, and honestly just popped them off to ensure that they functioned, so next time I’ll have to see how they print.

[SoCal Gunner]

I have a couple folgers cans full of spent 5.7x28 if you want hook up for a reloading session.

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