5.7x28 brass

[Klawndyke]

Picked up 1200 rounds of 5.7x28 brass the other day at the Des Moines show.
Next is finding the right dies.. I like the price and the feedback on the lee dies so i might run with those. but its not set in stone..

Any one reload this round ?

[imanaknut]

Sorry I can't help with the dies, but...

I am a big fan of 5.7x28 but decided not to reload after reading on how temperamental the FNH Five-seveN is. Use extreme care when you load the rounds. Do not over load any. They are very sensitive to even slight overpowering.

[Klawndyke]

When i load i like to start light... plus i have found some rounds shoot better light than hot..

[Schuetzenman]

I have been reloading for over 40 years. 5.7 is a bad one for pressure jump if pushed even a little bit over the line on a charge. Starting light is a good thing and not going much past published mid range for a powder type is probably wise if you want to maintain a functioning weapon. There've been many Five7N pistols blown up by folks reloading for them.

On dies, I prefer Redding or RCBS myself. Lee die sets if they have the collet die for crimping are OK sets. The collet crimp die is a good product, the crimp it makes does work well.

[Klawndyke]

I was looking at the RCBs Dies to.. Just waiting on a deal for some in the next week or so

[Mark Ducati]

Klawndyke,

I have a couple thousand rounds of brass I've been saving for years... heck, I save ALL my brass even though I wasn't reloading at the time.

I'm taking an initial crack at reloading, starting with my 50AE.

I too would like to load some 5.7x28 with some good quality un-neutured bullets! I could be wrong, but I think I've heard of people loading them with SS109 62gr bullets?

Do you have any accurate reload data for the 5.7x28 you would care to share? There is no data for this round in my SPEER book.

[Mark Ducati]

Oops.. I thought so, .223 bullets is bad ju ju...

I found this on ARF.com

I am a reloading instructor with 35+ years experience.

The 5.7x28mm is a semi-auto version of the 22 Hornet - and use the same diameter bullets as the 223, 5.56mm, 22-250 etc etc etc etc etc - it is a .224" bullet. You just cannot use the same bulelts from these other calibers in a 5.7 'cause the 5.7 likes 27gr to 40gr bulelts - 55gr for subsonic.

I have a ton of experience loading 223 for NRA Highpower Rifle competition to 600 yards - and I can tell you the 5.7x28mm is a very very difficult round to reload. The factory outside coating interfers with full length sizing. The case is too short to accomplish FL sizing, de-priming, and neck sizing all at once like normal reloading easily - your better off performing these steps individually, or, wreck 20+ cases getting the die dead on perfect.

The full sized brass always needs trimming. The primer pockets are military crimped and need to have it removed with a swagger.

The big problem - FN has never relieased their pressure data to United States manufacturer's - this means none of the powder or bullet companies can publish a load with 100% confidence it is safe. I've talked at lenght with Hodgon and Sierra about this.

There is some load data on the internet, and, a few magazines - but these almost always use a local powder like 'True Blue' that is only found on the East Coast and not on the West Coast, Alaska - or sold by mainstream companies like Midway. This makes loading for this caliber very dangerous!!

Bottom line. There just isn't enough info available for anyone to reload this round 100% safely. Just take a peek at your factory once fired brass and you will notice they all show signs of over pressure. I've never blown up a rifle or pistol reloading in 35 years, but, this is a real possibility for me as I continue to work on this caliber. By the end of June I should have some safe loads for 30gr Midway Dogtowns, 40gr Nosler BT's, and 55gr subsonics for people using suppressors. I will post them in this Five-Seven area. Lots of nice folks here. I have 24/7 access to a nice range just minutes from my house..

American gun shop walls and ceilings all over the country are decorated with blown up rifles and pistols - mostly from reloading. These are guns blown up that had published data available. The 5.7x28 is not for the novice reloader - and - if you can't afford to have your gun blown up - you shouldn't be reloading for this either.

[fnpurist]

hornady is what I use and have zero complaints, just make sure to over lube the cases as a stuck one is no fun

[fnpurist]

Try Hogdgon Longshot powder, its another good one that ive used for several years