DANGER !!!!
Be sure to seat case primers fully into the primer pocket. I know a man who lost his lower jaw and right thumb because he tried to load a hot .300 Magnum into a re-worked '98 Mauser bolt action rifle, while the primer was slightly proud of the case. When he tried to close the bolt, the primer detonated the round and it blew his thumb and lower jaw away, when the bolt flew back. He very nearly died before he could reach a hospital...and this man was a gunsmith.(he thought). I am not a fan of WW2 1898 Mauser pattern bolt action rifles, suspicious of their metallurgy and prisoner of war labour manufacture.
Familiarity breeds contempt. Always inspect rounds after reloading for issues. Any mil surplus weapons must be thoroughly inspected, especially the head spacing, extractor mechanism, and proof marking, before firing. I also use dummy rounds to check the action for function before loading live ammo into a strange weapon.
There are thousands of sport-conversion mil surplus Mauser actions out there. Not all of these have been proof-fired before sale. Just a word to the wise, guys.
I too prefer RCBS to Lee Loaders. I use a Rockchucker Junior single-stage press and a case holder tray to hold cases before each stage of reloading. Slow, methodical and careful attention to detail, especially the primer and the powder-charge loading. I use a beam scale to weigh every charge of powder if I am hot-loading rifle ammo. I always inspect my fired round cases before reloading them. Much-fired and re-sized brass gets brittle and small pieces can be left in the chamber occasionally, with disastrous results, when attempting to load the next round. If loads are hot enough to perforate a primer, you must be very watchful of the cases condition subsequently. Hard extraction of re-sized or fire-formed cases is a good indicator that you are pushing your luck with hand load charges. You won't even hear the boom of the faulty round that kills you.
Time-expired double-based powder is also deadly stuff to handle. Never trust it, pour it out gently and burn it safely with a length of fuse, well outside the house. Protect the eyes from flash.
Jix
