Well, I'm still reloading the little 5mm. Here's a post I made on the topic in the 5mm Forums just yesterday:
I have a couple of 5mm Remingtons with Schroeder centerfire bolt heads that two of my grandsons are interested in. The boys are nine and ten years old and like rifle and pistol shooting and all things related. I thought these would be a good start in their learning the art of handloading. One rifle is a 591, and the other a 592.
So yesterday I dusted off my 5mm RCBS dies and me and the boys loaded 100 rounds, each of them getting a 50-round box. The loads were comprised of 6 grains LilGun powder with either a 33-grain Hornady Vmax or a 36-grain Berger HP bullet, and Remington small pistol primers.
The brass is also from Schroeder, which is made from 22 Hornet cases. These cases have performed quite well for me during the 15 years I've been shooting them. I've got one group of 50 cases that I've reloaded 15 times so far, and none of the cases show any sign of problems. The only brass losses through the years have been a couple from neck-wrinkling from improper bullet insertion while being careless in reloading. Although the cases look a bit rough from the outside due to the conversion process using a lathe, they have proven to perform exceptionally well for me.
The overall length (OAL) of my handloads are designed to put the bullet real close to the rifling when chambered so there is little to no gap to jump, which can enhance accuracy. I'm careful to make sure they aren't long enough to jam in the rifling, because to do so usually means a stuck bullet and spilled powder in the action if they are withdrawn unfired. BTDT.
My handloads are about 1.48 inches OAL, compared to the rimfire factory OAL of 1.28 inches. The longer handloads with their aerodynamic long-nose bullets do not work through the magazines, but this is of no concern since I want to save the brass anyway. Forcefully ejecting the fired brass can cause it to disappear in the wild, so I am careful to extract them slowly and carefully to prevent that. I just hate to lose brass that can be reloaded many more times.
These 5mm rifles can achieve minute-of-angle accuracy at 100 yards with the right loads if the wind is not blowing and a proper bench rest technique is employed. They also do great on coyotes and crows out to 125 yards or so. With very little recoil, I believe the boys will be happy shooting these little gems.
The velocity from my handloads are around 2100fps, which is what I was looking for in order to approximate the velocity of the original 5mm rimfire cartridges from Remington. I could stuff a bit more powder into the case and get a few more fps, and indeed some folks have, but I find better accuracy not pushing for that last bit of speed. To me, accuracy is more important. And my cases last just about forever.
