New to reloading

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For high volume loading in 223 and 300 blk you can also use the auto drum measure with a rifle charging die. Works great with ball powder like Tac for 223 and H110 for 300 blk.
 
I agree with others that have posted previously about starting loading on a Lee Turret press, and reading a good how-to book like Lyman's and finding an experienced local guy to help mentor you in person.
 
I told my wife several years ago that I was going to start reloading and would invest around $300. I think I'm at about the $2000+ mark now.

It IS addictive! Don't expect to save much if any money unless you shoot a lot.

After a while you will have to concentrate on paying attention and not missing steps or becoming complacent. That is dangerous.
 
I recently started reloading; here's what I'm using.

Hardware (necessary)

  • Lee Classic Turret Press Kit (includes Auto-Drum power measure, Safety prime, a beam scale, the excellent Lee reloading guide w/load data, and a few small bits)
  • Lee Deluxe Carbide Die Set (9mm for now)
  • Frankford Arsenal kinetic bullet puller
  • Frankford Arsenal digital caliper
  • Hornady Cartridge Gauge (nicer finish than some)
You are looking at just over $300 + shipping for the above.

Hardware (optional)

  • I purchased a 'Ballistic Bill's' wet-tumbler off of ebay to get the brass nice and clean. You could skip this for now, especially if you are using a clean-burning powder.
  • Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph - some may say you can do without, but it is the best way to figure out what sort of chamber pressures you are generating, which is really useful if you aren't using the exact components your load data is expressed in (which is usually the case). It also allows insight into the consistency of the load, which usually translates to accuracy.
  • Cheap Lyman digital scale (I don't care for the beam that came with the above kit). It's not a bad idea to have two different scales, anyway.
Components
  • Bullets - I've used Acme Bullet Hi-tek coated hard-cast, Precision Bullet moly-coated swaged bullets, and RMR (Rocky Mountain Reloading) FMJs. For 115 grain 9mm bullets, you are looking at 5.83 cents/per for Acme, just over 6 cents per for Precision, or 7.5 cents per for RMR FMJ in quantity. All have worked well for me. I may standardize on the RMR FMJ, which is very fairly priced in 9mm.
  • Powder - CFE Pistol is about perfect for 9mm, and really darn good for most pistol calibers including 45ACP. It isn't the cleanest burning, but performance, ease of use and versatility are excellent. I will try CFE223 when I get into .223. CFE Black is good for AK/300 Blackout. There are many valid choices.
  • Primers - The Lee Safety Prime prefers CCI primers. I've used Winchester also, and got to pick up half of them from the floor. You need small pistol for 9mm and large pistol for (most) 45ACP.
Safety
  • Read up on the hazards of powder and primer storage.
  • Wear at minimum eye protection while reloading.
  • Smack a primer on a hard surface (steel, preferably) with a hammer (eyes and ears both) so you understand what it takes to set a primer off. Lay out a small trail of powder on a paved surface and carefully light it from one end with a stick so you understand how powder burns.
  • Always clean up spilled powder and dropped primers after loading (there will be some)
  • Always start at the minimum charge listed in your load data and work up, preferably checking each charge weight on the chronograph.
  • If only max charges are listed in your load data reduce by 10% for starting load
Economy

I purchase 5000 CCI small pistol primers and 4lbs. of CFE Pistol at a time (Graf and Sons had the best deal last time). Including the haz-mat fee, you are talking about 5 cents/per round for powder and primers for my 9mm loads. Combined with the above bullets, you have a range of ~10.8-12.5 cents/round for 115 grain 9mm as compared to 20 cents/per for CCI Blazer Brass. The savings will be more dramatic for most other calibers.


There are lots of videos on YouTube demonstrating the Lee Classic Turret Press (or most any other press, for that matter). As others have suggested, start out with 9mm and/or 45ACP before doing rifle stuff.
 
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I told my wife several years ago that I was going to start reloading and would invest around $300. I think I'm at about the $2000+ mark now.

If the budding handloader budgets a minimum of $500.00 (a little more is better) then they can take a lot of the stress out of the purchase of the stuff needed to make ammo. One of the things I find annoying about most of the single stage kits that include a powder measure is that the powder measures usually need an optional small cavity metering drum if the handloader wants to use the PM for handgun loads. This adds about $30.00 to the assembly. If you know this going in that's one thing and you do end up with a really nice accurate (in the case of the RCBS and Hornady) powder metering device.
 
1. Keep a written log of your loads and how they perform, and label your loaded ammo. It's amazing how much I forget after I few months.

2. Wash your hands. Loading is dirty work, especially tumbling dirty brass and de-priming. Lots of lead contamination.

3. Use enough lube on rifle brass. Stuck cases are a pain. If this happens to you, go to Youtube for instructions.

4. Get a good case trimmer. Hand trimmers are affordable, but my hands start to cramp around the thirtieth case.

5. Get organized. There's a bazillion different tools and components, and the more cartridges you load for increases the number exponentially. Most of us don't even know what we have because we bought stuff three decades ago and it's hidden in the back of the upper shelf. Anyway, this is advice I haven't heeded myself, but I always tell myself that one day I will inventory my stuff.

6. Label your case preparation batches. Cases that are fired and need to be de-primed obviously need to be cleaned, lubed, re-sized and de-primed. But a ziploc bag full of clean cases that are de-primed and not labeled could still need inspecting, measuring, trimming and/or chamfering.

7. Keep a flashlight at your bench to check your powder charge before bullet seating and look for obvious over/under charges.

8. Never work with two different powders on the bench at the same time.
 
So, its been a while, Been reading, reading, reading, and researching. One person I talk to in person recommended LYMANS 50th edition since I am going to do just 300 BLK and 6.5x55 Swedish. Both are very low volume shooting for me. Been doing everything step by step, but one thing I have been seeing is the difference in brass length. I only plan to reload what I shoot out of each rifle, range brass goes to the credit program LOL.
The book says the max brass length is 1.368 for the 300 BLK and 2.165 for the Mauser. the range for 300 is 1.354-1.363, Mauser is 2.154-2.161. So is there such a thing as to short? I know the measurements are very small, but again first time loading rifle rounds.
 
The book says the max brass length is 1.368 for the 300 BLK
Yes, it is and the SAAMI drawing will reflect that. Reloading manuals will also call out a "Trim To" length which is generally 0.010" below the maximum cartridge length. Actually the 300 Black reflects 1.368 -0.020" so anywhere between 1.368" and 1.348" would be within tolerance. The SAAMI Cartridge and Chamber drawings can be found here on page 98. Make sure any hand loading manual you choose includes the 300 Black as they all don't. The 6.5 Swede has a suggested trim to length of 2.155" with a maximum of 2.165" so again we see the suggested trim is 0.010" below maximum. The Swede is also max -0.020 and the drawing of cartridge and chamber may be found in the link I provided on page 41. So now you know the too short. :)

Ron
 
Yes, it is and the SAAMI drawing will reflect that. Reloading manuals will also call out a "Trim To" length which is generally 0.010" below the maximum cartridge length. Actually the 300 Black reflects 1.368 -0.020" so anywhere between 1.368" and 1.348" would be within tolerance. The SAAMI Cartridge and Chamber drawings can be found here on page 98. Make sure any hand loading manual you choose includes the 300 Black as they all don't. The 6.5 Swede has a suggested trim to length of 2.155" with a maximum of 2.165" so again we see the suggested trim is 0.010" below maximum. The Swede is also max -0.020 and the drawing of cartridge and chamber may be found in the link I provided on page 41. So now you know the too short. :)

Ron
PERFECT!!!! Lots of great info from the PDF. Yes LYMANS 49th Edition does not have 300 BLK in it (as I found out ) so I now have 49th and 50th editions LOL.
But thank you for that tidbit. I also did some measurements on several unfired ammo for both and they are around all the same, very slight differences. I think just to be safe I will never go -0.0150 on either will be a goal to shoot for.
 
Congratulations on your decision to start reloading. I enjoy it as much as I enjoy shooting. Here are some recommendations you may find helpful...

Like others have said, get the ABC's of Reloading Book. It is one of the best out there to learn with. Then get the Speer Manual, which is also excellent. There are a lot of good information in these manuals that you will need to know. Don't buy anything until you have thoroughly read these manuals and understand the operations and what to look out for in terms of the issues you may run into with pressure, etc. There is an element of danger here, and you need to take safety very seriously. These books will help. The more reloading manuals you have the better. Each one; ABC's, Speer, Hornady, Lee, Lyman, etc. will be very helpful to you. All are excellent. Use eye protection when you reload as well.

I would also suggest that when you are ready, start with a Single Stage Press. The RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Reloading Kit or the Lee Kit are great places to start since they include the basics of what you need all in the kit. I believe they even come with the manuals as well.

Another recommendation is to start reloading straight walled pistol calibers first. The 38 Special is a great caliber to learn on. Auto Pistol cartridges and Rifle cartridges are more complicated. It is best to start with something simple and work your way up to more complicated cartridges to reload.

Lee Dies are very inexpensive and work great. You can spend more on dies, but there is really no need. I load very accurate ammunition with my Lee Dies and would highly recommend them.

Once you are comfortable with reloading on a Single Stage Press, you can move up to a turret or progressive as your needs dictate. Do not start with a Progressive, since they are more complicated and there are more operations going on with every pull of the handle, which you will need to get acclimated to. The Single Stage is the way to start.

Stay safe and let us know how we can help you move forward...
 
So it has been over a month since I last posted anything. So far only been reloading my swedish mauser 6.5x55 with 139gn SP and my AR with .223, 55gn Everything has been working out fine, adjusting powder loads for what I see as best. Well today I get a box in the mail with a replenishment of powder for the AR, seems that I mistakenly ordered Accurate 4064 instead of IMR 4064. So far I cannot find any load data for the accurate brand. Anybody seem anything or have used that powder?
 
Good luck. Hopefully someone can help you. I don't know what it is with Accurate Powders but I also see little on their 2200 powder which was one of the few available last year.
 
Just my opinion.....read all you can about reloading, powder, bullets, cases, primers, ect. Then start with a single stage press (RCBS RockChucker my choice) and go slowly. Find someone who reloads and ask a lot of questions.......keep using THR, best info ever found here, just sayin'!
 
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I started with Lee 3 hole turret press and glad that I did I have had it over 30+ years and use it a lot reloaded 3743 rounds last year that is the less I ever loaded in the last 20 years the press is going strong I an getting slower. If I was you look at lee 4 hole they are a good by!!!
 
SSGMANN, Accurate arms / Western powder load data here
http://www.accuratepowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/WesternLoadGuide1-2016_Web-1.pdf

Not sure whAt you were planning on using it in.
If they don't have listed data I would email Accurate/Western and ask them.
They have responded to a couple of my questions fairly quickly.

Maybe I missed it but what press did you end up with?


I have been using a Lee single stage press, been working out very well. Doing every step in stages and so far so good! I will shoot them an email tonight
 
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