Cartridges for a handloading beginner?

A lot of great suggestions. I agree with them all, except 9mm.

The easiest cartridge for me to tune to my guns was 45acp. Finding a recipe or two that I was happy with in several guns was pretty easy and fun with no bad failures. Also, very versatile. You can go in a lot of directions with a 45.

38/357 was easy to get running, but harder to come up with something I was happy with.

44 It seems like everything shoots well out of a 44.

Back to 9mm. It took me a long time to get my 9mm to where I was happy. And where the rounds worked well across the firearms I had at the time. It took me a long time to find the balance between crimp or lack of, bullet weight and powder. Some people fall into great 9mm, but I struggled. I got there but it took more time than any other pistol round.

OP, do you notice no one mentions bottleneck rifle cartridges?

Before I bought any equipment, I took a one day reloading course here in FL sponsored by the NRA. I bought a 1050, installed it myself and had a neighbor who reloads, check my work and offer some tips, before I got into production.

I installed a Mr Bullet feeder. After a few weeks, I also installed a DAA crimp/seat die, as I wanted to make space for a Dillon powder checker.

I agree with the comments that it’s not easy to get the sizing, crimping and seating correct for all guns with a 9mm cartridge. It’s also why, solely based on my own experience, I suggest it. I truly believe I’ve become quite familiar with my equipment, it’s quirks, settings etc as I’ve gone through the process and fine tuned everything. I’ve learned from my mistakes.

Easiest? Nah. But because I mainly shoot 9mm, I think I’ve had the steepest and fastest learning curve towards competency.

Whatever the op decides, redo or throw out anything that doesn’t fit perfectly, initially. Scale powder often. Check Every dimension when you make any changes.

I really enjoy every aspect of reloading. I get a real sense of satisfaction producing the ammo I use practicing and in local competitions. Which totally surprised my wife, as I’m not exactly known for my patience or desire to fiddle. But there is something about reloading that resonates....

While it is definitely true that some cartridges are easier to reload than others, at the end of the day I don't think it makes much difference one way or the other which one you start with. I started with 30-06 because that's what I had at the time and that was the cartridge I needed.

With proper knowledge, attention to detail, and the right tools you can start anywhere you like.

.40

I started with 38 special and 357 mag for a Ruger Blackhawk I used to own. I quickly got into 10mm reloading.

I would start with revolver rounds first. This would be my recommendation.

A 38 revolver is a fantastic place to start. As long as the bullet makes it out the end of the barrel, the firearm will function as always.

While not difficult, any semiauto will require that the bullets feed from the magazine and rounds have enough energy to cycle the action.

I started with .22-250 way way way back when. It was my first Centerfire rifle and I had a mentor that helped assemble all the gear. The press was a Rockchucker jr and pretty standard setup with dies, balance beam, trickler. It was a single powder, IMR 4895, WLR primers and 55gr Speer bullets.
I think you can pick pretty much any cartridge and take it slow and easy and you’ll be fine. Each one will present some unique challenge at some point. For bottleneck cartridges it’s dimples in the shoulder usually due to too much lube. Good luck!

I started reloading with a wildcat bottleneck rifle cartridge. Only 2 dies, measure and trim to length, lube good, and load. It didn't seem hard to me.
Start with whatever cartridge you shoot the most of or in the case of a 9x19, start with the one you shoot the second most of since 9mm is so cheap to buy already loaded.

38 would be a great choice, if you shoot 38.

38 Spl. Shorter case, large base, Always check the powder level in cases as you dump your charges. You have a large selection of bullets and powders. It is a VW not a Ferrari so you are going for accuracy not speed. Not only do you need practice with the gun you also need practice with the reloading tools.

Double and triple charges are a definite possibility with any hand gun cartridges. Vigilance is critical.

That said, straight walled hand gun cases are a good place to start. I'd start with a low pressure cartridge like 38 Special, 45 Colt or 45 ACP first but once one is comfortable with reloading, they can move on to more powerful stuff.

Load what you shoot, the more of it you shoot the better. But only load a few, inspect them, shoot them, then move to a new small batch. Resist the urge to load up a big batch until you are sure you have it right. If you don't take this advise it is likely that you will learn it anyway.

Another tip, totally unrelated to picking a cartridge... save your screw-ups. Put them in their own little spot on your reloading bench. If possible write down the date and what you did wrong on a little post-it or scrap of paper and put it with or in the case. When your making mistakes it will serve as a reminder of what not to do. When you get it all figured out you can claim victory because you havent done THAT in 3 months.

I started back in 89 with a 30-30 for a contender 14” for deer hunting. I wanted to shoot 125 ballistic tips to extend the range. Learned from the Lee book in the anniversary kit way before the internet. Go slow, check everything, and take good notes as you go.

I bought the guns first....
A brand new Remington .243, a Mohawk 600 for a whole $106., then a Lee Target Loader for it, then proceeded to mallet load a whole 20 rounds with it.....that was the beginning.

A year later I saw an bought a 7 1/2" Ruger .45 Blackhawk convertible, I couldn't resist! (Convertible because it has a cylinder for .45 ACP and another for .45 Colt.) And that's when I discovered RCBS and bought a Rock Chucker kit from Gander Mountain, with everything I needed, except a trimmer. Read the Speer Manual that came with it, then bought a Forster Trimmer.

First loading with the RCBS was simple pie. Winchester once-shot 45 ACP brass, Winchester primers, 6 grains of Unique powder, Winchester hard ball bullets in a plastic bag of 500. That was the easiest IMO of all! No problems.....can't double fill with powder, easy to see into the cases, and accurate to boot.

There was no turning back....... .38/.357 came another year later, when I bought a Security Six revolver. Not much harder except seeing in...but I had good eyes in those days!

BTW, in those days, I'd never heard of cylinder clips for auto cartridges in a revolver.....the Ruger cylinder didn't need or use them.

What guns do you own and shoot the most?

Which ammo is the most expensive for you to shoot?

As long as it is straight walled. My first 50 rounds were .454casull with H110 powder, with exception of the type of crimp the process is pretty much the same as any other straight walled case. I will say that the .40 cal cases are nice and big which for me anyway, are easier to handle and to see what is going on with powder charges.

Straight walled revolver round. Eliminates having to deal with pistol functioning so you can concentrate on the task at hand, which is learning reloading. It's not leaps and bounds harder to learn with 9mm/45acp, but then case length and neck tension become more critical. Bullet set back in a semi-auto round is real and has consequences. But if all you have is pistols, well then have at it, just be a little more careful.

.38 Special

Let us know everything you shoot and how often.
I started with 223. Next was 45ACP, then 9mm.
Not sure how many thousands of rounds I loaded before I bought my first revolver,,,

.38 Spl and .45 Colt are the easiest. .45 ACP is the easiest tapered case. I will echo others who recommended RCBS equipment to start with. I also like Lee for the cost, but RCBS stuff is much easier to work with. I will also echo the single stage press to start with. Be sure to look at the reloading sub forum here for good topics to learn from, and good loading data, too. Welcome to THR, 38-45 Special, and to the world of reloading!

WestKentucky said:

Give us options on what calibers you shoot.

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Was surprised this wasn't the first recommendation.

.38 Special is where I started not very long ago. Make several dummy rounds with no powder or primer to practice, work out the OAL, Crimp, your process to make the round can all be worked out and practiced with no powder or primers, just break it out into steps and build confidence. I know when I started, how to do the crimp was the most challenging part, still is.