Do we make reloading seem too hard?

[Rico567]

Reloading depends most of all on the individual who decides to "go for it." There are some individuals who are technically literate, and who take the time and have the patience to overcome the learning threshhold in reloading (like many other technical activities) necessary to produce quality reloads safely. A friend of mine is such a person. When he decided to take up reloading, I told him he could have an old turret press of mine and a set of .45 ACP dies to get started, and away he went. I knew him well enough to know that he would be completely successfuly. Sure enough, in a short time he was producing ammo of all kinds just as good as mine. And, since he's more organized than I am, his reloading setup looks like a pic in a magazine.

And at the other end of the spectrum there are people who should not be reloading, no matter how much they want to, no how, no way. They want to pick up a bunch of equipment and spend a weekend learning all there is to know about the subject and finish up with 1,000 rounds of great ammo. All the while, they haven't the slightest idea of the basics of reloading, or the fundamental steps one must follow to be safe. At best, they might end up pulling those 1,000 bullets, and at worst, they risk injury or death. I think those of us who have frequented this and other forums have read about such persons. As much as I hate to discourage anyone who wants to take up this great pastime, there are some to whom I would say, "Why don't you just shoot 9mm, go on down to WalMart and grab yourself the Win white box ammo, it's about as cheap as you can reload for anyhow."

 

[748]

Reloading is easy, if you screw it up it could be deadly.
I think safty/screw up chances wise Rifle is safest, pistol second and shot gun 3rd.
When Loading high power pistol or rifle rounds a few extar thousand PSI is normaly no big deal, switch a componet on a High power shot gun shells and get a few extra thousand PSI... kaboom.
Reloading difficulty, shot guns are easy because your tipical loaders are easy to use/you don't have to really set any dies just set the crimpers, Rifle are 2nd, pistol 3rd and 5.7x28mm(FN) 4th.

 

[jAK-47]

Total Newbie

I just started reloading this week and am hooked. It took me quite a while to convince myself to take the plunge because I am NOT handy at all! While attending a reloading seminar my eyes began to glaze over as the guy went on-and-on about chamfering, resizing, trimming, etc. and THEN he held up two revolvers that were blown in 1/2 by reloading mistakes; I couldn't get to the door fast enough. Thing is I was focusing on the "hard" stuff and thinking that since I'm not handy I can't do it/will blow myself up.

The ONLY reason I decided to get into it is the guy who gave the seminar lives two streets over from me and has the patience of a saint AND he makes house calls! He convinced me that much of his seminar was for more advanced types of reloading, you don't need to trim everything, etc.

I set up my new RCBS kit along with dies, brass, bullets, powder, etc. that he helped me pick out and then he came over to inspect and tweak. I ended up reloading that very night and shooting the next day. 10 rounds of .357 magnum into "4 holes" at 21 feet! My point is I was intimidated and would never have bothered if it hadn't been for this guy taking me by the hand. I wonder how many other people have missed out on all this fun and satisfaction just because they didn't have someone to get them started?

YES, it can be dangerous if you're not careful. I've already loaded 4 rounds without putting powder in and threw some powder into a case with no primer AND seated a bullet with my neck expander (I call it my Wadcutter load) BUT when it comes to measuring powder or any other potentially "explosive" steps I CONCENTRATE and triple-check EVERYTHING.

Getting started in reloading was a great idea and I look forward to years of fun and learning. If I can do it, anyone can!!

jAK-47

 

[Bullet]

Quote – “Do we make reloading seem too hard?”

Maybe yes maybe no. It’s more a question of having the right information or not. If you don’t have the right info, it’s hard, if you do have the right info, it’s easy. This is why beginners are told to read manuals before starting (get the right info). One thing for sure - you can get hurt if you don’t do it right.

 

[Warren]

I'd love to start but me wife is freaked about having the powder in the house. I've tried to explain that it is not explosive and perfectly safe she won't let me until we move and I have a workshop seperate from our dwelling.

I have not brought up the fact that I'm thinking of getting into Cap'n Ball stuff with real black powder. That should be an interesting conversation.

There is a THR member who lives near me and reloads and I supose I could impose I would really like my own stuff where I could just walk to it in my bathrobe.

 

[halvey]

Do we make reloading seem too hard?

What we make too hard is "load development", especially with pistols. If you have a pistol that is so fussy about a 0.2 change in powder, your gun sucks.