Getting Back To Reloading After A 16 Year Hiatus

[3sport]

I used to be an avid reloader in the 90s. Mostly pistol, with the exception of 44 Magnum that at the time I chambered in a Marlin 44 Mag Lever Action Rifle.

I hung up my reloading spurs in 2006 because my career got in the way. My reloading bench has sat idle since then, collecting dust and luckily, no rust. It's in an air conditioned finished basement. I think most if not all of the components are in good condition. I am in the process of taking inventory. and inspecting every component and press and die and powder dispenser and scale to make sure they are in top condition.

Luckily, before I put reloading on a long pause, I stocked up on all the components. I have plenty of brass, bullets, powder and the elusive primers that are a bit scarce in today's marketplace. My press is an RCBS Rock Chucker, but I do have the Progressive Attachment for it that I used in the 90s, until the progressive attachment somehow overcharged a 357 magnum round and it nearly spelled disaster. From then on, I went back to single stage reloading and stayed there.

I have sold many of my firearms since 2006, so many of the dies and components I have will continue to sit idle. But I still shoot and reload 38/357, 40 S&W, and 12 Gauge. Here is a pic of my neglected reloading bench, a Sears Craftsman with thick wood composit bench top, storage drawers and bottom storage shelf. This week will be filled with cleaning up the bench, taking inventory of components, and the evaluation of the condition of powder and dies. When I get it back into production, I'll post pics of that. Glad to be back after all these years;

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Welcome back to the loading bench.

 

[3sport]

Welcome back to the loading bench.

Thank you!

 

[lightman]

Welcome Back! Nothing much has changed in 16 years except that we are in the middle of a big shortage and prices are crazy. Do a little housekeeping, put a drop or two of oil on that Rockchucker's ram and start cranking out some ammo!

 

[gudaki]

Welcome back and be glad you have some supplies!

 

[Docendo Discimus]

Powder coated lead bullets and widespread wet tumbling of brass are developments that came onto the scene after 06. There is alot of good info on THR on both. Welcome Back!

 

[3sport]

Welcome Back! Nothing much has changed in 16 years except that we are in the middle of a big shortage and prices are crazy. Do a little housekeeping, put a drop or two of oil on that Rockchucker's ram and start cranking out some ammo!

Will do, and thanks for the tips. I was lucky enough to stock-up on components, including the now elusive primers, before I went on hiatus. I have plenty of components, so all I really have to do is clean up the bench, inspect anything that might have deteriorated, oil that Rock Chucker Ram, and get to work!

My first reaction was to consider selling all my 9mm, 44 Spl/Mag, 380 and 45 ACP dies and brass and bullets. But then I thought, "Hey, some day I might get back into those calibers.", so I am keeping everything just in case.

Welcome back and be glad you have some supplies!

Thanks. And yes, I'm lucky I have everything I need to put that bench back into production. I never would have dreamed, in 2006, that we'd be in such a component shortage that we are experiencing today.

Powder coated lead bullets and widespread wet tumbling of brass are developments that came onto the scene after 06. There is alot of good info on THR on both. Welcome Back!

Interesting. Thank you. I don't know much about either, so I will investigate. I used to have a Lyman vibrator/tumbler for cleaning brass, but burnt it out in the late 90s, so I then got the Midway vibrator/tumbler that you see in the bench picture. That's only got about 10 hours on it, so it's in great shape still. I have the (Corncob) cleaning media and the additive. Both from Midway. I suspect both are still good as they've been stored properly unopened and dry since 2006.

 

[Bayou52]

Similar story here:

I packed up all of my reloading stuff when we sold our original family home back in 1991. We moved to our new home later that year, and I didn’t unpack all of my reloading stuff until the year 2012 which was 21 years later.

All the equipment was in perfect condition Including press, scale, casting pot, etc., etc. All of this equipment was purchased in the late 70s.

Since 2012, I’ve been headstrong back into reloading, and it’s a great hobby! And still using the same basic equipment!

Bayou52

 

[Hugger-4641]

Welcome back, I totally relate having taken quite a hiatus myself.
Obviously, one thing that has changed since 2006 is powders and published load data. If you have manuals from the same vintage as your powder, I'd probably give them a little more credence than newer manuals when it comes to any discrepancies. If you don't have any recent manuals, you probably still need to get a couple for comparison. You will likely be buying new powders soon anyway.

 

[3sport]

Similar story here:

I packed up all of my reloading stuff when we sold our original family home back in 1991. We moved to our new home later that year, and I didn’t unpack all of my reloading stuff until the year 2012 which was 21 years later.

All the equipment was in perfect condition Including press, scale, casting pot, etc., etc. All of this equipment was purchased in the late 70s.

Since 2012, I’ve been headstrong back into reloading, and it’s a great hobby! And still using the same basic equipment!

Bayou52

I hear that. I abruptly ended most of my pistol cartridge reloading in the late 90s and continued with sporadic 38/357 and 12 gauge single stage (believe it or not) reloading until 2006.
Some of my friends would shake their heads that I never used my progressive attachment after the overcharged load on that 357, but I enjoy single stage, and it's actually fun to me to do the "progression" myself. And it seems safer. When I get to the firing range, I really have confidence that my loads are right on spec. Especially after that near disasterous overcharged incident in the 90s.

I just finished inspecting my dies. They are all in superior condition. I can't remember if I might have coated them with a light film of "Break Free" before I put them on the shelf for 16 years. I seem to recall I preferred Hornady dies. They have Titanium Nitride rings VS Carbide. I remember I always looked for Hornady. I do have a few RCBS, including the RCBS 12 Gauge die set, but the bulk is Hornady. My Digital scale seems to be accurate and zeroed-out well. I compared it to the balance beam scale I have and it's right on. The powders seem fine. Most of my bullets are jacketed, so they are all ready to go. I cleaned all of my brass before putting it in storage, so that's ready to reload as well.

Welcome back, I totally relate having taken quite a hiatus myself.
Obviously, one thing that has changed since 2006 is powders and published load data. If you have manuals from the same vintage as your powder, I'd probably give them a little more credence than newer manuals when it comes to any discrepancies. If you don't have any recent manuals, you probably still need to get a couple for comparison. You will likely be buying new powders soon anyway.

Thanks for the tips. Yes, I have a few manuals from back in the 90s. They do match the powder and bullets I am using. I will definitely get new reloading manuals. I am on the fence as to whether I want printed or online manuals. Back when I first started reloading, you could not get anything online. That's another thing that has changed. I'll probably opt for old school bound and printed manuals to put on my loading bench shelf.

Most of my brass cartridge reloading ended in the late 90s, and I only continued with sporadic 38/357 for my revolver and lever action rifle, combined with 12 gauge single stage reloading for Trap shooting and Pheasant hunting. So producing a few boxes a week of 12 gauge bird or target loads was no biggie for single stage production. I would like to get back into Trap shooting. I really enjoyed that. The last 12 Ga I reloaded was 2006, so that's when my bench went dark. It is high time to reactivate the hobby. I really used to enjoy reloading, and I am sure I will again. Just going through the bench taking inventory and inspecting components this morning was enjoyable.

 

[AJC1]

I hear that. I abruptly ended most of my pistol cartridge reloading in the late 90s and continued with sporadic 38/357 and 12 gauge single stage (believe it or not) reloading until 2006.
Some of my friends would shake their heads that I never used my progressive attachment after the overcharged load on that 357, but I enjoy single stage, and it's actually fun to me to do the "progression" myself. And it seems safer. When I get to the firing range, I really have confidence that my loads are right on spec. Especially after that near disasterous overcharged incident in the 90s.

I just finished inspecting my dies. They are all in superior condition. I can't remember if I might have coated them with a light film of "Break Free" before I put them on the shelf for 16 years. I seem to recall I preferred Hornady dies. They have Titanium Nitride rings VS Carbide. I remember I always looked for Hornady. I do have a few RCBS, including the RCBS 12 Gauge die set, but the bulk is Hornady. My Digital scale seems to be accurate and zeroed-out well. I compared it to the balance beam scale I have and it's right on. The powders seem fine. Most of my bullets are jacketed, so they are all ready to go. I cleaned all of my brass before putting it in storage, so that's ready to reload as well.



Thanks for the tips. Yes, I have a few manuals from back in the 90s. They do match the powder and bullets I am using. I will definitely get new reloading manuals. I am on the fence as to wheter or not I want printed or online manuals. Back when I first started reloading, you could not get anything online. That's another thing that has changed. I'll probably opt for old school bound and printed manuals to put on my loading bench shelf.

Most of my brass cartridge reloading ended in the late 90s, and I only continued with sporadic 38/357 for my revolver and lever action rifle, combined with 12 gauge singe stage reloading for Trap shooting and Pheasant hunting. So producing a few boxes a week of 12 gauge bird or target loads was no biggie for single stage production. I would like to get back into Trap shooting. I really enjoyed that. The last 12 Ga I reloaded was 2006, so that's when my bench went dark. It is high time to reactivate the hobby. I really used to enjoy reloading, and I am sure I will again. Just going through the bench taking inventory and inspecting components this morning was enjoyable.

I don't run progressive but they have a die called a powder cop. Should you want full capability back it may be just the ticket.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I strongly recommend Lyman's 51st.
Amazon.com : 51st Reloading Handbook-Softcover : Sports & Outdoors

 

[gwpercle]

Welcome Back !
I see you adhere to my #1 Reloading Rule ... Never sell off any reloading components ... you never know what the future holds . Keeping what you got is a lot easier and cheaper than replacing what you had .

My Dad always said .." If something is paid for and it isn't eating any hay ... hang on to it ! "

Gary

 

[3sport]

I don't run progressive but they have a die called a powder cop. Should you want full capability back it may be just the ticket.

Thanks. I know that RCBS has a "Powder Checker" die for progressive presses, and I knew Hornady had one as well, but I did not know it was called the "Powder Cop". I had not thought about utilizing one until I read your post. Mostly because I'm currently focused on single stage only. I may look into that after I get rolling again six months or a year from now.

I have not put that RCBS Progressive attachment on top of my Rock Chucker since the late 90s. It certainly would be an interesting task to try and get that progressive attachment up and running again after all these years - WITH a powder checker die in service this time.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I use a powder cop in my turret press. For .223 and 7.62x39. I mark the stem with a sharpie where the load should be.

 

[3sport]

I strongly recommend Lyman's 51st.
Amazon.com : 51st Reloading Handbook-Softcover : Sports & Outdoors

Thank you! Your post is incredibly timely. I was just browsing for a current manual. I will give your recommendation strong consideration.

Welcome Back !
I see you adhere to my #1 Reloading Rule ... Never sell off any reloading components ... you never know what the future holds . Keeping what you got is a lot easier and cheaper than replacing what you had .

My Dad always said .." If something is paid for and it isn't eating any hay ... hang on to it ! "

Gary

Your father was so right, Gary. I have sold firearms in the past, and I have regretted it more than I can express. If only I could go back in time and change that decision to sell them. Some of them I can no longer get at anything near planet Earth prices. Owners want the sun, the moon and the stars for some of the guns that I, unfortunately, sold 15 years ago, at a very reasonable price.

On the reloading components, I can't believe how much 9mm brass and bullets I have, but at one time, I was crazy about 9mm. I may be again. Same with 380 Auto, 45 ACP an 44 spl/mag. I'll just keep all of these caliber components on the lower shelf in their storage boxes. One day I may thank myself for holding on to them. Especially the large pistol primers.

 

[Ovendoctor]

welcome back to the bench
Ya us old timers need to update our books
one of my shot shell books has my favorite Pheasant loads using WW 540 [wish I could find some still]

Mike

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Since you have components you will have an easy time restarting up. Have fun and welcome back. That was some break you took lol.

 

[Mark_Mark]

It’s like riding a bike! with tons online comment

You never forget, but the knowledge now is vase!

 

[Blue68f100]

welcome back to the bench
Ya us old timers need to update our books
one of my shot shell books has my favorite Pheasant loads using WW 540 [wish I could find some still]

Mike

W540 is now HS6

 

[AJC1]

I strongly recommend Lyman's 51st.
Amazon.com : 51st Reloading Handbook-Softcover : Sports & Outdoors

I'm really curious if any of the data has change in the cartridges he is loading. In the classics like 38 and 45 it doesn't seem to have changed in a long time. I still have a 50th that I use and if you have both I wouldn't be surprised if the data has only been updated on new stuff like 224 Val or 6.8 western. Heck I'd be impressed if they updated what they had to be uniform in pressure to psi vs cup.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

The 51st also has data for Berry's bullets. I have the 50th too. It does have the newer powders too. I'll look and see if it has PSI tomorrow.

 

[AJC1]

The 51st also has data for Berry's bullets. I have the 50th too. It does have the newer powders too. I'll look and see if it has PSI tomorrow.

I keep pondering ordering it....

 

[Frulk]

Welcome back!

Once you have everything sorted and you’re back to actually reloading take a hard look at one of these. They weren’t available when you started your sabbatical.

On sale at MidwayUSA right now for $89. But you’ll want the collator and 4 tube set up which will add another approx. $40. Money well spent!

 

[MonkTx]

Those midway 1292 tumblers are so passe. I will take it off your hands and save you any embarrassment of being seen with one.