Need help getting started...

[30-06 lover]

I have decided to give reloading for my rifles (6mm Rem, 30-06 Sprg) and pistol (45 ACP) a try, that is if it isn't dangerous! The major problem is I have never reloaded and don't have a clue on where to begin. I have been doing some searches, and I have found that most like the Lyman Reloading Manual for a beginning guide, followed Nosler, Speer, or Hornady as a cross reference. The thing I would like to know is what is need to buy and what brand reloading equipment I should get. I am not looking for extreme accuracy, but good accuracy. One inch at 100 yards would be awesome. I want what everyone wants...the best I need for the lowest price. So what brand should I get, and what all do I need to get started? If there is a "package Deal" that gets me all setup to start that would be great. Thanks!!!
-Mike

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Hi Mike,

"The major problem is I have never reloaded and don't have a clue on where to begin."

Reading is a good place to begin. I posted a link to another set of posts and in my post of that link, I suggest several good manuals and books to read. IN particular, the ABC's of reloading comes to mind.

"The thing I would like to know is what is need to buy and what brand reloading equipment I should get."

In the link I provided, I speak about the thought process of selecting your reloading equpment for your purposes.

"I am not looking for extreme accuracy, but good accuracy. One inch at 100 yards would be awesome. I want what everyone wants...the best I need for the lowest price. So what brand should I get, and what all do I need to get started?"

This is a very personal choice.

"If there is a "package Deal" that gets me all setup to start that would be great."

I can think of one or two, but don't recommend them because with kits, you'll find stuff you end up not liking or find other stuff that's better. I found with reloading equipment in particular, it's better to pick and choose stuff from various companies for the reloading application you have at hand.

Here's the link I mentioned above. If you'd like a word document of the article, pm me with an email addy and I'll email it to you.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=2368844#post2368844

Regards,

Dave

 

[antsi]

Getting started:
If there is a THR reloader in your area, or if you know someone who reloads, it is really helpful to see someone else's reloading setup, watch how it works, and load a few rounds. I am somewhat of a hands-on learner and what I read about reloading made very little sense until I had some hands-on experience to tie it to. Second best would be watching a video (Dillon has one).

Brand/Package Deal:
I got a Dillon 550b for my first press and have been pleased. It is a progressive press, which is slightly more complicated mechanically, but it also allows you to produce more ammo more easily (think: assembly line versus hand crafting).
Dillon is a great company to do business with. I have broken things through my own stupidity that Dillon replaced for free, even when I admitted the breakdown was my own fault.

 

[wolfe28]

You are already on the right track!

Mike;
Welcome to the party. Reading the various threads posted on this forum is a great way to start reloading on the right foot. I read this forum for about 6 months to a year before I was able to get my equipment (waiting for right time, place, money, and how to convince the wife to let me (compairing reloading to scrapbooking works great)). The ABC's of reloading (7th edition; by gun digest, edited by Bill Chevalier) is a fantastic reference to have as well.
Where to start (aside from getting a manual or two, I like lyman as well). I started reloading 308 first. In hind sight, that was probably not the best place. If I were in your shoes, I would start with 45 ACP. Yes, you will need to deal with 3 dies instead of 2, but straight wall cases do not stretch or expand as much as bottleneck cases do. This means that you won't have to spend a lot of time triming cases. The other thing with starting with pistol dies instead of rifle, you can get carbide pistol dies that "don't require case lube", also making the reloading go a little faster. I still put a little lube on the pistol cases, but it isn't necessary.
As for starting equipment, that is largely up to you. All the reloading equipment manufactures make quality equipment that will produce accurate amunition. Lee is by far the most inexpensive, but you may need to pay for replacement parts if something breaks. RCBS will replace most of its stuff free of charge, but it costs more at the outset. I use both. What I would recommend is that you start with a "O" style press (Lee Challenger, RCBS Partner, etc.) because these are the strongest based on type of construction, press material not withstanding. That being said, here are a few more things to think about. I started with the Lee aniversery kit, which states "it has everything that you need to start reloading included" minus the obvious powder, primers, brass and projectiles. This isn't quite true. To make this true, you also buy Lee dies and a Lee case trimmer/case length gage for whatever calliber you are reloading. A lot of folks who use this trimmer/gage set up opt to upgrade to the ball handle trimmer and use the shell holder in a drill. Personaly, I upgraded to a Lyman trimmer (after quite a few large blisters caused by the standard trimmer and a long session of 308 reloading :banghead: ). This kit also includes the Lee reloading manual, but I would still get the Lyman and another manual to cross reference with (I have found inconsistancies in the Lee manual that were dispelled by the other manuals).
Other things that are not included in the Lee kit, but would be useful to have (I'm not trying to sell you on a Lee kit, but it's where I started, and it works fairly well): a good micrometer (to measure case length, projectile diameter when sluging a barrel, etc; this could also be considered an essential), a reloading plate/block (to hold primed brass while dispensing powder and then while seating projectiles), and possibly a brass tumbler (to clean and polish brass).
That's about my 2 cents for now.
Best of Luck,
D

 

[Ol` Joe]

I`d go with a single stage to start especially since you are going to load rifle also. The single stage is slower but it gives a bit more control in the process then a progressive. I like RCBS, Redding, or Lyman for tools but others have had good luck with Lee and a few others. What ever you do, shop around! There are good buys on E-Bay, and I bought a RockChucker with a set of both 9mm and 357 dies at a yard sale once for $35.
The books should be your first purchase and they will tell you what you need to get started. Remember each manual will hype their own brand product, RCBS is Speer, Lyman and Lee of course are srlf eplainatory.

 

[snuffy]

Newbie guidelines

BASIC RELOADER RULES & REQUIREMENTS

1. Do you have the patience to do detailed work away from distractions, (TV, Children, guests)?
2. Do you have a secure area that can be dedicated strictly to a loading bench?
3. Do you thoroughly understand what goes on inside a cartridge when you pull the trigger?
4. Are you mechanically inclined? In other words can you understand and follow instructions exactly, to make needed adjustments to equipment? Do know how to use measurement tools such as calipers and micrometers?
5. Read the front sections of several reloading manuals. I suggest one manual, printed by a company that sells reloading equipment AND bullets. The other one should be by a company that sells only powder. Case in point Hornady then Hodgdon. After reading and understanding the “HOW TO” section in those manuals, find someone who already loads to show you how and talk you through a box of shells. Better yet find a NRA Metallic/Shotshell Reloading instructor and take a basic reloading class. See links below for locating an instructor.
6. Never be in a hurry. If you are pressed for time, this is when a mistake will be made.
7. Do not under any circumstances smoke, eat or drink, especially alcoholic beverages. The reasons are obvious, but I’ll state them anyway. Smokeless powder burns at a very high temperature; it makes a dandy accelerant to start a fire. Drinking causes loss of motor skills and judgment.
8. Wash hands thoroughly when you are through. You are dealing with lead in many forms when handling bullets and primers.
9. Walk before you run. Buy a single stage press to start out with. The progressives are neat and useful when doing large quantities of ammo. You will always have uses for the single stage loader for special loads later.
10. Stay with the basics at first. The tools for neck turning, flash hole uniforming, primer pocket uniforming and checking concentricity will be useful after you get some experience.
11. To start with, stay in the mid-range of the suggested loads for medium power levels. Save the maximum loads for when you have more experience.
12. Buy the best equipment you can afford. It will last a lifetime; the cheap stuff will wear out and need replacing.
13. Have ONLY the bullets, powder, primers and empties on the table that you are loading at that time. Put everything away as soon as you are done, in a separate place.
14. The only stupid question is one that doesn’t get asked. If you’re not sure, ask somebody. Use common sense, logic is a great tool for a Reloader.
15. Maintain a log of all loads developed with the test results. Label all boxes with the load data and date of the load.
16. Every Step is an inspection point.
17. The last thing you do before the bullet goes in " Look in every case to verify the powder charge".
18. Get a good pair of shooting/safety glasses and wear them whenever in the loading room.
Links for Reloading help and instructors

http://www.sierrabullets.com/ Bullet company, very good ballistic support group.
http://www.speer-bullets.com Bullet company
http://www.nosler.com/ Bullet company
http://www.hornady.com/ Bullet company
http://www.barnesbullets.com Bullet company
http://www.hodgdon.com Powder company
http://www.lapua.com VihtaVuori Powders
http://www.bluepress.com Dillon Loaders
http://www.mayvl.com/ Mec loaders
http://ww.sinclairintl.com/ Precision Reloading and Shooting specialist
http://www.lymanproducts.com All Lyman Products.
http://www.shooting-hunting.com Great hunting and shooting site with list of instructors
http://www.mynra.com/ NRA with links to NRA certified instructors








Basic steps to reloading. This is a short edited version from the "NRA GUIDE TO RELOADING".

There are 17 steps of which most are for both rifle and pistol and one for pistol only. This is will mark with an * .
1. Inspect cases,
2. Clean Cases
3.Organize cases by batches
4.Select proper shell holder
5.Insert and set up sizing die
6. Lubricate cases
7.Resize and deprime cases
8. Measure case length
9.Trim cases
10 Deburr and Chamfering
11.Clean Primer Pocket
12.Expand Case mouth (*)
13.Prime Cases
14.Measure powder chargeand charge cases
15.Check powder charge in case
16.Seat bullet in case
17. Identify the reloaded cartridges (Mark the box etc.)

 

[antsi]

----quote------
11. To start with, stay in the mid-range of the suggested loads for medium power levels. Save the maximum loads for when you have more experience.
---------------

This is correct. However, I think sometimes we neglect to mention that loading ammo with too light a charge can be very dangerous as well.

Once, I was trying to make a super-light .38 special load for low-intimidation range ammo, and I had a bullet that didn't make it out of the barrel. Luckily I noticed this before trying to shoot another bullet after it. This was my closest brush with catastrophe as a reloader, and I will never again try for super-mini loads.

I like to have a loading manual that lists minimum and maximum charges (actually compare multiple manuals to find minimum and maximum charges) - and then use a mid-point as my starting load. Sometimes I will experiment with increments higher and lower, but I never try to go near the minimum or maximum loads.

Be like Goldilocks: you don't want too hot, or too cold. What you want is "just right."

 

[helpwanted]

Don't buy a progressive.

 

[P0832177]

Reloading Manuals of the real kind not the freebee ones! Get those for cross reference material!

Press - Single Stage to me is the best way to learn before advancing to any kind of progressive, Turret or Progressive
Dies
Shell holders (if the die set doesn't have them)
Tumbler along with media and polish of choice I like IOSSO
MTM makes great loading block tray that handles most cartrideges
Case Lube (you won't need if using carbide dies but you will if they are rifle carbide dies my choice for rifle is Imperial Die Wax, but Dillon spray lube works too)
Case Neck Brush
Dial Calipers
Case Trimmer (Lee works, but Possum Hollow is better, Wilson makes the best hand powered Lathe trimmer, and Giruad is the best powered Trimmer)
Deburring/Chamfering Tool
Primer Pocket Cleaner
Primer Tray
Priming Tool (I like the RCBS, but Sinclair makes the best)
Powder Scale
Powder Funnel kit with drop tubes!
Powder Trickler
Powder Measure (nice for faster powder charges)
Hammer Type Bullet Puller
Ammo boxes and labels
A notebook for recording your results