I recently acquired my first handgun. After going through my first $20.00 box of ammo in just a few minutes and enjoying the hell out of it, I quickly decided I needed to start reloading. An old high school friend advised me to first get a manual and then join THR. I've read most of the posts regarding new reloaders on this forum and others and my manuals should show up any day now. I'm 99% sure I want to start with a turret press. Most likely a Lee Classic. However, I've always learned better by watching. I was wondering if anybody on here knows of any reloading classes/demos in SW Missouri or somebody in the area willing to let me watch them load a few rounds. I know I would feel more comfortable seeing the entire process start to finish. Any help or advice would be appreciated.
New Shooter/Reloader
- Thread starter jbinmo
- Start date
- Status
rikman
Member
Checkout www.nrainstructors.org and see if anyone in your area has a class, that's what I did...I started out with a Lyman T mag turret press.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
jbinmo,
Welcome to the forum and to reloading.
I feel you're right, seeing it done correctly is worth a 1000 words.
I don't know anyone who runs reloading classes but you might ask at your local shooting or local store that sells reloading components. My local dealer has a press set up at his shop he uses when things are slow to load his own ammo. When a new reloader comes in he shows them hot to load hoping they come back to buy all their components. They usually do of course.
Good luck finding a mentor, it's a good idea IMO.
Welcome to the forum and to reloading.
I feel you're right, seeing it done correctly is worth a 1000 words.
I don't know anyone who runs reloading classes but you might ask at your local shooting or local store that sells reloading components. My local dealer has a press set up at his shop he uses when things are slow to load his own ammo. When a new reloader comes in he shows them hot to load hoping they come back to buy all their components. They usually do of course.
Good luck finding a mentor, it's a good idea IMO.
jwrowland77
Member
Yes a mentor is a great idea. I think I've put that in a couple spots. Great for asking questions or asking about ideas.
Arkansas Paul
Member
I know that Youtube has several videos of people handloading on a progressive press, but I haven't looked at single stage stuff. It might be worth checking out.
Welcome aboard. You've come to the right place. When I first started handloading, this was where I got most of my information. We had a Speer manual and THR.
Welcome aboard. You've come to the right place. When I first started handloading, this was where I got most of my information. We had a Speer manual and THR.
rikman
Member
JB,
Not surprised, but here is an idea....MO isn't that far away. My friend is an NRA Training counselor and one of the few in the Midwest that teaches the NRA Metallic & Shotshell classes. He holds them in a local Cabelas and also has a lab and teaches smaller classes one on one. PM me if you want the details.
Rikman
Not surprised, but here is an idea....MO isn't that far away. My friend is an NRA Training counselor and one of the few in the Midwest that teaches the NRA Metallic & Shotshell classes. He holds them in a local Cabelas and also has a lab and teaches smaller classes one on one. PM me if you want the details.
Rikman
GP100man
Member
Congratulations on your decision to shoot & reload !!!
The Good Lord watched over me as I self taught myself to reload & cast .
A mentor or a class is an excellent start , still read & absorb all ya can ,but at your own pace , the basics are very important !
The rest is just stuff !
The Good Lord watched over me as I self taught myself to reload & cast .
A mentor or a class is an excellent start , still read & absorb all ya can ,but at your own pace , the basics are very important !
The rest is just stuff !
NeuseRvrRat
Member
when i got started, i found youtube videos to be very helpful. watch videos from several different people, compare them, and cross-reference them with your manuals.
Lost Sheep
Member
Welcome to reloading and thanks for asking our advice.
The great thing about a turret press is that you can use it as a single stage (loading in batches) or as a semi-progressive (loading in continuous mode). Each mode has its advantages.
Youtube has many videos of people loading and narrating that are almost as good as being there, but you have to be discerning; any crackpot can post a video (just as any crackpot can post advice on the internet). Not that there are a lot of crackpots on the internet, but listening to just one of the wrong ones can ruin your day.
Tell us something about yourself and your shooting habits. What caliber is your handgun? Do you have other firearms you might be reloading for? What quantities are you expecting to be loading? What kind of shooting do you do (hunting, target, competition). What's your budget?
Lost Sheep
The great thing about a turret press is that you can use it as a single stage (loading in batches) or as a semi-progressive (loading in continuous mode). Each mode has its advantages.
Youtube has many videos of people loading and narrating that are almost as good as being there, but you have to be discerning; any crackpot can post a video (just as any crackpot can post advice on the internet). Not that there are a lot of crackpots on the internet, but listening to just one of the wrong ones can ruin your day.
Tell us something about yourself and your shooting habits. What caliber is your handgun? Do you have other firearms you might be reloading for? What quantities are you expecting to be loading? What kind of shooting do you do (hunting, target, competition). What's your budget?
Lost Sheep
Lost Sheep
Member
Welcome to the forum.
I have thought of a few things I think are useful for handloaders to know or to consider which seem to be almost universal, so I put together this list.
So much is a matter of personal taste and circumstance, though. So, all advice carries this caveat, "your mileage may vary".
So you can better evaluate my words, here is the focus of my experience. I load for handguns (44 Mag, 45 ACP, 45 Colt, 454 Casull, 9mm, 357 Mag, 480 Ruger) a couple hundred per sitting and go through 100 to 400 centerfire rounds per month. I don't cast....yet.
When I bought my first gun (.357 Magnum Dan Wesson revolver), I bought, at the same time, a reloading setup because I knew I could not afford to shoot if I did not reload my own ammo. It cost me about 1/4 of factory ammo per round and paid for itself pretty quickly. I did not use a loading bench at all. I just mounted my press on a 2 x 6 plank long enough to wedge into the drawer of an end table.
I still believe in a minimalist approach and and try to keep my inventory of tools low. I do not keep my loading gear set up when not in use, either, but pack them away in small toolboxes until the next loading session.
Now, here are my Ten Advices.
Advice #1 Use Reliable Reference Sources Wisely - Books, Videos, Web Sites, etc.
Study up in loading manuals until you understand the process well, before spending a lot of money on equipment.
I found "The ABC's of Reloading" to be a very good reference. Short on loading data but full of knowledge and understanding of the process. Check out offerings in your local library. Dated, perhaps but the basics are pretty unchanging. I am told the older editions are better than the newer ones, so the library is looking even better.
Read as many manuals as you can, for the discussion of the how-to steps found in their early chapters. The reason you want more than one or two manuals is that you want to read differing authors/editors writing styles and find ones that "speak" to you. What one manual covers thinly, another will cover well so give better coverage of the subject; one author or editor may cover parts of the subject more thoroughly than the others.
As far as load data in older manuals, the powder manufacturers and bullet manufacturers may have better information and their web sites are probably more up to date. But pay attention to what the ammunition was test-fired from. (regular firearm vs a sealed-breech pressure test barrel, for example)
The public library should have manuals you can read, then decide which ones you want to buy.
There are instructional videos now that did not exist in the '70s when I started.
Richard Lee's book "Modern Reloading" has a lot of food for thought, and does discuss the reasoning behind his opinions (unlike many manuals, and postings). Whether right or wrong, the issues merit thought, which that book initiates. It is not a simple book, though and you will find it provocative reading for many years.
Only after you know the steps can you look at the contents of of a dealer's shelves, a mail-order catalog or a reloading kit and know what equipment you want to buy. If you are considering a loading kit, you will be in a better position to know what parts you don't need and what parts the kits lack.
Advice #2 All equipment is good. But is it good FOR YOU?
Almost every manufacturer of loading equipment makes good stuff; if they didn't, they would lose reputation fast and disappear from the marketplace. Better equipment costs more generally. Cast aluminum is lighter and less expensive but not so abrasion resistant as cast iron. Cast iron lasts practically forever. Aluminum generally takes more cleaning and lubrication to last forever. Lee makes good equipment, but is generally considered the "economy" equipment maker, though some of their stuff is considered preferable to more expensive makes. Just think about what you buy. Ask around. Testimonials are nice. But if you think Ford/Chevy owners have brand loyalty, you have not met handloaders. Testimonials with reasoning behind them are better. RCBS equipment is almost all green, Dillon, blue, Lee red. Almost no manufacturers cross color lines and many handloaders simply identify themselves as "Blue" or whatever. Make your own choices.
On Kits: Almost every manufacturer makes a kit that contains everything you need to do reloading (except dies and the consumables). A kit is decent way to get started. Eventually most people wind up replacing most of the components of the kit as their personal taste develops, but you will have gotten started, at least.
On Kits: Almost every manufacturer (and most major retailer) assembles a kit that contains everything you need to do reloading (except dies and the consumables). A kit is a decent way to get started without too much prior experience. Eventually most reloaders wind up replacing many of the components of the kit as their personal taste develops (negating the savings you thought the kit gave you), but you will have gotten started, at least.
On building your own kit: The thought processes you give to assembling your own kit increases your knowledge about reloading. You may get started a couple weeks later than if you started with a kit, but you will be far ahead in knowledge.
Advice #3 While Learning, don't get fancy Progressive or Single Stage? Experimental loads? Pushing performance envelopes?
While you are learning, load mid-range at first so overpressures are not concerns. Just concentrate on getting the mechanical steps of loading right and being VERY VERY consistent (charge weight, crimp strength, bullet seating depth, primer seating force, all that). Use a "fluffy" powder that is, one that will overflow your cartridge case if you mistakenly put two powder charges in it.
Learn on a single stage press or a turret press. While you can learn on a progressive press, in my opinion too many things happen at the same time, thus are hard to keep track of (unless you load singly at first). Mistakes DO happen and you want to watch for them ONE AT A TIME. Until handloading becomes second nature to you.
Note: A turret press is essentially a single stage press with a moveable head which can mount several dies at the same time. What makes it like a single stage rather than a progressive is that you are still using only one die at a time, not three or four dies simultaneously at each stroke.
On the Turret vs Single stage the decision is simpler. You can do everything on a Turret EXACTLY the same way as you do on a single stage (just leave the turret stationary). That is, a Turret IS a single stage if you don't rotate the head.
Learning on a progressive can be done successfully, but it is easier to learn to walk in shoes than on roller skates.
Also, a good, strong, single stage press is in the stable of alost every reloader I know, no matter how many progressives they have. They always keep at least one.
Advice #4 Find a mentor.
There is no substitute for someone watching you load a few cartridges and critiquing your technigue BEFORE you develop bad habits or make a dangerous mistake. (A mistake that might not have consequences right away, but maybe only after you have escaped trouble a hundred times until one day you get bit, for instance having case lube on your fingers when you handle primers; 99 times, no problem because primers are coated with a sealant, but the hundredth primer may not be perfectly sealed and now winds up "dead")
I started loading with the guy who sold me my press watching over my shoulder as I loaded my first 6 rounds to make sure I did not blow myself up, load a powderless cartridge or set off a primer in the press. I could have learned more, faster with a longer mentoring period, but I learned a lot in those first 6 rounds, as he explained each step. I educated myself after that. But now, on the internet, I have learned a WHOLE LOT MORE. But in-person is still the best.
After you have been mentored, mentor someone else. Not necessarily in loading or the shooting sports, but in SOMETHING in which you are enthusiastic and qualified. Just give back to the community.
Advice #5 Design your loading space for safety, efficiency, cleanliness
When I started reloading, I did not use a loading bench at all. I just mounted the press on a 2" x 6" plank long enough to wedge into the drawer of an end table My loading gear all fit in a footlocker and spread out on the coffeetable and the lid of the footlocker. Good leverage meant the table did not lift or rock. I still use the same plank, but now it is mounted in a Black & Decker folding workbench. A loading bench "bolted to the center of the earth" (as some describe thier setups) would be more stable, but I do not feel deprived without it.
You will probably spill powder or drop a primer eventually, so consider what you have for a floor covering when you pick your reloading room/workspace. I would not try to vacuum up spilt gunpowder unless using a Rainbow vacuum which uses water as the filter medium. A dropcloth is practically infallible. Use cloth, not plastic. Less static, quieter and has less tendency to let dropped primers roll away.
Advice #6 Keep Current on loading tecnology
Always use a CURRENT loading manual. Powder chemistry has changed over the years. They make some powders differently than they used to and even some powder names may have changed. However, if you are using 10 year old powder, you may want to check a 10 year old manual for the recipe. Then double check with a modern manual and then triple check with the powder maker.
Read previous threads on reloading, here are a couple I recommend.
http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=13543
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=11&sid=1efda7af229b625361fbd5ae1f754eec
The second one is a thread started by a new recruit to reloading which the moderators thought highly enough of to make it "sticky" so it stays on the top of the list of threads.
For the New Reloader: Thinking about Reloading; Equipment Basics -- READ THIS FIRST
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=238214
I am looking at getting into reloading for the first time
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=658971
Just bought my first press. Needs some info tho.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=659358
Considering reloading
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=488115
Budget Beginning Bench you will never outgrow, for the novice handloader.
http://rugerforum.net/reloading/293...you-will-never-outgrow-novice-handloader.html
Thoughts on The Lee Classic Turret Press
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=135951
Newby needs help.
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=430391
Advice #7 You never regret buying the best (but once)
When you buy the very best, it hurts only once, in the wallet. When you buy too cheaply it hurts every time you use the gear. The trick is to buy good enough (on the scale between high quality and low price) to keep you happy without overpaying. "The delicious flavor of low price fades fast. The wretched aftertaste of poor quality lingers long.
Advice #8 Tungsten Carbide dies (or Titanium Nitride)
T-C dies instead of regular tool steel (which require lubrication for sizing your brass) for your straight-walled cartridge cases. T-C dies do not require lubrication, which will save you time. Carbide expander button for your bottlenecked cases. Keeps lube out of the inside of the cases.
Advice #9 Safety Always Safety All Ways.
Wear eye protection, especially when seating primers. Gloves are good, too, especially if using the Lee "Hammer" Tools. Children (unless they are good helpers, not just playing around) are at risk and are a risk. Pets, too unless they have been vetted (no, not that kind of vetting). Any distractions that might induce you to forget charging a case (no charge or a double charge, equally disturbing). Imagine everything that CAN go wrong. Then imagine everything that you CAN'T imagine. I could go on, but it's your eyes, your fingers, your house, your children (present of future - lead is a hazard, too. Wash after loading and don't eat at your bench). Enough said?
Advice #10 Verify for yourself everything you learn. Believe only half of what you see and one quarter of what you hear. That goes double for everything you find on the internet (with the possible exception of the actual web sites of the bullet and powder manufacturers). This advice applies to my message as much as anything else and especially to personal load recipes. Hare-brained reloaders might have dangerous habits and even an honest typographical error could be deadly. I heard about a powder manufacturer's web site that dropped a decimal point once. It was fixed REAL FAST, but mistakes happen.
Good luck.
Lost Sheep
Anyone who can follow a recipe in the kitchen or change a tire can handload safely. It just takes care and a bit of humility. Handloading is not rocket science, but it does involve smoke and flame and things that go very fast, so care is to be taken.
I have thought of a few things I think are useful for handloaders to know or to consider which seem to be almost universal, so I put together this list.
So much is a matter of personal taste and circumstance, though. So, all advice carries this caveat, "your mileage may vary".
So you can better evaluate my words, here is the focus of my experience. I load for handguns (44 Mag, 45 ACP, 45 Colt, 454 Casull, 9mm, 357 Mag, 480 Ruger) a couple hundred per sitting and go through 100 to 400 centerfire rounds per month. I don't cast....yet.
When I bought my first gun (.357 Magnum Dan Wesson revolver), I bought, at the same time, a reloading setup because I knew I could not afford to shoot if I did not reload my own ammo. It cost me about 1/4 of factory ammo per round and paid for itself pretty quickly. I did not use a loading bench at all. I just mounted my press on a 2 x 6 plank long enough to wedge into the drawer of an end table.
I still believe in a minimalist approach and and try to keep my inventory of tools low. I do not keep my loading gear set up when not in use, either, but pack them away in small toolboxes until the next loading session.
Now, here are my Ten Advices.
Advice #1 Use Reliable Reference Sources Wisely - Books, Videos, Web Sites, etc.
Study up in loading manuals until you understand the process well, before spending a lot of money on equipment.
I found "The ABC's of Reloading" to be a very good reference. Short on loading data but full of knowledge and understanding of the process. Check out offerings in your local library. Dated, perhaps but the basics are pretty unchanging. I am told the older editions are better than the newer ones, so the library is looking even better.
Read as many manuals as you can, for the discussion of the how-to steps found in their early chapters. The reason you want more than one or two manuals is that you want to read differing authors/editors writing styles and find ones that "speak" to you. What one manual covers thinly, another will cover well so give better coverage of the subject; one author or editor may cover parts of the subject more thoroughly than the others.
As far as load data in older manuals, the powder manufacturers and bullet manufacturers may have better information and their web sites are probably more up to date. But pay attention to what the ammunition was test-fired from. (regular firearm vs a sealed-breech pressure test barrel, for example)
The public library should have manuals you can read, then decide which ones you want to buy.
There are instructional videos now that did not exist in the '70s when I started.
Richard Lee's book "Modern Reloading" has a lot of food for thought, and does discuss the reasoning behind his opinions (unlike many manuals, and postings). Whether right or wrong, the issues merit thought, which that book initiates. It is not a simple book, though and you will find it provocative reading for many years.
Only after you know the steps can you look at the contents of of a dealer's shelves, a mail-order catalog or a reloading kit and know what equipment you want to buy. If you are considering a loading kit, you will be in a better position to know what parts you don't need and what parts the kits lack.
Advice #2 All equipment is good. But is it good FOR YOU?
Almost every manufacturer of loading equipment makes good stuff; if they didn't, they would lose reputation fast and disappear from the marketplace. Better equipment costs more generally. Cast aluminum is lighter and less expensive but not so abrasion resistant as cast iron. Cast iron lasts practically forever. Aluminum generally takes more cleaning and lubrication to last forever. Lee makes good equipment, but is generally considered the "economy" equipment maker, though some of their stuff is considered preferable to more expensive makes. Just think about what you buy. Ask around. Testimonials are nice. But if you think Ford/Chevy owners have brand loyalty, you have not met handloaders. Testimonials with reasoning behind them are better. RCBS equipment is almost all green, Dillon, blue, Lee red. Almost no manufacturers cross color lines and many handloaders simply identify themselves as "Blue" or whatever. Make your own choices.
On Kits: Almost every manufacturer makes a kit that contains everything you need to do reloading (except dies and the consumables). A kit is decent way to get started. Eventually most people wind up replacing most of the components of the kit as their personal taste develops, but you will have gotten started, at least.
On Kits: Almost every manufacturer (and most major retailer) assembles a kit that contains everything you need to do reloading (except dies and the consumables). A kit is a decent way to get started without too much prior experience. Eventually most reloaders wind up replacing many of the components of the kit as their personal taste develops (negating the savings you thought the kit gave you), but you will have gotten started, at least.
On building your own kit: The thought processes you give to assembling your own kit increases your knowledge about reloading. You may get started a couple weeks later than if you started with a kit, but you will be far ahead in knowledge.
Advice #3 While Learning, don't get fancy Progressive or Single Stage? Experimental loads? Pushing performance envelopes?
While you are learning, load mid-range at first so overpressures are not concerns. Just concentrate on getting the mechanical steps of loading right and being VERY VERY consistent (charge weight, crimp strength, bullet seating depth, primer seating force, all that). Use a "fluffy" powder that is, one that will overflow your cartridge case if you mistakenly put two powder charges in it.
Learn on a single stage press or a turret press. While you can learn on a progressive press, in my opinion too many things happen at the same time, thus are hard to keep track of (unless you load singly at first). Mistakes DO happen and you want to watch for them ONE AT A TIME. Until handloading becomes second nature to you.
Note: A turret press is essentially a single stage press with a moveable head which can mount several dies at the same time. What makes it like a single stage rather than a progressive is that you are still using only one die at a time, not three or four dies simultaneously at each stroke.
On the Turret vs Single stage the decision is simpler. You can do everything on a Turret EXACTLY the same way as you do on a single stage (just leave the turret stationary). That is, a Turret IS a single stage if you don't rotate the head.
Learning on a progressive can be done successfully, but it is easier to learn to walk in shoes than on roller skates.
Also, a good, strong, single stage press is in the stable of alost every reloader I know, no matter how many progressives they have. They always keep at least one.
Advice #4 Find a mentor.
There is no substitute for someone watching you load a few cartridges and critiquing your technigue BEFORE you develop bad habits or make a dangerous mistake. (A mistake that might not have consequences right away, but maybe only after you have escaped trouble a hundred times until one day you get bit, for instance having case lube on your fingers when you handle primers; 99 times, no problem because primers are coated with a sealant, but the hundredth primer may not be perfectly sealed and now winds up "dead")
I started loading with the guy who sold me my press watching over my shoulder as I loaded my first 6 rounds to make sure I did not blow myself up, load a powderless cartridge or set off a primer in the press. I could have learned more, faster with a longer mentoring period, but I learned a lot in those first 6 rounds, as he explained each step. I educated myself after that. But now, on the internet, I have learned a WHOLE LOT MORE. But in-person is still the best.
After you have been mentored, mentor someone else. Not necessarily in loading or the shooting sports, but in SOMETHING in which you are enthusiastic and qualified. Just give back to the community.
Advice #5 Design your loading space for safety, efficiency, cleanliness
When I started reloading, I did not use a loading bench at all. I just mounted the press on a 2" x 6" plank long enough to wedge into the drawer of an end table My loading gear all fit in a footlocker and spread out on the coffeetable and the lid of the footlocker. Good leverage meant the table did not lift or rock. I still use the same plank, but now it is mounted in a Black & Decker folding workbench. A loading bench "bolted to the center of the earth" (as some describe thier setups) would be more stable, but I do not feel deprived without it.
You will probably spill powder or drop a primer eventually, so consider what you have for a floor covering when you pick your reloading room/workspace. I would not try to vacuum up spilt gunpowder unless using a Rainbow vacuum which uses water as the filter medium. A dropcloth is practically infallible. Use cloth, not plastic. Less static, quieter and has less tendency to let dropped primers roll away.
Advice #6 Keep Current on loading tecnology
Always use a CURRENT loading manual. Powder chemistry has changed over the years. They make some powders differently than they used to and even some powder names may have changed. However, if you are using 10 year old powder, you may want to check a 10 year old manual for the recipe. Then double check with a modern manual and then triple check with the powder maker.
Read previous threads on reloading, here are a couple I recommend.
http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=13543
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=11&sid=1efda7af229b625361fbd5ae1f754eec
The second one is a thread started by a new recruit to reloading which the moderators thought highly enough of to make it "sticky" so it stays on the top of the list of threads.
For the New Reloader: Thinking about Reloading; Equipment Basics -- READ THIS FIRST
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=238214
I am looking at getting into reloading for the first time
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=658971
Just bought my first press. Needs some info tho.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=659358
Considering reloading
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=488115
Budget Beginning Bench you will never outgrow, for the novice handloader.
http://rugerforum.net/reloading/293...you-will-never-outgrow-novice-handloader.html
Thoughts on The Lee Classic Turret Press
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=135951
Newby needs help.
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=430391
Advice #7 You never regret buying the best (but once)
When you buy the very best, it hurts only once, in the wallet. When you buy too cheaply it hurts every time you use the gear. The trick is to buy good enough (on the scale between high quality and low price) to keep you happy without overpaying. "The delicious flavor of low price fades fast. The wretched aftertaste of poor quality lingers long.
Advice #8 Tungsten Carbide dies (or Titanium Nitride)
T-C dies instead of regular tool steel (which require lubrication for sizing your brass) for your straight-walled cartridge cases. T-C dies do not require lubrication, which will save you time. Carbide expander button for your bottlenecked cases. Keeps lube out of the inside of the cases.
Advice #9 Safety Always Safety All Ways.
Wear eye protection, especially when seating primers. Gloves are good, too, especially if using the Lee "Hammer" Tools. Children (unless they are good helpers, not just playing around) are at risk and are a risk. Pets, too unless they have been vetted (no, not that kind of vetting). Any distractions that might induce you to forget charging a case (no charge or a double charge, equally disturbing). Imagine everything that CAN go wrong. Then imagine everything that you CAN'T imagine. I could go on, but it's your eyes, your fingers, your house, your children (present of future - lead is a hazard, too. Wash after loading and don't eat at your bench). Enough said?
Advice #10 Verify for yourself everything you learn. Believe only half of what you see and one quarter of what you hear. That goes double for everything you find on the internet (with the possible exception of the actual web sites of the bullet and powder manufacturers). This advice applies to my message as much as anything else and especially to personal load recipes. Hare-brained reloaders might have dangerous habits and even an honest typographical error could be deadly. I heard about a powder manufacturer's web site that dropped a decimal point once. It was fixed REAL FAST, but mistakes happen.
Good luck.
Lost Sheep
srtolly
Member
I've been shooting for a long time and also just started reloading. I watched a lot of videos on YouTube by lots of different people. Just reloaded my first .45 acp and went to the range. Now to develop into the load I need of to be for USPSA. Use caution and take your time, then enjoy shooting.
Krogen
Member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2010
- Messages
- 318
Thanks for all of the advice. Lost Sheep, I had previously read your advice post in another forum. As to your other post, I will only be loading 45acp for now. In the future I foresee reloading other pistol calibers. I'm not going to be competing in matches, just target shooting. I probably won't shoot more that 2k rounds a year. I have ordered the abc's of reloading and lymans 49th. YouTube videos seem to create more questions for me than they answer. Going to the range today then I'm going to sneak over to a few of the local gun shops to see what they have. Oh and Rikman thanks for the offer but IL would be to far from me.
NeuseRvrRat
Member
beware the LGS reloading "expert". some of them can be very helpful, some don't know very much, some are downright dangerous, and most all of them just want to sell you something.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
If you're only shooting 1 box of .45 Auto ammo a week the Lee turret press will be just fine for you. Once you get going you will be able to safely load 180-200 rounds/hour so you can spend 1 hour a month and load all the ammo you need for that month.
rfwobbly
Member
Welcome to shooting and reloading.
► You're in the right place to learn how to do it right. YouTube is NOT the place to watch and learn about reloading. For consistently good videos made by an intelligent person, go to Ultimate Reloader.Com. He's basically reviewing different brands and types of presses, not showing you how to reload, but you'll still learn a great deal. He's definitely got one of the better collections of videos out there.
► The best thing you can do right now is to start buying top quality ammo so that you'll have good brass to reload. I've found Winchester in the white box to be consistent ammo with really good quality brass. There are certainly others, but Winchester is one I know that WalMart carries, and as long as you're buying pre-loaded factory ammo, you may as well get a good price on it.
► The big problem right now with 45ACP is that if you buy different brands of ammo each time, then you're going to end up with mixed primer sizes in your brass. Some brands use small primers, while traditionally 45ACP used large primers. Reloading is a "process" and you have to stop and break the "flow" when a brass case shows up with a different primer size. That one item can and will make your introduction to reloading maddening, so be aware.
Hope this helps.
In addition to all the stuff on youtube, I heartily recommend the self-help videos on Lee's website. I upgraded from the Lee single stage to their Classic turret a few years ago and have found their machine to be a perfect fit to my realistic ammo needs and my real-world limited budget.
http://leeprecision.com/help-videos.html
I found that watching them, reviewing reloading manuals and of course reading all the great posts here to be all I needed when I first started out.
http://leeprecision.com/help-videos.html
I found that watching them, reviewing reloading manuals and of course reading all the great posts here to be all I needed when I first started out.
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