Check these articles for information on how to get started and how to make good handloads.
Introduction To Reloading
Reloading Starter Kits
Case Prep
Loading A Cartridge
Printable View
Check these articles for information on how to get started and how to make good handloads.
Introduction To Reloading
Reloading Starter Kits
Case Prep
Loading A Cartridge
Great post! Very helpful for a newbie like me. Thank you. :)
Another guide showing the process step-by-step, using Alliant Techsystems products (i.e., RCBS loading tools/Speer manuals) can be seen at http://www.rcbs.com/guide/printsteps.html .
Do you have to use the same tools and follow the procedures exactly as shown on the linked page? No - but the procedures as shown are a good starting point from which to begin.
Very good info thanks!
Possum
The links do not work. I get a screen that says I need to be a paid member to view.
Forr $12 a year you get access to the members only sections that have a lot of great articles and information. I have saved myself a lot more than $12 from the information on this site. But on the other hand i have spent more than $12 because of what I learned?Quote:
Originally Posted by Live Oak
If you want to reload, pick up the book 'Modern Reloading: Second Edition' by Richard Lee. A great start on the basics, the theory, up to using the very equipment 90% of us reloaders will ever use: cheap and reliable Lee stuff.
Any good reloading manuals are great! That's what I was advised.
I read two, and my questions were answered. Any equipment properly used will work! Lyman - R C B S has very good kits and so does a few others! It's kinka hard to chose from the above two.
I looked at a Dillion, but I wanted more hands on control (power measure) when I reload. I mainly shoot rifles, if I had a pistol, I might go with a Dillion.
I would get two presses, This speeds the process up! You usually can buy a press for less than $130.00
An electronic scale and powered case cleaner-case prep is nice also!
Lee Breech Lock Challenger kit. Should run you about $150 all-in, including a set of dies.
Another good place to find info is U-Tube , lots of step by step , How-To video's , just type in " Ammo Reloading "
stimpy
A few things I have found. Some of it may have been covered.
The fastest load is usually not the most accurite load and burns up the throat of your barrel far faster than a more moderate load and puts a lot more wear on your rifle, especially semi autos and lever action rifles.
When looking at the reloading manuels, the pressure of the load is alway listed.
If you look you will see that some powder produce the same FPS as another powder, but at a much lower pressure. If you can find a god load using one of the powders that produce lower pressure, especially if you need a max load, you are way ahead in being safe and having less wear on your rifle.
The published FPS in the manuels will not be the same as what the load shoots from your rifle. The load you end up with will usually be slower from your rifle.
When figuring out bullet drop and windage from a spicific bullet, you have to know the actual FPS the bullet is leaving your rifle to get accurate results. Good Cronographs are available for about $100.00. They will help you to figure the most accurate bullet drop for long range shooting. Another thing they will do is to tell you the spread in FPS from the load you are shooting. Almost always, the load with the lowest spread in FPS will be the most accurate load.
You do not need to have a bullet traveling at 3500 FPS when it hits an animal to be effective when hunting.
Some of the best loads go around 2400 to 2600 FPS at the amimal, so you have to know the range that you will be shooting at so you can figure what speed the bullet will be traveling when it hits the animal (once again, the crono is a must).
You can call any of the bullet manufacturers to find out what FPS range they recommend for their bullets and find the bullet that will open up reliability at the speed your bullet is travelging at at the animal. You want a bullet that will not blow up before it gets into the animal.
For huning, spend the extra money and use one of the custom made bullets from any one of several different custom bullet manufacturers. A few more $$$ on an expensive hunt is well worth spending. Call the bullet manufacturer and ask for their recomendation. Have the FPS that your rifle shoots figured out at the range you will be shooting at before calling.
Remember, just loading for the maximum FPS that you can get from your rifle will seldom give the best accuracy, will wear out the barrel much faster and wears the whole gun faster. It also gets you far closer to an accident because maybe your rifle can't take the load or you made a mistake and put in just a little too much powder.
In most cases, a little slower is far better.
Many match shooters find the accuracy of their very expensive match barrels starting to go away in as little as 2000 rounds, so youcan imagine how max loads hurt your barrel.
Just my 2 cents, but I'm a retired gunsmith and have been reloading for 35 years. I've seen the damage that the hottest loads do to a rifle. It's not worth it and I'm not just talking about the rifles that have blown up either.
A lesser load will be justa s much fun to shoot, more accurate in many cases and will help you and your rifle to live long lives.
John K
As is almost always the case, bullet seating force is left out of the discussion.
While it's true that the more perfectly you prepare your cases, the less chance the required seating force will vary, vary it will and if you think it cannot cause significant differences in muzzle velocity, you're sadly mistaken.
Does the pilot of your concentricity gauge go all the way past the shoulder of the case? If not, are you sure you've not introduced a "donut" in that area during your sizing? Bullet seating force will vary greatly if there is.
Is the ball of your resizing die introducing undulations on the inside of the neck?
How are you testing the neck wall thickness? ball micrometer (recommended) or dial indicator (fallible).
Do you feel like you're meticulous about your hand loading process and you've got a great rifle/barrel but you're still not shooting tight groups? You may have overlooked bullet seating force.
I'm currently perfecting (I hope) a new method of dealing with bullet seating force. I will report on it after all my testing is complete. It differs significantly from any other method I'm aware of... K & M arbor... Torque Wrench.
.
Do not take up handloading.
Repeat.
Do not take up handloading.
.
I just sent this to someone who recently asked me how to get into reloading. Info taken from different web sites. if it had "Rodney-" in front of it, its my notes.
Before you get any of the reloading equipment on the equipment list below, you’ll want to do some reading. You won’t need all of them, but here’s are some good manuals to start with:
The ABC's of Reloading (I strongly advise starting with this one.)
Metallic Cartridge Reloading (I strongly advise buying this one second.)
Speer Manual
Modern Reloading by Richard Lee
Lyman Metallic Reloading Handbook
Hornady 5th Edition Reloading Handbook (2 volume set)
1. A reloading press for what you're doing. You’ll need to know what type of cartridge and in what quantities you want too shoot before a press can be advised, so think on how much you think you'll shoot. This is the most important set of decision making you have regarding selection of equipment – how much?, what type? and in what quantities? are questions you need to start with.
Generally speaking, a single stage press may be better for more accurate cartridges in rifle and providing solid control of the reloading process for a new reloader. The only drawback is the volume of produced rounds versus the effort required can be low. The RCBS Rock Chucker, the Lee Classic Cast Press, Redding Boss and Forester Coax are all excellent choices. (However, the new Lee Classic Turret Press, capable of 200 rounds or better per hour, is beefy and may very well be a good choice for rifle as well as pistol.)
Rodney- I use the RCBS Rock Chucker. I 1st bought a Lee Press and it was a piece of junk compared to the RCBS. It flexed and gave me different bullet seating depths depending on how hard I pushed the lever. The RCBS has a stop on it so you push till it stops and you CANT go any farther. I would love to have a turret style progressive press for loading large quantities of pistol cartridges but they are expensive. The nice Dillon is over 750.00 new. For rifle I prefer to load each cartridge one at a tim. It takes longer but I think it’s a more accurate load.
Rodney- Lee reloading equipment is the cheaper/ lower end reloading equipment on the market. Its not junk so its very popular for beginners but its not nearly as nice as other brands. On some items though, it doesn’t matter. I think my scale is a Lee and I know my powder measure is. Both work perfect they just aren’t as nice as an RCBS model. Just don’t get a Lee press. You will regret it.
I should note you can easily reload smaller calibers like .223 on most progressives, but for ultimate accuracy, the competitors seem to go with a single stage for their long distance round building.). If you go with the Rock Chucker or Lee Classic Cast press, I'd suggest also getting a Hornady Lock N Load bushing conversion kit for the Rock chucker or Lee Classic Cast press with another 10 additional bushings. The Lee is the least expensive of the bunch, is the latest single stage out and has compared favorably with the Rock Chucker and like the Rock Chucker, will accept the Hornady Lock N Load Conversion Bushing kit.
Rodney- I’ve never heard of the Lock N Load bushing until now.looks like you can get them for a bit over 6.00 a bushing plus whatever the conversion kit (that I cant find anywhere)costs, plus shipping.Nice but I think I’m fine without it. It only takes 15 seconds to change dies the way it is.
With the Lock N Load bushings, you adjust your dies once, tighten down the lock ring and next time you want to change dies, you just insert, twist and snap/lock in and you're done changing dies in about 2 seconds. I used these on my Lee Classic Cast press and I have found them to be wonderful. BTW, you can use a single stage press to do specialized tasks and to reload quantities of less than 100 rounds at a time, such as hunting rifle ammunition, so it’s useful even if you do have a progressive.
For reloading pistol, you’d want to consider a turret or progressive press. If you are new, a Single stage press would likely be the better choice (Unless you desire to reload large quantities in excess of 200 rounds an hour or a 1000 rounds a month.), to have a bit more control and to get an understanding of what’s happening, though a progressive is “do-able,” you run a larger risk of making a mistake that could harm you or damage your pistol/rifle. Good brands of turrets are Lee Classic Turret Press (4 station, automatic advance), RCBS (88901, cast iron) and Redding (T7, cast iron). For the lowest price, the Lee will do an excellent job, providing 200 plus rounds per hour and will get you started at a very affordable price. If you decide to stay with it, you may want to go progressive and keeping your Lee Classic Cast Turret will provide you inexpensive caliber changes for guns you don't shoot a lot.
Rodney- Dillon is top of the line in progressive turret presses.
If you find you reload a large quantity of rounds and want to go full blown progressive, excellent brands are Hornady Lock N Load (5 station fully automated; I have one and love it.), Dillon 550 (4 station semi-automated turret, quite popular with many folks.) or 650 (5 station fully automated, buddy of mine has one and loves it.), (Dillon’s SBD is a good press if you're only going to reload pistol, but it’s dies won’t fit anything other press, nor will any other dies fit it, so you’re stuck with Dillon dies and it doesn’t reload rifle.) and the RCBS 2000 (An excellent cast iron semi automated press comparable to the Dillon 550, it has an excellent primer feed - owners who post seem to love theirs. I have no personal experience).
Rodney- If you go with a progressive press make sure you get a model that reloads rifle and pistol if you plan to reload both. Some day I’d love to get one for loading pistol and possibly .223 if I ever get an AR but that’s out of my budget right now.
Very Good economy brands are the Lee Pro 1000 and Loadmaster (A very fast press, the Loadmaster, buddy of mine loves his and I've enjoyed reloading on it.). The Lee’s are less expensive and may take some tweaking and adjusting, but it can be done and it’s way less expensive to purchase, a serious consideration if your money is tight. You should be aware that if you buy the Lee’s, you’d need to adjust them properly to get good operation. Here’s a good how to website for Lee equipment and Lee Precision’s own website has excellent “how to” mpegs on it as well:
http://www.geocities.com/leereloading/index.htm
http://www.leeprecision.com/
2. Reloading dies for the caliber of your choice. I have Hornady, Lee, Lyman and RCBS dies, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy and use Dillon, who also load excellent ammo and were specifically designed for progressive reloading. Many posters who own them say Redding is the Cadillac of dies, but they tend to be pricey. I would only explore the Redding and other higher priced dies if your plan were to reload for serious competitive or long range hunting purposes.
Rodney- I use the RCBS dies. You can get them anywhere and I cant afford Redding dies. (I do have one redding die that I won at a shooting competition).
For pistol, you'll want to buy carbide or TiN coated dies, so that you do not have to lubricate your brass to prevent it sticking in the die. For a single stage press (Or Lee Turret press), you'll need a shell holder that matches the caliber you're loading. For a progressive, you’ll need a shell plate.
3. A Powder measure/dispenser (Many kits include these.) I like the Hornady, RCBS and Redding brands for these. I have both the Hornady and Redding brands. Of these, the Hornady and RCBS have an automated version I’ve found to be more consistent because of the automated feature. Mine came with my Hornady Lock and Load Auto Progressive Press.
Rodney- I use a Lee but would really like to upgrade to an RCBS($80.00). The lee works great but the RCBS is nicer. Electronic ones are very nice but quite expensive.
For more automated powder dispensing, the Lee Auto Disk, the Hornady Lock N Load and the Dillon measures offer case activated powder dispensing and expanding capabilities, which are very desirable if you wish to load pistol. All three work very well on a progressive press, giving consistent powder dispensing. Some powder measures work better when you use powder the measure "likes," so be aware and ask about which powders which measures work with with before you buy.
Rodney- Meaning flake, ball, or spherical powder. Those are the three types.
4. A scale, no matter single stage, turret or progressive, you'll need one of these. I like the RCBS 505 and 1010, the Hornady and the Dillon scales. I have a Redding, but wish I had gotten another brand because the fine adjustment is hard to see and can be bumped out of adjustment accidentally. My plan is to replace the Redding with an RCBS 1010 when I can, because of the positive fine adjustment on the RCBS 1010. Others like the electronic measures, but I haven’t found as mainly a progressive reloader the cost justifies the expensive for no more than I use my scale. (I use mine as a check for my powder measures, not to weigh out powder charges.)
Rodney- I only use mine to make sure my powder measure is dumping the correct ammout when I start loading a certain cartridge and don’t use it again until I start a different cartridge/ load.
I saw at Gunnies last weekend a small electronic scale for 49.00. I think I’ll get one as soon as I get the cash.(if I can find a Good review on it online)
5. A set of calipers to measure your cartridges with. I have a Frankford Arsenal set that's done well for me. I have recently replaced it with a 6” digital set I bought at Harbor Freight Tools (It’s done a great job since I’ve had it and I really like the digital feature.). Other folks spend a lot more money, but these have been more than accurate enough for everything I've loaded, including high-power rifle cartridges for competitive purposes.
6. A reloading manual- I have and like Speer, but Hornady, Lee and a couple other folks make excellent ones. I haven't heard much about Lyman's reloading manual, but their lead bullet manual is pretty good. A good loading book on the basics like the ABC's of Reloading and Metallic Cartridge Reloading can help you understand the process a lot better. Read them a couple times it will get you to a good understanding. Read the directions that come with your press, dies etc.
7. Some snap lid plastic storage containers with bins to store all the little pieces and parts from the equipment. It might not be a bad idea to look at plastic fishing tackle boxes, as they have lots of storage compartments.
8. Some Akro plastic bins to hold your brass, bullets and loaded cartridges while you're in the process of reloading. If you're loading single stage, you might need some cartridge blocks to regain the brass in various stages of production. Buy the cheapest bins out there, such as Harbor Freight; they're all plastic so you gain nothing by paying more. For reloading on a single stage, you’ll need loading blocks for the period where your cases are charged with powder and are waiting for bullets.
9. A couple of adjustable wrenches, one six inch and one eight inch. There may be other hand tools, but if you have a toolbox, you may already have them. Or you can identify the correct size wrenches you need for a better fit when adjusting things.
Rodney- I have a small cresent wrench, a few screwdrivers, and an allen wrench(for adjusting dies) in my reloading desk.
10. Bullet pullers, both kinetic and collet types, to correct your mistakes. Why both? The kinetic puller to cover oddball calibers you decide to buy and load and the collet puller to cover the calibers you load the most. I had the kinetic made by Frankford Arsenal in the past, but because of price changes, I now recommend the RCBS one, because of their excellent warranty (They’ll exchange it if it breaks, no matter how long you’ve owned it.). BTW, the collets for the Frankford Arsenal fit the RCBS. I like the Hornady and RCBS collet pullers, because of their operation speed and they don’t spill the powder everywhere.
Rodney- I use kinetic RCBS bullet puller when needed. Which is almost never. I haven’t touched it for years.
11. A brass trimmer. I have an RCBS Pro Power Trimmer ($250.00) automated version and have recently added the head that chamfers. Makes it real nice if you’re processing large quantities of brass that need trimming and chamfering. I used to compete in high-power rifle, reload lots of rifle cartridges that need to be trimmed to length occasionally. For smaller quantities of brass, a hand trimmer ($70.00- $100.00) would be sufficient. You will need to check your brass is not over the maximum allowed length. After trimming, you will need a de-burring tool cleans up the inside and outside necks so the case-mouth isn't sharp and bullets insert smoothly without damage. RCBS offers the Trim Mate to automate this, as well as the chamfering heads for their Trim Pro. Most automatic pistol cartridges do not need to be trimmed. If you[‘re doing a serious volume of competitive shooting, you may want to take a look at the Giraud and Gracey trimmers.
Rodney- I have a lyman trimmer which I hate. I would love to get n electronic trimmer as soon as I can afford it.
12. Cartridge gauge. These are nicely convenient to check to see if your reloaded cartridges are within SAAMI specification. They are especially useful when reloading pistol cartridges I’ve found.
Rodney- I’ve never used one.
13. Case lube - I use Hornady One Shot on my rifle cartridges, but I find it and their cleaner lube handy for lubricating moving parts on my progressive that I don't have grease and oil getting into. For rifle cartridges you can lube with a pad and case lube (such as the one included in the RCBS kit) or use something like Hornady one-shot or try out Imperial Sizing Die Wax, which I hear is another excellent product. My recommendation is the One Shot or the Imperial wax over the messy lube pads.
14. Brass - I recommend you research and buy a better brand of brass, particularly what the majority of folks shooting your caliber are loading, it'll generally be (but not always) the best compromise of quality and price. Occasionally something new comes along that whips the "standard" pretty badly. Though sometimes, it’s about the same price to buy preloaded cartridges, shoot them and reload the brass. You come out about the same cost wise, but get to shoot it more. Range pick up can be nice at times as well. If you’re not sure about a brand of brass, ask on the reloading forums. Thoroughly inspect any brass you decide to reload in order to identify problems with that brass.
15. Powder - Again, start with the "Ole standby" for your cartridge (if one exists) and then move out to other brands as you gain reloading experience. Post on the net and folks will provide you with what the “Ole standby” is for any particular caliber.
Rodney- LOTS to choose from. It just depends on what your gun shoots best with. Load testing can be time consuming and expensive (if you decide to buy several different powders to test). But once you have the perfect load for the gun and bullet you want to shoot your all set.
16. Bullets - FMJ is great, but lead is cheaper. I'd advise buying them in bulk, 500 to a thousand at a time. You'll want to learn how to reload before you even think about making your own lead bullets. Depending on the caliber you're shooting, this will certainly result in significant savings. This is for range practice. For hunting, go with the best bullets you can afford for the type of animal you’re hunting. Once you’ve learned how to reload, you can also cast and “roll your own” bullets as well.
Rodney- I don’t shoot lead because its messy to load and dirty in the gun.
17. Safety glasses, wear them while you're reloading, just like you do when you're shooting. There is nothing like making a mistake; then blowing up a primer and losing an eye to ruin one’s day.
18. You will need to clean the brass. Bose's Guns, (http://www.bosesguns.com/) has a Frankford Arsenal combination that does well, it's the one I have. Another more expensive alternative would be the Dillon combination (Dillonprecision.com). Other manufacturers make other good ones as well. The ones mentioned are the ones I’m familiar with.
Rodney- You don’t have to clean the brass each time you reload it if you don’t want to. It just looks better.Eventually though youll want to clean it to get rid of all the powder residue in the case and primer pocket.
Finally, build yourself a nice, stable reloading bench. Some make their bench huge, with lots of surface area. I suggest to you that rather than do this; you make the bench just big enough to set up a reloading operation with AKRO plastic bins (bought cheaply from an industrial supply outfit in large quantity). You will need a single "universal" reloading tray to hold the cartridges while they are primed and charged, waiting for bullets.
Having owned both large and small bench setups, I've found setting up two or even three smaller benches and making shelving units to store the accessories and reloading components works better for me.
I've had to move a time or two and the huge benches were a real problem. With a bench narrower than the width of your doors, if you have to move, you don't have to disassemble it (Much more convenient not to have to disassemble when you're busy as hell trying to get ready to move.) Also, make it short enough you can move it around corners within your house.
Some links:
http://www.leeprecision.com/
http://www.redding-reloading.com/
http://www.rcbs.com/default.asp?menu=1&s1=1
https://www.hornady.com/shop/
http://www.bosesguns.com/
http://www.fmreloading.com/
http://www.dillonprecision.com/
http://www.kempfgunshop.com/index.html
http://midwayusa.com/
Any news on this?Quote:
Originally Posted by DougMH