reloadin' whazzits?
ok so i read all sortsa stuff about reloading- numbers, manuals, case trimmers, serious consequences, etc....i know nothing about it, except i might have an illusion of saving a few bucks on my rounds(which is good, cause i like a sore shoulder)...so what do i do now? i dont got a lot of guns yet, mumble mumble(i tell myself its because i don't like many), so i theorize i might not need some complicated hoohaw kit...or do i? name brands you'd recommend? mix n match? go for broke or what? whats a guy to do who to get with the program on this...
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what cal. do you plan in reloading
i load .38 super comp 40 S&W .223 and 7mm all on a DILLON 550 i started on a single stage RCBS but it took to much time and i like to shoot
"Go over,go under,go around,or go through.But never give up."0 -
7wsm...thanks... 0 -
get yourself a basic single stage press for starters. You can get everything you need in kit form, press, powder scale, trimmer, the whole shootin' match. All the major manufacturers put together kits, Lee, RCBS, Lymann, Hornady, ect;
If you ain't got a sense of humor you got no business bein here!0 -
From my experience, I'd recommend that you buy a good press and die set, you won't regret the price paid as they will last you forever. My preferences are for Hornady and RCBS. Get a good reloading manual.
Whatever you save on making your own ammo, you will probably spend by shooting more. I like that equation, don't you?
Three Precious Metals: Gold, silver and lead0 -
personally, but just listening to what youre saying, i'd say youre not ready to reload. reloading is a science. it is designed to give you insight to the function of your gun and its ability. saving money? many say it does, but not enough to be impressive. and after pulling the handle for 4 hours and your mind starts to wander, and after you wonder if that bullet you dozed on 20 pulls ago got a double charge, you end up wasting a lot of time undoing your hard work for the sake of safety. the best advice i can give you is this. ask yourself what your GOAL is of reloading. if its to save money, go with a dillon 550. set it up for the caliber you use the most and keep it just the way it is. use the same powder and use the same componants day in day out. pull that handle 50 times and get 50 bullets fast. set up a nice corn cob tumbler, get an rcbs single stage to knock out primers, keep it set up, stay away from lead bullets so you dont have to grease them, and go to town. BUT.....if science is your goal, and you enjoy playing with dies, retooling for every stage, get an rcbs single stage and all the bells and whistles and have at it. spend all day making 10 bullets! most accuarcy guys do it this way. they get like 4 rcbs's and have each operation set up perminantley so all they do is slide their chair down the assembly line taking their bullets with them for each stage. trust me...once you start reloading, youll think twice about wasting shots. its a lot of work. i like the science of it. its my line of business. customers want their guns to be built around their pet loads so i have to duplicate their loads on my bench to test their guns. ive spent whole days with my nose in books and tweaking loaders to get that first pull right on. i hope you liked lab in school. loading is LAB WORK. hope i helped.
former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction.0 -
thanks much guys- come christmas, consider me another lab animal...now i'll work out some quadratic equations for the weird science of explaining to my gal bout how i'm really saving money by spending more on reloading(round here you only get a discount by sculpting massive piles of b.s.)... 0 -
Bobski
I"ve never ever understood the idea of popping out primers before tumbling your brass. It must be a holdover idea from pre=progrssived days,but even at that,why fill your primer pocket with media?? Nope,never has made sense to me.
And,lead bullets come pre-lubed,so no "greasing" is required....and they're a whole lot cheaper than jacketed bullets.
Rat,reloading straight wall pistol cases is a breeze.Reloading bottle necked rifle carts. is more time-involved.
More than that,it takes time and the willingness to concentrate on the task at hand.Safety is paramount in reloading.
If yo've gotten the impression ya just duck into the den and crank out a hundred rounds..........well,it's a bit more involved than that.:)
some calibers offer minimal savings.......especially shotshells.
ie: mil. surp. 7.62 is cheap,as is 30-30 rounds. Now,if we're talking .45 long colt rounds like Iuse,then I save a ton of money per year......and I get to taylor the loads as I go.
whew,I do get windy once in a while.
Thats my story,as they say.
Throckmortons' the alias,cas is the game.0 -
I cannot suggest too strongly that you start with the Lee O frame press and a digital PACT scale, as well as dies that you need and Lee powder dispenser. Lee stuff IS cheap and not as robust as RCBS, but it DOES do the job and well. My Lee press broke after four years of hard use upon which I moved up to an RCBS rockchucker. Great intro press, doesn't break the wallet if you don't use it much in the future.
"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf0 -
Like Throck said, and then some.
Pick which type of case you'll be reloading (straight wall or bottleneck), get one of those $8 loadbooks for your caliber, and study on it a while. Most reloading manuals have a narrative describing the caliber's birth, what it was designed to do, best loads for whatever type of shooting, etc.. You get all of 'em in the cheap-o loadbooks for one caliber.
Then find a good scale (I used a Lee safety scale for years), a good powder measure (Lee does make a good one!), a press (most important purchase-get a crappy press and you get frustrated; get a good press and fall in love with reloading!), some good dies (try and keep an eye out for included lock rings to keep your dies adjusted), and find a spot where there are NO DISTRACTIONS to set it all up.
If you've got kids, pets, significant other(s), or folks that just want to watch; get rid of 'em 'till you figure out what the process is. Don't smoke while reloading, and eating is a bad idea as well-you may ingest tiny amounts of lead, etc. that might collect in your bod and kill you some day.
Always use the exact same components listed in your recipe when starting out. There's plenty of time to blow up your gun later, when you become overconfident of your ability to determine brands of powder by taste.
Keep good records of all your cases, trim lengths, loads, reactions when shooting, and anything else; I always say that the only data worth disregarding is someone else's idea for a new load.
And above all, Have Fun!
If you know it all; you must have been listening.WEAR EAR PROTECTION!0
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