How to get started reloading ammunition

[dirt ditch]

When I was into reloading I bought a RCBS kit with everything to start reloading. The single stage press worked great for rifle ammo but was too slow for reloading a lot pistol cartridges at a time. I had great success with a Dillon Square Deal "B" progressive press while reloading several thousand 357 magnum rounds with it. I regret selling the Square Deal press even though I have not reloaded in years.

 

[k0ua]

James, you know my wife doesn't like me hanging out with, you...:laughing:

You gotta admit that works pretty slick, doesn't it? If you look at the stats of USPSA shooters and what they reload with, over 90 percent use Dillon. The rest are a smattering of all the other progressives. I am not saying that other brands are not good, as I am sure they are fine, but Dillon is the king of the hill, and their customer service is second to none. Just a phone call away. As they say, "don't suffer in silence" Just call them if you have any questions or problems of any kind. They will fix it for free and send you what ever you need to get your machine going if something ever breaks. I know I sound like a Dillon salesperson, but I am just a satisfied customer, as all Dillon customers are.

James K0UA

 

[murphy1244]

You gotta admit that works pretty slick, doesn't it? If you look at the stats of USPSA shooters and what they reload with, over 90 percent use Dillon. The rest are a smattering of all the other progressives. I am not saying that other brands are not good, as I am sure they are fine, but Dillon is the king of the hill, and their customer service is second to none. Just a phone call away. As they say, "don't suffer in silence" Just call them if you have any questions or problems of any kind. They will fix it for free and send you what ever you need to get your machine going if something ever breaks. I know I sound like a Dillon salesperson, but I am just a satisfied customer, as all Dillon customers are.

James K0UA

And the girls on the Catologs.

 

[dmccarty]

Since you want handgun rounds, which usually means shooting lots of rounds, buy a progressive. I would by Dillon.

I started reloading to compete in rifle matches so I used a single stage Rock Chucker. It was fast enough for my needs since I wanted each round to be as perfect as possible. I came real close to buying a Dillon progressive but life took me away from the rifle matches so I did not make the purchase.

Buy a couple of books on reloading itself and a couple that had loading tables. I always cross referenced my loads with multiple sources to be safe. I did NOT want to find the typeo in the loading tables the HARD way. :shocked::laughing::laughing::laughing: Read the books on reloading a few times and reference them as needed when you first start. Reread after you have loaded awhile to make sure you are doing things right.

The sticker on my tractor says, "Safety is a habit." The important thing is to make sure your habits are safe.

Later,
Dan

 

[RobertN]

I would ask if you can try your buddies setup first. When I first started reloading, it was on a friends setup. He had the dies for the caliber I wanted to load(I think I tried 45ACP first; it was 30 years ago). I bought my own powder, primers and bullets; I already had saved some brass.

I would recomend you try that first; see if it is really something you want to do before investing moeny in equipment. It also would give you some expieience to base your future equipment purchase on.

A book would be a small investment. Before you reload, geta book and read introduction portion. The Speer book I have gives a very good introduction to the whole process. Ken Waters "Pet Loads" has a great introduction.

I still reload on my 25 year old RCBS Rockchucker single stage. I do admit, I wish I had a Dillon 550 for pistol calibers... But, my single stage continues to crank out the rounds.

 

[TripleR]

You gotta admit that works pretty slick, doesn't it? If you look at the stats of USPSA shooters and what they reload with, over 90 percent use Dillon. The rest are a smattering of all the other progressives. I am not saying that other brands are not good, as I am sure they are fine, but Dillon is the king of the hill, and their customer service is second to none. Just a phone call away. As they say, "don't suffer in silence" Just call them if you have any questions or problems of any kind. They will fix it for free and send you what ever you need to get your machine going if something ever breaks. I know I sound like a Dillon salesperson, but I am just a satisfied customer, as all Dillon customers are.

James K0UA

Oh, I have thought about how nice it would be to have one and came close to buying one several years ago, but I no longer shoot enough to justify the expense. It won't be long before I just give it all to my sons or put covers over my bench anyway. I hate to admit it, but I am shooting commercial rounds right now. When my son was an instructor, I could get ammo close to the price of components and stocked up.

 

[the old grind]

Reloading isn't at all about whose equipment you use. It's about how well you understand the dynamics that proscribe the many safety precautions not readily understood by beginners, and mistakes can happen to those of us with the most knowledge and experience.

You will find 'recipes' everywhere, but they are meaningless without understanding that none is fool-proof, and that substituting components or dimensions, even down to thousandths of an inch, can mean the difference between keeping your gear and yourself whole or, worse yet, being sued. (IMO, primer substitution is, by far, the slipperiest and riskiest slope.)

Nobody's 'pet load' is sure to be your own fave. Recognize that factory ammo doesn't excel in every gun, and that each one will prefer some loads over others.

Money 'saved' will be reinvested in equipment, tools, components, etc. Most of us end up spending as much in the long run, but typically end up with better ammo for our own use.

That said, it's difficult to make blanket recommendations to the novice without understanding their background or experience. I suggest the OP does a LOT of reading before spending a dime on presses, dies, case trimmers, components, etc. Lee's 'Modern Reloading 2nd Ed.' is a great resource for o'all info, and for years I have recommended Hornady's recent manuals (esp #7,8,9) for basic pre-instruction with illustrations to explain what goes on in the chamber during ingition. The most useful addition to anyone's bench is the oversight and guidance of an experienced reloader who will answer your questions as they come up to be sure you put all into perspective.

Now back to those 'recommended loads'. You'll find data everywhere, but as with baking a cake there's a lot more to success than just pouring the ingredients together and turning up the heat. Read, read, read, then ask, ask ask, not about which brand to buy, that's pretty moot, but why each little detail matters. Shop carefully, later on, for 'package' deals from guys/gals who are getting out of the hobby (inc. estate sales or auctions) Expect to end up with lots of duplication in your gear after a while.

I highly recommend two web sites whose info is neither free or limited to just dime-a-dozen load 'recipes' as found everywhere nowadays. Their annual cost(s) are small compared to the wealth of tools, articles, and other info as compared to say a similarly-priced loading manual. (You only ever get what you pay for if you can USE it!) These are well worth one year's membership to see what they're all about and no one will ever be 'tricked into' renewing.

LoadData.com
Ammoguide.com

(btw: I'm renewing my scrip to both the above sites for the 10th yr ... and I still have a lot to learn) Flame suit: ON!

 

[Gunny]

Before you spend any money on equipment, read up first! I recommend this one: The ABCs Of Reloading: The Definitive Guide for Novice to Expert: Rodney C James: 9781440213960: Amazon.com: Books

I respect K0uas advice, but progressive reloaders can be a bit of a challenge for someone just starting out. A good single stage or a good turret press would be my advice for someone wanting to get into reloading. I've got nothing against progressive reloaders, but I just seem to keep going back to either my RCBS Rockchucker or my Lyman turret. I've owned a Dillon RL 450, sold it, a few years later I bought an RL 550, sold it too.
This is just my opinion, but if you want to crank out a lot of rounds with factory performance, a progressive might work for you, but if you want some super accurate rounds, you need a little more input into the process, especially when it comes to measuring powders.

A decent turret or single stage press is a great way to start and if you do decide later on to go progressive, you can either keep your initial setup for those "tailormade hand rolled rounds" or you can sell them, they retain or go up in value, especially these days.

Please don't make the mistake of deciding that you want to reload, then dive headlong into buying the top of the line (and very expensive) equipment, before you really, really decide that reloading is the way to go.

 

[Scott85]

You do not reload to save money.

 

[k0ua]

Reloading isn't at all about whose equipment you use. It's about how well you understand the dynamics that proscribe the many safety precautions not readily understood by beginners, and mistakes can happen to those of us with the most knowledge and experience.

You will find 'recipes' everywhere, but they are meaningless without understanding that none is fool-proof, and that substituting components or dimensions, even down to thousandths of an inch, can mean the difference between keeping your gear and yourself whole or, worse yet, being sued. (IMO, primer substitution is, by far, the slipperiest and riskiest slope.)

Nobody's 'pet load' is sure to be your own fave. Recognize that factory ammo doesn't excel in every gun, and that each one will prefer some loads over others.

Money 'saved' will be reinvested in equipment, tools, components, etc. Most of us end up spending as much in the long run, but typically end up with better ammo for our own use.

That said, it's difficult to make blanket recommendations to the novice without understanding their background or experience. I suggest the OP does a LOT of reading before spending a dime on presses, dies, case trimmers, components, etc. Lee's 'Modern Reloading 2nd Ed.' is a great resource for o'all info, and for years I have recommended Hornady's recent manuals (esp #7,8,9) for basic pre-instruction with illustrations to explain what goes on in the chamber during ingition. The most useful addition to anyone's bench is the oversight and guidance of an experienced reloader who will answer your questions as they come up to be sure you put all into perspective.

Now back to those 'recommended loads'. You'll find data everywhere, but as with baking a cake there's a lot more to success than just pouring the ingredients together and turning up the heat. Read, read, read, then ask, ask ask, not about which brand to buy, that's pretty moot, but why each little detail matters. Shop carefully, later on, for 'package' deals from guys/gals who are getting out of the hobby (inc. estate sales or auctions) Expect to end up with lots of duplication in your gear after a while.

I highly recommend two web sites whose info is neither free or limited to just dime-a-dozen load 'recipes' as found everywhere nowadays. Their annual cost(s) are small compared to the wealth of tools, articles, and other info as compared to say a similarly-priced loading manual. (You only ever get what you pay for if you can USE it!) These are well worth one year's membership to see what they're all about and you no one will be 'tricked into' renewing.

LoadData.com
Ammoguide.com

(btw: I'm renewing my scrip to both the above for the 10th yr ....) Flame suit: ON!

No need for the flame suit. You have given good advice. Of course metallic reloading is an extremely complicated endeavor. Just like welding or any number of other things you could mention. If you started studying reloading when you were 12 and now you are 62, well I am sure you would have learned a lot in those 50 years, but you sure as heck would not know it all! Now that said, I have reloaded 100's of thousands of rounds thru the years, and I have never had one blow up a gun. But I did have a couple that went "pop" with primer only and no propellant. It was due to a defect in the powder delivery system on a reloading machine. I found it and fixed it pretty quick. Reloading is a very rewarding endeavor but there are lots of ways to screw it up!

James K0UA