How to start in the reloading game?

firefighter

firefighter

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Where and/or how does a person get started in the reloading game? I am mainly thinking of pistol 9mm and .45 as I am going to get into IPSC shooting and am hoping that reloading your own will be cheaper. I helped out a buddy reload years ago and really enjoyed it but he sold all his stuff and has moved away. Is there a course you can take? What type of equipment do you need? I am thinking that I would go through 500 rounds in a month tops. I'm in BC lower mainland if anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great.
 
When I decided to get into reloading, I began by haunting the reloading forum. Wrote down questions that arose, found answers, found more questions- it was all Greek to me at first, but after a while, it began to seem understandable.

For the quantities you're looking at, a progressive press is best, or at least a turret press.

I'm not sure it's a good idea to learn on a progressive though. With a turret, you can disconnect the auto-index feature, and use it very much like a single stage press, which most seem to agree is the best way to learn the basics.
 
Hi FF. The best thing to do is get 1 or 2 reloading manuals. You can find them on line or at a LGS. While you're reading them you can also google "reloading forums". There are a bunch of them and they will help you understand what you need as far as tools and components and how to use them safely. The guys here are very good also. When you do have a question to ask, be specific... it's really easy to confuse the guys that are trying to help you.
Once you do get going, don't trust any load that's given to you on line. Work from your manuals and start from the lowest load and work up until you are happy or until your gun/ammo tells you they are unhappy.

I see Steve has posted while I'm writing, and he's right... for pistol reloading the turret would probably be best to start so that you can use it as a single stage while you're learning. I dunno about courses. Perhaps at your club??

I only load for rifle, so I can't really help you with handgun loading, but I'd be happy to help you spend your money on the tools and materials. Just send me a PM if you want help with the terms we use, and I can definitely make time to go shopping with you... C.
 
I was in the same situation not too long ago and made one big mistake. Do some research and start looking for a pistol powder ASAP!! I made the mistake of getting all the equipment and then found out there was no powder. I was dead in the water for weeks (I spent money buying equipment instead of buying ammo) to get started and eventually found a load that worked. Titegroup works well for 9mm. Lower Mainland people that can help: I got Titegroup powder from Henry (Sponsor to CGN:cool:) http://www.budgetshootersupply.ca/, Campro bullets from Brennen at http://www.shooterready.ca/product-category/campro-bullets, and Dillon Presses/IPSC gear from IPSC BC Coach Murray Gardner http://www.mdgardner.com/. Go shoot Fridays at http://activeshooter.ca/ in Abbotsford
 
stevebc said:
I'm not sure it's a good idea to learn on a progressive though. With a turret, you can disconnect the auto-index feature, and use it very much like a single stage press, which most seem to agree is the best way to learn the basics.
Click to expand...

you can also run your progressive press by only putting 1 case through it a time so you can feel all the operations until you feel comfortable to run it progressively.

that being said a turret or single stage is always handy once you get addicted to reloading and start buying brass, bullets and dies for guns you don't own... yet :)


as for starting into reloading youtube, and these forums is where i started. the ABC's of reloading is a great book as well as lyman's 49th editon and lee's reloading manual. i just have the lyman 49th edition but typically i can find what info i need via here or google. i should get some more books though for when the internet is down, especially for load data. i ended up printing all the load data for the calibre's i reload off hodgdon just in case. i have the pdf's for alliant and accurate powders so i'm pretty much covered.

i learned about casting from cast boolits and trial and error, but they also have casting books.
 
I just got started into reloading with a Lee Loader and I loaded 60 rounds on Monday evening. Theoretically, I could load 600 per month by spending 10 evenings reloading. I like reloading, but not that much. :) My point is, if I can do that with a Lee Loader then someone should be able to triple that volume with a simple one-stage press and some basic periferal components like a powder measure (I measure every charge individually with a digital scale, which accounts for 80% of the time to load a round). By that measure, one would only have to spend about 3 evenings a month to load about 500 rounds.

One thing to sit down and consider seriously is cost recovery. Add up all the machinery and gadget cost, then calculate as accurately as you can how long it will take to recover that cost by reloading vs. buying bulk ammo. Pistol ammo is pretty cheap, relatively speaking. At 500 rounds per month, a Dillon 650xl is going to take a while to pay for itself, and the primary benefit is that you can cut your "reloading evenings per month" down to 1 (from a theoretical 3).
 
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Read, read, and read some more. Haunt the reloading forum, check online sources, but reloading manuals and the book Reloading ABC's are very beneficial. Once you feel like you have a good handle on the basic process and terminology, find yourself a decent reloading kit. Take your time, double and triple check everything. If you have friends or family that reload, buy a case of beer (to be shared afterwards as payment) and enjoy a lesson. Just try not to wince too hard when you fire off the first shot :runaway:
 
cbh560 said:
Read, read, and read some more. Haunt the reloading forum, check online sources, but reloading manuals and the book Reloading ABC's are very beneficial. Once you feel like you have a good handle on the basic process and terminology, find yourself a decent reloading kit.
Click to expand...
^^ +1 to that.

Although I would not consider myself an expert reloader by any stretch, I started (and am still using) a Lee single stage press. I can put out about 80 - 100 rounds per hour once I really get going. The beautiful thing is that the whole setup only cost me $308, new. I'd recommend a better scale and a decent tumbler (although tumblers are always a hot-button topic among reloaders). Oh, and I use Vihtavuori N320 for all my pistol loads. It shoots best for me.
 
Decide on how much money you want to spend first. Then buy a copy of The ABC's of Reloading(about $30 at your local gun shop or Amazon) and read the whole thing.
Then look into an RCBS beginner's kit. Gives you everything you need less dies and shell holder. Plus you get RCBS' warrantee. Comes with a manual, but buy a Lyman book too. It's more versatile.
Lee's manual is Hodgdon's data. Lee tests nothing themselves.
Depending on the local cost of components(jacketed bullets are too expensive to shoot regularly. And cost savings from buying components on-line is negated by shipping costs.), approximately 500 rounds per month will pay for itself in less than 6 months.
 
Well thanks for all the info, this gives me a starting point. Now it looks like I have some reading to do and count how much money is buried in the back yard in the emergency account!
 
can someone put up a list of all the things you need to actually get going?

I have wanted to do this for a year or so now, but I am over my head. I don't want to miss out on something I need, but I also don't want to get "sold" something I don't need.

maybe on some things you could put a this OR this?

some things that you don't need but will make things much nicer?

I have a calipers and LOTS(I mean lots) of brass.
 
Like most things humans do - it is not that difficult - it is just that the consequences of screwing it up can be devastating - just like driving a car - but we do that every day.

I learned on a single stage with my Dad - it is pretty simple: (re)size the case / de-prime - prime / flare / drop powder / seat the bullet then crimp. Ideally get a mate to show you - maybe start with a single stage and drop the powder manually but if you are shooting pistol - that will rapidly get old owing to the sheer quantity you will want to reload but getting a good foundation is key. Major problems are not dropping powder (the next shot is the problem if you don't realize it) or double dropping (potential boom) and what you want to get to is consistency. So, my advice is find someone to show you or consult youtube - there is a lot of dross out there but persevere. You have inspired me to publish my next reloading video. Feel free to PM me if you have questions
 
Firefighter, I hope you're reading some of the other threads here as well as this one. There's a lot of good info on the "reloading 101" thread running just now.

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1233285-I-need-a-reloading-101

Your calibers you mention and the numbers you need to reload suggest a progressive press. The trick is in realizing that you can put yourself into a lot of trouble in a hurry so go slow and do lots of mental checks so you're sure you really understand what is going on at each position and how different things on the press all interact. I also suggest that if whichever press you get has an auto indexing feature that you remove or disable it for the first little while. If you run into a problem you don't want to compound it by allowing it to move away to the next position.

If all that sounds like a good source of confusion from all the mechanical stuff involved then a better starting out option might be a single stage press. It's far more intuitive for those that can admit to themselves that they are not that good when it comes to understanding and learning how to deal with a lot of interacting mechanical adjustments.

A progressive press will let you load roughly 2 to 3 times faster than a single stage. But to reload 500 rounds a month you're only looking at around 3 to 3.5 hours total of time on a single stage.

And has anyone mentioned that a nice single stage is about 1/4 the cost of a progressive press and the added parts needed for each caliber conversion?
 
Reloading is rocket science. Rocket science ain't hard. It's a process. Do this, get this.
I started reloading rifle. It was many years before I was reloading for my own handguns. By that time I had a single stage press, but, during a conversation with a friend, I wound up with a Lee Turret press for $25 (he hadn't used it since he got his Dillon). That value press became my best friend. I used it as a "speed loader" my grunt work was still done single stage. I would de-cap and resize hundreds of cases at a time. I would then prime them off-station. When I wanted a load (already developed) I would install the plate that had the powder measure, bullet seater and crimper. Once the measure was set, you could do 200 rounds faster than your wife can get supper on the table.
You do NOT have to clean cases. Simply clean out the primer pockets after de-priming. However, that being said, I like the nice shiny cases each time. You should only have to trim every 10 loadings unless you are slamming through high end loads all the time, then you are causing trouble elsewhere, though.
Find a middle ground that gives you acceptable results without going hog wild. That would be, in my opinion, a Lee Turret press. The value press has loaded many hundreds of .303, .270, and .30-06 rounds for me and they all went bang and animals fell down, mostly (my fault, not the rounds). If you have the extra cash lying around, spring for the Classic Cast Turret Press, I've never needed it, but now that I have one, my son gets the value turret.
 
Find out what powder you can get and research or ask around what you can do with it. When you have that down, and are satisfied then buy enough to get you started.
Then buy the basic things to get started: press, dies, scales, shell holder, cases, primers, bullets etc..it’s going to be pricey, expect that.
Stick to the well documented combinations at first...go from there.

Ask questions about even what you think is basic stuff, research. You learn enough to feel confident after a while.
 
Lots of ways to do it. A good start would be to youtube to see a lot of overviews of the process. If you are going to reload in volumes needed for IPSC then I'd recommend at a minimum to buy a turret press or a progressive press if you have a bigger budget. I load about 1500 rounds a months between my 9mm and 45 and spread it out over a few days on my Lee classic turret. Not as fast as the progressives but works fast enough for me and a fraction of the price. You can check on the EE or at sponsors's sites for the presses and associated equipment. It isn't that expensive and costs can easily be reclaimed in a few months of reloading.

Assuming a Lee turret press, the basic equipment i'd recommend is:
Tumbler/tumbling media (brass cleaner) not critical but will keep you and your equipment cleaner during the reloading process.
Turret press
Dies (9mm and 45)
Case lube (not absolutely needed but makes things run smoother)
mechanical press-mounted primer feed setup
Press-mounted powder drop/measure
electronic or mechaical balance scale for validating/calibrating powder drop weights
calipers for calibrating bullet seating depth/catridge overall length

All of this should run around $200-400 depending on new or used equipment. Brass, powder, primers and projectiles would be the other cost variables.
Its easy to get the hang of things as it is very procedural/mechanical after a while. Keep an eye on the powder levels to make sure its dropping a consistent amount.

The only other tool I'd recommend is a case gauge to verify the loaded cartridge dimensions or use the removed barrel from your 9mm/45 to at least verify it will drop into the chamber without effort

Enjoy!
 
JR Hartman said:
can someone put up a list of all the things you need to actually get going?

I have wanted to do this for a year or so now, but I am over my head. I don't want to miss out on something I need, but I also don't want to get "sold" something I don't need.

maybe on some things you could put a this OR this?

some things that you don't need but will make things much nicer?

I have a calipers and LOTS(I mean lots) of brass.
Click to expand...

All I can do is list exactly what I purchased to get started, very recently. This will be a "minimalist" example, but with one "nice to have".

- Classic Lee Loader (.243 win) - $40 - Everything (almost) you need to reload one caliber in a small, red box.

- Soft-faced hammer - $15 - Unless you want to ruin your Lee Loader with a steel hammer...

- Calipers - $20 (half price at CT) - for measuring brass and COAL, etc.

- Digital Powder Scale - $50 (Frankford Arsenal DS-750, Amazon.ca) - This is not necessary, because the Lee Loader comes with a dipper, however it improves precision greatly and allows more flexibility in powder choice.

- Some large, recycled plastic jars (like from mayonnaise or peanut butter) - $free - for soaking brass

- A large jug of vinegar - $few bucks - to mix with water, for soaking brass (1 part vinegar:2 parts water)

That's all I have now. My primer pocket cleaning method involves a cordless drill with a small flat-head bit and some high quality twill cleaning patches. After soaking, the carbon basically just wipes out with a couple of pulses from the drill. Works perfectly.

I still need to buy (some of my brass is a CH too long):

- Lee universal cutter and lock stud + .243 case pilot/gauge - about $20-$25 - for case trimming
- A proper powder funnel. The one I stole from my kitchen isn't ideal.

When I start loading .270, I'll need to buy the Lee Loader ($40) and the .270 pilot/gauge for the trimmer ($8).

With this setup, I can load about 1 round every two minutes (that's measuring every single load on the powder scale). So, about 60 rounds in two hours.

This would obviously not be much fun if I intended to blast off 500-1000 rounds every weekend, but this isn't the case.

One very nice thing about the Lee Loader is that it only sizes the neck, so it is not nearly as hard on your brass and your brass doesn't need to be trimmed nearly as often. On the flip side, the brass is basically always in the shape of the chamber of the gun it was fired in, so it may not chamber in another gun of the same cartridge. This works for me since my brass will always be going in the same gun.
 
Read, read and read some more. Follow the routine from a good manual and check everything. You can come up with your own routine once you get it down pat. A single stage press kind of forces you to look at each round as you go. You will want to go progressive for hand gun ammo at some point unless you have way to much time on your hands. I'd say ,as others have, buy a single stage kit, any brand you like, and have at it. It's a short learning curve.
 
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