new to reloading looking for suggestions and tips

A

Arctic87

CGN Regular
Rating - 90%
9   1   0
Location
THE Yukon
Hey folks,

As the header says I'm considering to start my quest on reloading now that I finally have enough space. I'm gonna do a few trial runs with family and friends then start piecing together my outfit for my own.

I came here to ask what you guys recommend for best brands too get going and also what proven loads you guys have tested through trial and error.

Ill be starting with reloading 300 Weatherby Mag and eventually 7mm Rem Mag once my stock pile is out and I have all the brass left.

look forward to hearing from you all!

-Arctic
 
In my opinion, the first thing you need when getting started in reloading is a reloading manual or three. Not so much for the reloading data (you'll need that too), but for the descriptions of the process and the components which is usually found in the first bit of the manual.

Having family and friends that can help you with hands-on reinforcement of what's in the manuals is good. Some folks can learn by reading, others by observing, and others still with guided hands-on experience.

Asking questions when starting reloading is generally a good thing.

Two other things to keep in mind:
- If in doubt, don't. You are dealing with an activity with the possibility of potentaillylife-changing or lethal accidents.
- Start with minimum loads and work your way up. Published maximum loads were tested in someone else's gun.
 
Post #2 pretty much nailed it for what to say to someone new!

Reloading Manuals - you will find there is kind of brand associations among companies, so many companies make tools that do similar job - all competing to get you to buy their thing. Consider a couple reloading manuals like by Hornady, Speer, Nosler, Sierra, Lyman. The book by Richard Lee is basically the Lee organization re-printing someone else's data - Lee does not do pressure testing, but some good discussion about loading and especially bullet casting.

Old Dude's second point - is about best to find a mentor. Learn to evaluate what you are told and read - simply because someone has been refilling 30-06 cases with same powder and same bullets for 35 years may not make that person very experienced for some reloading issues. So, "trust, but verify". An acquaintance went on line and picked a starting load from Nosler website - it is an error - the currently published Start load is higher than previously published Maximum load - has same powder weights given for two different bullet weights - error is repeated in the Nosler 9 Reloading Manual - so, taught me not to "trust" just one data source - want to verify - cross check with others.

Loading data - mostly will read about X grains of powder with Y weight of bullet. The complete "recipe", that you want to follow, includes the brand of brass they used, the primer brand and type, the type and quantity of powder and the exact bullet. They report the pressure results that they got with their gear using that combination. Is not a promise or guaruntee that you get the same results with your stuff, especially if you swap out components. Some components apparently swap seamlessly - some make a significant difference - might be in precision, might be in pressure, might be in velocity.
 
Last edited:
Some damned good advice above. Presses are something people make a big deal out of. Where the differences can come out, is down the road in things like sizing bullets, forming cases, tasks that take a lot of power, that's where the steel vs aluminum frame argument starts from. There are some differences in the way the linkages are done, some may wear faster and result in some slack which can show up in case sizing or bullet seating, but, it takes a lot of abuse and poor caretaking to accomplish that.

The place where you wind up spending the loot, is on the accessories, a trimmer, priming tools, sizing tools for different methods of doing things, powder handling tools such as throwers or scales.

You can spend extra up front getting good tools that save you a pile of time and labour, and yet, as much as some of the cheap stuff that can accomplish that also, some of it can just frustrate you, and all the mfgrs have some quirky items in their lines. You can see lots of reviews or forum comments from brand ho's and haters. Some of the things people accept about some quirks of tools don't show until you try one out and use it for a while, or they never tried anything out of the mainstream stuff, and can be irritating once you discover them.

Some examples can be handpriming tools, trimmers, presses, that have universal jaw setups. If you never stray from the ordinary common commercial rounds, probably won't have an issue, but... Some won't accept some cartridges due to rim size or thickness, some are awkward to use when inserting or extracting a case. They have their limitations.
Some "time saving " adaptors for dies cost money for each cartridge, and may not stay tight after insertion into a press, you may be better off with a turret press, but, also have to buy spare turrets for different cartridges, and store them.
Some trimmers may not be entirely friendly to a primed case, some take a bit of a rigamarole to set up when changing cartridges.
And, no reloading kit gives you everything you need, some of them are come with questionable scales, items that you may or may not want.
A comparator to check case sizing and base to ogive lengths and a dry lube neck brush kit will save you a lot of grief and effort in sizing cases.
 
I have some reloading stuff for the 7mm that you might be interested in?/
pm me if you are interested.
I'm selling my 7mm mag also
too old to hunt anymore

old timer 75
 
I'm partial to RCBS Rock Chucker.

it is a solid single stage press. The old second hand ones are just as good as a brand new off the shelf model.

caliper is a must. Case gauge is nice to have. Powered case trimmer will be a life saver. I use the Frankford Arsenal one. Balance scale works better then the digital ones but Lee scale are rumored to be crap. depending on the powder you use, you may need a powder trickler.

just my two cents.
 
Start keeping a Reloading Journal right from the very first cartridge you load, and document the reloads you make well with a reloading recipe card kept with the actual cartridges. I wish I had followed this advice 40 years ago! WK
 
Get a manual, invest in a good set of dies, use case lube, get a case trimmer, get a stuck case remover, get a case gauge, get a good powder scale, check things often, keep a record of the stuff youre doing, write stuff down, don't be afraid to ask, ladder test.
a good manual or three is a good idea theres a guy selling some in the E&E pages, Dies are what make your ammo so invest in good ones, use case lube not too much but enough or you will need the stuck case remover. a case gauge is basically a SAMI spec chamber so you can tell if your in spec or not, a good powder scale is what confirms that you are adding the right amount of powder, checking the scale accuracy everytime you set up is wise along with using the case gauge, keep a record so if something happens you can track down what happened, ladder testing is an incremental loading to see where YOUR firearm works best
 
ive acquired new rcbs dies and the most recent hornady manual

a member here gave me his batch load for the 300 wby

180 gr nosler accubond
84 gr IMR 7828
Federal 215 primer
C.O.A.L. 3.58"
 
Last edited:
When I started my neighbour had earlier bought the Lee kit .It had everything needed and it was something like the 1/4 the price of the RCBS kit. His reasoning was a young family man , he could spend the difference on hunting and fishing stuff. You can't fault his reasoning.

I have upgraded my Lee kit stuff. Some Lee stuff was simply the best out there, not that it worked but it worked better than anything else. His priming tool and powder measure were simply the best, cheap plastic or not. I gave my powder measure and my press to my eldest son when he started reloading. I bought the Lee cast powder measure, the plastic one worked better. While I found the Lee powder scale more accurate and faster, I think larger capacity scale to weigh brass is a necessity.

I learn by reading, so I bought used reloading books. The data is useless, powders change, but the how to was useful.

Don't think you will save money . Still look at the price of Weatherby cartridges, it only costs pennies more to reload them then a 30-06 ! When you get the brass.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom