Newbie Help Required!

Potshot21

Potshot21

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Hello folks!

I just received a RCBS Rock Chucker reloading kit (the one from Prophet River) for Christmas from my father. Now that I have most of the equipment I have lots of questions! Is there a source somewhere for info on the ins and outs of reloading?

Do I need to get a tumbler and tumble all my once fired brass before I reload? Trim once fired? How do I know how high to seat the bullet? The list goes on!

There is alot of different variables and things to mess up, so I want to get some good instruction and do it right!

Thanks for any help!

Bill
 
Read the reloading book that came with the kit.
If one didn't come with it, buy one.
Read it until you get flustered, put it down and hit it again.
Try and find someone you trust that reloads and ask for forgiveness.
I had a buddy come over and show me how to set my dies up the first
time around.
Small steps, no phone, no drugs, no booze and no interuptions.
You need to stay focused and 100% task on hand.
I find it easier to do lump stuff.
I bought a decapping pin so I can knock the primers out first.
Run the brass through the tumbler, knock the chit out of the flash
holes and inspect.
Then run them through the full length die.
Cut them to length, then install the new primers.
I usually do no more than 20 at a time for powder and bullets.
Not sure if you got a set of Verniers with your kit, but they are
a must have.
Tumblers are nice, but you can do without unless you have the
spare kerch$ng.
Maybe someone from here, close to you would offer up some guidance.
I know it sure helps build the confidence up.
 
it's not fun, but required for the most part, read read read!, and read some more. then watch youtube and read.
 
And since no one has mentioned the ABC's of Reloading, I will.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/THE-ABCS-OF-RELOADING-C-RODNEY-JAMES-PAPERBACK-NEW-/190774354865?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item2c6b09a3b1
 
Potshot21 said:
Do I need to get a tumbler and tumble all my once fired brass before I reload? Trim once fired? How do I know how high to seat the bullet? The list goes on!

Bill
Click to expand...

Hi Bill

Read ABC's of Reloading. You can order a copy from Amazon.ca.
Read and follow the setup instructions that come with your dies when you get em.
Go here: ht tp://www.hodgdon.com/
You'll need verniers, as already stated, and yes, a tumbler is an excellent idea but not critical. Let your budget be your guide for now. You'll also need a bullet puller and a stuck case removing kit. The ones made by RCBS are great.

Do some research so you know what powders and bullets you want to order. Primers too.

That should give you some ideas for starting and if you do a bit of Googling you'll find some sites with concise basic instructions for reloading. YouTube is a good resource too.




That'll get you started.

When you post questions on CGN, give as much info as you can; caliber, components used, die you're having issues with.
 
Reading a manual would definitely be a good idea. One thing, though guys.... Telling a newbie to get "verniers" is a terrible idea. I know guy sthat have worked in a machine ship for years that do not know how to read a vernier scale. A set of dial calipers or digital calipers would probably serve him much better.

VERNIER CALIPER
caliper-labeled-7.jpg
 
mwjones said:
Reading a manual would definitely be a good idea. One thing, though guys.... Telling a newbie to get "verniers" is a terrible idea. I know guy sthat have worked in a machine ship for years that do not know how to read a vernier scale. A set of dial calipers or digital calipers would probably serve him much better.

VERNIER CALIPER
caliper-labeled-7.jpg
Click to expand...

Good advise unless you work in a machine shop and know how to read one. The advise about reading a few books is spot on, no you don`t need a tumbler and usually your magazine will limit how far out you can seat a bullet. I ignore the overall lenght listed in reloading manuals and go by the chamber or mag of the rifle. It will become clear once you do some reading and watch a few vidoes on the web. Congrats to the reloading fraternity, i have been doing it for 40 years and still like it, except for trimming cases.
 
Thanks for the info folks. I found the section in the Speer manual that came with the kit that explains the basics and read it. I'll have a look and see if I can find the "ABCs of Reloading" and give that a read as well.

I have a set of digital verniers from Canadian Tire from when they were on sale (the only time to shop at CT!) for $10 or so.

It all seems like its fairly straight forward, the only thing that has we kind of uneasy now is figuring out bullet seating depth and the whole crimp thing. Some more info on that would be helpful!

Also, I noticed that the Speer manual that came with the kit only has load info for Speer projectiles (go figure! :D), so I assume if I want to load say Nosler or Barnes or Berger or whatever, I'll need a manual from each company?

@Cleftwynd - I live about 4.5 hours east of you, so its a little to far of a trip to make, but I appreciate the offer nonetheless!

Thanks again for all the help, I'm pretty excited to get my bench all setup and start rounding up components to start rollin my own! Its going to really help keep the costs down for the ol' .284 Winchester

Bill
 
Potshot21 said:
Thanks for the info folks. I found the section in the Speer manual that came with the kit that explains the basics and read it. I'll have a look and see if I can find the "ABCs of Reloading" and give that a read as well.

I have a set of digital verniers from Canadian Tire from when they were on sale (the only time to shop at CT!) for $10 or so.

It all seems like its fairly straight forward, the only thing that has we kind of uneasy now is figuring out bullet seating depth and the whole crimp thing. Some more info on that would be helpful!

Also, I noticed that the Speer manual that came with the kit only has load info for Speer projectiles (go figure! :D), so I assume if I want to load say Nosler or Barnes or Berger or whatever, I'll need a manual from each company?

@Cleftwynd - I live about 4.5 hours east of you, so its a little to far of a trip to make, but I appreciate the offer nonetheless!

Thanks again for all the help, I'm pretty excited to get my bench all setup and start rounding up components to start rollin my own! Its going to really help keep the costs down for the ol' .284 Winchester

Bill
Click to expand...

Another real good book to get is the Lyman Handloading book as they many different kinds of bullets. Most of the time you can use the speer data for other bullets just make sure you start at the lowest load they show and then work your way up from there.

As to crimping the bullets in most cases unless you are shooting very heavy loads or mostly handgun you can get away without crimpimg. All the companies make special dies for crimpimg that in most cases work better then the regular seating die which by the way will generally do the job just not as good or as easy.

As everyone else has stated read and then read some more. You will ruin some cases and maybe even the odd
bit of equipment as you learn but that is just the way it goes.

One of the more important steps in reloading is getting a better priming system then what come with the kit.

Graydog
 
Potshot21 said:
Also, I noticed that the Speer manual that came with the kit only has load info for Speer projectiles (go figure! :D), so I assume if I want to load say Nosler or Barnes or Berger or whatever, I'll need a manual from each company?
Click to expand...

you can likely find the info online, here is my main go to site for loads/recipes. http://customreloadingservice.com/pistol.html it has hodgdon, imr, and winchester powders and various bullets.

if i can't find the bullet style/type, i just generally go by weight, and load the min powder weight.
 
Hey folks, I have another question to ask! :D

When you tumble brass, are they supposed to be deprimed? And if they have to be deprimed, doesn't that mean you have to run them through a sizer die, and kind of defeat the purpose of tumbling?


Thanks for the help!

Bill
 
if you doing stainless or ultrasonic cleaning, most deprime (they sell universal de-primers). but for walnut/corn cob media i don't deprime as the primer pocket fills up with media.


a tip for keep dust down is to put some dryer sheets into the mix and it will pick up alot of the dust.
 
I do like Spawn says.

I also make sure that I get ALL the corncob media out of the cases before I deprime (just turn the case upside down and either shake it or tap it against your bench edge).
 
Main thing is do plenty of reading and take your time...as mentioned, no distractions !! I seated a squib just before Xmas cause I had my mind on other things. I was lucky and caught it right away, I shake every one straight out of the press.

I went years without a tumbler, bought one last year and wish I made that investment when I first started.
 
Like others have mentioned - read..... You can never have to many reloading books. Or is it too many guns?

A set of dial calipers strikes a good balance between readability and accuracy. Unless it was a top-shelf brand (Starrett, Mitutoyo, Browne&Sharpe...), I would stay away from the electronic / digital calipers. If you already have a set, use until the thing quits. Then watch for a deal on a dial caliper... The vernier calipers are tricky to read without practice (aka experience).

As far as using one manufacturer's data with another's bullets, if you start at the low end and work your way up, you should be okay.
 
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