Reloading for beginners

C

Caelumnon

New member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm new to this site. Been hunting for years and always used factory ammo. I'm shooting a lot more at the range lately and it's eating up the cash. I was to start reloading .300 win mag and .303 British.
Looking for tips, pitfalls, trouble shooting, and info on reloading equipment.
Anyone up for giving an opinion?
 
I.ll give you an opinion, its the best choice I made, never looked back.
Its one of those things where you never stop learning and the benefits are awesome , not so much in economy but in quality :)
Im still a newbie at the reloading ( a year and a bit in ) so I would not feel comfortable offering advice or tips..too many potential pitfalls.
Get a good book and READ that sucker and read it again.
Its a solitary pastime for a reason.......ZERO distractions is essential.
Be prepared for an addictive pastime :)
 
I've only been doing it for a few months myself and I freakin LOVE IT!! May not be for everyone but I feel an immense sense of satisfaction looking at a full box of ammuntion I've produced myself. Be it handgun (which is fun as you can just crank the stuff out) or rifle that you carefully measured powder for and seating depth, it's a good good time. If I had the time, I'd easily do it all day long until I ran out of components. Then I'd stress out about replacing the used components.

Love it, every single part of it. Even case prep but I haven't started re-loading for .223 yet so maybe my tune will change then :)
 
Welcome. I greatly enjoy it having only taken it up a few months ago. I didn't skimp on equipment; went with all the fancy stuff right off the bat and love it. Chargemaster is just awesome! Keep a reloading and shooting journal. Write in it each time you reload and shoot. Take your time. The one book I loved was the Lyman 49th edition. Great overall section on how to reload. Then I have one from each bullet manufacturer I use. I bought lots of different bullets in the same calibre. Don't make that mistake. Go one at a time.
 
Do you have trouble following simple instructions?
Do you have ADD/ADHT? Or do you have trouble staying focused on a task?
Are you taking mind altering drugs?
Do you have difficulty understanding basic cause/effect relationships.
Do you injure yourself on a regular basis due to poor decision making skills?

If you answered 'yes' to any of those questions, reloading may not be for you.
 
trebor2880 said:
Beware! It's very addicting.
Click to expand...


Very addictive and rewarding. For equipment any single stage press will work for what you want to reload. I use the RCBS rock chucker. I would recommend you spend the money up front and get the rcbs chargemaster combo. I frigged around with manual scales for a while but SLOW and a PITA. You punch in the charge weight you want, hit dispense, dump into case and repeat. As others have said read, read, read! You are making little explosive devises that go off by your face so take your time.
 
*MALICE* said:
Do you have trouble following simple instructions?
Do you have ADD/ADHT? Or do you have trouble staying focused on a task?
Are you taking mind altering drugs?
Do you have difficulty understanding basic cause/effect relationships.
Do you injure yourself on a regular basis due to poor decision making skills?

If you answered 'yes' to any of those questions, reloading may not be for you.
Click to expand...

Agree with this.

I've only been doing it for 2 months but the cost savings are well worth it. There is so much free info on the internet that its very easy to do as well. Based on my very minimal experience, my only recommendation is find out max grains for a specific powder and start at -20% and work your way up.
 
Pooface83 said:
Agree with this.

I've only been doing it for 2 months but the cost savings are well worth it. There is so much free info on the internet that its very easy to do as well. Based on my very minimal experience, my only recommendation is find out max grains for a specific powder and start at -20% and work your way up.
Click to expand...

Sorry, no. Common misconception. You will save no money reloading. You will spend the same if not more, but you just shoot more. :)
 
I started reloading .303 British this year. Didn't spend much money. Bought a Lee Loader and assemble the components with a mallet.

It's kind of counter-intuitive to manufacture ammunition that way, but it works.
 
Get yourself "ABC's of Reloading" and read it, surprisingly its a fairly easy read. If you
Get yourself loading equipment, I went with the RCBS Rockchucker kit, pretty much all you need to start loading other than the dies. Most likely you will do fine with a single stage as you probably won't shoot a couple of hundreds or rounds per session.
The kit comes with a speers manual, read that too before you start loading. then get yourself a second manual from a different company just to have a second opinion on things.
And lastly, don't blow yourself up. :D
 
No money saved here either. I've spent WAAAAAY more on reloading equipment, varieties of bullets just stocked up in my cabinet etc. then I ever would have for ammo. It is a lot of fun though and the ammo I can produce is accurate as heck.
 
What set up is best? I know that's a hard question. But I want to buy a reloading outfit that in a month I'm not going to say "why didn't I buy a better kit?"

I've looked over the major brand names but have no experienced reloaders around to pick the brains of. I'm well experienced with shooting, hunting, gun repair, and minor mods. But reloading is another quintal of fish.
 
I shoot until I'm sore. The money savings ought to come from it was a buck thirty each squeeze to get sore, now it's less..
 
Caelumnon said:
What set up is best? I know that's a hard question. But I want to buy a reloading outfit that in a month I'm not going to say "why didn't I buy a better kit?"

I've looked over the major brand names but have no experienced reloaders around to pick the brains of. I'm well experienced with shooting, hunting, gun repair, and minor mods. But reloading is another quintal of fish.
Click to expand...

It really depends on how much you intend to shoot. If you're thinking maybe 50-100 rounds/weekend, that's within range of a single stage press. Much more than that and I'd want to get a progressive. I use a single stage for .308, .303. 9mm, and .38 S&W. The most I can comfortably load in one session is about 50-75rds for rifle, and about double that for pistol.
For me, part of the attraction is that I can make better than factory ammo, tuned to my rifle, cheaper than I can buy it.
 
Hell yeah!!

Anyone got recommendations for a good set up? What's junk? What's over priced? What gear is essential and what's just nice to have?

I'm a moose hunter so I have a big target for the .300. Just the same I love dusting clay pigeons off the back stop at 200 yards with the enfield. Dimes would be nice, but not necessary!;)

Amount that can be reloaded isn't really a concern. Having a set up that is accurate, decent to use, and dependable is what matters to me.
 
Last edited:
Get the RCBS Rock Chucker kit from Prophet River and the $50 mail-in-rebate. I bought the LEE 50th Anniversary kit and while I do like the press, I ended up upgrading the scale to a digital one and maybe the powder measure eventually. I do like the fact that the LEE has the quick change bushings and primer feed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom