Reloading Newbie

Slowbalt

Slowbalt

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Hey all!
As I am now getting somehow more "serious" centerfires ( only had a completly busted SKS up to now ), I decided to go the reloading route. Being a rimfire guy, I do like to shoot a lot, and 20-30$ a box just can't fit me. So I was in the local supplies store and saw a LEE Aniversary Kit, the price kinda suited me but I wanted to hear some oppinions before laying 150$ on the desk. I know very very very little about reloading but I wish to get at it. So enlighten me guys !!!
 
Well IMO depending on how much you want to shoot or the level of precision you are looking for, this will help you decide your choice. I shot alot of pistol so I opted for a Dillon 650 where every "crank" of the handle made a round. The 1000 rd/hr was easily attainable. Precision rifle may not require the level of production that pistol requires since the round count is lower, so a lower production press may fit you need.
 
"...know very very very little..." Start with a copy of The ABC's of Reloading.
$150 for a kit is cheap. You'll need dies, (for each cartridge you want to load.) and a manual too.
 
I am going to suggest going to the following website.
http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=33
There is a lot of very useful information for someone starting out. IMO I think a newbie should learn the fundamentals of reloading & a single stage will do that for you.
I you are only interested in rifle then I would recommend the Lee. If you get into handgun later you can stay with the Lee or sell it & move up to another machine.
Good luck & buy a good reloading manual.
 
ok, update : ordering my lee aniversary kit, a set of carbide dies, and a shellholder from cabelas as i am writing this, and as i will pay for expedited shipping anyway i just thought i would order brass, primers, and bullets on the same order. now is this a good thing or will the "recipes" only work with a very specific brand , type and weight, or am i just set with regular fmj???
 
I am going to suggest another site.
http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp
Knowing what caliber you are planning on reloading would help.
I would suggest ( if for rifle ) going with quality brass such as Lapua , Norma etc. Bullets depends on calibre & to some extent on the gun. Also are you planning on reloading for hunting or putting holes in paper ?

Primers not a real issue as long as you buy rifle primers. ( if reloading rifle ).
 
also, i want to use a charge that will full as much as possible the case, so would 6.5gr be enough??
 
I assume then that this is not for hunting but a plinking, paper punching load which is fine.
So you need 9mm brass,standard pistol primers, powder and heads.
You can buy new brass or shop around for used. Your choice.
Primers are easy. I recommend Winchester in that they are now good for both regular or magnum loads ( One less variable ).
Powder and heads. Here it gets interesting as there are a number of choices.
For heads I would suggest either 115 grain or 125 grain. Lead for economy or copper jacket if you want to spend the extra money. Again, your choice.
Powder. There are many choices. Ball ( spherical ) powders measure more evenly than flake powder. But not a major issue.
Stay away from fast burning powders like bullseye or 231. For a beginner it is too easy to put in a double charge. Try to stay with a slower burning powder where a good load will almost fill the case.
The above are only my suggestions. Use caution & read a manual first.

Another suggestion. Don't make too many until you try them as you don't want to have a lot of reloads that you cannot use for some reason.

Good luck.
 
Have you looked at UMC Ammo? Even way up north here I can buy it for $60/250 I thought that was cheap? Are you sure you want to reload for 9mm? I'm a newbie too but I didn't think it was worthwhile to reload 9mm unless you had alot of time on your hands...
 
Slowbalt said:
ok, update : ordering my lee aniversary kit, a set of carbide dies, and a shellholder from cabelas as i am writing this, and as i will pay for expedited shipping anyway i just thought i would order brass, primers, and bullets on the same order. now is this a good thing or will the "recipes" only work with a very specific brand , type and weight, or am i just set with regular fmj???
Click to expand...
I will just about bet the farm that Cabelas most certainly isn't going to ship you cases, primers, and bullets to an address in Canada.

With the strength of the Canadian dollar, you might want to take a look at Canadian mailorder firms instead of buying in the US. Aside from supporting the Canadian shooting economy, you should be able to get it all from one place.

A load is like a cake recipe... it doesn't work quite the same when you substitute ingredients. However, generally speaking, unless you are foolishly tapdancing on the edge of safety by shooting the maximum loads shown in your reloading manual, substituting bullets of the same weight, different makes of primer in the same category, and different manufacturers of brass should probably be okay. One thing you DON'T do is substitute another powder with the same charge, ignore maximum charge weights, etc.

My suggestion would be to look at a couple of reloading manuals first - many of the powder manufacturers have their manuals for the powders they produce free online. Pick a bullet style/weight that appears likely to suite your purposes, and then look at the loads for that style/weight; from that, choose the manufacturer of the brass used in those loads, the primers, the powders, etc. So you'll end up with one or two possible loads that conform to the load data you're using.

If you're shooting just for fun at paper and whatnot, mild loads that will operate properly in your firearm are just as much fun and cheaper in the long run.
 
Slowbalt

Try Higginson powders out of Ontario. They have what you need and their prices are very competitive.

Not sure what you are trying to accomplish with your 9MM but for an economical load that makes power factor in IDPA and IPSC try
4,1 gr Unique under 124 gr lead bullet or 4.2 gr of Unique under Jacketed if you are inclined to go with the jacketed rounds.

Both loads are well within manual specs and are very accurate in my 9MM guns.

Another load I use is 3.9 gr of 231. I load a lot of .45acp so using 231 in the 9MM reduces the number of powders I need to have on hand and the power meters well in my Dillon.


For accuracy I prefer the 124/125 gr bullets but others prefer the 115 and 147. Whatever floats your boat I guess.

Send me a PM with you remail address and I can send you a spreadhseet I have of loads I have run through my guns over my Chrony. All of the loads are within manual recomendations and none are on or near maximum.

Take Care

Bob
 
No brass, primers or powder can be shipped from the U.S. Fortunately, that's not a big deal. There are lots of places here that sell all that stuff.
"...didn't think it was worthwhile to reload 9mm..." It's not about cost. It's about the quality of the ammo.
 
On the matter of cost, since I cast my own boolits out of wheelweights, make my own boolit lube for next to nothing I reload for about $2.00 per box of 50. Depreciation on my molds, press and no allowance for time.

A tad cheaper than what I can buy 9MM locally.

Take Care

Bob
 
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