Hi,
I am a new IPSC shooter and starting to find it getting expensive especially on the ammo side. Looking to load 9mm and .40. I live in a relatively isolated area with no one around who reloads. Is this something I can learn from a book or do I need a mentor for a while. Don't want to blow up the houseor my hand.
I have decided on a Dillon 650 as a re-loader. Any other tips would be great.
Thanks.
I recently got a Dillon XL650 for loading 9mm. I've loaded probably 700 or so rounds. It's fun to get it all setup and tricked out just right. Once you're done, though, there's not much to it.
I learned entirely from youtube videos and reloading manuals (and after I was pretty up to speed, from the helpful clarifications of members of this forum and some other reloading discussion areas). I believe some people might overstate the necessity of reloading manuals for reloading instruction. Each manual tends to have slightly different takes on exactly how you should seat dies, etc, or how you should perform various procedures. All this confirms that reloading isn't a precise science and you'll do/use whatever works for you. I have three manuals and I consult all three for load data to come up with a range for a cartridge type, but since you're talking about loading 9mm and .40, this is going to be a quick, easy process. If you were loading precision rifle ammo, there's more work to do, but basically some good old win231 and cheap plated bullets should do the job fine for you. You'll quickly find the load that cycles your actions well and from there you can press out rounds by the thousand.
I recommend investing in all of the bells & whistles that you can get with your Dillon. Since you mention you're in a remote location, you'd be annoyed if you found yourself missing a piece of needed equipment once you're all ready to get to work. Things like a bullet puller, a good scale, etc. But I also would recommend getting the powder check system. It's about $50 or $60 extra and, once configured, will give you an audible alarm any time a cartridge comes from the powder station with too little or too much powder. I am usually always visually inspecting with each bullet I seat, but the powder check alarm is a good extra piece of security. I bought the low powder alarm as well, though I don't find it particularly essential, since the powder measure is right in front of my forehead, but I still don't mind paying a few bucks for all the extra safety measures. It also makes the wife feel better about having all that equipment in the house.
