Hello Reloading World!

Status
Not open for further replies.
berettaprofessor

berettaprofessor

Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Messages
3,424
Location
Kansas
Just wanted to celebrate my most fun day in years; I took an NRA-sponsored pistol/rifle reloading class today from a local instructor. Great day, lots of learning and lots of experience tips! Next, I buy a press kit and dies and practice. Lots of practice!:D
 
Welcome to your new hobby! Reloading has a way of pulling you deeper and deeper into it's clutches. I've gotten to the point where I almost enjoy the learning and reloading more than the actual shooting.
 
Welcome to your new hobby! There's nothing better than loading your own ammo, and seeing the results down range. I started loading to shoot more, save money, and build better ammo. I sure don't save money because reloading has become an addiction! :) Sometimes I wonder if I reload to shoot more, or shoot to reload more! Enjoy, and stay safe!
 
As said, it's awesome seeing the results of rolling your own. It's pretty cool to put in the time in the reloading room, and then in the range, and then harvest an animal with something you created. At least it was for me anyway.
 
berettaprofessor said:
Just wanted to celebrate my most fun day in years; I took an NRA-sponsored pistol/rifle reloading class today from a local instructor. Great day, lots of learning and lots of experience tips! Next, I buy a press kit and dies and practice. Lots of practice!:D
Click to expand...
Welcome to your new hobby (and a valuable adjunct to your shooting hobby, whatever category that may be, hunting, target shooting, competition, plinking etc.)

We could target our advice better if you shared some information about yourself: (What I use has no relevance to you if our needs are not similar.)

What calibers will you be reloading?

What quantities will you be reloading for those calibers? (Per month)

How much time will you be willing to devote to those quantities?

How large of production runs before swapping calibers?

What is your budget for the initial purchase? (Not components, just the equipment)

Will you want to get your entire setup at once or, after an initial setup that does all you need, add accessories and conveniences as your experience suggests and finances permit?

Will you be putting your gear away after each session or leave it set up permanently?

How much space will you devote permanently to a loading area, if any?

Do you want it to be portable?

What are your shooting goals? Cheap ammo? Ultimate long-range accuracy? Casual plinking, Serious competition - what kind? Cowboy Action Shooting? Strictly hunting? Personal defense? Skills development?

Thanks for asking our advice.

Lost Sheep
 
Good luck on you new hobby. It is very addictive, most times ill buy dies even before i start looking for a gun(so i have an excuse to buy a new gun,lol) You will enjoy it. Any questions feel free to ask here, here we have a great group of people that are willing to help.

Just a couple pointers9i could think off the top of my head, this early in the AM), i'm sure the NRA instructor went over, or maybe not.

When in doubt re-read your manual.

C.O.A.L and O.A.L. are the same thing

if your shooting 100gr wad cutter bullets, and your manual only has 100 gr round nose bullets, you can use the same data.

ALL smokeless powders are created different, in the means of IMR-4895 and H4895, those 2 powders are very similar, but never substitute. If your manual has them both listed with the same grain weight, than go ahead if you have one or the other,obviously.
 
Congratulations !!!!

Now ,what you`ve really done is sought independence from the tyrants controllin the AMMO !

I started in`83 & casting for a 44 soon followed !!

It`s a different aspect of the shooting sport I throughly enjoy .

Have`nt saved alot of money ,but I can make `bout any kind of round I need whenever I need. & have probably shot mountains of reloads.

Lookin back I wish I`d kept better records of my loading & the number of rounds!!

Just remember ,if ya have a question & can`t find an answer thru personal research , we`re here, no matter how benine the question or problem may be !!

May I recommend buying the best ya can afford from the get go , I know Redding is expensive, but the Big Boss II is on my wish list !!

GP
 
Congratulations and welcome to the asylum. :D I've found that there are some very knowledgeable reloaders here eager to help newbies. So, if you have questions, ask away. They almost always come through with a "slap-yourself-on-the-forehead-for-not-thinking-of-that" solution to most problems. And some not so obvious solutions. Lots of experience resides here. Enjoy!
 
if your shooting 100gr wad cutter bullets, and your manual only has 100 gr round nose bullets, you can use the same data.
Click to expand...

Didn't hear that one, thanks.

Welcome, and thanks for NOT saying how much money you are going to save!
Click to expand...

Oh, I know better than that. I've already spent more than I can save in a year at my current ammo rate :D

We could target our advice better if you shared some information about yourself
Click to expand...

All in due time, my friend. I'm going to start out with pistol calibers (9 and 45) to see if it makes any difference in my groups, and then in the back of my mind, there's a wish to want to do a bit of mid to long-distance target shooting, 308 to start. My biggest obstacle there is the lack of a range over 100 yards in the vicinity...as far as I know the closest 200+ yard range is over 100 miles away. I've got dedicated space, but I plan to start small and slow and work up. My instructors first advice was to start with a single-stage and leave progressives for later after I learned basics. Since he had 40 years experience in reloading, I figured I would listen. Hence why I'm starting with pistol because I can shoot that in the backyard.
 
Welcome to the madness. The 45acp will be the easiest to reload even though the 9mm is easy too.

SS press is the way to learn on. But if you are a high volume shooter or limited time the AP are well worth it. My advice it learn how to setup the dies correctly. This is where 99% of the problems come from. Doing so and you will never use or need the LFCD to correct a problem. I've been loading for 35+ yrs now and still do not own a FCD. When I started it was books and school of hard knocks.
 
if your shooting 100gr wad cutter bullets, and your manual only has 100 gr round nose bullets, you can use the same data.
Click to expand...

As long as the wadcutter was seated out to the same OAL as the RN bullet... probably. Otherwise, using the powder charge for a RN with a wadcutter seated normally virtually guarantees a Ka-BOOM.
 
Crashbox said:
As long as the wadcutter was seated out to the same OAL as the RN bullet... probably. Otherwise, using the powder charge for a RN with a wadcutter seated normally virtually guarantees a Ka-BOOM.
Click to expand...
More important than the OAL is actually how far it seats into the case affecting how much room you have for powder combustion and just powder in general so you don't have compressed loads. For example I have 147gr FNs and 150gr SWCs for my 9mm. Even though the weight difference is negligible I have to seat the SWCs MUCH deeper in the case otherwise they jam into my rifling. I therefore have a .4gr difference in charges between the two (3.4gr vs 3.0gr). Granted my scenario is extreme though and I'm sure in longer revolver cases that can use wadcutters the difference won't be so extreme. Another variable in the scenario of 100gr wadcutters vs 100gr round nose is the vast difference in bearing surface which also affects things. Basically when in doubt come to the forum and I'm sure we (especially Walksalong, man that guy is encyclopedic with his reloading knowledge) can help you or at least dissuade you from a bad idea.
 
BerettaProf, welcome to the wonderful world of reloading. As you can already see, there is a cadre of folks here for association and support. It is indeed an addiction, but a healthy one. Or, maybe it's more like:

"I got a fever! And the only prescription is MORE RELOADING!"

Lou
 
This hobby that is saving me hundreds is costing me thousands!

The real savings are in casting your own projectiles... but thats a whole 'nother addiction :)
 
Welcome aboard! THR was my reloading class when I started! I spent untold hours cruising these pages long before I ever made a post. Plenty of knowledgeable and helpful folks here.

If I were starting now, I would get my basic equipment and stock up on plenty of components (bullets, powder, primers). Those are the first items to go when there is some sort of anti-gun triggering event. The equipment may sell out quickly, but comes back sooner than the components do. In some instances by a very wide margin.

Good luck , and be safe!
 
I believe that many of us have forgot the definition of Hobby. My wife's hobby is quilting. At the going price for a sewing machine (twice + what I have ever paid for a firearm) I will guarantee you she is not saving money.

Now if you had gotten into this in the 60's, YES. I did and I still haven't saved enough to make a profit. Now it is a Hobby. Enjoy. I sure am!
 
berettaprofessor said:
I'm going to start out with pistol calibers (9 and 45) to see if it makes any difference in my groups, and then in the back of my mind, there's a wish to want to do a bit of mid to long-distance target shooting, 308 to start.
Click to expand...
You may or may not see an improvement in accuracy with handguns, but you can see a savings, albeit small, with 45 ACP and 9mm, depending on your local prices. The big advantage is in independence. When others cannot find 9mm, you can (if you stockpiled primers and bullets), use a variety of powders and re-use your brass and be relatively independent of spot shortages.

start with a single-stage and leave progressives for later
Click to expand...
There is an in-between choice. The Turret press. An Auto-indexing turret press (with the auto-indexing turned off) works exactly as a single stage press in "batch" mode and (with the auto-indexing turned on) works in "continuous" mode (much like a progressive) and can more than triple the rounds-per-hour (once you are firmly comfortable with the loading process) a single stage can produce. Choosing if you will get a single stage in addition to a progressive or turret vs a Turret instead of a single stage will take some thought and research, evaluating the equipment's capabilities vs your needs.

Good luck.

Lost Sheep
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

V
  • Locked
Interested in reloading
2
Replies
29
Views
1K
BigJakeJ1s
B
E
  • Locked
Going to start reloading, need help!
Replies
8
Views
681
rfwobbly
rfwobbly
J
  • Locked
Looking to start reloading
Replies
6
Views
477
trickyasafox
T
FROGO207
  • Locked
Going to help out with a reloading class tomorrow.
Replies
14
Views
860
pic1083
P
M
  • Locked
Another Incipient Reloader
2 3
Replies
62
Views
2K
Mr. Zorg
M
Back
Top