Reloading 101A guide for the beginner

Copyright:Infinity Information Services

2007-2008ã

Introduction

Why reloading 101? I started reloading my ownshotgun, rifle and pistol ammunition eleven yearsago. At that time I just went to the local gun shopand said I wanted to reload this caliber and thatgauge and this caliber. So $527.00 later I walkedout with enough stuff to load for all the guns Icurrently owned. What I didn’t know was thatthere was a lot more to the process than a press,dies, powder, bullets, and primers. There is also thewhole safety side of reloading, including things likechamber pressure, overall length, seating depths,powder charges, bullet weights, etc… As well asseveral more tools than I had purchased at the gunshop (or even knew about at the time). Now I have

a lot more in-depth knowledge and skill in the areaand hope to make your first reloading experiencemuch safer and much more fun than mine. This isby no means a complete guide to reloading, butjust a list of all the items you will need to getstarted. The author states that all this informationis true, and to the best efforts complete, andcannot be held liable for any accidents or injuriesrelated to the use of this information. Reloadingammunition is a dangerous task and should bedone only by individuals competent with the toolsand techniques used in the process.

We are going to start this book by explaining allthe equipment needed to reload your ownammunition, as well as the proper use andmaintenance of your equipment. We are going tolook at the most important piece of equipmentfirst.

The Reloading Manual:This is the most important part of your reloading

equipment. This contains all the information you need toload the caliber/gauge of ammunition of your choosing. Youwant to evaluate as many of these manuals as possible to getan idea of which one(s) are the best for you and the ammoyou will be loading. Different publishers offer a wide varietyof loads for all calibers, but certain powders work better incertain loads and the same thing applies to certain bullets. I

have several manuals as a result and think it is best practiceto cross-reference the load I am working on in as manymanuals as I have available to me. We now have the Internet,which is a great resource for information of all kinds. Usinginformation obtained from the web on cartridge loads,powder charges, minimum and maximum pressures andanything that is related to the safe production of ammunitionshould be done with care and all information checked. I issuethis warning because of the ease at which you can getincorrect information from this source. Any load you want towork up should be done with information that has beenverified by the quality loading manuals published fromreputable cartridge, powder, and bullet manufacturers. I amnot going to make this resource about advertising, but I willmention my favorite products for a guide. The main manualsI use are from Hornady they offer a diverse selection of load

data that is updated regularly. Hornady’s manual is mystarting point for any load I want to produce. I also usemanuals from the company for the powder I happen to beusing for a particular load. Most companies’ makedownloads available from their websites. Others you willhave to purchase. As I have already stated this is the mostimportant part of your reloading set-up and when usedproperly will keep you safe. The most important informationyou will get from these manuals is the starting load chargeweight, maximum charge weight and the cartridgedimensions. The starting load is the lowest recommendedamount of powder to use in that load. The maximum chargeis the most powder to use on any load combination and this iswritten in stone. DO NOT exceed maximum charge weights.The cartridge dimesions are the size of the cartridge inlength, width and diameter. These show the maximum sizes

for a loaded round. This will be discussed at a later point inthis book.

Reloading Bench:A solid place for working with all the equipment is

absolutely necessary. The first ammo I loaded was done on acoffee table with the press fixed with a C-clamp. While usableI do not recommend this method. A press generates a lot offorce and should have a stable mounting point on a very,solid bench. You can purchase benches from homeimprovement and office supply stores, or you can build yourown if you wish. Whichever you choose make sure it issturdy, made of wood, metal isn’t a good option because ofsparking dangers and static electricity. The bench top shouldbe at least 3ft long by 3ft wide; the best is probably going tobe 6ft long by 4ft wide. The bench top should be a height that

is comfortable for you, the reloading process needs your fullattention and an uncomfortable bench height can bedistracting. You should also place a small lip/ledge aroundthe top of your bench to keep small parts from rolling off.

Work Area:Your work area should be well ventilated and free from

clutter. There should be no source of distraction and youshould have a good range of movement. Besides the thingsmentioned here you can set-up pretty much anywhere.

The best tools for all the following categories will come

from Lee, Lyman, RCBS and Dillon. Any of these willprovide you with great service.

Powder Scale:

A good quality scale that weighs in grains (the unit used tomeasure powder) is the next thing on the list. The scale, aswith all the items we will be discussing, is available in a wideselection the cheapest being a simple balance-beam scale witha small powder pan attached and the most expensive being adigital version that has a large range of options. If you arejust starting out and not sure if you are going to stay withthis a mid-range scale will be adequate but if you know youwant a complete set-up the best you can afford will be moneywell-spent. I suggest using a digital version from a reputablemanufacturer. Which company you go with is up to you butone of these will provide the best value for your money. Onceyou have picked out the scale you want, set down with it andlearn to use it before you load the first round. As with anytool use and experience make you more comfortable andefficient.

Powder Measure:The powder measure can be anything from a simple scoop

to an automatic metering measure that delivers the exactcharge weight you set. Here again the mid-range items willprobably be best for those just wanting to try this out andthe best you can afford will pay for itself many times over.Like the scale and all the other items you will need sit downand learn the operation of them. Read the owners manualsand “play” with it until you are familiar with the way itworks.

Calipers:These are precision tools used for determining the

measurements of your loaded ammunition. In the reloadingmanual section we discussed the measurements listed in the

loading data. That is where the calipers come into play. Theycome in either dial or digital Starrett makes the best, for themoney. I think the digital is a better one to use, as they aremuch quicker to read. Again read the owners manual andplay with the tool to get comfortable in the operation. TheOAL or overall length of a cartridge is the distance from thecartridge head to the tip of the bullet. You set the basicoverall length of your ammo by placing the bullet loosely intothe case and chambering the round in the particular firearmfor which you are loading the round. The rifling pushes thebullet back into the case and sets a good starting point forworking up your load. Using the calipers will tell you if youare getting to long or short as determined by thespecifications of the cartridge. The calipers will also tell youif your case has stretched and needs to be trimmed.

Trimmers And Trim Gauge:These come in when your case has stretched through

reloading and needs to be trimmed. After you calipers havedetermined the case has stretched you need to use a trimgauge and trimmer to cut the mouth of the case back tooriginal dimensions. This is a simple process and can it bedone with hand trimmers. There are automatic trimmersavailable that use your drill or their own small motor torotate the cases while they are being trimmed. If you aregoing to do a lot of loading then you will want this version oftrimmer.

The Press:Presses come in a wide range of designs. The basic press is

single-stage and does one operation at a time. You place yourdies in the press and perform one operation, (i.e. decapping

(removing the primer) and resizing, priming the case, orbulleting seating. Turret presses allow you to place 3-4 diesin the press at once and completely reload a round bymanually rotating the turret as you do each operation. Theturret press is the one I personally use. The fastest and mostexpensive presses are automatic and once set-up they turnout a loaded round with each pull of the handle. If your arejust going to reload a few rounds a month the single-stagepress will do a great job. The turret press is the best for mid-range loading and is also the mid-range in price. I wouldsuggest you start with a single-stage or turret press and thenif you like the process and need a large amount of ammo,move up to the automatic press.

Dies:The dies are the tools that form and shape the case. They

also place the bullet into the case neck at the proper depth.There are a few other types of dies that crimp bullets inplace, or reform on caliber to another. We are going do dealwith the standard die set here. These come in 2 or 3 die setsfor rifle and 3-4 die sets for pistol. Rifle dies will require thatcase lube be used, as they are made from steel. Pistol dies arecarbide and need no lube for use. All dies are caliber specific.The companies mentioned earlier also make the dies. Lee,Lyman, RCBS, and Dillon, Lee dies are what I use and frommy experience provide the most for the money.

Case Prep Tools:In this category you will need a couple of items. First is a

primer pocket reamer, this will clean out and uniformly prepthe primer pocket for receiving the new primer. You shouldalso look for a case tumbler. These are just small drums that

hold your cases and some type of polishing media, usuallycrushed corncob. The drum is either hand-cranked ormounted on a small motor that tumbles the cases togetherwith the media polishing the cases and making them readyfor use. You decision here is based on the amount of moneyyou have to spend on reloading and the amount of time youwant to work at it. Hand tumbling will of course take moretime and be more labor intensive, but is the cheapest way doget the job done.

Ammunition Trays:An ammunition tray is a plastic tray with cutouts for the

cases to set in base down. These are invaluable when loadingas they keep the cases separated for each operation. On traywill hold empty cases ready to be loaded. Another tray willhold cases that have been sized and primed. Tray 3 will hold

cases that have been charged (powder loaded into them) anda fourth tray will hold completed rounds. The simpler theloading operation you have the more trays you will need.Trays aren’t very expensive so this isn’t a problem. I suggestyou have at least 3 trays to start with; the trays I use aremanufactured by MTM-Caseguard and are available at anysporting goods outlet.

Case Lube:Case lube comes in two varieties, paste or liquid that is

applied to a pad and rolled on to individual cases or spray,which can be used to spray a whole tray of cases at once. Iprefer the spray because it is the easiest to use. Most of theregular gun lube makers probably have a lube for this andwould be the best choice. As stated in the section on dies, thelube is needed for rifle dies only. It must be used or your

cases will be stuck inside the die and ruining it. That covers all the necessary items for the loading of rifle

and pistol ammunition. The following is what is needed forshotgun shells. I will not go in detail about the items alreadydiscussed above but refer back to them in this section, as it isnecessary.

Manuals:Refer to the section above all that information applies

here. The only difference is that now we will be working withshot and wads instead of bullets.

Presses:The shotgun shell press is different in that they aren’t

available to my knowledge in single-stage. All I have dealt

with are complete systems. Lee or MEC makes the easiest touse.

All the other tools listed above are essentially the same

except dies. Shotgun shell loaders come with a steel collar forresizing the head of the shell. Some say lube isn’t requiredbut I suggest you add a small amount just to be safe.

Wads:The wads you use for reloading shot shells will dictate how

much shot and powder you can use in any particular load.The manuals will list which wad to use with which load.

Shot:The only requirements here are that you pick the shot size

you want to use, and then use your manuals to find the

charge weight, wad, and primer for your particular load. Priming Tool:You can get specific tools that do one thing, prime

cartridges or shot shells. These are a great time saver and arewell worth the extra bucks if you are loading a lot of ammo.Most will also require a separate set of shell holders to usethem but his is a justified cost for the time saved.

That’s it. The items listed above are all that is required for

successfully reloading your own ammunition. This is by nomeans a complete guide to reloading, but just a list of all theitems you will need to get started. The author states that allthis information is true and to the best efforts complete andcannot be held liable for any accidents or injuries related tothe use of this information. Reloading ammunition is a

dangerous task and should be done only by individualscompetent with the tools and techniques used in the process.