Advice for new reloaders

[Questor]

Hey fellow geezers with significant reloading experience: What is your best advice to a new reloader?

My advice is

1) Buy quality equipment if you plan to do a lot of reloading, as in for pistol cartridges.  
2) Use the Lee Autoprime tool
3) Have at least two reloading manuals on hand, and preferably more.
4) Read and internalize the safety rules as published in the reloading books.

[jhm]

Questor :  Go to the local gunclub and find a member who reloads and ask question / have a clean well organized place to do the reloading / and like you said get and READ several books on reloading /     JIM

[Mikey]

Questor:  I'll gladly 'second' you on all points and would like to add - get more loading manuals and with the equipment selection, start with single stage basics.  I fear for new reloaders who purchase a semi-auto fully manual reloading press without mastering the basics, first.  Gee, even now with a very well used press setup that will (supposedly) kick out 400 round per hour, I still prefer the single stage Rock Chucker to be certain I am doing it right.  Nothing like trying to move a stuck bullet out of the barrel.  Mikey.

[Iowegan]

I agree except for the priming tool. I have used the RCBS primer feeder on my Rockchucker for years with excellent results and my Dillon 550 autoprime system works fine too. Keep 'um clean and properly adjusted and they work fine.  A decent scale is a must. No guessing allowed! Also, start at the light end of the chart, not the hot end. Buy your powder based on each of the book loads you want instead of trying to make one powder fit all loads.  Buy quality components and equipment....get quality results.

[Old Syko]

Looks like us geezers are pretty much on the same page.  In 30 some years of loading I helped a few new guys get started and my no.1 point has always been to buy at least a few manuals first and read and study them as though your life depended on it.

jhm is correct in the fact that a clean and well organized bench is in order which is all the more reason to buy manuals.  This is one of the first things talked about in almost all manuals.

 Mikey makes a valid point of starting with a single stage press.  There are too many things to pick up at one time to try to start out with a progressive or automated press unless you're a lot quicker on the draw than I am and I ain't talking about shooting.  Rock Chucker is what I use and what I suggest for all beginners.

Aside form all these things learn patience and be humble.  In other words don't be afraid to ask questions and a lot of them before you make a mistake.  This is a great thing to be involved with when done correctly but done wrong it can kill you.

[Hcliff]

I agree with Mikey.  I  still load almost all of my rifle loads on my Rockcrusher.  It may be slower but it is easier for beginners to understand the basics.  Less likely to goof up.  Going sloe and using LOW power not higher prressure loads.  That is a biggy mistake

Hcliff

[TNSCOOTER]

Thanks for the info. I am new to handloading,so any and all information is useful.
I have a Rockcrusher,and just about any RCBS access there is.I just loaded my first 20rnds by myself.(.300 Win mag, Nosler 180gr BT,IMR 4831 72gr,OAL 3.585)

I want to add one more suggestion that helped me tremendously.

Let someone that knows how to properly reload,walk you through the whole process and do it over again until you have the fundamentals down.

I started reading my manuals allmost 2months before i did my first loads and that helped a great deal to understand excatly what you are doing when you get to the bench.

[Dand]

Hey TNscooter - that's a mighty long OAL for a 300 win - hope you checked your throating to make sure it will fit.  I have custom long throated 300 win and just loaded some 180 Nos partitions at 3.475" OAL.  Also, that's a plenty hot load for a first try unless you have had someone else work loads up that far.  I just started some new Win brass and decided to back down to  72 gr from 72.5 as this new brass averaged 241 gr, up from the 235 gr avg of my Rem cases. Also seemed like the primer pockets got a little loose from only 2 loadings compared to the Rem brass. Also, the chrono was showing about 100 fps greater than the Rem loads and not as consistent accuracy.  And I had used Fed 215 primers versus some Rem magnum and CCI Mag Rifle primers.  So if you are new please be careful. I've been at it since the mid 70's - lately with some distractions I've made some serious powder mistakes - caught them in my double check of the scale setting - scared myself.

Good luck.

[TNSCOOTER]

Dand, I worked up this load with an accomplished Handloader to get some first hand experience on the bench before i even thought about doing it for my self.He walked me thruogh the process,and i took it from there.
After loading , we went to the range to try out this first Load and i was really impressed the the increased accuracy from the Factory loads i had earlier shot.
Im positive of the length.It has been checked and rechecked again.Also we found no sign of excessive pressure after shooting them.The handloads were done with Remington cases.
With the 20 loads that i made ,10 are using New Winchester Brass and the other 10 are of Remington Brass.
I havent got to shoot them yet but will shortly.
Thanks for the Advice.

[TNSCOOTER]

Dand, I was loading for a Encore ,Stainless HB if that makes any difference.Im not familiar with extra long throats yet,but i will get there.

[Dand]

I believe the industry standard length for the 300 win mag is 3.34" - so when I see 3.5+" inch overall length it really caught my eye.  The std OAL is partly to assure fit and feeding in bolt gun magazines but also for throat length.  Since I see you are using a single shot gun you may not be as limited.  Still that's a pretty long cartridge and if your chamber throat is that long then I'm not surprised that you are seeing an accuracy improvement by loading your own vs factory carts.  I am glad to know that you are getting guidance from an experienced loader.  Now you may want to consult the Contender / Encor experts who abound on this site for info on pressure signs of those guns - I have no such experience.  Just know my H-S Precision tuned Rem 700 action and H-S barrel start showing signs of too much powder at about 73 gr of IMR 4831 with 180 gr bullets, rem cases, magnum primers - I get the brass extruding into the extractor hole on the bolt face but the match garde chamber doesn't get sticky.  Good luck and be safe!

[TNSCOOTER]

Dand. The industry standard is 3.340 yet that is not the minimum by a long shot.Depending on each individual gun,the  COAL can be greater than the standard 3.340,provided the Bullet Is Not In Contact With The Lands Of The Barrel.That is how i determined the length of my bullet.
I understand that we need to be careful though.I appreciate the concern anyway.You can never be to careful.

[1GLOCK]

If youre doing any volume at all a single stage press is just not feasable. i started on a Dillon 550B, Its really no different than a single stage except ya set everything up at once. If ya go with a single stage though the lee autoprime is a must have. The only real advice I have is, dont be affraid to ask questions, get more than one oppinion, check-double check-then check again any info anyone gives you and pay attention to detail and youll never have any preventable problems. OH yeah, BEWARE everyone thinks theyre an expert !

[Tom W.]

Along with the clean bench, only have the powder that you are using at the time on the bench. Or primers, or dies, or bullets....

[snuffy]

BASIC RELOADER RULES & REQUIREMENTS
1. Do you have the patience to do detailed work away from distractions, (TV, Children, guests)?
2. Do you have a secure area that can be dedicated strictly to a loading bench?
3. Do you thoroughly understand what goes on inside a cartridge when you pull the trigger?
4. Are you mechanically inclined? In other words can you understand and follow instructions exactly, to make needed adjustments to equipment?
5. Do you know how to use measurement tools such as calipers and micrometers?
6. Read the front sections of several reloading manuals. I suggest one manual, printed by a company that sells reloading equipment AND bullets. The other one should be by a company that sells only powder. Case in point Hornady then Hodgdon. After reading and understanding the “HOW TO” section in those manuals, find someone who already loads to show you how and talk you through a box of shells. Better yet find a NRA Metallic/Shotshell Reloading instructor and take a basic reloading class.
7. Never be in a hurry. If you are pressed for time, this is when a mistake will be made.
8. Do not under any circumstances smoke, eat or drink, especially alcoholic beverages. The reasons are obvious, but I’ll state them anyway. Smokeless powder burns at a very high temperature; it makes a dandy accelerant to start a fire. Drinking causes loss of motor skills and judgment.
9. Wash hands thoroughly when you are through. You are dealing with lead in many forms when handling bullets and primers.
10. Walk before you run. Buy a single stage press to start out with. The progressives are neat and useful when doing large quantities of ammo. You will always have uses for the single stage loader for special loads later.
11. Stay with the basics at first. The tools for neck turning, flash hole uniforming, primer pocket uniforming and checking concentricity will be useful after you get some experience.
12. To start with, stay in the mid-range of the suggested loads for medium power levels. Save the maximum loads for when you have more experience.
13. Buy the best equipment you can afford. It will last a lifetime; the cheap stuff will wear out and need replacing.
14. Have ONLY the bullets, powder, primers and empties on the table that you are loading at that time. Put everything away as soon as you are done, in a separate place.
15. The only stupid question is one that doesn’t get asked. If you’re not sure, ask somebody. Use common sense, logic is a great tool for a Reloader.
16. Maintain a log of all loads developed and the test results. Label all boxes with the load data and date of load.
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I worked this up with the help of a dozen other people on the NAHC BBS. I store it in microsoft word just for occasions like this. I really hate to type, this is MUCH easier! So waddya think?

[Duffy]

Snuffy,

Well said! That's a pretty good list.


Ryan

[Toolpush]

I'll tell you what I thought of it. I copied it to pass along if you don't mind Sir.

Toolpush