Where to begin - if at all !

[meles meles]

I've never reloaded ammo before but am now thinking about doing so. It strikes me there are several reasons to do so, these being:

1. To save costs
2. To achieve greater consistency or a load more suited to a particular gun than the factory load
3. To have ammunition in calibres that are getting hard to find

A quick look at component prices suggests to me that cost saving doesn't really come into it unless one makes huge quantities of ammunition - far more than I am likely to use in a reasonable period of time. I currently shoot a few hundred rounds a month.

The standard of my shooting hasn't yet reached the stage where factory loads are hindering me, maybe it won't ever, but I like the idea of tweaking and tinkering. (Maybe that's another argument against taking up reloading !). The final option, making ammo in "rare" calibres does have merit but my own particular rare calibre is 7.5x55 Swiss and from what I read that seems a particularly difficult round to home brew.

I'd therefore pose three questions:

1. Why do you hand load ?

2. What manual / instruction book would be a good place to do further study / research ?

3. Finally, what reloading kit would you recommend to a beginner ?

[Dellboy]

I am considering the same as you

ive come to the conclusion that loading can become the hobby itself ....

[Dougan]

Well Badger, you've asked some of the 'big' questions :)

1 - I'd always been wary (not sure why?) of reloading, but I started loading .357 for lever action rifle because the factory ammo was getting too expencive - I now make my own for a quarter of the price, and they're just as good a the factory. I then started making .303 this year, and really don't know why I havn't always done so...they're half the price and twice as accurate. Next year I'm going to also load .308 (should be able to make a reasonable practice round for half the price of RUAG), and also 6.5...the purpose of this will be to make a round that is accurate at short range, but kinder on the 100 year old action than factory ammo.

2 - It's always good if you can get a club mate who loads to show you the basics right at the start - it helps to understand the bits of equipment involved and the terminologies used in the books. The ABC's of realoading is a good book for begginers, and you will need the reloading guide for which ever powder you use...Other than that I asked most of my specific questions on this forum.

3 - This depends on what you intend to load, but how much you spend is up to you - you can get plenty of cheap (also second hand) kit that is just fine. The basics will set you back a couple of hundred quid, but beyond that there are a lot of 'boys toys' that if you're a bit of a 'kit junky' like me will cost you more...this is where you need to decide whether you want to do it just to save money, or want to also enjoy the hobby....


There are many excellent threads on the forum in the 'reloading section', and I would recommend taking the time to read some of them...then start asking more specific questions...no question is too small or silly on this forum

Some questions for you:

What calibers are you looking to load, and for what purpose?

Have you been keeping your old brass?

[meles meles]

"No question is too small or silly" - hmmm, just wait, you clearly don't know how a badger brain works...


I have rifles in 6.5x55 Swedish, 7.5x55 Swiss, 7.62 x 39 and 7.62 x 54 R, 7.92 x57 and an empty slot just waiting for the right .45 ACP carbine to appear. My rifles are are all military surplus and I shoot military surplus ammo through them for two reasons:

1. It's cheaper (I'm a Yorkshire badger)
2. It's what they were designed to use

If I hand load, I'll probably be looking to do it for the 6.5 Swedish and 7.5 Swiss initially. The Swiss military surplus is good ammo but hard to get hold of, and my Krag Jorgensen is a nice rifle that I think deserves some care over its diet. I shoot mainly over 300 yards, occasionally at 600. I'd like to play around with the 7.62x39 too: I suspect that when fired from a bolt action rifle it may be capable of quite surprising accuracy out to 300 yards.

I have some Privi 7.5 Swiss brass that I have saved and which I know can be reloaded, and I've also saved my milsurp brass though I understand that most of the milsurp ammo doesn't take to reloading.

[Dougan]

If the milsurp brass is 'berden' primed (two flash holes in the primer pocket) then it's not good for reloading - You want 'boxer' primed brass (one central flash hole) for easy de-capping and re-priming. Unfortunatly for your circumstances, the initial outlay brass will be costly - but with good care and 'neck sizing' (this will also produce more acurate ammo than milsurp for a specific rifle), you should be able to reuse it quite a few times.

For the calibers you've said, you can definately make better and more accurate ammo than the milsurp available - but with the initial outlay in equipment and components, it could be a year before you actually start to save money.

There are folks on here that will be able to recommend components and loads for all your calibers - I'm going to start loading for 6.5 x 55 soon myself...so will be asking questions about that aswell....

[meles meles]

Thanks squirrel.

What's this neck sizing all about ?

[Robin128]

1. Why do you hand load ?

Because its fun, requires some skills and kit and you can prescribe a load consistently.

2. What manual / instruction book would be a good place to do further study / research ?

Only one Sierra, more than one...just get your hands on a second hand copy of manuals by Speer, Hornady, etc etc

3. Finally, what reloading kit would you recommend to a beginner ? Not Lee, its shoite :55: , apart from the Lee auto primer...RCBS, Forstner, Lyman.

Look out...incoming!

[Dougan]

Neck sizing is great, and has several advantages over 'full length' resizing.

As you know, milsurp and factory ammo is made to specifications that should easily fit all rifles in that specific caliber - however with older well used rifles this can lead to a loose fit, which although safe, isn't great for accuracy.

When you resize new or once fired (in a different rifle) brass, you need to do it in a 'full length sizing' die - this will shape the case back down to factory specs, and make the round suitable for any rifle in that caliber. But once you've fired a case in your own rifle, it then has expanded (and slightly shrank again) to fit that specific chamber - this means that as long as you only intend to use the case again in the same rifle, then you can just resize the case neck (so it accepts the bullet), and that case will be a perfect fit for that rifle (can not be used in other rifles, as may not fit). If I point my smle straight down and drop a factory round in the chamber; it rattles in - but when I drop a neck sized round in; it fits perfectly.

The advantages are:

Firstly it is a lot less hastle neck sizing, as full lenth sizing requires lubing cases so they don't get stuck in the die - Also repeated full length sizing can make the brass brittle, so neck sizing makes the brass last longer.

Secondly, the better fit improves the accuracy, especially for old milsurp rifles - my smle group size halved with neck sizing!

[kennyc]

Neck sizing is great, and has several advantages over 'full length' resizing.

As you know, milsurp and factory ammo is made to specifications that should easily fit all rifles in that specific caliber - however with older well used rifles this can lead to a loose fit, which although safe, isn't great for accuracy.

When you resize new or once fired (in a different rifle) brass, you need to do it in a 'full length sizing' die - this will shape the case back down to factory specs, and make the round suitable for any rifle in that caliber. But once you've fired a case in your own rifle, it then has expanded (and slightly shrank again) to fit that specific chamber - this means that as long as you only intend to use the case again in the same rifle, then you can just resize the case neck (so it accepts the bullet), and that case will be a perfect fit for that rifle (can not be used in other rifles, as may not fit). If I point my smle straight down and drop a factory round in the chamber; it rattles in - but when I drop a neck sized round in; it fits perfectly.

The advantages are:

Firstly it is a lot less hastle neck sizing, as full lenth sizing requires lubing cases so they don't get stuck in the die - Also repeated full length sizing can make the brass brittle, so neck sizing makes the brass last longer.

Secondly, the better fit improves the accuracy, especially for old milsurp rifles - my smle group size halved with neck sizing!

forget neck sizing if you have a K31, all it will get you is rounds that either won't chamber or will suffer "light strikes" for the K31 full length resizing is the way to go, there is no need to spend hundreds on kit, I reload with a Lee hand press, but it will depend on your upper body strength 7.5x55 is noticeably harder work than .308 which is easy peasy

[ovenpaa]

A robust press is a must, most of the time I use a Lee cast classic, make sure whatever you get it well bolted down to something solid so you can feel what you are doing.

Dies, very much depends on what cartridges you are reloading and what your style of shooting is. We use anything from Forstner, through Redding and Hoirnady to Lee. For the record I have a small press setup for building a NATO standard 7,62x51 and the Lee die is perfect and returning a consistent over all length (OAL)

Important parts include a means of throwing powder very accurately. A beam scale and the Targetmaster trickler that 1066 of this forum builds is as good a choice as any in my opinion.