Any Reloaders Here?

[SoulWinner]

Hello all. I have a bunch of guns in four different calibers and love to shoot. I can easilly burn through 2000 rounds in a day of shooting. I was thinking that for target shooting/plinking I should start loading my own, but I don't know anything about it. So, what equipment do I need? Where should I get it? Any tips or secrets to this? Know anyone with a reloading set-up that they no longer use and would like to sell?????<br /><br />The calibers I will be loading are 9mm, .38, .357, 454 casull, and 45 long Colt. I appreciate any feedback.

 

[cpj]

Re: Any Reloaders Here?

You would be hard pressed to save any cash on reloading the 9mm, unless you buy your stuff in bulk, simply cause 9mm ammo is so cheap. But you can save alot on the other calibers that you mentioned, espeacially the 454. Alot of my family reloads, so I just have them load my stuff.(for now) There is alot of information, as well as DISinformation on the web. My main advice is get a good manual and stick to it! Dont follw the " well my buddy always adds extra powder and never has any problems" routine. Im sure that you dont want any extra holes in your head, or a blown up gun. Go to the reloading man. websites and have a look see. You can get your stuff a midway(midwayusa.com I think is their site) And hereis a link to give the basics of how it all works:<br /><br /> http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/51 <br /><br /><br />EDIT: That site is for the lee loader, which is as simple (and cheap) as you can get. It give you the skinny on how it is done though. It is slow, but you can load some fine ammo with it. But just do a little googling and you can find all the info you want.

 

[heycods]

Re: Any Reloaders Here?

I load all them. usually try to keep around 10000 rds. loaded. I admit I dont shoot as much as I used to. The Internet is a good sorce for starting imfo. from the reloadint mfg.s RCBS, redding, lyman ect , tons of imfo by bullit mfg.s speer, nostler,siera ect. speer makes cheep cast lead bullits for reloading sold by 500 or 1000. I cast my own from wheel weights. thier is also lots of imfo from powder mfg.s dupont , hodgdon, valvatori(sp) alliant ect. after you purchase your equipment consult with your local reloading supplyer. some of them have classes for beginners.<br />I started out like you shooting a 4" 357 full house loads at the rate of about 50 rds a day. Be careful them darn things make you deaf. YOU HEAR ME> A good site to go to is reloading pages of MD SMITH ,googel it. I think its www.reloadammo.com or something like that.

 

[pjc]

Re: Any Reloaders Here?

yep......<br /><br />btw, i second heycods, md smiths site is real deep and full of great info.<br /><br />first thing to do is buy a relaoding manual. Richard Lees is GREAT. Hornady, Sierra, Speer, read all cover to cover and digest it.<br /><br />Look on flebay for manuals.<br />here is a link to a wep page i built last year for my auto pistol handloading.<br /><br /> web page

 

[ZooMbr]

Re: Any Reloaders Here?

What cpj and heycod said; especially about getting a good manual and follow directions! Reloads can cause harm or death. Almost every bullet manufacture has a Manuel and web site with information -- may even change your mind about your caliber and load. I have a nephew that uses my press etc. I'm on his case (no pun intended) all the time -- if you don't follow the manual, you don't use my equipment. He just wants to fill the case and shoot as hot of load as he can. As reloader know - the hottest load isn't always the most accurate and you go through cases quicker + may cause harm.<br /><br />I reload 223, 257, 30 cal carbine, 30-30, 243, 270 and 7mm. Just picked up some Barnes-X bullets to try in the 270 and 7mm. I only load close to max when I know it's used on elk or moose.<br /><br />I really enjoy reloading and shooting.

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: Any Reloaders Here?

Check out this site: Guns4u <br /><br />Scroll down to the hypertext "why we do not like reloads video." An interesting video showing an overloaded bullet being fired.<br /><br />Thanks for the links and info. I have a LOT to learn, but plenty of time to do it. I look forward to getting into this.

 

[heycods]

Re: Any Reloaders Here?

try stevespages.com and go to my pages. hes a might radical but gives some good advice on reloading, but its mostly rifle stuff, some pistol data. Intresting read on opinion page. lot of the time I dont agree but intersting.

 

[dogsdad]

Re: Any Reloaders Here?

SW, here's the site for you. These guys have the answers and are always glad to help.<br /><br /> http://www.reloadbench.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi <br /><br />Properly done, handloading is a safe and very enjoyable hobby.

 

[bubbakat]

Re: Any Reloaders Here?

The best reloader on the market is dillons. High dollar stuff. But I have got them all. The best all around loader for the first time loader that is in no hurry to load is the Rock chucker by RCBS Go to their site and look they have a starter kit that is reasonable. Warrenty is life long unconditional. I have two of them and two Dillons. Get you a manuel which they sell to.<br />You can't go wrong with a rcbs rock chucker.<br />single stage loader and simple to operate and doesn't take up a lot of space.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Any Reloaders Here?

There’s a couple of ways to approach handloading; in bulk for banging away, and as a means to getting the best, most accurate loads possible for an individual gun. If you can go thru 2k rounds at a time, you are banging away, and handloading will probably save you some serious bucks, including on at 9mm because you can reuse the brass several times.<br /><br />For max production, a multi-stage press is a must. Dillon has a very strong following, tho I have never used “blue”. I have always like what Huntington did with “green”, aka RCBS so I have those presses. ‘Blue’s build quality didn’t seem to be up there with ‘green’, tho that may have changed in the last few years. Lyman (used to be orange, now black) always has quality stuff, too, but I’m not familiar with their newer product line. I like the turret press, tho the cost of add’l turrets needs to be considered as well as the cost of the dies.<br /><br /> http://dillonprecision.com/default.cfm <br /><br /> http://www.lymanproducts.com/lymanproducts/index.htm <br /><br /> http://www.rcbs.com/default.asp?menu=1&s1=1 <br /><br /><br />The best, most comprehensive info I have found for handloading is in the pages of Handloader magazine published by Wolfe Publishing. Also worth having is the Ken Walters series of load data/recipes published as Pet Loads. I think I have load data from all of the bullet manf’s, certainly all those listed in the posts above, but the data I always come around to and use the most is Pet Loads.<br /><br />If I had not acquired so much printed data over the years, I would not over look paying $25 for access to the Wolfe Publishing website, the section on handload data. Recipes for something like more than 95,000 handloads are published there.<br /><br /> http://www.loaddata.com/home/index.cfm?CFID=688480&CFTOKEN=33735923 <br /><br />If you want accuracy, single-stage press, Pet Loads for reference.<br />If you want bulk, multi-stage press, anywhere for load recipes.<br /><br /> http://www.riflemagazine.com/catalog/detail.cfm?ProductID=37 <br /><br />Also know that dies have a common thread so they are interchangeable between diff manfs of presses. RCBS (green) and Lee (red) are probably a couple of the more popular brand names of dies. Presses are hard to mess up so don’t be afraid of buying a used unit on Ebay. Same for shell holders, but I would be cautious about buying used dies without being able to inspect the insides of the die.<br /><br /> http://www.leeprecision.com/

 

[JB]

Re: Any Reloaders Here?

Let's try Non-Boating Tech.