Reloading

[One shot wonder]

so I am new to reloading, my wife bought me a hornady lock and load kit. After much research and reading posts on forums I found that the hand tools it comes with can be replaced with motorized like the lyman caseprep express and the lyman case trimmer. I went with redding dies. a lyman tumbler, they seem to clean better than corn cob. A friend sold me a auto trickler powder throw. I have once fired black hills ammo and new norma brass .308. Br-2 primers, Varget powder. So I feel im ready to load, my one hang up is there are many videos on u tube about how to set up and use the dies but they all seem different.. Can someone direct me in the right direction.. or recommend someone they like

 

[Orange Dust]

The safest and quickest way to learn to load great ammo is through a Mentor. Most anyone in our club will go over to a beginners house and help him set everything up and teach him (or Her) the basics. We also discuss loading and loads all the time. Are you a member of a Club? If not, you can save countless dollars by joining one. Most shooters are great folks and more than willing to help anyone that asks nicely. You can do it on your own. Buy several reloading books and read them, don't just shop for loads. They will show you how to load good ammo with no shortcuts, but they don't for the most part do more than touch on precision rifles and ammo, just the basics.

 

[One shot wonder]

Good idea we do have a local club I'll definitely check into that

 

[Orange Dust]

Good idea we do have a local club I'll definitely check into that

Also, you will not save money reloading, you will spend more because you will shoot a lot more. You WILL become a better shot. You Tube can be a great source of information, it can also be a dangerous source of misinformation, as can the Internet. As you learn more about it you will be able to determine the difference. For now, only trust information from Manufacturers and known good shooters in your club that you, personally have vetted and have confidence in. Reloading is in itself a very rewarding hobby that I am sure you will enjoy immensely. Whenever you are loading, make sure it is at a time where there are no distractions, and develop a routine that you do every time. Rifle shells are pretty easy to load, and a .308 is a great place to start.

 

[One shot wonder]

I agree reloading will be more costly im in a lot already and haven't started lol. I know reloading will improve my accuracy and thats what im looking for. My setup in 308 is a Remington 700 sps varmit heavy barrel. Vortex 6.5-20-50. Using a g-7 rangefinder. With black hills 168 gr bthp its good to 700 yards. I just want another 300 ish accurately. Just for a target. Currently I'd do 5-600 yard shot with a solid rest hunting. If i cant get closer it will live to see another day..

 

[birdiemc]

I like everything orange dust said. That's how I got started, bought hornady reloading manual, set the dies according to mfr instructions and went for it. If you're mechanically inclined I suggest taking apart your dies and study how they work, figure out what is going on inside, and if you have questions about that ask here. That was the best thing I did to really help me understand. You can read about an expander all day, but for me it really helps to get it apart and see how it actually works. Measure a case in as many places as you can with the equipment you have, then run it through a die and measure again see what it did, make some adjustments, run again and measure again. Write everything down.

 

[Orange Dust]

With factory everything if you adjust the resizing die to just touch the shell holder, set the seating die to the recommended overall cartridge length in the loading manual for the bullets you bought, start with the starting load for varget, you can't get in too much trouble..if the new shells are hard to chamber screw in the die 1/4 turn and try again. Keep at it until the bolt closes with a slight resistance and you will be ok.

 

[Caveman0101]

Read the instruction that comes with the dies, read the instruction that are in most reloading manual. Take a deep breath read them again. Now get to reloading it's not rocket surgery. Be careful, it is going to be fine, check all your measurement, and recheck them. Start with book starting loads and you will be fine.

 

[Orange Dust]

This is one hobby you never really learn. I've been loading shells almost 50 years, and I still learn something from almost everyone I meet, especially competitive shooters. It mb ever gr stw old or boring, except loading thousands of shot shells for practice, load about 40k of those and that does get old. For rifles, it's pretty easy to find a good load, then the quest for the perfect one starts, about the time you think you are there, someone comes out with a new bullet you just HAVE to try, and the quest begins all over. It is more than a hobby, it is a sickness, and the only cure us a new rifle!! And, that is only temporary. Welcome to the fold!!

 

[epoletna]

A lot of good advice in the posts above, notably from Orange dust.

I would add a couple of thoughts:

1. Although reloading can be dangerous, many of us started out feeling our way along. You have a good start with the equipment you have so far, but it needs to be set up in a place free from distractions and you need to have a routine that allows you to process ammo in the same way each time. If you have a dedicated bench, and you should, make it solid.

2. I usually tell people who are just starting to organize their loading space. Good shelves will help you, as will good records of what you are doing.

3. The first set of Redding dies I got came with a coating of some preservative on them. Clean that off before you start, as it will only get in the way and make it difficult to adjust the dies.

4. If you have more than one type of powder (and you certainly will soon) keep different powders segregated. That means do not leave powder in your measure when you quit for the day, or else some day you will forget which powder it is. And in measures with plastic reservoirs, the powder will discolor the plastic.

5. Write down what your components and charges are so you can repeat good ones and avoid repeating those that don't work well. Keep those records somewhere you will refer to them regularly as you develop loads.

6. It's an expensive item, but I think a chronograph is an essential part of load development. If you don't know what kind of velocity variation you are getting with different loads, you will have a hard time comparing loads. And ultimately, you are looking for repeatability from one cartridge to the next, with the smallest variation from shot to shot.

I just counted up and realized I started loading 58 years ago. That surprised me! And as someone said above, I'm sill learning every time I reload. Don't be discouraged when you find out there is something you didn't know before -- I only learned about bumping shoulders when I got into bench rest shooting 5 years ago. And so it goes. If you wait until you know everything before you start, you'll never start. Get some good advice setting up the equipment, then go for it!

 

[jasent]

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX2aeFXzRrvfwdl-35vchJhAMdptqoykW

 

[Dirtrax]

I started down your path over 35 years ago. In talking to others I realized quickly there are two types that take up the endeavor; reloaders and handloaders. There is a place for both and at times we all behave as one and the other. My advice is to keep from complicating the simple things, but absolutely scrutinize every detail of the rest. Your personal goals will determine which is which. Lastly, measure, measure, measure. Do this from day one and later on things that plague others will make perfect sense to you.

 

[Alibiiv]

Hello One-shot-wonder, hmmmm......that's a really unique handle? You seem to have the first requirement about reloading out of the way, you are asking for some advice and have found a reliable place to find it. You've already received some great information from some great forum members. Now, you wrote "After much research and reading posts on forums I found that the hand tools it comes with can be replaced with motorized like the lyman caseprep express and the lyman case trimmer." With that statement in mind you are correct, however.......if you are just starting out, you really ought to learn the basics first before going automation. If you automate and are making mistakes, automation is only going to allow you to make a "lot" of mistakes and make a lot of bad ammunition. If you use an automated case prep tool and do not know what you are doing, you can make a very expensive mistake if you are using quality brass. If you have a mentor, as suggested, and you want to go automated it may be okay, however I am sticking to getting the basics down before going any further because automation comes with its problems too. I've been reloading for 57+ years and still find there's always something to learn. I recently got a Dillion 650XL, that really pumps out reloads, and.....I really made a lot of BAD reloads. Stick with the basics, make ammunition that is consistent and doing what it is supposed to be doing and that you know that they are doing what they are supposed to be doing before trying to get fancy. As you've already experienced about setting dies up, there's a lot to learn when you start getting into tailoring custom loads; like setting up the resizing die. Learning case bump and bullet travel/jump and all that are not that difficult, however require more steps and a higher level of reloading than "basic" reloading.

 

[rewiltshire]

I agree with the gun club recommendation. The gun club I belong to holds NBSRA matches. I volunteered to be their scorer. I have spent a lot of time asking why, why, why from these fellows. Have learned a lot, but it as also cost me a lot in purchasing different equipment, dies and tools. I do still use the original equipment, but can do some outstanding reloading with the 'fancy dancy' equipment.
Now if I could just get that money tree growing in the back yard.