Great advise and spot on process
Reloading
- Thread starter Excavator
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aushunter1
Well-Known Member
Its a very rewarding thing, taking your first deer or game animal with ammo that you prepared, tuned & tested.
After the initial outlay it does take time to break even & the start saving.
I agree with @manitou to a degree but you need to start with the right gear more importantly!!
Apart from dies/press etc you need to be able to know your loads to the thousands of an inch & how things like headspacing & changing CBTO work.
Things I think that are essential are-
*Hornady OAL gauge & comparators, modified case made from cases formed in your chamber
*Hornady headspace gauges
*A decent set of calipers
*Primer pocket reamer
*Primer hole deburrer
*VLD chamfer tool
*Decent powder dispenser, if you shoot a lot then a auto dispenser is a must imo
*Case annealer
The list keeps going!
Also you have custom rifles with custom chambers & not factory tolerances, so this will be more work imo & might require different specific equipment like bushing dies & neck turning gear etc etc.
Have you actually asked the person who loads your ammo some important questions like what he uses as far as processes & equipment goes??
That's where I would start!
Also think about what your time is worth, some people are time poor these days so maybe paying someone to do all this for you might give you more time with family
Thats only something you can answer!
After the initial outlay it does take time to break even & the start saving.
I agree with @manitou to a degree but you need to start with the right gear more importantly!!
Apart from dies/press etc you need to be able to know your loads to the thousands of an inch & how things like headspacing & changing CBTO work.
Things I think that are essential are-
*Hornady OAL gauge & comparators, modified case made from cases formed in your chamber
*Hornady headspace gauges
*A decent set of calipers
*Primer pocket reamer
*Primer hole deburrer
*VLD chamfer tool
*Decent powder dispenser, if you shoot a lot then a auto dispenser is a must imo
*Case annealer
The list keeps going!
Also you have custom rifles with custom chambers & not factory tolerances, so this will be more work imo & might require different specific equipment like bushing dies & neck turning gear etc etc.
Have you actually asked the person who loads your ammo some important questions like what he uses as far as processes & equipment goes??
That's where I would start!
Also think about what your time is worth, some people are time poor these days so maybe paying someone to do all this for you might give you more time with family
Thats only something you can answer!
aushunter1
Well-Known Member
Double post
freddiej
Well-Known Member
I am practically a life long reloader. I have evolved from single stage to turret, to hand op. progressive, to auto progressive back to hand op progressive and have stayed there.
my best advice is this for you.
find a press you like. that could be one of these kinds; single stage, multi-stage hand op progressive, multi-stage automatic progressive, or turret. I like My Dillon 550's not going to lie, I am a Dillon press guy all the way. I also teach reloading in my shop. I have some really old single stages, C&H, Lyman, Hornady, RCBS, and some hulk that is crinkly brown. I have no idea what it is but it makes the rest except for the C&H look like 5 year-old girl.
find dies you like to work with.. they come in all kinds of varieties. neck only, neck with body die, full length, and bushing (full length and neck only)dies. go around, see how you like what ever die sets. I find that I get the best results with Full Length resizing, a bushing seating die, and a micrometer spindle. now others will have a different combination. Redding pro hunters are excellent die sets. I have a few. I also have RCBS, Dillon, Hornady, Lyman, and other Reddings. look around and see what makes you happy (what gives your the most consistent results).
powder meters are a very personal things. I like two brands. one brand is Dillon the other is a brand I do not remember and that powder meter was stolen about 6 years ago in a robbery of my shop. I wish I could remember the name of it but it was the one I used for my 1,000 target loads it was just so dang accurate I nearly never needed to trickle the loads.
powder scales are also personal. I have an Ohaus electronic. it is very good. I have three or four Ohaus triple posed beam scales. they are also very good. I have tested and cross tested the scales I have. they all weigh one powder charge within 0.1 grains. most are too close to say there is any difference.
My best advice is put together a set of reloading equipment that makes you the best reloader you can me. this means mixing and matching brands, then so be it.. I know what works for me.. now you go out and find what works for you. Do not fear making a mistake, all you have to do is sell the mistake and get something else.
my best advice is this for you.
find a press you like. that could be one of these kinds; single stage, multi-stage hand op progressive, multi-stage automatic progressive, or turret. I like My Dillon 550's not going to lie, I am a Dillon press guy all the way. I also teach reloading in my shop. I have some really old single stages, C&H, Lyman, Hornady, RCBS, and some hulk that is crinkly brown. I have no idea what it is but it makes the rest except for the C&H look like 5 year-old girl.
find dies you like to work with.. they come in all kinds of varieties. neck only, neck with body die, full length, and bushing (full length and neck only)dies. go around, see how you like what ever die sets. I find that I get the best results with Full Length resizing, a bushing seating die, and a micrometer spindle. now others will have a different combination. Redding pro hunters are excellent die sets. I have a few. I also have RCBS, Dillon, Hornady, Lyman, and other Reddings. look around and see what makes you happy (what gives your the most consistent results).
powder meters are a very personal things. I like two brands. one brand is Dillon the other is a brand I do not remember and that powder meter was stolen about 6 years ago in a robbery of my shop. I wish I could remember the name of it but it was the one I used for my 1,000 target loads it was just so dang accurate I nearly never needed to trickle the loads.
powder scales are also personal. I have an Ohaus electronic. it is very good. I have three or four Ohaus triple posed beam scales. they are also very good. I have tested and cross tested the scales I have. they all weigh one powder charge within 0.1 grains. most are too close to say there is any difference.
My best advice is put together a set of reloading equipment that makes you the best reloader you can me. this means mixing and matching brands, then so be it.. I know what works for me.. now you go out and find what works for you. Do not fear making a mistake, all you have to do is sell the mistake and get something else.
Excavator
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2016
- Messages
- 138
Thinks for the info guys. Off the top of my head we have.
6.5 creed
6.5x47
280ai
7stw
6.5x284 Norma
300 bee
300 wsm
308
7 mag
To name the full custom rigs off the top of my head. All shoot very small groups. Issue we have is we run 4 businesses with over 120 employees and both have a few young kids in sports. I think at this point in our life. Time will be the issue. I think I may stick with buying for a few years, or in till the economy makes a down turn. At which time with the line of work we are in, would give me plenty of free time. Got to make hay while the sun shines. I know I would love the challenge, but right now. I will save my few free min to shoot and hunt and deep sea fish!
6.5 creed
6.5x47
280ai
7stw
6.5x284 Norma
300 bee
300 wsm
308
7 mag
To name the full custom rigs off the top of my head. All shoot very small groups. Issue we have is we run 4 businesses with over 120 employees and both have a few young kids in sports. I think at this point in our life. Time will be the issue. I think I may stick with buying for a few years, or in till the economy makes a down turn. At which time with the line of work we are in, would give me plenty of free time. Got to make hay while the sun shines. I know I would love the challenge, but right now. I will save my few free min to shoot and hunt and deep sea fish!
aushunter1
Well-Known Member
Looking at that list I think that is a wise decision, as mentioned its a big continuing time commitment just in the learning, let alone as the doing!
Still, maybe the thing is to just start small, load for a single rifle, single stage press, dies & the basic gear for the rifle you shoot the most.
Less time & you will learn how it works.
As I said it is a very rewarding pass time & when you sit down for a meal of sous vide venison with the family you will feel it even more
ATH
Well-Known Member
$2.50 a round. Heck yes you would save money over time.
I've got a Rockchucker I bought 15 years which does all my precision work. A Hornady progressive for 223 and bulk pistol ammo. I've done the math and only a fool would say you don't save money, unless you trade off your time vs working your career. I don't do that, it's home time that is traded off and it is dishonest to apply working wages to that. And the bigger the round, the bigger the savings.
I did stop reloading shotshells. Unless you are pursuing a competitive edge in serious competition, there are little savings vs WalMart economic shells.
nt7332
Well-Known Member
With the money you spend on someone else to load you could have a pretty nice reloading setup. Not to mention the reloading cave is a great place for you and your brother to get away and have some "man" time. As many have said you don't have to have the best gear. However, I learned a long time ago it is better to buy once cry once than to settle in the beginning. In the grand scheme of things if you look at how much you have tied up in rifles, a really nice reloading setup will just be a drop in the bucket to that. To me reloading isn't about saving money but about knowing I have the most consistent ammo that I can have and once you get very proficient with good reloading gear you can't blame the ammo any further for those occasional misses. To me reloading promoted shooting more, and going to the range just to try out my new test loads. Best of luck on your journey down the reloading rabbit hole, just stay positive and expect to run into issues. This is how we learn. And always remember if you need help this forum has a wealth of knowledge! Take care, brother.
nt7332
Well-Known Member
That is legit! Some good people on here to be giving stuff away to new members! Good on you brother. Let me know if you decide to do that, I will chip in some stuff also.
misterc01
Well-Known Member
I get at least three boxes of reloads for the cost of two off-the-shelf boxes. Plus I know mine are consistent precision reloads tuned to my rifle.
