Wanting to start reloading

[C.Noble]

Any advice on equipment for beginner, suggestions on books etc. Also anyone looking to clear up some space, pm me please. Thanks everyone

[Pathfinder76]

Buy a balance beam scale of decent quality. Unless your budget allows a really good digital one.

[Homesteader]

Tough to beat a Rock Chucker Kit if you can find one for a reasonable price.

[leo]

Quite honestly, I find most of my reloading data on line. Hodgdon, Barnes, Nosler all have load data on their web site. A book is good if you need tutorial on loading, but I find the manufacturers come out with new bullets much faster than they publish new load data. If you need a book, I'm sure I can give you an older Nosler or Hornady manual.

[CNP]

Lots of loading data available online. If you're going to be a fan of one bullet manufacturer get their book. I guess you can't have too many books but like I say lots available on the interweb. Buy the latest Lee Reloading Manual which will cover a host of generic bullet choices. It's always a good idea to compare the same load in two different manuals......this may reveal an error in your original plan if you did not reference two manuals............or not.

Edit: I see Leo beat me to the online resources

[6MT]

The OP needs to answer a few questions first.

What is he shooting? How much does he shoot? What kind of shooting does he do? Why does he want to hand load? Etc., etc..

[justsomeguy]

One word. YouTube!

There are several guys with websites that go into great detail on all the steps. Find one you like and start watching.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by chuck

Buy a balance beam scale of decent quality. Unless your budget allows a really good digital one.

I told my son, precision is the name of the game, never forget it. You're dealing in tenths of a grain and there are 7000 grains in a pound.

Grizz

[biggelaar22]

Originally Posted by C.Noble

Any advice on equipment for beginner, suggestions on books etc. Also anyone looking to clear up some space, pm me please. Thanks everyone

To be honest, the best way to start is to buy a kit, like the Hornady L'N'L, any RCBS kit, Lyman kit etc. It should come with everything needed. If you have to piece a kit together, here are the pieces I would suggest. They include:
1. a press of your choice (Personally would go with the Frankford Press, but I use a Lyman t Mag 2 and would recommend it as well. But something that is easy to switch dies out without having to reset every time would be a benefit.)
2. a good scale, digital or balance beam, don't matter.
3. a powder thrower (Electric is nice also has the scale built in, but unnecessary. Look for one that has easy adjustability especially if reloading multiple chamberings.)
4. Case trimmer, either the Frankford drill case trimmer, or if you are on a bit of a budget, the Lyman or lee case hand trimmers work good to get started.
5. Primer handle (some presses come with this, others don't.) (RCBS makes a good one.)
6.Champher tool (Don't need to buy fancy, would recommend RCBS, lee, or any other that is hand turned.)
7. Primer pocket cleaner ( small flat head screwdriver bit works good too)
8. Case/die lube ( Funny as it sounds, yeah... Hornady makes a good spray case lube that works well. Some use lube pads, but personally, Paper plate and the spray lube is my go to)
9. Dies - one set per chambering you want to reload.

As far as books are concerned, Barnes and Nosler have data online. Hornady has some online, but not much. Sierra can be found online if you search. So the books I would recommend are:
1. The ABC's of Reloading (This is a good book to start with. Teaches lots of good technique)
2. The Latest Lyman guide (Some recommend the lee book, which is fine, but the Lyman book has data for multiple projectiles for a given chambering from many projectile makers, sierra included, including target and hunting. But, this section is based on what projectile you want to use and what you want to do with the custom ammo).

I am thinking this is complete... but if I missed something, Sry.

[32-40win]

You can't buy anything here, they don't ship to Canada. BUT, they do have a great resource for a newbie to look at with the various brands and tools they link to. Once you see something that interests you, take the brand name and the tool name and search it on You Tube to see how it works and what it will accomplish for you, then Google it for pricing.
First thing you need is something like a Lyman 50th manual. Read it and then search what you need.

https://www.midwayusa.com/how-to-gui...nning-reloader

[Ariu]

In general basic reloading steps are:

Inspect brass
Deprime (if using an universal deprimer die)
Clean the brass.
Resize
Measure, trim, chamfer/deburr.
Set primer.
Load powder
Load bullets.

to accomplish these tasks as prescribed above you need:

Case preparation tools:
universal depriming die, case trimmer, chamfer and deburring tool, primer pocket cleaner tool, a caliper

Powder handling:
Scale, powder funnel, trickler, powder thrower

Brass forming and finalizing the rounds:
A press, shellholder and dies, loading block, lube

If you go into advanced stuff you might need:
A chrony, Flash Hole Uniformer, OAL Gauge, Headspace caliper, Neck-Turn tool, bullet comparator, concentricity tool.... depending how addicted you get.

If you load a lot then you might need:
Tumbler, media separator, turret press, autocharge powder dispenser, case stuck remover, case preparation center.... again, it depends on addiction scale.

Initial investment is at about +/-$500 and it can easily go to $5000 but it is fun.
If someone can teach you, this would be the best. Doin it by yourself is also doable. I start reloaded by myself. YouTube is your friend. I got my load data from manufactures and later on I bought QL, so never had the need for loading manuals.

With a basic setup you will be able to make excellent quality ammunition better than factory ones but it won't be cheaper.

good luck

[kujoseto]

Goodbye time and money.
Hello addiction.
Welcome to the Reloaders Anonymous

[justsomeguy]

Also, reloading is an amazingly tight group. Post details on your location and once Corona is over I’m sure someone will invite you over for a Saturday afternoon and walk you through the gear and process. That’s how I got into reloading. Who knows, you may find a new shooting partner out of it.

[waldedw]

Originally Posted by C.Noble

Any advice on equipment for beginner, suggestions on books etc. Also anyone looking to clear up some space, pm me please. Thanks everyone

PM sent

[Dean2]

If you can wait fpr Covid restrictions to lift, find someone in Llyod that loads and go over to their place for a demonstration. Most of what you need can be bought used from AO or Gunnutz. Kits are easy, cheaper than buying all the parts new individually, but no where near as cheap as finding good used stuff. Avoid anything Lee, especially their kits, until you really know what you are doing. They have some good stuff for very specific uses but you won't know that to start. Lyman, RCBS and Hornady are a good starting point.

There are a couple of good lists of what is needed above, if you don't want to wait, start looking in the used sections and accumulating. It really isn't that hard to start loading, between videos and a book like the ABCs of reloading you can easily teach yourself. Welcome to the addiction.

[257Shooter]

I bought the Lee Modern reloading book before starting anything. It was a good read, however I found it to be self promoting of Lee equipment, which led to the purchase of the Lee anniversary kit. For my limited reloading and experience this kit has served me well.

Additions to the equipment will come later as you gain more experience and you will come to your own conclusions on what is the best equipment for your situation. I have some Lyman stuff, RCBS and recently acquired a case trimmer by L.E. Wilson .

I also bought the Lyman book later for more information from a different perspective and their reloading data.

Still don't shoot enough but enjoy the feeling of creating a load that shoots well through my rifle.

[Smokinyotes]

Don’t start reloading if you only shoot a few hundred rounds a year. The problem with reloading is it’s a never ending expense of wants and needs. After you build your first rounds you are going to want a chronograph so you will buy a shooting chrony. Then you will decide that a magnetospeed is so much simpler to set up so you buy a magnetospeed. Man they work great but then you can see all the advantage of Doppler radar and you buy a Labradar. Now that you have fired that brass a few times you are going to want an annealer.

Anyhow this is how I see reloading as a never ending expense..................... but it sure can be enjoyable when you start making those teens and two’s sized groups.

[freeride]

it might save you some money even at a few hundred rounds a year. It might not though depending on what you reload. I know my 45/70 I am saving $2.00 - $3.12 a shot depending on what I load/buy.

But like you said smokinyotes its also a circle of I saved some money, need this tool, this chronograph, this...

I have linked this before on here... but its a great tool to see if your actually saving or not. If your reloading to get the best groups possible then cost/savings is a mute point.

https://x-reload.com/load-cost

[RayL42]

I just started reloading myself. I purchased the Lee Anniversary Reloading kit. I'm not 100% happy with it I don't like the powder measure or the Chamfer tool. If my budget had allowed I think I would have been better off going with something different.

There is a sticky at the top of the section "Step by step Reloading for beginners" I found it to be very useful.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=167190

[obsessed1]

If you don't shoot more than 200 rounds /year of big game ammo you won't see savings for YEARS. Yes you can get better tailor made ammo for your rifle but thus can also proove to be costly as you buy bullets/ powder for load development if your first pick doesn't give the performance your after...like others have said rabbit holes...My advice would be find a seasoned reloaded in your area and become best friends lol.. The benefit to this is you may be able to buy powder / bullets from him by the round rather than 100bullet 1/lb powder at a time until you find the load that meets your expectations. You will also get to learn from him and decide IF it's truely the hobby you want to invest in. Who knows it might end up with you buying a case of beer twice a year and going to your buddies to roll a few rounds a couple times a year rather than investing the $ into it yourself.....as others said rabbit holes give a guy endless ways to loose his paycheck. Lol

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by C.Noble

Any advice on equipment for beginner, suggestions on books etc. Also anyone looking to clear up some space, pm me please. Thanks everyone

step by step reloading for beginners first thread on this discussion.