And so it begins

[Drail]

And so it begins. Read every book you can find. Knowledge is power.

 

[MCgrease08]

I've got 2 reloading manuals so far. I'm hoping Santa brings another.

 

[87iroc]

The Lee is by far my favorite. I have a Lyman as well. Had a Hornady and sold it..wasn't a big fan of it. I am looking for other books now. I also have the ABCs of reloading.

 

[mlockhart]

BL550

BL stands for basic loader, you can upgrade it as you go.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I'll be following along, as my journey into reloading starts soon!

 

[ghuns]

Started mine yesterday. Santa brought me the Lee Classic kit and various other goodies. I came down with the flu on Christmas Eve so I have been stuck to couch since then. I had my son attach the press to a scrap piece of oak and I clamped it to the coffee table. I managed to get all my .458 SOCOM brass deprimed and into the tumbler.

 

[MCgrease08]

Started mine yesterday. Santa brought me the Lee Classic kit and various other goodies. I came down with the flu on Christmas Eve so I have been stuck to couch since then. I had my son attach the press to a scrap piece of oak and I clamped it to the coffee table. I managed to get all my .458 SOCOM brass deprimed and into the tumbler.

Nice. I spent last night sorting my brass by headstamp. I don't have a tumbler yet, so today I did a DIY soak and then dried the brass in the oven. About 500 cases total.

I got the "ABCs of Reloading" and I've had my nose buried in that for the past few days. I find it much easier to digest than some of the other reloading manuals I've picked up so far.

 

[87iroc]

Why sort brass? I never have.:.but I mainly reload for revolvers right now.

 

[MCgrease08]

Why sort brass? I never have.:.but I mainly reload for revolvers right now.

It gives me something to do to make me feel like I'm moving forward in the process.

I don't have the bench set up yet, so this was something easy I could start with. I was curious about what types of brass I had picked up over the past year or so. Plus it gave me the chance to take a closer look at some of the cases and inspect for damage. Turns out most was Federal followed by Blazer, Remington and Magtech.

The manuals suggest separating into lots, so you can better track how often it gets fired, etc. Small batches are easier to manage. Also some brands make brass that's thicker than others. Will I do it forever? I don't know, but it didn't take me that long.

 

[Leo]

Thanks for the visual. I've convinced my wife to allow me an area about 40"x24" somewhere in our 2 bedroom apartment. I'm not sure exactly where the bench will go, but I've got a few options.

If you get a minute, check out my photo album on my profile page. When I didn't have a house for about 6 years, all my stuff was sold or in storage, but I kept a 16 X 16 X 8" box handy with everything I needed to load a couple pistol and a couple rifle calibers. I reloaded good ammo on the kitchen table, on my balcony, in the janitors room at church and even in the back of my van. It may give you an idea or two.

The cardboard box died, so now that kit is in a couple small plastic tool boxes.

 

[MCgrease08]

Thanks Leo. That's really helpful to see. I think I will go the route you took and mount the press to a 2x6 so I can clamp it to various tables.

I like the idea of being able to pack everything away when not in use. I have a 3 year old that gets into everything.

 

[Woobie]

Congrats! Once you've got the bug you'll be buying dies for everything you've got. The Sinclair books are highly informative. Before Brownells bought them out (sniffle), they were based in ft Wayne. They get really in depth, because they mostly reloaded for bench rest. Still it's good info, and you can pick out what applies to you. Plus, if you get into rifle reloading down the road, it makes for a nice reference. I just referred to mine the other night, and I've been reloading for years.

 

[MCgrease08]

Update time:

I still haven't set up the Lee Classic Turret and I still don't have a bench, but I do now have some components. This stuff followed me home from Profire today.

I think I'm going to mount the turret to a couple of 2x6s and c-clamp it to the kitchen table for now just so I can get started.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

We're neck and neck. no bench, can't set up the 550 yet.
I scored 9mm dies & calipers from profire.
Actually I am behind... I don't have powder or bullets or cases yet

 

[MCgrease08]

We're neck and neck. no bench, can't set up the 550 yet.
I scored 9mm dies & calipers from profire.
Actually I am behind... I don't have powder or bullets or cases yet

Ha ha. I've even cleaned some of my old brass, so I guess I'm way ahead.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

Ha ha. I've even cleaned some of my old brass, so I guess I'm way ahead.

Yeah... i bought a bunch of 9mm so i can re-use the brass... sort of defeats the purpose
But I won't be up and running until fall... perhaps sooner, but I'll be too busy shooting to do much reloading during the summer

 

[Cemetery-man]

One thing I will say, the books are good at creating confusion for beginners.

It sure would help if there was some sort of standardized data so we knew where to start. One book says not to exceed 4.7 gr. the other says to start at 4.7 gr. and the third doesn't even give any data for that powder... Geesh.

 

[Seancass]

One thing I will say, the books are good at creating confusion for beginners.

It sure would help if there was some sort of standardized data so we knew where to start. One book says not to exceed 4.7 gr. the other says to start at 4.7 gr. and the third doesn't even give any data for that powder... Geesh.

This is exactly why it's important to have multiple books. The answer could be in the brass or the date the data was made. They've been making some powders and cartridges for a hundred years. Things change, sometimes books aren't updated. I think it's important for new shooters to know why these discrepancies exist, how to spot them and how to adjust for them.

I got really confused when reading a reloading manual that warned me about mercury primers and balloon-head brass! They've both been out of use for nearly a century!