Reloading

This page is dedicated to my reloading hobby. I have been loading my own ammunition since 1990. It has been a great hobby and allows me to shoot more affordably as well as increase the accuracy of my weapons. Reloading is not for everyone and I often tell people not to start as it is not cheap to get into. If a person is looking into creating their own ammunition for sport or accuracy and they have patience as well as being detail oriented, then it is a good fit. If you want to go out and save a few bucks a box on ammo, just look for sales and stock up when you can.

You can get into reloading for a single caliper for under $1,000 pretty easily. The main decision is what are you wanting to load for. If you want to load for precision rifle shooting, a single stage press is a great start. If you want to load for pistol or semi-automatic rifle like an AR-15, plan on getting set-up with a progressive press. You can just buy a progressive press and load like a single stage for precision loading. It is just more costly to start with. If you think you will move to multiple calibers or want to shoot a lot, go with a progressive. I started out with a RCBS Rock Chucker and still use it today. I eventually got a great deal on a Dillon 550 and love it! I would suggest the Dillon 550 or 650 for most people to start with. If you think you will shoot a ton of ammo, step up to the Dillon 1050 and you can quickly blow through your reloading. After the press is purchased, a set of dies and a quality scale are needed as well as a shell holder. These with a few other tools can get you reloading in no time. I have spent quite a bit of money upgrading my equipment, but always seem to keep the original stuff too. As you load, you will find that you upgrade the least favorable tasks first. My least favorite steps are brass preparation. I always prepare my new brass by resizing, trimming to length, de-burring the primer pockets, and de-burring the case necks. This can take a bit of time, but can be sped up with fancy tools. Convenience can be costly and in this case, it is worth it to me.

Components are the next item you need. As you load more and more, you may buy different components. I usually stick with the same primer brand. Powder seems to be what I find in the loading manuals that is generally usable on multiple rounds if desired as well as easy to meter in a powder measure. With rifle, you can be limited to extruded grain powder, which is a little harder to meter than ball powder. Bullets are user preference. I use what I need for each caliber I am loading for. For hunting, I use high quality bullets that retain their weight and expand well. I may buy a lesser quality bullet with similar characteristics to develop a load, then switch over to the real bullet once dialed in. This will allow you to test more options and allow for better accuracy. For pistol or AR-15 shooting, I am less picky and usually get what I can in bulk for the best price in the weight I want. I primarily shoot my pistols for fun and don't mind losing a little accuracy if any on bulk bullets. For my precision rifles, I buy higher quality bullets and load single stage to ensure accurate loads are being produced.

Dies:

After using several brands of dies, I have settled down on Redding Dies. They have the highest quality machining that you will find on a production die. They offer great products and are not priced much above their competition. I still use my RCBS, LEE, Lyman and Hornady dies that I have bought over time, I just buy Redding now. I have recently been buying the Redding Premium Die Sets for rifle as they off micrometer adjustable bullet seating and both a full length and neck sizing die in the set. This is nice and is well below the price point for Competition Die sets.

Shell Holders:

Shell holders are pretty much universal for presses. The biggest issue is shell holders are not the standardized in the industry, so each manufacture makes them and labels them differently. This is confusing and requires a reloader to use charts or tables to determine which shell holder to use. If you decide to go with a priming system such as the Lee, you will need their shell holders to use the tools. The shell holders are relatively inexpensive for the set, so it is not that much of a draw back. Competition shell holders are also available for loading. These will help you set headspace on your case. Reddings Competition Shell Holder set includes five different shell holders for of the same size. They are all different heights in 0.002" increments to allow a reloader to resize the case to an amount perfect for the firearm it is meant to be fired in. Once set, this ammunition should only be used in the specific firearm used to set the headspace.

Below are files that I use to make loading easier. Some are cross reference files, some are just used for tracking my reloading better. I use the Reloading Data Sheet below for my notebook I keep to track my reloading. This is critical as keeping good records is key to increasing your accuracy. You can also track costs and keep an idea of what loads you have done.