My First Baby Steps Into The Reloading World

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The Stockton19

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I'm new here as of today. Last night I finally pulled the trigger (forgive the pun) on something that I have been debating for the past few years. I finally decided to jump into reloading. I bought a Dillon 550B progressive reloading press and it should be shipping any time now. I'm very excited to learn about the different ins and outs of reloading and hopefully complement my love of guns and shooting with a new hobby of reloading and tinkering :)

Anyway I just wanted to kind of introduce myself as I'm sure I will be way over my head and will be petitioning all of you to impart a little of your considerable wisdom on this new undertaking.

Looking forward to connecting with you all and very excited for a new chapter in my shooting career!
 
Welcome to the wonderful, oft frustrating, world of reloading. You'll not only add to your shooting pleasure, but learn a lot about your guns in the process (Ya gotta know what you're customizing ammo for, right?).

I would suggest research first. The ABCs of Reloading and Lyman's 49th Edition Reloading Handbook for starters (both available from Amazon), with a manual from a bullet manufacturer you choose (if you use Hornady bullets, get a Hornady manual, Sierra bullets, Sierra manual, etc.). The ABCs and Lyman's 49th "How To" section will tell you the how and why of each step of reloading, but you'll also get to see what equipment is needed.

Equipment selection is largely personal choice and if you ask 10 reloaders what's the best "_____", you're likely to get 12 answers, so do your research there too...

There's nothing really difficult about reloading, just stick with what data is in your manuals, and the first three items to consider is safety, safety, and safety.

When you get some specific questions, shoot 'em to us!

Go slow, double check everything, and most important, have fun.
 
Any friends that reload?

I REALLY wish when I started out that I would have had someone that reloaded so I could watch them do it or they could have helped me do it.

I learned to reload from 'The ABC's of Reloading' and my first reloading manual. This was before the internet and helpful videos and sites like this.

I pretty much figured out a way to do something and then never changed from that way. I got one press, one powder scale, one powder measure, cleaned my brass with a rag and lighter fluid and didn't change anything for years and years. This is not good. For example I never even looked at or considered a turret press. Today I think a turret would have been really neat, it would have saved me a lot of time and I probably never would have felt the need to (FINALLY) move up to a progressive.

Good luck.
The ABC's of Reloading:
http://www.amazon.com/ABCs-Reloadin...1457115184&sr=1-1&keywords=abc's+of+reloading

P.S. What cartridges are you reloading?
 
"...sure I will be way over my head..." Hi. No, you won't. Reloading is not rocket science. There's no math involved. No Great Mystery, Voodoo or any of that.
Wouldn't have started with a progressive myself, but even that isn't terribly difficult. Especially with a Dillon. They have a very good customer service reputation. Top notch, no BS, warrantee, as well. A phone call or e-mail to 'em usually gets whatever fixed.
Read and follow your manual and you'll be fine. The reference chapters are a good read by themselves too. You aren't alone anyway.
'The ABC's of Reloading' is your friend. So are the people here.
 
Thank you guys for the support! I will check out those books and manuals that you recommended for sure.

@DaleA:

I am going to start with reloading 9mm. I know I won't be saving all that much with 9mm but I have a nice Beretta that I love shooting and apparently 9mm is pretty forgiving to reload compared to some other calibers. I thought this would be a good starting place to start and figure out what I'm doing before moving on to more complicated calibers. :)
 
Read lots now, before it arrives.
Download the manual from Dillon's site, its free;)

Load small batches when starting out. 10~15 rounds tops till you're comfortable with the entire process. Trust me on this you WILL make a mistake at the beginning which you'll need to correct & pulling 15 bullets is way less frustrating than pulling 200!
 
You're not going wrong with a Dillon progressive. Do get some manuals, and I recommend the Dillon digital scale.

Do begin by being totally anal about safety. Check everything, then check it again.

Don't be afraid to ask questions.

Do not try any unpublished loads, and don't load hot loads until you know how to work them up. Lots of folks never build hot loads, nothing wrong with that philosophy.

Don't feel like scrapping a piece of brass is a sin. If in doubt, throw it out, just like leftovers in the refrigerator.

Do enjoy it, it's fun.
 
One press simply is not enough. You have a great press coming but I would suggest that you also get yourself a single stage press. Brand will not matter but with the single stage press you can do all the steps that you will be doing with the Dillion but at a greatly reduced speed till you get the steps right.

A single stage press is not a waste of money as you will always have a use for it such as depriming military brass or forming your own cases or bulge busting to make reloading with your progressive much smoother.
 
I started Reloading in around 1969 . I also wish I had someone to show me and help me get started .

I bought Manuals and books on loading . I read them over and over until I knew I was ready for the next step .

At the time I did not know anyone reloading and no internet to fall back on .
All I knew was I wanted to shoot and shoot a lot so loading was the only way . Little did I know what a passion it would become . The best times I remember are at my loading bench .

I sincerely hope you enjoy this hobby as much as I do .
Anyway I can help just ask .
 
We Welcome wu the wonderful world of weloading! As others have said, this ain't rocket science. But you can get as technical and as precise as you want - with rewards in greater accuracy, better placed shots. I am really new to reloading, and I got a lot of advice to stay away from progressives, but I bought a Dillon 550B anyhow. Very glad I did. It does take some concentration when loading progressive, but you don't always have to do progressive - it's easy enough to do single step, which is what I do with rifle. Pistols I do progressive only. Rifles, I'm anal - I want precision, so I weigh every charge of powder.

You definitely should read a lot. It sometimes is hard to wade thru some of the advice here as there are differing opinions about some things, but there are some really knowledgable folks on here that are very generous with explaining things - sometimes multiple times (they did for me, as sometimes I just didn't understand the first or second time). So don't be afraid to ask. Always good to do searches - advise you use the Advanced Search with "Search Titles Only" to find discussions on some topics, as some things we've all had to learn, and some things have been discussed before - so easy to read a whole string of post on one subject.

Good luck, have fun and shoot safely!
 
Greetings from Issaquah! You'll do just dandy reloading. If I may suggest start with straight walled pistol cases. Rifle cartridges add several more steps to reload like length size, case size, case concentricy (if you care to go that far) possible primer pocket swedging depending on the round you are reloading. A good set of calipers and a case go-no go guage for rifle caliber (at least for high volume calibers like 223).

Welcome to your new addiction.
 
Always think saftey. When I started I was nervous about everything because I didn't want to blow my face off. I even bought a chrony so when working loads up not only did I look at the case for pressure signs but I had velocity numbers to go with it as well. When you are reloading always make sure you limit your distractions. O an it can be very frustrating trying to find that perfect load that your gun will shoot dead on everytime. Out of the 3 rifles I started only one I found the perfect load after 2 trips on the 2nd trip trying out the most accurate load from the first trip. 2 guns I'm still working on. The one I've been through 200 handle ads and 2 different powders before I decided to change bullets. So it can be frustrating but fun at the same time.
 
Loading cartridges is such a rewarding hobby. Some reload so they can fire guns, me, I fire guns to try and keep up with all the ammunition that piles up. You won't be disappointed.
 
Fairly new myself. I loaded my first rounds in January, about 1000 rounds behind me now so I guess I'm kinda walking.

Quality equipment is never a bad thing, may not be a necessary thing, but thats a personal choice! I like convenience and quick changeover since I do 7 calibers almost weekly.

The good people on here have never failed to give me great advice and at the top of the list is to read the manuals!
 
When going into rifle cartridge reloading, would suggest getting a single stage press (as another poster has mentioned). When doing so, consider a more heavy duty press with a cast iron frame rather the a lightweight aluminum frame. The 550 can be used for rifle loading of course but may be somewhat cramped with the larger cases and becomes more comfortable putting one round at a time though to completion rather than going progressive.
 
For your setup stage, do not load primers.
DO load "dummy cases & bullets" one at a time setting each die up fully before moving on the the next stage.
You can remove the partly set up cases at every stage & then re insert them into the next when done.

I also keep a fired & cleaned, but primer still in case, for every caliber i load.
Why?
So I can use it to activate the "Fail Safe" powder charge feature when setting a powder drop weight. Just dump into the case, remove the case, & weigh the charge.
:)
 
When sizing rifle cases be sure to pay attention to lubing the cases. Back in the Pleistocene there was never any mention of lubing and I was very fortunate to have never stuck any dry cases with my new Herter's '06 and .270 dies.
 
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