What do you need to know before taking on the task of reloading? Well first thing is first, you need to know the up-front cost involved. Reloading has a somewhat large initial investment but can save the average shooter hundreds if not thousands of dollars in the long run. To get started you will need a reloading press, dies, primers, powder, bullets, a powder measure, a scale to weigh powder charges, and empty brass cases. While these items are typically not cheap, there are more economical approaches. Some of the most economical, yet quality equipment, come from Lee Precision. A complete single stage starter kit from Lee Precision will run approximately 150 dollars while a complete starter kit from RCBS will run between 3-4 hundred dollars depending what model you get. Many other companies offer reloading equipment such as Hornady, Lyman, Redding and others. In the end, deciding which equipment to use is a matter of personal preference and budget.
Before spending any kind of money on equipment, you must first decide what calibers you want to reload. Pistol calibers like 9mm, 40 s&w, 45 acp, 38 special, and 44 mag are among the easiest and most economical to reload for. Most pistol cartridges do not require case lube unlike rifle cartridges. Rifle cartridges such as .223 remington, .556 nato, .308 winchester, 7.62×51 nato, 30-06, and .300 win mag have a bottleneck design which require a thin layer of case lube to be applied to each and every case before sizing. Case lube prevents the case from becoming stuck in the sizing die and comes in different varieties like wax, paste, and spray lube. Deciding which calibers you are going to reload the most is essential in choosing what equipment to buy.
Hornady Lock N Load Classic Reloading Press
When talking about equipment, the reloading press is the first thing that comes to mind for soon-to-be reloaders. Presses come in different variations such as single stage, turret, and progressive presses. Single stage presses allow for one die to be used at a time. For example, pistol cartridges require three dies, a sizing die, expander die, and seater die. Sizing dies resize the case to factory specs and knock out the used primer. Expander dies expand the mouth of the case slightly to allow a bullet to be seated on the case without crushing the brass. Seater dies seat the bullet on the case completing the cartridge. With single stage presses, the reloader will have to size every case, then install the expanding die, expand every case, then install the seater die and seat the bullet on every case. Turret presses allow anywhere from 4-6 dies to be used on the same press at one time. Turret presses have a wheel at the top which allow the changing of dies to be as simple as turning the wheel to the desired die. This means a reloader can size a case, turn the wheel, expand the case, turn the wheel, and seat the bullet all without removing a single die from the press. Progressive presses allow the reloader to size, expand, and seat all with one pull of the lever. Like a turret press, a progressive allows for multiple dies to be used at the same time. Once completely set up, a progressive press allows for maximum efficiency. If these style presses are set up correctly, when the reloader pulls the lever down, 4-5 cases (depending on model) will be sized, expanded, charged, seated, and crimped(optional die). As the lever is pulled back up, each case is progressed to the next die until you have a finished and ready to fire cartridge. Progressive presses are not cheap; selling anywhere from 3-9 hundred dollars, and are designed to mainly reload pistol cartridges.
Hornady Electronic Scale
Once a press is decided on, you will need dies, a powder scale, a powder measure, a case length measure, powder(propellant), primers and of course bullets. Reloading dies are typically in the 30-100 dollar range for common calibers and can be well over a hundred dollars for uncommon and rare calibers. Powder scales are essential for safe and accurate reloading. These scales are used to weigh out the powder charge in grains. If your charge is too low, you risk a bullet getting stuck in the barrel; causing catastrophic malfunction when another round is cycled to the chamber and fired. If your charge is too high, you risk “blowing up” your gun. Scales come in the form of mechanical and digital. While mechanical scales are more economical (30-60 dollars), a quality digital scale (80-200 dollars) is more efficient. A powder measure is used to charge the case with powder. Once a measure is set up to the correct grain weight for the caliber, the reloader can charge each case without having to use the powder scale to weigh every charge. This is an optional expense but makes for great efficiency. A case length measure measures C.O.A.L. (Case overall length). A case length measure is used to determine case length with and without a bullet. For both pistol and rifle cartridges, these are used to determine bullet seating depth. Rifle cartridges can stretch after multiple reloads and are measured before bullet seating to make sure the case is not too long for the chamber. A stretched case out of spec can result in poor accuracy and malfunction in the weapon. Powder, otherwise known as propellant, varies greatly in pistol and rifle cartridges. Each type of powder is made specifically for a short list of calibers. Powder generally runs 20-30 dollars per pound (7000 grains per pound). Primers typically cost 4-6 dollars per hundred and money is saved when buying a thousand or more. Bullets differ greatly in price. For example, a box of 100 .451 (45 acp) bullets can be as little as 10-15 dollars and as much as 40-60 dollars for self-defense and hunting bullets. When first getting into the hobby of reloading, it can be an information overload but don’t let that discourage you. Reloading is fun, safe, and most importantly, saves you MONEY!!