New to reloading - what advice do you have?

[COElkChaser]

Hey all,
Looking for a little advice here. I have it on good authority that there will be a reloading kit under the tree this Christmas with my name on it. I shoot a Bergara B14 Hunter in 30-06. I would like to move to a non-lead bullet in 165 gr for deer and elk. I'm open to 180 gr but prefer to keep muzzle velocity a bit higher with copper. Also, I may play around with a light weight screamer for antelope.

What would you suggest as a good place to start with bullet and powder? Tips or methods for starting to work up a load?

Any other pieces of advice you would pass along that you wish you knew as you got started?

Thanks in advance

 

[golfer]

I usually start somewhere between the min and max loads listed in the manual and work up to their max looking for pressure signs by half grain increments. Imr-4350 should do well in your 06. 58-59 grains.

 

[Addicting]

Start dropping hints to to Santa that you are going to need a annual budget for reloading. The kit is just a starter, next thing you know you are obsessed with chasing tiny holes in paper.

When it comes to dies, just spend the money up front and get Redding type S with the micrometer. Buy them this Black Friday!!!! Midway, Brownells, and Midsouth all have good deals.

if you don’t have a place to get powder and primers local, buy that on Black Friday as well. Most of the major retailers are offering free hazmat with a purchase over X $.

 

[Bambistew]

The recipes/power listed in manuals as being most accurate is usually a good place to start. Worry about wringing out the last bit of velocity second.

• get a mic and a good set of calipers
• get a bullet puller, not the POS hammer type
• buy a chronograph, even if its a cheap one to start out with the new doppler radar type are pretty slick, but not cheap
• get a reloading notebook, and keep good notes.
• get a couple reloading manuals, they are nice to have for cross referencing, or at least download all the data you can find
• get a good scale that throws powder, or at least get a powder measurer to speed up loading (I don't get caught up in the 1/10 of a grain accuracy in cases that have 2-5 grains capacity difference...
• Don't mix/match cases, note above of difference case capacities. you can measure/determine volume with water Some brands have higher volume than others. Just beware of that when looking at load data. The "max" listed may well be over max capacity for your brand case.
• Don't hot rod shit. Its not worth the extra 100fps when you are wearing out cases prematurely. YMMV
• learn the signs of case failure and learn about annealing
• IMO, the biggest thing is make sure your rifle is accurate as you can make it before you start tinkering with loads. Even if its as simple as bedding it. You will never know the true potential with reloading if the rifle doesn't shoot well to begin with. I've yet to have a rifle that didn't improve with bedding the action... I've done about a dozen.

Good luck and have fun learning. You'll find that there are endless things you can do to improve the "accuracy" and also find out how much of it is a total waste of time for a hunting rifle. YMMV.

 

[N2TRKYS]

If you like Nosler bullets, keep an eye on shootersproshop.com.

 

[Brian in Montana]

The best advice I can offer is keep asking questions, and be willing to try different thi, and get notebooks and write down everything you try and what the results were. Learning from others experience can be invaluable... That said, I've run into a few idiots posing as experts, but usually you can tell.

It can be a time/resource consuming past time, but its very interesting. And putting five handloaded rounds into a space the size of a nickel is so satisfying. I started handloading about 2 or 3 years ago. So far with my own loads I've killed 3 deer, an antelope, and a bear - these have been very memorable experiences.

 

[VikingsGuy]

RE: bullet - I would go with 150grain TTSX and shoot it fast. With 100% weight retention, penetrates like a 180gn accubond. Have taken 1000+ lb wild zebra and 700+ lb wild Kudu - plenty of bullet to take US elk, deer and pronghorn.

RE: general observations:

• Keep careful records - lot#s, brass lengths, number of resizing, etc.
• Don’t worry about brass sorting, bullet sorting, neck resizing and neck turning at first - plenty of time to refine those elements later if you wish/need
• Get a good chrono - a labradar is pricey but will pay for itself over time in my experience, but even if all you can afford is a $80 optical chrono it still makes all the difference. (Magnetospeed is the middle choice)
• Use the “velocity ladder” approach. Simpler, quicker and more accurate development framework than charge-weight or traditional paper ladder approaches in my opinion - https://www.65guys.com/10-round-load-development-ladder-test/
• Read the first few chapters of a quality loading manual like the Nosler or Hodgdon ones before doing anything
• Find a few YouTube guys you like and watch their basic loading videos. I like “Johnny’s Reloading Bench”, “Panhandle Precision” and “GunBlue490”
• Stick with temp insensitive powders like Hodgdon H4350, H4985, H4831SC and Varget.
• I start 3 grains below max and work up, YMMV
• Don’t ever just use an online posted load - work up from a safe starting place
• If you change primer types/brands - again, work up from a safe staring place
• Buy bullet comparator and case comparator kits from Hornady + decent calipers
• Learn to calculate your rifle’s “distance to the lands” - non-lead tend to like/need 0.050” jumps rather than historical 0.015” or “buried in the lands” approaches of lead bullets
• Learn about pressure signs before you go to the range!
• Don’t load over book max until you are feeling really good about your loading skills and ability to read pressure signs.
• Try at least two powders and one bullet to start. If either of these two options don’t work try a third powder and/or a second bullet. I have only had one rifle that caused me to try a third and fourth bullet to find a winner (and that problem was solved with Hammers)
• For 30-06 I would start with H4985 and H4350 powders
• Find a local reloader who is willing to let you watch for a bit
• I started with Nosler prepped brass - a little more expensive than the cheapest options but I found to be consistent and reliable starting point. Except for target rifles I go with all Nosler brass - for target rifles I pay the premium and go Lapua.

 

[HSi-ESi]

Don't overlook the importance of case prep. It is straight forward putting all of the components together (and following load manuals) once you get to that point. But differences in the cases only magnifies and will negate precision work down the process.

 

[ImBillT]

Buy good dies. RCBS, Redding, Forster, and custom dies are good. Other brands are hit and miss and can leave you thinking something is wrong with your gun.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Buy good dies. RCBS, Redding, Forster, and custom furs are good. Other brands are hit and miss and can leave you thinking something is wrong with your gun.

I started with Lee’s - for my 25-06 they worked perfectly, but then they didn’t resize the neck correctly for my .270 or 7mm08 loads and I wasted a lot of time chasing that problem. I have now switched to Redding for all mine (except the 25-06 - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it).

 

[JLS]

I'd start with Hammer 166 grains and some RL16.

If you're loading monos I'd recommend magnum primers.

 

[Fsmith]

Pickup the reloading book of your choosing and read the literature in the front of the book. Then, read it again.

 

[Millsworks]

Reloader 17 and the 30-06 are meant for each other. Great speed, accurate, and low pressure compared to other powders with most any bullet.

 

[Jbotto]

I started with Lee’s - for my 25-06 they worked perfectly, but then they didn’t resize the neck correctly for my .270 or 7mm08 loads and I wasted a lot of time chasing that problem. I have now switched to Redding for all mine (except the 25-06 - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it).

I had similar problems with Lee dies for rifle. Some worked great and as expected others wouldn’t size properly and would let bullets spin in the case. No more, I switched to RCBS, Redding, and some CH4D.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Try the barnes tsx 168 grains in that 06.

 

[BackofBeyond]

Lots of good suggestions already, but another one that I'll throw out that I learned the hard way is DO NOT MULTITASK. Be completely concentrated on the task at hand. My reloading room is away from the house, no TVs, no WiFi, lockable door, and one small radio that provides some background noise. Don't try and listen to a podcast or watch a baseball game. Splitting your attention span can result in a double charged case.

 

[bluespruce]

Its been mentioned a couple times but I want to emphasize to write down everything in a notebook. When I started it was something I was told but I thought "oh, I'll remember". Well, the more you load, the more you have to remember and the more confused you can get especially during load development. If nothing else, it's fun to look back years later and see what you were doing.

Also, get some blank sticky address labels or masking tape. I like to label my boxes of shells with all the pertinents (bullet, powder, charge, etc). I also label my bags of cases so I don't get confused on whats once fired vs twice fired and whatnot.

 

[OhHeyThereBen]

Very good advice above from a bunch of people that have helped me with questions in the past. I don't have any experience with copper bullets but have really enjoyed reloading for my '06. I hope you get as much enjoyment as I have!

What kit do you think Santa will be bringing? That would help us with giving you specific gear that you may want to pick up. I personally started with the bare bones Lee Challenger kit and just replaced what frustrated me. I would recommend buying any pieces that you will certainly need that aren't in the kit and then using that for a few hundred rounds. You'll pick up bells and whistles later once you figure out what you'd like to improve.

H4350 has worked well for me in the '06, but I am sticking with that because it also happens to shoot well in my 6.5 MB.

 

[VikingsGuy]

What kit do you think Santa will be bringing? That would help us with giving you specific gear that you may want to pick up. I personally started with the bare bones Lee Challenger kit and just replaced what frustrated me. I would recommend buying any pieces that you may need that aren't in the kit and then using what you need. You'll pick up bells and whistles later.

I found the following two articles super helpful when I pulled together my setup a couple of years ago - must reads in my opinion.

Building a Reloading Setup: The Essentials

Expanding and Refining a Reloading Setup

 

[OhHeyThereBen]

I found the following two articles super helpful when I pulled together my setup a couple of years ago - must reads in my opinion.

Building a Reloading Setup: The Essentials

Expanding and Refining a Reloading Setup

I'm pretty positive that I read both of those when you posted them on my beginning reloading thread as well. Very helpful.