New to reloading - what advice do you have?

[Salmonchaser]

Been mentioned many times, keep careful accurate records.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Since record keeping has come up many times on this thread, I thought some might find useful the pages I made to print out for 3-ring binder load book. There is also a template for box labels and my favorite target for testing handload groupings. Below is a PDF of the various pages.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Best advice I can give you is to find one powder and even a bullet that works in all of your rifles. That way you can buy it in bulk and save money. Others may disagree but the way I look at it is that you will be fine tuning with the powder anyhow. Why not use something across the board.

IMR 4064 all the way. It is a VERY versatile powder that can be used in a TON of different rifles and loads....and I mean a TON!

Most people buy 8 different powders and 25 different bullets and WASTE a ton of money and have crap lying all over their bench...

If you can stick with one powder and 1 bullet and make them all work by fine tuning to each of your rifles you will save money and pay for your investment.

Also, DO you need a rifle that shoots 1/2" groups at 100 yards or will 1" groups work?

Ask yourself that before you waste a ton of time and money.

ME, a sub- 1" group at 100 yards will suffice for ALL of my hunting applications. I consider it the benchmark as I dont shoot past 400 yards for anything anyhow.

Others will 100% disagree but others have spent a fortune on supplies over the years and never saved a dime in the long run.

I love shooting. But I love my money more than .25" 100 yard groups.

For the record I mix my brass and re-size to a .003 setback for headspace dimensions every time on all of my rifles. I achieve the 100 yards accuracy stated above and never have failure to feed issues.

I also buy my bullets in bulk (I hand cast and posder coat all of my pistol bullets) and powder in 8 pound jugs. I also stick with the same brand of primer when possible and buy those in bulk as well.

Almost all of my shotgun loads use the same powder/Primer with the exception of my .410 and I use bulk pistol powder for it with the same primer I use for my shotgun shells..(I make my own shot so I save costs there big time)

If I could hand cost .30 caliber bullets that preformed well I would use those for my deer rifles as well but I just cant get the consistency to acheive those sub 1" groups at 100 yards and they wont handle the higher velocity....YET...(Working on this with some new coper plating technology...lol)

 

[ShadowFast1]

You can save money by not purchasing a brass tumbler. It is not necessary to have spotlessly clean brass to load with. I take my fired cases, run an appropriately sized bore brush through the case mouth, wipe the case off with a paper towel, and they're ready for lube and resizing. I do have a tumbler and it rarely gets used.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Best advice I can give you is to find one powder and even a bullet that works in all of your rifles. That way you can buy it in bulk and save money. Others may disagree but the way I look at it is that you will be fine tuning with the powder anyhow. Why not use something across the board.

IMR 4064 all the way. It is a VERY versatile powder that can be used in a TON of different rifles.

Most people but 8 different powders and 25 different bullets and WASTE a ton of money.

If you can stick with one powder and 1 bullet and make them all work by fine tuning to each of your rifles you will save money and pay for your investment.

Also, DO you need a rifle that shoots 1/2" groups at 100 yards or will 1" groups work?

Ask yourself that before you waste a ton of time and money.

ME, a sub- 1" group at 100 yards will suffice for ALL of my hunting applications. I consider it the benchmark as I dont shoot past 400 yards for anything anyhow.

Others will 100$ disagree but others have spent a fortune on supplies over the years and never saved a dime in the long run.

I love shooting. But I love my money more than .25" 100 yard groups.

For the record I mix my brass and re-size to a .003 setback for headspace dimensions every time on all of my rifles. I achieve the 100 yards accuracy stated above and never have failure to feed issues.

I believe there are many good reasons various folks handload and those reasons drive different choices. Sounds like you have a clear sense of yours. Neither right nor wrong, but others may choose different approaches.

For me I knew coming into it I would never save $ if I was honest about all the costs (equipment, consumables, etc). I think only high volume range shooters really save $ if there was a true accounting. I did it for 3 reasons: (1) I wanted to go all non-lead in my hunting bullets without the limitations presented by factory load existence or availability; (2) I wanted to get the best out of each rifle - for some that is .4 MOA for others it is .9 - not because the animals will be any deader, but I like the exercise of finding an optimal cartridge for each gun; and (3) which is a bit of overlap with #2, I am a tinkerer at heart - hunting and shooting are hobbies for me, I like trying new things, getting down into the weeds/details, pushing my gear and my knowledge base, adding to my skill set - I enjoy going down the rabbit hole - like most hobbies, on a financial ledger money is "wasted" - on a per pound of animal protein or a per round of ammo basis there is simply no way my hunting and shooting are cost effective - but they do bring me much joy and a break from a high stress job. If I just wanted to shoot 1.0 MOA and save money I would just buy 1 box of Hornady Whitetail ammo once every 5 years (3 to confirm zero, 1 for the kill, season done) - which I did with green box CoreLokt for years with my 30-30 and MN deer.

As such, I encourage you to try 2 or 3 powders and 3 or 4 bullet types - you will learn, your shooting will improve, you will have fun. Stay within your means of course, but don't lose the fun and the learning by thinking you are going to actually save $.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I found my best 30/06 load is 55.0 grains of IMR-4350 pushing a 168 grain Barnes TTSX. Shoots 1/2 inch groups out of my T/C Venture.

 

[theddguide]

Read , watch, and ask for advice about reloading whenever you question something. Above all have fun! It's addictive

 

[sbhooper]

You are headed down a road that never ends. Reloading makes you not want to shoot factory again-and factory is pretty damn good, anymore. Most reloading kits are just the basic stuff. The best thing that you can do, is to read as much as you can on the subject, watch youtube etc., etc. As far as the -06 bullet, If you are stuck on lead-free, I would go with a 150-grain something and keep it up around 3000 fps. It will totally penetrate anything that you want to kill and the velocity will assure that it will expand well. Above all else, don't over-think it. If you get on the internet and start looking at stuff from bench rest shooters, etc., it will drive you crazy. Keep everything simple, basic and correct and you will be amazed at how well the ammo will perform.

One big thing that will help you, is to keep bullets seated to book specs. You can screw with seating depths indefinitely. I have usually gone with just over book specs on the overall length and have gotten all of the accuracy that I have ever needed. I start screwing with seating and all I accomplish, is burning lots of expensive powder and bullets. Book is book, for a reason.

 

[rwc101]

What @VikingsGuy was talking about, find out why you want to reload. Small groups, speed, economics, etc. Be safe and have fun.

 

[COElkChaser]

Thanks for all the replies everyone, a lot of great info here! I'll keep an update with how things progress.

For what it's worth, the kit is the Sportsmen's exclusive Hornday Lock-n-Load Classic with tumbler and case trimmer bundle.

Thanks again for all the responses and links, a lot to go through!

 

[FLS]

The most important thing is to develop a routine. Do the same thing every time.
If I was just starting out I’d buy a box of inexpensive cup and core 165s to learn with. My powder would be H4350. There is a ton of proven load data with that combo. One you have a feel for what you’re doing and your getting repeatable results, then I’d start working with premium bullets.

 

[come2elmo]

Didn’t read all the posts but so I might have missed it. Find a mentor or friend nearby who has done it for a while and watch and learn. You can learn more in one sitting with someone then you can reading a book or forum.

 

[std7mag]

My advice..

Get several manuals. Note, while i love Nosler bullets, i don't use their manuals. Engineered fiction, would be the kind way of putting it.
Powder manufacturers also have data, and a fair bit of it is available online.

Only have one powder on the reloading bench at one time!
Don't multitask, or get distracted!
Don't worry about spending a bunch of money on gadgets or name brands ( unless you can afford it).

Calipers from Harbor Freight work also.
I've never used a "comparator" and think it confuses more people than helps.
KISS!
Keep It Simple ------!
Beam scale still works just fine all these centuries later.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Thanks for all the replies everyone, a lot of great info here! I'll keep an update with how things progress.

For what it's worth, the kit is the Sportsmen's exclusive Hornday Lock-n-Load Classic with tumbler and case trimmer bundle.

Thanks again for all the responses and links, a lot to go through!

Your santa is good at gift giving, but kinda sucks at keeping secrets

 

[dstefanie10]

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.

Reloading for a .338 WinMag questions....can you PM me?

 

[blueridge]

Without looking, I opened the thread and said to myself, “Let me guess … you’re reloading for a 338 Winmag.”

 

[blueridge]

 

[blackbeard]

With the luck I've had I'd stay away from Hornaday brass, best other advise is have fun don't get overwhelmed and watch the details in your brass after firing, resizing and bullet seating. I've reloaded for 20 years, PM if you got questions.