What do I need to know to reload?

[venomballistics]

the first thing you need to know is that this isn't a great time to jump into the craft.
searching for components is frustrating.
don't do a press and dies yet ... get your manuals, scales and try to source components to properly load a caliber. once you have the right powder, primers, bullets and brass in hand, THEN get the press.
In this way it wont be sitting on the bench chanting "Neener neener neener" getting you into trouble

 

[s1mp13m4n]

I live in a 2 bedroom apartment with wifey and daughter. I do not have a place for a progressive press. I have no garage or work room. I can not put the press on the bar counter. It looks like if I want to get in to reloading I have two single stage options.
Lee Loader 9mm Luger - Lee Precision
Breech Lock Hand Press Kit - Lee Precision

Plus extra die sets for 380. The hand press kit would be quieter with no hammer banging. I am trying to find digital e books for reading over printed books. They are faster to search, reference, etc. I just do not have dedicated room for a "real" press.

 

[venomballistics]

I live in a 2 bedroom apartment with wifey and daughter. I do not have a place for a progressive press. I have no garage or work room. I can not put the press on the bar counter. It looks like if I want to get in to reloading I have two single stage options.
Lee Loader 9mm Luger - Lee Precision
Breech Lock Hand Press Kit - Lee Precision

Plus extra die sets for 380. The hand press kit would be quieter with no hammer banging. I am trying to find digital e books for reading over printed books. They are faster to search, reference, etc. I just do not have dedicated room for a "real" press.

black and decker folding workbench ... yeah you have space for a real press.
Now the lee hand press ... thats a handy little devil for a few tasks while watching TV

 

[gwpercle]

The Lee hand press beats the " whack -a- mole " method by a country mile. Even though I have a dedicated out building to reload and cast in ,because it's not heated or cooled, I have two Lee Hand Presses that I do a lot of reloading with inside the house where the heat and a/c are. I like them and use them with my bench mounted presses. They fit in a large tool box, along with dies, shellholders and other stuff, and I keep it in the closet.

When I started reloading there was a local gun shop where I bought supplies, the owner was invaluable getting me started. I came to him with any and all problems and he allways showed me what I was doing wrong. Try to find such a shop and develop a friendly relationship with the owner. Even though you can buy cheaper on the net you won't be privy to all that knowledge, which can be very valuable.
Gary

 

[ChuckS1]

Well, everyone seems to have covered the basics. All good advice. the only thing I would add is apply a little common sense and if something doesn't seem "right", then stop and double check what you just did. Especially if you're loading .380 and 9mm. Too easy to brass confused, I would think. Every once in a while a .380 case ends up in my stash of 9mm brass from the range and I don't realize it until I've seated a bullet.

 

[Moonman]

The HAMMER loading deal will wear you out.

I took a NRA reloading course and the instructor had us load some with

the hammer set up, WOW, what a tiring deal that was.

You can rig a PRESS set up with the Black & Decker Workmate portable bench.

Photos are around on forums under PRESS BENCH threads.

 

[redcar]

I am a Hornady fan LNLAP but you can look at outdoorstrade.com for used reloading equipment.I have 3 MEC reloaders for sale...2 12ga and a 20ga. I picked up a rockcrusher, powder feeder and dies for 100 bucks.Get the manuals and buy used,for the cheaper way but you really need instructions, youtube videos and books.Its awsome...I like it as much as shooting.A friend told me it was a waste of time if I dont make money off of it...but I save money reloading so thats the same as not spending more.A box of 44mag cost 38-50 bucks...I reload for 12.50ish a box. Its a no brainer.

 

[DigiRebel]

If you are referring to picking up brass, some ranges consider any brass that touches the ground property of the range and will not let you pick it up. Makes shooting an auto loader problematic if you reload.

What? No... I meant how would a range know you were firing reloaded ammo...

A range would know you were picking up brass... probably because they could... you know... see you picking it up.

 

[otis2011]

I mounted my RCBS ammomaster to a 2X6. With a small table adjacent and the 2X6 clamped to a counter, I've been able to load thousands of rounds without a large, costly, space consuming setup. Think outside the box, don't allow others to impose limits on what YOU can do!

Get a couple manuals and digest them entirely.

YMMV!

Be Safe!

sent from my rotary dial phone using tapatalk2

 

[Clovishound]

I started reloading with a borrowed Lee hand loader. It was a great way to get into the hobby and learn a lot without spending a lot of money.

I now have a Lee classic turret. It is so much more of a pleasure to use. I have mine mounted to a large board that mounts in my woodworking vise. Very solid. I will likely make a reloading bench one of these days, but I understand about limited space.

 

[El Bombardero]

I was working with limited space too, so I built this

Portable reloading bench - GFE presents How To Reload In Front of Your TV - YouTube