Newbee question - where to start?

Y

yej0001

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 5, 2011
1,413
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Northern CA
#1
I have been shooting factory ammo all along mainly 308WIN. I am thinking of branching into 300 WIN MAG and possibly 338 in the future, and factory ammo is getting more expensive (they all are, don't they?)

I am toying with the idea of learning to reload - where should I start? What book do you recommend for someone like me? Any website for newbees?

Thanks for the pointer!

Jeff
 
#2
Re: Newbee question - where to start?

Before you buy any books, read over this thread

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=96660#Post96660

I have also compiled a PDF with good information from these forums, mostly written by TresMon, which is of good use for reloaders who are looking to improve upon what skills they already have.

Let me know and I can email it to you.

Reloading is worth getting into. In my opinion it is a greater hobby than just shooting alone, and the reward from "rolling your own" is just something that must be experienced by you.

Sure loading up factory ammo and blazing away is fun, but theres just something about feeding in your own recipe and getting stellar results that blows me away.

Also, there is an initial investment which sucks, but eventually you end up reloading ammo for much much less than factory offerings... so eventually you can shoot on the cheap too.

To give you an example, I can reload .223 ammo for less than it costs me to shoot rimfire .17hmr ammo!
 
#3
Re: Newbee question - where to start?

^^^ X2^^^

Only been doing it for six months, but I can say that, IMO, equip. choices depend on volume, and level of accuracy desired.

There is no "one size fits all"...

Doing a few rounds/month for benchrest competition, is different than hunting rounds, and in my case, different from loading for myself and my two sons (volume...).

Get that figured out, and your needs may be specific enough to get some good, "narrowed-down" advice here.
 
#4
Re: Newbee question - where to start?

ok based on the fact that he has said .308win, .300WM, and .338 im guessing LM or Edge... I would say he is going for either long range precision shooting or hunting with maximum kinetic energy or both.

Either way a single stage press would fit the bill better than a progressive mainly for the arguments sake of Quality over Quantity.

When it comes to hunting theres a train of thought that people like to practice shooting ammo that they would use also on paper targets... more of a shot placement is key way of thinking. I follow this way of thinking also.

Long range hunting is almost no different from long range target shooting with the exception that LR hunters, should only be shooting one round. Imo if you are hunting or target shooting and want the utmost of accuracy, go with a single stage press.

If you are reloading hundreds of rounds at a time, hunting short ranges, and shooting pistol or AR platforms then a progressive setup like a Dillon progressive would be better suited.
 
#5
Re: Newbee question - where to start?

Target shooting mainly. Right now less than 300 yd but thinking of go beyond (well, long drive the range with anything > 300 yd is challenging in my neck of the woods). Volume maybe a few thousand a year, really not a lot. When I read how you guys improve your accuracy by playing with different loads, it sounds a lot of fun. I have a PhD in molecular biology so I think this trait in my gene
wink.gif


Thank you for these great suggestions! I found the reloading 101 thread here too. I will go read it carefully

Thanks again!
 
#6
Re: Newbee question - where to start?

The Sierra loading Manual is a good place to start reading, Lyman's as well. The first thing I would do (and did) would ask a friend who has been reloading a while to mentor you for a while before you start out on your own. Then I would suggest a single stage press like the RCBS Rock Chucker, a good beam balance scale, powder measure (I started with the RCBS Uniflow), vernier calipers, quality dies in calibers you intend to load and Wilson case length gauges for each. As you learn you can add other things like a case trimmer. There are a lot of choices in kit form which combine many of the items you would need to start. You might want to look at those as well.
Good luck.
 
#7
Re: Newbee question - where to start?

Go to youtube.com and put reloading in the search box. There are plenty of good videos. Also, look at Lee, Hornady, Redding, RCBS websites and order catalogs from them. Enjoy. It's a great hobby.
 
#8
Re: Newbee question - where to start?

The first thing to buy is the Lyman's Centerfire Handloading Manual. I think the 49th edition is the latest. Read all the NON CALIBER SPECIFIC CHAPTERS. I would read them twice. Read the chapter on safety twice at least. You don't really need to FEAR handloading. But you NEED to know enough to have a healthy respect for it. It can be a rewarding hobby in itself. It can help you clear your mind of all the "junk" from work or school that can drive you crazy if you let it.

Seriously, read everything on the subject that you can. But remember that abused or not respected the components can burn your house down or kill you.

I don't want to scare you. But you need to know everything about it before you start buying components or tooling.
 
#9
Re: Newbee question - where to start?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Victor N TN</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The first thing to buy is the Lyman's Centerfire Handloading Manual. I think the 49th edition is the latest. Read all the NON CALIBER SPECIFIC CHAPTERS. I would read them twice. </div></div>

^^^THIS^^^


The Lyman manual has, by far, the best introductory material I have read on reloading. Buy it. Read it. Then read it again.
 
#10
Re: Newbee question - where to start?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: yej0001</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have a PhD in molecular biology so I think this trait in my gene
wink.gif


</div></div>

You poor thing! I myself am also a molecular biologist... I feel for anyone in the science field... had to be the most undervalued job on the face of the earth.

The good thing is you probably have a high attention to detail and retention of information, which is a good thing to have in this hobby.
 
#11
Re: Newbee question - where to start?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: vman</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: yej0001</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have a PhD in molecular biology so I think this trait in my gene
wink.gif


</div></div>

You poor thing! I myself am also a molecular biologist... I feel for anyone in the science field... had to be the most undervalued job on the face of the earth.

The good thing is you probably have a high attention to detail and retention of information, which is a good thing to have in this hobby.</div></div>

I need to confess that I defected science... Closed my lab for good in 2005 after NIH funding became a joke. After that change, I found that I could have some spare time for myself

Thanks for all these valuable advices. Need to start reading
 
#13
Re: Newbee question - where to start?

I am in the IT field and it is amazing how lazy people have been getting.

As far as reloading goes I have to second the reading as much as you can. I had my Grandpa to show me how to reload. One of the very first things he ever gave me about reloading was the lyman manual. Youtube is also a good place to start. It is more than a just to waste your time page.
 
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