Posted: 9/25/2007 2:43:02 PM EDT
| Does anyone know of any classes or something like it for reloading near the Southern Tier? I am interested in learning to reload but I don't want to just go out and buy a bunch of stuff and rathump my way through it. Any help would be greatly appreciated |
| A good manual like the Lyman one will educate you on all the basic principles. Start out simple with a basic single stage press in order to learn the process and do not try to become an ammo factory overnight. RCBS and the like have good starter kits that are reasonably priced. You can always upgrade and sell off equipment you've outgrown if you decide to move up to progressive presses and the like. You can get also get lots of help through the forums. |
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First off while any class is worthwhile, just a little time invested in reading the manual and or most any of the powder or bullet suppliers literature. It's really quite easy! Decide what you want to reload and approximately how much. If you're going to reload a box of rifle cartridges for Deer season then I'd make a different reccomendation than someone who plans to shoot in pistol matches. There are an infinite number of variables to "rolling your own" but it's not hard once you figure out what you're really trying to achieve. What caliber(s)? Application? Projected number of rounds? Shotgun-rifle-pistol-cast-cowboy-long range-???? |
| guys,be brave, be bold, fear not.... the reloading of ammo is just being careful, following the books for starting and max loads and having the right machines.....the right machines can be a Lee in a box, a single stage press or a multi stage Dillon, how much money you want to spend is how fast you will make the rounds of ammo per hour, how much time you want to spend making up different loads for a rifle will give you different size groups that are just a-maz-er-ing and well worth the effort of doing 5 rounds of ammo with a 1/2 grain of powder difference in each test group.... |
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I started from scratch and had no one to rely on for help and honestly it was a little scary. I bought a few books and looked at several websites and finally just did it. That first bullet is scary. Now I have been reloading for about 9 months and I have a solid grasp of how to do it but I still do not have all of the details down. After reloading for 1-2 months I went to a class at my local club and I knew at least 70% of what they taught at the clinic. There were a few things that the instructor did that I would NOT do but overall it was useful just to see that I was doing things correctly. For me the hard part is load development because there are so many variables; primers, seat depth, powder, and charge weight. I enjoy it but I think that there has to be a more systematic method that I just do not know. So read as much as you can. Ask in the forum and see if there are any reloaders close. People in the AR Chat are pretty helpful also. Just go for it. Load a light bolt action load first or a light revolver load if you are worried. |
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I've had a number of people ask me to give classes and my though is always... "I've been doing it for 30+ years and I'm still learning". It's extreamly simple to do. An yet you can do it the rest of your life and never come close to knowing everything.But it doesn't take much to get started. Buy some reloading books/manuals and read, read, read! Learning HOW to do if simple, learning WHAt and WHY you're doing it is the trick.  Read!
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| I have ordered some reloading books at my local library just waiting for them to come in. I am looking to start off reloading for my .45 just so I can afford to increase my range time but I would like to reload 300 WM and 300WSM and possibly .308 in the future due to the high cost of the rounds. I found a guy at work who reloads and he said he would try to show me some of the basics. Thanks for the replies. |
If you're in the South Jefferson County area I would be happy to help you out...many of the members here reload and I'm certain that they would also help (and they proabably have ALL the equipment too!) |
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Hey I just caught this thread... Def read 2 manuals (they give different "spins" on some topics, its good to get a broad base of info to work from) and read thru the reloading forum here on arfcom (under "General" towards the bottom) and ask questions there for some answers if you are really stumped. Its nice to have someone who is a reloader kind of look over your shoulder the first few times, just as a gut check to confirm what you've read is what you are actually doing... Reloading is an evolutionary thing to, you never stop learning... |
Any of the major manufacturer's manuals will have all the info you need. I used the one from Speer's as well as Lyman's casting book. Double check all loads, Start with the lowest powder amount ( but don't under charge ether! ) I personally dump very 10th load onto the scale to check proper weight. You'd be surprised to see how quickly something can loosen and cause the charger to dump larger amounts of powder etc. Pistol cases are easier to visually check loadings, rifle - not as easy. |
| I taught myself from just reading hte manuals. Just go over things slowly at first and youll be fine. To be honest I was a bit nervous firing that first round but I trusted my measurements, scales, and books so all has been well. I started off with the RCBS rockchucker single stage kit and have bought only a few small items to get me started. I think all of my equipment set me back less than 400, but I bought most of the stuff when there was a sale at natchezss and midway |