k, so i now know i need to figure out reloading if i'm gonna

[ammosponge]

be able to afford this sport....

where do i start?

reloads would be 9mm .45 .357 .45 and .223. so where do i really start?

[GARAGE DWELLER]

Reloading manuals

[bensdad]

Become a brass-rat.

[EJSG19]

be able to afford this sport....

where do i start?

reloads would be 9mm .45 .357 .45 and .223. so where do i really start?

for simplicity, you start loading straight walled cases (9mm, .45, .357) not bottle necked cases like .223. Get the basics down, then go to rifle. (loading bottle necked cases takes additional case preparation).

Read the ABC's of Reloading, available at most libraries, if not buy the darn book. Read it.

Then go talk to John at the Gunstop in Minnetonka. This has been recommended hundreds of times probably on this board. For a good reason. If you don't, sure you can figure it out, but its much easier to let him walk you through your new equipment.

[mmcnx2]

Start by reading some manuals, watch some of the instructional videos from various vendors, like hornady, dillion, ect. Lastly find yourself a mentor. Someone that has relaoded for years, different calibers, and 10's of thousands of rounds. Spend some tiem wathcing them, ask a ton of questions, and gain a understanding of the basics like case prep, powder selection, load data and the processes of working up a load, proper dimensions, and the mechanics of reloading.

Onve you got a working knowledge, have seen what is involved, and you still are interested then I'd say start to put together a shopping list for a reloading setup, which can vary greatly based on how fancy you want to get and volume yo uexpect to reload.

Lastly I also suggest a chrono, reloading without knowing what is coming out the barrel is less than an art. A chrono will not tell you the whole story but it is going to give you a pretty good idea on the direction things are going.

[OldmanFCSA]

I teach reloading in all cartridges listed and about 32 more.

Training is free at my facility.
You pay for components used at highly reasonable prices, and I ask for a donation for use of equipment
All trainees have been more than satisfied for training received - some have posted reviews here in Forum.

PM for requirements.

[shooter115]

I would start by buying a late edition reloading manual from any of the reputable sources. Read said manual so you know the basics. Then take Oldman up on one of his classes, cause there is no substitute for experience and that's an offer you would be a fool to turn down.

I was lucky enought to have a dad who was and is an avid reloader and taught me when I was pretty young. If fact my 16th birthday present was my own RCBS Rockchucker Supreme loading kit. That press must have close to a 100k rounds on it now. Other than 7.62x39, I've probably shot less than 500 factory centerfire rifle cartridges my whole life.

[Pat Cannon]

What they said about reading manuals, and The ABCs of reloading.

And being a brass rat. I saved up a bunch of my brass from store-bought ammo in the year or so before I started reloading.

Also viewtopic.php?f=12&t=7381&p=75570

[Glen72]

Spent lot's of mad cash funds and started loading, used a Mec 600 Jr when I was a kid in the 60's, how hard could it be? I now have a Dillon. I use all Dillon dies and components of good quality. Started with 45 ACP. went smooth as you would expected, then 9mm,easy. next 10mm not so much.
I think this is where the skill comes in. Trouble is what I have had, I've loaded over a thousand and still fighting them. Purchased a new barrel for my Glock 20. Purchased a standard, check my caliper. Ive handed my bad reloads to the knowledgeable bunch. still fighting. going with another 10 and see what that does for me.
I have as much fun reloading as I do shooting.
Don't have a clue if this helps just my experiences so far.

[Dutch]

I would not buy any gear until reloading components such as primers become available again.

[Seismic Sam]

Spent lot's of mad cash funds and started loading, used a Mec 600 Jr when I was a kid in the 60's, how hard could it be? I now have a Dillon. I use all Dillon dies and components of good quality. Started with 45 ACP. went smooth as you would expected, then 9mm,easy. next 10mm not so much.
I think this is where the skill comes in. Trouble is what I have had, I've loaded over a thousand and still fighting them. Purchased a new barrel for my Glock 20. Purchased a standard, check my caliper. Ive handed my bad reloads to the knowledgeable bunch. still fighting. going with another 10 and see what that does for me.
I have as much fun reloading as I do shooting.
Don't have a clue if this helps just my experiences so far.

I think I know what your 10mm problem is, seeing as I originally had problems with my original EAA 10mm not feeding right, and tracked that down to a couple of issues:

1. Mag spring wasn't strong enough for 14 round hicap mag.
2. Inside of mag body has phosphated finish, which is high friction, so with the mag full, the resultant force of the spring up through the rounds sitting against the mag wall makes the top round pop off pretty anemically, and possibly nose down. Waxing the inside of the mag body with Blue Armadillo wax helped, after polishing down the inside of the mag body with 600 sandpaper.
3. The feed ramp on the EAA needed to be extended by grinding it down, although with a Glock I think the trolls in Austria already ground the **** out of the bottom of your barrel.
4. The REAL problem, which is very non-obvious, is that your resize die may not be fully resizing the base of the case, and this is a very subtle thing you can't easily see. I started out with an RCBS carbide die, and wound up getting a Lee die (go figure??? ) that seemed to have a wider opening, but still semed to do a better job of base resizing.

The way to see this is to take 15 loaded 10mm factory rounds, and stack them up on the table top in a straight line all touching each other. Then stack up 15 rounds of your reloads, and see if there is a difference, from the width at the back of the stack to the wdith at the bullet end of the stack. 10mm loaded rounds are supposed to be essentially straight cylinders from front to back, so factory ammo should produce a straight stack with all round parallel and in line.

If your size die is not quite doing the job, then the base can be maybe 5 or more mils wider than the case mouth, so if you multiply that by 15 the top round in the mag will be 75 mils or more nose low in the mag, which will give you feeding issues. The fix is to get the Redding GR-x carbide push through die, and FIRST resize your die base and SECONDLY resize the case afterwards. Doing it backwards may lead to a noictable band around the base of the case where the resize die pushed down the brass nearly to the base, and then the GR-x die smoothed it over but left a visible line of shinier brass. Cases like this you may want to ****can. If you're shooting 10mm loads that are "REAL 10mm loads" (200 grs @ ~1200 FPS) rather than the watered down factory crap (180 grs @ 1035 FPS, which is 50 FPS faster than 40 Short & Weak!!) you probably need a heavier recoil spring.

Good luck!!

[Seismic Sam]

be able to afford this sport....

where do i start?

reloads would be 9mm .45 .357 .45 and .223. so where do i really start?

Avoid pissing off the 800 pound reloading troll on the board by asking questions whose answers can be found in any good reloading manual, thus showing that you're too lazy to learn first and then reload after religiously boning up on the subject. While the chance is small, there's always the possibility of screwing up trying to do first and learn later, and blowing yourself up, or worse yet, injuring some innocent bystander on the range, which in this age of anti-gun hysteria will make us all look bad.

Buy any two of Speer #14, Lyman #49, Hornady #9, or Nosler #7 relaoding manuals and RTFM!!! from front to back, and then re-read the reloading section in each manual. THEN you can go over to Gunstop and start buying stuff and asking John-Boy semi-educated questions. The troll will be watching...

[Glen72]

Seismic Sam, wow. I will reread this a few more times. I may even ask mister congeniality at the Gun Stop to decipher.
Thanks,

[EJSG19]

Seismic Sam, wow. I will reread this a few more times. I may even ask mister congeniality at the Gun Stop to decipher.
Thanks,

Ha! Accurate desription of the Oracle. But you dont go to him for warm and fuzzies. You go for expertise few can match or come close to.

[Seismic Sam]

Seismic Sam, wow. I will reread this a few more times. I may even ask mister congeniality at the Gun Stop to decipher.
Thanks,

Ha! Accurate desription of the Oracle. But you dont go to him for warm and fuzzies. You go for expertise few can match or come close to.

Actually, 20 years ago John-Boy was a lot more congenial and joked around a lot more, but that was before the internet, and most everybody who went to Gunstop were veteran reloaders who knew what they wanted, or at least were headed in the right direction. He and I have both soured with age due to having to explain the fundamentals to n00bs over and over because they aren't willing to dig in and learn for themselves, and the only difference is that he has to remain somewhat civil because he's running a business, and I don't...