Lots of new reloaders!

[perotter]

This is not aimed at you, but the cacophony of echos that people are idiots. Thats all fine and dandy. People are idiots. But just like those tenderfoots that took on the West, these newbs have a hankering and foresight to see that this nation is in peril. Stow the attitude and help these people.

And there is no doubt that this past 15-20 years has seen the end of self-reliant types. But there is a hunger for that knowledge now and its best that we all
do our best to strengthen our country.

Yup. There is a big difference between the lack of interest in learning something and the ability to do it. But when the need arises, many can do it.

Kind of like I guy I used to work with. He owned a hammer, a pliers and 2 screwdrivers. And avoided doing anything with them if at all possible. He had never even changed a tire on a car. But, when he got a leaky roof and didn't have the money to hire a new one put on he managed to roof his own house.

[Dan Cash]

New shooters and new reloaders don't bother me. Nor do new drivers, new employees, etc. I was new to most things once.

I remember.

r1kk1

I remember too. 1960 I think, my dad let me get a Herters press and a Herters oil dampened scale and a Speer manual. The guy at the gun shop scooped a couple pounds of surplus 4895 from a 55 gal. drum, handed me a box of 150 grain bullets and some primers. I was off to the races and that was as far as my dad's interest in my reloading project went. 4H calf money bought the goodies. Speer and Hatcher taught me to reload. You can not imagine how slow it goes with an oil dampened powder scale out in the parn at 25 or 30 degrees. i learned, did not blow up any guns and had no other accidents. A new reloader will sort it out if he wants and if he or she reads.

[1bluehorse]

Yup. There is a big difference between the lack of interest in learning something and the ability to do it. But when the need arises, many can do it.

Kind of like I guy I used to work with. He owned a hammer, a pliers and 2 screwdrivers. And avoided doing anything with them if at all possible. He had never even changed a tire on a car. But, when he got a leaky roof and didn't have the money to hire a new one put on he managed to roof his own house.

Pretty impressive...roof a house with a hammer, a pair of pliers and 2 screwdrivers..I couldn't do that...

I would agree that reloading isn't really difficult, but it's not a good host to mistakes.
I wouldn't take an 11 year old, show him how to reload by loading two bullets and then turn him loose....that's absolutely nuts...

[sheepdog01]

I am just starting to reload again after a 20 year absence. I dug out my old rockchucker press and bought some new dies. I started shooting action pistol last summer and really got the bug to shoot a lot. When I asked a guy if he saved a lot of money by reloading he said:"No but I shoot a lot more."
I am now researching bullet casting. Let the fun begin.

[perotter]

I would agree that reloading isn't really difficult, but it's not a good host to mistakes.
I wouldn't take an 11 year old, show him how to reload by loading two bullets and then turn him loose....that's absolutely nuts...

Maybe runs in the blood, being able to do it. Any 11 year old that can't safely reload is a "slow study", so to speak.

My youngest brother started reloading when he was 6 years old. Did stay in the general area though, just in case he had a question. Several of my great uncles would have started by the time they were 10 to 12 also. Not sure when my reloading great grandpa started, as I'm not sure exactly when that branch of the family went from muzzle loaders to cartridge guns. At the oldest, his mid teens.

FWIW, that guy borrowed the the tools he didn't have.

[Rusty Goose]

As a kid I watched my dad make up his hunting rounds for the season using his lee loader set up, I found it fascinating. I was OK with buying 9mm, .45 acp and .38 sp. But when I bought my Colt saa and Krag carbine, I did not feel like buying ammo anymore. I read for months before buying a used Lee Challenger press setup. Then it snowballed, the Lee is still used for my special rifle cals, but the Dillon 550b does the lion's share now.

[JustPlainBillyJoe]

Speaking of not knowing what ...
I have a Rossi M720 3-inch barrel .44 Spl. I had been handloading 6.3 grains Unique behind a Herters 240 grain swaged lead bullet. When I first started with that load I noticed unburned grains of powder. The shell is less than half full with that much powder. So, AHA, I brainstormed, put a wad over the powder and it'll ALL burn! So, I made a cutter by beveling a .44 Spl shell into a sharp edge and cut wads from a polystyrene foam meat tray. I then loaded the same 6.3 grains, lightly pressing the wad into contact with the powder and finished the loading process. When I next fired The Rossi with those wadded loads, the gun KICKED LIKE A MULE, but THERE WAS STILL unburned powder. The shells extracted OK.
A little history: Unique loaded with 9.5 grains were tried but were too stout for more than 5 rounds so after several lower weight loads, 6.3 grains was settled on.
WHAT is going on? Are those wads increasing pressures beyond safe pressure levels? I have fired Hornady 180 grain loads, Winchester Silvertips and several brands cowboy action loads in that gun and not even the Hornadys kicked that hard.

[doulos]

justplainbillyjoe

Are you kidding? Are you trolling here? I have a feeling your kidding here. And if your not I apologize.
But if youre serious. Which I dont think you are here goes any way.
It sure is increasing the pressure levels. I have never heard of using over the powder wads in a pistol cartridge. I think you're asking for problems. Many things will increase pressure. Seating depth, bullet weight, crimp, primer change. But this seems downright dangerous to me. Unique isn't the cleanest powder. And sometimes what people think is unburnt powder is carbon residue in the barrel. 9.5 grains is so far over loaded for .44 special its not funny. Did you consult any loading manuals?

[TheDoctor]

I had a coworker last year that decided he was going to get into reloading. Would always come to work asking me questions. To give him credit, his questions were good ones, well thought out. But he REFUSED to read any manuals. I gave him a couple, they sat on his desk for several months without being touched. In the same time frame, was asked a couple hundred different questions about issues he was having. Maybe after I left he started reading, being that there was no one else around to answer questions for him. Then again, who knows?

[3006guns]

Bought a .38 special Lee Loader in 1970, primed ONE case with a mallet and decided it wasn't for me. Ran back to the sporting goods store and bought a used Precision Reloader and used Pacific .38 special dies. No mentor but some good info from RCBS and Speer. After many years and many presses I now have a Dillon 550 and Rock Chucker set up on my bench.

I still have that first press and dies though. Memories.

[Nanook]

The first time I tried reloading was in the late '70s. I had no mentor, and there was no Internet yet. I bought a Speer manual, and Lyman's at a gun show. I knew no reloaders in my area. I puttered around with a Rockchucker, an RCBS scale, and some dies. No tumbler at that time, or other tools. It didn't take for whatever reason, I might have been too young at the time, newly married, new house, the usual.

Sold it all off and didn't think about it much.

In the mid-90s I got the bug to reload, and this time I had several friends who were into it. A little mentoring, lots of reading, and then it just took. With a vengeance. I'm in it to stay this time, one side of my garage is my reloading area. Turned a 2 car into one car garage.

I had a lot of questions when I got back into it, and read everything I could get my hands on. The Internet has a number of good info sources, this being one of the best. Now I cast and load for everything I can, and I find myself helping others who are just getting interested in handloading. Been there, did that, so I pass along whatever info I can to new people.

It's a great hobby, and if you're paying attention you learn something new every day. That's a good thing, in my opinion.

[ACrowe25]

I agree with you guys, a book is the first thing any reloader should buy. When I started, I read several. Probably read up a year before making my first round! But, I didn't have a mentor who did it prior, I guess I am that mentor to those who need it. Can never have too many in the hobby IMO.

[dverna]

Like most of you, I learned by reading books and magazines. No freaking internet 45 years ago. No mentor either. I think my first 100 primers cost $.97 or something like that.

The new reloaders scare me because they do not take the time to learn. They want instant gratification and some have no common sense.

[TheCelt]

My Dad didn't hunt and he never took me shooting that I can recall. Friend of the family, Jim Lang, taught me all he could between my 12th and 16th birthdays. Duck/Goose hunting, rabbit and deer, reloading 12 ga shells with a little box of Lee tools and a bathroom scale. He helped me buy my first "real" gun, a used 870 Wingmaster in 12 ga for $74 (and he made the salesman throw in a box of shells). Don't know that I'll ever be able to repay his faith in me and his kindness to me. I try to help as many folks get started reloading as I can, and I introduce as many young folks to shooting and hunting as I can, I figure Jim would be pleased. I have treasured that Shotgun for 50 years, it always reminds me of freezing my *** off in a wet duck blind with Jim!!!!! Anyways, didn't mean to rant here, just figure if we all lend a hand we could help a lot of folks make their own ammo.......safely.

[JustPlainBillyJoe]

Thanks, doulos.
No, I'm not "trolling." Apology accepted.
I just found the Alliant Powder Reloaders Guide on line and I WILL NOT be loading even 6.3 grains Unique again! http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/index.aspx
Pistols and Revolvers 44 S&W Special 240 gr Speer LSWC
Minimum OAL (inches), Bbl Length, Primer, Powder, Charge Weight (grains), Velocity (fps)
1.475 5.5 CCI 300 Bullseye 5.2 793
1.475 5.5 CCI 300 Unique 6.3 820

I own half a dozen loading manuals so I didn't pick 9.5 grains Unique out of the air. However, I don't remember which one it came from and cannot look it up now since I'm still unpacking after my move from Michigan to Iowa and can't lay my hands on them. If I find the source I will SURELY round file it!
THANKS AGAIN!!!

[doulos]

Your welcome
You should also scrap the practice of using over powder wads. Its pretty dangerous and not needed.
9.5 grains Unique is probably a lower end 44Magnum load.
FYI just about every powder manufacturer has load data available. Also a good reloading manual that is well worth the money is Lyman's 49th edition.

[LAH]

I hope that they all can safely reload without any supervision

I began with only a 45th Edition Lyman Manual. No one to help, no one to talk to. Loading/Reloading is very simple & IMHO much easier to master than firearms. With that said, their are people who have no business pulling the handle on a press just as their are those who have no business turning a steering wheel or picking up a hammer or a welding lead.

BTW it was that same Lyman Manual which taught me to cast. If one can read & understand that which is read, they can safely load ammo.

[MattOrgan]

We are in a fight for our freedoms and lives. Welcome them all in, even though they are late to the party. Don't sneer at them, help them with advice, give them your old equipment, books. Train them. Direct them to websites like this. We don't need to act like nannies. We have plenty of that from government. It is the principle that is important here; the right of self protection and the right to keep and bear arms is a natural right, a God given right. It is not for government, or you, or me to decide who should own guns or reload, absent felony conviction or mental defect. Reloading can be dangerous, but it rarely hurts anyone but the reloader, but again that is not the point.

[Texantothecore]

I taught myself using the Lee Anniversary kit. Just about everything you need. I fortunately bought the kit that had "Modern Reloading" by Richard Lee in it and followed the directions as Richard Lee laid them out. I know that I read that book 20 times in the first year and each time I learned more as the discussions and techniques became more familiar to me. The back is nearly off that book now and it is filled with notes and thoughts on reloading and some calculations that are well intentioned but wrong. It is one of my favorite books as it has given me a lifetime of entertainment.

Richard, you did good. Thanks.

[Texantothecore]

I am teaching a good number of new reloaders and the toughest thing I have run into is convincing the youngsters who grew up with video games. Seems they have a lot of fiction in their brains from Zombie killing or what ever it is they shoot.