Young Loaders and Lack of Knowledge

[zymguy]

Ive been watching my father reload for as long as i can remember. I dont know when i really started. I was sorting brass and doing case prep well before i was phisically large enough to fire some of the brass i was prepping. I think that if you dont find the act of reloading itself enjoyable your prob better off buying the ammo. Thats the advice i share to those who ask me to help get them started

[richhodg66]

Ive been watching my father reload for as long as i can remember. I dont know when i really started. I was sorting brass and doing case prep well before i was phisically large enough to fire some of the brass i was prepping. I think that if you dont find the act of reloading itself enjoyable your prob better off buying the ammo. Thats the advice i share to those who ask me to help get them started

This is my situation too, I was somewhat immersed in it from before I can remember. I shot a lot as a kid, but was generally Ok with letting Dad do the reloading, LOL. I did help and also learned a lot of the processes, but didn't take it up as an interest until I was grown up and gone. Dad got me a reloading set up after I got back from Desert Storm, as we'd been corresponding via letters the whole time and mentioned I wanted to get a serious hunting rifle and start working with it. Don't have the rifle anymore, but still have the Rockchucker and it's my main reloading tool still. Everybody should start with a quality single stage press, but more importantly, everybody should have and appreciate a mentor when they start.

[lightman]

Kudos to you guys that have taught others to load, or tried to. Hand loading or reloading is not for everyone. Most of us love it and shoot to reload. Others of us reload to shoot more. There are a few who just don't enjoy it and unfortunately a few who just should not do it. Personally I enjoy sharing my knowledge but I would have trouble with an arrogant or rude young person.

[pwc]

This is really good to hear. I was beginining to think dinosaurs and I had something in common. I still have and use my first press bought used, a Pacific, older than me (73) it has the complete primer attchment, primer set up for large and small primers, and both tubes. two dedicated rams; 30-06 and 38 spl. I bought a RCBS ram to accept the shell holder for other calibers. I also have a Herter press that was given to me about 15 years ago, but I don't have room in my loading closet for two presses.

Reading the other shooting forums most posters talk about their progressives. Reloading is a relaxing thing for me, and I've never had a empty round, a double charge, a reversed primer or a primer that wasn't seated. I may do case prep, priming and crimping over a period of time, but when the powder goes in, the case isn't set down until the bullet is seated.

Single stage dinosaurs, unite! Merry Christmas to all!

[jonp]

I taught myself because I didn't know any reloaders but I had learned enough about guns and ammunition to know there was a lot more to it than just stuff 'em and shoot 'em. I read a handful of books and plenty of magazine articles before I bought any equipment.

Taught myself, too. No one to show me so I bought a Lymans and read it over and over, bought some powder and a Lee Loader and went to work. I admit I did kinda cringe when I pulled the trigger on that first round but I was hooked right there and then when it actually worked. The one thing I did right was start at min and also use a Blackhawk. I would have had to seriously screw up to blow that revolver up.

[andre3k]

I think he only wanted the reloading setup in the case the **** hit the fan.

Won't do him much good then. That's not the time to pull the press from the box and start reading the manual.

[dverna]

Progressive presses have been responsible for most blown up pistols.

But, unless someone is very well off, it will be nearly impossible to become a competitive pistol shooter without one.

I used to load 20,000 rounds a year.

It is why it is important to factor in why someone is reloading and the quantity they shoot before offering advice.

All my rifle loads are done on single stage presses. My hunting 28 ga loads on a PW 375. Everything else on progressive machines.

More to the point of this thread. Most reloaders are not doing this for the “joy” of the exercise. They want safe but less expensive ammunition. Some want better ammunition than they can purchase.

If you saddle the typical 9mm shooter with a single stage press, they will not reload for long. There is a reason they sell 9mm in bulk packs. Most guys shooting .460’s can not shoot a box at one sitting anyway. They have no need or desire for loading a couple of hundred at a time.

Regardless, if anyone does not want to learn or expects instant gratification, reloading is not for them. Running a progressive safely is not rocket science but the operator needs to know the process. That knowledge is not gained overnight

[dpoe001]

I have a young friend i met at work. The funny part is his cousin was at my house daily (he was best friends with my son).We shoot together once in a while, i helped him rebuild his motorcycle. He asked me to teach him how to reload, so this friday we will see how this goes i don't see any problems because he listened and asked questions that made sense when i was rewiring his bike. his welding skills are out of awesome.

[clum553946]

I didn't think they still made 'em like that.
..

I’ll bet he has a killer classic car!

[nicholst55]

Very possible. The NRA offers certified instructors courses in reloading.

As do some other sources.

[JBinMN]

Who certified the ones who certified the certified instructors?

[richhodg66]

I’ll bet he has a killer classic car!

LOL, nope. 2001 plain jane Nissan truck. Fourth one I've owned in 26 years, the last two went well past 200K and still had considerable life left in them when I got rid of them, so at the rate this one is going, I may be driving it til I can't drive anymore.

I like simple things.

[Hannibal]

I guess it all depends on what you know. I remember carburetors, drum brakes, distributors, points and condensers, coil spring suspensions, bias ply tires, ethyl, more road noise than a sane person could stand and frankly, I don't miss none of it.

But I work on fuel-injected diesel-electric locomotives every day, so this stuff doesn't intimidate me. But I've always had a bit of a different attitude than most folks. I figure if somethin's broke, what am I gonna do? Make it 'broker'? So what?
The same applies to guns. They are actually simple machines, albeit some things have to be maintained 'just so'. The cartridge/powder projectile are what make guns different and 'special'.

Give me power windows, air conditioning and EFI. I'm too old and grouchy for that old stuff.

[robg]

As I've only used a single stage press and tend to do 1 step at a time in batches I figure I'm safer than using a progressive press as I've got more chance of catching an error before I've loaded a few hundred mistakes.

[trapper9260]

I started with a Lyman T press and learn from reading the Lyman manuals and go from there. Then later on not long ago I got a single stage because sizen some brass that I did not like for what it took on the T press. So i use both. Like Mary stated about like the t press and use it like a single stage.I do the same way. Also Someone I know use his progressive press like a single stage.It works for him.I know too many that is getting into it want it fast. Do not want to go and do the learning part of how to work the loads and all.

[mold maker]

I own three progressives but still use the original RC Jr. When I started there were no known handloaders near. I ordered books and read til I felt confident. A fisherman friend traded at a tackle & gun shop in his city and I had him pick up the RCBS Jr press and a set of dies. It was over a month before I ever fired one of my hand loaded rounds. That was over 50 years ago and I now have way too much equipment, supplies, and tools. Being inquisitive, caused me to try every new gewgaw and whimmy diddle that looked like a time saver, or a better way.
As life slows down you find yourself shooting much less. That leaves more time for tinkering. In the last few years I've learned to swage and make BP. I make 45 ACP shot shells, and powder coated boolits.
Aside from a 54 year marriage, the shooting/reloading hobby is the only thing that has lasted. Even my once viril body has started to let me down, but I spend time weekly among brass, powder, boolits, and tools.

[Larry Gibson]

These days if you can't learn it in 2 minutes from Wikipedia or a YouTube video on a smart phone it either is "so like last century" or not interesting enough to do......

[Kraschenbirn]

In the past, I've mentored several new reloaders and, at least, three of those are still at it. Of the others that I still have contact with, one just never got 'into' it and another, more or less, gave up shooting as a hobby.

More recently, it seems that there's just a plain lack of interest. Practically every time I go to the range, someone will see an open ammo box of PC'd boolits on the bench and ask about my reloads. When I offer to help him get started, the answer is "don't have the time" or "too expensive to get started"...the latter from someone typically shooting a $700-$800 AR variant with a $400 scope and burning through $40-$50 worth of bulk-pack 5.56 at a sitting. Go figure....

Bill

[Electric88]

I'm glad to (I think anyways) be part of the small amount of people my age who actually take the time to understand what I'm doing and consciously inspect everything. At 29, I know there are many, many people my age who just want stuff done now with no regard for how it is actually done. There wasn't anyone around me to teach me, so I read as many manuals I could (multiple times each) before ever pulling a lever. And I'm by no means an expert, learning new things every day.

I reload most everything (9mm to 30-06 and more) on a Lee single stage press, checking powder charges frequently and loading in small batches. Everything is inspected at each step 100% to check for possible error. I don't know that I could ever move to progressive presses, just because I don't believe I would have as much control over the process. Plus, I enjoy the tedium of each step when reloading. It's almost more fun than actually shooting.

[dave951]

I learned over 40yrs ago with a RCBS single stage and the bare bones and a couple manuals, Lyman, Speer, Sierra. Learned all I could reading and then working with other guys I knew who reloaded. Motivation stemmed from a couple things, I wanted to save money so I could shoot more per buck, I wanted better accuracy and probably most important, I was shooting ammo I made.

Fast forward after years of competitive shooting and collecting stuff, my sons expressed an interest in shooting and then reloading. I passed a good basic starter set to both of them and made them a reloading bench the could be diassembled for moving when the military moved them. (Yeah, they're both still active duty). Oldest son is still hard at it and even loads 50BMG. He still works on the bench I made for him years ago albeit modified for his current setup. Other son would love to get back into it but his military career has him living in places where firearms ownership is heavily restricted so his bench and setup is in long term storage. He'll comeback to it when he's stateside again.

Long story short, I'll take time with a willing person but most kids these days want that instant gratification and are caught up in playing pewpew so they want to start with a Dillon or LNL Ammoplant. The looks I get when I tell them crawl then stand. Walk then run.