New to reloading

[Bazoo]

Howdy from Kentucky, Im chippewa from the Sault Ste Marie Tribe in the UP.

Anyways, You should start by reading one or two of the modern reloading manuals. Dont read the old manuals until later (if you even want to), when you have a good grasp of reloading. I say this because, while some of them stuff in those old manuals are still relevant, most is not. Lots of the ballistic stuff is still the same, but the tools, powders, terms, techniques, and Ideals that were common back then are not in use today.

Another thing i'd recommend is not to be brand specific. Dont buy all Lee or RCBS or what have you. Buy each tool, used if you can, of the brand that suits you. You'll save money buying each part individually and used, than buying a kit.

I'd suggest for a press, either the lee hand press, or bench mounted C press. You'll need a priming tool for either, the hand press can be purchased with the ram prime as a kit. I didnt see the C press available with it. Cheap yes, but it will hold up a good while until you decided you need more, or it'll work just fine with no "upgrading".

https://www.amazon.com/LEE-PRECISION...lee+hand+press

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002SF4X5I...544131327&sr=2

https://www.amazon.com/LEE-PRECISION...=lee+ram+prime

Personally I'd go with used RCBS dies.

Here is the lyman 48. The 49 isnt really got anything in it that the 48th doesnt, except load data for cartridges that werent in production at the time of its publication. I havent gotten ahold of the 50th yet for comparison.

http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manu...%20-%20ocr.pdf

Be careful bout learning from someone else without reading the manual first. There are a lot of folks that reload, but dont do it safely. Folks can put ammo together sloppy and get lucky a while, but they always end up hurting themselves, their guns, and others.

Dont be shy about asking questions.

~Bazoo

[Grmps]

joshst2010 - welcome to CB. If you decided to start casting to save money, forget it. You won't, you'll just shoot more.

Pretty Powder Coated boolits (lead bullets), small comfortable to shoot guns like a 380 (also available in several woman-friendly colors) are places to start. You don't want to scare her with something that will buck like a bronco or kick like a mule.
223 is nice but not the best caliber to learn to load on (my opinion)
Lee equipment IS a good place to start, it is reasonably priced and works well.
If you want to put out a little more to begin with, you'll never go wrong with https://www.amazon.com/RCBS-9354-Sup.../dp/B00T9YKW60
and you'll use all if not part of it forever. I started with one, Don't get me wrong, I'm still using most oth the Lee equipment I got many years ago.
Maybe a 357 magnum for you, It will shoot 38 special and is very easy to cast for and load.
Casting boolits (lead bullets) properly is a science, once you know the basics, not a hard science.
There is a lot of good information on CB. The Google search (top right of every forum page) is a gateway to all the knowledge on this forum. IF you can’t find your answer there ask the question (Please be as detailed as possible, pictures help http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...g-screen-shots I would be very surprised if there wasn’t someone on this forum that could answer ANY (firearm related) question you might have)
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm
1. Boolits need to be cast .0005 to .003 (normally .002) over the slugged diameter of your barrel for accuracy and to avoid leading. If the fit is wrong nothing else will work right.
a. slugging a barrel (it is safer to use a brass rod or a steel rod with a couple of coats of tape to avoid damaging your barrel http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSlug.htm
b. chamber casting https://www.brownells.com/guntech/ce....htm?lid=10614
or pound casting http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...rifle-chamber)
2. the right alloy needs to be used for the velocity and purpose of the boolit (don’t fall into the trap of going with too hard an alloy

Economical way to easily test lead hardness
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...rdness-testing

Some alloys harden over time
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chap...Metallurgy.htm
different alloy’s different end hardnesses


Lead alloy calculator
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/atta...4&d=1341560870
3. velocity the bullet needs to be pushed hard/fast enough to get the proper spin, have the proper velocity to accurately reach the target but not so hard as to be dangerous or strip the lead off in the grooves instead of spinning the boolit..
The boolit needs to be the right weight for the riffling/twist rate of your barrel
Powders range from fast to slow, you need to choose the right powder for your barrel length & application.
Loading manuals list the best powders for certain calibers and boolit weights.
NEVER use any posted noncommercial load data without first checking commercial load data to see if falls in the safe parameter for your firearm!! There are several firearms out there that can handle much higher pressures than others!!
Link to free online load data
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...online-sources

[joshst2010]

Hello my name is Josh my buddy bubba(Mike) that I work with told me that y'all might be able to help me with getting started reloading.i am very interested in learning how of y'all can help it would be much appreciated for sure. I am new to reloading I'm trying to get my wife more into guns

Thank you very much to all of you for your help so far I will definitely do these things for sure! I have 1 Taurus g2c and plan on getting another very soon. They are both 9mm rounds just wanting to start off with one caliber then learn as I go I guess you would say. Again thanks to all for advice and help already hoping to become a part of the"addiction"!

[joshst2010]

So I'm having issues really like posting but I want to add that I'm getting into 300 blackout rounds and 357 sig as well as the 9mm rounds too hoping to learn allot from all of you again thanks for all help and advise from y'all

[skeettx]

AND Let this thread know of your needs

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...Christmas-gift

[popper]

I would suggest starting with the 300BO first. Cost effective and easy to load, most any bullets will work. About any single stage press will work, die are inexpensive (Lee is fine), you can dipper measure powder - initial cost is therefore low. Just hard to mess up reloading BO. Bolt gun or AR? 9mm factory is so cheap it's hardly worth it and not a good place to start - small case, high pressure, screw ups can be hazardous. Sig is even worse - short neck & all.

[Tom W.]

And please, just one can of powder on the bench at a time.......

[Three44s]

I agree that the 300 BO would be the easier cartridge to begin loading for from your short list of cartridges.

You should invest the added money to purchase in a set of dies with a carbide sizer for loading the 9 mm. You will want to learn to monitor your powder charges quite well with all the cartridges listed but doubly so with the 9 mm.

Neither the BO nor the SIG cartridge will make sense in carbide form. Dillon makes them in 357 SIG but at ball park $150 they are wildly more expensive than a set of steel dies. I do not even know of a 300 BO die set listed as “carbide”. But in any case, bottle necked rounds requires lubrication prior to sizing. So in the face of needing lubing regardless of their construction, why spend 100 bucks more for carbide?

The 9mm is a straight sided case and when sized with a carbide sizer die does not require lube and the cost spread between carbide and steel dies for that cartridge is much much less. Many folks still do lube their straight sided casings sized in carbide but it is a personal choice. I think one could make the argument that much less lube would get a person by with carbide. Also if the loader forgets to lube the session would not end in a stuck case.

Three44s

[granville_it]

Read ++, before you feel comfortable with reloading.

A Lyman book is a good start.

A "good" mentor is a great plus.

For the average reloader, reloading isn't rocket science, unless you want it to be.

Ask questions, this site is great.

Cheers Mark