Opinion: This glorious article first appeared on AmmoLand Information in Could of 2025 and seems right here now with recent updates. Hyperlinks to the opposite articles on this sequence are on the backside of this web page.
Introduction to Reloading: Uncover the advantages of reloading, together with management over ammunition, customization choices, and potential price financial savings.
Customise Your Ammo: Learn the way reloading permits for tailor-made ammunition to swimsuit particular wants, providing flexibility with elements and cargo recipes.
Save Cash & Get the Proper Gear: Perceive the cost-effectiveness of reloading and acquire an introduction to important tools and the reloading course of.
Hiya, shooters! Welcome to AmmoLand’s five-part sequence on reloading. You’re not a reloader, you say? Hopefully, after this sequence, you’ll want to be a part of the membership. There’s even a secret handshake… nicely, not likely, however we’re a brother/sisterhood of kinds. Reloading has grown by leaps and bounds, even within the final decade, and has attracted many new practitioners. However why would you need to reload? And, in the event you reply that satisfactorily and resolve to provide it a go, how would you go about it? That’s what we’re going to have a look at on this introductory article.
Why Reload?
My typical quick reply once I get that query is, why not? If you’re a shooter who places loads of lead downrange and doesn’t simply discuss capturing, you may benefit from reloading.
Three Causes
There are three major causes people stand behind a loading press, cranking out spherical after spherical. I name them the “Three Cs”: management, comfort, and price.
Management
The primary one is management. You might have whole management over the cartridges you produce. Many wildcat rounds had been began after customized dies and bullets had been acquired, circumstances altered, and loading press handles labored up and down quite a bit. Even in the event you’re not striving to invent the following .247 Nuclear Varmint Vaporizer cartridge, it’s possible you’ll need to take up reloading to make a load which you could’t discover in a retailer. That is an apparent use of the customization benefits reloading can present. You might have full management over your last product.
Comfort
I don’t know what number of instances I went to my reloading set-up to load 5 rounds of a brand new “recipe” that I needed to strive. Usually, this may’ve been a .45 ACP load for a 1911 that wasn’t precisely one of the best shooter. I’d load just a few and shoot them, then return in and cargo just a few extra with a special powder, powder cost, bullet, or no matter. I might instantly change my masses to experiment with, to seek out one thing that was at the least marginally correct in that gun. It helps that I might load 5, stroll out of my pole barn storage, arrange on my capturing bench behind it, and let fly. I’m blessed to have a 100-yard vary in my (very!) rural yard.
However, even when you could go to a spread, you may load 5 of this, 5 of that, 5 of the opposite and report your outcomes for later amount loading. You might have the comfort of having the ability to try this with out spending beaucoup bucks on packing containers of manufacturing facility ammo.
Value
The third purpose might be extra acknowledged than the opposite two, and that purpose is price. From the primary day you purchase reloading tools and elements (we’ll have a look at these in a bit), you’ll begin to amortize the prices concerned by churning out a whole bunch of rounds of loaded ammo. What in the event you don’t want that a lot ammo, however you’ve gone forward and made it anyway? Dangle on to it. You possibly can’t legally promote it, however you may have the ability to use it to barter along with your capturing buddies. That’s an choice.
By way of promoting it, except you need to apply to be an ammunition producer with all of the attendant prices and crimson tape, don’t even give it some thought. Not solely is there the Federal bureaucratic finish of issues, however legal responsibility rears its ugly head. Do you need to be accountable if one among your handloads blows up a gun or, worse, causes harm? Don’t go there. Simply shoot your reloads and put some away for a wet day.
One other factor to contemplate is loading in your buddies by having them purchase the belongings you want after which placing the rounds collectively for them. Or… they will help. Multiple shooter wanting over my shoulder as “we” made ammo for him was become a free-standing reloader simply by watching the way it’s executed. Decrease ammo prices could be a driving power behind the choice to reload, it doesn’t matter what you do along with your loaded ammo.
How?
OK. We’ve checked out causes for the “why reload” a part of this little article… now, we’ll study “how.” Simply precisely what do you could begin reloading? We’ll have a look at the reloading course of and tools first, then elements.
The Course of
To be succinct, reloading metallic cartridges (not shotshells… these are totally different and can NOT be coated right here) includes this sequence of actions to be carried out:
Resize the case
Decap the case (knock the spent primer out)
Re-prime the case
Flare the case mouth (just for most handgun and some rifle calibers)
Drop a pre-measured quantity of powder into the case
Insert and seat a bullet
Crimp the bullet
Examine the spherical for a protruding primer or different glitch. Usually, resizing the case additionally will decap it because the resizing die comprises a pin to do this. Additionally, generally you’ll seat and crimp the bullet in a single operation, however not all the time. You might have that choice. That’s the fundamental course of. The method described above issues reloading industrial, Boxer-primed circumstances, not army circumstances that may have the primer crimped into place. We received’t get into that right here.
Parts
To reload, you have to have elements. These encompass:
Circumstances
Bullets
Primers
Powder
Circumstances
Circumstances you need to have already got. You need to dangle on to your circumstances even in the event you don’t reload (but)… another person might use them. You possibly can reload all centerfire (not rimfire) calibers, though some are simpler to load than others. Calibers that we are inclined to reload quite a bit are 9mm, .223, .308, .45ACP, 380, and related ones. These are simply loaded. Simply save your circumstances and also you received’t have to purchase them. Please keep in mind that these 7.62×39 metal circumstances are technically reloadable (I’ve executed it), however they’re metal. Don’t waste your time or danger damaging a die. They’ll rust earlier than you should utilize them.
Bullets
Bullets are simply obtained. I simply ordered 500 .223 bullets for an inexpensive quantity. If you’re capturing revolver or pistol calibers, you may shoot solid lead bullets. I’ve been into bullet casting nearly so long as I’ve reloaded. In case you load these, it can save you some huge cash. That’s a special article, although. You is perhaps higher off simply shopping for rifle-caliber bullets — they are typically correct, out there, and as talked about, not too costly for the widespread calibers.
Primers
Primers are usually not as cheap as they as soon as had been, however neither is a Massive Mac. They arrive in 4 varieties: massive and small pistol and rifle, and huge and small magnum pistol and rifle. For many makes use of, common pistol or rifle primers work simply tremendous. Typically shopping for them by the thousand will prevent a bit of cash. Additionally, know that Fiocchi packages their primers 150 as a substitute of 100, within the bundle. I like that.
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Powder
Powder is probably the toughest factor to come back by as of this writing. I used to be lucky that I had put some again through the years. (Powder lasts a very long time however it doesn’t like warmth — stick yours in an outside fridge or freezer in the summertime). I additionally lucked into some army pull-down powder for the .223. Powders differ by burning charge… simply test your reloading handbook for what powders work greatest in your caliber.
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Reloading Gear
In case you’ve by no means reloaded or recognized somebody who has, you is perhaps stunned on the world of apparatus that’s on the market. Reloading is, in itself, a interest like capturing. Let’s check out reloading from a gadget perspective… right here is the breakdown. Please perceive that every of those classes has many sub-categories. For this introductory article, I received’t delve into nice element… I need you to know what your general choices are. Listed here are the classes of apparatus wanted to reload:
Loading Press
Dies
Reloading Scale
Powder Measurement and Dropping
Case Cleansing and Trimming
Loading Presses
You might have choices, for certain, with all reloading tools, however most likely none so many as with this class. Reloading presses are available 4 primary variations.
Hand Press
A hand press could be one thing akin to this Lee Precision Breech Lock Hand Press.
This press is hand-held and subsequently appropriate to take to the vary with you. Add a conveyable reloading scale (such because the digital RCBS Pocket Scale for thirty-five bucks) and a option to measure and drop powder into the case and also you’re good to go by way of customizing masses on the spot.
Single-Stage Press
This press performs one perform at a time, therefore its title. You screw in a single die and carry out that operation on all of your circumstances, then transfer to the following die. It takes some time, however finally, you’ll produce completed ammo. Right here’s what a contemporary single-stage press appears to be like like:
The above-pictured Forster Merchandise Co-Ax Single-Stage Reloading Press is among the latest variations of the outdated standby single-stage press. It doesn’t present the powder measure that might be put in on the facet. My single-stage press is an nearly 50-year-old RCBS Jr. It’s well-worn and has loaded 1000’s of rounds. It really works the identical approach because the Iron Press… screw in a die on the high, carry out that die’s motion on all of your circumstances, then change dies and repeat till completed.
The above press has some additions that my outdated one might use, such because the storage on high for case mouth de-burrers, brushes, and many others. These presses are recognized for his or her power. Some cartridges, just like the .50 BMG, want the power of a giant, non-flexing single-stage press. The sort continues to be viable. However what in the event you needed to hurry up the method a bit? You then may purchase one among these…
Turret Press
The turret press will get its title from the rotating “turret” on high that holds the dies. Here’s a Lee Precision Basic Turret Press:
This setup jogs my memory loads of my very own. I’ve a Lee turret press like this one mounted subsequent to my outdated RCBS single-stage on my bench. Discover the four-station turret on the high, the place you may add a resizing, case mouth increasing, and bullet seating/crimping die. The case mouth increasing die can screw into the powder measure, and it sits beneath the powder measure. The measure is activated by a collar on that die. It really works when a case is run up into it presses the collar towards the powder measure’s actuator, and releases the powder. This set-up is similar for the progressive press.
The turret press is like having three or 4 single-stage presses arrange (relying on the variety of stations it has three or 4). You do not want to alter any dies out… rotate the turret to the following die and go away the case within the shell holder.
A turret speeds the reloading course of up, however how might you velocity it up much more? By going to a real progressive press.
Progressive Press
I used to be not too long ago blessed by Dillon Precision with one among their XL 750 progressive reloading presses for a few opinions. It appears to be like like this:
A real progressive press could be a whole game-changer for reloading. I had used all three forms of presses proven above, however it wasn’t till the XL750 arrived that my reloading took wings to make use of an outdated phrase.
The primary distinction between turret and progressive presses is {that a} turret requires 4 deal with pulls to supply a completed cartridge, whereas a progressive (as soon as all stations are loaded) requires just one pull. Each pull of the deal with drops a loaded spherical into the bin. I had all the time heard in regards to the prodigious quantities of ammo {that a} progressive might produce in a short while. That was confirmed to me once I first began studying the ropes of creating ammo on the Dillon. I used to be really impressed with its manufacturing functionality. Plus, I had loads of loaded 9mm to show it!
The benefits of a progressive press are apparent. Velocity and variety of loaded rounds in a short while make the swap worthwhile in case you are somebody who shoots quite a bit. You possibly can simply produce upwards of 500 rounds or extra an hour.
However… these presses are usually not low-cost. And, they’re advanced when in comparison with single-station or turret presses and require a lot organising to make use of them. Once I first began utilizing the 750, I felt just like the man on the outdated Ed Sullivan present who spun plates on lengthy sticks. He needed to maintain all of the plates spinning and within the air. His consideration was required in all places directly, rotating the sticks to maintain the plates spinning. (OK, that’s a reference that solely older shooters will get, however that’s what I’m!). The gist of the story is: you could watch the entire stations, plus priming and powder meting out, on a regular basis, each time you use the deal with.
Right here’s a tip: once you function the 750 (or different progressive press’s) deal with, ensure to maneuver all of it the best way up and down till it stops on every stroke. I didn’t perceive that at first, and I had issues.
What about altering calibers? It’s not so simple as unscrewing dies and changing the shell holder like it’s with the opposite forms of presses. You will have a conversion package. I used to be not too long ago despatched a conversion package in .223 to evaluate elsewhere… it took my engineer son and me a very good whereas to get it going. Thank goodness for the academic movies on the market! In case you do that repeatedly, it’s not an enormous deal however for first-timers, it was a bit concerned. You’ll learn, partly two of this sequence, in regards to the ammo we produce with that .223 conversion package and the way it was executed.
Dies
To perform the reloading course of talked about above, you have to a die set.
Most rifle die units are made up of two dies… a resizer/decapper and a bullet seater/crimper. As I stated above, it’s possible you’ll need to spend money on a separate crimp die or at the least carry out that operation independently to have extra management over it.
Handgun die units are often made up of three dies: resizer/decapper, case mouth flaring, and bullet seater/crimper. Usually, revolvers will make the most of a roll crimp and semi-autos, a taper crimp. Some semi-auto caliber units include a fourth, taper-crimp die. If yours doesn’t have one, you should purchase a separate taper-crimp die in the event you so need. Taper-crimping is necessary for cartridges that headspace on the case mouth – most semi-autos do that. Revolvers are inclined to headspace on the case rim, so a roll crimp works simply tremendous.
The primary die’s perform is fairly apparent – you could resize and decap the case. The rationale for the second die, the case mouth flare die, is to broaden the case mouth a bit to permit a bullet to be began within the case with out crumpling the neck of the case or shaving lead from the bullet. It simply eases the method a bit.
You should buy dies at each ends of the value spectrum. I’ve all the time had good luck with Lee Precision’s dies on the shallow finish of the die greenback pool, whereas others swear by corporations like Redding (proven above) or one other model that tends to swim within the diving-board finish of the price pool. The purpose is, no matter your finances or capturing function, you need to have the ability to discover dies to make use of with out an excessive amount of bother. When COVID was rampant, no one appeared to have any reloading provides or tools however that’s higher now.
Reloading Scales
You should weigh powder fees, bullets, circumstances, and many others. So, you have to a reloading scale of some kind. Please be aware that that is NOT non-obligatory! Security requires it. There are three primary forms of reloading scales. We now have mechanical balance-beam scales which might be really old-school however work simply tremendous. Then, there are what I name digital scales. These scales weigh the powder cost digitally and are sooner than mechanical ones however don’t dispense powder. That’s reserved for the ultimate group, precision scales. These will dispense (trickle) powder right into a pan, weighing it because it falls. When it reaches the preset weight, it stops. You then dump the pan into the prepped case. Listed here are consultant photographs of all three sorts…
You possibly can’t go fallacious with any of those or related scales. I discovered that the RCBS MatchMaster (backside) was the general winner by way of accuracy and velocity. It makes use of two tubes… one for normal masses, and the opposite (smaller) for exact match masses. You possibly can spend wherever from about $40 to round $900 on a scale… it’s a must to work out what would work greatest for you. A fast tip: purchase one of the best scale you may afford. It is going to be value it.
Powder Dealing with And Measurement
The highest tier of reloading scales (precision) will drop powder, however they received’t load powder into the case — you have to dump every load into every case. If you’re loading for a long-distance competitors or an costly looking journey, you need to try this. However what in the event you simply need plinking, shoot-mud-puddles-and-tin-cans ammo?
Get a powder measure. These contraptions maintain the powder in a reservoir and meter it when the actuating arm is triggered. This may occur by the motion of the reloading press, like within the XL750 instance above, or by you working a small deal with on the measure’s rotor to drop the pre-measured powder cost. (That’s why you want an correct scale — you want to have the ability to set your powder measure, and it’ll take loads of experimenting and weighing to do that). Listed here are the 2 forms of measures. Keep in mind that they each do the identical factor — they drop a measured cost into the case. It’s how they try this that may differ.
Here’s a free-standing, operator-actuated measure: RCBS Uniflow
Now, right here’s a press-actuated one: Dillon Precision Powder Measure
A forerunner of the highest measure, the Uni-Circulation by RCBS, has been on my reloading bench since 1978, and it’s nonetheless going robust. The second is a Dillon Precision measure much like what’s on my XL750 press. Discover the complexity of the second measure. This one is designed to drop a powder cost into each case (as soon as it’s been arrange) by merely working the press deal with. The highest one is operator-actuated… you, the operator, need to work the little deal with up and all the way down to drop powder. They’re each adjusted equally however differ as to how they drop powder. A powder measure is a mandatory element in order for you velocity.
However what in the event you don’t need (or can’t afford) a powder measure? Can you continue to reload? In fact! Order one among these:
That is the 15-dipper set by Lee Precision. For $16, you will get this set of graduated dippers and a reloading chart that interprets grain fees into ccs. Nearly all masses might be loaded with these. I’ve used them, and so they work. Heck, I’ve even made powder dippers by reducing circumstances down and twisting a wire round them as a deal with. .38 Particular circumstances excel at this utilization. They are often very constant. Simply bear in mind to press the news straight down into the powder and fill it that approach. Don’t drag it by the powder, as it could actually compress it and put an excessive amount of within the case. Yessirree, they work. That’s how I began earlier than I might afford a powder measure.
Case Cleansing and Trimming
These are procedures that many reloaders don’t carry out with any regularity. Clear circumstances are usually not precisely required, however a clear case is not going to grunge up your dies — plus, they appear nicer. Trimming applies principally to rifle circumstances, though I’ve trimmed many a .44 Magnum case since they have an inclination to stretch (as do rifle circumstances) with firing. Talking of the large .44, one other use for a case trimmer is to make .44 Particular brass from Magnum circumstances. I’ve executed that, too. That takes some Armstrong energy — I don’t have an electrical trimmer!
Rifle circumstances profit from being one uniform size for all — it could actually support accuracy. Reloading is all about consistency. The extra constant your masses are, the larger their accuracy potential. So, maintain circumstances trimmed to a constant size to have all cartridges match the case’s general size determine. Semi-auto circumstances will are inclined to feed higher too, in the event that they’re of uniform size. So, how can we clear and trim circumstances – tumblers and trimmers, in fact!
Tumblers
There are just a few forms of tumblers, I have a tendency to make use of vibratory tumblers, whereas others (particularly those that wet-tumble) may use the rotary ones. However, for this text, I’ll point out and present a pattern vibratory tumbler, on this case, from Frankford Arsenal.
There are a ton of tumblers on the market… Harbor Freight is an efficient place to search for one domestically. All you could do is to purchase a glass and a few good tumbling media — that’s out there from any variety of firearms-related web sites, or in shops like Academy Sports activities, Cabela’s, and many others. A shiny case is an efficient case!
Trimmers
As for trimmers, this one is from Redding however many corporations make them. If you’re energy-challenged like I’m (learn: lazy), you will get an electrical trimmer, as I discussed above, that has no deal with to crank. To trim a case, you put in the proper case mouth pilot — a number of are included with most trimmers — after which alter the journey of the arbor to the proper case size. Some experimentation will enable you to discover that. As soon as discovered, lock it in and crank away! While you’re executed, take a deburring software…
… and chamfer the within and outdoors of the case mouth. It’s simpler to do than to speak about.
Reloading Handbook
One last piece of apparatus that I would like to say that’s extraordinarily necessary is a reloading handbook. Don’t put your belief in masses that you just see on the web. Simply because it’s on the interweb doesn’t mechanically make it true! You possibly can go to reloading websites resembling Hornady and obtain information about masses. It doesn’t harm, nevertheless, to personal a reloading handbook (or two). Most have a great deal of information previous reloading knowledge that may enable you to.
However… they must be present. I’ve an RCBS/Speer handbook I purchased in 1978. It’s a museum piece. I don’t use it anymore as a result of the data is outdated. Please purchase a brand-new handbook from one of many main gamers, and also you’ll be completely satisfied.
In Conclusion
We now have coated an terrible lot on this first a part of our reloading sequence… hopefully, the next articles is not going to must be so concerned. I hope I didn’t confuse you. Right here’s the takeaway: reloading will not be alchemy/rocket science/mind surgical procedure… decide one. Reloading will not be tough and needn’t be overly costly. However reloading does require your full, undivided consideration. Reloading is a sensible, decades-old technique of acquiring extra ammo to shoot or custom-made cartridges which you could’t get wherever else.
So… why not test it out? Right here’s a thought: there are a lot of starter reloading kits available on the market that embody all the things you could get going. This text gives you a spot to start out. My solely recommendation about these kits is, in the event that they embody a stability beam scale, to go for a digital one. The time you save will greater than make-up for the additional price.
About Mike Hardesty
With expertise spanning over 45 years, Mike Hardesty has lengthy loved capturing and reloading. An inveterate reloader, he casts bullets and reloads for a various array of firearms, every dealt with with long-practiced precision. Residing in rural Indiana, his homestead boasts a private 100-yard vary the place he shares his love for weapons to his 4 sons, their wives, and eleven grandchildren. As a acknowledged creator, his writings have been featured in notable platforms like Sniper Nation, Bear Creek Arsenal Weblog, Pew Pew Tactical, TTAG, Dillon Precision’s Blue Press, and Gun Made, revealing his ongoing ardour for firearms on the age of 72.
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