You are probably looking at your rifle sitting in its storage cabinet saying, "I would sure like to shoot more, but ammo is so expensive…".
Like most of us, we get a rifle and spend a fortune on quality optics, but then hesitate to shell out $35 to $40 for a box of premium ammunition!
Having run into this dilemma myself, I certainly wanted to find ways to reduce the cost of going to the range - allowing me to shoot more.
Reloading or handloading your ammunition is certainly the way to go and it's easier than you might think! The cost savings can be significant
(more on that later)!
If you are new to reloading, this article will help point you in the right direction with all the required equipment you will need. Getting set
up with some good quality reloading equipment, won't cost you all that much. Your initial investment (depending on caliber) will run you around
$300 - $400! If you shoot a lot, the savings you will reap from handloading your own ammunition will justify your initial investment in short
order!
Why would you want to reload? Here are a few reasons:
Can usually produce higher quality more accurate ammo for your gun.
Significant cost savings over purchasing factory ammo.
Can load your ammo light or heavy depending upon your needs.
It's fun to do!
Here's a short list of some basic items you will need.
Reloading press.
Die set for each caliber.
Powder.
Primers.
Shell casings (brass).
Bullets.
Powder scale.
Case lube (for rifle shells).
Some basic shell prep tools you will need
Case trimmer.
De-burring tool or chamfer for the case mouth to remove sharp edges after trimming.
A tumbler or some type of shell cleaner to clean your cases after shooting.
Optional priming tool to insert new primers. Some presses provide some kind of primer seating operation on the "down stroke" of the press
operation after resizing.
Which Type of Reloading Press Should I Choose?
Often times you can find a reloading kit of some kind in your particular caliber. These are a good way to save some money as you will receive a
few of the basic tools mentioned above as part of the kit. Many times, reloading kits are sold with a set of dies in the caliber of your
choice. I started out with a simple turret press from Lee Precision when I got started with reloading for my pistols. After the many years
I've used it to produce ammo for my pistols and my rifles, it's still going strong! There are many press designs on the market, and it's best to
find one that suits your needs. I prefer the turret or progressive style presses, since they allow me to initially setup all the dies in an
aluminum turret. Once they are adjusted, I usually never have to adjust them again!
Die Sets
Choosing a die set is you next biggest obstacle. Most reloaders purchase dies from the same company that manufactures the reloading press you are
using. Other brands of dies will work, but I feel it's best to have your dies and press be the same brand.
For rifle, you will want to get the following dies:
Full Length sizing die for your caliber.
De-capping die for removing the primer (some rifle die kits will combine #1 and #2 into one die).
Bullet seating die.
Bullet crimp die for securing the bullet into the case.
For pistol you will want to look for the following:
Sizing and de-capping die (for pistol the sizing and primer removal can be done in one stroke).
Charging die to load the case with powder (this depends on what type of press you have to begin with. With my Lee Turret press, I can mount
the powder dispenser on the top of the charge die and charge the case with powder with the stroke of a handle).
Bullet seating die.
Bullet crimping die.
With either rifle or pistol, you will notice that it takes four basic "die types" to be able to reload your own ammunition. Most of these dies
will be sold as kits with either 3 or 4 dies. Some kits will omit the crimp die. I prefer the crimp dies as it puts a small amount of
tension on the case neck to hold the bullet more securely.
What brand of powder should I use and what bullet weight should I choose?
With the purchase of a reloading kit, you may have received a reloading manual or at least some instruction sheets with the particular die set you
purchased. These sheets will list various powder brands and charge weights in combination with a particular bullet weight. Here are a few of the
major brands of powders:
There are a lot of good powders on the market, but which one should you choose? The best way is to pick a brand of powder and research it for
your particular caliber. Join our online forum and ask questions about powders for your caliber. Many will quickly respond with what has
worked well for them. Simply doing an online search is another good way to determine a good starting powder for your particular rifle.
To be honest, choosing a powder along with a bullet weight and brand go hand in hand. For example, one type of powder may work better with a
particular bullet weight than with another.
Click to enlarge thumbnails (opens in new window)
In my experience, choosing a bullet weight and powder are done at the same time. For example, when researching a load for my .308, I decided I
wanted to shoot a 168 grain bullet in my gun. Why 168 grain? Well, because most target shooters were shooting that particular weight bullet and
getting good results! Next, I decided to look for a powder that worked well with this caliber and bullet weight. By doing much online
research and using online forums, I narrowed it down to Varget powder made by Hodgdon. It turned out to be a winning combination as I can produce
ammo that will shoot well under .5 MOA at 100 yards. Don't believe me? Here's proof!
Click to enlarge thumbnails (opens in new window)
Choosing a Primer
After you've narrowed down your bullet choice and powder, choosing a primer is probably your next step. There are several brands of primers on
the market, from match grade to regular primers. Generally, primers made by CCI, Remington and Federal are all good. To me, choosing a
primer is not all that important for my style of shooting. At 100 yards, a particular match grade primer is not going to make a difference for
me. I say just purchase a primer that your local sporting goods store will have in regular stock. Primers will be sold by the box of 100 or
in bricks of 1,000. Even if you by a brick of 1,000 primers, they don't seem to give you any kind of a break on the price! At least I never
received one!
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Choosing a brand of brass shell casings to begin reloading
Now that we have chosen our most important components for reloading, we still need to choose some brass cases. There are match grade cases out
there like Lapua and others. The high end brass is often quite expensive, and is not needed for most. Again, for my .308, I went with
Winchester brass. It has worked very well and I get at least 10 reloadings out of it! Arguably, match grade brass may last longer, but for
my needs, and probably yours, choosing any basic brand is good enough to get started! If you have some leftover factory cases you've saved, by
all means use those. However, you should use all the same brand of cases so your loads will be consistent from shot to shot! Brass
thickness can vary between brands causing pressure fluctuations.
Do you really need a powder scale? Yes you do!
When dealing with any kind of powder, you should have a reliable scale handy to make sure you aren't over charging the cases. The simple balance
beam scales will work well but can be time consuming waiting for the beam to balance out. A good quality digital scale can be had for around
$100. Again, most reloading kits will most likely include a balance beam scale. These are accurate and will work well to get started.
I've personally used the "Lee Safety Powder Scale" just to check a load every so often to make sure I'm not over charging or under charging a case by a
significant amount.
Case Preparation Before Reloading
Now that we have all of our core reloading components, we can begin the reloading process. First, we must prepare our cases before
reloading. This is even necessary if you are using new brass. Even with new brass the cases should be full length sized through your sizing
die and trimmed to length to make sure they aren't too long. (Instructions about the proper trim length and other information will be provided
with any die set you purchase). Full length sizing the cases will ensure that we are starting with a case that is the proper dimension.
Keep in mind when full length sizing a rifle case, you will need to use some type of case lubricant, otherwise you WILL get a case stuck in the die and
they are troublesome to remove! I've tried many case lubes and have found that using any synthetic motor oil works very well! Plus, it's
just a few dollars for a whole quart. With any type of liquid lubrication, you don't want to over do it. Just put some on a rag and wipe
down the case with it - then resize it. Using too much lubricant will put "pressure dents" in the case neck. If you've used too much you
will notice little dimples around the case neck.
Also, be careful not to get any lubricant inside the case as this will affect your powder. Use rubbing alcohol to remove the oil and dry them
quickly.
(NOTE: some pistol dies will have carbide sleeves in them, lubrication is not required for this type of die)
The reloading process usually follows these steps:
Prepare cases (whether new or already used at least once) full length size and de-prime.
Clean off any excess lubrication used during the sizing process and dry the cases.
Prime the case with a priming tool or press.
Charge the case with a measured load of powder (see guides included with your dies for proper charge weight).
Seat a bullet.
Crimp the bullet in place.
Searching YouTube, you will find a number of videos demonstrating the reloading process. You might mind the following videos most helpful and
gain a few additional tips along the way!
Here are a couple "introduction to reloading" videos:
I hope once you have read this article and viewed the above videos, you are encouraged to get into reloading! You will find once you get started,
it's really a very simple process!
Once you get started in reloading, you will find that you enjoy it and that it will be a significant cost savings compared to shooting factory
ammunition. This means you can spend more time at the range! More bang for your buck as they say!
Finally, to conclude this article, let's look at how much reloading can save you over the long run. I've created an Excel Spreadsheet for you to
experiment with. You can substitute in your own figures for particular components.
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