New To Reloading

tcarroll · January 2, 2008, 10:11 PM

I am fairly new to reloading just purchased some equipment a Hornday Lock N Load Kit and a few other items.I have been reading the ABC's of reloading and gathering some good information and some scary information.Has anyone ever experienced any bad mishaps while reloading and whats the chances of it happening,say like primers exploding,double charging shells,guns blowing up etc.I am going to be extremely cautious about my reloading would just like to know some do's and dont's from seasoned reloaders and some of the knowledge.I am going to start out with pistol loads 38 special,9mm,45acp at first.

Thank's

rwilson452 · January 2, 2008, 10:44 PM

For a starter I would pick a powder that you can't possibly double charge a case with. in other words a powder that with a standard load fills the case over half way. Doing this if you try to double charge a case your going to spill powder over the edge of the case. this is easily identifiable as an oops. I have never had a primer go off reloading. I would suggest you not use federal primers they are said to be the most sensitive. The best way to avoid having a mistake reloading is to be very detail oriented. double check everything when your first starting out. I would suggest you don't progressive load but load one case all the way through. Do this the first 100 or so until your sure your doing everything right. For a newbie loader, speed kills. you don't learn to drive at the Indy 500. Never ever have more than one pound of powder on your bench at a time. getting your powders mixed up is real bad ju-ju. It can be a safe enjoyable hobby but attention to detail is king queen and jack in the hole.

You going to have a real case of the jitters the first time you drop the hammer on a round you made yourself. This is normal. When you get a satisfactory result you going to have a grin from ear to ear.

Then your hooked. I don't suppose anyone told you, reloading is a very addictive hobbly. There is no known cure.

Oh only load about 10 or so your first time out. then try them out. Bad news if you made a 100 and wind up taking 99 apart

tcarroll · January 2, 2008, 10:57 PM

Thank's for the quick response.I ordered one pond of unique powder and federal primers,i guess i will have to be extremely cautious with them.What is a good powder that fills the cartridge up like you are talking about.Also i intend on loading some 38's for a 38spcl with short barrel,anything in particular i should know for these loads due to short barrel length?

Thank's

under_dawg · January 2, 2008, 11:13 PM

I am new to reloading as well. I have read The ABC'S of Reloading 7th Ed. and enjoyed learning about the process and things to be concerned about. I also bought Richard Lee's Modern Reloading 2nd Edition. It was informative and gives a lot of promotion to his products which is fine with me as I bought a Lee Classic Turret Press. Lee's book has load listings and he lists the volume of the cases in cubic centimeters (cc). The powder charges are also listed in cc's and weight. This way it it easy to tell which powders fill the cases better. I have reloaded several hundred .357 for my 4" GP-100 and it has been great. It is neat to play with slightly different charges and col's and study there affect on accuracy. I have used Unique and now studying Trail Boss which nearly fills the cases (nearly impossible to double charge).

rwilson452 · January 3, 2008, 07:58 AM

Trail Boss is a good bulky powder. It was designed to be used by SASS shooters. light loads that fill the case. I haven't used it. It has been reported that it's dirty. You will find that your powder measure will drop ball powders better than flake powders. Generally speaking, A measure will drop ball powers best followed by flake and lastly extruded. Just be sure to actually look in the case to examine the powder charge before you put the bullet in place. Spotting a double charge or a squib should be easy. Again, attention to detail is the way to go. Reload only when there will be no distractions.

January 2, 2008, 10:11 PM	#1
tcarroll Junior Member Join Date: January 2, 2008 Posts: 8	New To Reloading I am fairly new to reloading just purchased some equipment a Hornday Lock N Load Kit and a few other items.I have been reading the ABC's of reloading and gathering some good information and some scary information.Has anyone ever experienced any bad mishaps while reloading and whats the chances of it happening,say like primers exploding,double charging shells,guns blowing up etc.I am going to be extremely cautious about my reloading would just like to know some do's and dont's from seasoned reloaders and some of the knowledge.I am going to start out with pistol loads 38 special,9mm,45acp at first. Thank's

January 2, 2008, 10:44 PM	#2
rwilson452 Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2004 Location: Tioga co. PA Posts: 2,647	For a starter I would pick a powder that you can't possibly double charge a case with. in other words a powder that with a standard load fills the case over half way. Doing this if you try to double charge a case your going to spill powder over the edge of the case. this is easily identifiable as an oops. I have never had a primer go off reloading. I would suggest you not use federal primers they are said to be the most sensitive. The best way to avoid having a mistake reloading is to be very detail oriented. double check everything when your first starting out. I would suggest you don't progressive load but load one case all the way through. Do this the first 100 or so until your sure your doing everything right. For a newbie loader, speed kills. you don't learn to drive at the Indy 500. Never ever have more than one pound of powder on your bench at a time. getting your powders mixed up is real bad ju-ju. It can be a safe enjoyable hobby but attention to detail is king queen and jack in the hole. You going to have a real case of the jitters the first time you drop the hammer on a round you made yourself. This is normal. When you get a satisfactory result you going to have a grin from ear to ear. Then your hooked. I don't suppose anyone told you, reloading is a very addictive hobbly. There is no known cure. Oh only load about 10 or so your first time out. then try them out. Bad news if you made a 100 and wind up taking 99 apart Last edited by rwilson452; January 2, 2008 at 10:46 PM. Reason: more

January 2, 2008, 10:57 PM	#3
tcarroll Junior Member Join Date: January 2, 2008 Posts: 8	New To Reloading Thank's for the quick response.I ordered one pond of unique powder and federal primers,i guess i will have to be extremely cautious with them.What is a good powder that fills the cartridge up like you are talking about.Also i intend on loading some 38's for a 38spcl with short barrel,anything in particular i should know for these loads due to short barrel length? Thank's

January 2, 2008, 11:13 PM	#4
under_dawg Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2007 Location: Cayce, SC Posts: 222	I am new to reloading as well. I have read The ABC'S of Reloading 7th Ed. and enjoyed learning about the process and things to be concerned about. I also bought Richard Lee's Modern Reloading 2nd Edition. It was informative and gives a lot of promotion to his products which is fine with me as I bought a Lee Classic Turret Press. Lee's book has load listings and he lists the volume of the cases in cubic centimeters (cc). The powder charges are also listed in cc's and weight. This way it it easy to tell which powders fill the cases better. I have reloaded several hundred .357 for my 4" GP-100 and it has been great. It is neat to play with slightly different charges and col's and study there affect on accuracy. I have used Unique and now studying Trail Boss which nearly fills the cases (nearly impossible to double charge).

January 3, 2008, 07:58 AM	#5
rwilson452 Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2004 Location: Tioga co. PA Posts: 2,647	Trail Boss is a good bulky powder. It was designed to be used by SASS shooters. light loads that fill the case. I haven't used it. It has been reported that it's dirty. You will find that your powder measure will drop ball powders better than flake powders. Generally speaking, A measure will drop ball powers best followed by flake and lastly extruded. Just be sure to actually look in the case to examine the powder charge before you put the bullet in place. Spotting a double charge or a squib should be easy. Again, attention to detail is the way to go. Reload only when there will be no distractions.