Even though I think everyone should have a good manual, having a loading mentor is of even more importance... I currently could count 4-5 guys I'm still mentoring, as I've been reloading over 20 years... however I'm still proud to have one of my 2 mentors still with me...
you guys are right, that everyone has their own expectations, & I'll admit I have one buddy, that I will absolutely not shoot his reloads... I've told him time & time again, to leave the TV off, yet I repeatedly am getting hinm out of jams, including bringing his revolver to my retired machinist buddy for removing 5 stuck bullets from his revolver
my 1st mentor taught me to ALWAYS write the caliber, recipe of all the components, brass length, COL, number of times fired, & date... I still do this, with exception of my CAS brass ( as I often don't get my own cases back ) however these are mid level reloads...
I was helping a total newbie set up his progressive last weekend, & his wife bought him a nice Hornady starter kit... however it didn't come with a case trimmer... he bought new starline cases ( we were loading 357 Magnum ) some of the cases were quite long, but did chamber in his revolver... after we test fired a cylinder of starting level loads, I showed him how to look for signs of pressure, & sure enough, one primer was quite flat... test measuring afterwards showed it was the longest case... at this point, I think the cae being long, caused the bullet to fit tighter at the end of the chamber...
... so even starting levels can get high pressures, if every detail isn't followed as is listed in the manual...
unfortunately more & more new guys are buying on line, & not meeting fellow reloaders at the local sources of components... of course there are as many "dillweeds" willing to be mentors, so new guys should all be looking for things that don't make sense, & then ask us know it alls on the forum
