What is a good starting caliber for a beginner?

Thorkyl · May 13, 2009, 12:09 PM

Ok, I have my press and all the goodies.
Next purchase is the dies, powder, bullets and primers.

The question is what would be a better caliber to start with for handgun.

9mm
45 acp
38 special (cases are +p Winchester)
357 mag
30 carbine

I am leaning away from the 9 and 45 since they go in semi-autos
the 30 carbine is a tapered case.

Which leaves me with 357 or 38

Russ5924 · May 13, 2009, 12:18 PM

I think you just answered your own question

I would start with the .38/357 just a nice cartridge to reload

But very easy to double charge

**Mike Irwin** · May 13, 2009, 12:20 PM

As long as you pay attention to what you're doing, use the proper references, and go slowly in the beginning, you can start with whatever cartridge you want.

I started with .30-06 when I was about 12 and after that graduated to .357 and 9mm.

rg1 · May 13, 2009, 12:27 PM

None of the listed calibers should give any problems if following reloading guides. I'd start with the one that you shoot the most, and immediately start on the others. Depends on how many of the die sets you can now add. The fun begins!

Nate1778 · May 13, 2009, 12:34 PM

.357, gun is built to boom, so if you make any minor mistake the gun will take the abuse.

The added plus of a wheel gun is your not chasing brass all over the range, and right now brass can be a bit hard to find.........

45Marlin carbine · May 13, 2009, 01:17 PM

ditto #2 but watch for double charges of powder when useing the fast, not bulky stuff (BullsEye)

Doodlebugger45 · May 13, 2009, 02:11 PM

I started out loading 38's, mainly because I was able to buy brass for that. Soon after that I started reloading 357's. So far, so good. I have 300 pieces of 45 Colt brass coming in a couple days, so I will be doing that soon. It does make a lot of sense to start out with the 38/357 route like the one poster said because the guns are usually super-stout, so a minor deviation won't have severe consequences. But yeah, 4.4 gr of Unique sure doesn't take up much space in a 38 case. It would be very easy to dump 8.8 gr in there if you wanted to.

Once I get comfortable with 45 Colt loading, I will either try reloading 44 Mag or 45-70 next. I haven't decided. It will probably depend on which one I can get components for at the time.

oneounceload · May 13, 2009, 02:26 PM

Quote:

I am leaning away from the 9 and 45 since they go in semi-autos

HUH???? Don't get your logic there.........they're as easy to load as anything else.....IF you pay attention and know what you're doing - that applies to ANY reloading scenario

GeauxTide · May 13, 2009, 02:50 PM

I started with a Model 19. Ditto what others said about charges. I just had a bright light over the bench to visually verify no 2x charges.

CrustyFN · May 13, 2009, 03:39 PM

As far as pistol ammo I don't think any one loads easier than another. I would start with the one you shoot the most.
Rusty

Randy 1911 · May 13, 2009, 09:34 PM

I cut my teeth on learning to reload on 38 Special. It was easy and not as hard as the rifles I was shooting.

zxcvbob · May 13, 2009, 09:48 PM

Powder and primers are kind of hard to find right now.

Buy a bag of new .357 Magnum brass and a pound of Herco and start with that while you are looking for some used .38 Special brass. Herco is not very popular (I don't know why) so you should be able to find it. It's bulky, so it fills the case pretty well, and it does a good job for magnums.

Or did you say you have .38 brass already? Then you could also start with the .38 Specials and a pound of Green Dot or Red Dot.

.30 Carbine is a PITA to reload. (it's one of the rounds I started with

)

Sevens · May 14, 2009, 07:31 AM

I have thought about this subject many times, just never had occasion to post my thoughts on it.

Simple process of elimination leaves me with one choice above all of these, and above any other caliber I can think of if the subject is "which is best for a beginner?" The answer is .38 Special, for a lot of reasons.

First off, as many have said, all the choices are easily do-able. But still, .38 Special is, IMO, "easily-er" !

It's a rimmed case for use in revolvers, so you will never have to consider making sure the round will feed or be compatible with a feed ramp, as you load them by hand and not mechanically
To further that thought, bullet setback isn't a possibility as the rounds aren't being violently shucked in to the chamber
And you don't have to consider the dimensions of the magazine when setting COAL, and many/most bullets made for this caliber show you a decent bullet seating point with a crimp groove or cannelure
Since Glock and HK don't make .38 Specials, so there's not much chance of non-standard polygonal rifling which isn't typically compatible with cast or swaged lead bullets
The .38 Spl round isn't a short, tiny little SOB so it's not often fumbled when handling. And the larger space means there is a less radical pressure shift when your internal space is altered by the shape of a bullet or the depth to which it was seated
This round runs at a pretty anemic pressure (17k to 20k PSI) so it's not a high-horsepower round like some of the more modern rounds. Brass lasts a long time and is quite plentiful
Brass doesn't get beat up by a racking pistol and it doesn't get chucked off in to the tall grass where you can't find it. From the cylinder to a brass bag, the handloader's dream!
Often we are handloading the mild .38 Spl round in .357 Mag revolvers which are built to withstand nearly twice the pressure with EVERY shot, which gives you a ridiculous margin of safety. .357 Mag runs at around 33-34k PSI, more than 50% higher than the top pressures of .38 Spl +P.
Unless you are building .357-hot .38 Special rounds, you aren't likely to see bullets in the other cylinders jumping under recoil, so a light roll crimp is more than enough. Less working of the case mouth.
Given how long the .38 Spl has been with us, load data is enormous and bullet selection is as good as any caliber in the history of the world. Options!
.38 Spl has a long and established history of Bullseye competition accuracy, especially with wadcutter loads. Great for a beginning handloader to work with a round that shows great accuracy the first time he rolls his own loads.

There may be more reasons that I forgot! The only caliber I can immediately think of that compares is the .44 Special because it mimics many of the .38's good points above, but brass is less plentiful and bullet selection is less and all the components outside of the primer cost more, so the .38 beats it clearly.

As for the others, some quick hits:
.357 would be next easiest, for all the same reasons as .38 Spl, except that it runs a much higher pressure, so there's much less of a safety margin. But all the other goodies except crimp are similar.

.45 would check in next, as an accurate and low pressure round with tons of data and great bullet selection, lots of brass available and a horribly long brass life. Now you get to deal with magazine, COAL, feeding and such.

9mm is next in line, but here again you are back to high pressure, and now you have a minuscule case to work with, very little room for error with internal space, and still working with feeding and COAL and setback and such. And often, not as accurate as many/most 9's are not target type handguns, but more combat oriented.

Last in this list BY FAR is .30 Carbine for a zillion reasons. PITA to resize, even with a carbide die. Tapered case often makes fine functioning but odd-looking reloads. High pressure and bullet selection is incredibly poor. Powder choices are not typical handgun and not mainstream rifle, with some exceptions. Cases stretch and must be measured and trimmed. Data is less plentiful than all other listed calibers.

So in my opinion, there's no caliber I know of that is more suited to a first-time reloader than .38 Special. And if you only need one reason, it's easy: Reloading a 17k PSI round in a revolver built for .357 Mag and 33.5k PSI gives you a huge safety buffer if you screw something up!

If you need a pessimistic take, this large a margin could give too much confidence and not enough "scare" in to a new reloader that screws up somewhere. Also, fast-burning powders in .38 Spl leave a cavernous amount of space in .38 brass, so double and even triple charges are physically possible, but if you triple charge a case you probably don't belong at a load bench.

45Marlin carbine · May 14, 2009, 08:23 AM

Red Dot does great under cast slugs in many different chamberings from .32acp up to .45 Colt.
it's cleaner and has more bulk than BE but it's still very wise to have a well lit bench to check for double charges.

May 13, 2009, 12:09 PM	#1
Thorkyl Junior Member Join Date: August 14, 2008 Posts: 1	What is a good starting caliber for a beginner? Ok, I have my press and all the goodies. Next purchase is the dies, powder, bullets and primers. The question is what would be a better caliber to start with for handgun. 9mm 45 acp 38 special (cases are +p Winchester) 357 mag 30 carbine I am leaning away from the 9 and 45 since they go in semi-autos the 30 carbine is a tapered case. Which leaves me with 357 or 38

May 13, 2009, 12:20 PM	#3
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,381	As long as you pay attention to what you're doing, use the proper references, and go slowly in the beginning, you can start with whatever cartridge you want. I started with .30-06 when I was about 12 and after that graduated to .357 and 9mm. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

May 13, 2009, 12:34 PM	#5
Nate1778 Senior Member Join Date: January 21, 2009 Location: Louisville Ky Posts: 312	.357, gun is built to boom, so if you make any minor mistake the gun will take the abuse. The added plus of a wheel gun is your not chasing brass all over the range, and right now brass can be a bit hard to find......... __________________ "And finally, the Baby Bear looked and he said, "Somebody's sleeping in my bed, and the bastard's still there!" But Goldylocks had a Remington semi-automatic, with a scope and a hair-trigger!"

May 13, 2009, 03:39 PM	#10
CrustyFN Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: West Virginia Posts: 2,258	As far as pistol ammo I don't think any one loads easier than another. I would start with the one you shoot the most. Rusty __________________ I don't ever remember being absent minded.

May 13, 2009, 09:34 PM	#11
Randy 1911 Senior Member Join Date: May 7, 2009 Location: Western Arkansas Posts: 273	Learning to cut your teeth I cut my teeth on learning to reload on 38 Special. It was easy and not as hard as the rifles I was shooting. __________________ Been Reloading 27 Years NRA Member Member Old Fort Gun Club www.ofgc.org

May 13, 2009, 12:18 PM	#2
Russ5924 Senior Member Join Date: February 18, 2005 Posts: 1,874	I think you just answered your own questionI would start with the .38/357 just a nice cartridge to reload But very easy to double charge __________________ Russ5924

May 13, 2009, 12:27 PM	#4
rg1 Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2001 Posts: 1,125	None of the listed calibers should give any problems if following reloading guides. I'd start with the one that you shoot the most, and immediately start on the others. Depends on how many of the die sets you can now add. The fun begins!

May 13, 2009, 01:17 PM	#6
45Marlin carbine Junior member Join Date: January 26, 2007 Location: South-Western North Carolina Posts: 1,124	ditto #2 but watch for double charges of powder when useing the fast, not bulky stuff (BullsEye)

May 13, 2009, 02:11 PM	#7
Doodlebugger45 Senior Member Join Date: April 15, 2009 Location: Wyoming Posts: 1,717	I started out loading 38's, mainly because I was able to buy brass for that. Soon after that I started reloading 357's. So far, so good. I have 300 pieces of 45 Colt brass coming in a couple days, so I will be doing that soon. It does make a lot of sense to start out with the 38/357 route like the one poster said because the guns are usually super-stout, so a minor deviation won't have severe consequences. But yeah, 4.4 gr of Unique sure doesn't take up much space in a 38 case. It would be very easy to dump 8.8 gr in there if you wanted to. Once I get comfortable with 45 Colt loading, I will either try reloading 44 Mag or 45-70 next. I haven't decided. It will probably depend on which one I can get components for at the time.

May 13, 2009, 02:50 PM	#9
GeauxTide Senior Member Join Date: April 20, 2009 Location: Helena, AL Posts: 4,423	I started with a Model 19. Ditto what others said about charges. I just had a bright light over the bench to visually verify no 2x charges.

May 13, 2009, 09:48 PM	#12
zxcvbob Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2007 Location: S.E. Minnesota Posts: 4,720	Powder and primers are kind of hard to find right now. Buy a bag of new .357 Magnum brass and a pound of Herco and start with that while you are looking for some used .38 Special brass. Herco is not very popular (I don't know why) so you should be able to find it. It's bulky, so it fills the case pretty well, and it does a good job for magnums. Or did you say you have .38 brass already? Then you could also start with the .38 Specials and a pound of Green Dot or Red Dot. .30 Carbine is a PITA to reload. (it's one of the rounds I started with ) __________________ "Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth

May 14, 2009, 07:31 AM	#13
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	I have thought about this subject many times, just never had occasion to post my thoughts on it. Simple process of elimination leaves me with one choice above all of these, and above any other caliber I can think of if the subject is "which is best for a beginner?" The answer is .38 Special, for a lot of reasons. First off, as many have said, all the choices are easily do-able. But still, .38 Special is, IMO, "easily-er" ! It's a rimmed case for use in revolvers, so you will never have to consider making sure the round will feed or be compatible with a feed ramp, as you load them by hand and not mechanically To further that thought, bullet setback isn't a possibility as the rounds aren't being violently shucked in to the chamber And you don't have to consider the dimensions of the magazine when setting COAL, and many/most bullets made for this caliber show you a decent bullet seating point with a crimp groove or cannelure Since Glock and HK don't make .38 Specials, so there's not much chance of non-standard polygonal rifling which isn't typically compatible with cast or swaged lead bullets The .38 Spl round isn't a short, tiny little SOB so it's not often fumbled when handling. And the larger space means there is a less radical pressure shift when your internal space is altered by the shape of a bullet or the depth to which it was seated This round runs at a pretty anemic pressure (17k to 20k PSI) so it's not a high-horsepower round like some of the more modern rounds. Brass lasts a long time and is quite plentiful Brass doesn't get beat up by a racking pistol and it doesn't get chucked off in to the tall grass where you can't find it. From the cylinder to a brass bag, the handloader's dream! Often we are handloading the mild .38 Spl round in .357 Mag revolvers which are built to withstand nearly twice the pressure with EVERY shot, which gives you a ridiculous margin of safety. .357 Mag runs at around 33-34k PSI, more than 50% higher than the top pressures of .38 Spl +P. Unless you are building .357-hot .38 Special rounds, you aren't likely to see bullets in the other cylinders jumping under recoil, so a light roll crimp is more than enough. Less working of the case mouth. Given how long the .38 Spl has been with us, load data is enormous and bullet selection is as good as any caliber in the history of the world. Options! .38 Spl has a long and established history of Bullseye competition accuracy, especially with wadcutter loads. Great for a beginning handloader to work with a round that shows great accuracy the first time he rolls his own loads. There may be more reasons that I forgot! The only caliber I can immediately think of that compares is the .44 Special because it mimics many of the .38's good points above, but brass is less plentiful and bullet selection is less and all the components outside of the primer cost more, so the .38 beats it clearly. As for the others, some quick hits: .357 would be next easiest, for all the same reasons as .38 Spl, except that it runs a much higher pressure, so there's much less of a safety margin. But all the other goodies except crimp are similar. .45 would check in next, as an accurate and low pressure round with tons of data and great bullet selection, lots of brass available and a horribly long brass life. Now you get to deal with magazine, COAL, feeding and such. 9mm is next in line, but here again you are back to high pressure, and now you have a minuscule case to work with, very little room for error with internal space, and still working with feeding and COAL and setback and such. And often, not as accurate as many/most 9's are not target type handguns, but more combat oriented. Last in this list BY FAR is .30 Carbine for a zillion reasons. PITA to resize, even with a carbide die. Tapered case often makes fine functioning but odd-looking reloads. High pressure and bullet selection is incredibly poor. Powder choices are not typical handgun and not mainstream rifle, with some exceptions. Cases stretch and must be measured and trimmed. Data is less plentiful than all other listed calibers. So in my opinion, there's no caliber I know of that is more suited to a first-time reloader than .38 Special. And if you only need one reason, it's easy: Reloading a 17k PSI round in a revolver built for .357 Mag and 33.5k PSI gives you a huge safety buffer if you screw something up! If you need a pessimistic take, this large a margin could give too much confidence and not enough "scare" in to a new reloader that screws up somewhere. Also, fast-burning powders in .38 Spl leave a cavernous amount of space in .38 brass, so double and even triple charges are physically possible, but if you triple charge a case you probably don't belong at a load bench. __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

May 14, 2009, 08:23 AM	#14
45Marlin carbine Junior member Join Date: January 26, 2007 Location: South-Western North Carolina Posts: 1,124	Red Dot does great under cast slugs in many different chamberings from .32acp up to .45 Colt. it's cleaner and has more bulk than BE but it's still very wise to have a well lit bench to check for double charges.