The guys at the club all call me a brass hound, always on my hands and knees picking up brass 
, but this saves me so much money, if I have a couple hours on a rainy day, I separate all the different calibers, inspect everything, and they are ready for the tumbler. I have 5 gallon pails filled and sorted out, all set to be cleaned. It’s also good to have a lot so when a newbie needs some brass, you can help them out, itall comes around in the end. I’m going to start annealing my brass on larger calibers as well to get the most out of each piece of brass that I have. I’ve been reloading for a long time and one thing I’ve always found to be so important is, taking special care of all your brass, your end result will only be as good as your prep work. I put a lot of time into my brass prep.
I had to look it up - so I figured someone else might not know it either.
an·neal
/əˈnēl/
verb
- heat (metal or glass) and allow it to cool slowly, in order to remove internal stresses and toughen it.
Thanks Dawn, I thought about that later on. It really only applies to rifle cartridges, I’ve never seen anyone do it for pistol ammo. Here’s a great video as to why and how to.
I grew up with my dad reloading. Casting lead round nose and semi wad cutters in the garage over a Coleman camp stove. I spent hours watching him reload shotgun, rifle and handgun ammo.
My father was very meticulous when it came to reloading (and in life in general). To the best of my knowledge in over 30 years of reloaded, he had one pop no kick and it happened in his own revolver.
There was a group relatives shooting in a gravel pit all using his 38 special reloads that day. When he got the pop no kick he stopped all shooting and would not let anyone fire another one of his reloads that day. Once he got home he checked each and ever round for proper weight (over 1000 rounds).
My point is, even the best (yes I think my dad was one of them) reloading people can make a mistake. I reload my own handgun ammo from 380 to 44 mag. I do it because I enjoy it. It can save some money (eventually) but really it is quiet time and relaxing for me.
Your dad sounds like mine. I’m envious of that level of patience.
Patience is such an amazing thing - and something that I am always working on.
I started reloading to save money. Yeah, that didn’t quite go as planned, ask my wife!
As you start looking at reloading, there are several basic things that you need to do.
- Read, read and read some more. This is the book that I recommend as the frst source of information: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GUSBP6/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
- There is a great FaceBook group for reloading called The Reloading Room. With over 30,000 members this a well moderated and extremely friendly group. I suggest this not to get recipes for hand loads, but to asked questions that the printed resources you have (you have reloading books, right?) aren’t clarifying for you.
- Get a mentor! There is nothing more satisfying to me than to teach someone about something that I know. It helps them to grow, learn the safety principles and it forces me to grow as well!
Remember that you are creating a thing that has devastating power in a small package so getting all the knowledge you can is the best way to prevent tragedy.
Once you have done the above mentioned. it is time to determine what is needed to get started. This is where your mentor can be a great asset. Secondarily. the Facebook group. Many of us bought too many gadgets and unnecessary items thinking we would need them to get started. You don’t NEED very many things to make good quality ammunition,
If you have questions: reach out to me on this forum and I will help you in every way that I can.
I am retired and started reloading about five years ago, not to save money but more as a hobby and for something to do when the weather is too bad for outdoor activities. I think most reloaders would agree that you really don’t save a lot of money because of the cost of the equipment and because you shoot more. Since I started reloading, I have upgraded most of my tools several times over in the last couple of years. Some of the equipment can be quite expensive. For example: Redding Competition dies can run $200 -$300 dollars and a Wilson Micrometer case trimmer with the shell holders is about $200. I could go on and on, but you get the idea - it can get expensive very quickly.
I really enjoy it and have gotten to the point where I not only reload to shoot, but shoot to reload. The precision required and the attention to detail is what I find so satisfying about the process. I was lucky when I first started to find a class at my local gun range offered by a competitive shooter and an employee of Hornady. It was very good and I learned the fundamentals of the process.
If you are thinking of getting into reloading, here is what I suggest that you do.
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Buy a good quality manual and study it and study it again. Lee, Hornady and Lyman all publish good ones.
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Stick with a single stage or turret press. A progressive press is more suitable for high volume but you won’t get the precision unless you go high end, such as a Dillon, which will cost you big bucks.
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You can buy a starter package. The Hornady Lock-N-Load noted above is a pretty nice one Lee Precision also makes several entry level kits that are a little bit cheaper than Hornady. The downside to buying a kit is that there will be components included that you simply don’t like. My Lee powder scale and primer feeder are both collecting dust on the shelf. Another option is to buy used equipment. There is a lot of the entry level equipment available from people like me who upgrade and sell their old stuff.
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Develop procedures that allow you to verify that each step of the process is done correctly. For example, I use a reloading tray and shine a light into each case after dropping the powder. A squib load, no powder, can lodge a bullet in the barrel which can be catastrophic if not detected. A double load can blow the gun up. Either situation can send you to the emergency room.
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There is a wealth of information on the internet and some excellent forums where experienced reloaders answer questions and post information. I would urge caution and advise you to use every resource available to verify information. I never use load recipes posted by some person on a forum and alway use the powder or bullet manufactures published data to work up my loads. In one instance, I called Western Powders to clarify conflicting information between their data and the bullet manufacturer. They were very helpful and answered all my questions and resolved the issue.
It’s a great hobby and good luck in your endeavor. If I can be of any assistance contact me on this forum and I will help in any way I can.
I have been reloading for more than 30 years and I can’t even begin to tell you the money I have saved vs the money I have spent in reloading but suffice to say it’s in the $10’s of thousands.
I wrote this post on a forum that I no longer participate in due to the direction they went after the original owner sold it.
Granted the article is about rifle ammo but the principles are the same that I use for pistol minus all the brass prep stuff. For pistol I clean it, knock the primer out while resizing and stuff a new primer in it.
This is the follow on article which has some new gear and thoughts.
Be glad to help anyone who is looking to get started.
Cheers,
Craig6
Been reloading for >20 years now. Multiple calibers (9mm, .44 Mag, .357 mag, 30-06, 5.56, 6.5 Swede). As noted above READ before you start, and NEVER, EVER start with “hot” loads. A lot of guns have been ruined and a lot of folks hurt because they wanted a “hot load”. You can, safely, makes loads as warm as any sane person would want, but you need to work up, slowly, to that point. Frankly I don’t enjoy shooting super hot loads- the fun kinda disappears when the recoil causes the grips to blister your paws😏. A few years ago my son wanted some hot.44’s. We loaded some 275 grain pills and worked to to very close to “maximum” load. They were Not fun to shoot, even for my then 35 yr old 6’3” Marine son. (Did well from a rifle though)
Science experiment. Soaked these in Pepsi and lemon juice for 3 hours. Wiped with a paper towel. These are now ready to be deprimed and reloaded. Now, I need a press.
For years I wanted to get into reloading. Unfortunately, time, space, and money have limited me in one way or another. For me, it would be more for the oddball calibers I like to shoot, e.g. 10mm and 44 spl/mag. Sometimes the power level (sometimes weaker sometimes more powerful) or bullet type that I want doesn’t match up with available ammo, and if it does, it’s either very expensive or gets discontinued.
That’s a different way to do it. One note though, if you are loading you probably want to clean the primer pockets before you load, which normally means depriming before cleaning😏. If you are just starting,or loading only a few rounds don’t spend a ton of $$ on equipment. Many years ago I started out with .222 loading varmint rounds. I was only using 2-300yr and got great results with an OBD Lee “Match” handloader (fits in a small box. That, an accurate scale and a powder trickier and I was cranking out match grade hunting ammo. I had time (firefighter) so it was no big deal. Moved up to more sophisticated equipment when I started loading more ( and multiple calibers). The larger quantity of component you buy, the cheaper the cost/round. If you buy primers by the 5k, and slugs by the multiple thousand (at least 2k) you can still load pretty cheaply. I enjoy the whole load your own thing, I get ammo that’s better than I’d be buying (target or hunting round-NOT SD ( don’t wanna explain handloads in court) and enjoy the hobby. Start small (used if you can find it), read a lot, and discover a new hobby.
I’ve done all the research. I’ve just been to busy to build a bench. I will definitely save money reloading. I also only use “factory” loads for SD.
Things change.
Right now I doubt if much savings can be realized hand loading 12 GA, 9mm Luger, .223 maybe .40 range ammo in smaller quantities to justify setting up a bench and buying equipment.
Not so with smaller gauge shot shells, 38, 44 and 45s
But the future is yet unknown–here in CA not so much with mandatory registration, ID checks,and fees. .
The Boy Scout in me said to be prepared so I have a press and components set up and some of those calibers I’ll reload for because factory new ammo is prohibitively priced.
All the cool kids these days have Dillons, which can save you a lot of time if you shoot a lot.
I am more timid and prefer batch loading with safety checks between stages, but I don’t shoot 1,000s of rounds a month either,
It’s easy enough to start. Find a safe, competent hand loader, or take a class (offered by sportsmen’s clubs and some sporting goods chains) to show you the basics. If that’s not an option, get a copy of Lymans The Beginner’s Guide to Reloading Ammunition (actually you should get a copy anyway) and read it, then read it again.
There are Youtubes that are helpful, and then there are Youtubes that are downright dangerous.
The Lyman book can help you make the distinction.
Setting up a bench doesn’t have to be expensive, Presses seldom wear out. The same could be said of dies but if you’re loading straight sided pistol brass be sure to get a carbide die set—it’s worth the money and makes life easier, Lee makes very affordable carbide die sets, btw
You can find used gear at swap meets, Craig’s List, etc and don’t forget the bulletin board at the range/gun club. There are also attractive package deals from e-tailers
Other items I’d freely spend money on are:
A decent powder measure. RCBS Uniflow, Redding and Lyman make very good ones.
An accurate beam scale. Electric digital scales are headaches, IMHO. Air currents from a AC, fluorescent lighting, and a bunch of other variants can cause dangerous mischief. I know this and while others may disagree, let’s just not go there and I’ll spare you stories of pounding squibs out of gun barrels with a steel rod and hammer, OK? Once again RCBS, Redding and Lyman, or older Ohaus are the ones I’d look for, Make sure to calibrate whatever you get!
Accurate 6" calipers to check the OAL (over all length)
Good luck!.
Just get a long solid plank of wood to mount your press to, and a few C-clamps. Set the plank across any sturdy table or counter top and clamp it down, Stow in a closet when not in use.
Another thought—
Where you shoot is going to effect things.
Many indoor ranges will not let you pick up your brass once it hits the floor, and brass is one of the more expensive components used in reloading,
For semi autos I buy once fired brass or pick up range brass when possible.
45 ACP brass lasts a long time and the chances of losing it in the range weeds is greater than splitting it from repetitive metalworking,
Revolver brass I’ll buy new from Starline to add to my own empties,
Also, given the choice I prefer unplated brass to nickle plated brass because nickel plate brass is ever so thinner to allow for the thickness of the plating and generally doesn’t hold up as long as unplated brass.
If you’re contemplating taking up hand loading, by all means save your empty brass!
Hi there is one thing that reloaders should know about headspacing when brass is fired many times it gets a little longer on most reloading books they give the factory measurements in the selected round you want to load, I use my calipers to take the measurement front to back then take my fired brass and see if it will fit with no hang ups, if it goes with no hang ups then it in the pile for reloading. if not it’s to the case trimmer to bring it back into spec,s onens it is to size I take my camfertool to gently remove the outer edge and inner edge just enough to remove what does not belong there then it ready for reloading, I use a Lyman case trimmer. If you don’t do this your reload may be to long and won’t go into battery, this is what I have found out for the many years of reloading , just a word of note some calibers like 30 cal carbine headpieces where the bullet meets the brass, Remington 223 headspace on the shoulder, 38 special headspace on the back end as with like rounds you can see where the round will headspace, hope. Hope this insight will help any new reloaders.
Straight wall pistol rounds are the easiest, esp with carbide dies (w/out carbide dies you’ve got to lube cases😏). Brass last for several leadings if you don’t push the “hottest” rounds you can make, and experienced loaders typically don’t load “hot” for Target shooting. Take your time, watch what you’re doing and save the adult beverages until after the loading is done and you’ll be fine.
YEP. We do. My hubby’s a Dillon Press guy, pretty much has one of each 
If they don’t let me pick my brass, I don’t shoot there. Most won’t let you cross the line to pick it up, so any brass that goes forward at an indoor range is lost, but if it’s underfoot or behind me, I’m taking it.