any help will help

[flbowhunter]

I wanna start reloading for my .270 maybe my other brass too. i have plenty of brass gathered but have no idea how to get started. I quess the first place i need to start is what type of reloader should i be looking for. then what.? Any help would be great.

[GoodOlBoy]

My first piece of advice is stay away from anything with the name LEE on it. Bad cheap stuff. It won't last till the water gets hot. My second suggestion you cannot go wrong with anything with the name RCBS on it. And I personally prefere Hornady's dies. Beyond that the other guys can probably give you a better idea than I can.

GoodOlBoy

[fabsroman]

If you are a novice, read a manual or two before you get started. I was an avid shotgun reloader before I started reloading metallic cartridges. However, I still read Lyman's 47th edition reloading manual along with another manual that I am too lazy to get off the shelf right now. The manuals will tell you what equipment you need and how to actually load the cartridges.

However, if you need advice on who's equipment is better, this is definitely the place for that. Personally, all my metallic reloading equipment is RCBS with the exception of a couple of LEE dies that I don't really care for.

[Rocky Raab]

At the risk of blowing my own horn again (it's wearing out!), I usually advise new reloaders to read my basic relaoding articles on my web page. Read the Reloading 101, and the Reloading FAQ ones first.

[bulletpusher]

Rocky,

That horn deserves to be blown, the items in your sight are good and a big help, even to someone who has been doing it a while.

Thanks.

[Jay Gorski]

Hunter, Like some of the guys said get yourself a couple manuals and read through them, Hornady and Lyman would be a good start, get a RCBS Rockchucker Supreme kit, the only thing you won't need in that kit is the case lube kit, throw it out, I spray my cases with Hornadys 'One Shot' case lube, great stuff. I like Hornady and Redding dies, I've got some Lee dies and they seem to work alright but would never buy them again, they do come with a nice little powder scoop though and shellholder. The RCBS kit has a manual in it so maybe you won't have to get the Lyman manual, but get the Hornady one for sure, Kit costs $259.98 through Midway, has everything you need to get started except dies and shellholder, and the Hornady 'Oneshot' case spray, which I highly recommend, as does the guys from Sinclair International.(Precision reloading). Try some 130gr. Hornady SSTs for your 270 on top of some H4350 powder and Win. WLR primers, Winchester brass. DO NOT use Magnum primers in your reloadin ventures unless your using over 70 grs. of powder. Just my .02 cents.;) Jay. You'll need to get a Trimmer, also. I'd look at the Lyman or Hornadys, they run $52-$60.

[Jay Gorski]

hunter, Couple more things, make sure you read the manuals regarding sizing your fired cases, don't want too much headspace or too little for that matter, and don't 'mix' brass, If you do load different brands of brass, shoot them separately, work-up loads using the same brands of brass and lot number If possible. New brass doesn't need to full length sized, contrary to what some say, unless you've got a really tight chamber(match). Size new brass only 1/4 way down the neck, that'll be just fine. Trim your cases to the same length and chamfer the inside of the cases with a few turns and the outside half again as many. If I can do this reloading thing, anybody can. Have fun, and be safe, go for accuracy, not blockbustin' energy. Jay.

[Mad Willie]

I have done a fair bit of reloading, and use an RCBS Rockchucker press. Still going strong after 25 years. Look at a few reloading manuals, pick an appropriate bullet or two, and find a powder that get the velocities you want. Stay away from max loads - hard on brass and possibly you! Avoid mixing brands of brass for high quality loads.

I have used both RCBS and Pacific (Hornady) dies. Both work well, tho the Hornady dies are a little easier on case necks in my experience.

Enjoy your handloads!

[Rocky Raab]

Welcome aboard, Mad Willie.

That's good advice, and always timely.

(The thread WAS two years old, though!)

[Cossack]

Ditto the read the manual(s). Most any of them have sage advice at the front of the book and the one by Lyman is particularly good, as is Hornaday, in this regard.
Learn all you can BEFORE you start relaoding or even buying equipment. Much of what you will want to purchase depends on what you will want to load and how much you intend to shoot. I started with the RCBS (master?) set. But as I look back on it, I'd buy the next better scale, better calipers, seating gauge from Sony Point and their headspace gauge too to check my relaoded rounds without needing to chamber them. Get the best dies you can afford (Redding, Hornady, RCBS,etc) they last a lifetime. But if $ is an issue starting with Lee will work. Take your time and talk to as many knowledgeable folks as you can; folks who actually reload, not salesmen. Watch a good relaoder at work if you can. That, and his mentorship, helped me more than anything else. Subscribe to some good gun mags like Hadloader and Rifle Shooter. Also check out the Accurate Relaoding site and shootersforum in addition to this one.
Lastly, if you don't particularly like precision, uniformity and attention to detail, particularly rules for safe reloading, don't start. This is one hobby where close enough is NOT tolerated...for long. Sloppy technique could maim you and others, or worse. You're not likely to save any money by relaoding unless you shoot a lot. And it's difficult to beat the best commercial ammo by handloading primarilly because they may have access to powders we do not and are able to get and incorporate techniques that are hard to duplicate without special equipment into their processes. But it can be done. For example hadloading allows me to 18 cartridges, including 6 wildcats that I have to make cases for, with the best bullets for their intended purpose. For me, there is nothing so satifying as maxing out the performance of a particular gun and harvesting game with a cartridge I loaded. (Besides, I just plain like the relaoding part too). If you need help, feel free to ask, no such thing as a dumb question in this hobby...except the one not asked.

[RUMLUVER]

My advice to you would be to read Moderen Reloading Second edition in has an indepth explanation on beginning reloading. Also do some investigation as to wich type of bullet you want to use for the hunting your going to do or target shooting I would then purchase their manual for they use their bullets exclusively (.ie Hornady, Nosler, Sierra, Barnes). Then purchase your powder, primers and such maybe using the same cases and primers listed in the realoding manual. As for dies I use RCBS and Redding and for a press I use RCBS that also goes for my case trimmer, electronic scale and hand primming tool. I also read Rocky's site it is very good and worth the time to read it . This is the way I would go if I was starting out. I can't give first hand starting out experience because I started when I about 5 or 6 with the help of my dad I got to pull the handel on his Rockchucker to seat the bullets and that was the beginng of a life long obsession as my wife calls it.

[denton]

It's your basic contrarian here....

I do agree with the idea of reading Rocky's pages, and reading over the instructional material in a couple of good reloading books.

I absolutely do NOT agree with the premise the Lee is crap, and that [fill in your favorite here] is much better. Most Lee stuff is excellent. Some Lee stuff is not.

Actually, dies do have subtle differences, but they are more alike than they are different. The one and only objection I have to Lee dies is that some of the full length sizing dies will come with a tiny internal burr where the shoulder joins the neck. It takes about a minute to polish it out. If you're aware of that, and able to take care of it when the need comes up, you save a bundle on dies. And the ammo you make with them, and the length of time they will last is indistinguishable from the ones that cost a lot more.

There is no better neck forming die than the Lee collet die.

I have performed a test on the Lee Perfect Powder Measure, and have found that if you're loading short cut stick powder, such as H4350 or Varget (very common types), the measure is repeatable enough that the resulting ammo is practically indistinguishable from individually hand weighed. Any improvement you get from a more expensive unit is completely swamped by other sources of variation.

A lot of people have, and like the Rockchucker press. It is excellent. But I find no functional difference between the Lee Classic Cast press and the Rockchucker. Both are made of steel. Both take large cartridges. Both will last longer than you, your kids, or your grandkids. And the Lee is $60. The Classic Cast is vastly better than the old Lee Challenger press, which had cast zinc linkage, and suffered from breakage.

If you just like the other brands better, or like the way the feel or look, then I have no issue with spending more to get them. But don't think for a minute that the other brands are going to give you better ammo, or are going to last longer.

[Handgun'r]

FLbowhunter,

All good advise here......

Lyman's manual (besides their shameless product plugs -lol) is probably one of the best beginner books to start with, and they're designed to be that way on purpose.

Without getting into long drawn out details....I've been at it since I was very young, and I'll avoid the "step by step" of it all (the manual will do that for you) ......best advice.......GO SLOW, and be as meticulous as you reasonably can.
Segregate your cases (as mentioned), set up your dies, and go as the book tells you.
How you start now, will influence how you load in the future. It's not "rocket science", and is relatively simple, but good "safe" load's that shoot as desired is what you're looking for.

The book is your best guide to it all.


Good luck,
Bob

[RUMLUVER]

Monotinus repatition of safety is key to what your doing. Pay attention always and keep good records of what your doing step by step and when you find what your looking for in a load you will have a record of exactly what you did to get it. A momentary lapse of attention or judgement can have catostrofic results.

[Catfish]

After you do what everone else has suggested, see if you can find someone that has been reloading for a number of year and get some hands on help, it`s always best, and if he hasn`t blown himself up he`s not doing it all wrong. I would also recomand that you DO NOT USE any data you get from chat rooms on the internet unless you first check it with the powder manufacture web page, a loading manual or some other reliable scource. I saw a posting one day that would have blown up anything it was fired in. The guy knew what he was talking about , but type-oed and put in the wrong powder number. To someone who uses both powders it was quite obvious, but to someone with no knowledge of the burn rate charts it would look just like any other load.
Rocky`s Reloading room is a good place to start reading. Then I would recomand you get a loading manual from the manufacture who`s bullets you think you will be shooting most. AND READ the sections on internal and external blastics. Maybe I should say study those sections, because sometimes they get alittle hard to follow for a beginner.