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help ,reloading advice

563 views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  WillyB71 
Pick up a primer pocket cleaner to clean the pockets of shot brass. Case lube if you dont have carbide dies.
Get the case lube. You won't find carbide dies for bottle necked cartridges, those are for straight walled cases.

A pair of safety glasses are also a must. Primers should not be taken lightly, they can be dangerous if you get careless and losing an eye might take away the reason you are reloading in the first place.

A powder trickler is handy when starting the load development process as it doesn't require setting the powder measure for a charge you only need to throw 5 or 10 times. Pick a load from the manual for the bullet you've chosen and reduce it to 8-10% less than the max load shown for that bullet/powder combination and load 5-10 rounds and mark the box or bag they're in well with the load recipe. Then go up on the charge a half grain and load another 5 or 10. Repeat the process in half grain increments until you reach the max load and stop there. Take them out and test them to see which is more accurate and examine the brass looking for pressure signs as explained in your reloading manual.

Get a small notebook for each gun you're reloading for and keep meticulous records of each and every load you try in each gun. Not only will you want to reproduce a load that works well, you'll also want to eliminate repeating experiments that didn't work out so well. Trust me when I tell you that you will never be able to remember what you think you will and remembering wrong can have disasterous results.

Midway USA sells rolls of reloading recipe labels that I find very handy. One measurement that is important to record is over-all length. Not only must a round be able to fit in the gun's magazine, it is also the measurement that determines the distance from the bullet (in battery) and the rifling. Too much distance leads to poor accuracy and too little can either cause excessive pressure or may stick a bullet in the rifling if you eject a loaded round.

Reloading is a fun and cost saving hobby (once you pay for the equipment) and has given me over 25 years of enjoyment. Just remember; while there are items you can buy to save time at the reloading bench, there are no shortcuts when it comes to safety measures.
 
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