Getting started with reloading in 2023? 10 things I wish I knew before I started reloading

if you're thinking about getting into reloading this video is going to cover the 10 things that I wished I knew before I started on the path of becoming a reloader becoming a reloader may be a great idea but maybe not for the reasons that you think I would love to tell you my experiences went flawlessly but truly this is never the case pun intended well we are going to cover 10 things that I wished I knew before I start reloading this is primarily focused on those people who are just starting reloading or thinking about getting into reloading their own ammo if you stick around to the end I'll throw in at least one more bonus item that's probably going to sound crazy coming from a reloading channel number one saving money might not be a thing cost is probably the number one thing that some people think that they need to start reloading for so many people ask me how much money I save by reloading ammo and my response is always the same laughter while there can be some savings calculating your cost per round strictly looking at components frequently we're only saving a few cents per round if you can reuse your brass more than a few times the savings can increase but you are likely still going to need to reload a several thousand rounds to break even even on a modestly priced reloading setup now I'm a guy that likes gadgets and I like to experiment with all kinds of different things and I'm sure that I would spend less money if I didn't reload but I know that I would shoot a lot less instead of worrying about the cost when I pulled my audience the most common reasons that people reloaded for was number one getting better performance than they could from the Factory number two the love of the hobby itself number three actually be able to make custom loads that they couldn't buy off the shelf number four better availability during shortages and dead last five was cost even if you're going to guarantee yourself lots of savings by reloading tons of rounds or those very expensive cost per round calibers most everyone in their calculation ignores the second item time it does not take an insignificant amount of time to reload at least on a single stage press while I frequently see people claim more I think 50 rounds per hour is a pretty realistic run rate on a single stage press now if you're reloading on a progressive this can speed up the process but it also makes the process a little bit more complex well I think it is possible to safely start reloading on a progressive press this is just something you should consider when you're first starting out nothing good can happen trying to reload as fast as possible if you make a mistake it doesn't make it any less dangerous if you did it quickly bottleneck cartridges frequently require trimming which is not usually performed on your press if you don't someone enjoy tedious tasks you might really want to think twice about investing in reloading equipment the time needed can vary greatly depending on the caliber you intend to reload and the setup you choose but if you have endless amounts of time and the thrill of creating the best ammo you've ever fired reloading might be the hobby for you now number three be careful who you take advice from most people are going to tell you that the way they do it is the best of course that's the only reason that they do it that way but but it might not be the best way for you one of the greatest things about reloading is you can tailor the process to exactly where it works best for you if you want low recoil subsonics hunting specific rounds maybe you want to hit targets at 1,000 yards or there may be common processes between all those goals finding someone who has already done exactly what you're looking to accomplish may be the best investment in time when you're first starting out I would encourage you to read multiple reloading manuals my primary goal when I first start reloading was to make ammo that could hit targets at further distances one of my favorite references is top Grade ammo by Glenn zeder this book doesn't really concentrate on making Sammy spec ammo it concentrates on making a match load for a very specific application which is exactly what I was trying to do this book is not for everyone but it has a lot of interesting information in it and as you talk to folks about reloading the Case Prep procedures in here he discusses are still very common today number four probably the biggest accuracy improvement though technically we should call it Precision that reloads have over Factory ammo is being able to customize your cartridge overall length being able to adjust test and set this value to an optimal value May improve your groups more than you might believe frequently getting the projectile closer to the lands some folks are going to tell you to find Jam back off 20,000 others are going to tell you to start off 20,000 off the lands themselves wherever you start it doesn't really matter it just matters where you end up Sami speec ammo has to be able to fit in every Factory chamber not just your chamber Factory offerings can have a very long distance or just simply a non-optimal cartridge over length for your application tools like this horn cartridge over length gauge along with a modified case and a comparator set can help you determine these measurements to find out what your particular application might prefer I've covered these tools in lots of videos if you would like to check them out but for me the biggest accuracy gains that I've been able to achieve is controlling the cartridge overall length for my reloads number five if you can afford it get a chronograph if you're doing load development for a distance over 100 yards I really think a chronograph is an invaluable tool reloading manuals are going to have data with estimated velocities but specific factors like your barrel length the specific lot of components that you're using they're all going to affect that data a chronograph can save you so much more time when you know what your velocity is and how consistent that that velocity is if you're trying to work up a sub Sonic load knowing the velocity to make sure you're staying below the speed of sound is very important there are some workarounds for dealing with these issues but the quicker you know the information the more quickly you can achieve the results that you're looking for there's lots of great options out there you don't have to pick the magneo speed or the lab radar but if you test your reloads with a chronograph you're going to be much further ahead than guessing your velocity or wasting hours of your life watching videos telling you how to live without it number six 85% of your accuracy is going to come from your Barrel wasting $1,000 or components and hours of your life trying to get something to work is pointless if you have a very high accuracy standard don't think you're going to load your way to a quarter MOA with a factory Barrel that just won't shoot different powders and projectiles can improve things but don't expect them to perform Miracles sometimes investing in a new Barrel is actually the cheapest way to move forward number seven is trying not to buy too much of something before you have a chance to test it now I am probably the worst example of following this advice myself but if you try to buy too much of the same powder or projectiles before you've tested them you can have a lot of powder sitting on the shelf you may be way better off testing five different projectiles see which one works the best for you and then fine-tuning that option a quote that I think applies here is something like you just can't shine a turd it doesn't matter if the projectile you want has the highest BC on the market if you just can't make it group number eight brass preparation is the worst part of reloading if you're going to invest in tools that make your reloading process more efficient tools that trim cases chamfer and deur them very quickly and most importantly accurately you will appreciate the most a Henderson Precision trimmer or a Gerard trimmer are both amazing in their own right they're not for everyone because they're kind of expensive but these tools speed up my reloading process more than any other tool that I own if you can't get past the cost of these trimmers I don't blame you but something like the Frankford Arsenal Case Prep Center would probably be worth looking at especially if you're reloading a large volume of cases these tools save you so much time it's certainly worth considering number nine just get a wet tumbler to clean brass I'm sure somebody's going to disagree that an ultrasonic or vibratory tumbler is better and that's fine but if you're reloading indoors the dry Methods at least for me make more of a mess and way more noise than my wet tumbler getting some version of the tumbler pins Dawn dish soap and a little bit of lemon shine will work really well and there's no dust indoors the biggest negative to doing wet tumbling is separating the pins from the brass if you're using them at all and as long as you have a media separator where the cases dip a little bit into the water while they're being spun I get almost zero pins stuck in my cases I'm not saying you have to get the one from Frankfurt Arsenal there are lots of different options out there but wet tumbling by far is the most efficient and effective way for me to clean brass number 10 buying quality brass is probably cheaper than you think if you're going to spend the time to reload and you're concerned about the performance this is one of the biggest things I would tell you as a new reloader if Lao makes it in your caliber and you're going to be able to reload it many times premium brass is something you should consider lapo or Peterson are my go-to for brass if it's available a lot of people email me and ask me why they can't get into singled digigit standard deviations and the first thing I ask is what brass they're using I very frequently just tell them that you need to be be using quality brass you will see the difference I'm not badmouthing any other brands that are out there but the cost difference spread out over however many reloads you're going to be able to get on a specific piece of brass for me has Justified the higher price tag dialing in a good load has been faster it has give me better results and often I get longer serviceable life out of my brass itself if you actually break the cost down to the price per reload the premium brass can actually be cheaper in the long run depending on what you're load now if you're just making plinking ammo that's fine buy whatever is cheapest or if you're concerned about losing the brass at the range I understand you might want to consider cheaper options but if you're concerned about accuracy repeatability and the longevity of your reloads don't hesitate to invest in some premium brass now number 11 unless I've lost count the Dirty Little Secret that fools a lot of new Reloaders is you may not use all the tools in your Reloading Kit and they don't have everything you need to start reloading either I wish this wasn't true and I I've done a whole video series on reloading equipment and I will link that in the description box below to help you figure it out if you'd like I wish I could tell you exactly what you need to buy for your reloading experience and what would be perfect for you but most kits don't include anything to trim brass sometimes the chamfering to bring tools aren't very high quality I could go on and on but if you're concerned about this item I would encourage you to watch the series at the end of today's video and I'll do my best to walk through some of the equipment specific considerations to make your reloading process experience the best it can be everything from basic tools to start with to Advanced tools for loaders that want to speed up their reloading process now since you guys have actually stuck around through all 11 items our Dirty Little Secret we're going to mention today is I have a reloading Channel I reload a lot I still buy Factory ammo I don't reload for 9mm because to me it's just not worth the time versus the money versus the quantity of it that I use if you buy at the right time sometimes you can buy the factory offerings for almost the cost of assem Ling it yourself personally I would rather spend my time reloading other cartridges occasionally if I'm starting to reload a new caliber I'll actually buy a box of factory just to see how it compares to my reloads sometimes it'll help me with the velocity and accuracy Baseline that I'm working for if you're looking to get started reloading our Channel sponsor Midway USA has lots of supplies to get you started no matter where you're at in your reloading Journey if you want to understand the reloading tools that don't come in the reloading kits check out this video playlist right here it'll cover everything from basic to Advanced reloading equipment I'll see you in those videos and until then stay safe in small groups

Channel: Bolt Action Reloading

Views: 80,126

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Id: Xf1RSkUbbeM

Length: 11min 37sec (697 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 05 2023