learning to reload

[lmao_37]

iam looking at buying a bigger rifle, but the rifle iam looking at buying is a .303 lee enfield mk4 no1 it doesnt have a a great deal of factory ammo made for it so iam looking at learning to reload my own i do have someone who is going to teach me how to relaod the thing is what make and type of gear to buy as there is so many different types i have no clue and iam just looking  for some good info to start with  :thumb:

first iam going to buy a book or two and read about reloading  ;D

[asmurff]

Do you have a gun club or range you shoot at, ask around you might find a listing for a NRA Reloading Instructor.

[lmao_37]

thanks for the advise i will ask next time i go to the range as i said iam just trying to get some good advise on how to learn about reloading there is a lot to learn and safty is the number 1

[imschur]

There's also books and DVD's

We have a little topic on this starting here at one of my other sites. If you have a handgun it will be a little easier to cut your teeth with that and get used to the tools, equipment and process. Something like .38 special would be ideal before jumping to rifle imo.

Im in the process of writing a page on this subject but it will be a while before it sees the light of day.

lastly pick up a shotgun news, maybe theres someone their with ammo in bulk

[rodent.22]

the safest thing you can do is buy an inexpensive digital scale and weigh EVERY round after your reloading session. If you've double charged a round (and you will) this will enable you to pick it out of the pile and NOT out of your hand and face.... :o Harbor Freight, $20.00 or so

[lmao_37]

thank you for the advise to start with i will be reloading under supervision and i wont be reloading until i have studied what to do and don't do and i will be watching someone else to start with, i don't own any pistols i have been looking at kit to buy in a couple of catalogues and a basic kit does'nt cost as much as i thought it would but i do want to get a digital scale to measure the gun powder charges as i have read a couple of stories in magazines where over charging with a balance scale and one person blew up a .44 magnum because of over charging the round and it destroyed the gun and nearly him as well.

[imschur]

I had a press who's powder measure linkage was poorly designed coupled with a mediocre powder measure and brass of unknown origin I managed to blow the grips grips off a S&W 4506. Sounded and felt like a .308

[Microgunner]

Is this when you lost some fingers?

[imschur]

Is this when you lost some fingers?

nah, I was defective from the get go  :laugh:

[Kilibreaux]

I learned to reload using the old Lee hand dies...the ones where you used a mallet to tap the cases into the sizing die, then used a decapping rod to knock out the spent primers.  The Advantage to starting so basic is it kept the process slow and broke it down into clearly understood sections.  The only differene between using hand dies and a powered multi-stage press is speed--the steps involved are the same.

The best way to learn to load ammo is read, read, and read everything you can find on the subject.  Next start with ONE cartridge and focus on that.  The British .303 is actually not a bad place to start because bolt action rifles simply do not lend themselves to burning up a lot of ammo punching holes in paper or knocking around cans and such.  Being a rimmed cartridge the .303 is also less sensitive to shoulder setback than rimless designs and one thing more, the .303 is a rather low-pressure cartridge by today's standards and is therefore a bit easier on the case which works in favor of the novice loader.

Another decent way to start is the Lee hand press which will easily size bottleneck rifle cases but keeps the process slow, "linear" and portable.  I would never advise someone new to cartridge loading to go out and buy a multistage pres because there is so much more knowledge needed to set one up properly, and safely.

[techmike]

Excellent post Kilibreaux! :thumb:  A lot of folk want to jump into a progressive setup without learning the basics. I actually have an old LEE hand reloading kit in 30-30.  ;D

TM