I once heard there are two reasons to reload your own ammo, you can shoot for half the cost of factory ammo or you can shoot twice as much for the same money…
Both of which can be true but there is an even more important one to consider for rifle rounds, you can drastically improve the performance from your rifle by tuning rounds specifically to your particular rifle….
Another good reason is wildcats. These are cartridges that no one makes factory ammo or possibly even cases, reloading these is mandatory.
That being said there are some rounds that may not be worth reloading unless you are trying to accomplish something specific. .223 being the main one. There is so much inexpensive ammo available for this caliber it doesn’t pay to reload it. At least when it comes to plinking ammo, match rounds are another story.
Getting Started
Reloading is actually pretty darn simple and you can get started on the cheap. You don’t need that automated expensive press to reload. There are kits available that have everything you need for under $200 and really nice kits for under $400. And these kits are complete minus the dies which can be had for less than $40
Will you upgrade down the road? Most likely but you will learn from the simple set up and you can slowly improve your set up as needed. But realize you can create an additional hobby very easily if you are not careful….
Points to Ponder
Load Data, only use reloading data from well known published sources, ie the Powder Manufacturers, Bullet manufacturers, Reloading manuals etc. Keyboard warriors on the internet are NOT a reliable source of data, do not use it.
No food, drink or other distractions when you are loading rounds!
What’s on my bench
I have two presses, a single stage that I use for large rifle and a progressive press that is great for kicking out a large volume of pistol and small rifle rounds.
I prefer the single stage for large rifle rounds as it is more precise in function and it’s easy to be picky with what comes out of it. The pace of it slows you down and you can concentrate better on what you are doing.
Dies
I tend to stick with middle of the road dies price wise. I don’t have any high dollar dies, nor any of the fancy caliper dies as these are not needed for what I am doing with ammo. I am still particular, I just go about it in a different way with a different focus.
I have quite a few dies, especially for my 308. They all do specific things and some are just duplicates (bullet seat dies) because it saves some time when I don’t have to reset a die with the bullets I use all the time or is set for different overall lengths.
Resizing is where things can get a little carried away. Neck dies, Full Body dies, decapping dies, mandrel dies, factory crimp dies, Body only dies etc. All have their place at my bench but remember to get started all you need is one full body resize die with integral decap/expander ball and a bullet seat die, what’s better known as a standard 2 die set.
Cases and Case Prep
For pistols and mid size rifle I am not particular about keeping brass organized by case head stamp, they all get tossed together and used until they are worn out.
Large rifle I am particular about. Currently I only use Norma cases. They have proven to be extremely durable in both my 308’s, some of those cases have 15+ reloads through them. So they are definitely a good value even though they are not cheap. But not the most expensive either.
I use a former rock tumbler for cleaning cases, and it will clean a lot of cases in about 2 hours. Buddy of mine made it. Uses dual 12 lb drums that each hold almost 200 large rifle cases or 400 pistol cases. I just use ground corn cob with some rice as the cleaning media. Not looking for a shiny brand new look, just clean enough.
On a side note, I clean cases with the spent (fired) primers still in the empty cases. Found that when cleaning after depriming, a lot of corn gets stuck in the primer pockets and I hate having to pick it out.
Trimming Brass
Oddly enough my 308 cases rarely need trimming, could be the fact I do not run really topped out, max loads. I am fairly conservative with powder loads and have no desire to beat up my rifles. Haven’t found the need to trim them yet and as mentioned earlier I have as many as 15 loadings on some of the cases.
Bolt vs Semi Auto
I have a situation that is not unique amongst 308 shooters, many of us own both types of rifles. And you have to remember that the case prep is different between the platforms, usually my bolt rounds just get neck sized while the semi auto rounds require full length sizing….
Additionally, semi auto’s are notorious for being hard on cases, you will have a much shorter case life compared to the ones that go through the bolt. For this reason the cases used on gas gun rounds are never again allowed in the bolt gun, but bolt cases work just fine in the gas gun.
And yes I go the extra mile and separate the cases based on which gun they get used in…
Bullets
Not all bullets or rifles are created equal. You have to find the ones that work in your specific rifle. This can lead to a lot of testing with different brands and weights.
Your application will also determine your choices, mine is primarily target use. Hunters have different requirements all together.
I have had great results with Nosler and Berger on the upper end of things and surprisingly some of the cheap Speers have done amazing. So don’t assume that anyones super amazing bullet will work for you until you see it with your own eyes.
Once you find that magic one that works for you stick with it, don’t change just for changes sake. But it does pay off to have a back up bullet if your go to bullets are not available for one reason or another….
Powder and Primers
Some powders are clean and some are filthy. CFE 223 is amazingly clean burning (might have a lot to do with how I load with it….) and leaves very little carbon on the bolt of an LR308. H110 on the other hand jammed up a bolt in a 300 Blk out in less than 100 rounds…
Favorites… Lil Gun for 300 Blk Out and 7.62x40WT. H4895, CFE 223 and Varget for 308. Autocomp for 45ACP.
I have had great results with CCI primers and Winchester primers as well. Never had an issue with either in the thousands of rounds I have used them in.
Odds and Ends
There are some tools and such that are needed and some just nice to have. Calipers are a must have. A Hornady OAL gauge might be optional for some but is another must have for me. Knowing just where the rifling is in your guns is a good thing….
I also like chamber gauges for checking that my brass is still good to go. You will find that some of your brass after high use will resize just fine but once dropped into a chamber gauge you might find problems.
Hand Primer tools are great for my large rifle cases, I much prefer them over using the press attachments to insert primers. Pistol and small rifle get done on the press.
Load tray to hold cases during your load process, must have
Containers to hold everything, must have
Ballistics
Ballistics is the one area you will hear more bullshit than any other area of firearms. Stay away from the keyboard warriors…. But like every topic, you will learn who you can and can’t trust when it comes to learning about ballistics. Applied Ballistics does come up repeatedly when you read about ballistics and is probably the most trusted name on the topic.
Chronograph
Yes you are going to need a chronograph (or the use of one) at some point. Usually that point is at about 200 yards. You don’t need to use the chronograph at 200 but once you start shooting long your bullets start to drop a lot, and if you don’t know how fast your bullets are going when they leave the barrel, making bullet drop calculations really difficult if not impossible. Velocity is the single most important factor in ballistic calculations….
Ballistic Calculator
At some point in your learning process you are going to need the information provided by a ballistic calculator, primarily to learn what is happening down range with your bullets. I have found this one to be extremely useful.