Well I've been reloading off and on since I was 17 back in 1986 ish. But not constantly so I'll give you what I know to help you get started so that you're not starting from ground zero.
1st- To get started in reloading understand that there are 3 kinds of reloading. Pistol, Rifle, and shotgun.
Pistol is usually the simplest to do for the most part because you don't have to trim your brass (more on that in a moment)
It basically breaks down to having the equipment for the following process.
1. clean your brass
2. deprime your brass and size it (usually the same step)
3. Polish the brass (semi optional)
4. prime the brass with new primers
5. Load the brass with powder
6. Seat the bullet in the brass
7. Factory crimp the brass (semi optional)
Now, notice something? I've not mentioned what kind of primer, what kind of or how much powder, what kind of bullet and how much it should weigh? Why? Because you need to research all of that from a reloading manual.
For rifle reloading you need to do the following
1. clean your brass
2. deprime your brass and size it (usually the same step)
3. Polish the brass (semi optional)
4. Anneal the neck of the rifle round
5. Trim the brass to the right length and chamfer it
6. prime the brass with new primers
7. Load the brass with powder
8. Seat the bullet in the brass
9. Factory crimp the brass (semi optional)
Again, notice the need for specific data from a reloading manual.
So step 0... the step before you even begin chosing a press, or buying anything else is get a reloading manual... two or even three of them from different publishers.
Why? because here's the thing... you are putting explosives into a small metal cylinder and capping it with a piece of metal that will be sent hurtling down range (hopefully) at supersonic speeds.... explosives... as in stuff that can turn your two thousand dollar 30-06 into 20 bux of scrap metal if you don't load the right powder in the right amounts into a casing (brass) that you have hand inspected to be sure it's not in danger of rupturing and seated the bullet of the right weight into a properly sized brass.
All this stuff has to work together in the right way. It's exactly like a recipe... only this recipe, if done right, gives you a nice satisfying bang, followed by a pistol/rifle bullet arriving at its destination in a fraction of a second at hyper sonic speed, or if it goes horribly wrong anything from a dud, or a sub speed bullet, or a bullet jammed in the barrel, or worst case// it takes your hand, eye. face, or life with it. Yikes eh?
So, reading the manuals...first... is critical. And why several? Well, you've heard of typographical errors I take it, yes? Well that's why you get several books, so that just in case there is a typo in one, the other ones likely will not have that typo and thus warn you when a typo is in one of them (they won't match up) When they don't match up, you know something is wrong and you can go to the powder manufacturer and download a data sheet and call their customer service dept and get the right data.
All this is before you get a press.
Now, when you're ready for a press I'm going to make a suggestion. Lee. Why Lee? Because that's what I started with and have and they work without breaking your budget.
One of the books out there is Lee's modern reloading 2nd edition. Sure it's basically a sales guide for lee's products, but they have a boatload of patents that other reloading equipment manufacturers have to license from lee.... And that means lee came up with some really good ideas and are willing to innovate. Also their stuff is inexpensive... so for a person looking to reload one of the most universal rounds out there... yeah... probably not a bad choice.
There's also RCBS and Hornady and a ton of others too, but my suggestion is get yourself a simple single stage press... no turrets or progressive reloaders first... start simple and keep it simple till you've reloaded that 30-06 with a boatload of rounds first.
Oh yeah... you do know that using handloads invalidates any warranty on your gun you have right? Well it does. So if it blows up or destroys your gun it's on you... Just want to make sure you know the score before you start.
So... if there's all this bullpucky associated with reloading, voiding warranty's, all these steps, all this reading and research, and it can be an expensive hobby (and time consuming, and space consuming, and dirty (did I mention the lead and the harmful chemicals you might work with?) why does anyone do it?
Because it's awesome fun... and you can produce rounds that aren't just marginally better than factory spec rounds... you can produce rounds of amazing precision and spectacular performance. Reloading isn't for just saving money *though you will save a LOT over time* it's for the fun of taking the raw materials, assembling them like a master chef... and producing something you can be proud of.
The knowledge needed to reload and how to choose your first press... in your reloading manuals... it's all there. Just buy a couple and read em.
<edit> and continues
Okay, so, I mentioned pistol vs rifle brass and notice there's one less step in pistol brass than rifle? Well most rifle brass has a neck that is narrower than the body... why? Well because you're going to find that the rifles have MUCH greater range and accuracy... and thus need more powder and power to move a itty bitty bullet down the much longer barrel and get the round to travel much much farther.
As such, think about it... when you constrict a water hose with a narrow opening what happens? the water jets out under pressure, well thats what happens to rifle brass. And here's the thing, brass is soft... it flows and stretches. So when you shoot a rifle round it gets longer by a bit. But in a rifle you maybe want to keep that lengthening of brass under control and get the neck back into factory shape and placement so that you can use that round in another rifle. (Actually if you're only firing that round through YOUR rifle... and only through that one rifle you might actually want to leave it in the shape it is... because that case has been custom fitted to your specific rifle and will fire more accurately in your rifle if left in that shape (yes, believe it or not rifle brass that is only going to be used in one rifle can be left unresized and may actually last longer if you don't resize it) But trimming your brass to factory spec is a good idea overall to allow it to eject more cleanly.
But here's the thing... all these steps require specific equipment to do the jobs you have to do... and part of those tools are DIES. Getting quality dies are important, CARING for them is more important. Don't ever use a boatload of force on a die, if a die isn't doing its job fairly easily... forcing it will likely be the LAST thing you want to do. Good dies are like any tool... respect it and you'll get years of faithful service out of it... treat it bad... it will fail you at the worst possible moment.
So... chosing equipment... take your sweet time on that step. Get your manuals. figure out what you want to do, figure out what you need... budget your purchases... and build up a supply of brass to practice on first.
If you get bored prepping your brass for loading... reloading might not be for you. But prepping hundreds of rounds of brass will make your loading much sweeter because you'll have lots of brass to practice on.
Learn the recipes for your brass... find out what combo of primer, powder, and bullet works best for what you want out of your initial loads. So don't go nuts and try and buy the most expensive bullet and the coolest powder and whatnot. Start with starting loads, conservative bullets and nothing fancy. Start with what WORKS first. Then gradually experiment. Don't do anything radical right off the bat. Get a chrono and pressure sensor too... I still need to get that. But as you start loading hotter rounds you need that pressure sensor so you know when your loads are getting too hot and too dangerous to use.
Just some info to help
1st- To get started in reloading understand that there are 3 kinds of reloading. Pistol, Rifle, and shotgun.
Pistol is usually the simplest to do for the most part because you don't have to trim your brass (more on that in a moment)
It basically breaks down to having the equipment for the following process.
1. clean your brass
2. deprime your brass and size it (usually the same step)
3. Polish the brass (semi optional)
4. prime the brass with new primers
5. Load the brass with powder
6. Seat the bullet in the brass
7. Factory crimp the brass (semi optional)
Now, notice something? I've not mentioned what kind of primer, what kind of or how much powder, what kind of bullet and how much it should weigh? Why? Because you need to research all of that from a reloading manual.
For rifle reloading you need to do the following
1. clean your brass
2. deprime your brass and size it (usually the same step)
3. Polish the brass (semi optional)
4. Anneal the neck of the rifle round
5. Trim the brass to the right length and chamfer it
6. prime the brass with new primers
7. Load the brass with powder
8. Seat the bullet in the brass
9. Factory crimp the brass (semi optional)
Again, notice the need for specific data from a reloading manual.
So step 0... the step before you even begin chosing a press, or buying anything else is get a reloading manual... two or even three of them from different publishers.
Why? because here's the thing... you are putting explosives into a small metal cylinder and capping it with a piece of metal that will be sent hurtling down range (hopefully) at supersonic speeds.... explosives... as in stuff that can turn your two thousand dollar 30-06 into 20 bux of scrap metal if you don't load the right powder in the right amounts into a casing (brass) that you have hand inspected to be sure it's not in danger of rupturing and seated the bullet of the right weight into a properly sized brass.
All this stuff has to work together in the right way. It's exactly like a recipe... only this recipe, if done right, gives you a nice satisfying bang, followed by a pistol/rifle bullet arriving at its destination in a fraction of a second at hyper sonic speed, or if it goes horribly wrong anything from a dud, or a sub speed bullet, or a bullet jammed in the barrel, or worst case// it takes your hand, eye. face, or life with it. Yikes eh?
So, reading the manuals...first... is critical. And why several? Well, you've heard of typographical errors I take it, yes? Well that's why you get several books, so that just in case there is a typo in one, the other ones likely will not have that typo and thus warn you when a typo is in one of them (they won't match up) When they don't match up, you know something is wrong and you can go to the powder manufacturer and download a data sheet and call their customer service dept and get the right data.
All this is before you get a press.
Now, when you're ready for a press I'm going to make a suggestion. Lee. Why Lee? Because that's what I started with and have and they work without breaking your budget.
One of the books out there is Lee's modern reloading 2nd edition. Sure it's basically a sales guide for lee's products, but they have a boatload of patents that other reloading equipment manufacturers have to license from lee.... And that means lee came up with some really good ideas and are willing to innovate. Also their stuff is inexpensive... so for a person looking to reload one of the most universal rounds out there... yeah... probably not a bad choice.
There's also RCBS and Hornady and a ton of others too, but my suggestion is get yourself a simple single stage press... no turrets or progressive reloaders first... start simple and keep it simple till you've reloaded that 30-06 with a boatload of rounds first.
Oh yeah... you do know that using handloads invalidates any warranty on your gun you have right? Well it does. So if it blows up or destroys your gun it's on you... Just want to make sure you know the score before you start.
So... if there's all this bullpucky associated with reloading, voiding warranty's, all these steps, all this reading and research, and it can be an expensive hobby (and time consuming, and space consuming, and dirty (did I mention the lead and the harmful chemicals you might work with?) why does anyone do it?
Because it's awesome fun... and you can produce rounds that aren't just marginally better than factory spec rounds... you can produce rounds of amazing precision and spectacular performance. Reloading isn't for just saving money *though you will save a LOT over time* it's for the fun of taking the raw materials, assembling them like a master chef... and producing something you can be proud of.
The knowledge needed to reload and how to choose your first press... in your reloading manuals... it's all there. Just buy a couple and read em.
<edit> and continues
Okay, so, I mentioned pistol vs rifle brass and notice there's one less step in pistol brass than rifle? Well most rifle brass has a neck that is narrower than the body... why? Well because you're going to find that the rifles have MUCH greater range and accuracy... and thus need more powder and power to move a itty bitty bullet down the much longer barrel and get the round to travel much much farther.
As such, think about it... when you constrict a water hose with a narrow opening what happens? the water jets out under pressure, well thats what happens to rifle brass. And here's the thing, brass is soft... it flows and stretches. So when you shoot a rifle round it gets longer by a bit. But in a rifle you maybe want to keep that lengthening of brass under control and get the neck back into factory shape and placement so that you can use that round in another rifle. (Actually if you're only firing that round through YOUR rifle... and only through that one rifle you might actually want to leave it in the shape it is... because that case has been custom fitted to your specific rifle and will fire more accurately in your rifle if left in that shape (yes, believe it or not rifle brass that is only going to be used in one rifle can be left unresized and may actually last longer if you don't resize it) But trimming your brass to factory spec is a good idea overall to allow it to eject more cleanly.
But here's the thing... all these steps require specific equipment to do the jobs you have to do... and part of those tools are DIES. Getting quality dies are important, CARING for them is more important. Don't ever use a boatload of force on a die, if a die isn't doing its job fairly easily... forcing it will likely be the LAST thing you want to do. Good dies are like any tool... respect it and you'll get years of faithful service out of it... treat it bad... it will fail you at the worst possible moment.
So... chosing equipment... take your sweet time on that step. Get your manuals. figure out what you want to do, figure out what you need... budget your purchases... and build up a supply of brass to practice on first.
If you get bored prepping your brass for loading... reloading might not be for you. But prepping hundreds of rounds of brass will make your loading much sweeter because you'll have lots of brass to practice on.
Learn the recipes for your brass... find out what combo of primer, powder, and bullet works best for what you want out of your initial loads. So don't go nuts and try and buy the most expensive bullet and the coolest powder and whatnot. Start with starting loads, conservative bullets and nothing fancy. Start with what WORKS first. Then gradually experiment. Don't do anything radical right off the bat. Get a chrono and pressure sensor too... I still need to get that. But as you start loading hotter rounds you need that pressure sensor so you know when your loads are getting too hot and too dangerous to use.
Just some info to help
