Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Going to reload for the first time, advice?

I have never reloaded. I want to load for three or four centerfire rifle cartridges. I will buy manuals,CDs,videos,books etc. What basic tools should I get? Which reloaders would anyone recommend? I'm not even sure what
questions to ask. I hope these are fair questions. I just don't want this to sound like "What's the best rifle to buy"? Thank you for your help, Gregory

Your question leaves alot to your personal tastes. Would you satisfied with a VW or do you want a Pourch? I've had the Lee Aniversary Kit for years. The manuel that you can buy with the kit is great for beginners. The kit can be bought through Midway USA for about $70. There are many fine press kits out there most average $225 to $250. The Dillan and RCBS are two great ones. I load for 12 rifle and and 6 pistol cartridges. I load at least 2000 rounds a year and have done so for the last 6 years. I'm happy with my Lee equipment but there again I like VWs.

Greg several manufacturers offer a "starter" kit. If possible after reading the how to sections in a couple of manuals look them over and pick one that you think you would like. Any of them will produce good reloads. There are other tools and accessories that you will want/need to go with the kit as you develop. Most of the arguments about starter kits are Ford vs Chevy arguments. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

ps. you can buy the kits cheaper than you can put together the necessaries piece by piece.

BCR

when i wanted to start loading, i bought the rcbs rockchucker kit. i found this to be an excellent starting point, and would do it again if i needed to.

if you were to go w/ the rockchucker kit, there are a couple of things not included that you may find beneficial, and am glad i got:
calipers (i think this is very important)
powder trickler (if you are shooting extruded powders, you need this)
tumbler (not neccessary, but glad i got it)

like most reloaders, i have bunches of reloading doo-dads all over the place, some extremely helpful, some gathering dust, but when you start loading for yourself, you can determine for yourself how involved you want to get. another thing to consider is a chronograph...i started loading w/o one, then broke down and bought it, and now i wouldn't try loading w/o it. the chrony helps to fill me in on 'the rest of the story'.

I agree with everything big time said, except that I havent found the need for a tumbler. I puchased a rockchucker kit and I still use all the big tools. I considered getting the less expensive tools, but in hindsight I would have replaced them all because I found that I like handloading so much. good luck, I think youll like it.
Ian

Start with the Lee anniversary reloading kit. If you like reloading and decide to do alot more of it you can upgrade. If you only do a little of it or you decide it is not for you, you can sell it for $50.00 and you learned a cheap lesson. I started with the Lee and it turned out very accurate ammo. I bought a Rockchucker press as it was a little heavier and a different scale as the Lee scale was accurate but it changed weight settings too easily. Rick

Welcome to a great fun hobby.....Been loading for 30 yrs and loaded for 20 or so calibers and worked at a commerical reloading company with a friend as a moonlighting job and shot a bunch of ammo.....as the the other post state some of the advice is the Ford/Chevy stuff but it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to go wrong with the RCBS kit ......a couple of manuals.....Hodgdon and Serria are nice.......RCBS people are very nice to deal with if you have a problem or question....and support their customers....Redding and Hornady have some speciality items that are great.....ii's really HARD to go wrong with any of the name brands and we are lucky to have such great suppliers that are supportative of the sport/hobby and their business......If you have a friend who loads somethings are so simple when you see them hands on and so complicatited when you read about the same simple task.....don't take any chances as answers to every problem are available in the manuals /help lines/ or the boards....just double check each source esp. the boards...just for safety.......get you a notebook...either plain paper or special load book and write down your loads and any special things you discover and likes of the guns and loadings........keep the area clean of primers and powder and have you some good light to see while you work/play........check around for the best price on the kit and get some cartridge loading blocks for your calibers to hold the shells while you work.....later you can get the extra fun speciality items when you need them or just want them.......and then the Dillon progressives and the neck turners and straight line seaters and other fun stuff.....that aren't absolutly necessary but nice and fun to have when the bug really gets ahold of you....enjoy the process..good luck and good shooting and loading!!!!

to reiterate what big daddy said about the notebook... this is an absolute must-have. every load i've ever assembled is in a big black 3-ring notebook, and any notes i may have included (accuracy, velocity, recoil, pressure signs, etc). so much easier to reproduce accurate loads when you have it written down. also, if i wonder if i have tried a certain combination yet, it is there, or if there seems to be a trend w/ a certain component, i can find it...