I've been on this web site since 2004. You've got some good info, from guys I have a lot of respect for, that have chimed in on this thread.
I'm pretty much self taught at the reload bench... I learned every way one can think of, on HOW NOT to do it... but then my granddad use to tell us boys when we were kids, that there is no greater teacher than pain... Some of the things I do have a reputation of being off the beaten path , so I'll let some of the guys on this thread, guide you on paying attention to some of the things I do, and loads I develop. I've learned to do a lot toward economy, that you may not find in some load manual, but it will stretch out your resources. As I have said on here often, one does not need a 500 yd load capable of killing an elk, to take down some blacktail or whitetail at 100 yds... That is considering that anywhere on the planet, 90% of all game is taken at under a 100 yds., and 99% is taken under 200 yds...
My background is learning to economize, just in case times like these roll around... which they do when we get a democRat in the White House..
I've also been a shooting instructor for Boy Scouts. And developed loads for the gun that grandpa gives his 12 yr old grandson, that beats the crap out of the poor kid, and gets dad all mad his son "isn't a real man!" because he cries after shooting grandpa's 30/06 or 300 Win Mag...
I've learned ways to get 50 to 100 plus reloads out of a piece of brass, if I have to... was a highly trained Military Medic, and can take care of all sorts of wounds... so its easy to reverse engineer that, by knowing what you need to make a load, that can be real effective on taking down game... an example being say using a 223, I can load a full power military equivalent load, with a 55 gr bullet having a muzzle velocity of 3150 fps. shoot it at a steel plate at 100 yds, and have it bounce off of it.... yet come up with a load for the same bullet, giving an MV of only 2500 fps, that will penetrate the same steel plate at 100 yds... every time. I think out of the box...
If you want reload manuals and don't want to be in a rush, peruse used book stores, here and there... over the years I've found all sorts of stuff.. a used manual for $3.00 that a gun store would sell new for $20 or more.. or used for $15 or more... I prefer manuals that are older.. before they got overly " lawyer approved".... I prefer powders that have been around forever, and still sell because they are proven... yet don't bother with the latest greatest on the shelf at your powder dealers, because over a few years, some of them just bite the dust, for being finicky....things like powders to fill your case cartridge up with... so you burn more powder, and get a lot less out of a pound of it...
and reload manuals or direction.. the internet is full of it... and stuff you don't have to pay or subscribe to.. yet their are plenty that try to con you into taking an annual subscription for $50 a year....
Here are two I refer to often, that don't cost me a penny, and they use data from a bunch of powder manufacturer or bullet manufacturers reload data... combining a lot of sources into one... both are compiled from data from ALL manufacturers into one source. It would cost someone $100s of dollars, to compile and organize, like these two sites give you for free...
https://shootersreference.com/reloadingdata/https://stevespages.com/page8a.htmReloading dies? cheapest thing on your reload bench....a pound of powder these days can run $50 to $65 easily... a good set of reloading dies can run you the same price....one is quickly gone if you shoot much... the other ( the reload dies), you can pass those down to your grandchildren...
Brands? I have multiple sets of dies, for the same caliber... RCBS for example, has a lifetime warranty... you break something, they replace it... I'm due to receive some replacement parts this week, on a couple of sets of dies that I've own 20 to 30 years now...didn't even cost me postage...
Lee Dies, I think they are the best value, even they may charge you a little bit ( like postage) to replace a part... cheap investment as they are the same cost or less of a pound of powder or a box of store ammo off the shelf...
Hope some of this may give you some ideas on how to get started...and put some thought possibilities in you head...
Last couple of months, I've been over at our local range and shooting steel plates at 300 and 400 yds...Using lowly bolt action rifles in 223...
Keep you hand to eye coordination in practice... I've been using 50, 52, 53 and 55 grain bullets, I've picked up in bulk on the internet dealers.
Burning up powder? Not really... these are loads for economic times like we get from DemocRATS in the White House.... I'm using shotgun and pistol powder in a 223 case, with either small rifle or small pistol primers ( either works just fine in these loads)... using 8.5 to 9.5 grains of powder... divide that into 7000 grains of powder in a pound...that is getting 750 + rounds out of a pound of powder... added benefit, it teaches a shooter to use the features on their scope...only a reloader can give him that sort of economical training... I'll go over to the range, in between bad weather days, and shoot 20 to 30 rounds... getting 750 reloads plus out of a pound of powder.. you can see that is a lot of practice, for the cheap...
added benefit? its not a lot of wear and tear on the barrel or the rifle... plus you never lose sight picture thru your scope, because its not that much what you'd call recoil...
Learn from other people's experiences.. it will cut your learning curve down quite a bit...
Good luck out there....