1. Why hand-loading makes “Cents”.
2. What will it cost to get
started?
3. Do I need a separate
room for this?
4. Secrets for Success & Safety
5. Ok, I have everything.. Let’s
start
6. Additional reading & web links
7. Tracking Load Data &
Results
8. Definitions &
Pictures
Why Hand-Loading Makes “Cents”
§Ammunition availability can vary greatly, and often the price is hiked up beyond affordability when you do find it
§My
ammunition is not common and I can’t find it anywhere
§At
this price, who can afford to shoot more than a couple times a year
§With
very few exceptions, you can shoot two times as much ammo if you hand-load
versus buying factory ammunition. Even cheaper if you mold your own bullets
§I
want more choices in my ammunition than what I find available in the stores
§I
want to shoot reduced power loads with less recoil
§For
Accuracy,
Affordability, and
Availability
§I’ll make this comparison using the fairly cheap 38 Special, 125gr lead in a quantity of fifty rounds. Some assumptions are made including that you already have paid for your hand-loading tools and that you have shot fifty rounds of factory ammo leaving you with 50 brass cases ready for hand-loading.
§Average
factory price of 50 rounds (125gr lead) $20.00
§Average
hand loaded price of 50 rounds (125gr lead) $9.50
|
Item
Description
|
Price/Lot
|
Qty/Lot
|
Price/Each
| ||
|
Brass
|
$0.00
|
50
|
$0.00
| ||
|
Primer
|
$41.21
|
1,000
|
$0.04
| ||
|
Powder
|
$24.59
|
7,000
|
$0.02
| ||
|
Bullet
|
$6.50
|
50
|
$0.13
| ||
|
Total
Cost per Round
|
$0.19
| ||||
|
|
|
Total
Cost per Box of Ammo
|
$9.50
|
||
What Will it Cost to get Started?
There
are some variability in this equation & you can get started for even less
$$ than what I’ll show here however this method that I’m sharing is where most
people start & for good reason. The materials I’ll list here will allow you
to start & keep hand-loading
for
years without having to buy the next step up at a later date.
I
started hand-loading over
forty years ago and have used more expensive equipment through the years
however I have gone back to the basics recently and I enjoy it even more now.
I’m
going to provide a materials list in this package with average 2017 cost data
for each item. You may find these prices vary depending on where you live
however you should be able to buy everything online from anywhere within the
USA.
What Will it Cost to get Started.. (Non-Recurring Cost)
§Lee
Single Stage Press $37.99
§Hornady
Die Set $41.99§Lee Hand Primer $20.99
§Lee Shell Holder set $34.99
§Lee Primer Shell Holder Set $15.99
§Lee Chamfer Tool $4.99
§Lee Primer Pocket Reamer $4.99
Powder Scale $65.99
Total Investment: $227.92
What Will it Cost to get Started.. (Recurring Cost)
Sample
round is 38 Special:
§Brass (100) $17.29
§Primers
(100) $3.50
§Powder (1 Pound) $22.00
($1.41/100 rounds)
§Bullets (100) $12.99
(Cheaper in bulk)
§Case
Lube Spray (1 can) $8.49
Total Investment: $64.27
Do I Need a Separate Room for This?
I’ve always been fortunate enough to have
a separate room for my hobby however it isn’t required and many folks heavily
involved in hand-loading do this in their Living Room, Kitchen, Dinning Room,
Back Porch, etc. Many take their equipment on the road while camping or to the
range as well.
Think about
high humidity & grease & oils as your enemy. On the flip side you
wouldn’t want to contaminate food prep surfaces in your kitchen with lube or
sprays either. When I spray lube my cases for sizing I do so in the garage or
outside and then carry them back into my reloading room.
I started hand-loading
literally
with a hand-loader, not the typical bench mounted units most think of. This
gave me even more flexibility as to where I worked. You can still buy these
from Lee for around $37.00. I’ve taken mine with me to the range so I can
change & test out new loads on the fly.
Many folks also mount their bench presses
to a board and then C-clamp the board temporarily to a table or bar top (taking
care not to mar the surface).
Secrets for Success & Safety
Just the Facts:
•Contaminants
such as oils can & will kill primers. Keep your primers away from case lube
or other oily things such as fingers. Handle as little as possible
•Case
Length uniformity is a key factor in maintaining uniform crimping, uniform case
mouth belling & uniform bullet seating depth. Lee’s “Zip Trim” costs around
$20 and works very simply & well.
•Distractions
are the enemy of hand-loading safety. When you start down the road of
hand-loading try to do so with a minimum of distractions such as other people,
TV, etc. As you become more comfortable with what you are doing, by all means
incorporate others to help or learn with you. Be especially diligent when
measuring and dispensing gun powder. THE BIGGEST
REASON FOR FAILURES OR ACCIDENTS AT THE RANGE are
incorrect
powder used or to small or too large of powder charge. Damage to firearm or
personal injury can occur.
Safety:
•Keep
open flames away from reloading materials. Do not smoke while reloading.
•Do
not eat while handling lead bullets or reloading
OK, I have Everything… Let’s Start
About dies: there
are steel dies which require that you lube your brass before inserting into the
sizing die and then there are carbide dies which do not require pre-lubing the
brass. Make sure you know which dies you have and lube when required. It is
better to over lube than under lube and stick your brass in the die. Over
lubing is still a problem as it will likely put dents in your brass after
sizing so you will have to experiment to find the “correct” amount.
Step 1.
Adjusting your Decapping/sizing dies:
Each die set will come with instructions so I
won’t go through every detail here as your set
may vary slightly. You will begin with your decapper/sizing die. The purpose of
this die is to remove the old/fired
primer from a used case & to re-size the brass to specifications after firing. The decapping pin typically protrudes
about a ¼” below the bottom of the die.
Down too far and it will likely bend/break and not down far enough it won’t push the old/fired primer out of the
brass. You will need to make sure that you have
the proper shell holder inserted in the bottom of the press then pull the press
handle raising the shell holder to the
top of it’s stroke. After you have done
this, insert your decapping/sizing die
into the press. Screw it down until it seats against the shell holder. At this point tighten the locking ring
around the die to lock it in this position.
This
step is complete.
Step 2. Lube
your brass if required and decap/resize:
Load a shell into the shell holder and pull
the press handle moving the shell upward into the
die. Sometimes you will have to help align the shell with the die as it enters.
Pull the handle until the shell holder
tops-out against the bottom of the die. That will ensure that the case as been fully sized. If you are
resizing a “bottle-necked” case such as a 30- 30
as an example, you may have to adjust your sizing die up or down to correctly
form the case neck. Read about
adjustments in your die instructions. Perform
this action until all cases that you
intend to hand-load have been re-sized. After sizing, if case lube was used, wipe each case clean to remove all lube. The graphic shown
below by Shooter's
Forum member
UncleNick shows
how a case can be lengthened when being squeezed down:
This
step is complete.
Step 3. For
3-die sets: Insert the second die
which bells the mouth of the shell
For straight-walled cases such as 38 special,
etc.., this die will bell the mouth so you can
start a bullet into the case later. You don’t want to enlarge the opening much,
just enough to barely start a bullet.
Adjust the die down until you achieve the desired flare. Be careful to not flare too much or you will
have scrapped that case. Flaring will vary between
cases if their overall case length varies so before you bell the mouth or press
in the primer, you should always check
over-all case length 1st to
see if you need to trim.
This step is complete.
Step 4. Now
we want to clean the primer pocket with the primer pocket reamer. You insert
the correct end of the double ended
reamer and twist back and forth until you have removed
debris from the pocket. I typically twist back and forth three times then turn the case upright and tap on the bench top to
dislodge everything. Once this is done I move
onto the hand priming. I hand prime the cases one at a time. Insert the primers
hollow side up in the primer tray. Make
sure you follow the reloading manual for recommended
primer size. For instance if you use Winchester primers and you are hand loading 38 Special. You would use small pistol
primers, not the large pistol primers or any
of the rifle primers.
Before
priming, make sure you are wearing safety glasses.
Insert the
correct primer tool shell holder then insert one case at a
time. You squeeze the trigger and this will take
some pressure
to fully seat the primer
into
the primer pocket. Check to make sure the
primer is
flush or slightly below flush
on
each shell as you perform this task.
This step is complete.
Step 5. Now
we want to measure the correct powder load, measured in grains. Again this information should come directly from your
reloading manual. In fact I like to compare loads
between two or more manuals to make sure I’m not reading a typo or my own mistake. This is important so don’t take this
step lightly. You need to know that you are not
exceeding the maximum charge recommended. Different load manuals may show different charge weights however you should
see that they are very comparable. If you see
a gross difference in charge weights you need to look even further to other
load manuals. Be sure what you are doing
here. I always recommend beginning with the “starting
weight” listed in every manual. That assures that you have a safe load. You can
either weigh the powder on a digital or
beam scale. The powder can be trickled onto the scale or you can use a powder measure which dumps the required
amount into each case. Always verify that the powder measure doesn’t
change the amount dumped after initially
setting it. I like to verify every fourth powder drop on the scale. Load every case with powder & visually look at each
case to see if they look filled to the same level.
Remember to always verify you are using the correct powder!
This step is complete.
Step 6. Now
we want to insert the case back into the press. We are now using the bullet
seating die which is combined with the
crimping all in one. This will take some amount of trial & error to get both the bullet seated to the
recommended depth and properly crimped. To start
you should pull the handle of the press forcing the case all the way to the top
of the stroke. The die should be removed
before doing so. After the press is all the way to the top, re-insert the die and screw in until it stops. Then lower
the shell back to the bottom. You should
now be able to insert the bullet into the top of the case. Before raising the shell & bullet back to the
top, you need to back out the bullet seating punch (by turning it counter clockwise). Now with the shell & bullet
raised to the top of the press you
should screw the bullet seating punch down (clockwise) until snug.
This step is continued on next page.
Step 6. Continued: Then
drop the shell & bullet back down and continue to screw the seating punch clockwise four turns. Raise the shell
& bullet up to top and see how far the bullet seated, check the recommended combined overall length of the case
& bullet and adjust as required. You
also have to raise the entire die up or down in the press to achieve the proper amount of crimping. Trial & error.
Once setup correctly. Make sure your die is locked
in place so it doesn’t move. Again, the brass length will affect crimping so
keep your brass uniform in length.
This step is complete.
Step 7. Take
hand-loaded ammo to the range and fire them. There is a lot of satisfaction
building your own ammo and then actually firing it successfully. Welcome to the
world of hand- loading, shooting & repeating. Have fun but always be safe
and stay within the published specifications..
Additional Reading
§The
previous instructions are meant to get you started and as with any endeavor
there is much more you will add later such as case length trimers, Tumblers to
clean your brass, different bullets, powder measures, scales, etc.
§I
currently reload for seven different
calibers which drives more dies, shell holders components such as different
powders, bullets, primer sizes, brass and on & on.
§Make
sure you start with at least one reloading manual and add as many as you can
afford to, as soon as you can. I like the Lee Reloading manual, Hornady, Speer,
Lyman 50th
edition, Hodgdon, etc. There are also many online load books. I almost entirely
load with Hodgdon powders so I like to compare what is mentioned in the
reloading manuals with the online load data of Hodgdon
§Another
note is that I identified bits and pieces of reloading tools that are needed.
Often you can find complete starting kits at reduced prices online. Popular
reloading website suppliers are noted below but not limited to:
§On
Facebook. Look up a group called “Reloading Central”. It
is a closed group and you will have to request membership. I belong to that
group and there are almost 43,000 members. A great place to learn more, ask
questions and just hang out with like minded individuals. As with other things,
look around the web and participate. Just remember to never trust somebody’s
load data unless you can verify that it is published somewhere else as well.
§Good
luck and go have some fun. I enjoy hand-loading/reloading almost
as much as shooting!
Website: http://1895gunners.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/real1895gunner
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1895gunner/
Email:
1895gunner@Comcast.net
Tracking Load Data & Results
Consider a notebook, spreadsheet or some
other method of recording what loads you try & the results at the range
from each load. I’ve developed my own spreadsheets for each cartridge I load
and each of the different bullets, powder, primers, etc.
This helps me track what works and
doesn’t work as well. I use these sheets to also record actual range
performance to include group size, bullet drop at varying yardages, etc.
There are many examples available free on
the Internet or you can buy software programs designed just for this purpose.
Definitions
§Single
Stage press: Uses one die at a time for one process at a time
§Turret
press: A press that has three or more die positions & rotates for die
access. Can reload from start to a finish without changing out dies
§Progressive
press: A semi or fully automated press with multiple stations including dies,
primers, bullets, brass, powder when actuated builds a round in stages without
leaving the press. When cycled completely a finished round pops out of the
press
§Charge:
Usually relates to the weight of the powder being used, measured in grains. There
are 7,000 grains in a pound
§Decap:
Removing the old/fired primer from the brass case
§Primed:
When a new live/primer has been inserted into a brass case
§Sized:
When a brass case has been run through the sizing die. This process returns a
slightly damaged or fired piece of brass to industry specifications ready for
hand loading
