New to reloading

[JB101]

+1 on wet tumbling I think it gives better results especially if used with a bit of citric acid powder added to the water. I then dry my cases in a cheap dehydrator or you can air dry or oven dry.
Buy the factory ammo and reuse the brass unless you come across a deal on either once fired or new brass.
Beam scales are great as a back up or initial use but I find digital are quicker.For loading pistol you’ll only need them to check weigh the powder (say every 10 rounds).
I love the 45 round both ACP & Long Colt the recoil is more of a push compared to the snap of 9mm & easier to load as components are bigger & easier to handle.
If you get a 45acp semi auto then do get a taper crimp die for reloading.

[loiner1965]

+1 on wet tumbling I think it gives better results especially if used with a bit of citric acid powder added to the water. I then dry my cases in a cheap dehydrator or you can air dry or oven dry.
Buy the factory ammo and reuse the brass unless you come across a deal on either once fired or new brass.
Beam scales are great as a back up or initial use but I find digital are quicker.For loading pistol you’ll only need them to check weigh the powder (say every 10 rounds).
I love the 45 round both ACP & Long Colt the recoil is more of a push compared to the snap of 9mm & easier to load as components are bigger & easier to handle.
If you get a 45acp semi auto then do get a taper crimp die for reloading.

i made a home made wet tumbler from a car wiper motor and the brass was blinging after a few hours.
i bought a chinese one of the bay as it was cheap, after 1 hour the brass was acceptable and clean.
lee make the best crimp dies in my opinion

[loiner1965]

just for you.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iW9z1LaKM4

[tinbum]

just for you.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iW9z1LaKM4

Thankyou. Mrs Bum and I have watched all the vids we can find, there are some youtubers that just come across as believable and not trying to sell something.

[DedIdick]

There are various little tricks of the trade so to say which will make some things easier.

eg. When setting up/checking pistol loads (usually 2-5 grains) thrown with a powder measure, don't bother trying to get accuracy weighing every case full. Throw 10 loads, and then check the weight & divide by 10, gets you a better average load.

Beware of some of the "cheaper" digital scales (kind they use for coke etc.) some are very inaccurate with No repeatability. A good Beam Scale is better. If you buy a Lee reloading kit; don't even open the scale in box, just throw it away (or try and sell it) and buy a RCBS/Redding/Lyman/Hornady version instead.

[aris]

IMHO over cleaning your brass is unnecessary for most people . Clean the primer pocket and perhaps the inside of the neck using a wire brush, and you are good to go.

One cheap way of getting into loading is to use a lee loader. It is slower, and perhaps a bit tedious, but it does the job, and is a great piece of SHTF equipment to have on the side even in addition to a bench mounted press as it is very portable. You could use this to reload at the range. They are £35 from CDSG and the only additional thing you need is a rubber mallet - plus of course primer, bullet, and powder.

Plenty of vids on youtube showing how it works.

[tacfoley]

There are various little tricks of the trade so to say which will make some things easier.

eg. When setting up/checking pistol loads (usually 2-5 grains) thrown with a powder measure, don't bother trying to get accuracy weighing every case full. Throw 10 loads, and then check the weight & divide by 10, gets you a better average load.

Beware of some of the "cheaper" digital scales (kind they use for coke etc.) some are very inaccurate with No repeatability. A good Beam Scale is better. If you buy a Lee reloading kit; don't even open the scale in box, just throw it away (or try and sell it) and buy a RCBS/Redding/Lyman/Hornady version instead.

To that I would add try and get an OLDER RCBS beam scale - the 10-10 is THE best of the bunch - made by Ohaus. If you could ever lay your paws on an older Ohaus, do so.

And get a decent dial/digital caliper, too - none of the Acme type for $20 or so.Figure on getting one made by Starrett or Mitutoyo - I have both since I began reloading in the late '60's. They are both still impressively accurate when checked against standard pieces. I also have a couple of Mauser Vernier gauges, but it seems that these days nobody can be a$$ed to learn to read one.

The latest Lyman reloading book is THE one to get, IMO.

[thisisdonald]

The latest Lyman reloading book is THE one to get, IMO.

Cheers for the recommendation.. I always value your posts Tac, and I'll pick this book up based on your advice. Theres so much shite out there, and it's like hiring a joiner off of gumtree, I'd much rather take the advice of a friend.
I got the richard lee book when I started reloading, but quickly realised I was technically in line with what it was saying.. now I'm looking for books with data that I can use... even though I'm only using a few powders..

Cheers mate