The Shootin Iron

Reloading How's & Why's, Part 2

Dec. 01, 2005 By Duane Otis

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Reloading Equipment

In the January issue we covered the basic safety issues and whether or not you might be a likely candidate to consider reloading. This issue will cover what you need and describe what the tool does in the operation to complete a cartridge.

Tools

Before parting with your money, consider what you will need. I think a simple start is best. Rather than trying to load every cartridge you ever heard of, consider your individual needs. As a CAS shooter, you will probably only need a few cartridges in the beginning. The reason I say, in the beginning, is that a strange thing almost always somehow happens to a new CAS shooter. You have a few guns, you reload for them. You work up safe and accurate loads. They fit your guns, the range requirements and the rules. You are probably satisfied, then you will start thinking of other gun and calibers. You will justify the purchase of other guns and different calibers just because you can save so much money with your reloading. So a seemingly endless loop, of guns and loading equipment begins. Just be forewarned.

Reloading Press

This is probably the biggest single investment. Sure, you can load with hand tools but it will get old very quickly. The press comes in many variations. It can be a single stage, a turret type, or a progressive. Your pocket book may be the deciding factor. Again consider your needs. How many rounds will you need to keep going. How easy is it to change to another caliber? Are some of the components interchangeable? Companies are making quality tools. Get a recent gun magazine. Look for the add dresses, send for catalogs. Ask your shooting friends that reload for a demonstration. Perhaps consider sharing some equipment with friends. The function of the press is to resize the fired cartridge case, replace the fired primer and seat the bullet.

Reloading Scale

Essential for checking the weight of powder charges and bullets. You are buying accuracy. This device measures with accuracy enough to keep you and your gun in one piece. Don't even think of reloading without one. Almost all are accurate to within 1/10 of a grain. Just so you can appreciate that: there are 7000 grains in one pound! You will be adding or subtracting in very small amounts, so please buy the best you can afford. Electronic scales are now available starting at about $150.00. They are really no more accurate for our purposes. but they are so very much faster that you will want one down the line. Keep in mind that these are sensitive instruments. Protect them. Also consider what you will be weighing. Many scales have a limit of about 500 grains. That will cover 99% of all your loading needs. But, if you are interested in Black Powder loading with those big 500+ grain bullets, you may be out of luck when comparing bullet weights.

Powder Measure

>From a variety of makers. Purpose, you fill with correct powder, crank the handle in the correct manner, a revolving drum turns and drops the desired pre-set powder charge. Greatly speeds up the loading process. Look for quality. Most have the same features, some a bit more convenient than other in the way you set charges and the ability to return to that charge again by a micrometer like device. Again think of your needs. If you are only going to load pistol, you certainly don't need a huge measure.

Reloading Manual

Spoke of this last month. You can not guess on these things. You are dealing with very small things that can really hurt you. Buy at least one. Yes, there have been typos in just about every one ever published. Soon you will acquire knowledge on the burning rates of powder and many things you never heard of. It is always wise to consult at least one other source of information. Some of the gun magazines routinely publish loading data. Same warning. Just because the source says it worked for them does not mean that it will work for you. The load made by your best friend is for his gun. Your gun may be an older or weaker design. As a CAS shooter, you are likely to acquire an old gun that perhaps was made over 100 years ago. Let us be aware, that as great as these old guns were and are, that we can not really document what ever got pushed through them, or what abuse they may have suffered. Get a qualified gunsmith, no not some other guy you know, I mean a qualified gunsmith. Someone who is paid for his knowledge and experience. Don't be foolish. Someone blows up a gun every day. Don't you be the next. If the gunsmith says don't do it; don't. Hang it on the wall! Some of the older guns can be loaded with black powder for which they were designed and continue to be fired in a safe manner.

Measuring Tools

To my mind, the most important tools after a good press and the loading dies. Simply, if you can not measure it correctly, it may not work. Buy the best you can. You would laugh, but I have met many folks in reloading their cartridges that used a $.19 school ruler. Please spare me. OK. you have a great woodworking tool that will measure in 64'ths. Better, but still no cigar. The key to making safe and accurate cartridges is that they are the same. Consistent. Simple. Everyone in the box or riding on your belt, should be a twin of the one next to it. If they are not the same in any fashion, more or less powder, different primer, different bullet, different length, different crimp, etc.; they will not hit near the same place. Period. Wasting your time. Buy factory ammunition. Don't even start. You will need extra cash to buy factory ammunition or quality handloads made by someone else. Get yourself an instrument called a dial caliper. A good one, is should have an accuracy of at least .001. Try for one that is 6" in length. Yes, I know you don't have cartridges that long, but you have to be able to hold the device, so why not have one long enough to hold. The other device is a 1" micrometer. This again is an instrument. Treat it right. Keep both in their cases when not being used. The micrometer will probably be able to read to .0001 when you learn how. Read the instructions. Never lend them to anyone. With these two instruments you will know what is happening to your cases when you fire them. You will be able to set up the other devices correctly. You will be able to determine the critical measurements that you will need to know.

Case Trimmer

When you shoot cartridges, several things happen beside the noise and hitting (hopefully) your target. The dimensions of the case will change, due to the tremendous force of pressure exerted upon it at firing. You will pull those cases out of a chamber in a lever gun, with a large amount of force. That case is still in the chamber while the extractor is trying to pull it out. Something has to give. You guessed it, the case will stretch. It is rather a soft brass alloy. To load it back again, so that it will fit the next time, we have to squeeze it back down to close to the original size. In combination, we find the operations of firing, pulling it from the chamber and re-sizing will all contribute to making the case a bit too long to fit in the chamber again. So you that nifty dial micrometer to determine if too long. Then with you case trimmer, you neatly trim off the excess not wanted or needed. Most are manual, newer version are electric. Case trimming is probably the worst, most non-fun thing you will ever do in the reloading process, Grit your teeth, but check the length, trim them, and get it done.

Deburring Tool

Small tool that removes burrs and very lightly puts a bevel on the inside and sometimes on the outside of the case you have trimmed so neatly. You need one.

Loading Block

Plastic, wood. This device holds the cartridge case when in the loading process. They all seem to work. I like the wooden one designed just for a particular case head dimension. Sure beats a paper bag. Much better than cases standing all over the bench. Cheap. Get several.

Case Lube

Little goes a long way. Used when you don't have carbide type dies. Yes, you must use it. When re-sizing the case, you are squeezing the case backs towards its original size. If not used, the case will stick within the steel walls of the sizing die. No doubt. It will. You will not like loading at that point. You will not like anyone at that time. Your curses will be heard clear to the next county. You will need a special tool to undo. Not fun. Follow the directions.

Priming Device

So many kinds. Some are attached to the reloading tool, some hand held. Some are dedicated to just putting in a new primer. Again the key thing is that your are using the correct primer. The primer pocket has to be in condition to accept the new primer. Many folks get automatic primer feeds. Bit complicated to explain here, but the device picks up a new primer and puts it in the right place to be inserted in the next case. I am partial to doing it with a hand held tool as I really want to examine each and every case both inside and outside before the next stage. The auto types will keep you from handling each primer and generally quickens the process. Be aware that primers are dangerous. Keep them in original containers. These critters have a big bite. Treat them with a great amount of respect. Read the manuals!

Shell Holders

This small device holds the cartridge in the reloading press. Probably made and marked correctly. They almost never break or mess up. They almost always get lost in the clutter on your bench. Maybe you should have two in each size you will need because you will most certainly misplace the one you need.

Reloading Dies

The tools that will be inserted into the loading press, to re-size the case, and seat the new bullet in the case and finally crimp the case against the bullet. All currently made ones will work. Different features from different makers. Check for warranty, etc. Shop around. Buy the highest quality. If these don't work right, you are back to wasting your time.

Primers

Buy the correct size for the application. Buy a bunch at one time. Remember trying for sameness? If you know you will be reloading several hundred cases, buy a thousand primers. Or 5k. This way you will have the same "lot" of primers, made the same day, on the same machine, with the same characteristics, etc. Important. Treat them right.

Powder & Bullets

You get to pick. What will you reload for? Back to the manuals. Not the word of even your best friend. Read the manuals. Most, if not all makers go to great lengths to have you buy their products. They don't want to be sued because you blew up your gun, two fingers and put a hole in your hat, They want you to buy more of their products. Let them do the experimenting. In a way you are paying for them to do that to assure they you have a safe product. Point being, write to them for a copy of their loading booklets. Read them. Don't just toss them on the bench and glance from time to time. Really read them. There is a lot of "fine print" in them as you will notice. That "fine print" is usually very important to your well being.

Neat Things

Powder funnel. If not dropping charge directly from powder measure, you will need one. Yes, they do come in sizes, to fit the different case diameters. Primer pocket cleaning tools. Neat, the object being to clean out things not wanted. You do not want to change the dimensions, just clean. Get two to fit each size you will need. These should come with guarantee of being lost in vicinity of loading bench. Safety Glasses:

Wish you would make a promise to yourself and loved ones to obtain and ALWAYS wear. Please. Don't want to sound like mother hen. We have always heard it. Nothing ever happened...yeah, right! Pay a visit to a local emergency ward some day, bring along a book, you may have to sit there a spell, but sure enough, just like taxes, some wretched soul will come through the doors with something either in their eye, pushed in their eye, stuck in their eye or some such thing. What ever it is, it is terrible. Tragic and could have been avoided. You too can have a pair of safety glasses or goggles for about $5.00. Any hardware store, tool store. Please. This is one thing you should have anyway. Get a pair, the very next time you are out. Do it. If you destroy your eyes, you will not be shooting. And that would be a shame.

Free Things

Get a few different gun magazines or latest copy of GUN DIGEST or HANDLOADER'S DIGEST. Drop a line to the companies. Some may require a fee to cover the postage. Send for them.

Costs

Minimum $200-250 to whatever you can afford. Look for some specials on pre-packaged outfits. You may save some costs over the individual purchase of items as the manufacturer can save on shipping costs,etc.

Reminder

If you are seeing this you probably have a handle on the use of computer and most certainly you have a modem up and running. Take advantage of all the web sites you can. There are many shooting related web sites showing up. Use your favorite web search tool under a search of "guns" ; you will be surprised how many out there. Become familiar with USENET, subscribe or least look at the USENET group of "rec.guns". There will be thousands of folks posting their messages about anything and everything in relation to guns. You will see many posted messages and replies in relation to reloading. But you have to promise, not to use loads you may see posted within these messages without first checking them out in the manuals. Typos come much too easy for most of us.

Enjoy. Save some money. Shoot more. Shoot better. The reloading process can be a chore or a fascinating new endeavor. Your choice. But, the first time you send a bullet on its way to the target and it does what you want, you will experience a very good feeling. You will kind of identify a bit closer to all those folks that have come before us, who crafted their own ammunition for reasons of survival. In our coming issues, I will try to cover each step of the process. By that time however, most of you will be "old hands" and maybe be yawning a bit at my ramblings. If I want an endless task, we can explore casting your bullets! As a teaser, I will let you in on a historical fact. During the "Indian Wars" of the last Century out very own United States Army supplied materials and encouraged the troops all over the West to "roll" their own. That's OK. Got you interested and maybe even started!

Good Shootin! "Tioga"
Duane Otis
Walnut Creek, CA