Here we go again. I will put new stuff in bold to make it easier to find when skimming. I will try to piece together some useful information here for beginners. NBraun made some similar comments to what I will cover. I will probably edit this post a few times, but I will post below when I do. It also looks like we will have a tremendous resource in Stroker.
Disclaimers
1. I am a skilled reloader. I am past novice and beginner, but I am not an expert. If you ask me why people turn necks, I will tell you they do it to make neck tension more uniform and to help with bullet/bore concentricity. If you ask me how to figure out how much of an improvement you might see from neck turning, I will help you find an article by an expert. If you ask me if I turn necks, I will tell you, "Not yet."
2. When I tell you what I think, I have zero expectation that you will think like me; I am merely trying to make it easier for you to determine whether or not what I am saying applies to you and whether or not you should just ignore whatever I say.
3. I am an engineer. If you show me how I am wrong, I will thank you and revise my thinking. If it seems appropriate info for beginners, I will edit this post and give you credit.
There is no one way to reload. There is no one reason to reload. There is no one standard of acceptable ammo performance. In that vein, I will start with some analogies so that beginners might have an easy time decoding vocabulary that I use.
Plinking = Cruising Shooting/Driving for the pure enjoyment of it. It does not matter if you are in a 100 year old car that only goes 10 mph. You may push a couple corners, but nobody has a stopwatch.
Hunting = Enjoying your favorite road in a car of reasonable or better performance. Knowing what you are doing is important so you don't cause an accident for yourself or anybody else. Doing it "right" is important, but you really only have to get it right today once.
Competition (3 gun, cowboy, pin shooting, etc.) = Best I can come up with Autocross and Rallycross. Runs are shorter, speed is as important as precision. You don't have to be perfect, but you have to be quick and consistently good. These shoots are "can you hit the target fast."
Match Shooting (target) = "Traditional" Racing. You have to do 100 laps and they all have to be perfect. You are going to get tired before the end and that will affect your performance.
Bench Rest = Drag racing. You don't have to be fast in Bench rest, though it helps. I pair these up because the equipment becomes so specialized that a purpose built example really doesn't do anything else well, and you have to rebuild frequently.
I am listing these first, because all five take different kinds of ammunition, optimized for different goals. Just like cars, there can be some overlap, depending on classes. You will eventually have to decide what kind of ammunition you are trying to make, as that will guide not only how you do it, but what kind of equipment to invest in. Tools are tools and all of the tool buying guidelines apply.
Here is the equipment list from my other post:
Lee Hand Press (this does prime, but you have to handle the primers), Breech Lock $54 (breech lock is very worth it) https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1013017131?pid=650614
I use mostly Lee dies, but all brands are good enough to start and Lee are "low end" (still better than me) https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101774921
Digital Calipers (Amazon, Hammer store, etc.) $10
Digital Scale (Amazon) $10 https://smile.amazon.com/joyliveCY-Digital-Precision-Backlight-Function/dp/B07ZKR9582/ref=sr_1_52?dchild=1&keywords=digital+scale+100g&qid=1596593212&s=industrial&sr=1-52
I use Lee powder dippers $12, but Lee dies come with one and one is enough if you want to save the $12. You can also make your own from empty cases and stiff wire https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101284828?pid=943305
oops, I had only a tray, here is a whole tool Primer Tool $60 https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012924740?pid=319794 I use the Lee equivalent, which is highly regarded but needs inserts for different case heads. I think I would try this universal one if I was starting over. You can get the Lee equivalent for 1/2 that with a single insert, 3/4 of that with a whole set of inserts. I think a universal one would pay for itself with convenience.
Powder Pan $6 https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012901924?pid=187991
(added) Bullet puller $16 (how to get a bullet out of a case without firing) https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012714588?pid=215517
I am the only person that I know that uses a Lee Hand press as much as I do. Most people are smart enough to at least get a single stage press that mounts to a bench. I need to get that smart. Using a hand press is hard work in addition to being slow. What do you do with a Lee Hand press after you get a better press? Leave a dedicated decapping die in (removing spent primers) and deprime while watching a movie. Take it to the range and work up loads there.
In regards to books, if you are going to reload, you need a good manual. The lucky part is that they are all good. You can find loading data online all day long; the data in the book is nice, but not why you need the book. The first half of the manual is safety and technique. That is the part you want. You are playing with really high pressures. A 20" barreled .308 launching a 165 grain bullet at 2700 fps is a 3800 HP engine, right next to your face. You want to be able to look at your fired ammo and chronograph data and make sure you are staying in the safe zone. It is just like learning how to measure cylinder wear and how to check for detonation by reading spark plugs. That 3800 HP engine has no way to retard the timing if something is off, it just goes.
Safety Caution: Chances are, you like performance. It can be tempting to talk yourself into thinking that pushing just a little more is safe based on rationalizations of comparing data to this or that. Do you know anybody that has windowed a block? That would be a blown up gun. You can buy a beefier connecting rod for your engine, but you can't buy a beefier bolt for your gun. If you want or need a little more oomph, get a firearm chambered in a more powerful cartridge. Your equipment won't wear out as fast and you will likely have better accuracy. Max power loads are very rarely max accuracy loads.
- How do I figure out what cartridge to learn to load first?
This one is easy, its the same way you pick the first car you want to autocross. Anything will help you learn, so pick what strikes your fancy.
- What kinds of loading equipment is there and how do I figure out what I want/need?
Basic formats are single stage and progressive. Progressive has a rotating table that does multiple steps with each lever pull. You have four (or five) cases in at once. One is getting a bullet seated, one getting filled with powder, one is getting primed, one is getting sized and maybe deprimed. Every pull of the lever you put in a case, put in a bullet, pull the lever, and a loaded round comes out.
With a single stage press, you do each of the above as individual setups, but will generally only have a setup for sizing (depriming maybe at the same step, maybe not), and seating.
If you plan on shooting hundreds of rounds at a time, and doing that often, progressive is the only way to go. Competition shooters generally use progressive presses. Match Target and Benchrest generally shoot fewer rounds in a string and use single stage. Here is why:
A progressive press can make ammunition that is just as accurate as anything else when everything is perfect. But it makes errors harder to detect. Match Target shooters generally want to feel each step happening. Priming with a hand primer so that you can feel the primer seating and visually inspect each primer for proper seating. If something feels different for that one primer, you find out why. When seating the bullet, every one should feel the same. If one feels different, that is likely a difference in neck tension, which will have a difference in point of impact with respect to the others in that batch. A progressive press, in doing multiple steps at once, turns that feedback into noise.
So why "settle" for potentially lower accuracy of a progressive? One, perfect in equals perfect out. Two, the "accuracy lost" is small. For a Match Target shooter, a single shot off by an additional .25 MOA (Minute Of Angle) can be a dropped point. For a Benchrest shooter, a .25 MOA group means you are in the last half of the pack. For Competition shooting where you are shooting at targets the size of paper plates and you either hit or you didn't, .25 MOA becomes so small it it hard to even measure. Every type of competition focuses on a different blend of attributes, with accuracy always being one of them. If you are looking at speed in acquiring targets, moving shooting positions under time, and other "practical" kinds of things, the difference in accuracy is often imperceptible. For reference, most quality pistol ammo is good for about 4 MOA, while most pistols that the ammo is used in are only good for about 16 MOA. The difference between 16 and 16.25 is a non-issue. Most Match Target rifles are better than .5 MOA. The difference between .5 and .75 is pretty big. Bench rest groups are measured to three decimal places. Note: my .25 MOA number was arbitrary and just implies something small, but measurable with care.
Many top Match/Benchrest shooters use high end regular (but extra fancy) reloading dies that go in a regular press for bullet seating. Many also use a different kind of die that is used with a tiny arbor press.
Hunting ammo is usually made in small enough quantities that press type does not matter, since most hunters need a few shots to check zero and one for the animal.
Plinking does not really involve extreme accuracy, so any kind of press is fine here, too.
- How to LS Swap this?
Okay, this is mostly a joke, but not really. The Dillon progressive presses are the LS of the reloading world. Other companies make things, but they really don't stack up. I have a friend (also an engineer) who got a good deal a different (still top) brand and fixed it up to be as rigid and consistent as a Dillon. By the time he was done, he spent as much as just buying a Dillon. If you have a motor and want LS performance, maybe you can hop up to get it. If someone wants to head to the wrecking yard and buy LS performance, but does not want to spend LS money, there is really nothing there.
If you want a good progressive, just save up and by Dillon; they are the gold standard. You can buy used, but a used Dillon press is still worth 85% of new because they don't wear out. I have seen small reloading companies closing down and selling gear, it has only ever been Dillon equipment set up to be automated.
- Other equipment
Loading trays. Loading trays hold brass while you are working and help you organize. If you use them, get one for each step you are tracking, don't put them next to each other, and double check your work. It is possible with many pistol loads, and some rifle loads, to put the correct amount of powder into a case twice. That is a very bad day. When I use my hand press, The case gets powder added and the bullet seated without me ever putting the case down. When I do get a single stage press, I will do it the same way. I can't double load if I never put the case down. It is one of the things that slows me down, but I am always okay with slowing down for safety in reloading.
- Loading location. This seems like it would be easier than it is. I will cover pro's and cons's of weighing charges vs. powder measures which will factor in to location later. It is nice to be comfortable, but reloading scales are very sensitive. If you are too close to the scale, your own breath will change its measured value. HVAC and ceiling fans and regular fans can all change your readings. This is important if you are working on near max loads and/or accuracy loads. Find someplace that needs environment control as infrequently as possible. When you need HVAC, turn it on but do things that don't require weighing. Turn off the HVAC and weigh. Small closets (like hall closets) can be made into good stations as you can close the door, lock it if necessary in your household, and the close walls block most drafts. Likewise, anywhere with a downdraft can also cause reading errors on your scale. Next to a window in the winter is an example.
Choosing a scale - scales are either digital or beam. Most people like digital because they are easier. It is important to remember that all measurement devises lie to you. The higher the quality and setup, the smaller the lie. Remember that for a digital scale, precision and accuracy are not the same. The scale may read to 1/10th grain, but the accuracy may be ±.3 or worse. I use digital, but I check for drift each measurement, measuring multiple times, and I re-tare every half dozen to dozen measurements, depending on how the day is going. A good beam scale is a good scale; they are slower and more cumbersome to use, but if you are careful they actually lie less. Here is a bit of anecdotal evidence. I have a good friend who is one of my target shooting mentors. He is a retired engineer, and the last 15 years or so of his career was spent designing high end medical manufacturing equipment. The equipment, more often than not, would use high end load cells (hundreds to thousands of dollars per load cell, but not high load ratings). He is far more informed than most on the reliability and use of load cells (what digital scales use). He uses beam scales.
Weighing charges vs. Throwing charges - This is very similar to discussing MAF vs. MAP. Both systems, when done properly, yield good results. Each system handles different parts of the situation better than the other. You need a scale, because even if you are throwing charges (using a powder measure), you need to initially check against a scale to set the powder measure. This means you can start scale only, and add in a powder measure when you can afford one. In this situation, money and quality seem to go together. I use a Lee press, I use a lot of Lee dies, I figured I would try the Lee powder measure, since it was cheap. I tried it once, and then weighed all my charges. I would like to get a nice one, RCBS comes to mind, I am sure Dillon is good. If you really want good, see what the benchrest shooters are using.
How can measuring by volume be sufficient (or maybe better) than weighing charges when burning the same mass of propellant should be what is important? A case is a combustion chamber. Seating a bullet deeper into a case decreases combustion chamber volume. This is an engine, and pressure can spike just like an engine can knock and yes you can window a firearm. Okay, so moving the bullet in and out is an obvious change, but how does that compare to measuring powder? Let us say there is a slight change in density of the powder granules. This can be just product variability (nothing in life is ever perfect), it could be some particles are "broken" or incomplete and the powder packs differently, or whatever.
First example we will assume the charge weight for a volume is lower than normal. If measuring by volume stays the same, then you have the same combustion chamber volume as well, just lower fuel quantity. If you measure with a scale, then you have the same mass off fuel, but a smaller combustion chamber (more volume of powder to get the same weight). More air/fuel in the engine, timing doesn't change, RPM and load did not change. Do you have enough octane to keep from knocking? You basically raised the compression ratio for that one firing. Powders all have different burn rates. Their energy density and burning rates are just like having different specialty fuels.
Second example we will assume the charge weight is higher than normal for the same volume. If you measure by volume, you now have more fuel but still the same combustion chamber volume. If you measure by weight, you have the same fuel, but bigger combustion chamber volume (effectively lower compression). Even with the same fuel amount, you will have lower power.
A firearm is an engine. A bullet is a piston and bore is bore. The barrel is the cylinder and its working length is your stroke. The cartridge case is your combustion chamber. A firearm always fires from TDC; you can't advance timing, you can only speed up the burn rate (different powder). Small throttle settings can be done with lower octane, but if you are going to cram everything you can into the case, you need a lot of octane (slower burning rate powder). Changing chamber volume changes power just like changing compression. Changing fuel quantity changes power. Having a slightly changing fuel quantity but consistent chamber volume may be better than having consistent fuel quantity but changing chamber volume, or it may not. Which one is better? It depends and I do not have sufficient data to answer. Weighing charges works better than I can shoot. Throwing charges with a good powder measure is also better than I can shoot.
If you think of any other topics that you want me to hit, please let me know.
