Years back I had a friend doing reloads for my 7mm and 06. .40 sw and .357 I loved the accuracy so much more than the factory loads. I got out of shooting for some time (5 year) as I sold all of my firearms (long story). Having the luxury of a friend doing it for minimal $ I never really learned how. Time passes and I no longer have contact with him. I just bought my first gun in years (other than a .22) and want to try my hand in reloading.
I am going to stick to just my 7mm rem mag. I will probably by another as well so I wont need to much. What I am asking is for a beginer, can anyone sugest books on proper reloading. Are there companies that sell "package" starter kits? I still have 800+ cases of 7 mm. How do I go about selecting powder? Primers? ect.ect.....
I want to save money and get back to the grouping I previously had. But most importantly I want to be safe(!!!) doing so. I am going to hit a few shops this week to check out the equipment, though i'd rather have a little unbiased opinions from been there done that folks who are in the know and aren't trying to get me to buy whatever they can sell me. I want to do it right, and most importantly....safely. Any help is greatly appreciated. Any literature is also helpful so I can learn the various parts and procedures of the skill. Thanks again for any replies!

Marc

Quick!! Run away!! Run far away! This reloading will lead you to all sorts of trouble. Some of the most un-savory charachters frequent these boards.
c Eventually, you will collect more junk than your significant other can stand. You will stay up nights looking for that magic load. It can lead to madness, madness I tell you!!
All seriousness aside; Welcome to the wonderful world of reloading.
A good place to start is Lyman's Handbook of Reloading. Read the front part of yhe book, it gives you the basics.
As for equipment, RCBS sells a kit which contains about everything you need except dies and powder. It also comes with it's own book on reloading. Read that one too and then get a couple more and read them. The Handbook of Reloading, by Richard Lee, is another good one,
The Rockchucker Supreme kit from RCBS will last you a lifetime and load just about any caliber short of a .50 BMG. You may want to add a case trimmer, as bottleneck cases, like the 7mm tend to grow in length when fired, not a lot, but enough. It also makes it easier if all the cases start out the same length.
Lee makes a very inexpensive case trimmer that works a well as any.
Read a lot and decide what you want the rifle to do before you spend a lot of money on powder and bullets.
You will eventually end up with several (in my case a whole shelf full) half cans of powder you can't remember buying.
If this hasn't confused you enough, come on back and we will try again.
Seriously, it isn't complicated, you just start out with a bunch of stuff you are not familiar with. Time and use will make it all very easy.
One of my rules: NEVER TRY TO LOAD FROM MEMORY, ALWAYS USE THE RELOADING MANUAL!!! I've loaded so much .44 mag, I know EXACTLY what I am going to put in those cases, but I still never start without checking the book.
Another way to get your feet wet, and learn the basics, is to start with a Lee Loader. These little kits are very inexpensive, load some pretty good ammo, and teach you the basics. I started with one for my .308 Norma magnum. I still have it.
Again Welcome. This isn't rocket science. If you can walk and chew gum at the same time, you can do it. Just be careful.

Visit your local gun store and look for a reloading manual published by any of the reloading/ammo companies. Look for a section in the manual that explains how to reload. This will give you a basic idea of how it's done and what equipment you will need. The manual will also give you listings on various rifle/handgun cartridges. This section tells you what components to use and suggested powder charges for safe reloads. You should study the how-to-do-it section carefully, the rest of the manual is basically a recipe book that needs to be followed when reloading a particular cartridge. The choice of what reloading equipment to buy is up to you. You may only be thinking of loading a particular cartridge to start off but reloading is addictive in that later on you may want other guns and cartridges. The beauty of this is that many reloading companies offer a starter set that contains much of the equipment you will need to get going. Additional equipment may be purchased later to add to your set. It's easy to get hooked into reloading. I've only been doing this for over 40 years and still enjoy the hobby. Come back with any questions. There's a lot of help on this forum.

Get the Lyman 47th Edition....they go into good detail on what all you have to do to get a SAFE quality load...plus its got a whole mess of reloading data in it.


Overall a good investment.

D

Lyman's current manual is #48. There's the newer cartridges in it, but the ballistics chapter is seriously dumbed down. It's still the best IMO.

Bye
Jack

Yep, start reading. The how to manuals, websites are also full of details on the process...and we'll fill in the blanks here. That Rockchucker kit on sale at Midway right now may well fill 90% of what you need, other than the specifics of the cartridge, bullets, powder, primers, and dies.

In a nutshell (can I do this?)....

Case prep. Depending on how tedious you are:
1. Tumble briefly just to clean 'em up a bit (optional)
2. Resize. This will take the press, and one of the dies, and it takes the cartridge back to factory specs, and pops the old primer out.
3. Tumble to remove lube used in sizing and to clean 'em up good (optional)
4. Check overall length. If too long, trim and all that that requires, deburring, etc.
5. Inspect for irregularities
(For pistols, there's an extra step to bell the case mouth)

Begin the reloading process:
1. Prime, using a hand primer. Best invention made.
2. Set up powder drop, trickler, scale, etc. and throw powder, checking weights as you go for accuracy.
3. Seat the bullet

SHOOT! Well, before that, tag the ammo with what you've got in there for components, so you'll always know.

It's really quite easy, deceptively so sometimes.
Did I miss anything guys?

Lyman's current manual is #48. There's the newer cartridges in it, but the ballistics chapter is seriously dumbed down. It's still the best IMO.

Bye
Jack

Bottom line: all presses can load good ammo, it's the guy operaing the press that makes the difference.

Cheapest way to go would be the Lee Anniversay Kit (about $68-$70)..add a set of dies, a good manual like the Lyman #48. All up and running should come in at about $100-$110. I personally would also buy a dial caliper and a better case trimmer (lyman's is a nice unit), but that's something you'll need after the cases have been fired a couple of times.

Can go with the RCBS RC Supreme ( about $260-$270 depending on where you order it)...nicer stuff, but the $ difference will buy a lot of powder, primers, and bullets.

I would follow Ribbonstones advice on this one. It is not the equiptment. It is the operator! Atention to detail is what it is all about.
Cheezywan

I've got to go with ribbonstone with the Lee kit. I've been reloading for over 40 years and now most of the stuff on my bench is red. I finally sold my Rockchucker in a yard sale. It didn't load any better ammo or easier than the little Lee press.

It's inexpensive to start and if you want more expensive, but not any better equipment, you can always spend more money.

I do have to warn you that reloading is not going to save you any money, but, it will allow you to shoot more for the same money.

Hope you get into reloading, it is a great hobby unto itself.

I had the other stuff...Lyman, RCBS, and Dillon presses mounted and ready to go. I don't even want to think about the old Hollywood Senior that was in the shed waiting for restoration ( i found most of the shed, farthest piece was two blocks away).

Being forced to start over, the Lee Equipment bolted to scrap lumber and C-clamped to a table in the garage (becasue it's not my table...and not my garage) works just as well as anything I've owned. A lot of the stuff was donations...some I bought...a very few small items salvaged..and some things i use i kind of made myself.

Not as pretty, not as heavy, but no harder to run than the others and the ammo comes out looking and shooting just as well.

I don't feel handicaped...and I've no urge or need for a differnt press.

Thank you all for the information. I think I am going to go with the Lee ann. kit. Get my dies and such and a bunch of literature. It all seems straigt forward as mentioned but I want to do it right the first time. It will be some time before I do this, after the first of the year anyhow, but I'll keep ya posted on my results. Then will come the "can of worms" questions such as which bullets are best, and which powder! >:) I at least get to experiment and test it all on the range! Again, thank you for your time and responses!

Marc

Richard Lee has made quite a name for himself over the years. His writings on the reloading subject will get you there with much bias to his equiptment. The other names in the field are also worth your review. They are all good.
You have recieved very good advice in the above posts.
Cheezywan

Well, let me add a couple things. First, you will save money in ammo, big time. Yes, you'll invest some money in equipment and all, but offhand, and I'm an accountant, so doing some fast math in my head, I'd figure maybe 1000 rounds is the breakeven point depending on what you shoot. Most rifle ammo I can make for under a .25, Weatherby's a bit more. Pistol would have to be around a dime or less...compare that to the price on factory and you'll see why we reload.

I use both RCBS and Lee equipment. The Rockchucker is attached to my bench and I wouldn't cut it loose. When you're resizing several hundred rounds of something...wow, what a help. Any press will do, but RCBS has great customer service. The Lee stuff I use is portable, the handpress kit. Terrific for taking to hunting camp and working up loads at the kitchen table and taking outside to try. I wouldn't use it to resize more than a handful. And priming should be done with a hand primer in my opinion anyway, never on a press. I do prefer how the Lee throws powder. It seems able to handle extrudeds slightly better than the RCBS...

Depending on where in FL you live, we might get together and you can try some first-hand?? PM me if you're interested.......