How To Reload Ammo For Beginners | Easy To Follow Steps For First Timers
If you go to the shooting range regularly, you can save some money and keep yourself loaded up by reloading your empty rounds.
The best thing about reloading is that it lets you choose the exact bullet type and powder charge you need for your gun. The job is undoubtedly a bit hassling, but sometimes it really gets cost-effective.
In that Case, the primary investment you have is basically on the measuring tools, materials, and the machine itself.
However, as a regular shooter, it must amuse you to do the reloading and use it for your shooting or hunting purposes.
Reasons to Reload Your Own Ammo
There are multiple reasons behind you reloading your ammo all by yourself, but the most generic ones are that you can have the ability to customize ammunition for each of the firearms that you use. This maximizes the versatility and performance of every firearm in your collection.
Customizing Loads and Escalating Accuracy
Basically, reloading lets you be able to create custom rounds for every single one of your guns. When you shoot a round, the barrel whips around. So, you may not want the barrel to whip so much and minimize it as much as possible.
Hence, to do it, you adjust the speed of the bullet by reducing or adding gunpowder while you do the reloading process. Besides, there are other ways of doing it, like extending the length of the round.
By doing this, you will reduce the force needed for the bullet to exit from the casing. Along with that, it minimizes the path the bullet may need to jump into the lands of the barrel.
Saving Money
Even though these reasons pop up in your mind in the first place, it is a bit deceiving. That’s because the person who reloads does not eventually save money. Instead, he keeps on shooting even more for the same price.
Still, you get to save money per round whatsoever. Accordingly, how much money you can save through this strategy mostly depends on the caliber of something that is already very cheap.
For instance, with 9mm, you will be able to save 10-20% in cost. On the other hand, if you are going for something even more expensive, like .308, you can save more than 50 percent of your budget.
Restrictions on Gun Laws
Lately, gun laws are getting very much restrictive. Several cities have already prohibited online ammo sales. In California, they passed a bill letting you do the transaction only through a licensed vendor.
Henceforth, it is better to do the reloading job all by yourself, but ensure you have enough reloading supplies in your stock before doing that.
For Passing Leisure Hours
If you want to renovate your gun according to your style, you should do the reloading part by yourself. Also, if you are really into this, there can be nothing more DIY than making your ammo.
Process of Reloading Ammo
It is a lengthy process and takes time to have precision in work. However, if you take the systematic approach that is described below, you will be able to get a good output.
1. Clean the Casings
Take a look at the brass cases and see if there are defects in them. Discard those which got excessive bulges and cracks in them. Accordingly, discard those that have distorted primers as well.
Get a soft piece of cloth and rub the inner portion of the Case to remove dirt and powder residue. To keep the casings from getting stuck in the sizing die, lubricate each of them.
2. Assemble All the Supplies
Supplies that you will need to reload your ammo are:
- Powder according to the size of the shells that you collected
- Lubricated and cleaned casings
- Primers
- Bullets according to the size of the shell that you collected
3. Extract the Spent Primers
Embed each of the cases into the loading press. Position the handle upwards. Then lower the handle to resize the Case.
Again, raise the handle, clear away, and place the Case in a reloading tray. Keep on repeating this step for each of the remaining cases.
4. Imbed a New Primer on the Case
Now, raise the handle to the highest position, get a new primer, and place it into the cup of the arm of the primer.
Afterward, introduce a case into the holder of the shell. Give a little push to the primer arm, insert it into the ram slot, and lower the Case onto the primer.
5. Reloading The Casing With Powder
To do this step, you have to make sure you are using the correct powder, as each kind of shell needs a specific type and weight of powder. It is recommended to get a loading handbook before buying gunpowder.
Follow their recommendations if you get the powder and want to know the required weight. Similarly, get some correct amount of powder. Then use a funnel and add the powder.
Keep unused powder back in the container. If the powder residue stays in the measurement device or any other equipment, the powder can damage it. Hence, try to keep the reloading area free of powder.
6. Seat The Bullet
To set the bullet in the neck of the Case, the seating die pushes it to the appropriate depth. Put one of the casings in the shell holder, then lower the pressing handle. While lowering the press handle, take a bullet and hold it over the open casing with your other hand.
7. Cleaning and Applying of Gun Oil
Clean and apply a thin layer of gun oil to the dies and ram after you reload your ammo. If you want, you can also lubricate the moving parts on the shell loader with the gun oil.
8. Placing Ammo in Boxes
Place the ammo in some cartridge boxes. Secure the reloaded ammo in a box and firearms in another. Store the box in a dry and cool place.
Reloading Shotgun Shells
For reloading your shotgun shells, you have to follow a procedure that is a bit different than what is described till now.
1. Assemble The Necessary Supplies
Each of the shotgun shells is comprised of five fundamental components. For reloading empty shotshells, things that you will need:
- Primers
- Empty hulls
- Shot-shell powder
- Plastic wadding
- Shot of the expected ‘shot number’
2. Look For Reusable Hulls
Check the empty shells for hulls that can be reused. For your information, the only reusable thing of a shotgun shell is its plastic shell that is ejected from it after firing a single round. To find the reusable hulls, look if they are uniform and rounded.
Hold the reload hulls and examine the mouth of each of them for splits. If you get to see it too much torn up, it is definitely not reusable. Usually, it is a better idea not to work with shells that have been jammed with mud or dirt.
3. De-Prime The Shells
After fitting the empty shell into the slot, pull the lever, and a pin will unveil the spent cap from the empty shell.
4. Get Ideas From Reloading Guide
Consult with a reload guide to get some ideas about load sizes. If you want to do the reloading regularly, you should invest in a guide that will certainly come in handy.
5. Rotate The Shell Plate
Now rotate the shell plate to load it with powder and primer. Each of the reloaders works differently. In that sense, check the owner’s manual from the reloading press to get a proper guide.
6. Seat The Shot And The Wadding
Again, rotate the plate, and for inserting the plastic wadding, use the lever. When loading your shells with shots, you can make your own choice. 12-gauge shells usually use size 7.5, 8, or 9 size shots. If you shoot as a sport, go for 8 or 9. But in terms of hunting, it is better to opt for 7.5.
7. Fold The Shell
Once again, rotate the reloader to fold the shells to secure the whole shell. Then put all those in trays or boxes where you keep your other sporting goods.
Conclusion
Nowadays, high prices make it hard to do one’s reloading. Buying and gathering all the supplies that you need to do the job are indeed hard tasks. Yet, on the other hand, it is something a shooter is supposed to enjoy doing.
If you are into hunting, taking an animal with a single round that you loaded all by yourself will make you proud. However, reloading your ammo sometimes does not help you save money when the cost is genuinely low. You do not need to go through all the trouble of reloading it yourself.
