New to Reloading

[canterbc]

I have been thinking about starting to load my own ammo for a while. Last night my 4 month old had no intentions of letting me sleep so at 2am or so I ordered a bunch of equipment. I will be starting out using a single stage press to learn the ropes. I am sure I will have a lot of questions that are terribly annoying to you guys that have done this for some time. Sorry in advance. I can generally figure my way through things, and I will to some extent with reloading, but I think it may be best to just ask people far more experienced.

To start off the questions...

I am looking at the components now: bullets, cases, primers and powder. Cases are fairly self explanatory. I think primers are too, but I may be wrong. I will start loading 9mm and .223 so I think I'll just need small rifle and small pistol primers as none of the powders I have looked at call for a magnum primer. From what I gather CCI is a good brand for primers.

Powder is proving to be more difficult for me. There are just SO many options out there and quite a few seem to be pretty good. For rifle I have a local source for all the Varget I could ever want. I have a 16" 1:7 AR, so I'd guess I want 62gr. bullets. Is Varget a good powder for that? Any better recommendations?

For the 9mm I have a local source that carries CSB-1 which I guess is the same as Universal. I don't know about going with this powder since there really isn't much info on it. I can go to Bass Pro and get whatever they have. What would the recommendations be for powder for 9mm? I will be shooting primarily a Glock 43 with a 3.39" barrel and a Beretta 92FS with a 4.9" barrel. What powder/bullet weight combo would you suggest for either of those guns for target shooting?

I have already spent a few hours in this forum researching and I know I'll spend many, many more. Thanks for the help!

 

[Mgderf]

Being a new re-loader myself, I don't yet have any experience with either the 9mm or .223.
That said, I've read enough to know that Varget, if you can find it, is quite popular with rifle shooters.
If I recall correctly, it is useful in many different calibers. It may not be the optimum powder. but will work fine.

I couldn't give advice on 9mm, but will watch closely what others have to share. I will be adding 9mm to my line eventually. I already have the dies. Just haven't gotten around to 9mm yet.
I'm having too much fun shooting my own loads in .45acp, .45Colt, .32H&Rmag, .32S&W long, .45/70govt...

Good luck with your venture.
Be safe. Buy at LEAST 2 different load manuals and read them both, all the way through, from cover to cover.
Don't "skim over" anything. Understand what you are reading, or ask before moving on.
Don't play games with your, or someone else's safety simply to save time or effort.

I bought 3 different manuals and read every one before starting.
The day I decided to start I felt like every step was another potential pitfall. I was actually very intimidated by the whole process.
After the first box I loaded (.45Colt) all went bang, hit the target, and didn't blow up my gun, I felt a little better.

It's a great past-time. Relaxing and actually productive.
Just know what you are doing, and don't get distracted.

Most of all, have fun.

 

[Snipercop]

I regularly use Hodgdon H335 powder or BLC-2 powder and CCI #400 Small Rifle Primers for all my 5.56 rounds and have never had any issues. I have used Varget for loading 55g as well as 62gr projectiles, but personally feel that it's a little overrated. If you can get a good deal on it - go for it. With me, once I find a good recipe, I stick with it.

 

[King31]

Use this site for a basis to start your loads off of. The exact bullet or powder may not be on there but cross checking with a manual and online data can lead you to a safe working load. Common sense is the best tool you can have when reloading. If it doesnt feel safe or look safe, it probably isnt.

Set your sights on pistol reloading data | Hodgdon Reloading

 

[OHOIAN]

You go right ahead and ask all the questions you want, that is what many of us are here for.
CCI and / or Winchester primers are what I use, you will be fine with either.
Varget is a good powder for 223, if you can get it by all means try it.
For 9mm try to find some Win231, Bullseye, BE 86 or Power Pistol. I have had good results with all of them.

 

[ckcollins2003]

To me, your load should meet your expectations and reasons for reloading.

If you are shooting for best accuracy, you should use projectiles, brass, and powder that will ultimately group better than what you are capable of. If you are reloading for cost savings and plinking ammo, get the best deal you can find. You may not have sub moa groups, but you will be close enough with hand loads that you will be on target.

Powder choice is going to vary between every reloader based on their personal preference, firearm, and reason for reloading.

I reload everything except .308 for cost savings. Plinking and range ammo is what I produce, so for my 9mm loads I use plated projectiles and a powder that gets me consistent groupings while using the least amount of powder. I chose Titegroup for my loads. Loading 9mm and .40, I get plenty of ammo for a pound of powder which costs roughly $23 per pound. Titegroup might not be the best choice for starting out, but I've found it to be very cost effective. If you aren't comfortable using a powder that doesn't give you much range to play with, you might look into HS6.

The same goes for .223. If you are looking for accuracy and are producing ammo for tight groups, use good BC projectiles and Varget. But if you are going for cost savings and plinking rounds, you might be better off looking at pulled projectiles and a powder that is more cost effective. As previously mentioned, get a manual or two, try out a few different loads and see what works best for you based on your skill level and shooting style. That's the great thing about producing your own ammo. If you want to plink for cheap, you can. If you want to go high cost and have amazing accuracy, you can do that too.

 

[BE Mike]

Read your reloading manual thoroughly. The Lyman or Sierra manuals are good, but so are others. You can get an idea of what powders you can use for the calibers you'll load. I believe that it is best to use magnum primers or those especially made for 5.56 mm. For the 9mm, standard small pistol primers are fine. As powder is sometimes scarce, it might be good to be flexible. There's nothing wrong with Varget, but you can also use Reloder 15 or H335, H4895 or CFE223, etc. Nothing wrong with Unique for 9mm, but Bullseye, WW231, Powder Pistol, American Select, etc. can be used. Most brands of primers are pretty good. I've used mostly Winchester, but Federal, CCI, Remington and Wolf are all fine, in my experience. Take your time, be careful and load in a place where there are no distractions. My advice is to not start out loading rounds that are at or near maximum, just something that will operate the action and are reasonably accurate. After you have been loading mild plinking ammo for a while, you can start tailoring loads for maximum accuracy and/ or power.

 

[canterbc]

Thanks everybody for the input. I have two manuals on order; Lymam and Hornady. I fully intend to pour over them before I do any loading. I have no interest in blowing up myself or even worse one of my guns. I'm in the stage of accumulation right now. I'd like to have several thousand bullets and primers along with a good store of brass and powder. I heard it got difficult to get some of the stuff there for a while and I don't want to run into that. I'm really just using this for plinking, so I can be very flexible with what bullets and powders I get. I suppose they will all work to varying degrees of accuracy. I will eventually want to load for accuracy though but right now it is of secondary concern.

Looking forward to learning a lot and maybe one day being able to contribute something I've figured out on here.

 

[Stryker1025]

Like you, I'm new to reloading as well, so I want to keep that in the forefront. Each reloading manual (Lyman, Hornady, Sierra, etc) has a specific recipe for their tested component selection (Primer+Case+Powder+Bullet i.e shape and weight). For safety and budget reasons (safety first as I'm new to reloading) I reviewed all the powders for the bullet weight/shape I wanted to start with, and then looked to see if that powder could be used with other bullet weight/shape for the same caliber, always staying with the tested recipe.

Next, I looked to see if that powder could be used with other calibers (for me that was .45), and then looking at different weight/shape bullets to see extent of use options. Next I looked at charge weight to see how much powder it would take to load for that recipe so I knew how many rounds I would get from a pound or larger quantity. By now, you must be thinking this guy is really detailed- it's true. Based on my budget, I wanted to gain the most experience from my investment and enjoy the reloading and shooting as much as I can. In the process I purchased quality powder that will serve several purposes. Since I'm only staring with pistol calibers (9mm .45) I choose Titegroup It was med-high burn rate depending on bullet weight tested, had several bullet weights that it was in the recipe for in multiple manuals, and was in the test recipe for other calibers; plus it's becoming easier to locate for a reasonable price. You'll find the each reloading manual test recipe wont include the same groupings of powders, so when you cross reference you're manuals you'll be able to identify some commonly used powders which speaks well of them since the bullet mfg's want solid performance from their bullets. Some other powders I found to be frequently appearing in the manuals for my calibers were: Bullseye, Unique, and Win231. All meter very well and have charge weights that will allow you many reloads per pound depending on your starting bullet weight/shape choice. Have fun and stay safe!

Welcome to the forum

 

[superluckycat]

I'm new also, been loading for about 3 months on a Dillon 650. I've loaded a few thousand since then. I've loaded 125 and 147 grain Blue Bullets with AA#5, WSF and CFE Pistol. I prefer the recoil impulse of the 147 grain bullets paired with the CFE. It will depend on what your guns like also. I'm shooting a G17. Head over Brian Enos' forum they have a good reloading section. Also Hodgdon's website has online data that's great.

 

[Flyingbrian]

I regularly use Hodgdon H335 powder or BLC-2 powder and CCI #400 Small Rifle Primers for all my 5.56 rounds and have never had any issues. I have used Varget for loading 55g as well as 62gr projectiles, but personally feel that it's a little overrated. If you can get a good deal on it - go for it. With me, once I find a good recipe, I stick with it.

 

[Bennettjh]

Definitely get a good manual. Lyman 49th is a good go to. You'll learn a ton of info. I haven't loaded .223 yet but I do 9mm regularly. TiteGroup is my go to powder.

 

[Hiker1911]

You go right ahead and ask all the questions you want, that is what many of us are here for.
CCI and / or Winchester primers are what I use, you will be fine with either.
Varget is a good powder for 223, if you can get it by all means try it.
For 9mm try to find some Win231, Bullseye, BE 86 or Power Pistol. I have had good results with all of them.

Good deal, and also-good luck with children that miss a normal sleep pattern!

I'll second much of the info. in Ohoian's post, above! 9mm:
CCI, and/or Winchester primers, and Win231 (HP 38 is a close substitute) or Power Pistol powder.

 

[Leadeye]

Keep in mind when you reload for semi auto that slow powders that give the best velocity may not function as well in your rifle. Manuals use bolt guns a lot as test rifles. The 9mm can use quite a few pistol powders.

 

[DIRTROAD]

YouTube has a lot to offer , lot of videos that can walk you Through the steps on reloading just do your homework and go slow

 

[throttletony]

This is a great place to learn, and folks have always been very helpful.

I mostly load 38 spl and 357, but have done some 300blk, 223, and 243.

If you're loading to save money and don't like lead, plated bullets are your friend for the handgun. If you can buy by the 500 or 1000 rd lots, it'll save you a bit. Expect to pay $0.07-0.12 per projectile for plinking bullets (more for target or self-defense). This ends up being the most expensive component *IF you already have some brass on hand.

 

[ScouT6a]

Been reloading for 22+ years. I guess I kinda take an "old school" approach to reloading most of the time. For 9mm, I load a lot of Herco and Red Dot. I have a lot of those powders, that I bought cheap. Red Dot is a fast powder and has a narrow range, but not much different than say, Titegroup. In 9mm, I like heavier bullets. I use 147 grain and 124 grain.
I second H335 and BLC-2 powders for 5.56/.223

 

[OutdoorDad]

A small suggestion.
Don't try to load 9mm and .223.
Pick one (I suggest the 9mm-cause it's easier across the board). Work up a load you like. This will take some trial and error. And a week or two, unless the range is close by.

Then, when you're comfortable, crank out a few hundred rounds, and shoot 'em up!!
Make sure you have a load that functions well in every 9mm you own.

Then, start messing around with the .223. I suspect you'll want to try several different weight projectiles. Rule of thumb is just that.
Your rifle might really love a configuration outside the norm. Mine does.

 

[oldpink]

Don't be worried about asking questions about reloading, as there are lots of folks here (myself included) who reload and actually enjoy sharing what we've learned about the subject over the years.
Good job on ordering the Hornady and Lyman manuals.
As a suggestion to provide a huge volume of load data from just about all the printed manuals currently available, you could subscribe to http://www.loaddata.com for $29.95/year, as I do.
There are so many load recipes there that it'll make you dizzy.

 

[Leo]

Pretty much any medium burn rate rifle powder works fine in the .223. I have probably used a dozen different powders over the last 30 years, they all worked fine. Varget is right at my favorite.