The "How To" of Ammunition Reloading

Now that you have all the equipment you need to start reloading ammunition, and it's all set up and ready to go, what's next?

I'm going to start by assuming that you have previously fired brass cartridges you want to work with. That's even better, because we can get started from the very beginning.

The first thing you want to do is run the brass through your cleaning tumbler. For years, my dad and I have used shredded newspaper and a little bit of Brasso metal cleaner dripped in on the the mix. This works just fine. Throw in your brass, then take a couple sheets of newspaper, (non-glossy) and shred them into 1x5 inch strips or smaller. Drip in the Brasso on top of that. Once started, allow the brass to tumble for about 45 minutes to an hour for a good cleaning. When the process is done, separate out the brass from the paper. Carefully look into the inside of the cartridges to make sure there isn't any paper stuck inside. If there is, a small wire with a hook bent on the end will get it out. If you want to avoid this, you can spend the money for professional media that you could just pour out. Once done, start placing your brass into your cartridge holder, filling up only one side. Get out your lubricating die, and pump a few sprays of lubricant onto the pad. Take a cartridge and roll it a few times on the pad. You don't want it dry, and you don't want it wet. Just enough to keep it from sticking in the die in the next process.

Now get out your press dies. If this is the first time using the dies, you'll need to set them up properly. Take out the de-priming/resizing die, and loosely screw it into the top of the reloading press. Pull the handle of your press down as far as it will go, allowing the ram to move up. Now screw in the die until the bottom nearly touches the cartridge holder installed onto the ram. Turn the locking collar on the die down until it touches the press, then lock it down. Take a pair of pliers and open it up as far as it can open so that it will fit around the top of the die, then snug it down. It does not need to be tight! The next thing to do is adjust the de-priming pin in the die. With a cartridge in the ram, (don't forget to lubricate it) run it up into the die until the handle stops all the way down. Double check to make sure that the cartridge holder on the ram is not touching the bottom of the die. Turn the de-priming pin down until it stops. When it does, it will be touching the inside of the spent primer in the cartridge. Now lift up the handle, allowing the cartridge to exit the die. Now go back to the de-priming pin, and screw it down about an 1/8 of an inch more, then snug it down with the locking nuts. Run the cartridge back up into the die. The primer should get knocked out of the cartridge. If it does, check to make sure you can set a bullet in the mouth without hitting the edges of the cartridge. There needs to be a little bit of a flare in the mouth. When you get that accomplished, tighten down the locking nuts. That's all the further you need to go with it. If it does not knock it out, turn the pin down a bit more until it does. At this point, you've just completed two steps. You've de-primed and resized your cartridge, and it's ready to move on the the next step. Take that cartridge out of the press, and set it into the cartridge holder on the opposite end of the rest of them. Now take five or six more cartridges from the holder and roll them on the lubricating pad, and de-prime and resize the rest of the cartridges, working from one end of the tray to the other. When that's done, you're ready to move on the the next step.

When brass is resized, it stretches a little bit. This causes the cartridge to lengthen. It is necessary to trim the cartridge to the length specs found in your reloading handbook. Tighten down your cartridge holder into the chuck of your electric drill. Put a cartridge into the holder and tighten it down. Now after you start your drill, place the trimming tool (already the design length needed) into the cartridge and start trimming. When it gets to the right length, you'll hear the drill speed up, and you will see that the trimmer isn't cutting anymore. Now get your deburring tool, and with the drill spinning, stick the cone end of the tool into the cartridge mouth and trim out the burrs until smooth. Next, turn the tool over, and stick the cartridge into the hollow end of the tool, and debur the outside. Place the finished cartridge into the opposite end of the tray as the rest, working from one end to the other. Do this with all the cartridges until the step is completed.

Now you're ready to start re-priming all your brass. If you have 20 cartridges to reload, only dump out 20 primers from their box into the primer tray. After all the primers are rearranged face up, take your primer holding tube and put the primers into the tube. To do this, leave the primers in the tray, and press the tube down onto the primers. When you have all 20 loaded, turn the tube over, and they should fall to the other end. DO NOT pull out the cotter pin from that end until you have the tube in your press, or they will run right back out onto the floor! The last primer always gets stuck on the load end of the tube. Take a piece of wire on gently press it down until it falls inside. When seating a new primer into the cartridge, guide the primer arm into the ram. Pull down on the press arm to push the ram up far enough to get the primer arm underneath the cartridge. Push the press arm up, which will bring the ram down. When you get the feel of it, you'll know when the primer is hitting the primer pocket of the cartridge. Push up on the handle firmly to ensure proper seating of the primer. Remove the cartridge from the press, and visually inspect the primer to ensure that it is flush with the base of the cartridge. You do not want it sticking up from the base. It has to be flush. Finish this step for the rest of the cartridges.

Now that you're resized and primed, you're ready to start loading the powder. In consulting your reloading data in your reloading manual, choose which load to use, or the load and powder type you know works well. Clean off the top of your powder container with your dry paint brush to remove contaminants, then pour some into your powder dish. With your powder spoon, start pouring some powder into the scale spout until you're close to the desired amount. When you're within a few grains of your limit, tap the side of the spoon handle with your finger to knock in a few granules at a time until you have the right amount. When you do, place your powder funnel over the mouth of a cartridge and dump it in. Now is the time to really make sure that you keep your "loaded" cartridges separated from the others to prevent a dangerous or even deadly "double charge". After you have the powder in each cartridge, it is always a good idea to look inside each of them with a flashlight to make sure that they are all at about the same level of powder. With this stage done, you're ready for the second and final die setup, and bullet placement.

Assuming you've already removed the first die from the press, you'll need to set in the second one for setup. This one will be a little bit more tedious. Initially, it's the same as the first. Pull the press handle down all the way until it stops. Then screw in the seating die until it almost touches the cartridge holder on the ram. Tighten down the locking ring when it does. Now here's where it gets a little tricky. Back out the seating tool so that it just barely seats a bullet into a cartridge. As it starts to press the bullet down, it is necessary to measure the overall length from cartridge base to the tip of the bullet with a measuring tool, or a gauge of the exact length required. If it's too long, slowly turn down the seating tool of the die until you reach the proper length. Typically, it's best to only turn 1/4 turns or less once you start getting close. When it's at the right length, tighten it down with the lock nuts. Now you're ready to seat the rest of the bullets. With the press ram down, set in a powder charged cartridge. Then, take a bullet and set it into the mouth of the cartridge. Sometimes, you may need to hold the bullet as you raise it into the die to keep it from falling back out. Once it's started into the die, run it all the way up until the handle stops. When set up correctly, you'll have cartridges all the same length, and a mirror image of the last.

Once all the bullets are placed and seated, you should take a soft turkish towel and wipe down all the cartridges to remove any lubricating oil or dirt from the reloading process that could gum up your rifle. Not to mention makes them look nice.

At this point, you're done. If I'm loading for deer hunting, I do one final step as an option. I turn the cartridges business side down and seal the primer edges with nail polish. I brush a little bead around them, let it set for a minute or two, the with a towel, wipe off the excess. This seals the primer and powder from moisture it if should happen to rain while out in the woods.

Remember to always wear safety glasses!!!

Happy shooting!