BGO Discussion Forum

First, welcome to those BGO members just finding out about this sub forum called Reloading. I will start out tonight with a short rundown on equipment and/or educational material the shooter requires to start the basic ammunition reloading process.

What is this interesting aspect of gun ownership called Reloading? Its a hobby that when the shooter purchases the right equipment and educational material, a whole different world opens up that will surprise you and, its not terribly expensive.

Educational material you need to get at the outset: a book called the Lyman Reloading Handbook-49th Edition. This 460+ page manual can be purchased from a number of sources for a reasonable price of around $25 dollars. The one place that comes to mind is a company called Dillon. They are located up in the Phoenix Arizona area, do have a great website and usually stocks this manual 24/7.

The URL for Dillon is here at http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/23915/catid/11/Lyman_49th_Edition_Reloading_Handbook

I will stop here and say that on Wednesday I will start a more detailed posting on the actual hardware and accessories required to reload your ammunition. I would suggest that you do some additional research on the Lyman reference manual/handbook as it contains all you will ever need to know about reloading pistol and rifle ammo.

I've been into reloading now since summer of 2008. I currently reload the 9mm, 38 Special and 45ACP pistol calibers and, I also have the components to reload the 7.62x39mm [AK-47 type rifle] caliber as well.

More later

Good Stuff Z-bar...keep it coming. As one who has a growing number of weapons, I look forward to learning from those that have been there. As we all know, ammo costs are ridiculous these days - the Prez and Crew won't need any gun legislation - nobody will be able to afford to shoot soon....
Questions:
Any legal/zoning considerations (keeping powder in your house).
Is there a one-stop shopping place for all the components needed (not equipment)?
thx.

AFAIK, no, but YMMV so always check your local ordinances. You might also want to check with your HOA if you live in a community that has one. I would think that it would be akin to keeping jugs of gasoline in your garage. Other than paying the hazmat fee for powder and primers that I've had shipped, I'm not aware of any other requirements.



There are several one-stop shops, but as prices vary, you may switch up from time to time by ordering some components from one vendor and the rest from another. For example, Natchez may have bullets cheaper, but Grafs doesn't charge s/h on powder and primers. It's all a matter of choice and it definitely pays to shop around. Be aware that some vendors will not charge s/h, but their prices might be higher to offset the cost. I always look at the cost of a total order with s/h & hazmat included to find the best deal.

Also, when you consider that you have to pay a hazmat fee to have powder and primers shipped, you usually want to order those together to minimize the cost. I think it's now $22.50 per 50lbs. It's also wise if you bulk up and order as much as you can under the 50lb limit.

I personally use Graf & Sons for most things - www.grafs.com.

Natchez is pretty popular - www.natchezss.com.

Berry's is a good place for target bullets - www.berrysmfg.com

Midway has specials from time to time (I once got pulled 9mm bullets for next to nothing!) - www.midwayusa.com

Last, to start you out on your journey, if you've never worked up a load before, check out Hodgdon's reloading database. They give you common load min/max combinations based on bullet wt, mfg and powder and it's pretty comprehensive.
http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

Thx U-cool...sounds like you deep into it!