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Hello everyone. I ran across this site about a month ago when I was looking up info for CCW in Idaho. Anyhow, I live in the Hagerman Valley, about 100 miles east of Boise. I know about open carry, I do it all the time on the farm here, not so much once I get out of the Hagerman valley though. I have always been big into varmit hunting (rockchucks are lots of fun to kill).
I have been reloading for 10 years now (started when I was 14). I reloaded all sorts of varmit rounds my 243 win, according to my log book, somewhere between 1000-1200 rounds. It wasnt until this year that I got into handguns. I bought a Tarus PT1911 45 auto. Since December, ive put about 100 rounds of reloads though the 45, and a have at least 150 more waiting to find some varmits the spring.
I would recommend getting:
- Reloading handbook. Speer and Lyman are both very good books. Read through them a few a few times.
- Equipment, I would recommend getting one of the RCBS reloading kits, it has the press, powder scale, loading block, etc. at a reasonable price.
- Die set for your caliber. (not included with the reloading kit)
- Reloading bench, go to HomeDepot, Lowe's, local lumber yard and buy either the lumber to make a bench or get a very sturdy table.
Heres some things to do and watch for:
- ALWAYS start low and work your way up to a hotter load. You will see why very fast the difference 0.5 grains makes in a handgun (i sure did). If you go too hot, it can destroy your gun. Seen too many pics where they used a load that revolvers cound not handle and it blew a big hole out the side of the cylinder.
- Accuracy of each load.
- Every gun is different, what works for my 1911 might not work well in your 1911.
- Recoil preference.
- Different powder, powder grains, bullet, and primer combination will have different effect on what happens.
- Use small batches at first until you find something you like. Its a bad idea to load 50 rounds, only to find out you dont like that load after the first 5-10 shots.
- Keep a log book. Not only include the usual primer/powder/grains/bullet/howmany but also make notes on how each load performed, the likes, and dislikes. It makes it easier to look back and see why you stopped using that particular load.
- Experiment. Try different bullet weights, bullet types, and powder. If you notice unburned powder or the powder isnt burning clean, change powder type. I had to do that with my 1911. I found that Hercules Unique powder didnt fully burn and was burning dirty, didnt matter if it was max or min loads. After switching to Bullseye, my problem vanished.
- Dont change too many things at once, it might get confusing. For example, stick with 1 bullet, powder type, and primer while varying the amount of powder. If you dont find anything you like, change 1 thing, like the bullet or powder, and start again.
It can be teadious working up a load but the rewards are great! I am reloading Hollow Point ammo that is just as hot as factory, performs better in my gun, and only costs about 22 cents shot, about $11 a box of 50! Normally factory Hollow Point ammo is about $20-30 for 20 rounds.
Its pretty straight forward how it works, just remember that you are working with flamable materials and lead so be careful. (no, gun powder doesnt blowup like dynmite, it just burns fast and hot when its ignited on a table out in the open, pretty cool to watch actually)
If you have some more questions, feel free to ask. I'm a forum lurker, comment when neccessary but otherwise just watching and reading.
