THE RELOADING GUIDE

Safety Disclaimer

***Reloading is inherently dangerous.***

You’re building a small explosive charge and counting on the strength of your firearm to contain it. Small variations in powder charge or case capacity can result in huge swings in pressure.

With very few exceptions, this guide will not share load data. Safe, tested data is available elsewhere, and this guide is not intended as a resource for load recipes.

Consult your manuals, check with manufacturers for available data, and work up a load at your own risk. As with most dangerous hobbies, a mentor is an invaluable resource.

Introduction

Purpose of this Guide

Welcome to the Newgrange Precision Guide to Basic Reloading. This guide is a scalable resource for reloaders old and new. It contains basic information about tools and processes as well as some more advanced techniques for those chasing that last bit of precision.

Wherever gear is concerned, I’ll try to present options ranging from budget equipment up to the ultra premium options.

Guide Overview

This guide is organized to reflect the basic steps in the reloading flow, with advanced techniques introduced in the later subsections, so that new loaders can get up and running efficiently. Required tooling will be introduced in chapter 1 and reviewed during the steps that require it. At the end of the guide, you will find an appendix with a variety of additional resources.

Wherever a link is absent, the guide is still under construction.

1. Required Tooling

2. Case Preparation

3. The Powder Charge

4. Bullet Seating

5. Final Checks

6. Testing the Load

7. Advanced Tools and Techniques

Conclusion

With a little practice, you can produce loads that are more consistent, more accurate, and tuned to your own weapon, usually for less than the cost of factory match ammo.

Cost savings are definitely not what they used to be. But when you stockpile components, you distribute the cost of your ammunition over a greater period, and can avoid short term price shocks as well as the pain of inventory shortages. If you enjoy the hobby, then the time costs don’t factor.

This is a valuable skill that places a useful barrier between you and market forces that might impede those dependent on factory ammo. In an industry as politically controversial as firearms, reloading is an important means to reassert control over how and when you train and shoot.

Appendices

Glossary

Ballistic Coefficient – The measure of a bullet’s ability to overcome air resistance in flight

Headspace – The slight gap that is permitted between the bolt face and the case head to facilitate closure of the bolt. Headspace is actually the distance between the bolt face and the part of the chamber that acts as the cartridge stop.

Meplat – The diameter of the blunt section of a bullet tip.

Ogive – The curved, forward portion of a bullet.

Sectional Density – The ratio of a bullet’s weight, in pounds, to the square of its diameter, in inches.

Shoulder – The portion of a case that slopes from the body to the neck.

Additional Resources