getting into reloading

[Blitzo]

Well I have been thinking about starting to reload for awhile now for different reasons. Mainly to shoot more. I have no experience at all and well I am afraid, I guess that might be natural. This is the only thing that has kept me from learning more. I am thinking the ideal place to set up is in a garage or workshop area which I don't have access to right now. I currently live in an upstairs apartment with access to the attic and basement, if I get into reloading I will be setting up in the basement. The problem I have with this is everyone in the household smokes except for me, I'm afraid of something going kaboom or catching on fire from a careless smoker, I am sure somewhere here will recommend a safe storage option to prevent this. I am not even sure I have to worry about this. I have no room anywhere else in the house. Should I still learn more and possibly start to reload or should I forget about it till I get more space?

[The Knight Of Light]

Originally Posted by Blitzo

Well I have been thinking about starting to reload for awhile now for different reasons. Mainly to shoot more. I have no experience at all and well I am afraid, I guess that might be natural. This is the only thing that has kept me from learning more. I am thinking the ideal place to set up is in a garage or workshop area which I don't have access to right now. I currently live in an upstairs apartment with access to the attic and basement, if I get into reloading I will be setting up in the basement. The problem I have with this is everyone in the household smokes except for me, I'm afraid of something going kaboom or catching on fire from a careless smoker, I am sure somewhere here will recommend a safe storage option to prevent this. I am not even sure I have to worry about this. I have no room anywhere else in the house. Should I still learn more and possibly start to reload or should I forget about it till I get more space?

Well you fears are well founded. Powder is a bad thing to have around smoking, but since you don't smoke I do not think that just being in the same room as the machine or powder will be a problem. There is some dust created by the loading process but it is not harmful. You can set up the machine anywhere you want, but I would stay away from carpet as it can trap spilled powder and primers, and also build up a static charge. Most household static is not enough to set the powder off while it is in it's containers, but the Static could cause some problems with powder moving in the powder measure properly. If you are worried about the house being on fire and setting off the powder then that is a genuine concern. I have about 12 lbs of powder in my basement right now. if this place caught fire i would be as far from it as I could get telling the cops to just stay away and let it burn.

[rwilson452]

Smokeless powder when stored in it's original container will not explode. it will burn very very fast if it catches fire. The containers are designed that way. I had a limited amount of storage options when I first started If your only going to load one caliber, you should only need one powder. buy it one pound at a time. I bought a cheap cooler and stored my powder in it. this moderates temerature changes and will also isolate it from a flash fire. If your still worried put a large plastic water bottle on top of the cooler the plastic water container will burst before the fire gets to the powder cooling it. A bunch of smaller ones spaced out will work but they will not all burst at the same time thus will not supply as much water at one time.

[44shooter]

I would recommend you read and view more information concerning reloading before you make the jump. There are videos to watch (search machine) and there are simple starter manuals available for you to read.

Think safety, start slow, read read read and you will find you way.

Good luck.

[RTMCAS]

JUMP into reloading. buy a couple manuals first read and get on some forums ask questions. Start with one pistol caliber and expand from there. You'll save a bundle if you want to shoot alot. restated>> you will not save any money You will shoot a lot more..JUMP,JUMP you'll get a bang out of it..

[Old School]

I have got to be honest, reloading is easy. Before I got started, I too was nervous. Everyone said to read this book or that book. I read no books and was reloading one hour after my press arrived. The internet and forums have a ton of information and recipes. Follow the guidance of others and you will be OK.

If I may offer a suggestion, buy the best press you can afford. If you can swing it, get a Dillon 550. You will be glad you did.

OS

BTW, if you go with Dillon gear, shoot XDTalk member Olgord a PM. Gordy sells Dillon gear and has great prices.

[Paladin]

+1 on the Dillon presses. I have an XL650 after a bad experience with a Hornady Lock-N-Load progressive press. There is no way I would trade my Dillon press. The time and frustration saved over the Hornady are worth way more than the difference in price.

As Old School says, the web is full of great information. However, I would recommend you buy at least one reloading manual with the basics in it. My favorite is the Lyman manual which is also one of the less expensive ones.

[tacticalturkey]

If cash isn't a problem, go with dillon(I guess). I've got a family to support and couldn't swing it, so i went with Lee Loadmaster and have been very happy.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by Old School

BTW, if you go with Dillon gear, shoot XDTalk member Olgord a PM. Gordy sells Dillon gear and has great prices.

Gordy is fixing me up. Thanks for pointing me in that direction.