The Reloaders Ten Commandments

[rardoin]

ALWAYS carefully look at the type of Vihtavuori powder in the 1lb container before use. The small font for the powder type is not readily visualized. I had a bottle of N133 mixed with several bottles of N160 and I never noticed. I gave an extra one to a friend who also wanted to try it in a .284. You can guess which bottle he wound up with. Want to discuss difficult bolt opening? Thank God it was a BRMXD action. Fortunately all that was damaged was one case. Neither of us will make that mistake again.

 

[Leo Smith]

This thread is exactly why i am a member here
. Before I reloaded one bullet, I read the forums here on reloading. For six months. I had been shooting for many years but never reloaded .. Everything about shooting and reloading is specific and impactful.
And here, on this forum,are several lifetimes of experience for all to benefit from..
And possibly avoid a fatal mistake.

 

[Ccrider]

This thread is exactly why i am a member here
. Before I reloaded one bullet, I read the forums here on reloading. For six months. I had been shooting for many years but never reloaded .. Everything about shooting and reloading is specific and impactful.
And here, on this forum,are several lifetimes of experience for all to benefit from..
And possibly avoid a fatal mistake.

Well stated. Valuable jewells for sure. And for free.

 

[Nature Boy]

Like the old saying, “don’t try to catch a falling knife”

same goes for calipers

 

[joshb]

Like the old saying, “don’t try to catch a falling knife”

same goes for calipers

View attachment 1183250

Ouch!!

 

[Cecil S.]

Like the old saying, “don’t try to catch a falling knife”

same goes for calipers

View attachment 1183250

Bummer.

 

[jvw2008]

The tenth commandment should be:

Spend more time shooting on the range than putzing in the reloading room.

 

[tsyarnall]

This thread is exactly why i am a member here.........
And here, on this forum, are several lifetimes of experience for all to benefit from..
And, possibly, to avoid a fatal mistake.

Exactly!

 

[Clark]

Thou shalt not change more than one variable at a time. jd

After a career of designing things and designing tests for them and keeping others from introducing out of control variables....I have a hard time talking to my young eye doctor when she wants to change more than one variable at time.
I have to accept her shotgun troubleshooting in an effort to treat me, not create a replicable experiment.

 

[Oso]

ALWAYS carefully look at the type of Vihtavuori powder in the 1lb container before use. The small font for the powder type is not readily visualized. I had a bottle of N133 mixed with several bottles of N160 and I never noticed. I gave an extra one to a friend who also wanted to try it in a .284. You can guess which bottle he wound up with. Want to discuss difficult bolt opening? Thank God it was a BRMXD action. Fortunately all that was damaged was one case. Neither of us will make that mistake again.

Don't hesitate to add your own markings on to the powder jugs... you own the jug. I use the jumbo Sharpie and Blue Painter's Tape (makes markings stand out). When in doubt or key details to remember then stick a label on the powder jug.

 

[Steve Nicholas]

This advice was given in earlier reloading manuals. If I remember correctly (what's the chances of that? ), it had to do with the possibility of sparks from the vacuum's electric motor's brushes, igniting loose powder granules. It sounds highly unlikely that could ever happen, but remember our old chum Murphy, is always lurking about in the shadows just waiting to gum something up.

Murphy's Laws (as I learned them): "If something can go wrong - it will. If something can't go wrong - it will anyway. If nothing goes wrong - something's wrong!" Takeaway? Savor that project that goes smoothly from start to finish!

Chris Mitchell

I have a friend (well known gunsmith) who had a vacuum burst into flames when he was "cleaning his reloading room".. He still has burn marks on his arms to prove that vacuum cleaner can ignite gunpowder granules.

Steve Nicholas

 

[JFrank]

Them flyers are part of yer group!

 

[Nature Boy]

Them flyers are part of yer group!

If they wanted to be part of the group they would have stayed with the group

 

[CT10ring]

loading

Don't be in a hurry. although its fun - .to be dam efficient

I'd say to have only one bottle of powder on your bench at any time.
for that matter, primer & bullet. We are making explosive devices detonated 8" from our eyes.

always empty your powder from your loading device at the end of each session.

READ the label on your powder bottle at least 2x before loading.

me - I load individual rounds ( no progressive press) into 50 round poly blocks.
+ use a bright miniflash light directly above those 50 no bullet yet seated cases to verify

a. powder is in the case
b. correct amount of powder is in case.

EVERY SINGLE ROUND

once loaded - check the 50 round box if you use those...( mine are translucent plastic) w freshly loaded ammo - view from the bottom.
are all primers seated rightside up? primers in all cases? surprise! sometimes.

loading - no music. no tv. no people. no phone nearby.
yeah, I've loaded many thousand rounds and have made mistakes. caught em all so far - as I know.

also- develop your routine for loading. try not to deviate - that routine has safety built in, most likely. hopefully accuracy in the mix, too.

I also check a powder load every 10-20 rds on a 2nd scale. not much action can be taken, (except to dump the previous 10-20 loads and re-calibrate).

from a self taught reloader (with ALOT of great info on this site). grateful for the knowledge shared earlier & today.

good post idea, sir

 

[jackieschmidt]

Have realistic expectations about the performance of your rifle.

 

[Ccrider]

Had to add this:
Buy enough regularly used supplies when they are plentiful to weather at least a two year storm. Replenish as needed.

 

[clunker]

Never trust anything you see in a YouTube video, even if the guy sounds like he knows what he's talking about. Trust what your careful observations tell you after a few hundred rounds at the range, and ask for help from those who shoot regularly in competition.

 

[coldboreshot]

Always check flash holes for obstructions before seating primers.

 

[Just Say Moe]

When you find something that works..... buy a bunch of it!

 

[dgeesaman]

My top ten:
1) Safety comes first. Think and listen and learn about safety at every opportunity. There is no point where you "know it".
2) Consider how others do things but work them out for yourself. Except safety - you can always learn safety from others without firsthand experience (especially if you could lose that hand!)
3) Know the difference between doing things that make you feel good about accuracy and things that have a proven effect on accuracy. In other words, sorting brass a certain way because it *might* help is reasonable for your biggest match of the year, but do not confuse that as a necessary step for accuracy like measuring CBTO.
4) Bench manners matter always. Thoroughly inspect your rest and rifle for loose hardware each session.
5) Wind matters always.
6) Some barrels shoot better than others. Don't be biased by the barrel maker or the gunsmith. Have an idea before you start shooting a new barrel, how many rounds make sense to develop a good tune for that barrel and stick to it.
7) Keep your reloading bench very clean. It's much easier and safer to not spill powder in the first place.
8) Have a procedure for handling powder and seating bullets and *stick to it*. For me, that involves dropping the powder charge, re-setting the autotrickler and make sure it zeroes, carry the filled case to my seater, seat the bullet, measure the CBTO, and place it in the loading box. That way a round is filled and bullet is seated over it in less than a minute.
9) Agree with keeping powder containers abundantly well labeled and in their containers. I only use original powder containers and I place the container in front of the autotrickler during my loading session. One thing that makes the autotrickler a great, safe tool is how quickly and thoroughly I can empty the powder from it. I never leave powder in the system.
10) When investing in equipment, don't compromise on measuring equipment. (I'm loaded with Mitutoyo digital mics and calipers these days).