Hornady Reloading Basics

Reloading ammunition is a truly rewarding hobby. You can tailor your bullets for your specific gun, for your specific style of shooting and for the range at which you will be shooting. With reloading, you can develop the most accurate load possible. As a bonus, your per-load cost is less than buying ordinary production ammunition. Hornady, a leader in reloading equipment, provides some of the best tools and ongoing support for reloading enthusiasts.

  1. Safety

    • The reloading hobby is not something that can be started without careful preparation and thorough research. Fastidiousness is a must when reloading, and carelessness could lead to serious accidents. "Hot" loads, or loads that contain more gunpowder than is recommended, should never be made. To produce safe, accurate loads that are consistent round after round, you must observe diligent attention to detail and use only quality supplies.

    The Reloading Area

    • You will need a separate room or building for your reloading activities, away from noise and distractions. Your reloading room should have good lighting and a sturdy bench. When reloading, you will be working with primers and gunpowder, both of which are potentially explosive. Hornady recommends having a secure place to store these items.

    Setup

    • Some of the basic supplies for reloading are a reloading press, an appropriate size die set, powder scales, calipers, case trimmers, a tumbler cleaner and a Hornady reloading manual. You will also need to purchase the casings (unless using spent rounds) and bullets appropriate for the round you will be loading. Each caliber bullet will require its own die set.

    Reloading

    • The term "reloading" means the loading of either new or spent (one that has been previously fired) casings. According to Hornady, the basics of reloading start with the casing. To prepare a spent case, the primer is removed with a primer removal tool. A new primer is inserted into the case with a die that sizes the casing at the same time. The manual is referenced for the recommended amount of gunpowder. The gunpowder is measured out and put into the casing. The filled casing is inserted into the press, which has been fitted with the correct-size die set. The bullet is seated into the case, and the press is then used to seat the bullet and crimp the case. The end result is a custom round of ammunition.

      The accuracy of the round can then be checked by firing it at a target. Future loads of gunpowder can then be "tweaked" up or down (but never more than what is recommended in the Hornady Reloading Manual) to fine-tune the accuracy. Hornady recommends accessing its online ballistics resource (see Resources) for details on calibers and loads.