Reloading 123

Content provided by Michiel Meyer, hosted with permission

This is a guide which new reloaders can use to reload ammo for the 9mmP. The steps listed in this guide is by no means a complete guide on how to setup your equipment, as there are too many different types of reloading gear out there. All reloading tools follow the following basic steps which will be handled in this guide. The same guide can be followed in order to reload most handgun calibers. Be it 7.65 or 45ACP, the basic steps remain the same. Different types of reloading dies, bullets, and powder is to be used for different calibers.

The equipment seen in this guide is my own which I use for all my rifles and handguns. I also reload for IDPA sport shooting. There are a myriad of different types of presses, scales, dies and powder dispensers out there, but they all work in roughly the same way.

When a round is fired, the high pressure generated by the burnt powder expands the case to the dimensions of the firing chamber of the firearm. The spent cast therefore needs to be resized to the original unfired specifications before it can be fired again. The case neck will also not grip the bullet with sufficient force to prevent it from slipping if the case is not resized.

The basic steps when reloading a cartridge, are the following:

• Cleaning

• Resizing and decapping of spent primer

• Case inspection

• Priming of the case

• Adding a measured powder charge

• Neck expanding (only needed if loading cast lead bullets)

• Seating a bullet

• Crimping of case.

• Final inspection

Lets tackle these steps in more detail.

Reloading 123, a pictorial overview   Cleaning   Resizing and Decapping   Case Inspection   Priming   Powder   Neck Expanding   Seating   Crimping   Final Inspection