Reloading 101

By Kelly Sheffer

As the price of ammunition rises, many women shooters have found reloading to be an effective

According to the National Sporting Goods Association, approximately 23% of target shooters in the U.S. are women..

way to control their ammo budgets. Reloading may sound like a daunting task, but it is actually

quite simple and relaxing for many women. All you do, basically, is follow a recipe. And, luckily, most of us ladies know how to follow a recipe.

What is reloading?

Reloading is when a hunter takes the shell casing from an already fired shell and reuses the casing to make a new shell.

Reloading Ingredients

As with any recipe, it’s important to understand the ingredients.

Casings or Hulls: Casings are the most important components in the process. They are the first items you need to start your recipe. There are various types of casings. Some are smooth; some have vertical lines in them. For two reasons, it is vital that you know the type of casing you have if you are to complete the recipe. First, it helps you to narrow down your available options. Second, you need to know your casing type in order to accurately determine its compatibility with other components.

Notice the difference between the low-brass hull (left) and high-brass hull (right). Low-brass hulls are generally used for light loads such as target shooting. The high-brass hull is a slug hull and is used for magnum loads.  Slug hulls are generally not reloaded.

Wad: The wad is what holds the shot itself. Wads come in different sizes and colors according

to the gauge of the gun. They have little cups on their bottoms that sit on top of the powder. They must be seated there firmly. Bigger cups on top hold the actual shot, or the BBs.

The white wad (left) holds 1 & 1/8 ounce of shot and the pink wad (right) holds 1 ounce of shot. Wad color may vary based on manufacturer.

Shot Shell Powder: Always use smokeless powder, never black powder. Powders vary by how hot they burn. The hotter a powder burns, the more acceleration your shot will have. The powder you use must be compatible with your casings. You don’t want too powerful of a powder that could harm your casings. Neither do you want an insufficiently powerful powder for your casings because the wad could get stuck. The various strengths of powder are determined by a sliding scale and are measured in grains, abbreviated as “grs.” You should never exceed your recipe's prescribed amount of grains.

Smokeless powder is available in several sizes.

Primers: The firing pin of your gun strikes the primer and sets off the spark that ignites your powder. The primer should be compatible with the rest of the components.

The standard shotgun reloading primer is #209.

Shot: Your shot is the BBs, or the lead beads inside the shell. Shot comes in different sizes. For example, a number five shot is used for turkey hunting and a number six shot is used for pheasant. If you notice, although a turkey is a bigger bird than a pheasant, you use a smaller numbered shot. That is because the smaller the number, the bigger the shot.

Reloader: A reloader is a small device that helps you put all the components together in the right manner. Reloaders come in different models and range in price, typically from $100 to $300. The right model for you will depend on what caliber shells you are reloading and the amount of shells you are reloading.

Pictured above is a MEC 8567N reloader.

Reloading Stages

Reloading is a process of stages. Stages refer to the different steps that are accomplished with one pull of the handle. There are 5- and 6-stage reloaders. I will focus on a 6-stage reloader. In a circle around the reloader are places (or stages) to hold the casings for six shells. Each of the six stages of the process does something different to the shell you are reloading.

The handle on a reloader is in front and you just pull it down. There are two containers on top of the device. One holds the powder and the other holds the shot. Just below the containers is a bar that is called the charge bar. The adjustable charge bar is used to determine the amount of grains you will need for the shell. For example, if you want a one ounce load, you simply adjust the bar to the one-ounce setting. The recipe will tell you the amount of powder you need. You simply adjust the bar to measure out that amount.

On the charge bar are two holes, one for the powder, and one for the shot. Bushings are put into the holes to make sure that the right amount of powder and shot are being dropped into the shell. Bushings have numbers on them that start at 10 and run consecutively up to 46. The number you use depends on the brand of powder you are using, and the type of casing. Your recipe will tell you what number to use.

Okay, by now you may be wondering where these recipes that I keep referring to come from. They can be found in reloading manuals. Such a manual is a necessity for anyone who wishes to reload their shells. Lyman Products Corporation's Shotshell Reloading Handbook and Reloading for Shotgunners, written by Rick Sapp and Kurt Fackler, are two examples. Reloading manuals can be found online or at gun shops. Manuals have hundreds of recipes in them. A recipe is similar to what you would find in a cookbook with all the components listed and the amounts needed to make your shell. They include examples for different brands of each component. Finding a recipe starts with the type of casing you are reusing. As an example, I will give you two recipes for 12-ga., 1-oz., 2¾ light field loads, using a once-fired Winchester AA casing.

Recipe 1: 19.0 grs of Red Dot powder, Winchester 209 primer, Winchester #WAA12 wad (pink), and 1 ounce of #9 shot.

Recipe 2: 21.0 grs of Red Dot powder, CCI 109 primer, Alcan Flite-max 34 wad (white), and 1 ounce of #9 shot.

These are just two of a hundred recipes for that exact shot shell.

Also needed for reloading is a digital scale that measures in grains. You can buy them at gun shops or online. I own a Cabela brand and it runs on batteries or electricity. A digital scale for reloading can be purchased for less than $100.

Reloading Process

I want to reload a heavy target load for shooting skeet for a 12-gauge shotgun. I have Winchester AA casings, Winchester W209 primers, Winchester WAA 12 wads (white), Red Dot brand powder and #9 size shot. I look in my manual to find a recipe. I see that I need 17 grains of Red Dot powder, and 479 grains of #9 shot. The recipe book calls for a 1-1/8 ounce charge bar with a number 31 bushing.

At stage one, I put the shell casing on the rotating base, and pull the handle down. When I do that, it pops the old, remaining primer out of the bottom. I then lift up the handle, and I put a primer in a small hole on the base. I rotate the shell to the right by hand to reach stage two.

At stage two, the primer is under the shell casing in the hole in the bottom of the base. When I pull the handle down it pushes the new primer in. The powder falls into the bottom of the casing. I then lift the handle up. At this point, I dump the powder in a small cup and put the cup on the scale to make sure the weight of the powder is correct. I have never had a problem with the weight being wrong but, for safety reasons, it should always be checked. Then, rotate the base to the right for stage three.

At stage three, I put the wad into the top of the casing by hand. When I pull the handle, a plunger pushes the wad onto the top of the powder, releases shot from the top, and fills the top cup of the wad. I then pour the shot into the measuring cup and put it on the scale to check the weight. The weight of the shot does not have to be as exact as the powder. A single bead of shot can put the weight a little off. I lift the handle up and rotate the shell to the right, bringing me to stage four.

When I pull the handle at stage four, the reloader starts to crimp the top. Crimping is the folding in of the top so all the components stay firmly in place. The reloader does the crimping in stages to make sure the casing is well-aligned so that it will fit properly into the gun barrel.

Stages five and six are also crimping stages. By stage six, the top is fully closed, and the top center is pressed in. I now have one fully loaded shell. With a six stage reloader, I can reload three shotgun shells a minute or about 200 an hour.

You can change any of the components to get your desired load. Example: if you want less recoil, try using a 1-ounce charge bar and a smaller wad, then adjust the amounts of powder and shot according to the recipe.

Once you have the recipe you want to use, reloading is simple, easy, and safe. With a six-stage reloader, you will have six completed shells with six pulls of the handle. Inspect each shell as it comes out to make sure the tops are crimped correctly.

Utilizing a reloader can save you money. On average, your ammunition costs can drop by a third to a half, depending on what brand shells you choose. With a little practice and with firm knowledge of your guns, ammunition and recipes, you should be reloading in no time.