Hi, shooters! I have shied away from a column on reloading despite numerous requests to do one, mainly because it’s a very broad subject. I’ve only been doing it for about four years, and four years is not much time in the world of reloading, so I will be drawing a lot of knowledge from some friends who have a lot more experience than I have. I’m also going to avoid getting into the technical world of high-end ballistics where you can make bullets do wondrous things at around 3,000 feet per second. Instead, we are going to look at the world of reloading the way a beginner should — slowly and cautiously, one step at a time. So gentle reader let’s take a peek at the wonderful world of metallic cartridge reloading.

First of all, why would anyone want to reload in the first place? The number one reason is usually saving money. You can save anywhere between 40 and 70 percent off the cost of factory ammunition. Holy mackerel, where do I sign up? Whoa, now — that savings does not happen instantly. Up front, you’ve got the cost of your equipment, and then you have to ferret out sources of cases, bullets, powder, primers and lots of other necessary items.