My second installment into reloading is going to deal with some definitions and terminology that must be understood before you get started. As I said before, this is aimed at beginners — not you guys who have been doing this for years. As always, I would welcome any helpful comments or critiques any readers might have, or possible different approaches on some different areas — provided we aren’t talking advanced reloading, but basic startup stuff for beginner. This is hard enough for a novice to grasp without talking about slugging barrels, headspace measurement, heat-forming cartridges, air drag on bullets and ballistic coefficients and things like that. That’s for later on — too much high tech will overwhelm any novice reloader.

You need to select a work area for your reloading. It should be well-lit and free of any potential hazards and distractions. Don’t have unshielded lights close overhead that could be shattered and rain sparks down on powder or primers. For that matter, you don’t want anything heavy shelved over the workbench that could fall on the table and crush primers or other parts or delicate tools or your hands. All powder, bullets, primers, and other components need to be stored in an orderly manner, close to the bench but not on it. I found an old metal wall locker with shelves and it and doors. It serves really well and I can lock it if I want to. I got it at a garage sale for five bucks. You just don’t really want all your components and tools hanging over your reloading bench. The bench itself needs to be sturdy, because some force is necessary in some of the processes, and it needs to be very steady. I reinforce the actual amount area for my reloading press with a piece of 2x12 lumber bolted to the bench with carriage bolts. When you pull that reloading press lever, you want a very stable non-flexing table. This is a must.