If you’re serious about reloading and developing ammunition to suit your rifles, there are certain tools that are simply on the ‘must have’ list. It may be argued with some validity that these are merely the thoughts of one individual on the subject. I’d agree but will claim that they’re the result of more than 35 years of exposure to the subject, and yes, I’m still learning!

Before you step up to the reloading bench for the first time, you MUST be clear in your own mind about exactly what each step in the reloading process is designed to achieve. If there’s any doubt, seek the advice of an experienced reloader.

Common Sense

The first tool is the most vital: a good old-fashioned dose of common sense. If you’re not going to obey the rules of reloading and instead, insist on living on the edge, it’s only a matter of time before it’ll bite you; I’ve witnessed this repeatedly.

The other issue of common sense is to be conservative; sticking your neck out achieves nothing except the possible opportunity to get it chopped off! Associated with this vital issue is the requirement for a pair of questioning eyes to look for split necks, deformities and general case conditions on an individual basis. If there’s any doubt about the quality of a case, simply do not load it.

Manuals

It’s all very well to load within maximums when quoted in a manual, but what do you do when none are specified? A typical recent example occurred with a new barrel in .243 Ackley Improved fitted to my switch-barrel rifle. In this case, it was ascertained through research that the increase in powder capacity was somewhere in the region of 5gr of water. It’s also suggested that with Ackley barrels, the starting load should be the maximum load for that powder in the parent case.

Library

If you’re going to load for a variety of calibres – or have an experimental mind and wish to compare powders and projectiles even for just a few different cartridges – you’ll need at least the basics of a library relating to ammunition and reloading.

In addition to as many reloading manuals as you think you’ll need, there are many other books that’ll prove useful, such as those relating to wildcat cartridges or hunting cartridges. As an example, such books often contain older reloading data. In my opinion, you can never have too much information available to decide whether you should proceed or not.

Some complain or advise that in this computer age, the written word is superseded by computers and the internet; however, there is a major difference. There’s little or no supervision of what appears on the internet. Yes, I agree the volume is vast, but how accurate is it? At least the written word is under the eagle eye of an editor, a fact that’s often forgotten.

Chronograph

Closely followed by the written word for either reference or study has to be the basic chronograph; it needs neither bells nor whistles, just the ability to faithfully record velocity. I’m on my third in over twenty years or so; the previous two were, unfortunately, victims of errant projectiles at great speeds, simply incorrectly set up! Without a chronograph, when it comes to testing any projectile/powder combination, you’re simply whistling in the dark; any assumptions made are sheer rubbish.

It might be assumed that cases with similar capacities firing similar charges of powder and projectiles might reasonably be thought to have the same velocity. Not necessarily so; in fact, highly unlikely. A chronograph is the single most important purchase you’ll ever make for testing ammunition.

Ballistic Programs

Next in line for useful vital tools has to be a ballistic program; there are many available to suit a variety of individual needs. The one that I’ve used consistently through several versions is Load From a Disc. It’s very easy to use, and it’s the only American program that includes ADI powders.

Such programs are useful in three different ways. Initially, they allow you to enter details of the cartridge case and proposed projectile; the program will then suggest several different powders and provide probable velocities, etc. Using these figures, plus the barrel length of the rifle, it’s easy to see if the chosen cartridge meets your requirements.

Most programs allow you to conduct ‘what if’ scenarios relating to the development of the load by changing to different projectiles, cases and powder. This feature can provide very useful information; of course, it cannot be absolute as we still have to consider the rifle.

At this stage, it’s possible to feed the accumulated data into the program to ascertain if your initial requirements are possible with the chosen components. It’s possible that the projectile is unsuitable for the task and may have to be changed to another. At this stage, the program will produce an initial ballistic table complete with energy figures at various ranges. Once you’ve developed the load and have some solid velocity figures, it’s very easy to feed them into the program and develop an accurate ballistic table.

QuickLOAD is another very useful program.

Calliper

Before we get to the shooting stage, we have, of course, to load our superior ammunition. All components need to be of the highest quality and assembled with great care. To ensure the best quality control, we need some tools that are capable of measuring both what is used and the final assembled ammunition. All the tools mentioned will last a veritable lifetime.

The first is a simple calliper to measure in thousands of an inch; its normal use is to check the cartridge case length. It’s well known that cartridge cases will grow in length with use; this needs to be controlled, and cases should be checked for length after each use.

Trimming

Cases tend to grow with use, the amount depending on the intensity of the load used. The easy way to trim cases is to use a dedicated calibre form and trim die. Screw the die down to touch the top of the ram, run a lubricated case into the die, file off the excess, re-chamfer inside and out, and the job is done.

The alternative is a small lathe-like tool that’s usable with multiple calibres. The only downside is that you have to change the length of the cut in different cases.

Micrometre

If you’re going to turn case necks at any stage, there’s a requirement for both a normal and a tube micrometre: the normal to measure the loaded round and the tube type to measure case wall thickness, which can be critical, particularly in those cartridges with fitted necks.

This would be unusual in hunting ammunition but is normal in benchrest and often in varmint cartridges. If you’re serious about reloading, you cannot do without them.

Portable Bench

When we’ve loaded our ammunition and get to the fun part, i.e., the shooting of our loads, we need a stable shooting platform plus some stands and bags to ensure that our rifle is properly supported during the shooting process. Without these aids, the resultant groups may not be truly representative of what the loaded rounds are capable of, and we may have just wasted valuable time, effort and components.

The main requirement of any shooting bench is that it be stable, no matter where it’s used. Within our family, we’re on the second such bench that’s used for all load development and all long-range shooting.

The design of the bench was simply copied from a photograph in an American magazine and converted into reality by a family tradesman.

Neck and Primer Pocket Tools

A US company (Ballistic Tools.com) makes a series of gauges that will measure with accuracy the inside diameter of a case neck. These particular gauges are, in my opinion, a valuable addition to the reloader seeking to improve accuracy. They allow one to sort cases by steps of .003 in case mouth diameter. Thus, you can load cases with the same size necks; this consistency is a small step in the overall accuracy equation.

For the .224 gauge, the steps on the shaft are cut at .224, .221, .218 and .215 inches. In my experience, most cases after annealing will be either .221 or .218. My other gauge is in .243 calibre and is stepped in .243, .241, .238 and .235. Other size gauges are available.

In addition, they make a go/no-go gauge (US$11.99) that will tell you instantly if the primer pocket is within specifications or not. One end will enter a normal within-the-specs pocket. If the other end enters, it’s excessively oversize and the case should be scrapped. This tool is quick, easy and 100% foolproof. A primer pocket uniformer will keep pockets clean and at the correct depth. It’ll usually remove most of the combustion residue from the primer pocket.

Mandrels

Another useful tool that’s appeared in the recent past for the reloader with an enquiring mind is a set of very precise mandrels that allow you to experiment with precision neck sizes. The mandrels are cut to four decimal figures and are available in .0005 increments.

We’ve had some good results using .243 Winchester Norma cases with necks cut to 0.012 in depth and then expanded with a 0.2235 mandrel. The question of neck tension and its relationship to a particular projectile is, I suggest, open to much discussion. While there are various makers, we had good service from Porter Precision Products in Texas; they’re on the internet.

The various tools used to change both neck diameters and tension are, in my opinion, a bit of an unknown minefield for those who write about ammunition. There’s still a lot of experimentation to be carried out and validated. All the above will assist in making your ammunition more accurate.

Case Cleaning

I will admit to being fussy about clean, shiny cases. The main reason is that it usually allows instant verification if there’s a crack or other defect. Further, I believe that it’s necessary to clean the inside of cases.

For the home reloader, a small ultrasonic jewellery cleaner off the internet is ideal and allows cleaning at minimum cost. There are various ‘cleaning’ recipes available from the same source. You’ll soon learn what works and what does not. Normally, I process my cases through 2 x 8-minute cycles; it cleans them beautifully inside and out.