Reloading Equipment VI (Tools and Accessories)

A Reloading Manual

Without a doubt, the most important piece of reloading equipment is a good reloading manual. A reloading manual is absolutely critical to loading safe and effective ammunition. Reloading manuals published by either bullet or powder manufacturers contain a wealth of data that is the result of many thousands of hours of research and development. To reload safely, it is necessary to use powder charges which will operate within acceptable pressure limits for your firearm. Powder charges that are either too heavy or too light can both result in unsafe situations. A reloading manual will provide you with the safe minimum and maximum load for a certain bullet/powder combination in the cartridge that you are loading. Manuals also provide suggestions for which powders to use based on which ones produced the best results in the testing laboratory. Often, the manual will tell you which powder and what weight provided the most accurate results. Starting with a proven load from a published manual is the quickest and safest way to find a load that works well in your firearm.

Loading Block

Loading blocks are flat plastic or wooden trays with holes in them designed to hold cases upright by the base. Loading blocks are very useful as they help to keep the reloading process organized. Cases can be kept organized by moving them from one end of the block to the other after a particular step has been performed. They are particularly useful when charging a large number of cases from a powder measure.

Calipers

Calipers are another tool that are an absolute necessity for reloading. Calipers allow you to measure items very accurately down to thousandths of an inch. In reloading, calipers are used to measure case lengths as well as overall cartridge length. Measuring case lengths between firings is important as cases that are too long can result in dangerously high pressure. It would be next to impossible to set up a bullet seating die properly without a set of calipers. There are two common types of calipers, digital and dial. Digital models require batteries and feature a digital read out for measurements. Dial calipers don’t require batteries and feature a traditional dial read out for measurements. Both types work equally well, so picking one is just a matter of preference.

Stuck Case Removal Kit

Sooner or later, everyone gets a case stuck in a die. When a case becomes stuck in a die, the only safe way to remove it without damaging the die is to use a stuck case removal kit. Most kits are the same and include a drill bit, tap, threaded bolt, spacer block and Allen wrench. To remove a stuck case with such a kit, first the primer pocket is drilled out with the included drill bit. Next, use the tap to cut threads in the hole that was just drilled through the web of the case. Finally, place the spacer block over the base of the die and head of the case, then thread the bolt into the case. As the bolt is turned in the case, its head will come to rest on the spacer block and the threads will pull the case out of the die. Be sure to clean the die afterwards as there will be brass shavings in it from the case removal process. A stuck case removal kit isn’t a tool that you will need to use very often, but when you do need it, there is no other alternative.

Collet style bullet puller.

Bullet Puller

Eventually, most reloaders end up with loaded rounds that for one reason or another they do not want to fire, but they want to salvage the components from. The only way to safely disassemble loaded rounds without firing them is to use a bullet puller. A bullet puller makes it possible to safely remove the bullet from a cartridge without damaging the bullet or the case. Bullets and brass can then be reloaded if desired. Bullet pullers come in two styles, kinetic and collet. Kinetic bullet pullers look like a plastic hammer and use the force of inertia to pull bullets from cartridges. A cartridge is placed into the head of the puller, and an internal collet supports the cartridge case. When the puller is struck against a hard surface, the inertia of the bullet pulls it forward and out of the case. A collet or clamp style bullet puller looks like a die, and is used in conjunction with a reloading press. This type of puller clamps onto the bullet with a caliber-specific collet which holds the bullet while the ram of the press pulls the cartridge case down and away. The advantage of the inertia pullers is that they are inexpensive and can accommodate a wide range of cartridges. The drawback is that when a bullet is pulled, the powder spills out of the case all over the inside of the puller. The collet style pullers exert much more force, and don’t spill the powder, but they require caliber specific collets that must be purchased separately.