I am getting ready to start reloading and was wondering on what the best book to read to start with. I am totally new to rifle and pistol reloading. I have loaded shotgun shells in the past. I will be reloading for 357 magnum Ruger KGP161, and also for rifles.

Is there certain brands of shells to buy for the brass and are there any to stay away from?

Go to a local bookstore or search on amazon.com for a book called "The ABC's of Reloading" its a great book for anyone begining to handload. As far as the manuals themselves hornady and lyman are some of the better ones iv read. lyman is nice because they dont sell the components so they test various brands. I like winchester brass its afforodable and easy to find, lasts long to.

quote:

I am getting ready to start reloading...

You're going to love it. But be warned-- you'll spend more money on ammo because each round will cost you about half of what buying it commercial would cost. Gotta love a hobby like that...

quote:

As far as the manuals themselves hornady and lyman are some of the better ones

Fully agree here.

Other manuals are good as well but the Hornady especially explains reloading quite well

As to ammo.....buy what you like.....I seriously doubt that one source of brass is "Long term overall" better than another.

From time to time you may find some brass that will disappoint you.....but it won't consistently be one or another.

There are some darn sharp reloaders here....don't be afraid to ask questions because you'll get quick responses of a quality nature.

Check out your local library too, some have a surprisingly good hunting/shooting/reloading section.

Thanks for the information. I will try and start with the ABCs of Reloading and than one of the others. I know very little at this time so this may be a good book to start with.

Thanks

Radny

rbhunter, welcom to AR

Welcome to AR. I am new here as well & there is a lot of experience to be gained from here.

FWIW, I started with the Lyman manual - almost exclusively for the first 3 years. This is because the Lyman manual has pressure data for most loads. If I found other loads, I always compared it with the Lyman data to check pressures. I also bought a chronograph to make sure that my loads were giving me the required velocities.

I found that trying for maximum velocities was not easy & often risky. So I always target good accuracy in my reloads rather than squeezing out an extra 50 fps.

Happy shooting & hunting.