Articles

Before you reload a single round of .300 Blackout, understand this: a .300 BLK cartridge can chamber in a 5.56 or .223 rifle and destroy it. They share the AR-15 magazine and bolt, so a stray .300 round in a 5.56 gun is a catastrophe waiting to happen. With that understood, .300 Blackout is a … Read more

.45 ACP is one of the most forgiving cartridges to reload, right alongside 9mm, but it has one trap that catches everyone: it uses large pistol primers, not the small pistol primers 9mm takes. It runs at low pressure on a fat straight-wall case, takes a .451 bullet usually around 230 grains, sizes on a … Read more

6.5 Creedmoor is the cartridge that made precision reloading mainstream, and it is one of the most rewarding rounds to handload. It runs on rifle primers, though you have to check your brass because premium match brass often uses small rifle primers, plus a high-BC 6.5mm bullet from 120 to 147 grains, a slow-burn rifle … Read more

.308 Winchester is the classic full-power rifle cartridge to reload, and it rewards careful handloading with real accuracy gains over factory ammo. It runs on large rifle primers, a .308 bullet from 150 to 175 grains, a medium-burn rifle powder, and robust brass that lasts many loadings. The work is a step up from a … Read more

Reloading .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO means working a bottleneck rifle case: small rifle primers, a .224 bullet from 55 to 77 grains, a rifle powder, and brass that has to be lubed, trimmed, and watched for stretch. The one thing to settle before anything else is that .223 and 5.56 are not freely interchangeable, … Read more

9mm is the cheapest and most forgiving cartridge to learn handloading on. It runs on small pistol primers, a 115 to 147 grain bullet, a fast-burning pistol powder, and clean once-fired brass, and the straight-wall case sizes easily on a carbide die with no lube. This guide covers what 9mm specifically needs, how to prep … Read more

For high-volume pistol shooting and any centerfire rifle, reloading is worth it: it cuts cost per round by roughly 40 to 60 percent, and most shooters clear the equipment cost inside 2,000 to 5,000 rounds. For low-volume shooting, .22 rimfire, or bargain steel-case plinking, it is not, and I will not pretend otherwise. Factory ammo … Read more