one of the most overlooked part of reloading is bumping the shoulder if done properly your brass will last a long time there are a few videos on youtube about this. you will also need bump gauges.
This is very true as it IS often an overlooked stage.
Oversize your brass, aka bump the shoulder back to far, and it'll lead to over worked brass and premature case/head seperation. Not a good thing!
Undersize or don't bump the shoulder back far enough and you'll end up with brass that won't chamber in your gun.
Think of your brass as a pressure chamber and every little change in the pressure chamber either increases or decreases the pressure. You want every piece of brass to be as near identical in size/dimension as possible but you also want it to just barely fit in your guns chamber without having to much extra room for the brass to expand.
Factory guns often have chambers that are a little on the loose side, compared to one cut by a gunsmith with a top quality reamer. So it may take a 2-3 firings before your brass has expanded enough to fit your chamber, if you're reloading for a factory chambered gun. This is why I don't bump the shoulder back until I get a piece that doesn't want to easily chamber. If you start bumping the shoulder back before that you really don't know if you're oversizing it or not.
If you go with bump guage inserts, spend the money on a decent caliper. Remember, you're measuring in the thousandts which is a VERY small measurement and cheap calipers can drive you nuts with inconsistent readings. Digital calipers are great but I'd gladly take a top quality dial caliper to a marginal digital one any day.
www.larrywillis.com makes a headspace, aka shoulder bump, guage that works for a variety of calibers and shoulder angles, works great for measuring bullets too. It's easy to use and even though a good caliper is something you'll want to eventually get, the cost of his headspace guage is less than what inserts and a caliper will cost you.
Also, I'd recommend buying one of the different reloading CD's that are out there. Shawn Carlock w/Defensive Edge made one that explains things in a very user friendly way.
What brand or color equipement you buy matters little if you aren't putting it all to good use. Do your research and take the time to always do things right. I'll often ask the same question multiple times and when I start getting the same answer, consistently, that's usually the one I tend to go with. It all may seem "Greek" to you at first and don't be surprised if it all gives you a headache. We've all been there and it is a lot to understand at first but learning from your mistakes and knowing all the things NOT to do is just as important as having the right answer. Get yourself one of those reloading CD's, I think it's a lot easier to learn stuff, especially if it's foreign to you, when you watch it as it's being explained versus just reading about it.
Also, don't get discouraged if the accuracy from your own loaded ammo isn't there right away. It, often, takes many tweaks before a load gets dialed in and the more proficient you become as a reloader, typically, the faster you can dial in a new load.
