Reloading can be a fun and rewarding hobby.   As with a lot of activities care is required and safety is paramount.  Below is a compilation of safety rules that should be followed at all times.  Failure to follow these rules could result in injury or even death.   If you take proper care, understand and follow the safety rules and exercise caution you will find reloading as satisfying as shooting.

 

• Always wear your safety glasses.

• DO NOT SMOKE WHILE RELOADING.   This should go without saying.

• Follow load recommendations and never exceed the maximum load.

• Understand how to use your equipment and the process of reloading.

• Develop a procedure and stick with it.

• Keep your powder tightly sealed and stored properly.  Generally it’s a good idea to keep primers and powder stored in separate locations.

• Never use anyone else's hand loads in your or their firearm. There is no way to check and see if the charges are correct and if the load was developed for a particular firearm. Not everyone is competent at reloading and you should use extreme caution as if your life depended on it.

• Never use drugs or alcohol when assembling ammunition! Why?! Well if you made some ammunition with the wrong charge or components and shelve it, that ammo is immediately suspect. If you loaded it under the influence you are extraordinarily reckless.  Bad ammo is not like a hangover, the ammo is waiting to unleash it's makers mistakes at a later time by either the maker himself or someone else not expecting a uncertain outcome, i.e. a explosion in your hand, a primer only charged round,   a under charged round etc..

• Never use someone else's loading data they developed with out researching the components used with the manuals of the manufacturer who made those components.

• Smokeless propellant isn't "black powder". There are at least 150-200 different powders that are of a specific burning rate for a specific purpose. Don't be fooled to think that the small amount in the case isn't enough and by adding more is better. False assumption! Smokeless propellant is very powerful and used incorrectly can have dire consequences. Stop! Study!

• Never mix powders!  Never mix powders of the same type!  Powders vary from lot to lot. They are made to fulfill certain burning characteristics and can vary slightly in composition from lot to lot. When loading with a powder that you spent weeks working on and need to buy more take note of the lot number on the side of the canister. When using the same powder of a different lot number reduce the load by 10% and work up your load until you have a safe load with your new powder.

• Don't use a powder that has been opened by someone other than you! You don't know where it's been and how it's been stored.

• Keep all primers, powder, and ammunition out of the reach of children. You are ultimately responsible for your "property" and the misuse thereof.

• If you don't know don't proceed! Consult a manual, consult ammosmith.com or call the manufacturers of the components you're using and get technical support.   There are too many resources available for hand loader to put yourself into a dangerous situation due to lack of information.

• When loading ammunition do so in a place of zero distractions so you’re totally focused on the task at hand.