Things you wished you knew when you started?

[Mram10us]

I have learned a lot on forums, from mentors and at the range and learn more every day. A couple things I wish I knew more about in the beginning were:
1. Holding down the press handle when resizing for a few seconds to let the brass resize with less springback
2. understood the difference between focus and parallax
3. used annealing (correctly) with comparators to see what the resizing was actually doing to my brass
4. Understood the poi difference between shooting with different rear supports (bag v rock v fist)

There are many more, but Id love to hear what key points you missed for years that you wish you knew in the beginning. I know I'll learn some new stuff

 

[sturner]

Not to neck size
Don't follow that dang rabbit for a hunting round
Reading pressure
And all the OP listed

 

[BoomFlop]

As a beginner Reloader currently (so I have experience in the wish I knew department), I wish I knew more about the following currently:

Powder Burn Rates effects and differences

Seating Depth effects on pressure and accuracy

I think these things are the most confusing and misunderstood as a new Reloader that is hesitant to "test" this early. I'll get there.

Following!

Steve

 

[FEENIX]

I have learned a lot on forums, from mentors and at the range and learn more every day. A couple things I wish I knew more about in the beginning were:
1. Holding down the press handle when resizing for a few seconds to let the brass resize with less springback
2. understood the difference between focus and parallax
3. used annealing (correctly) with comparators to see what the resizing was actually doing to my brass
4. Understood the poi difference between shooting with different rear supports (bag v rock v fist)

There are many more, but Id love to hear what key points you missed for years that you wish you knew in the beginning. I know I'll learn some new stuff

Ditto on the learning part. I am actually OK with the slow learning process as I was able to synthesize the information being presented to me and better appreciate it ... and so far, no major problems that I wa not able to troubleshoot. I am a continuous and life-long learner that tries to absorb as much as I can.

 

[milo-2]

I have learned a lot on forums, from mentors and at the range and learn more every day. A couple things I wish I knew more about in the beginning were:
1. Holding down the press handle when resizing for a few seconds to let the brass resize with less springback
2. understood the difference between focus and parallax
3. used annealing (correctly) with comparators to see what the resizing was actually doing to my brass
4. Understood the poi difference between shooting with different rear supports (bag v rock v fist)

There are many more, but Id love to hear what key points you missed for years that you wish you knew in the beginning. I know I'll learn some new stuff

You have some solid ones there. Sorry but I chuckled some at #4, not at your expense of coarse. I have been on gun forums for some time, tough to pick the tips and hints, I am sure many.
The one that sticks out the most though is the constant drain on my pocketbook, I see something in a post and I question how I managed to live 60+ yrs without it.
Being as though I have been a snipers hide member for yrs, the key to surviving or learning on forums is deciphering who to trust or believe. There are way too many one time success stories that get pushed as fact. When you read someone tested something, and you want to believe it, do yourself a favor and run your own tests.
In general, forums are a great place to garner knowledge, and easy.

 

[Frog4aday]

1) When the reloading book says use a small pistol MAGNUM primer for Win296/H110, they mean it. (Standard primer failed to ignite the powder)
2) I wish I had known about Briley tubes BEFORE I had sold my Beretta Silver Snipe O/U with fixed mod-full choke.
3) Cheap scopes cost you a lot more in the long run.
4) When the wife says "that's fine, go ahead" she doesn't mean it

 

[Savage 12BVSS]

I have learned a lot on forums, from mentors and at the range and learn more every day.

I will answer according to OP's opening sentence, I wondered if it was forum context or since starting hunting and shooting.......
1 - I wish I would have picked up reloading decades sooner, for me its another aspect of shooting I enjoy a lot and missed out on for a long time and regret. That was mentor influenced totally.
2 - Wish I hadn't tried to save money on a lot of gun and reloading purchase's, took a while to get that you should just buy the better stuff first time and avoid upgrading later anyway. That one was pretty much self taught over time.
3 - Late getting into forums and lacked the suspicious nature to question thing's instead of believing everything I saw in print. Wiser now and tend to take things with a grain or two of salt (like dinner : ) and learn first hand if it's useful or not. That was forum savvy that came from school of hard knocks.
4 - Learned late how to really shoot a gun to it's potential, this one was at the bench watching some pretty darn good shooter's while spotting for them and shooting guns for the gunsmith where I hung out so he could show customer's what the rifle or scope work resulted in. That taught me a lot. Dave

 

[Country Bumpkin]

Can those that know please expand on the OP #4 lesson? I'm hoping to some day link up with some of you guys in the Gem state to actually get some real instruction (I have a list of excuses a mile long with young kids, sports, hall-passes, etc). But..... I have experienced inconsistencies that baffle me.
Currently I do 100% of my practice and killing with the same setup (pack as a front rest, rolled up coat over my left hand for rear support).
Someone please tell me I'm an idiot and that there's a better way.
My reasoning is that those two things will ALWAYS be at my disposal when hunting. So I figure I should practice the way I'm going to likely shoot at an animal (and therefor learn my capabilities/limits).

 

[JMW67]

I have learned a lot on forums, from mentors and at the range and learn more every day. A couple things I wish I knew more about in the beginning were:
1. Holding down the press handle when resizing for a few seconds to let the brass resize with less springback
2. understood the difference between focus and parallax
3. used annealing (correctly) with comparators to see what the resizing was actually doing to my brass
4. Understood the poi difference between shooting with different rear supports (bag v rock v fist)

There are many more, but Id love to hear what key points you missed for years that you wish you knew in the beginning. I know I'll learn some new stuff

The importance of brass prep

 

[North Idaho Hunter]

If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

"cheap" And precision don't go hand in hand.

I wish I would've started out 15+ years ago with the quality reloading equipment I have now. It would've saved so much time/heart ache and countless hours at the range.

 

[Dave in WI]

......the cost........

 

[dmj]

I've learned a lot from this forum. Understanding bullet bc, seating depths and different powders rank high in some of the things I wish I'd had a better understanding of years ago. Cost-not saying there aren't good values out there. But with this sport especially in glass you usually get what you pay for. One thing I've come to realize is how lucky I was to live most of my life when I had the freedom to own firearms, reloading supplies and to be able to use them.

 

[DJ Fergus]

I have learned a lot on forums, from mentors and at the range and learn more every day. A couple things I wish I knew more about in the beginning were:
1. Holding down the press handle when resizing for a few seconds to let the brass resize with less springback
2. understood the difference between focus and parallax
3. used annealing (correctly) with comparators to see what the resizing was actually doing to my brass
4. Understood the poi difference between shooting with different rear supports (bag v rock v fist)

There are many more, but Id love to hear what key points you missed for years that you wish you knew in the beginning. I know I'll learn some new stuff

Wish I would have understood how much difference good consistent brass would make.
Wish I would have had a better understanding of how much twist rate would effect what weight bullets could be used, back then that information wasn't so common knowledge to near as many people as it is now.

Wish I would have understood that some slower burning magnum powders don't always work out well in short barrels

 

[jebel]

Early on I spent a lot of time thinking about cartridges, as popular press seemed to suggest cartridge was paramount. I spent less time thinking about rifle characteristics, and even less time concerned with bullets and how they met the task at hand. Today my priorities have completely reversed.