First and foremost, what do you need? An updated reloading book to reference proper powder charge, bullet weight, and bullet seating depth, a press, reloading dies, and a scale. Concentration and attention to detail is another important must have while reloading and is just as critical as your reloading book.

The 30.06 rifle caliber is one of the most common and versatile hunting round to reload.

Re-using once fired brass is a cost cutting sig sauer 10mm measure that most reloaders will often do. I recommend cleaning your brass with treated crushed walnut shells to get a nice shine. Damaged or questionable cases should should NOT be used and recycling them is a good way of recouping a small amount of money.

It should be noted that there are two kinds of primer pockets for rifle brass. Berdan primed brass have two small flash holes at the bottom of the case, whereas Boxer primed brass only has one. To verify whether or not you have Berdan or Boxer, shine a light inside the case and check if there are two flash holes.

Insert the proper shell holder and sizing die. Roll the casings lightly across a lube pad or spray case lube on the cases that your are going to be working on. With the sizing die in the press, run the press one full cycle to size and deprime. Measure the over all length of the casing with a caliper and trim the cases to the proper length if needed.

Since we are loading for a 30.06, you will need to use Large Rifle Primers (LRP). Using a priming tool, insert your brass into the shell holder, press firmly to seat the primer in the pocket. Run your finger across the bottom of the casing and check if you properly seated primer the primer. Do not force the primer into the pocket because you can accidentally set off the primer and cause injury. The primer should be flush to the case.

Using factory ammunition to compare your reloads, purchase the same weight bullets as those you have been using. Cross reference the bullet weight with an appropriate powder to use. Doing this will yield two things; proper powder charge and seating depth. Never exceed the recommended powder charge in your loading manual. The amount of powder will mandate the speed of the bullet and the pressure that your firearm will sustain. Use a powder measure to get the correct charge and periodically check it with a scale. It is very important not to double charge rifle loads because the consequences can and will be catastrophic. Before seating each bullet, look at the tray of charged casings. The powder level should all be the same. Any missed or double charged casings should be redone.

Install the bullet seating die. Set the bullet into the casing and slowly seat the bullet. Measure the over all length of your ammunition as you seat the bullet, and refer to the load manual for the maximum or minimum bullet length. Make slow adjustment until the desired length is obtained.