Learn to Reload
Free, step-by-step handloading tutorials — with a little history along the way
New to reloading, or sharpening your skills? This is a structured video series that starts with the basics — the parts of a cartridge, powders, primers, and bullets — and works all the way up to load workup and progressive presses. Watch in order, or jump to what you need.
Reloading is inherently dangerous. These videos are for education only — always cross-reference current, published load data, start low, and work up.
Season 1 — Foundations
Welcome to Reloader's Bench / Why Reload
Cost, accuracy, self-reliance, and what this channel will teach you.
History: Where cartridge handloading began in the black-powder era.
Anatomy of a Modern Cartridge
The four parts of every cartridge — case, primer, powder, bullet — and centerfire vs rimfire.
History: Why your brass is "Boxer-primed" — a rivalry between two colonels in 1866.
Headstamps, Calibers & Naming
Reading a headstamp and why ".308 Win" is not the same as "7.62 NATO."
History: The metric-vs-imperial naming mess and the founding of SAAMI in 1926.
Powders 101
Smokeless vs black powder, burn rates, and why you never substitute.
History: Paul Vieille's 1884 smokeless powder and how it changed everything.
Primers 101
Primer types and sizes, how a primer works, and safe handling and storage.
History: The percussion-cap lineage behind the modern primer.
Bullets 101
FMJ, JHP, cast, and monolithic bullets; weight, profile, and ballistic coefficient basics.
History: The minié ball and the jacketed-bullet revolution.
The Reloading Bench Setup
Workspace, lighting, safety rules, and keeping a good reloading log.