Reloading Course review

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Class review of NRA Basic Metallic Cartridge Reloading course with Jim Finnerty from http://massreloading.com/index.html held 7/20/2014

Thank you to Peter Early and the Maynard Rod and Gun Club for hosting this class. Very easy to get to the club with very nice facilities. Food and coffee provided was a nice touch.

Jim's course was slated for 9 hours including a lunch break. We went a little long as Jim answered any and all questions asked.

My reloading background....absolutely no knowledge of the reloading process,components order, or safety(besides common sense). Basically, I can recognize a pistol cartridge and know what way to put it into a magazine...[wink]

Working in the IT field for over 30 years I have taken dozens and dozens of professional (and not so professional) training courses. I know how training and courses should flow so the student gets the most out of their time attending a course.

While I can read manuals, how to guides, and watch endless YouTube video's about reloading there is nothing like a professional trainer guiding you with a proper lesson plan. This was a first rate learning environment that you could tell right away was based on years of experience and a true passion for reloading and teaching reloading. Jim mixed in exact facts to learn with examples from his real world experience.

The course is an introduction course covering firing process, reloading process, safety procedures, components, data manuals, how to identify problems, press stages and what they do, and much much more.

There is a lot of information to absorb in one day and you truly get a respect for what you will be doing when you reload. Jim kept everything flowing smoothly and on time and knew exactly what to spend more detailed time on. He never let an answer go unanswered.

This is a hands on course. Learning the proper techniques and getting a "feel" for the way a press operates is invaluable.

I believe that if you are going to start reloading, that you will benefit greatly from spending the day learning from someone who has "been there, done that" and knows what you need to start off with so you don't develop bad (read potentially dangerous) habits and know how to safely start your reloading path.

In summary, take this course, it will be the best Benjamin you can spend on yourself.

Jay
 
I, too, am a career IT worker and have taken a great many courses (even if my company tends to be horribly niggardly with training dollars [rolleyes]) and my thoughts mimic those above.
I took the course in Ayer, a long drive for me in the snow, this past February (I believe) and agree its' worth every penny.
 
I just took the course yesterday (Nov 16, 2014) at the GOAL office in Northboro and had a very positive experience. I would very much recommend this course for anyone looking for a place to start out.

I had watched many youtube videos and done some reading, but actually getting your hands on a press with someone who knows what they are doing is invaluable. As a beginner, the biggest benefits were being able to see examples of what can go wrong and what to look for. Jim has a ton of cartridges that had either been damaged, failed, or were showing signs of failure. He also has blocks of cartridges showing the proper vs improper results of the various reloading steps (such as too tight vs not enough crimp, etc).

At the end of the day you each go through the entire process of setting up the press (single stage) and dies, and preparing several rounds of ammo. Having the feedback from Jim and getting to know how the press should feel is immensely helpful to me.
 
These classes are very valuable to people beginning to reload, there's nothing like hands on.
 
I wish I had known about these classes when I started. would have been a better start. thankfully Jim does offer advice/tips openly here or at least enough info for you to get back on track.....I had a major WTF reloading 223. dies have been locked in rings and very tight into the lnl bushing. .......long story short some how a piece of the case neck got hung up in the seating die?
 
I took the basic and advanced classes Jim held and I've loaded thousands of rounds both rifle and pistol, and I've saved more money than the equipment costs me. I shoot 600 yards out of Reading Rifle and Revolver and enjoy knowing that it's my passion to control my rounds that I can shoot as well as I do. Thanks Jim... if you ever need an assistant, let me know...
 
This is a great class with a fantastic instructor, what more needs to be said? I could have learned all that was taught by picking up a book, what I couldn't have learned was all that was passed on by his lengthy experience in reloading. The tips, tricks and equipment knowledge is worth the cost of this class. Thanks Jim for a day that even though it wasn't on the range it was still very enjoyable and a definite learning experience.
 
Great class. Jim's extensive experience, subject matter knowledge and presentation skills made the class a great learning experience.

Am looking forward to taking the precision reloading class Jim offers at some point in the future. Unfortunately, am not able to do the class coming up in April.
 
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