I chimed in on the "reloading - cost effective" thread a while back. My Brother gave me a Lee Anniversary kit and so I went to Sportsman's Warehouse to find out what it would take to start reloading for my 270. I'm shooting 140gr Accubonds that run about $37 for 20, so that's $185 for 100 rnds. I will need to purchase about $15 - $20 worth of dies to begin reloading for 270 win. Powder, bullets, and primers total up to just under $80. Savings sound pretty good to me (assuming I have my own brass)? So, I think I'm going to start monkeying around with this and shoot my own next year (I already have ammo for this year).

Here are some questions that you all might be able to help me with. I hope they are not too fundamental but I don't seem to find them in other resources.

1.How many rounds do you get out of a pound of powder? I know this can vary, but for a larger (270, 30-06, 300 win) cartridge can anyone give me a ball park?

2. How many times can you reload brass? Do you just keep reloading and resizing until is shows damage or a crack?

3.Is there any brass from factory ammo that I shouldn't reload? I don't shoot alumminum or steel casing so no worries there, but for example if I buy some cheap Federal loads, is the brass still good for reloading purposes?

4.How do you guys keep track of how many times a specific case has been reloaded?

5.Powder seems to be pretty confusing. Any recommendations?

6. I see case cleaners for sale but my manual doesn't say anything about tumbling, only cleaning the primer pocket. Is this something that I need to consider?

Well I plan on setting up a bench and doeing some dry runs (with out powder)just to get the mechanics of it down and then I'm going to play with the powder and make sure I'm measuring correctly. After that I think I'm going to find someone who reloads and have them sit with me and watch just to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

Let me know if there is anything else that I didn't think of. I'm getting excited. This will be interesting and fun.

Spud