How to tell a potential reloader about reloading?

[stilly]

Three times now people have come up to me and asked for me to tell them about reloading.

three times now I think I gave information overload and possibly made someone's head explode yesterday when they got home...

Yesterday someone walked up to me with a .243 shell and said that he wanted to relaod it. I proceeded to point out various presses in the shop and certain other tools that he would need and also told him where else online to get things. Hey I hate telling them to buy elsewhere, but if we do not have it, I aint gonna tell them sorry, avenue blocked...

So anyways, I was talking with the guy for about a good 25+ minutes.

The guy was an older gentleman and he had no family really that he could pass any presses down to, and he ONLY wanted to reload his .243. I felt wrong telling him to get a rock chucker kit for $400 or even for pointing out a Hornady LNL Classic. I ended up mentioning to him about buying a used press off of Fleabay or gunbroker and getting a book and he was wanting to know if he could come back to me and I could help him put together a shopping list.

Oh yeah we had a great time talking, and even today, another younger guy came in and told me he wanted to reload 9/40/.223 so I started telling him about reloading...

I noticed that I was not very organized and I think that from now on when someone walks up to me, I am going to tell them that it STARTS with a book. I just hope that we can get more various books in stock now... Should not be a problem.

At least every time I refer guys to this forum and mention the clinics and the hands on experience they will pick up.

I think I will put together a creative drawing for a shopping list for beginners and make it into a PDF with some nice pics or artwork...

Speaking of Artwork, **** Boris Valejo and his wife. I sent them an e-mail over a month ago about learning how to draw and they did not even get back to me.

Anyways. I think from now on, a BOOK is how the conversation will go...

Any better ideas on what to tell people if you want to keep the conversation to 1-5 minutes and someone walks up to you and asks about reloading?

[kygen]

I've been pestering BruinGuy for the past few weeks about this very issue. I owe him a few beers.

[ar15barrels]

Ramble much?

[TKM]

30,572 to 5,429?

[stilly]

Ramble much?

eh?


I want to educate, but I want to make certain that they do it correctly. If somone comes to me and asks for help, I want to help them. But several times now I have held conversations and entertained questions with folks on the subject so now the other two guys have printed out a drawing of me talking to customers and taped it to my office chair in the back...

http://vecto.rs/design/vector-of-a-cartoon-chatty-woman-talking-a-man-to-death-coloring-page-outline-by-ron-leishman-13335

Not cool... I am still on probation and do not need any more attention drawn to me for being a talker with the customers... :\

[kygen]

1-5 minutes just isn't going to cover it effectively

[Pauliedad]

Happens to me all the time at the range. Well, more on the pistol side in that most of the guys on rifle are already reloaders or not that talkative.
I have had conversations that go from 5 to 30 minutes and unless I'm on the clock, I let their curiosity set the pace. If they seem really interested but not ready to spend dough I tell them to get on YouTube and see what's out there. That was how I realized it was for me. Step #2, books. Lyman #49 and lee were my first. There were times I wish I could have been handed that list but I'll say now that having to buy and research along the way taught me even more about what I'm doing.
As for exploding head syndrome, anyone who is looking into reloading is at risk. Heck, if you showed me all of what I'd end up with the first week I was thinking about it my head would have popped.
I always encourage guys to start with pistol for the obvious reasons.
As for the probation, if you help everyone you can, bounce to another customer as needed and move stuff bringing the shop its numbers then you're a keeper in my book. We used to call the guys who we paid to sell "talkmen" not salesmen. Customer service isn't if they they're not buying.

[Jon Road King]

I know you have a bunch of manuals on the shelf there. You should open up with telling them to buy a manual and read it cover to cover before buying anything else. I would even go so far as to say you personally would NOT sell them anything else until they come back having read the book...

Then, close the conversation with mentioning once they read the book, they can decide if they want to dive in or if it's information overload. If they decide to not reload, then they are out $20 and gained a little knowledge. If they decide to reload, then they already have the base plus their first manual. Either way, you made their first a sale, heh

[MarkG35]

When I go to one of the local indoor ranges,I ask the people around me if they save their brass.If not I ask if I can have it.I have met a couple of guys that showed some interest in reloading.It must be the way I have explained it,but I could swear their heads were enlarging as we were talking.Probably talked them out of the hobby.
Oh well, more brass for me.

['ol shooter]

I tell those that ask why I reload, that I do it because I like working with my hands and the sense of accomplishment it brings, and I like recycling the brass. I tell them that you will seldom recoup the investment, but if you have kids, the equipment can be passed on and used for a long time. I always have a supply of whatever center-fire caliber I choose to shoot, and can experiment with the loads to ramp them up or (mostly) down to suit my preferences. My wife likes it because it keeps me off the streets and out of her hair.

[knucklehead0202]

Whatever you do, don't send them here for advice. We all know how that goes....

[coryhenry]

Randall has an excellent shopping list sticky for first time reloaders

[rm1911]

reloading is a whole different way of looking at our sport. most people think of reloading as "cheaper ammo", but honestly, that's a small part of it, and not something new reloaders are going to realize until well into their reloading careers.

I've been reloading for 25 years so my experiences are a little different as I remember the easy availability and of course much larger cost savings. today, there are many suppliers of bulk and/or reloaded ammo that cuts $ per round down considerably. that simply wasn't the case way back then. reloading just doesn't deliver the cost savings it used to, especially with the increases in prices for stuff lately.

so, first thing potential new reloaders have to forget is cost savings. sure, it does save, but down the road and over time. if someone is an occasional shooter, they're just not going to see it. however, they will be able to shoot more. but it's more than that.

my presses (RCBS s/s press for rifles, dillon SDB for pistol) have been going strong for over 20+ years. buying quality gear is not cheap and the initial outlay is often as much as or more than a new gun. and it's confusing and takes time to learn. and time to crank out ammo. and it can be frustrating trying to get things to work right. reloading should be considered almost an activity in and of itself, separate from the shooting.

reloading lets us customize rounds to our guns and become more intimately involved with the shooting process. but there's more than that as well. it's about something even more, and I would call it insurance. this ammo scare and all that craziness hasn't really affected my shooting other than 22's. I was always stocked with components and they've been hard, but not impossible, to replenish. and so I have peace of mind.

if someone enters the hobby with the right approach, then they should go for it. if they think it's all about cranking out cheap ammo then they should not go for it. they need to look at it as "will I be using this stuff 20 years from now?"

[71MUSTY]

I know the feeling from the other side. My father reloaded. My Father in Law Reloaded. So I am not totally unfamiliar with the process, but I do not have a mechanical background and talking to someone who reloads is like talking to my Accountant. HUH? WHAT? You guys tend to be way too excited and way to technical using big words like annealing and centimeter. Come on slow down and take it down a notch for us novices.

[JMP]

Three times now people have come up to me and asked for me to tell them about reloading.

three times now I think I gave information overload and possibly made someone's head explode yesterday when they got home...

Yesterday someone walked up to me with a .243 shell and said that he wanted to relaod it. I proceeded to point out various presses in the shop and certain other tools that he would need and also told him where else online to get things. Hey I hate telling them to buy elsewhere, but if we do not have it, I aint gonna tell them sorry, avenue blocked...

So anyways, I was talking with the guy for about a good 25+ minutes.

The guy was an older gentleman and he had no family really that he could pass any presses down to, and he ONLY wanted to reload his .243. I felt wrong telling him to get a rock chucker kit for $400 or even for pointing out a Hornady LNL Classic. I ended up mentioning to him about buying a used press off of Fleabay or gunbroker and getting a book and he was wanting to know if he could come back to me and I could help him put together a shopping list.

Oh yeah we had a great time talking, and even today, another younger guy came in and told me he wanted to reload 9/40/.223 so I started telling him about reloading...

I noticed that I was not very organized and I think that from now on when someone walks up to me, I am going to tell them that it STARTS with a book. I just hope that we can get more various books in stock now... Should not be a problem.

At least every time I refer guys to this forum and mention the clinics and the hands on experience they will pick up.

I think I will put together a creative drawing for a shopping list for beginners and make it into a PDF with some nice pics or artwork...

Speaking of Artwork, **** Boris Valejo and his wife. I sent them an e-mail over a month ago about learning how to draw and they did not even get back to me.

Anyways. I think from now on, a BOOK is how the conversation will go...

Any better ideas on what to tell people if you want to keep the conversation to 1-5 minutes and someone walks up to you and asks about reloading?

It's because you probably give an explanation like the above. For basic .243, it is easily reloaded on just about any single stage press. You don't need a Lee press for advanced users. It's the dies to be upgraded with a few extra tools to get more precision. I'd be done with a whole box of .243 in the time it took you to make the thread.

If people want to reload, they will. If you don't shoot much, reloading isn't worth it unless you shoot esoteric and/or very expensive calibers.