Safe Rooms for Reloading Ammunition

 

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SAFE RELOADING ROOMS

Everybody knows that reloading ammunition can be dangerous. When you reload in your home the dangers are present not only to you but every member of your household. You can minimize these dangers by having a dedicated safe room for reloading. Here are some ideas and suggestions (not a guarantee of safety) for creating safe reloading room at home.  READ THESE FIRST - Dangers of Reloading Ammunition;  Storage & Handling of Smokeless Powder for Reloading Ammunition. See also Ammunition Reloading Instruction & Reviews.

Which Room Do I Use For Reloading?

  1. Pick a room that is farthest away from most household activity and distractions.

  2. Pick a room that is not between you and an emergency exit should you have to evacuate the house due to a fire or emergency.

  3. Pick an air conditioned room with good ventilation and lighting.

  4. Do not have distractions such as a television in your reloading room.

  5. Keep your reloading room neat, organized and clean.

 

What Should I Keep In The Reloading Room?

The following items are suggested reloading equipment for your reloading room.

  1. Keep only "clean" reloading materials and equipment in your reloading room (Read about Lead Poisoning).

  2. Keep your tumbler and contaminated tumbler media outside.

  3. Powder and primers must be stored separately.

  4. Akro bins for bullets and small parts.

  5. Lights, lights and more lights. For more info about lights for reloading ammo see below.

  6. Zip lock freezer bags or Tupperware for small parts storage.

  7. Make sure your reloading bench top and other work areas has a very smooth surface (such as Formica) with no cracks or crevices that powder cannot collect in. Also add a raised lip on the outside edges of the bench top to prevent primers and other small parts from rolling off. Caulk the edge so powder cannot get under it.

  8. Install a backstop to your reloading bench. Items that fall off the back of your reloading table are often hard to retrieve and make cleaning difficult.

  9. Use a dust cover for your press when not in use.

  10. Have a box of hand wipes on hand.

  11. Storage bins are essential.

  12. Reloading operations cause vibrations and may effect the operation of powder measuring scales. Isolate the scale by placing it on a separate table.

  13. A rubber mat on the floor improves personal comfort.

  14. Try placing a rubber mat beneath your tumbler or vibratory case cleaner for some noise dampening.

  15. No pets allowed in the reloading room (or under close supervision).

  16. Air conditioned Room.

  17. Magnifying glass or  jeweler's loupe with light for close up examination of small parts and components.

  18. Place a small lamp or light source next to your reloading press or powder measure such that it's beam is directed to allow easy visibility into each case as it is filled with powder (to ensure no double charges). For more information about lights for reloading ammo see below.

  19. You need a cabinet or two for storage.

  20. Comfortable loading chair. A good adjustable stool.

  21. If you make shelves, make them strong. Bullets reloading supplies are heavy.

  22. Make sure you have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.

  23. Make sure you have a lockable door at the entrance to your reloading room.

  24. Store the tumbler outside. Keeps the dust low.

  25. Avoid carpets in your reloading room. If that is not possible, place a plastic mat over the carpet in case of power spills.

  26. Fire proof your reloading room as much a possible. Remove all combustible materials.

  27. Invest in a good set of heavy duty freestanding shelves.

  

If children have access to any of the components or reloading equipment

  1. Instruct them of the dangers

  2. Lock the components and equipment

  3. Supervise them at all times

 

Keep Your Reloading Room and Components Secure

The last thing you need is somebody messing with your reloading equipment. Bad things can happen if someone turns a powder measure adjustment knob or knocks something out of whack and you don't know about it.

 

Lights for Reloading Ammo

Proper lighting in a reloading room is one of the most important considerations for safe reloading. With good lighting you are able to see the powder within each case that you are reloading. You will be able to tell whether the powder is undercharged which may lead to squibs or overcharged which may result in an exploding gun.

Lights for reloading ammo should be stand-alone, adjustable lighting fixtures. You may need more than one light depending upon how well the reloading room is illuminated. The reloading light or lamp should not be connected to the reloading bench to avoid "shaking" the light when operating the press arm. The light should be adjustable so that you may direct its beam for best viewing.

The intensity of lights for reloading ammo will vary with reloading room conditions. Lights that are too bright will allow you to see the powder in the case well enough but may temporarily effect your vision as you change your gaze elsewhere. Too little light provides insufficient illumination. Trial and error for the positioning of your lights will achieve the best lighting conditions. Just don't let the light bulb get too near the smokeless powder!

Note - You may have to make some sort of light shield to eliminate or reduce glare from the light bulbs. You will know if you need this or not after you reload a few dozen rounds.

 

Comments & Questions

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Feedback Messages

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Good Reloading Area?

March 22, 2012
Is it safe for the reloading area to be part of the bedroom? I am wondering how unhealthy it is to be reloading in the same room where adults and children sleep. As well as storing all powders and lead in the same room. Thanks
Traci

Response - Traci,

The bedroom doesn't sound like the ideal reloading room, but I can't really tell you unhealthy it would be.

A lot would depend on:
- the cleanliness and work habits of the reloader.
- the size of the room, location of the reloading bench and supplies and the circulation of the air.
- where and how all the reloading components are stored and secured.
- how clean you keep the reloading area.
- whether you reload lead bullets or full metal jacket bullets.
- where you clean your brass or if you buy new brass.
- and other factors

I would never let unsupervised children into my reloading room, or where I keep my guns, components or supplies. A reloading room should be a secure room with proper air circulation and have all of the appropriate safety equipment.

In my case:
- my reloading room is a converted bedroom adjacent to my bedroom. My reloading bench is probably about 20 feet away from where I sleep. I am not concerned about breathing in anything because I keep everything clean and stored in sealed containers.
- I store my primers in my bedroom but the powder, bullets and casings in my reloading room.
- I sort my dirty brass on my kitchen table (but I scrub it well afterwards). BUT - I clean up after every reloading session, keep all components in sealed containers, wash my hands after I mess with my reloading stuff and I keep everything spotless. I don't have children or other household members to worry about.

If you are concerned about someone breathing in or touching something that will lead to some type of poisoning, I would suggest you research and look at each component, liquid and powder that will be kept there. I would think that the greater danger would be associated with the presence of children and other household members.

I know that's not a clean cut answer to your question but that's the best I can do for now.

Good luck.

Tanner

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Fire Extinguishers For Reloading Rooms

November 13, 2011
On your page at http://www.reviewsofthings.com/guns/safe_rooms_for_reloading_ammunition.html, you correctly state that the reloading room should have a fire extinguisher. However, you don't say what kind. The choice of the correct kind of fire extinguisher for a reloading room is quite critical. Most people don't know that gunpowder supplies it's own oxygen, so the only effective strategy to extinguish it is to cool it down rapidly, which is difficult, or to scatter it, so that the individual granules burn separately, which will die out very quickly. The A-Square reloading manual recommends a CO2 extinguisher for that reason. CO2 will scatter the gunpowder, and will also extinguish any secondary flame that might be caused by the burning powder. I'm not sure this reasoning is entirely bulletproof, but the choice of extinguisher for a reloading room is quite important, is affected by circumstances that don't apply to normal rooms, and is therefore something that you might well want to research and address specifically on this page.
Robert

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