wanting to get started in reloading

~Mr. Colt .45~

..anyone recommend a good starter kit? Whats the best brand? What is the best, carbide, or steel dies? I really dont know anything about reloading but have been watching instructional videos on youtube and it looks fun and simple. Plus as much as I shoot it would be great to save the money on ammo. Whats the average cost/savings per box of 50 rounds that have been reloaded compared to what it would cost just to buy ammo off the shelf. Any info would help.

Thanks,
Jonathan

HandLoad

Fun? - Yes!!!. Simple? - Welll, it is simple kinda like playing a Guitar is simple - you can "play" a Guitar pretty easily, but there are levels of Competency.

Savings - it depends almost entirely on the caliber you are reloading. If a "Common" caliber, your savings are OK, but if you are shooting a real moldy oldie, or some Wildcat, for which The Brass and Bullets are rare, then your Savings can be significant.

For more entertainment/savings, Find someone who casts bullets -

For me, Reloading provides Hours More entertainment, at slightly reduced cost. It allows me to shoot a lot more.

Kits? I built my own Kit, One purchase at a time. Any of the commercial Kits are OK, I guess. I have no opinion/preference on them.

Carbide vs Steel? Go with the Carbide if price is not an issue. They are easier on the press and you, and are generally harder to damage/wear out.

I built my reloading "Kit" around a Bonanza (Now Forster) press, as it appealed to my Engineering Mind. Later, a friend gave me a Dillon SDB for Pistol Reloading (Much Faster). I have used many of the presses made in the last Fourty Years, but am pretty happy with what I have.

Note: Reloading is kinda like Being a Pilot or Race Car Driver - consequences of a F'up are often severe...but if you are UNFAILINGLY careful, you will be very richly rewarded.

HandLoad

Another note about savings/cost: if ya buy stuff New, it'll take ya a few Thousands of reloads to get ahead. If you shoot a "Common" caliber, and you shoot little, then you will never be ahead Financially on the deal.

Mobuck

I'll second the advice you got on the other forum about the Lee products. They are not the last a lifetime units but are economical and serviceable. Just atarting out there is little need for a high $$ setup. The Lee stuff holds it's value quite well and if you doubt that, just check e**y. Should you decide to upgrade or lose interest, you won't suffer a total loss. I use Lee almost exclusively and the presses do wear beyond optimal useability. I pass them on to someone who doesn't use them much or salvage parts and start with another new press. Right now I'm using a press that sized over 5000 9mm's, 1000 357's, and 500-600 44 mags over the last month. It already had 8-10000 38's and 5-6000 223 cases through it before that so most users would not put that much use on their press, ever.

Bubba Jr.

I'll throw my 2 cents in here also. I bought a Lee Turret press kit earlier this year and I have loaded several thousand rounds of 9mm, .40 S&W, and .44 Magnum with it. The nice thing about the Turret model is the versatility. You can use it as a single stage or a semi automatic progressive-like loader. All it takes to change from one mode to the other is the insertion/removal of a steel twisted shaft, and that only takes about 2-3 seconds.

I use it as a single stage when I am setting up a new load, until I get the setup done, then I insert the rod and go to the semi progressive mode. What happens, is that you load a case, de-prime, and re-size on the down stroke, then insert the primer in the fixture, then you seat the primer on the up stroke of the handle. Then the die holder rotates to the next position on the upstroke, and you bell the case mouth and drop the powder on the down stroke and rotate to the next die on the upstroke. Then you insert the bullet, seat it on the down stroke, rotate on the up stroke, and if you are using a crimp die, you will re-size the case again and crimp the case mouth on the down stroke. Pull the round out and start the next one. This process only takes a few seconds to make a round and is done much quicker than trying to explain it.

I use Lee carbide dies and the factory crimp dies for all the ammo I make. The one reoccurring problem I have had with the Lee crimp dies, is the poor machining inside the floating crimp sleeve. This results in the die shaving bits off the case mouth and depositing the crud on the case mouth. That leaves you with 3 choices. 1, wipe the crud off. 2, machine and polish the sleeve yourself. And 3, send it off to Lee, then machine and polish it yourself because the kid that tried to fix it for you, didn't have a clue what he was supposed to do.

Outside of the crimp die issues, I am happy with the Lee Turret press. I think it makes a great first press to learn the basics and in the process will turn out quality ammo. Would I buy another one if this one crapped out, probably not. I would probably upgrade to a RCBS, Lyman, or Hornady. I think Dillon's are super presses, but they are just too expensive for me.

Treat this as one man's opinion, and do a lot of research on your own, and you will have a lot of fun when you get started making your own ammo. Get on You Tube and find the various videos on reloading and you can see what the different presses are like and how they work.

Good Luck, and one other thing, it is addicting.[:D]

nemesisenforcer

I recommend the Lee kit, comes with almost everything you need and is the lowest price and best value for the money. For beginners, starting off with a single stage is always the best as you need to know what is happening at each and every segment of the process.

Get carbide dies for your pistol brass and rifle/bottleneck dies only come in steel so you have to lube the cases.

As for savings, you'll save 30-60% over factory ammo, so if you shoot enough, it'll pay for itself in no time. Remember, this is a proportional cost savings, not absolute. I reload for everything except my shotguns so I shoot a lot more now. In fact, I shoot so much I spend more on reloading components than I ever did on new ammo, so I'm actually "in the hole" in absolute terms, but still getting way more bang for my buck, I'm just spending more bucks now than ever (which translates into that much more shooting I can do on any given budget.) The more esoteric your round, the more you'll save. In other words, reloading 9mm, you'll save maybe 20% over new manufactured ammo. If you shoot 9.3X74R or 30-378 Weatherby, you'll save two thirds or better.

rong

MORNING,I would buy
a single stage RCBS press
with RCBS carbide dies/equip and
reload for a few months,
learn what to look out for,
and read a couple manuals.
then if I felt the need to
reload more rounds quicker
buy a high end progressive.
I bought my RCBS rockchuker
30 years ago or so and I
haven't felt a need for speed
yet.But i just bought a lee
press (single stage) and really
like it. Lee dies in my uneducated
experience aren't worth the money.

Mort4570

what calibers are you going to be reloading?
Start with pistol,and use crbide dies as others have said.
A good stout press like the Rockchucker or Lee cast press make the sizing operation a breeze..the mass of the press and ram seem to do the work for you.
I have tried the hand priming tools and hate them.I much prefer a 'ram prime' setup rather than fooling with a hand priming tool .ymmv.
Lee dies are just fine,I"ve used all kinds and they all make ammo that will shoot.
for pistol I prefer to crimp on a seperate die,saves jamming the seat/crimp die with lube or jacket material.Easier to adjust the dies too.
Buy used on the gun boards to save money.Most dies last a life time so pretty safe buying them used.
skip Ebay,prices there are rediculous most of the time.

as to savings,I shooot 45 colt,and the savings is significant..at least 18.00 a box.NO body has 'cheap' 45 colt loads.ever.

FEENIX

I started with Lyman ($299) and Redding dies ...



Good luck and enjoy the addiction! [^]

n/a

RCBS Rock Chucker Deluxe Kit...it will out last you and your next of kin.

partisan

Start out with the RCBS Rock Chucker kit. RCBS stands behind its lifetime warranty. I broke a piece on my auto feed that I bought in 1974. Called RCBS and within a week I had a new one! Make ALL your dies carbide!

skyfish

I'll add in here.

I can reload 1000 40sw for under 200, last time I calculated was right at $190. Last time I looked at 1k 40sw I think it was just over 300.

I would start with a single stage, RCBS kit can not be beat. Hornady press is nice as well.

If you go with a Progressive go with Hornady, you won't regret it. With the free 1000 bullets, cost is vary comparable to Lee I bet. I don't know Lee's price but I have a friend that has a Lee progressive and I think its junk IMHO.

Also, I would only go progressive with a pistol and only if you have a friend who is knowledgeable and/or you are somewhat mechanically inclined.