Newbie loader :(

H

HGI

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I'll be honest, over the last two years I've been wanting to reload my own .40 and .45 acp rounds but every time I try to learn what hardware and products I need to accomplish this I end up with a massive headache.

The only thing I did manage to soak in was the amount of warnings to stay away from starter kits as they likely only have one or two actual usable items in them.

What I'm looking for is everything I'll need to reload both .40 and .45 acp rounds now that I have a ton of once fired brass stocked up.
 
A press
Dies
Scale
Priming tool
A block to hold your cases
A caliper to measure cases and cartridge length
Powder
Primers
Bullets
A load manual

Everything else is optional.
 
start with 1 or more reloading manuals.

the abc's of reloading
lyman's 49th edition
lee's reloading manual
 
I'll add to the other comments. All of which are valid. You're likely looking for specific information on which presses or other equipment to buy. Nothing wrong with that. There are plenty of very experienced reloaders on this forum that can point you in the right direction. But, as there are so many differing opinions on which product is best, that could quickly become overwhelming. More headaches are what you want to avoid! I believe for now you should try to gain as broad a knowledge as possible of the subject, first. Starting with some good basic books on reloading, as already mentioned. Then choose the products which best suit your budget and needs.

If possible, find an experienced mentor in your area that can teach you the basics of reloading. This person will already have a good knowledge of all the tools you will need, as well as tips and techniques to make the process as painless as possible to learn. While you're at it, check out the websites for Dillon, Hornady, RCBS, Forster and Lee. There, you can acquire a good overview of each company's reloading products. This knowledge will also help you to make an educated choice on the right brand press and other tools that best suit your needs.

I guess a very basic question to ask is: how much shooting do you plan on doing over say, the course of a year? That answer alone should be enough to get the ball rolling on this forum.
 
The lee starter kit is what you want if you want to be cheap nothing wrong with it but what you need to do is get off the Internet and buy some loading manuals I don't have the ABC book but have the lee and Lyman among many others read them and then figure out what you need!!!! Lots of garbage online you can spend as much as you want my rcbs powder thrower cost twice the lee kit which I have and is only prettier not much better than the lee thrower that came in the kit.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far,

Alex, you hit the nail, I would better off finding someone who already does reloading and meet with them first hand to experience first hand as I'm more of a hands on learner then reading books. As for how many rounds I'll likely be shooting is 1,000 .45 to practice before requilifing and upwards to 5,000 .40 cal as my branch currently buys reloads from someone somewhere on the mainland witch I could then supply.

Cummins, I've been eye balling that starter kit and been thinking dam it's cheap but I want to make sure it's $150 I'll use rather than only end up using one or two of the items from the kit.

Thanks again for the feedback and help.
 
If you're going to try and reload 1000 45 rounds on a single stage you're going to want to drown yourself. If that's per year, it might not be a horrible solution. You will no doubt find some local people eager to show you their stuff and let you try it. There is very little outright junk on the market, but they all have quirks. It's all a matter of volume and cost.
 
Watching someone do some loading is the best way if that is available. You will learn a lot in a much shorter time. Youtube also has some good tutorials.
 
Figure 11 said:
If you're going to try and reload 1000 45 rounds on a single stage you're going to want to drown yourself. If that's per year, it might not be a horrible solution. You will no doubt find some local people eager to show you their stuff and let you try it. There is very little outright junk on the market, but they all have quirks. It's all a matter of volume and cost.
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Have to agree and if your thinking of supplying reloads to sell I'd rethink that option as it's illegal..
 
A thousand rounds/year on a single stage is quite doable, provided you break it up into stages. I shoot about 2000 rds/year and handload on a single stage.

But it gets tedious after a few years. Next step up from a single stage is a turret press (I'm getting one of these soon, I hope), and after that it's a progressive press.
 
Progressive is the way to go eventually for sure, and agree if you can sit with someone who is doing some reloads that's been thru the good/bad and uglies of reloading would cut to the chase.
 
great thread, as this very same thing is going on in my mind. I KNOW I need to know how to do this, its a skill that could be invaluable.

oh, and selling reloads is only illegal if you are not licensed. there are several legal reloaders who sell
 
My first gun had a reloading press built into it so I learned how to reload and shoot using the same piece of equipment.
When it came time to enter into the cartridge era I chose .45 Colt which are expensive and so I had to reload.
My choice was a turret press because by this time I had a 1911 and also needed 45ACP, the turret allows quick and repeatable changes in calibre.
Then I got into rifles and found out that the auto indexing has to be disabled in order to do 30-30 ....didn't see that coming.
 
A few thousand a year on a single stage is fine. But if you're looking at loading a combination of calibers that sees you needing to do a thousand a month or more then you're really in the range of needing to start with a progressive. You'll just need a little more care and attention during the learning.

Basically you'll start out using it as a sort of turret press to do one round at a time. Then when you're sure you've got it nailed for the one round at a time method then you can slow down to where you can check each stage and start running in a fully progressive mode.

There's oodles of great videos on You Tube about reloading and setting up the presses for reloading. This comes pretty darn close to fullfilling the need for "hands on" without having to actually buy a press. So perhaps start with a few hours of viewing on options.
 
HGI: For beginner reloaders, most folks including myself would recommend starting out on a single stage press. This is always a good way to learn the basics. Once mastered, you can confidently move on to a progressive press. As commented on earlier, Lee makes a very good starter kit which has just about everything you need to start with, except dies. Once you have dies (Lee makes these, too), add a caliper, a good beam scale (RCBS 505 is very good), and you are about ready to reload. Here is where a mentor will come in handy. To offer advice on how to set up and load. Plus...since I've likely left out a few... suggest whatever other gadgets you may need to make the process easier. As BCRider suggested, if a mentor is not available, the internet is also your friend. There are plenty of video tutorials on the net covering just about every aspect of the shooting sports, including reloading. Well worth the time.

Once you're ready to move on to a progressive, likely some of the simplest, user-friendly and reliable presses are made by Dillon. The Dillon RL550B, in particular. Set up is fast and easy on this press. Once you have the dies and powder thrower mounted and adjusted on the tool plate, changing calibers is as easy as swapping out the tool plate and shell plate. A process which takes only a couple of minutes. Under 10, if you are also changing the primer bar (large or small primer). Since this press manually indexes, if you notice something wrong or make a mistake, it is very easy to stop, back up and restart during the loading cycle and correct the problem. This is not always possible on a fully auto-indexing press. While not as fast as an auto-indexing press, a person can easily load 300-400 (or more) rounds per hour on this press, while taking their time. Dillon has an outstanding customer service record and really stands behind their products. I have owned and used a Dillon RL550B since the mid 1980's and loaded many, many thousands of rounds on it, without a hitch. Dillon products are not cheap, compared to some. But will last your lifetime and beyond. Well worth taking a look.

Granted, you may have a preference for some other manufacturer's products. So, I offer this for your consideration, only. Best advice is to look at all of them, before you decide. Hope this helps.
 
I would definitely start with a single stage. Mistakes can be very costly and dangerous. You're better off to learn the basics, give it your undivided attention, and only do one step at a time. Once you've got the process mastered, you can move up to a progressive. BTW, some people will get together to buy a progressive. Works great if you and your buddies can work schedules and clean-up details correctly.

If it don't work out, ya'll will have lotsa ammo for the shootout.
 
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HGI said:
I'll be honest, over the last two years I've been wanting to reload my own .40 and .45 acp rounds but every time I try to learn what hardware and products I need to accomplish this I end up with a massive headache.

The only thing I did manage to soak in was the amount of warnings to stay away from starter kits as they likely only have one or two actual usable items in them.

What I'm looking for is everything I'll need to reload both .40 and .45 acp rounds now that I have a ton of once fired brass stocked up.
Click to expand...

you need a turret press. The Lee Value Turret kit is fine for what you are reloading. Allows you to start single stage and, as your confidence and experience grow, move into the "semi" progressive nature of an auto-indexing turret press. I do 200-250 .45ACP or .223 an hour on a Lee Turret.

Spawn-Inc said:
start with 1 or more reloading manuals.

the abc's of reloading
lyman's 49th edition
lee's reloading manual
Click to expand...

Can't applaud this one enough.

silverfoxdj said:
Don't forget some kind of system to clean your brass, I prefer SS Stainless steel pins in a rock style tumbler..
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There is NO REQUIREMENT to clean brass for reloading! Simply wipe the case to ensure any dirt is gone and begin. I reloaded for years doing this with a Lee Loader. I use a media tumbler now, but you don't NEED it!

JR Hartman said:
great thread, as this very same thing is going on in my mind. I KNOW I need to know how to do this, its a skill that could be invaluable.

oh, and selling reloads is only illegal if you are not licensed. there are several legal reloaders who sell
Click to expand...

But maybe a few years of experience. No?

Papaclaude said:
I would definitely start with a single stage. Mistakes can be very costly and dangerous. You're better off to learn the basics, give it your undivided attention, and only do one step at a time. Once you've got the process mastered, you can move up to a progressive. BTW, some people will get together to buy a progressive. Works great if you and your buddies can work schedules and clean-up details correctly.

If it don't work out, ya'll will have lotsa ammo for the shootout.
Click to expand...

Which is why a turret press fits the bill so perfectly. Starts off SS and moves into slow progressive (adequate for most moderate shooters) then getting ready for a progressive, but allows time to justify the need.
 
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