wanna start reloading.. im looking for a starter kit suggestion please

davide montini said:
Stay far away from lee .... $&@$king junk!!!!! Go with Dillion !!!! Look at there warranty!!! Look at there site .... Then you will under stand ... Single or progressive ... I love my xl650 and I can use it single as well !!!!
Good luck
P.s buy once cry once !!! Buy junk buy twice!!!!!!
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I bought my Lee single stage in 1989. Still working great. I am not a ham fisted ape nor do I intentionally run over the press with my truck. I treat it with respect and use it as it was designed.

I used to average about 250 rounds a month and now about 500 because my shooting habits have changed. I don't crank out 1000s of round per hour but each round is exact, precise, and accurate. With the rifle rounds I cloverleaf 5 rounds at 100 yards. I only build about 80 rounds per hour - start to finish. I take my time and enjoy the zen like calming effect I get with loading. LOL maybe I should write a book on "Zen and the Art of Building Bullets".

There are a few things in the "package" that I never did use but most I did and only had to buy specific items (like the dies and shell holders for my specific calibers).

The only time I worry about a warranty is when I expect something to go wrong. I had no expectations of problems with the Lee and have never had anything go wrong with it.

You say price is not a problem but don't buy something just because it is more expensive. For others here, price may be an issue. In those days I got started loading bullets for under $150 now you can do it for under $300 (that includes everything from dies to powder to projectiles). If you find that you like it and want to get more involved then you haven't lost much when you upgrade and you still have the single stage available for specific tasks.

With one single stage press you can load both rifle and handgun bullets but you will need a completely separate press for shotgun.
 
I find that none of the products from any of the manufacturers is "junk", but some of the people using it cover a wide spectrum in terms of experience. Some people have no clue and some people are more "mechanically inclined". Some people could rebuild a car engine with basic hand tools, and some people could never do it even with a fully equipped automotive shop at their disposal. Ability is not simply about the tools. "technique" is more important than the price tag in most cases.

Presses and reloading equipment are tools - if you have little or no experience with basic hand tools then you are starting on the very steep part of the learning curve. Thinking ahead, taking small steps, and adjusting technique based on results is what is needed. That is what is known as "mechanically inclined". People who can comfortably change a spark plug, or finish drywall, or change their own flat tire will be more successful sooner in new mechanical endeavours than people who cannot do those things.
 
For the amount of ammunition you are proposing to load I would suggest a good turret press with a few extra heads. While slower than a full blown progressive they work well for modest quantities of handgun ammo and will work for rifle cartridges as well. (As mentioned shot-shells require a different type of press )

The Lyman and RCBS turrets are good middle of the road presses while I too rank the LEE equipment at the low end of the scale. The Cadillac of turrets is the Redding and it is built like a tank.

Lyman T-Mag Holds 6 dies

tmag_reloading.jpg


Redding T-7 on the left RCBS on the right 7 & 6 dies respectively.

wb709-9rcbscomreddingpressm.jpg


LEE 4 dies

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No regrets with the Dillon 550. Well, one. I wish more stores, any stores, carried them in a retail location. Had one part missing in my kit, called Dillon; shipped up free of charge from the US.
 
I bought a Lyman turret press for my first press....i like it, it works. i would stay away from the progressive presses (although ill admit i have NOT used one) if you are just starting out and arent shooting huge amounts of ammo (1000+ rounds/month) because from what i have been told they can be a little bit tricky to get them set up properly and trouble shoot plus they can be a lot of work to switch from caliber to caliber. keep it simple to start with...RCBS, redding, lyman are all good machines...and of course the dillon if you want to blow your wad on the cadillac haha
 
so DON'T switch calibers- get your 95-99 % of the bullchit problems come from switching calibers or not being clued in as to what they're doing- take the 550 for instance- you need only change heads and primers and you can do 308, 06, 8mm , anything that takes the 308 head- change the head and the primer and you can do 45acp and a bunch of others- get a separate press for doing 9 and another for 223- depending on what your needs are- I've been loading since 73 or so and I have 5 DEDICATED presses- and any I do get I get a new set of dies and toolhead for- that way there's never a wrong powder, wrong primer incident-and they're ALL progessives- 3 lee 1000, a loadmaster and a Dillon 550
 
thanks for all the good infos here guys!

still forgot to mention a little something : i would shoot more than 500rnds / month but for some reason always trying to put money everywhere : guns, accessories, rail, grips etc..... etc... etc.... always have a gun to customize somewhere always unfinished projects

if reloading can make me save some decent amount of money ill shoot more with a smile LOL :)

Can anyone shed some lights on reloading incidents / accidents : what are the 3 major cause for them? explanations why do they happen?

I got a guy on facebook(friend of a friend) thats got a good 10 years of reloading XP that will introduce me to reloading with pleasure for a couple hundreds of empty brass cases. Ill start from there but my main concern about reloading is the SAFETY, for me and my guns.

Seen some Kaboom threads on CGN and i think ive been pretty shook i dont want this to happen to me. Is there anything that can help while reloading to prevents accidents? powder check system? single stages and never change dies / powder?

I could go for a Lyman or RBCS without worrying about what im buying... Just want to make sure to be careful and avoid mistakes(kabooms).

I know i sound paranoid but please can you guys share some advices on safety while reloading?

Thank you
 
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I train beginning loaders at my club and never allow them to touch my 650 until they have at least 2 years experience. Have seen 2 kabooms in my presence(nobody hurt except for pride), both from 550's with experienced loaders. If u are patient, careful, and not a gorilla lee single stage is good to start. Find a coach and/or buy several good books(recommend lyman-has both jacketed and cast info).
 
vince514 said:
I know i sound paranoid but please can you guys share some advices on safety while reloading?
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Only one type of powder on the bench at a time. I would make a guess that the major cause of "Kabooms" is the handloader using the wrong powder in a cartridge by mistake.

Also ............ Wear safety glasses when priming.
 
I started with a Lee Loadmaster (progressive). I'm really happy about the progressive part (I'd hate to be reloading at the rate a single stage or even a turret would allow) but, I'm not really happy about the Lee part. I'm reasonably handy and enjoy tinkering with things but having to adjust, fix, recover all the time is getting old in a hurry. I'm seriously thinking about upgrading to a Dillon.
 
vince514 said:
thanks for all the good infos here guys!

still forgot to mention a little something : i would shoot more than 500rnds / month but for some reason always trying to put money everywhere : guns, accessories, rail, grips etc..... etc... etc.... always have a gun to customize somewhere always unfinished projects

if reloading can make me save some decent amount of money ill shoot more with a smile LOL :)

Can anyone shed some lights on reloading incidents / accidents : what are the 3 major cause for them? explanations why do they happen?

I got a guy on facebook(friend of a friend) thats got a good 10 years of reloading XP that will introduce me to reloading with pleasure for a couple hundreds of empty brass cases. Ill start from there but my main concern about reloading is the SAFETY, for me and my guns.

Seen some Kaboom threads on CGN and i think ive been pretty shook i dont want this to happen to me. Is there anything that can help while reloading to prevents accidents? powder check system? single stages and never change dies / powder?

I could go for a Lyman or RBCS without worrying about what im buying... Just want to make sure to be careful and avoid mistakes(kabooms).

I know i sound paranoid but please can you guys share some advices on safety while reloading?

Thank you
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Dude you are everywhere at the same time and trying to figure everything out before you start. That won't work.
Buy a reloading book(I started with the lee book, it was ok).
Buy a lee single stage kit, start reloading ONE caliber, the one that you shoot the most.
It won't cost a lot, it will work, it will get you started.

THEN, see what you like, what you want, and which calibers you want to actually reload.

On a progressive, each caliber will cost you dies, toolhead, quick change, caliber conversion.... that's a few hundred dollars just to switch.

I have 4 presses. A lee single stage, co-ax, loadmaster and xl650
I use them all to some extent.
You will always have a need for a cheap single stage for depriming, etc. So why not just start with a lee kit. It's cheap, it works, you need to start somewhere.
 
You're over thinking this. Buy a kit or don't. Get a book or two regardless. Either way, you're probably fretting about stuff you'll learn by experience very quickly.
 
The Dillon 550 is a good press that is fairly straightforward to operate and is a good balance between speed and convertibility. I had absolutely no problems whatsoever learning to reload on mine. You can start off by running one case at a time through the press, doing each operation on sequence, until you are comfortable with the process.

If you are going to be shooting around 500 rounds/month, loading that volume on a single stage will be very time-consuming. I would rather buy factory ammo than load pistol ammo with a single stage press, and in that case, I would forget about shooting anything other than 9mm.
 
I found the best reading was on this forum, there's tons of good info in older threads. Work up your first rounds slowly and double check everything.
 
Anyone who has not loaded before, I tell them the first thing to buy is a Lyman reloading manual. I find it is a good read, fairly detailed, and plenty of pictures. They are also seem unbiased on powders and bullets, so it is a good start.

Next, I would say, like many already have, to get a single stage press. Get 2000-3000 rounds loaded to get an idea for what should be going on before going to an progressive press. I have been using a Hornady LnL AP for about 5 years now and have loaded around 10,000 rounds with it. There is a good article out there somewhere on the comparison of the Dillon 650, Hornady LnL AP, and the Lee Loadmaster. Had a Lee before and sold it off as I was getting tired tinkering with it, and it would pop out a squib about every 100 rounds.
 
Totally agree.

I always tell my children that buy and own a very expensive swiming weare / handgun/ rifle/ scope will never make them a good swimmer / shooter.

Skill is the most important part the human should have to interact with tools and make good stuff.
 
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