Thinking about getting into reloading
- Thread starter Dozer33
- Start date
I got started just by buying the Lee anniversary kit it has all the common stuff you'll need and you can buy the "nice to have" stuff later on down the road. I didn't worry about "reloading" right away and got the hang of it by buying new brass and starting from there to sort of build my confidence. If I were to do it all over again I'd start with a progressive press but at the time I didn't know if I'd like reloading but it turns out that I enjoy it almost as much as shooting. My wife thinks it's weird though and asked me if I was going to end up on some RCMP watch list. 
To get started with the most basic/starter reloading set up, you will need this:
1. Press (single stage) O frame
2. Scale (beam scale) for weighing powder charges and bullets.
3. Priming tool (some presses come with a priming tool, LEE for example)
4. reloading die set for your chosen cartridge AND shell holder (LEE dies come with shell holder)
5. trimmer (not needed for most handgun cartridges) use the LEE handheld trimmers for about $15
6. powder funnel
7. loading block (easy to make it yourself with a piece of 2x4 and a drill)
8. case preparation tools (inside/outside neck chamfer, large and small primer pocket cleaners)
9. caliper (digital or dial)
10. bullet puller, because you will need one eventually
This is a basic setup that will make excellent quality ammunition as good or better than factory, and is all that many shooters will ever need. An experienced reloader can make 50-100 cartridges per hour with this setup. You may want to add a powder measure and some kind of brass cleaning machine but you don't need it right away.
1. Press (single stage) O frame
2. Scale (beam scale) for weighing powder charges and bullets.
3. Priming tool (some presses come with a priming tool, LEE for example)
4. reloading die set for your chosen cartridge AND shell holder (LEE dies come with shell holder)
5. trimmer (not needed for most handgun cartridges) use the LEE handheld trimmers for about $15
6. powder funnel
7. loading block (easy to make it yourself with a piece of 2x4 and a drill)
8. case preparation tools (inside/outside neck chamfer, large and small primer pocket cleaners)
9. caliper (digital or dial)
10. bullet puller, because you will need one eventually
This is a basic setup that will make excellent quality ammunition as good or better than factory, and is all that many shooters will ever need. An experienced reloader can make 50-100 cartridges per hour with this setup. You may want to add a powder measure and some kind of brass cleaning machine but you don't need it right away.
I got started just by buying the Lee anniversary kit it has all the common stuff you'll need and you can buy the "nice to have" stuff later on down the road. I didn't worry about "reloading" right away and got the hang of it by buying new brass and starting from there to sort of build my confidence. If I were to do it all over again I'd start with a progressive press but at the time I didn't know if I'd like reloading but it turns out that I enjoy it almost as much as shooting. My wife thinks it's weird though and asked me if I was going to end up on some RCMP watch list.
Mess with her and your neighbours, change the name of your wifi to RCMP surveillance van 4
Be careful, its addicting!
If you're just looking to try it out, get yourself a good single stage press and learn the basics before committing to anything too expensive. You'll be able to gauge your interest level and purchase higher quality items to make some of the steps easier and less time consuming.
I went with an RCBS kit to get started, but have a few different tools and such from others brands as well. Most of the manufacturers make good quality items.
If you're just looking to try it out, get yourself a good single stage press and learn the basics before committing to anything too expensive. You'll be able to gauge your interest level and purchase higher quality items to make some of the steps easier and less time consuming.
I went with an RCBS kit to get started, but have a few different tools and such from others brands as well. Most of the manufacturers make good quality items.
- Location
- Stittsville, Ontario
I got started just by buying the Lee anniversary kit it has all the common stuff you'll need and you can buy the "nice to have" stuff later on down the road. I didn't worry about "reloading" right away and got the hang of it by buying new brass and starting from there to sort of build my confidence. If I were to do it all over again I'd start with a progressive press but at the time I didn't know if I'd like reloading but it turns out that I enjoy it almost as much as shooting. My wife thinks it's weird though and asked me if I was going to end up on some RCMP watch list.
This sounds like me, LOL!
A basic setup gives you moderate qualities of very decent ammo so long as you watch the things that should be watched, and is a good starting point.
There are more-expensive progressive presses (Dillon, etc) if you want to crank out large volumes, eg one round per handle pull rather than one per four-or-so operations, but since a bunch of things are happening at once it's probably better to start with a simpler press and learn all the things that happen one thing at a time before cranking up the whole orchestra.
Another direction people go is to load insanely precise rounds for benchrest shooting, but that's another direction to maybe refine in after getting a solid grounding in the basics.
Lots of people end up with more than one press, and that lets you stay set up for multiple calibres and not have to tear down and recalibrate as much, or maybe there's a rifle press and a pistol-ammo press, or one keeps the small-primer feed and the other does large-primer calibres. Maybe you'll want to churn out bulk ammo in one calibre and go for high precision with another.
There are more-expensive progressive presses (Dillon, etc) if you want to crank out large volumes, eg one round per handle pull rather than one per four-or-so operations, but since a bunch of things are happening at once it's probably better to start with a simpler press and learn all the things that happen one thing at a time before cranking up the whole orchestra.
Another direction people go is to load insanely precise rounds for benchrest shooting, but that's another direction to maybe refine in after getting a solid grounding in the basics.
Lots of people end up with more than one press, and that lets you stay set up for multiple calibres and not have to tear down and recalibrate as much, or maybe there's a rifle press and a pistol-ammo press, or one keeps the small-primer feed and the other does large-primer calibres. Maybe you'll want to churn out bulk ammo in one calibre and go for high precision with another.
Yeah.
Seriously do you guys understand sarcasm or did u load your sense of humour into a shell and fire it into a hillside
