Getting started
- Thread starter rummer
- Start date
I went with the Rockchucker kit from RCBS, get some 45 acp dies, bullets powder, cases and primers, and a couple reloading manuals and have at her. I think RCBS has some online video demonstrations on their website also. Total cost of startup not including consumables, should run around $450 for this setup. Where the real cost savings are to be found is when you load for three or more calibers. How often are you going to shoot? You can buy well over 1000 rounds of 45ACP for this investment?
reloading 45 ACP
Thanks for the tips , I can't say at this time how much I will be shooting due to the fact I'm not sure of the range I will be shooting at , that is to say how good or how bad it is . I also have a question for you when you say reloading multiple calibers do you mean all in pistol or can these reloaders do both riffle and pistol ?This will be my first time loading anything other than shotgun loads I realize they are not comparable . Any help on this matter is apprieciated .
Thanks for the tips , I can't say at this time how much I will be shooting due to the fact I'm not sure of the range I will be shooting at , that is to say how good or how bad it is . I also have a question for you when you say reloading multiple calibers do you mean all in pistol or can these reloaders do both riffle and pistol ?This will be my first time loading anything other than shotgun loads I realize they are not comparable . Any help on this matter is apprieciated .
Last edited:
I have an old/well used Lyman press bought for $50 a few years ago, I use "Lee" equipment and have very little money into most of my gear, and it works just great. Yes you can load rifle/pistol on the same press.
For under $200 you'll get into reloading with very basic equipment you can buy used on the EE, just post an ad.
For under $200 you'll get into reloading with very basic equipment you can buy used on the EE, just post an ad.
The expensive equipment speeds things up. Youc an make a ton of bad ammo real quickly...
For yeasr I used a single stage press and just bought a set of dies and a shell holder for each new caliber as they came along. So long as you can spend the time, making ammo on a single press is very feasible and can be done with a fairly small investment in hardware.
On EE or at a gunshow you should be able to get a press and as et of dies for around $75 to $100. Then you need a powder thrower and a set of scales and a priming tool. I suggest a Lee Auto prime. Add in a plastic laoding block and you are good to go.
There is a cost savings, but also a whole new area of interest to your sport/hobby. It is satisfying to do some load development and get a better load for each gun.
For yeasr I used a single stage press and just bought a set of dies and a shell holder for each new caliber as they came along. So long as you can spend the time, making ammo on a single press is very feasible and can be done with a fairly small investment in hardware.
On EE or at a gunshow you should be able to get a press and as et of dies for around $75 to $100. Then you need a powder thrower and a set of scales and a priming tool. I suggest a Lee Auto prime. Add in a plastic laoding block and you are good to go.
There is a cost savings, but also a whole new area of interest to your sport/hobby. It is satisfying to do some load development and get a better load for each gun.
Advice
Thanks alot for the help . I know to expirienced reloaders my questions may seem simple no brainers but I would rather ask first and buy the right stuff rather than getting in over my head . So at the end of the day what would be the best bang for my buck ? Do I go big or stay modest for my first reloader , like Ganderite said fast to make rounds but also fast to make mistakes .
Thanks alot for the help . I know to expirienced reloaders my questions may seem simple no brainers but I would rather ask first and buy the right stuff rather than getting in over my head . So at the end of the day what would be the best bang for my buck ? Do I go big or stay modest for my first reloader , like Ganderite said fast to make rounds but also fast to make mistakes .
I would suggest shooting some commercial ammo first, just to see how much shooting you do (remember to save the brass!)...If you`re only plinking occasionally, then buy a cheap press like Lee...You can check out the gun shows, always lots of Lee press`s available...However, if you find yourself hooked on shooting (and you will be!), then look at the better press`s, like a Dillon and a Hornady...I believe that days of, " buy a single stage press first" are gone...You will quickly tire of the speed at which a single stage works, and that`s money you could have put towards a progressive press....The Dillon 550b has the advantage of being a manual index, so it can be used as a single stage press in order to get used to the mechanics of reloading...From there you can reload like a progressive....Cost is up to you....Hornady/Dillon are good value... As to which is better?....Let`s not start another thread on THAT
...Use the search function in this forum and google.....
...Use the search function in this forum and google.....I will step up and disagree with that. 99% of my loading for the last 20 years or so has been done on Dillon and Ponsness Warren progressive presses, but I still have a Bonanza Co-Ax and Lee Load-All which get used with great regularity.
I think there are a lot of good reasons for starting out with single stage presses.
First, you learn the progressive steps to reloading a round very well.
Second, it is relatively inexpensive to buy an inexpensive single stage press when compared to a progressive - and when you move to a progressive you'll probably keep the single stage. If you decide you won't be doing much reloading, you haven't invested as much.
Third, it is much more convenient to assemble test ammunition/odd loads on a single stage press than do all the adjustments and reconfiguring to a progressive stage press to crank that ammo out - and then return the press to how it was originally set up.
I can't be bothered to reconfigure my Dillon or Ponsness Warren to turn out a handful of test loads that may or may not work out.
But, to each their own.
As I said earlier, if one ends up shooting a lot, you`ll quickly want to switch to a progressive....Why waste the money?...Especially with the rising cost of components?
THAT`S what makes the Dillon 550b so useful... It`s manual indexing makes it handle like a single stage press....I find it very useful for test loads and loading blackpowder cartridges....
What "waste of money"?
Assuming you don't want to to just pick up a used single stage press and dies at a gun show from somebody told it was just a waste of money, you can spend a bit more and buy new. You can get a Lee reloading kit, complete with press, dies, scale, powder measure, case preparation tools, etc from Midway or Cabelas for about $85. A Dillon 550B will cost you about $400.
Without dies.
Without a scale.
Without all the other hand tools most guys end up buying to go with their progressive presses.
So how close will you be to $85 once you buy the dies, the scale, and all the other goodies to use with that Dillon? How much have you saved by not having that single stage press and everything that came with it sitting on your bench if you do move on to a progressive? Whaddya figger? Maybe $25?
Here's the next thought. So what if you DON'T end up shooting a lot? Now you've got about $350 dollars more than necessary tied up in a progressive machine you don't really need. Not to mention the extra space the Dillon takes up.
Having gone from a Star progressive to a 550 over 20 years ago, and since then having added a 650 to the bench, I have some familiarity with the Dillon line. There is no way in hell you are ever going to be able to change adjustments to do test loads on a Dillon as quickly as you're going to be able to do on a single stage press. Not to mention changing everything back after you're done. Maybe if all you do is change powder and powder charge, but that's about it.
Furthermore, once I have my shell head set up for a specific load for my PPC revolver, distinguished pistol load or whatever, there is no way I am going to be screwing those dies in and out to do a couple of test loads and then try to get them back to exactly where they were to give me the best accuracy.
Even if I was inclined to do that, I certainly wouldn't do it to save a measly $85 - if I'm a volume reloader using a progressive, my time is worth more than that.
As far as that goes, if I'm in the market for a progressive press because of the amount of shooting I do, I'm going to spend the extra money to buy an indexing press, not something that I have to index by hand for each round.
Of course your milage may vary.
Money tied up in Dillon?...That` rich....20 of years going to gun shows in Ontario, and only twice have I seen a Dillon for sale...And those sold within the hour of the doors opening.....Dllion`s always retain their value, with people practically getting what they originally paid for...
To each their own, just don`t knock the obvious value/versatility of the 550b
20 whole years of going to gun shows, huh? Wow. I wish I was that young that I could say that! I bought my Pacific C-press at a gun show back about 1968, if I recall correctly. A press I still have, come to think of it.
However... over 40 years of going to gun shows and I've never seen a Bonanza Co-Ax for sale. So what does relative scarcity at gun shows indicate for any kind of press? Anything at all?
I'm of the opinion - and the experience - that MOST unused reloading equipment never shows up at gun shows. It mostly sits somewhere gathering dust. In fact, that's what my brother's Dillon press has been doing for the last 15 years, and I doubt it will ever be seen for sale at a gun show. Ditto for his Rockchucker, his casting pot, lubrisizer, and all the rest of his equipment. Same story for my Dad's Co-Ax and Ponsness Warren 800.
Visibility or lack thereof of reloading presses on the second hand market means nothing. If it did, the relative scarcity of Lee presses on the second hand market would imply they're some of the most valuable and highly regarded equipment out there.
The bottom line is when you're starting out, you can spend $85 on an inexpensive single stage kit to try it out - or a lot less for some used single stage equipment. Or $450+ for an entry level Dillon progressive. If you decide you're going to a progressive after buying a single stage kit, you can still use most of the single stage stuff that you would have bought anyways. And then you can decide whether you want a simple, slower non-indexing progressive, or a faster indexing progressive.
Of course, if you bought that 550b and then decide after trying reloading out you want auto indexing, more speed, extra die stations... well then you can go shopping for an expensive progressive press for a second time.
One of us is having a Senior Moment right now. I don't think I've said anything about Dillon machines not being worth their purchase price. Or that they aren't versatile.
What I have said is you can get a single stage press kit for a fraction of what a Dillon will cost. And that kit will have many of the "extras" you will need to buy anyways if you go on to buy that Dillon - like a powder measure for example. I've also said I don't consider a single staqe press "a waste of money" as you apparently think them to be if people do end up buying a progressive. Furthermore, I'd far rather put together a few test loads on a single stage press rather than start playing with charge, seating depth, crimp, etc adjustments on a toolhead that is already set up in a progressive machine, and then try and get them back to where they were.
Beyond that, yes, to each their own.
