no idea what to do, worth getting in to reloading?

[easyrider604]

One can actually start a reloading career with a progressive. I did it with a Lee Pro1000...I know, not the best progressive to begin with, as I found out...but I got a few thousand decent reloads out of it.

If I had known better, I would have gone with a turret, or a Dillon 550B (which is quite simple IMO).

It was a Hornady Projector after the Pro1000, then a 550B (actually three) for the next 20 yrs. Now I'm back to an all-Lee table (Classic Cast Single, Classic Turret and Loadmaster). I believe everyone's got their own reloading needs and should decide on which equipment based on these needs.

 

[ampegor]

this was the first press i bought myself - worth every penny can sit down and start to finish including clean up i can load 200 rounds in an hour.

dillon rl550b - set up for two calibres including calipers, a cheap tumbler and decent scale should be able to do it for around a $1000

 

[tactical lever]

tactical lever I must ask, why do you say that casting/melting lead gives off mercury vapour?

I may have mis-spoke. When the lead is heated up to about 900 degrees F it will give off lead fumes. I was under the impression that it was the mercury contained in lead, but upon further investigation, it is minute particles of lead.

Although when dealing with pure lead you may not hit that temp, tin, antimony may raise your ideal numbers up from the 621 or so it takes to melt lead.

Also the lead oxide forming on the top is fairly toxic as well.

 

[ATOM]

I may have mis-spoke. When the lead is heated up to about 900 degrees F it will give off lead fumes. I was under the impression that it was the mercury contained in lead, but upon further investigation, it is minute particles of lead.

Although when dealing with pure lead you may not hit that temp, tin, antimony may raise your ideal numbers up from the 621 or so it takes to melt lead.

Also the lead oxide forming on the top is fairly toxic as well.

True. Anything involving molten lead (and thus lead in the air) should be done in a well-ventilated spot.

 

[thebaron]

I just tabulated my costs for loading .223.

I am using Nosler BT bullets.
Cost of a box of 20 Winchester with Nosler BT locally: $26.5 after tax.
Cost for me to load the same bullet with bought brass: $9.40.

I can load 200/hour on my progressive. (I just loaded 100 in the last 30 min and had to refill the primer tray and powder).
Soo, it's a savings of $170.9 per hour.

I bought an el-cheapo Lee Pro 1000 to load .223
Paid my press off in 334 rounds.

 

[Dexter Morgan]

" Cost for me to load the same bullet with bought brass: $9.40 "


And how much does it cost when you use that brass again? I'm sure that price goes down considerably when you are using free recycled cases.

 

[thebaron]

" Cost for me to load the same bullet with bought brass: $9.40 "


And how much does it cost when you use that brass again? I'm sure that price goes down considerably when you are using free recycled cases.

Well, those numbers are if I use the brass 5 times.
Also, I get better results if I shoot 25gr H335 instead of max load of 26gr, so my cases should hold up a little longer.

When I compare my costs of reloading .223 for my AR say, 55gr FMJ my savings would be around $70/1000 compared to the MFS stuff (plus shipping!)