I have been thinking about getting into reloading for years but have never taken the plunge and lately have been thinking more seriously on the subject however my main reason for considering it is to save money and have something shooting related to do on those days I can't actually go shooting(3 small children). Several people have suggested that I would need a minimum of $1000 dollars to get started is this reasonable? I have read a few articles online claiming that basic equipment can be obtained for much less than that am I off base or missing something? The main calibers I shoot are 9mm and .223 so those are what I would like to set up to load. What should I be looking for in a basic beginners "kitchen table" set up and how much should it cost? Also components... I have started saving brass but what about other components. What do I need and how much do they usually cost? Is reloading to save money a false economy or a good plan? If I left anything out please feel free to tell me what I don't know.
Getting started on a budget newbie questions
- Thread starter Red Beard Forge
- Start date
- Location
- Western Manitoba
I would suggest that first thing to get is a good reloading book. Lyman Reloading Handbook 49th Edition has most everything you will want to know.
As far as cost, tooling to load faster, or more loads per hour, increases cost. Apparatus to quickly and accurately measure / meter powder (to try different weights) increases cost. At minimum, you will need a die set for each cartridge, and some way of lubricating the brass to size it. Then you will need some way to accurately measure / weigh powder - there is 7,000 grains in a pound and you want to be able to weigh down to .1 of a grain. You will need to be able to measure down to about .001", so you will likely need a caliper.
Absolute cheapest system that I have used is the Lee Loaders. Used with a soft face hammer - contains a punch to knock out primer, provision to seat new primer, a neck sizer that you pound case into, then pound out, re-assembles into configuration that lets you pour a scoop of powder in and seat bullet. The result does go "bang", but likely take an hour to do 30 cartridges.
I currently load with an RCBS "Reloader Special" "o frame" single press (a little brother of their Rockchucker). I prefer to process brass in batches of 100. Process brass one session. Load in second session. I de-prime using a RCBS universal de-priming die in a dedicated RCBS "Partner" press. Lube on a lube pad. Size 100 cases. Use Lee case trim in a battery drill to trim cases, de-burr necks. Tumble in a Frankfurt Arsenal rotary tumbler with steel pins. Dry brass. Re-prime with RCBS Bench priming tool. Meter / weigh powder with a Lyman 1200 Digital Powder System. Seat bullets. Check runout with RCBS Case Master. So, I might be under that $1,000 threshold of stuff to reload with. Add in 18 sets of dies, 8 or 9 reloading books / manuals and annual subscription to Loaddata and it adds up.
I've never used turret press or progressive machines or motorized machines, but I am sure someone with experience with them will comment.
To summarize, I think I would list a good reference book as #1, a reliable caliper as #2 and a dependable scale as #3. BTW, I moved from Lee Loaders by getting a couple friends together to share costs of the first reloading press set-up (press, balance scale, powder measure) - some lost interest in the detail required to make good ammunition, some moved away. Over the years I bought each of them out of the "pool".
As far as cost, tooling to load faster, or more loads per hour, increases cost. Apparatus to quickly and accurately measure / meter powder (to try different weights) increases cost. At minimum, you will need a die set for each cartridge, and some way of lubricating the brass to size it. Then you will need some way to accurately measure / weigh powder - there is 7,000 grains in a pound and you want to be able to weigh down to .1 of a grain. You will need to be able to measure down to about .001", so you will likely need a caliper.
Absolute cheapest system that I have used is the Lee Loaders. Used with a soft face hammer - contains a punch to knock out primer, provision to seat new primer, a neck sizer that you pound case into, then pound out, re-assembles into configuration that lets you pour a scoop of powder in and seat bullet. The result does go "bang", but likely take an hour to do 30 cartridges.
I currently load with an RCBS "Reloader Special" "o frame" single press (a little brother of their Rockchucker). I prefer to process brass in batches of 100. Process brass one session. Load in second session. I de-prime using a RCBS universal de-priming die in a dedicated RCBS "Partner" press. Lube on a lube pad. Size 100 cases. Use Lee case trim in a battery drill to trim cases, de-burr necks. Tumble in a Frankfurt Arsenal rotary tumbler with steel pins. Dry brass. Re-prime with RCBS Bench priming tool. Meter / weigh powder with a Lyman 1200 Digital Powder System. Seat bullets. Check runout with RCBS Case Master. So, I might be under that $1,000 threshold of stuff to reload with. Add in 18 sets of dies, 8 or 9 reloading books / manuals and annual subscription to Loaddata and it adds up.
I've never used turret press or progressive machines or motorized machines, but I am sure someone with experience with them will comment.
To summarize, I think I would list a good reference book as #1, a reliable caliper as #2 and a dependable scale as #3. BTW, I moved from Lee Loaders by getting a couple friends together to share costs of the first reloading press set-up (press, balance scale, powder measure) - some lost interest in the detail required to make good ammunition, some moved away. Over the years I bought each of them out of the "pool".
zippy_the_wonder_chimp
CGN Regular
- Location
- Fraser Valley/Lower Mainland
Hi. You can save some money by buying used reloading equipment off the EE here.
A single stage press is usually the least expensive option and will allow you to reload
both pistol and rifle ammo. Prices of equipment vary significantly from one manufacturer
to another but usually Lee gear is least expensive and works fine. Buying bit by bit will take the sting out of it but you will see the biggest savings on mid range centrefire rifle ammo.
(.223 isn't much per round- reload for accuracy not cost savings).
Same for pistol- reloading is more for finding a load that cycles your slide
with a lower level of recoil and flash.
In short, reloading allows you access to ammo when store shelves are bare
and to custom tailor loads to your firearm. If using an outdoor range one can
use cast bullets to save even more money. Lots of tutorials here on this and
the internet in general.
A single stage press is usually the least expensive option and will allow you to reload
both pistol and rifle ammo. Prices of equipment vary significantly from one manufacturer
to another but usually Lee gear is least expensive and works fine. Buying bit by bit will take the sting out of it but you will see the biggest savings on mid range centrefire rifle ammo.
(.223 isn't much per round- reload for accuracy not cost savings).
Same for pistol- reloading is more for finding a load that cycles your slide
with a lower level of recoil and flash.
In short, reloading allows you access to ammo when store shelves are bare
and to custom tailor loads to your firearm. If using an outdoor range one can
use cast bullets to save even more money. Lots of tutorials here on this and
the internet in general.
zippy_the_wonder_chimp
CGN Regular
- Location
- Fraser Valley/Lower Mainland
Good advice here but the Lee Loaders only neck size brass- not the best for ARs
or other semiauto .223's. Just a word of warning.
My complete setup (scale, press, dies, priming tool, case trimmers, case prep tools, calipers... everything but the components) cost me well under $300, more like $220ish. Scale and press were used for cheap ($30 each give or take) while the rest were bought new.
I do not have a tumbler. I wash my brass in a plastic jug with hot soapy water with a shot of nail Polish remover and vinegar. I need to find some lemishine...
I do not have a tumbler. I wash my brass in a plastic jug with hot soapy water with a shot of nail Polish remover and vinegar. I need to find some lemishine...
we need a sticky for this stuff. The same question gets asked multiple times per week.
I save a bunch of money by reloading. It depends on volume and type.
Like every other hobby, some people are more practical and patient, and some will spend a lot more on equipment to make the same ammo.
"Generally" you can get into reloading with a good basic setup for $300-$400, which will be a single stage press and basic tools. Possibly you can get started for less $ by buying used but it's not that easy to find good used reloading equipment. Components cost extra on top of that - Powder, bullets, primers. Brass might be free if you have it or pick up at the range.
Easiest way to get started is to buy a kit but I like to pick and choose what I buy and mix manufacturers.
A single stage press is all you need to start if you don't need to load large volumes. If you decide later you want to upgrade then you will easily get most of your money back selling the single, or you'll probably find you want to keep it anyway.
what you need:
1 reloading press, c/w primer seater (LEE Cast iron press is decent)
2. die set
3. case prep kit (inside & outside neck chamfer tool, primer pocket cleaners)
4. caliper
5. loading block (make your own block with a drill and a piece of 2x4)
6. beam scale (get a decent one, RCBS 5-0-5 minimum. It's the single most important tool you'll have)
7. Lee powder dipper kit or other powder measure
8. case trimmer for bottleneck cartridges, not needed for straight wall cases. (Lee handheld is about $10 per cartridge)
9. reloading manual and data
10. bullet puller (not absolutely required but trust me that you'll need it for fixing mistakes, everyone does eventually)
You'll make good ammo with that setup. You can get the fancy stuff later if you want - tumbler, electronic powder scale/measure, progressive press, etc. - but you don't need it to get started.
I save a bunch of money by reloading. It depends on volume and type.
Like every other hobby, some people are more practical and patient, and some will spend a lot more on equipment to make the same ammo.
"Generally" you can get into reloading with a good basic setup for $300-$400, which will be a single stage press and basic tools. Possibly you can get started for less $ by buying used but it's not that easy to find good used reloading equipment. Components cost extra on top of that - Powder, bullets, primers. Brass might be free if you have it or pick up at the range.
Easiest way to get started is to buy a kit but I like to pick and choose what I buy and mix manufacturers.
A single stage press is all you need to start if you don't need to load large volumes. If you decide later you want to upgrade then you will easily get most of your money back selling the single, or you'll probably find you want to keep it anyway.
what you need:
1 reloading press, c/w primer seater (LEE Cast iron press is decent)
2. die set
3. case prep kit (inside & outside neck chamfer tool, primer pocket cleaners)
4. caliper
5. loading block (make your own block with a drill and a piece of 2x4)
6. beam scale (get a decent one, RCBS 5-0-5 minimum. It's the single most important tool you'll have)
7. Lee powder dipper kit or other powder measure
8. case trimmer for bottleneck cartridges, not needed for straight wall cases. (Lee handheld is about $10 per cartridge)
9. reloading manual and data
10. bullet puller (not absolutely required but trust me that you'll need it for fixing mistakes, everyone does eventually)
You'll make good ammo with that setup. You can get the fancy stuff later if you want - tumbler, electronic powder scale/measure, progressive press, etc. - but you don't need it to get started.
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I just started reloading for 9mm and .223 this winter. After looking around at all the different alternatives I decided to go with the Lee classic turret press. I am very happy that I did seeing that I am not a high volume shooter. It is halfway between a full on progressive and a single stage. A single stage is nice but the lee turret can function as a single stage aswell by simply removing the square steel shaft from the turret. I can do about 150-175 rounds per hr of 9mm and my .223 plinking rounds (assuming my .223 cases are prepped and ready for a primer). I am happy with my setup and would recommend it to somebody starting out who wanted a decent setup on a budget.
I have the Frankford tumbler and media separator. The tumbler is great however the media separator is not the best. It works but it is far from ideal. If i had it to do over again, i would get a different separator.
I recently purchased a RCBS charge master combo for developing and building my precision bench loads. It is pricey but it makes doing load development much easier and faster and it is a long term investment. It compliments extruded powders (varget for example) very well as many powder measures and notoriously bad at metering extruded powders. My lee perfect powder measure works extremely well with extruded powders but it is not quite as accurate as the charge master....but for 36$ is it the best deal going. I will keep my perfect powder measure as a backup to my charge master. The charge master is a perfect example of one of those "i don't need it but it makes the job much more enjoyable and faster" type items. The charge master alone makes up for about 50% of the cost of my reloading equipment. A 50$ scale, trickler and a lee PPM will accomplish the same task albeit much slower. For my semi auto 223 plinking loads, I use a Lee disk measure/lee charging die combo with spherical ball powder (cfe223). I use the same disk measure for my 9mm loads (Win 231..flake powder if memory serves).
I use Lee carbide dies for 9mm. Highly recommend the carbon dies as you do not need to use lube. I also use the Lee .223 dies. I use the full length resizing die for my semi auto loads and I just use the neck resizing die for my bolt gun loads.
As far as "saving" money, it all depends. Many folks on here will say that you won't "save" money. I am somewhat in the middle as 90% of my shooting is 22lr. For me, it will probably take 2 or 3 years for my less expensive reloads to make economic sense but I got into reloading more for accuracy than saving money. If you do the math, you are planning on reloading the 2 calibers that you save the least per round (depending if you load for accuracy or general plinking). It isn't until you start shooting the larger calibers (44 mag, 45 acp, 10mm, 308, 338, 30-30, 45-70, etc) until you start to see significant differences in round costs. I will do some best case scenario math assuming you have a local source of free brass and you buy supplies locally in bulk when they are on sale.
9mm - small pistol primer - 4 cents
- powder - 4.7 grains of 231 - (based on 35$ per lb) 2.4 cents
- projectile - Campro 9mm 115g - 9 cents
total - 15.4 cents for cheap plinking ammo. Add 15% tax and you are at 17.7 cents per pull
buying in bulk..cheapest i have seen brass ammo is about 280$/1000. That is 28 cents per pull..add tax and you are at 32.2 cents.
total savings per round potentially - 32.2 - 17.7 = 14.5 cents per round.
if you dropped 500$ in reloading gear you would have to shoot 3450 rounds to make up the difference under the given scenario.
.223 (will assume you are building good match ammo for a bolt gun and you are using Wichester brass that will yield 10 uses)
small rifle primer - 4 cents
powder - 25 grains of varget @ 35$/lb - 12.5 cents
projectile - Hornady match bthp @ 26$ per box of 100 - 26 cents
brass - 38$/bag of 100 - 38 cents per piece...divided by 10 = 3.8 cents per use
total of 46.3 cents per round...add 15% tax and you are at 53.2 cents per. This is ammo that you can fine tune to your rifle for max accuracy.
Compare this to something similar like Hornady Superformance Match .223 for 35$/box of 20 = 1.75$ per round...add tax and you are at 2$ per round.
Based on 2$ for assembled ammo and 53 cents for built ammo you would be saving 1.50$ per round. Massive savings in this scenario.
Now if you want plinking .223 rounds...replace the 26 cent projectile with a cheap cam pro 55g fmj projectile for 10 cents and assume you are using free range brass.
That works out to 26.5 cents per round..add tax to 30.5 cents.
Bulk brass 223 on the cheap is about 470$/1000 when on sale....47 cents per round...add tax to 54 cents per round.
Based on 500$ of reloading equip, you would save 23.5 cents per shot and have to shoot 2100 to make up the difference.
I have the Frankford tumbler and media separator. The tumbler is great however the media separator is not the best. It works but it is far from ideal. If i had it to do over again, i would get a different separator.
I recently purchased a RCBS charge master combo for developing and building my precision bench loads. It is pricey but it makes doing load development much easier and faster and it is a long term investment. It compliments extruded powders (varget for example) very well as many powder measures and notoriously bad at metering extruded powders. My lee perfect powder measure works extremely well with extruded powders but it is not quite as accurate as the charge master....but for 36$ is it the best deal going. I will keep my perfect powder measure as a backup to my charge master. The charge master is a perfect example of one of those "i don't need it but it makes the job much more enjoyable and faster" type items. The charge master alone makes up for about 50% of the cost of my reloading equipment. A 50$ scale, trickler and a lee PPM will accomplish the same task albeit much slower. For my semi auto 223 plinking loads, I use a Lee disk measure/lee charging die combo with spherical ball powder (cfe223). I use the same disk measure for my 9mm loads (Win 231..flake powder if memory serves).
I use Lee carbide dies for 9mm. Highly recommend the carbon dies as you do not need to use lube. I also use the Lee .223 dies. I use the full length resizing die for my semi auto loads and I just use the neck resizing die for my bolt gun loads.
As far as "saving" money, it all depends. Many folks on here will say that you won't "save" money. I am somewhat in the middle as 90% of my shooting is 22lr. For me, it will probably take 2 or 3 years for my less expensive reloads to make economic sense but I got into reloading more for accuracy than saving money. If you do the math, you are planning on reloading the 2 calibers that you save the least per round (depending if you load for accuracy or general plinking). It isn't until you start shooting the larger calibers (44 mag, 45 acp, 10mm, 308, 338, 30-30, 45-70, etc) until you start to see significant differences in round costs. I will do some best case scenario math assuming you have a local source of free brass and you buy supplies locally in bulk when they are on sale.
9mm - small pistol primer - 4 cents
- powder - 4.7 grains of 231 - (based on 35$ per lb) 2.4 cents
- projectile - Campro 9mm 115g - 9 cents
total - 15.4 cents for cheap plinking ammo. Add 15% tax and you are at 17.7 cents per pull
buying in bulk..cheapest i have seen brass ammo is about 280$/1000. That is 28 cents per pull..add tax and you are at 32.2 cents.
total savings per round potentially - 32.2 - 17.7 = 14.5 cents per round.
if you dropped 500$ in reloading gear you would have to shoot 3450 rounds to make up the difference under the given scenario.
.223 (will assume you are building good match ammo for a bolt gun and you are using Wichester brass that will yield 10 uses)
small rifle primer - 4 cents
powder - 25 grains of varget @ 35$/lb - 12.5 cents
projectile - Hornady match bthp @ 26$ per box of 100 - 26 cents
brass - 38$/bag of 100 - 38 cents per piece...divided by 10 = 3.8 cents per use
total of 46.3 cents per round...add 15% tax and you are at 53.2 cents per. This is ammo that you can fine tune to your rifle for max accuracy.
Compare this to something similar like Hornady Superformance Match .223 for 35$/box of 20 = 1.75$ per round...add tax and you are at 2$ per round.
Based on 2$ for assembled ammo and 53 cents for built ammo you would be saving 1.50$ per round. Massive savings in this scenario.
Now if you want plinking .223 rounds...replace the 26 cent projectile with a cheap cam pro 55g fmj projectile for 10 cents and assume you are using free range brass.
That works out to 26.5 cents per round..add tax to 30.5 cents.
Bulk brass 223 on the cheap is about 470$/1000 when on sale....47 cents per round...add tax to 54 cents per round.
Based on 500$ of reloading equip, you would save 23.5 cents per shot and have to shoot 2100 to make up the difference.
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