Lets talk regrets....

jon1985 said:
I am looking to get in to reloading. I have settled on a press...I think... so now its a matter of buying the press and related paraphernalia. I am looking to pick up a Dillon 550b progressive press.

There in lies my question. There is so much 'stuff' available when it comes to reloading.

I am looking to reload mostly pistol, the majority will be 9mm with some .357 on the side. Once Im comfortable I will look to reload some .223 but I suspect that will be the only rifle caliber I reload in any quantity.

The question, for those of you with this press, or any other press, what did you buy at the start that you either now don't use or have replaced with something different.

Likewise, what didn't you buy upfront that you wish you had?

Any and all advice is welcome.
Click to expand...

I have the setup you are looking at. I load 9mm, 38spl, 40 S & W, 45ACP and 223 Rem. Currently I produce about 400 rounds an hour for handgun maybe 200 for the 223 but I am still learning that one.

Dillon 550 B with the stand ( makes it easier to use) upgraded Handle (the standard ball gets hard on the hand after a few hundred rounds) Didn't bother with the tool tray. A good solid bench to mount to. Mine is on an old table it is OK but it moves about a bit not really solid enough.

The essential tools:
Powder scale (can't get it set right without one)
Calipers (ditto)
Primer tubes. If you are doing big runs you will need to have more tubes. I like to load 5 primer tubes at a time for batches of 500 which takes me about 1 1/2 hours.
Appropriate size wrenches for tightening the dies. A tip, install them in the same sequence as they are used. Lee dies have bigger nuts and they can be difficult to tighten out of sequence.

Helpful but not essential

Dillon Bullet tray. While you can do without it life is a lot easier with one.
I have a small plastic hand air pump. Little bits of powder etc get on the plate assembly, primer bar etc and can jamb or cause misfeeds etc. I find blowing under the plate and the primer bar on a regular basis helps things keep running smoothly.
Case gauges. Not absolutely essential for handgun as you can hand check using the calipres but essential for necked cases.

It is possible I missed something as I am working from memory but that covers most of it.
 
Buying second hand dies. First set was out of spec and a case got stuck in it. Second set was a RCBS FL sizing and as I was lifting the lever the decapping pin got stuck in he case and the thread stripped. I wont buy RCBS again.
 
I had the lee hand press. The one that you just hold. I liked that a lot cause it was cheap, good and im not a fast reloader. Im to meticulous.
 
Started with a Lee single stage press as part of one of their kits - still use it now - don't reload "thousands" of rounds a year, but hundreds.

Regrets - yep, regret not buying every set of Lee dies in every caliber I might ever own when the dollar was at par - got everything I'm currently loading, but now looking at a couple more calibers and the price of everything is up 30%.
 
Im just getting started with my pistol shooting and suspect it will just increase and Im already averaging 150+ rounds/outing. Once the weather gets nicer and weekly club practices start Im sure that number will double or more so a single stage is out of the question.
 
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