never reloaded but want to start... need help

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tdk213

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Hey.

So I have never reloaded but I am wanting to get into it and need a bit of help. So please forgive any "dumb" questions. I am only looking to reload 9mm and .45acp right now. My first question would be is it even cost effective with these calibers to reload. At this point im more just into plinking so could I just be better off with bulk ammo.

Second question is progessive vs single stage. I know progressive will turn out more rounds but how quickly can you turn out rounds in a single stage ie. 100/hour?

Lastly if you have any suggestions on a first setup I would love to hear. I would like to keep the budget around 500 so if u know any suppliers that have good deals that woukd help.


Thanks
 
For the 9mm, most would say it's not cost effective, but when I tell my wife I can make it cheaper than factory and I recycle the brass, she loves the idea. .45 it would be worth it I guess.
The most I can crank out on a single stage is 100/hr, but that's kinda pushing it. Frankly, 100 at a sitting about all I can comfortably manage, although I've done more. I'm thinking of getting a turret for the pistol and keep the single stage for my rifles.
I don't know what the kits are selling for these days, but you can always watch the EE for presses. Best advice I have is to haunt this reloading forum, start reading, keep talking to others- you'll figure it out soon enough. It's good relaxing fun and a winter complement to the shooting year.
 
There are three choices to consider in a loading press, not just single and progressive. There is also a turret press which is kind of half way between single stage and progressive.

I would recommend a turret press in your circumstances because it is much less expensive than a progressive but much faster than a single stage. You can easily make 200-300 rds per hour on it.

I've been using a LEE turret press for 30 years. It was my only press for the first 10 years and has loaded somewhere around 50,000 rounds of ammo, both rifle and pistol. You can buy a similar press today for under $200 loaded with auto rotation and powder measure. It's a very versatile press and hard to beat for a new reloader.
 
^^^ hmm that is good to know I will have to look into the turret press. That sounds like it could be a good option for me. Id like to be able to shoot 200-300 rounds per range trip however with 2 kids under 3 its hard to find hours to make that many rounds.
 
Honestly unless you shoot a few thousand rounds a year its not worth it cost wise.
If you like it as a hobby like i do, i have spent more in reloading gear than i have saved so far. I dont really care because its a hobby and i like making ammo.

My point of view is that reloading pistol single stage is absurd. Some people will argue. This is fine. I dont have a lot of time and i like my reloading to be effective.

You could get a lee loadmaster and expect to have trouble with the priming system.
Or get a dillonsquare deal b that comes with the dies for one caliber and no casefeeder.
Or get something really good like a dillon xl650 with a casefeeder and a quick change kit for each caliber. This is an effective press and this is how reloading should be. It is over your budget.

My suggestion if you want to start reloading, get a lee breech lock kit, its cheap, and you will always need a cheap single stage press.
Then, see if you like it and get something that suits you more after you have reloaded a bit.
You will always have a use for that first press anyway.

I now use my lee breech lock press to size cast bullets and to to various operations.

I have a loadmaster to reload pistol and plinking 223 ammo.
I have a forster coax for precision rifle.

And right now i dont even have time to shoot pistol so i did not buy an xl650 yet. Maybe when the indoor range opens if i shoot more.
 
Unless you plan on shooting thousands of 9mm a year don't even consider reloading it. There are guys like John in Maple Ridge that you can get it cheap enough that it would take eons to make it cost effective.

45, on the other hand, is expensive no matter where you get it. It's a caliber worth loading yourself but how much do you plan on shooting?

I load all my rifle calibers and 38/357 on a single stage rockchucker comfortably but I only shoot about 200 rounds of pistol at the most per month. I can load 200 rounds of 38 in a few hours relaxing listening to tunes. It's slow but I keep myself in ammo the way I shoot.

If you plan on shooting in IPSC or something you'll need a progressive but otherwise start with a good single stage, you'll never sell it even if you buy another press.
 
Pistol gets super cost effective to reload when you shoot cast bullets. Costs almost nothing. Costs me 1 cent per 45 bullet and .5 cent per 9mm bullet.
But then you need a crapload of equipment.... Propane burner, pot, laddle, molds, lead melter, bullet molds, lube, lube kit..... Respirator for fumes, And ittakes more time.

Expect a few hundreds in equipment to start casting. And you need to salvage lead.
 
I currently reload only for 9 mm. I bought a Dillon 550 when I started reloading.

When you read reloading will save you money ... yes I guess that is true. After your equipment has been paid off and if you're factoring in your time. IMO it just makes you shoot more

It costs me just under 7 bucks for 50 rounds of 9 mm. Takes me 15 minutes for a 100 9 mm on my 550, that's with me taking my time. If I really want to push it I can put it to 11 minutes...but why bother.

The girlfriend and I hit the range maybe once a week. We go through about 400 rounds of 9 mm a time.

I shoot in ipsc also. So say 250 rounds a match. Just got into ipsc this year so next year is where the "cost savings" will really show. Since I've pretty much paid off the start up cost
 
Kryogen said:
Pistol gets super cost effective to reload when you shoot cast bullets. Costs almost nothing. Costs me 1 cent per 45 bullet and .5 cent per 9mm bullet.
But then you need a crapload of equipment.... Propane burner, pot, laddle, molds, lead melter, bullet molds, lube, lube kit..... Respirator for fumes, And ittakes more time.

Expect a few hundreds in equipment to start casting. And you need to salvage lead.
Click to expand...

Casting is a whole other ball game but nowadays with the price of commercial bullets it's the only way to keep the price reasonable. There was a time when commercial cast bullets could had for $25/1000 and casting made no sense. Now with commercial cast bullets running upwards of $100/1000 casting your own drops the price of reloads over commercial by 50-75%. I figure that I'm reloading 9mm for about $4/50 and 45 for maybe $5/50 using range pickup brass. It will cost you a few hundred dollars to get into casting but it's like reloading equipment - the more you do the cheaper the cost per round. If you're only going to shoot 100 rounds a month then buy commercial but if you're going to be using much more than that then seriously consider casting as well as reloading.
 
If they aren't already spoken for, wheel weights from tire shops work best as is or mixed with 2% tin. Tin helps fill out the bullet molds.

I've been lucky and gotten most of my lead free or under 0.50 cents a pound. I've only got 400 lbs or so but I'm ALWAYS on the look out. Depending on where your located battery recyclers might sell lead to you or bullet makers (aim bullets sells lead for $1 per pound).

There is alot to know and casting is another hobby on its own. Making your of bullet lube or powder costing which is the new craze. Reloading is its own hobby and shooting another hobby.
 
I think for simplicity for now I will stay away from casting for a fear of information overload. Thei KISS principle usually works best for me lol
 
it's not all that complicated if you don't want it to be, but always better to go at a comfortable pace. i accidentally got into casting when i bought a 230gr bullet mold for my 45acp to make glue gun bullets for inside, you just use a primer to fire the glue gun bullet. once i had the mold i thought, why not make some proper bullets and from there i now cast for everything i own (9mm, 38/357, 45acp, 500 mag, 12guage, 7.62x54r, 7.5x55). makes things far cheaper to shoot if you can get your lead for a good price, the 500 mag costs me 25 cents per shot using a 700 gr bullet.
 
Very very wise decision. It would eat up a whole lot of your time casting 9mm bullets for very little savings.


tdk213 said:
I think for simplicity for now I will stay away from casting for a fear of information overload. Thei KISS principle usually works best for me lol
Click to expand...
 
If you want to take a course, Murray Doc Gardner does a course every year on Dillon systems in Coquitlam at an executive inn. You may want to send him an email to find out more info.
 
tdk213 said:
^^^ hmm that is good to know I will have to look into the turret press. That sounds like it could be a good option for me. Id like to be able to shoot 200-300 rounds per range trip however with 2 kids under 3 its hard to find hours to make that many rounds.
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Do yourself a big favor and consider either a Hornady L&L single stage press or one that accepts the L&L conversion. The bushings / conversion are cheap and will pick up your speed to turret press rates. Drop in dies are just as fast as turning a turret and there is never any setup time lost, (beyond the initial setup) even between caliber changes. A single stage press, incidentally, will be a keeper even if you do later decide to purchase a full progressive. Very few people discard their SS press upon going to a progressive. The SS will always have its unique uses such as stuck case removal, de-priming before cleaning brass (if you choose to), using a RCBS bullet puller, etc..
 
I really like the set up suggestions can someone give me an idea of some suppliers of them. I found a few but some of the suggestions im mot sure who sells them such as the dillon and Hornady
 
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