Never Reloaded in my life. What do I need?
- Thread starter patrickp200
- Start date
As was suggested to me and it helped a ton get a reloading manual I got the Lee one becuase I bought lee stuff, But I have heard the Lyman one is really good as well. The lee one can be bought for like 20 at WSS the lyman is a bit more.
I also bought a lee deluxe turret press kit for mine, Added in the powder riser, The safety primer and the double disk kit just because it was cheaper to buy it all now.
I am doing mostly handgun ammo but this one does do rifle as well just a bit different steps are needed.
I also bought a lee deluxe turret press kit for mine, Added in the powder riser, The safety primer and the double disk kit just because it was cheaper to buy it all now.
I am doing mostly handgun ammo but this one does do rifle as well just a bit different steps are needed.
Grab yourself a copy of The ABC's of Reloading. Read it twice 
Lots of great info, and will answer a lot of yoru questions ... after that, you'll know which questions to ask regarding certain types of presses, the tools you'll need/want for your specific needs, etc..
As for what you need ... if you are only loading for the one cartridge, and are shooting < 500 rounds a month, a single stage press will serve you very well. If you were reloading for 9mm nd were into IPSC, then I'd recommend a progressive press simply to handle the higher volume.
Also, shop around for scales, tumbler, powder measure, calipers/micrometer, case trimmer, dies, etc..
You will probably be best served by one of the "starter Kits. Check the threads in the reloading section - there are some good products out there that have the basics of what you need for a very reasonable price.
Lots of great info, and will answer a lot of yoru questions ... after that, you'll know which questions to ask regarding certain types of presses, the tools you'll need/want for your specific needs, etc..As for what you need ... if you are only loading for the one cartridge, and are shooting < 500 rounds a month, a single stage press will serve you very well. If you were reloading for 9mm nd were into IPSC, then I'd recommend a progressive press simply to handle the higher volume.
Also, shop around for scales, tumbler, powder measure, calipers/micrometer, case trimmer, dies, etc..
You will probably be best served by one of the "starter Kits. Check the threads in the reloading section - there are some good products out there that have the basics of what you need for a very reasonable price.
Dont do it, its evil.
Stay away , buy A cross and garlic, stay indoors after dark and pray the hunger doesnt take hold, for me its to late, i past the single stage and have progressed to full blown evil reloader.
Remember to get safty glasses and ear protection.
Stay away , buy A cross and garlic, stay indoors after dark and pray the hunger doesnt take hold, for me its to late, i past the single stage and have progressed to full blown evil reloader.
Remember to get safty glasses and ear protection.
257Roberts
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Peterborough ON
Look at the stickies at the top of the reloading thread and get yourself the latest Lyman or ABC,s of reloading manual and take into account post #6 by f55.
There is no way to break the addiction.
I have found that gun shows are great place to pick up items from re-loaders that are upgrading to new and better equipment.
There is no way to break the addiction.
I have found that gun shows are great place to pick up items from re-loaders that are upgrading to new and better equipment.
By the time you buy everything you need and get into having a good assortment of powder and bullets it will be quite pricey!
And it will take up a lot of your time.
And you'll probably shoot more so there's no savings!
But that's not necessarily a bad thing is it?
And it will take up a lot of your time.
And you'll probably shoot more so there's no savings!
But that's not necessarily a bad thing is it?
You're looking at a "single stage" setup for what you want to do. Avoid "Kits". Except for Redding Kits they all contain some junk that'll need replacing and thus aren't the value you'd think they'd be. Consider the Hornady Lock & Load bushing system. You can get it with a Hornady press or by making sure that whatever press you do buy will accept the conversion kit. The bushings are cheap, they speed things up, and they eliminate hassles associated with swapping out dies on a single stage press.
Onagoth is 100 % correct. You won't save money. You will have better ammo though, and a more accurate rifle, and take much more enjoyment from the sport you're already involved in. You'll rarely hear of a Reloader whose given it up,, I never have.
Onagoth is 100 % correct. You won't save money. You will have better ammo though, and a more accurate rifle, and take much more enjoyment from the sport you're already involved in. You'll rarely hear of a Reloader whose given it up,, I never have.
I understand the views of many that say "you won't save money" ... but ... I prefer to think of it as being like your rifle - the cost of the rifle is not something most take into account when considering how much each shot costs them. The rifle is simply a mandatory expenditure if you want to shoot. The basic reloading equipment is the same if you want to reload. And, like your rifle, they are "upgradable" in the future and can always be sold off to fund the next one.
Typically though, you will spend the same amount of money each year on shooting - only difference is that before reloading, you would get (as a basic example) 500 rounds for $500, and with reloading, that same $500 (spent on powder, primers, brass & bullets) will make you 1000 to 2000 rounds that you will shoot. So yes, most will spend the same each year, but shoot twice as much or more for that same money.
Figuring the cost of a press into the equation is pretty tough to do ... my only press was bought in the 70's, has loaded countless thousands of rounds, and is still going strong ... I guess a person could estimate that the press will "cost" you maybe $0.01 per round over the next 10 years - seems pretty small peanuts to me.
Typically though, you will spend the same amount of money each year on shooting - only difference is that before reloading, you would get (as a basic example) 500 rounds for $500, and with reloading, that same $500 (spent on powder, primers, brass & bullets) will make you 1000 to 2000 rounds that you will shoot. So yes, most will spend the same each year, but shoot twice as much or more for that same money.
Figuring the cost of a press into the equation is pretty tough to do ... my only press was bought in the 70's, has loaded countless thousands of rounds, and is still going strong ... I guess a person could estimate that the press will "cost" you maybe $0.01 per round over the next 10 years - seems pretty small peanuts to me.
There are two routes.
The first is the cheapest - the Lee Loader. It produces perfectly good ammo, but trades effort for cost and each round takes longer to produce. On the order of $50 per calibre. You will need a hammer and a solid surface like a concrete floor or work desk to use it on.
Then there are the conventional presses, ones that mount on a desk and use compound leverage to make things easier and faster. There are three basic types. The single stage machines do one thing at a time and you have to change the dies for every new process. It's where most people start and many never feel they need more.
Turret presses are much the same except all the dies are mounted together in a plate that can simply be turned to bring them into play one after the other. They are rather more convenient once set up; cost of course is rather greater.
Progressive machines are essentially automatic - once set up and filled, you get a complete round of ammo every time you crank the handle. They are more complex and decidedly more expensive and probably more than you need unless you are firing a lot of ammo on a regular basis. (If you do, on the other hand, single-stage or turret presses probably aren't up to what you need.)
Stuff to get on top of that?
Before you buy anything else. Two books (echoing other posters):
Asides from the press, powder, bullet and primers (assuming you have saved brass), you must get:
'Should-have-but-not-critical' stuff:
'Nice-to-have' stuff:
Some things you won't need until you really need them, and that will be on a Saturday night, 15 minutes before the store closes and in the middle of a blizzard:
The first is the cheapest - the Lee Loader. It produces perfectly good ammo, but trades effort for cost and each round takes longer to produce. On the order of $50 per calibre. You will need a hammer and a solid surface like a concrete floor or work desk to use it on.
Then there are the conventional presses, ones that mount on a desk and use compound leverage to make things easier and faster. There are three basic types. The single stage machines do one thing at a time and you have to change the dies for every new process. It's where most people start and many never feel they need more.
Turret presses are much the same except all the dies are mounted together in a plate that can simply be turned to bring them into play one after the other. They are rather more convenient once set up; cost of course is rather greater.
Progressive machines are essentially automatic - once set up and filled, you get a complete round of ammo every time you crank the handle. They are more complex and decidedly more expensive and probably more than you need unless you are firing a lot of ammo on a regular basis. (If you do, on the other hand, single-stage or turret presses probably aren't up to what you need.)
Stuff to get on top of that?
Before you buy anything else. Two books (echoing other posters):
- ABCs of Reloading is probably the best introduction available. Large paperback. You'll save a lot of time, effort and money by spending a night or two digesting this. Its only lack is that it does not have many 'recipes'; so you also will need...
- a reloading manual put out by one of the major component manufacturers. Read it before you actually start reloading. Until you get some experience, I wouldn't take any loads off the net.
Asides from the press, powder, bullet and primers (assuming you have saved brass), you must get:
- a workbench of some sort. It can be custom built, a Work-Mate folder or even a way to use your kitchen table, but you must have something reasonably solid.
- dies and a shell holder for the calibre in question. The joy of this is that to reload an additional calibre, this is essentially the only new piece you will need - virtually everything else will be OK
- some way of lubricating cases as they go through the first (sizing) die. You'll forget this just once...
- scales. Electronic or balance.
- a reloading block - a tray to hold your cases as you work through the process. You can buy them or make them with a piece of 2x6 and a drill.
- a legal way to store primers and powder. Lockable box with EXPLOSIVES written on the outside is the starting point.
- a book of some sort to record your efforts so you can tell what works and what doesn't. You can buy specially-printed ones but a school notebook works just as well
- good lighting. If your reloading place isn't bright, buy a cheap gooseneck lamp.
- often overlooked - safety googles and a fire extinguisher.
'Should-have-but-not-critical' stuff:
- powder measure. It dumps a measured volume of propellant.
- powder trickler (the 'throw low and trickle up' concept is useful for high accuracy loads)
- small flashlight
- accurate calipers and, if you've the inclination, a micrometer.
- a primer pocket resizing tool (different kinds) and primer crimp remover if you are trying to reload military ammo cases
- automatic primer feed, strip or tube, to avoid having to handle individual primers. As an alternative, there are separate priming tools - quite nice.
'Nice-to-have' stuff:
- primer pocket cleaner
- magnifying glass
- a small funnel for pouring powder into cases
- tumbler. You can reload without one, but asides from making things shiny, they also make it easier to examine your brass for cracks, etc
- I found the kit lube pad messy and the lube provided with it a pain to clean off the cases. I dropped $6 on a tiny tin of Imperial Sizing Die Wax. Tap one of your fingers lightly on the wax and roll the case between your fingers. Much less messy and it lasts almost forever.
- case trimmer. You'll need it eventually, especially if reloading hot ammo
- a deburring tool to 'round off' neck edges, especially after trimming.
- bullet puller. Everybody makes mistakes. Most people use a kinetic one, shaped like a hammer.
Some things you won't need until you really need them, and that will be on a Saturday night, 15 minutes before the store closes and in the middle of a blizzard:
- a couple of spare depriming pins for your dies. Spent primers are kicked out by a small steel rod which is easy to break.
- a stuck case remover. A case wedged into a sizing die happens to most of us sooner or later. Major pain.
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
Before you start even thinking of what equipment or components, there are two primary steps or considerations, and they're easily flexible or interchangeable as to which is #1 and which is #2.
- #1, a good non product specific manual and Lyman is a good choice.
- #2, a friend or someone knowledgeable in the operation to act as a mentor.
Hotwheels81
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- South of GP
For .303
Lee 50th kit, case length Gauge with cutter and lock stud, Lee 3 die set for .303, digital caliper for checking seating depth and case length, few hundred Large rifle primers, a pound of Winchester 748 or hodgon H414, Sierra 150gr spitzers or Hornady 174gr RN interlocks work great in this cartridge avoid boat tail bullets.
Lee 50th kit, case length Gauge with cutter and lock stud, Lee 3 die set for .303, digital caliper for checking seating depth and case length, few hundred Large rifle primers, a pound of Winchester 748 or hodgon H414, Sierra 150gr spitzers or Hornady 174gr RN interlocks work great in this cartridge avoid boat tail bullets.
I don't like the kits so much, you get stuff ou don't need.
You can get a basic single stage setup for about $200-$250 plus the cost of components
This is a minimum steup:
1. reloading press c/w priming mechanism (single stage) $75-$100
2. dies and shellholder (LEE dies c/w shellholder, most do not) $30-$40
3. beam scale $50-$100
4, calipers (digital or dial) $30
5. case trimmer (LEE is best for the price) $15
6. case prep set (primer pocket cleaner and mouth chamfering tools) $20
You can get by very well on that for loading rifle cartridges.
Other things you will probably want eventually:
kinetic bullet puller ($30)
brass tumbler $50-$100
powder measure ($30-$100
You can get a basic single stage setup for about $200-$250 plus the cost of components
This is a minimum steup:
1. reloading press c/w priming mechanism (single stage) $75-$100
2. dies and shellholder (LEE dies c/w shellholder, most do not) $30-$40
3. beam scale $50-$100
4, calipers (digital or dial) $30
5. case trimmer (LEE is best for the price) $15
6. case prep set (primer pocket cleaner and mouth chamfering tools) $20
You can get by very well on that for loading rifle cartridges.
Other things you will probably want eventually:
kinetic bullet puller ($30)
brass tumbler $50-$100
powder measure ($30-$100
Barnes_270
Regular
- Location
- Langley, BC
Or, go even cheaper by replacing items 1 and 2 with a Lee Loader set (about $35) and you're in for around $100 plus or minus. If you're only loading for a bolt-action gun, with brass fire-formed in your gun's chamber, this works. I started this way about a year ago, and I've now moved up to a single stage press. The only downside is you can't use brass fired in other guns, but I bought some brass on the EE that the sellers were willing to full-length resize for me before shipping.
