New to the reloading hobby

M

marc74

Member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
Northern Ontario
Hey guys, new member here, hunted and target shot for 20years, but haven't done any for the last 10. Im just getting back into it, over the winter I'm planning on adding a few new "fun guns" to family. haven't 100% decided on what yet, but one will be a 9mm PCC, another in .223/5.56, and possibly a lever gun not sure what caliber yet.
Anyways, I plan on getting into reloading, just for the hobby/fun of it. while I haven't purchased the guns yet, I've gone ahead and already gotten Lee Deluxe carbide 4 piece 9mm die set, and Lee Precision .223 ultimate die set (90694).
anyways my question is to all you experienced reloaders.. I'm thinking on just starting out with a Lee breech lock challenger kit. I'm not interested in speed or being able to crank out 5000 rounds per evening.. I just want a single stage press, focus on doing things properly and getting the satisfaction of loading my own ammo.
Ive seen reviews saying its a great kit to start out with, and I've also seen people say don't waste your money on a cheap kit.
just curious on some thoughts from some of you guys on here with a lot of experience.
I don't want to start out with a progressive press, I want to be hands on each step of the way. I'm an automotive mechanic so I'm used to "attention to detail" kinda stuff.
note: I won't be loading rounds until I get my new guns cuz that would be silly... but just want to soak up some knowledge and options and opinions before I order that challenger kit
thanks
 
I just started last year and I made the mistake of buying a kit… there is a few things in the kit that will work but that you will want to upgrade soon after you buy your kit! I say find a good press used, Lee press is good enough for me, buy a good scale a berm scale is what I use and I’m ok with it, but the Lee is a bit finicky to set! Buy a powder trickler and also a few good books, I like the Lee book myself! Buy a good case trimmer and also a good inside/outside chamfering/deburring tool, I bough a Lyman that have it all inside the handle!
It won’t be cheaper going that route but you won’t end up with stuff that you will be frustrated with!
Just my humble opinion from a newbi reloader!
 
Welome to the rabbit hole..
I started on a kit RCBS RC Supreme, it works well to keep up on my bolt/lever action rifles. But when I got an AR and a Glock, I was taking too long to get a supply to spend the day at the range. I've added a Dillon 550, and now I can minimize my time reloading, lol. I say, as I start building 4 ladder test loads for 3 different rifles. 1 rifle gets a hunting round sp and a range round fmj.
For all of my pistols I use TITE-GROUP 9,40,45. For bullets I use powder coated lead cast, I get mine from T&R Supply out in AB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yMqzELAUmg
A small peek at a growing problem, lack of space when you really get into it. I recall when I just started reloading for my bolt .223, watching YT videos and seeing piles of die cases. I thought to myself " that's weird", now I'm one of those guys. I have a friend who lives in Vancouver in a bachelor suite, he does his reloading here so his 5 sets of dies are next to all of mine. Stuff just adds up.
 
Last edited:
When I started, I determined that the kits were not for me, because I had already decided I wanted different items from different brands. No one kit had everything I wanted, and every kit had things i did not want.

But that's just me. Others have found that kits fit their needs just fine. So its all good. Whatever you chose you will make it work, and for sure you will branch out as you get into it.

Re single stage press question: I bought the Lee Classic Cast press. It was my first and only press, and I really like it, no regrets. It uses the Lee Breech Lock bushing system, which I also really like - quick and easy die changes. If you go with this, buy extra bushings because for sure you will use them on all your dies as you branch out into more and more dies.

The Lee Classic Cast press also has the on-press priming option using their Safety Primer Feed tool, which is inexpensive and does a great job IMO. I like the feel of using the entire press arm to seat primers instead of a hand primer.

If you decide to go with the lee Classic Cast Press and want to prime on-press I would advise against de-capping on the press. The debris from the spent primers will tend to foul up the primer cup mechanism in the ram slot for using the Safety Primer Feed tool. I de-cap off press using the Frankford Arsenal hand de-primer tool, and it works great, keeps everything clean and contains the mess.

Best wishes for your press choice, and all the reloading fun to come - I find it very rewarding and I don't even think of buying factory ammo anymore.
 
marc74 said:
... I'm thinking on just starting out with a Lee breech lock challenger kit. I'm not interested in speed or being able to crank out 5000 rounds per evening.. I just want a single stage press, focus on doing things properly and getting the satisfaction of loading my own ammo.
Ive seen reviews saying its a great kit to start out with, and I've also seen people say don't waste your money on a cheap kit.
...
Click to expand...

You probably know right now if you're one of those guys that is happy making cheap and cheerful work just fine, or if you'll be frustrated by the fact that there is nicer/smoother/prettier equipment out there.

The Lee intro kit is perfectly adequate if you're mechanically minded and especially if you're a tinkerer. It's a great way to get your feet wet without breaking the bank.

There is definitely nicer equipment available, but you can make some excellent, excellent ammunition with the Lee stuff. And if it turns out that it's not right for you you can sell it for a very small loss. Or keep it as "good enough" spare equipment. While I've made some upgrades and additions, I still use almost every piece of the Lee kit that I got years ago.

Since you have zero experience, what I would NOT do is buy really nice kit right off the bat. Some or maybe all of it is not going to be "just right" for you, and you will definitely take a much bigger hit unloading it.
 
Hi Marc,
Every reloader should have a decent single stage press. I started off with a progressive but that was because I got a great deal on a used one.
In the learning stage you can use a progressive as a single stage, just load one piece of brass and cycle it through all the stations.

Regarding lee kits; their beam scales are the item most people upgrade first so that is something to keep in mind.
I personally don't trust cheap and mid price digital scales so do all my reloading with a quality beam scale.

To each their own but I prefer a used quality steel press over a cheap new aluminium press, like rcbs, hornady or lyman single stage press. This way you can always sell it for about the same price you bought it for if you ever want to get out of reloading.

Decisions, decisions...good luck, keep us posted.
 
thanks for all the input/replies and opinions guys. its much appreciated.
I hadn't mentioned in my original post because I didn't want it to be obnoxiously long.. but I've been accumulating some stuff over the past little while,
(FA platinum priming tool, Lyman case prep multi tool, Lyman brass smith powder trickler, Lee 4 piece carbide die set in 9mm and .223, a couple mtm universal loading trays)
been wanting to get into this for a while and didn't want to just dive in headfirst and uninformed, done a tonne of reading, a tonne of watching, a tonne of listening.
I was more looking for peoples opinions and experience on the breech lock "kit".. so thanks again for all the replies and additional info.
I'm new to this site, and its layout and icons, I hadn't gotten any notifications or anything so I assumed I hadn't gotten many/any responses.
(if anyone has a quick way of explaining how to set it so you receive notifications to threads you start or questions you ask that would be great)
I opened up the forum and scrolled down to my original question and seen all your responses, thanks guys
anyways, earlier today I ended up ordering that breech lock challenger kit, and a couple extra quick change bushings.
The price was right, I mean for $228 bucks u can't really go wrong right... and I figure the stuff that I replace/upgrade, I'll just keep as spare.
thanks again for all the input everyone. appreciate it
 
Sounds like you have a good handle on what you need to get started. One item that is often overlooked is a decent caliper. I personally prefer a dial caliper, its not that hard to read and no batteries. I don't trust digital ever since I had one start to wander intermittently and I never knew if I was getting an accurate reading (batteries were fine). It actually went out by 0.200" at random intervals. I had to recheck a lot of work, never again.
 
thanks tbhupe... I agree.. I'm a big fan of manual measuring tools too. I already have all that from the career I have.
Chinese people in real life = FABULOUS at math...
Chinese sub par cheap electronics = not usually so much.. haha
I'll take manual readings all day every day.
thanks for the input
(are you allowed to say stuff like that on here or are there Liberals on here that lurk around and get all butthurt and sensitive and stuff?) lol
 
If you are loading 9mm you should consider a progressive. I found a hornady lock n load used and knock out a few thousand a year. For the 223 you can duse the progressive as well. Just be careful not to make a hot load if you are running an AR. I have found all of my presses either on Varage sale or Kijiji. .
 
skinsfan0260 said:
If you are loading 9mm you should consider a progressive. I found a hornady lock n load used and knock out a few thousand a year. For the 223 you can duse the progressive as well. Just be careful not to make a hot load if you are running an AR. I have found all of my presses either on Varage sale or Kijiji. .
Click to expand...

I can do a few thousand with my single stage
 
One of the best benefits of reloading is the cost of the rarer calibers, where the boxes at the store are like orders of magnitude more expensive than what you can reload them yourself for.
Examples are .303 British, .303 Savage and .45-70 Government.
These are all best dealt with on a single stage press.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom