Reloading equipement $$$ ???

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GLOCK_PERFECTION

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Hi,

I'm planning to get into reloading. I don't know very much about it. I want to know what'll be the price for a starter kit. I think a single stage press will do the job, but a turret look interesting. I know I'll need a lot of things: press, thumbler, manual, scale, dies........

I'm planning to reload .45acp and .223rem. I shoot about 100 rounds a week, but if I cut the ammo price, I'll probably shoot more.

What would be the price for a starter kit?
 
Skip the tumbler, for a startout. Shiny brass is nice, but you can clean primer pockets and carry on a long time without a tumbler.

Buy a manual, or two, first.
Read the bits at the beginning that talk about the do's and dont's that you should be looking out for.

I started out with a cheap Lyman convertible press, one that could be used as a hand press or mounted on a bench. It was $35 when I bought it.
Dies from wherever you are happiest buying them. I have had good luck with the used ones I bought cheap, been happy with my new ones from Lee and RCBS, too. $25 on up, per caliber.
A Lee Autoprime set suits my needs still. I think I paid $17 for mine, a long while back. Works for me. Still. I like it a lot better than priming with the press. Better feel.
Lee dippers worked OK for several dozen deer, hundreds of gophers, and a lot of fun shooting. Apparently they could not tell that the loads were not balls to the wall screaming fast, but safe, middle of the range loads instead. A scale is nice, but you don't NEED one. You will need one if you want to #### around at squeezing out the last iota of available performance.

If you spent the price of a Lee anniversary Kit and two sets of dies, you would have all you need. For a bunch more money, you can buy the RCBS kit, and have nicer stuff, though not deader targets.

A hand tool to clean primer pockets.
The Lee trimmers will allow you to get all your cases to the same length, more or less.
A digital caliper from CTire (on sale for around $15) will do nicely.
A tub of case lube.
A deburr tool to take the sharp edges off the trimmed cases.

I have a Lee Classic Cast single stage press and like it. Cheap enough, plenty strong. I still use my old Lyman press too.

Prices vary a bunch. Shop around.

Cheers
Trev
 
Hey Trev,

So what would be the rough 'all in' cost for the Lee or RCBS kits? roughly?

I will be getting into this in the future. Are there any good articles around the web or tips n tricks? For me it will mostly be 9mm, .40 S&W and 12ga

trevj said:
Skip the tumbler, for a startout. Shiny brass is nice, but you can clean primer pockets and carry on a long time without a tumbler.

Buy a manual, or two, first.
Read the bits at the beginning that talk about the do's and dont's that you should be looking out for.

I started out with a cheap Lyman convertible press, one that could be used as a hand press or mounted on a bench. It was $35 when I bought it.
Dies from wherever you are happiest buying them. I have had good luck with the used ones I bought cheap, been happy with my new ones from Lee and RCBS, too. $25 on up, per caliber.
A Lee Autoprime set suits my needs still. I think I paid $17 for mine, a long while back. Works for me. Still. I like it a lot better than priming with the press. Better feel.
Lee dippers worked OK for several dozen deer, hundreds of gophers, and a lot of fun shooting. Apparently they could not tell that the loads were not balls to the wall screaming fast, but safe, middle of the range loads instead. A scale is nice, but you don't NEED one. You will need one if you want to #### around at squeezing out the last iota of available performance.

If you spent the price of a Lee anniversary Kit and two sets of dies, you would have all you need. For a bunch more money, you can buy the RCBS kit, and have nicer stuff, though not deader targets.

A hand tool to clean primer pockets.
The Lee trimmers will allow you to get all your cases to the same length, more or less.
A digital caliper from CTire (on sale for around $15) will do nicely.
A tub of case lube.
A deburr tool to take the sharp edges off the trimmed cases.

I have a Lee Classic Cast single stage press and like it. Cheap enough, plenty strong. I still use my old Lyman press too.

Prices vary a bunch. Shop around.

Cheers
Trev
Click to expand...
 
you need a manual,press,dies,scale and for rifle brass you re going to need to trim them lee trimmers work good

you could use a primer pocket tool every thing else is not really needed

all of the above can only load rifle and pistol for shotgun your going to need a shotshell manual(id get a lyman) and a shotshell press but for 12ga unless your loading buckshot and slugs your not really going to save much money
 
I'm not disagreeing with the above posts but I should point out that if you're going to be using the carbide die sets that clean brass is good. Dirty brass scratches up the inside of your dies in a hurry.
 
Neoborn said:
Hey Trev,

So what would be the rough 'all in' cost for the Lee or RCBS kits? roughly?

I will be getting into this in the future. Are there any good articles around the web or tips n tricks? For me it will mostly be 9mm, .40 S&W and 12ga
Click to expand...

I've been researching to get started myself and found these links to be helpful:

http://ultimatereloader.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/gavintoobe?feature=watch

A google search would likely turn up a lot more info, but there's a lot of reloading videos on Youtube.
 
I am thinking of getting into reloading as well. I am leaning towards the Dillon 650. I will start with 9mm and 45ACP. Some people on this board have said to start with a single stage press. I think that if I start slowly and keep my focus I should be okay. I don't want to buy one piece of equipment only to have to buy another once I grow out of it.
 
mississaugagunnut said:
I am thinking of getting into reloading as well. I am leaning towards the Dillon 650. I will start with 9mm and 45ACP. Some people on this board have said to start with a single stage press. I think that if I start slowly and keep my focus I should be okay. I don't want to buy one piece of equipment only to have to buy another once I grow out of it.
Click to expand...

SS presses are a good place to start. (I know some will disagree.) I think the biggest factor is how much you plan on reloading. At 50 rounds a week, a SS will do you fine. At 500 rounds a week, you need to move up the foodchain a bit.
 
Buy a Lee 50th anniversary kit, they run in between $130-$170 depending on where you get it. It comes with; a scale, a single stage press, Lee Saftey prime(large and small), a Lee perfect powder measure, a cutter and lock stud, a chamfering and deburring tool, a primer pocket cleaner, and a tube of case lube.

You will then need to buy dies for the calibres you are reloading, make sure to buy carbide pistol dies(so you dont need to lube the cases), and if you are shooting 223rem in a semi auto, you should strongly consider buying a die set with a factory crimp die. If you buy Lee die sets they will run you anywhere from $30-$45 a set.

You will need to buy a few other things; a case length gauge for rifle brass to cut it($5 per calibre), a good set of calipers(~$25), a reloading manual(~$25, I recommend Modern Reloading 2nd edition by Lee). Also you will obviously need powder, primers, brass(no need to buy, just pick up what you shoot) and projectiles which you can price out online.

As you can tell I really like Lee products, they are inexpensive and yet they get the job done well, plus they have a 2 year replacement warrenty as well as a lifetime replacement guarentee(which means they afer the warrenty expires they will replace or fix any product at half the cost of a new one). Other brands are good too although you will find them to be significantly more pricey.

A tumbler is not required unless you want shiney new looking brass. If I have forgotten anything please feel free to chime in.
 
if you have any interest in loading volume, id go for the dillon. not the cheapest but you will not regret it. rock solid manufacturing. unparalled customer service.

stay blue, pony boy.
 
Given that you're loading 45 and 223, I'd suggest a Lee Turret. Turret presses are kind of in between a SS and a full progressive. You won't need to trim 45 auto brass, it actually shortens with shooting, and the brass lasts virtually forever. I have 45 brass in use that you can't read the headstamp on from the ejector marks. I also have surplus brass from 1968 that's been reloaded more than 20 times. You'll need to trim 223 after every second or third reloading. The turret is easy to set up, relatively quick to operate and still lets you feel what you're doing. Oh yes, and they're cheap - real cheap. Check out Higginsons - $152. I loaded over 50,000 rounds on a turret, and it is still working for me. If you want to produce factory quality ammo, for practise use, it's ideal.
 
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