Set for .45 ACP and 9mm possibly..

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sliferdragon

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Hello all, I am looking to start reloading bullets. I was wondering if I should buy ammo and shoot them at the range for fun and then pick up the brass for reloading. Will that be more economic in terms of money, or will buying brass and starting reloading from there be better? I need a press, all the tools, all the supplies. Basically I am starting fresh with nothing! I am looking to get a progressive reloading press. I'm willing to spend around 350-400 for all the tools and supplies that I need! (powder, primer, brass, press, bullets, etc) If I buy a progressive reloader will i need to tweak the gunpowder dispenser so that it gives the right amount each time? Or will it come out of the box ready for the .45acp and 9mm? Are the amounts the same? Should i be getting two machines for reloading or just one? I want to get a 1911 pistol and shoot .45 acp ammo mainly, but might want to switch to 9mm later on! Is there an affordable place in the BC area that I can purchase most of my goods for a reasonable price or will I have to do most of my buying online?
 
Look at Budget Shooter Supply at the top of the page. Henry will set you up with everything you need. You will need to adjust your power dispenser for each different caliber you are loading but that doesnt take more than a couple of minutes. For a progressive + powder + bullets + primers + shell plate blah blah, you will be out more than $400 as the press alone will cost around that. Count on $25 - $40 per pound $75 and $150 per 1000 bullets and around $35 per 1000 primers.

If you are starting out, its not a bad idea to buy a case of ammo and start saving the brass. Pick up whatever you can at the range to add to what you shoot and over time you will have more brass than you know what to do with (I personally have about 6000 loaded and about 2000 empty brass in 9mm) although most people that shoot .45 pick up their brass, so if you get into serious amounts of shooting, you may be buying some brass every now and then. Also, shooting factory ammo gives you something to compare the feel to when you start rolling your own. Its always good to have a few boxes of factory ammo or even commercially reloaded ammo kicking around so buy some when you find deals and roll the rest your self.

You just need the one machine for as many calibers as you want to reload. Buy some extra bushings when you get the different die sets and switching between calibers will only take 5 - 10 minutes. But yeah, talk to Henry! He is the man!! He can hook you up with all you need
 
Thanks for the quick reply! I have been looking around some sites for progressive loaders. The Lee reloading brand seems pretty affordable, the pro 1000 and loadmaster series of their presses seem to be around the 250 mark. Would they be good presses to start out with? Will the powder dispenser come all ready to go? How much grams, oz or however you guys calculate powder in should I be using for .45acp and 9mm? Also to my understanding the primer in the .45acp is the large pistol one? And the 9mm is the small pistol primers?
 
45 can be large or small primer..
I bought small primer brass for 45 as I load 9mm as well and it is small primer so it saves me haveing both sizes.
 
just looking at the size of the primer will let you know, there is considerable difference.

but as said, at this stage of your future reloading career, you need to get reading.

read through the posts in the reloading section, and check out various youtube videos (take with a grain of salt) and get the reloading books. (abc's of reloading) is good from my understanding/ lyman has books.

are you mechanically inclined at all? it will help a whole bunch with reloading.

and not to scare you off, but 350-400 for everything will not be enough. 350-400 is a good budget for the press, tools, etc. but primers, powder, bullets, and brass will all be extra.
 
The first thing I would recommend you purchase is a reloading manual . . . they all contain sections on how to reload and will answer most of your questions. They are available from various bullet, component, equipment manufacturers (Speer, Hornady, Lee, Lyman) to name a few. The "ABCs of Reloading" is also often recommended.
 
I guess that if the tools and press is 350-400 ish I would be completely fine with that, and then paying for the parts that I would need to make the actual round would be fine. As long as I am saving money in the long run by reloading my own .45acp and 9mm rounds!
Also if i get this kit will it come with everything I need to start as in tools? What other tools will I need? http://www.reloaders.ca/oscommerce/product_info.php?cPath=20_45&products_id=345
 
i run the same press (though i have the older wooden ball handle) for 9mm, 45acp, 38/357. i have 1 for each caliber accept the 38/357 share the same press.

you will save more money, but what usually happens is you just end up shooting more instead of saving money.

other tools needed;
-calipers for measuring cartridge lengths, diameters, etc.
-powder scale (measured in grains)
-bullet puller when you mess up ammunition (i do on a regular basis)

that's all i can think of right now, but the books will tell you what you need.


i've gotten various deals here and there, so my costs might be a bit low, but i spend the following.

current costs

powder - 1lb bottles

tightgroup - $22
hp-38 - $23
h110 - $25
hs-6 - $25
bullseye - $30

primers

SP/LP - $34
209 - $49



9mm

5000 124gr - $385

$0.12 for 1
$6.10 for 50



45acp

4500 230gr - $400

$0.14 for 1
$6.88 for 50



357mag

3500 158gr - $80 (cast bullets i made)

$0.11 for 1
$5.52 for 50



38 spl

2000 148gr - $150

$0.12 for 1
$6.00 for 50
Click to expand...
 
Yes the Lee is a good one to start with, I forgot about those lol. It wont come ready to go outta the box, you will have to clean the packing grease off it anyway and then set it up using a scale. A nice cheap one is the little Hornady digital one.

Get yourself a good reloading manual like the Hornady 8th edition

http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

http://www.223reloads.com/home/9mm-load-info/9mm-pet-loads-chart

http://www.handloads.org/loaddata/d...&Weight=All&type=Handgun&Order=Powder&Source=

http://www.reloadersnest.com/frontpage_handgun.asp?CaliberID=17

Those are my favorites and there is a TON of data on here as well, just use the search. Although it can give varying results. Hope that helps
Any of the powder manufacturers have data on their sites as well.

The amount of powder, in Grains, will vary depending on bullet weight, powder selection, and Over All Length. I load 9mm only, 4 - 4.2gr of titegroup, 5 - 5.2gr of Unique, and 7.3 - 7.8gr of Blue Dot.

Also here is a good tip for loading small charges for pistols if you use a digital scale. Fill ten cases with the powder dispenser. Weigh it all and divide by 10. Its a bit more acurate than just wieghing one.
 
Thanks for the great responses! I will take a look at all of those webpages and hopefully take in a lot of info! As for the prices, for 34$ its for 1000 primers, correct? I guess I will be shooting some factory bullets for now, saving up some brass casings so that I can use them to reload! Again, thank you all for your help!
 
call henry (busget shooter supply), set up a time and go meet him at his shop (bring cash) and have him set you up. great guy and he wont steer you wrong. ive spent many $1000s at his place
 
I should clarefiy that by saying those are the best prices I've come across for components. Primers and powder I get from lebaron, which I don't think is in BC. So prices maybe different. And that's tax in.
 
1ducky said:
45 can be large or small primer..
I bought small primer brass for 45 as I load 9mm as well and it is small primer so it saves me haveing both sizes.
Click to expand...

Bit of a high jack, but does share some info.

I have come across some small primer .45 that looks like the primer was crimped, and had to run them through a swager to make it feed well.

Have you found this as well?

GC
 
Gas Can said:
Bit of a high jack, but does share some info.

I have come across some small primer .45 that looks like the primer was crimped, and had to run them through a swager to make it feed well.

Have you found this as well?

GC
Click to expand...

I have, Federal mostly does it but so does Winchester and I believe I saw blazer as well with crimps.


I did about 500 of them with my pro 1000 and had about 30 of them cause the primer to not seat right. I just ran them again and it primed fine. As I said in another thread there is no way I'm going to resize that many brass for the few that give me problems.
 
sliferdragon said:
Thanks for the great responses! I will take a look at all of those webpages and hopefully take in a lot of info! As for the prices, for 34$ its for 1000 primers, correct? I guess I will be shooting some factory bullets for now, saving up some brass casings so that I can use them to reload! Again, thank you all for your help!
Click to expand...

You can also keep your eye on the EE. People are unloading once fired brass all the time, especially common calibres like .45ACP and 9mm.
 
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