Starter kit or piece by piece

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ronsnighttrain

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I am looking to get into reloading,and have decided to get a turret style press(not sure what brand yet),and was wondering if it would be better to buy a starter kit or just piece my own kit with some better quality stuff that I would probably upgrade later anyway. I am looking to reload 9mm ,45acp,223,30-06,and maybe 300 win mag.I don't really have a budget,I just pick what I want then save for it. Any help would be welcome!:confused:
 
Single stage for accurate rifle reloading and learning to assemble handgun ammo. Them proceed to a progressive if the volume you require for handgun can be justified in your own mind.
RCBS and others put kits together and you could not assemble new for a cheaper price. Once started it is a never ending adventure, finding a buying technology. Buying a press that will last a lifetime is a sound investment.
Read all the books you have then find an experienced reloader willing to mentor. Read the books first, write your questions with references to what you read, and don't bore him to tears with undocumented "silly assed questions".
 
+1 good advice by horseman a good single stage will last forever and you'll keep it for other tasks like rifle if you move up..

You'll learn a lot by using it and fixing snafus.
 
I have an rcbs kit and find every part useful. I added some nice tools to go with it, but the kit is more than capable on its own.

For a turret, look at the redding t7. It's a beast and should be capable of pumping out pistol and also produce nice accurate rifle ammo. I plan on adding one to my bench.
 
You say "turret" but I'm wondering if you mean progressive or just a multi position single stage?

Since the list of cartridges you posted suggests higher volumes I'm going to guess that you want to jump right into a progressive. If so then I've got a thought or two to consider.

My first press was a hand me down Lee auto indexing progressive. The auto feature got me into a lot of trouble when something went wrong. And clearing the positions was a PITA due to the nature of the retention springs used by Lee. I later got a Dillon 550b and this is still my main press.

I like the fact that it is manually indexed because if/when something goes wrong it doesn't send the mistake to the next station automatically. I also like that the little retention buttons can be easily lifted to allow any station to be cleared or checked easily without having to cycle all the cases around and out first. The lack of the auto indexing is actually a big plus for a beginner and even for a more serious reloader that doesn't need a super high number of rounds per hour. And it's not that big a penalty in any event. I can still load around 300 to 350 rounds per hour. And I've hit close to 400 on occasion when all was going nicely.

So all in all if you must jump into a progressive as your first press I'd suggest you go with the manually indexed Dillon 550b over any autoindexing press. The amount it might slow you down by in the long run is a small price to pay for the learning friendly feature of manual indexing. And since Dillon is always a popular brand if you want to go to a 650 or some other larger and fancier press later you'll get back most of your money.

Also because of the ease with which the 550b can be "short circuited" it's also useable for "sort of like" single stage loading. Namely with the shell plate and dies you can size then move to the flaring station then either powder up through a funnel added to the powder through die or at that point remove the casings after flaring for powder charging externally with individually weighed charges. A nice option for precision rifle loading. And then feed the charged casings back into the seating position and carry on. So it's also useable for detailed precision loading. Something that is harder to do with some auto indexing presses.

On the other hand if you are getting that seriously into reloading anyway a single stage for extra duties is never a bad thing. There's always something to do that is easier on a single stage. So it'll be a handy thing to have around even after you buy your progressive a bit later on.

The worth of the kits depends on what is actually in the kit. Having been down the road I'm glad I didn't go with a kit. Other than a few I've seen I'd have ended up not using half the stuff. And besides, if you go with my suggestion of a 550b then it's not a choice since Dillon doesn't sell all in one starter kits like the others have.
 
With the range of cartridges, you may end up with a couple of ways to make your brass.

For larger cases and precision work, definitely single stage press.

If you want to make larger volumes of HG ammo, small progressive as my time is worth the investment.

So, I would go piece by piece and get the items that best serve their job for the money you spend. No company offers a set where all the items excel. The only 1 I suggest is by Lee because it fits with the really budget conscience person and when they upgrade, there is far less loss from the initial investment. And it works.

Alot of very good stuff doesn't cost much. Then there are some tasks where you simply need to invest for the right tool.

So you need to break down what the goals are for each chambering and firearm. There will be overlap but likely, you will see where specific end uses will demand specific tools.

Let me know...

Jerry
 
I'd echo BCRider's advice and go with the Dillon 550b. A very versatile press which will last you a lifetime. The Dillon press is very easy to set up and run and will easily load all the cartridges you list in your post...including 300 WM. Nothing wrong though, with starting out with a good quality single stage press to learn the basics of reloading, then adding on a progressive, later. If so, the kits by RCBS or Lee make a sound investment.
 
Price out what you want.

I recently picked up a Lee Challenger kit for 150 bucks.

There was a couple of things in the kit that I wouldn't have bought if I had of cobbled together what I wanted, but just the stuff I did want came to somewhat over the 150 bucks.

Now this is a "cheapie" kit as far as what is out there - a very basic single stage job and many would argue, not on par with the presses from RCBS, Hornady, Lyman etc, but I'm only reloading for a couple of my own rifles. The dies are inexpensive and so far it has been more than satisfactory.

If at some point in the future I am disappointed with either the quality or performance, at that point I probably won't mind spending double the price I paid for a press alone from one of the other mfg's - but for now, I find this the "perfect" first kit...
 
For a single stage kit to get your feet wet a Lee set isn't a bad starting point. But my own experience is that the smaller 3 and 4 position progressive Lee presses are more trouble than they are worth. I wrestled with one for a few years and did a good half dozen modifications to fix various things that would not stay in tune. It's since been given to a buddy that is continuing to use it for his own loading. It's reliable NOW but it was a trip and a half to make it that way. On the other hand the Dillon, which I grant you is twice and a bit the price of the Lee, is directly simple to set up and operates just like it promises every time I pull the lever.
 
I started a short while ago. I was given a rockchucker press some dies and some small tools. I had to purchase everything else. I would recommend buying a kit if I was starting over, all the basics are there and you can upgrade as you advance. -Mark
 
If price is not of concern go peice by peice if by turret You do mean a turret I think the Redding T7 turret is one of the best presses available and a good starting press Personaly I would go with this style of turret or a single stage before going to any kind of progressive. Although reloading is 100% safe when done correctly all it takes is one mistake to get seriously hurt. Even veteran reloader have made huge mistakes. A single stage or turret reduces the chance of a mistake as it is only doing 1 actiuon at a time instead of 5+.

Edit also buy ABC's of reloading it as more info then You can get anywhere else.
 
Well, I'm gonna throw in my 2 cents. Based on the cartridges you have listed, IMO, you need a turret press. I say this because I don't shoot competition matches but have loaded handgun and rifle. I have thinned down over the years to only .45ACP and .223 for high volume plinking rounds, but a turret easily does 250 rds an hour. I only get out once a month or so, so that allows me to blow off 5-600 rds if I need to and not have to spend forever making them shoot again. But, a turret can also be used as a single stage to produce hunting or precision rounds for rifle.
Don't let anyone fool you, Lee makes good gear. They sell just as much as anyone else, most times for less. Many compare their presses against the "Lee junk" that costs a quarter of what the big guys are selling their stuff for and will load good ammo. Want to have better quality and STILL spend less than the bigger guys? Buy Lee Classic Cast instead of the value presses/kits. Those presses are just as bulletproof as their far more expensive counterparts. You can load .50BMG on a Lee Classic Cast single stage press. Not so with a RockChucker.
I started with NO budget. Second hand equipment (Lee) and loads of time. Using friends' gear at their place (gun club had a room set up over a member's shop. I reloaded for years before I stepped up to my own stuff (Lee 50th anniversary kit). I got a scale and a powder measure (I couldn't get either to work satisfactorily, but some guys love them) and other things I still use today. Most of my stuff is piece by piece as it came along second hand, but my main presses are Lee. Now, Classic Cast, but still Lee.
Enjoy, OP.
 
Start with a LEE Classic turret kit. It can be run as a single stage when you want it to(I use it that way) and when you want to go a bit faster add the neccessary part's and give'er
 
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