Where to buy complete reload gear in Edmonton

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sirkdev

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I am new to reloading and need to purchase the whole deal. First thought of course is Wholesale but I would like a little more personalized service. Does anybody have any suggestions in the area?(Seems to be a gong show every time I go in.)

Thanks
Kris
 
Got mine from Wholesale. Tough to beat the price and they had it all to boot.
Then again I dont live in Edmonton...:)
Besides it takes a place that size to offer both the price AND the selection. Fine if your local dealer has what you want for the same price but not likely. I will buy local if he is willing to come close but does not work that way too often. I give them a shot though.
 
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I was leaning more towards the RCBS line??? Just like guns and cars everybody has their favorites I guess. Is there any one manufacturer that is better than another?
Planing to reload rifle only 204 to 300wm
 
P&D.I started with RCBS gear,and am still using my Rockchucker after nearly 30 years.I don't see the point of starting with cheap gear with the intention of upgrading later.It seems like a waste of money to me.
 
Having lived here most of my life and seen gun shops come and go and an avid reloader/shooter there really is only two shops that carry reloading gear. P&D has everything that you need but is expensive but you pay for the customer service which is top notch. Wholesale has no customer service (Kind of reminds you of going to Canadian Tire and asking for help) and if you know exactly what you need then for sure they are much cheaper. As Martinbns said Lee is usually the cheapest route to start your reloading hobby. You haven't really said what you are reloading? Do you want a progressive, do you want to start with a single stage press? Rifle or Pistol?

I started 30 years ago with an RCBS junior, an RCBS scale, and a set of 30-06 dies and a reloading book. I bought the scale new and the others used and saved a huge amount. As the years have progressed I have upgraded a lot like everyone else but to tell you the truth I still have the RCBS Jr. press and I use it for one off runs and I still use the scale.

If you want to go whole hog and get Dillon stuff then Phoenix Gun Range is a dealer but you pay top dollar for top quality.

If you plan on shooting 10 boxes of 30-06 at the most a year and maybe 20 boxes of pistol then a single stag will do you just fine. If you want to do more reloading than that then a turret or progressive loader is something to think about. My 2 cents.
 
P&D has everything that you need but is expensive but you pay for the customer service which is top notch. Wholesale has no customer service (Kind of reminds you of going to Canadian Tire and asking for help) and if you know exactly what you need then for sure they are much cheaper.
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I find Wholesale Sports only very slightly cheaper than P&D,around 5% for what I normally buy.
 
If you don't want to pull a number and wait, then go to P&D. I saw Hornaday has a starter kit there which comes with a digital scale! I think it was around $300 bucks.
 
reload

Do your research and read up as much as can on what are all involved in hand loading before you commit a chunk of $$$ in the equipments. Its time consuming (but I like it so I don't mind) and it could be very technical depend on what type of shooting u are gong to do. I am totally agree with the previous poster, buy the better to the best equipment (presses, dies and powder scale) and you won't regret it.
I made the mistake of buying the cheap stuff and ended up replacing 90% of my reloading stuff.
 
sirkdev said:
I was leaning more towards the RCBS line??? ... Is there any one manufacturer that is better than another?
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Here is my take on reloading equipment makers:

LEE- Low cost, medium quality, decent performance. They save money mostly by using simple solutions to problems, though it helps that all their stuff is built to a "just good enough" type standard. The best value in reloading equipment, THE place to start if you are not sure what direction you want to take in reloading. I run a lot of their stuff, but am planning a major upgrade soon (after almost 20 years as an on-again, off-again reloader).

RCBS- High cost, high quality, decent performance. This company puts the absoute best in materials and craftmanship into products that were conceived and designed by a bunch of drunks. Who the hell designs a priming tool that requires 100% disassembly to change the shell holder? Why does the Uniflow lock nut butt up against the cylinder retaining screw, so that you never know which will loosen when you try to adjust powder charges? Why does even the smallest adjustment to their dies require tools? All the cost of RCBS goes into overbuilding a poorly thought out product, and the value factor is, to me, the lowest on the market.


LYMAN- Who?
Seriously, I have one friend that setup with Lyman gear as a teenager, he has now mostly converted to Lee. Nobody ever discusses their stuff online, and I rarely hear the name outside casting circles. I don't know how they stay in business.


HORNADY- Kind of similar to Lyman, though the new LNL system has people interested again, and their dies are popular. Regarding their dies, I like them when they work, but of the four sets I own two have had to go back for warrantee work. Customer service has been very good. I think they have to work hard to keep us noticing them, as they sell middle of the road stuff, while Lee, RCBS and Dillon grab our attention with their category-defining products (though they may be defining the worst category, see RCBS above).


DILLON- High cost, high quality, high performance. These are the go-fast tools for those who know what they want, and performance is everything.
 
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Well thanks for the input guys, as I stated I am looking for 204-300 wm capability at this point. Possible handgun in the future. I am a no expense spared kind of guy. (Wife loves it!!---yeah right.) ;)

I try to buy the best the first time.

Looks like I will head off to P@D and see what they got.

Is RCBS really that gimicky or is that one mans opinion?

At what point is it a benefit to go to a auto progressive, are they much more complicated?

Thanks
 
Here is my take on reloading equipment makers:

LEE- Low cost, medium quality, decent performance. They save money mostly by using simple solutions to problems, though it helps that all their stuff is built to a "just good enough" type standard. The best value in reloading equipment, THE place to start if you are not sure what direction you want to take in reloading. I run a lot of their stuff, but am planning a major upgrade soon (after almost 20 years as an on-again, off-again reloader).

RCBS- High cost, high quality, decent performance. This company puts the absoute best in materials and craftmanship into products that were conceived and designed by a bunch of drunks. Who the hell designs a priming tool that requires 100% disassembly to change the shell holder? Why does the Uniflow lock nut butt up against the cylinder retaining screw, so that you never know which will loosen when you try to adjust powder charges? Why does even the smallest adjustment to their dies require tools? All the cost of RCBS goes into overbuilding a poorly thought out product, and the value factor is, to me, the lowest on the market.


LYMAN- Who?
Seriously, I have one friend that setup with Lyman gear as a teenager, he has now mostly converted to Lee. Nobody ever discusses their stuff online, and I rarely hear the name outside casting circles. I don't know how they stay in business.


HORNADY- Kind of similar to Lyman, though the new LNL system has people interested again, and their dies are popular. Regarding their dies, I like them when they work, but of the four sets I own two have had to go back for warrantee work. Customer service has been very good. I think they have to work hard to keep us noticing them, as they sell middle of the road stuff, while Lee, RCBS and Dillon grab our attention with their category-defining products (though they may be defining the worst category, see RCBS above).


DILLON- High cost, high quality, high performance. These are the go-fast tools for those who know what they want, and performance is everything.
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I see LEE as decently designed tools,made with low quality materials, made with low to average dimensional standards.They work,but they aren't overly strong or precise.

I see RCBS as better designed tools,made with much better materials,to above average dimensional standards.They are very durable,and fairly precise.

I see Hornady and Lyman as better designed tools made with average quality materials,made to average dimensional standards.

I see Redding and Forster as well designed tools,made out of good quality materials to high dimensional standards.

Is RCBS really that gimicky or is that one mans opinion?
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I certainly don't share that opinion.RCBS are well made,and will last a lifetime.They also have customer service second to none.If you somehow manage to break a tool through abuse,they usually replace it at their cost,no questions asked.
 
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Agree with Stubblejumper

I use a mix of reloading gear, as do all of my friends. Some tools do things better than others. The Lee Auto Prime is a better tool than that made by RCBS. I broke a Lee Press, but can't break my Rock Chucker (so far). I have a Lyman case trimmer that is almost perfect - after I sprung for the Carbide cutter. The RCBS powder measure has poured nearly a hundred thousand charges now and works fine. I added a micrometer adjusting screw which although longer, makes things way easier. The RCBS Chargemaster is probably the way to go if money is no object - if you can find one that works. I have dies by RCBS, Hornady, Lee, Hertner, Redding and others I can't even remember. All have good and bad points. I like the Hornady bullet seating die wit micrometer seating depth adjusting screw.

I guess what I am saying is that I haven't found one company that does everything right, but if you talk to other handloaders, do some research, watch people reload and ask a lot of questions, you will find the bits that work best for you. I know it would be great to walk into a store, flash a credit card and go home with a reloading setup, but you will be happier in the long run if you pick the parts that work best for you. Of course, lots of people love to buy and sell and trade, and if that is you, then get a bunch of stuff, keep what you like and move the rest.
 
Although most of my tools are RCBS,I still prefer the LEE autoprime over the RCBS version.I also just purchased a set of Lyman carbide dies for my 45acp,because they didn't have them in RCBS.Hopefully they will work just fine.
 
Everybody has their opinion of what is the best.
My advice to you, before you grab your wallet is first decide what you want to do. Progressive or single stage. Progressive for high number counts, and single stage for more precise small numbers. I reload lots of .223 and 9mm (why I don't know?) Anyways I degress. There is a very good article in this forum that debates or looks at Lee, Hornady (I think) and Dillon (My fave.) It looks at the pros and cons of each brand. But I think it is only for progressives. To me it seemed to be a very straight forward article stateing what is good and bad of the three brands.

I think most reloaders don't stick to one brand exclusively, but look at the best of each world. You will have to find what works for you.
I have a collection of brands for different jobs. Such as
Lyman: tumbler, trimmer,
Lee: Dies
Dillon: Press, Dies
Giraud: trimmer (it's the schnizle!!)
People on this forum will be happy to help you out! :)
 
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