I want to Start Reloading

[ArmyVetSgt.Adkins]

Well I want to start reloading and have read pretty much every thread on few sites and can say Iam more confused now that when I started researching presses and what gear I would need to get started reloading for .45 and possibly. 223.Could someone help me out on what would be A good press and whatever else I need to start reloading without spending A small fortune on gear.I will mainly be shooting around 600 to 1000 rounds tops A month..Any input would be greatly appreciated or if you have A used setup that you may want to sell I'm definitely open to that as well..

Thanks to everyone in Advance

[Lane]

I ran into the same questions and confusion - here's how I started:

MidwayUSA was running a Christmas special for the Lee Classic Single Stage Anniversary Kit (http://www.midwayusa.com/product/423081/lee-challenger-breech-lock-single-stage-press-anniversary-kit) (Looks like it's still under $100). This includes pretty much everything you need except the dies. I added a set of calipers and some extra quick change bushings (and eventually a different scale - I didn't care for the Lee scale). I also bought some case trays (http://www.midwayusa.com/product/368157/frankford-arsenal-perfect-fit-reloading-tray-5s-45-acp-50-round-blue) for the calibers that I reload for.

Since then, I've added a tumbler, media separator, and have upgraded to a Dillon 550B progressive.

This is a good way to get started. Working with a Single Stage gives you a chance to learn the individual steps and build good habits for making safe, reliable reloads. The only squib I've had was on the progressive press.Since then, I've added a tumbler, media separator, and have upgraded to a Dillon 550B progressive.

With the single stage, I could do 50-100 rounds per hour; with the progressive, I can do 4-500 per hour. Changing caliber on the single stage takes seconds; changing caliber on the Dillon takes 15 minutes or so (and I've purchased a second head).

A lot of folks will bash Lee - they are definitely at the low end of the scale - but they have amazing customer support. They have a great warranty, and if something breaks, they pop the replacement in overnite mail. I've had a couple of parts break and they replace it, no questions asked.

As a side note, I usually buy my powder and primers at local gun stores (online appears cheaper until you pay the hazmat fees...) and get my bullets from Precision Delta (http://precisiondelta.com/).

Hopefully this helps. Keep in mind, you don't spend less money when reloading, you just shoot more. :D


Lane

[NAMVET72]

I would look at the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Single Stage, get two or three Reloading Manuals. Then read the instructions and then read them again.
After done reading do a few shells then, expand your amount then try the 223.............. One more suggestion buy Good Carbide dies...........



Clyde

[Lane]

One more suggestion buy Good Carbide dies

+1!!

I forgot that part - you'll be much happier with Carbide dies - they aren't that much more expensive...

Lane

[douglas_knott]

Well that pretty well sums it up.

RCBS rock chucker
Lyman 49th
Powder trickler
Dies
RCBS 5-0-5 scale
ABC's of reloading
Digital Calipers
Brass, powder, primers, bullets
A RCBS powder drop will help speed up the process also
Did I miss anything?

[titanse05]

Start off by buying a couple of reloading books and study them. The ABCs of Reloading is a good one to start off with. http://www.amazon.com/ABCs-Reloading-Definitive-Novice-Expert/dp/1440213968/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330435851&sr=8-1

If you make it thru that book and still want to reload, then the fun begins. There are several good videos on youtube that I watched so I could see how the different presses functioned so I could choose the best one for my needs. I chose right off the bat to skip the single stage press because I wanted to buy the stuff I was going to use in the long term up front and not waste money on something to learn the process. I just used my progressive press as a single stage initially to learn how to adjust the dies and powder drop, then ran single cases thru while checking them, and finally moving up to using the press to it's full capablilities.

The top two progessive presses that are truly progressive and have 5 die stations are the Dillion 650 and the Hornady Lock-n-load. I ended up picking the Hornady Lock-n-load Progressive press and I'm very glad that I did. I've reloaded over 3k rounds with it so far. Things that I liked about the LNL over the 650 was that the case placement and bullet seating both took place on the left side of the press. My left hand handles the case and bullet, and my right hand never leaves the press handle. Also, the location of the bullet seating is in the front of the press and provides an unobstructed view of the amount of powder in the case so I can check each one visually.

The best advice is to use all of the available research material, books and the internet, to look at the different presses and get a basic understanding of the process. Then dive in with both feet if its something that you think that you can handle and enjoy.

[AutoMag]

All of the above info is right on!!

Start out small, I mean a single stage press in case reloading is not for you. If it is then you can progress later on to a Dillon or the like!!

About the best info I can offer is to reload in a room by yourself and free from noise if you can. The least little sounds or disturbances can be distracting. Really by sounds I mean the TV, radio or friends or family members talking to you!!

A double charge or an under charge can both cause devastating results!!

I am anal in my reloading in that I crank out 10 rounds on my Dillon RL550B and then mic and check the weight on EVERY one!!!:)

[ArmyVetSgt.Adkins]

A big Thank You to everyone that has responded and I forgot to mention that I did in advance buy 3 reloading books one being the ABC's of reloading and I think that I will definitely go the route of A single stage press to begin with,would you recommend the lee or the RC BS single stage press?After the press I just need A set of Carbine Dies correct?Do I need 3 PC or the 4 PC die set?I have A high quality set of digital calipers in my possession already I guess I still would need A scale also..
Thanks again to everyone I just love this place and will start being more active in the Forum as I have been out foe awhile as I had to have A Bowel Resection for my Crohns Disease and I had multiple complications from the initial surgery that resulted in me having two additional surgeries on top of that and I'm actually still in the Hospital right now but hope to be released real soon...This forum has made my stay in the hospital A little more bare able by being able to read and keep up on my favorite Hobby

[skosh69]

Congrats to you Steve for taking interest in reloading...

Whatever press setup you get, just remember to always make sure there's powder in the cases before seating the bullet, otherwise you'll be known as "Mr. Squib", like me...hehehehe

There's your reloading safety tip for the day.......

PS, I recommend the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme kit, it has everything you need, minus the dies and a tumbler!

[douglas_knott]

Three die, the fourth die is a factory crimp. Some people use them but they only fix something that should have been taken care of in step three. Hope you get to feeling better. We are thinking and praying for your speedy recovery.

[titanse05]

Whatever press setup you get, just remember to always make sure there's powder in the cases before seating the bullet, otherwise you'll be known as "Mr. Squib", like me...heheheheI won't have to worry about being called that.....that is why I have a powder check die in the 3rd station of my LNL. This die will lock the press out if a case is undercharged or overcharged. Then on top of that I can see what's in the case when I seat the bullet since the 4th station is right in front of me.

Sent from my ATRIX using Tapatalk

[Big Smoke]

I second the idea of reading all the information in the ABC's of Reloading, or a good reloading book. That's how I started, and found a guy who was selling his Dillon 550b and was getting out of reloading. I bought the press, tumbler, separator, dies, and some other miscellaneous items for $400, but that was over 20 years ago.
But knowing I was using a progressive reloader, I really had to mind my P's and Q's. I would (and still do) check every 10th round to make sure the charge is right and check the Overall Length (O.A.L.) of the cartridge for consistency. I use separate dies for seating and crimping. Some dies will do both.
I can definitely understand going the single stage route, especially if you are new to reloading. But if you have 1000 rds a month to do, that's going to take the whole month to do. You CAN start with a progressive as long as you understand exactly what each stage does, and keep a check on it for consistency, and don't have any distractions around you while your doing it.

[Dave Waits]

Well, when I started reloading some 30 years ago, I started with a single-stage press. Had quite a few I've tried over the years and I keep going back to the same Rockchucker I started with. Once you get everything down, you'll find out you can load a lot more with a single-stage than you think.

Granted, there are some upsides to a progressive press, it's a lot faster. But, there is also a downside to them, consistancy. Most guys,as a rule of thumb, check every tenth round that dumps into the bin. This means they know that one round out of ten is correct. What about the other nine? when you ask these guys they usually say,"Well...never had any problems." Well, there's a first time for everything, with ammunition it only takes once.

If you set up your operation correctly with a single-stage, you don't have to worry about that at all. While slower compared to a progressive, I can reload 200 45ACP in a five hour session and that's with taking a few breaks. Makes for a nice,relaxing, fun time. Plus, by using a single-stage each round is more precise,...consistancy.

The best way to use a single-stage is to do each operation to every case you want to reload at the same time. Take 100 cases, deprime/size them all, then expand all 100, then do the primer-pocket cleaning and prime all 100, then, using a tray, charge all 100. A tray is important because you can look directly down into it and see if any cases are under or over-charged at a glance. After that, you move the tray to the press and seat the bullets, checking each for Overall length.

The reason I can load that many in one session is the Powder-charging system I use, it's electronic. I use a Pact Electronic Dispenser/scale. After it's calibrated to the powder, every charge is exact and fast. It can dump a 5.2 grain charge in about ten seconds. Much faster than a Powder-Measure, Razor-scale and a Trickler. But, speed is not important when you reload, it's actually your enemy. The faster you try to go, the more room for error there is, with both a single-stage and a progressive.

Another time-saver I have is a Lyman Electric case-trimmer, it has a pto on the back you can chuck primer-pocket brushes in. I can clean fifty pockets in about three minutes

Like everybody on here knows, I'm old-school when it comes to a lot of things firearm. If, for example, like you, I'm only wanting about 1000 rounds a month, I can't see spending all that money on a progressive setup, using it for two hours and then staring at it for the rest of the month. Plus, I don't care how good a progressive it is, it won't load as consistant a round as a single-stage setup where you control each step. SD on my 45ACP loads is 7fps, you won't get near that with a progressive. Now, that said, if you're not worried about great accuracy, a progressive works fine because you're not checking and trickling each charge. A couple tenths off won't matter unless you're charging at near-max on your loads. All it will affect is groupsize.

Don't think by all this that I don't like progressives, they definitely have their place. If you're competing and need to fire 1000 rounds a week, they're great. Most of the sports like that don't require more than 4 or 5 inch groups at 25 yards, Bullseye being the exception. You just pick a load that's safely under max and run em! Me? I don't compete. Haven't in a long, long time.

Whichever way you go, read first. A lot of guys mentioned the ABCs of Reloading. It's a good book but, I prefer the reloading tutorial in the front of the Speer Manuals. It's the most complete and easiest reading tome on the subject that I've read. It also has a comprehensive trouble-shooting section that lays out every mistake you can make and how to correct it.

After you get done reading, ask questions! Any of us here would be more than glad to help you, these are a great bunch of guys here.

Have fun with it!

[DaFadda]

I'll weigh in here Sarge,

+1 to everything you see above. All the answers are "spot on."

My first press is the RCBS Rockchucker. It is everything a single stage press should be. It will outlive you, your children AND your grandchildren. The Rockchucker Supreme kit has all the tools you need. Weigh scale, press, powder dispenser, cartridge holders. All you need extra are the carbide dies and the shell holders. I still use the RCBS for 5.56/.223 rounds. $269 at Cabelas.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/RCBS-Rock-Chucker-Supreme-Master-Reloading-Kit/728426.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3D searchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProduc ts%26Ntt%3DRCBS%2B%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26WTz_l%3DHeade r%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=RCBS+&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

All this said..... my Second press is

The Lee Classic Turret Press.

http://www.cabelas.com/presses-dies-lee-classic-turret-press-reloading-kit-1.shtml?WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleBaseUSA&WT.z_mc_id1=706046&rid=40&mr:trackingCode=560DDE51-F5D2-DF11-82EF-001B21631C34&mr:referralID=NA
It is a four hole turret press that will work in auto mode, OR single stage. A turret press is "inbetween" a single stage and a progressive. You CAN use the turret in auto mode and make one cartridge at a time. OR... you can set up the deprime die, the flaring die and the seating die and work in batch mode. The turrets are removable so that you can have your .45 dies set up, then with a simple twist, install the .223 dies for rifle. I bought the Classic fourhole turret for $89 on sale at Cabelas. That was the press and one turret only since I already owned the scales and powder charger. Additional turrets are about 10 bucks or so at Cabelas on sale, or 12.99 at Midway. The advantage for me is that once I have a setup for .45, and have locked it in... I NEVER have had to make an adjustment. Done is done.

I PREFER to do my reloading in "batch mode." Meaning that I spend a night priming 500 or so rounds. Next night I bell/flare the rounds, following night I load powder and seat.... following it ALL up with checking each round with a Dillon or Wilson depth and seating gage ( a DEFINITE PURCHASE). They are about 15 bucks per caliber, and worth every cent to a new reloader.

If you can find a special on the Lee Classic 4 Hole Turret press WITH a package i.e. scales and powder measure... I would go that route. If you can't, you will NEVER go wrong with the RCBS Rockchucker Supreme. My actual preference, since I like the RCBS Scale and Powder measure, would be to purchase the RCBS Rockchucker Supreme above, learn the system, then buy a Lee Turret. Gee... wonder why.... OH... that's exactly what I did!

OH!!!! And if you go the RCBS route... CALL RCBS direct. They usually have Rockchucker Supreme kits as Refurbished at a discount!

Just sayin'
DaFadda

[skosh69]

I'll weigh in here Sarge,

hehehe...whenever I see the word Sarge, a great story comes to mind.

It was close to the end of the day and a bunch of us NCO's were gathered in the orderly room when 4 brand new privates walked in to report. I just happened to be near the front door and began to welcome them. One numbskull decided to greet me by saying, "hey Sarge" and at that very moment, you could've heard a pin drop! I had a drill sargeant moment and that boy spent nearly an hour alternating between push ups and the front leaning rest position for doing that. I never got called "Sarge' again!

Sorry Steve, didn't mean to hijack your thread.....

[douglas_knott]

I just hand primed a couple hundred 45's my thumbs hurt. Lol

[Lane]

I never got called "Sarge' again!

At the risk of further hijacking...

My only exposure to military life is the movies - how should he have addressed you?

[/hijack]

[Sheepdog]

I agree with all of the above. I would just add that Dillon makes great reloaders and their customer service is second to none. They will stay on the phone and walk you through every step to get you started or if you are having a problem. The Dillons also have case feeders so all you do is set a bullet, pull handle, repeat. Drops a cartridge with every pull.

[DaFadda]

Pushups are easy. Stomach holds my back up!!!!
DaFadda

[ArmyVetSgt.Adkins]

Thank you all so much for the great info..I'm looking online now for A press and also might be planning A trip to Cabelas this weekend if I feel up to it,I just need to build up A little strength as Laying in hospital for past month and A half believe it or not takes A toll on your body As I have lost nearly 35 lbs and feel as if I was drug behind A horse..Feeling better though and just happy to be home..

[titanse05]

Thank you all so much for the great info..I'm looking online now for A press and also might be planning A trip to Cabelas this weekend if I feel up to it,I just need to build up A little strength as Laying in hospital for past month and A half believe it or not takes A toll on your body As I have lost nearly 35 lbs and feel as if I was drug behind A horse..Feeling better though and just happy to be home..Getting home is a big step on the road to recovery. Hope you get back to 100% soon and start buying reloading gear! ;)

[AutoMag]

ArmyVet, glad to hear that you are home now!!:)

We are here to help should you have any further questions.

Dave was right on with his post. He is a very knowledgeable person when it comes to gun repair and reloading!!:)

[Dave Waits]

At the risk of further hijacking...

My only exposure to military life is the movies - how should he have addressed you?

[/hijack]

Lane, he was a Tanker, Dickweed would have been the correct applellation.

[skosh69]

At the risk of further hijacking...

My only exposure to military life is the movies - how should he have addressed you?

[/hijack]

Lane, he was a Tanker, Dickweed would have been the correct applellation.

There is but only one correct answer as to how to address an NCO and that is "Sergeant"! Learned that from my drill sergeant and I adhered to it. Has nothing to do with being a grunt, fly boy, mess cook, tanker or whatever you did in the service.

I worked hard to become an NCO and never once was I going to let some punk private get away with disrespecting my hard earned stripes with some slang term just because they were too lazy to say it correctly!

Just my .02....

Can we get back to reloading answers now? LOL

[Riverpigusmc]

There is but only one correct answer as to how to address an NCO and that is "Sergeant"! Learned that from my drill sergeant and I adhered to it. Has nothing to do with being a grunt, fly boy, mess cook, tanker or whatever you did in the service.

I worked hard to become an NCO and never once was I going to let some punk private get away with disrespecting my hard earned stripes with some slang term just because they were too lazy to say it correctly!

Just my .02....

Can we get back to reloading answers now? LOL

Call a Drill Instructor in the Corps "Sarge"..and then go hunt for your testi..or Drill Sergeant, for that matter:p

[DaFadda]

:eek:
:jacked:
Lets get back to which press the Sgt should buy...