Reloading 101

[smilee]

Lots of great info. Thanks. I am new to reloading. My only question is. Is there a progressive press that does mag cartriges as we ll as smaller or do i have to get a single stage for the magnum. Forgive my spelling. Thank you

[map]

Thanks for this.

[savasyn]

Originally Posted by smilee

Lots of great info. Thanks. I am new to reloading. My only question is. Is there a progressive press that does mag cartriges as we ll as smaller or do i have to get a single stage for the magnum. Forgive my spelling. Thank you

I assume you use the term "magnum" here in reference to larger rifle cases and not .357/.44 Magnum. Is that correct?

While I have not done it myself, I believe the Dillon 550, 650 and 1050 presses will do what you need, assuming you can get dies for the calibers you want to do. I know Dillon offers a magnum-size powder bar as an optional accessory. If you are talking .50BMG, Dillon makes a special press for that as well. They call it "semi-progressive".

Chances are that other presses will work too as long as they have enough travel to accept a long case and bullet.

Also take a look at the Lee Classic Turret press. It can be used as a single stage or semi-progressive and it has a good amount of ram travel. Only costs $100 for the press itself and accessorize are somewhat inexpensive compared to the Dillon stuff.

[smilee]

thank you that was what i was looking for. i was looking at doing rem 7mm mag

[ancora]

I have been using an RCBS single stage reloader for over thirty years and have never had a "squib." Takes longer to reload cartridges, but no danger of having a round with no powder charge. Load 30-06, .30 carbine, .44 mag and .44 special.

[thrasherfox]

Hmmmm.

great info, I should have known better than to make a post asking questions before at least looking at the sticky's lol.

I used to be an admin on another board. think I would have known better.

great thread admins (and everyone else)

[CD MCKINNEY]

I just scored a lot of Israeli 151gr M-61 7.62x51 AP bullets for "a steal" and I'm in the process of deciding how "far" I want to go in buying a reloading set up. I already have quiet a bit of knowledge in reloading but as I also bought a large batch of "virgin" primed, new 7.62/.308 NATO brass I won't have as much a task as in loading "shot" brass, so I wanted to look at the latest equipment out there before I finalize my decision. There are some nice products available these days...

[Chief-7700]

Originally Posted by CD MCKINNEY

I just scored a lot of Israeli 151gr M-61 7.62x51 AP bullets for "a steal" and I'm in the process of deciding how "far" I want to go in buying a reloading set up. I already have quiet a bit of knowledge in reloading but as I also bought a large batch of "virgin" primed, new 7.62/.308 NATO brass I won't have as much a task as in loading "shot" brass, so I wanted to look at the latest equipment out there before I finalize my decision. There are some nice products available these days...

For more exposure to your question might want to start a new thread in the reloading section.

[hcbr]

This is great info on this sticky thread, Due to AB 962 and getting tired of countless failed Trips to wally world in search for ammo, i've decided to join the reloading bandwagon and start using that brass i've collected for quite a while now. This info has helped tremendously, and while i don't have the funds to really go for the nice dilon or rcbs, my new incoming lee 4 classic will do just fine! Thanks

[chardog]

Thanks for all the info you guys are putting up! You have just cost me more money! Anyone in San Diego area want to coach a newbie in reloading? Thanks

[Fyathyrio]

I'm definitely not an expert as I've been doing this for only a year with a deployment in there, but if you want to come see the toys in action I have some .38, .357, and .45 to load up progressive style. I also have everything needed for 7.62 and 5.56, just havent gotten to doing rifle yet. I'm almost, but not quite in east county.

[droptoptrk]

Another link I would add Powder Valley. I thought their prices and selection were excellent.

http://www.powdervalleyinc.com/

[smitty8812]

I have been thinking of starting to reload .410 rounds, but not clue where to start. equipment, supplies ect... would welcome any help a begginers kit would be nice.

[DefJeff]

Great thread. About to pull the trigger on the Rock Chucker. Great info here!

[Mr_Dunev]

Looks awesome, a lot of fun, and a little complicated.

I need to go buy a reloading book, and learn what i can, hope everything will fit in my one-bedroom apartment.

[1911 .45]

Originally Posted by depmac983ret

I use RCBS! I still use a RCBS Single Stage "Pardner Press" I prefer the hobbiest approach. I prep cases up to the last step (powder, bullet). I work one caliber @ a time when I prep. I've done this since 1989 I do 100-200 a night, (wife stays away), she won't come near to "Gun stuff",
I now have over 2000 rounds of ready to go ammo in six pistol calibers, .223. and 30 Carbine. That's over 2000 rnds of EACH caliber all done on my RCBS press with RCBS dies, never had a problem.

I was more than happy to stumble across this. I always shot my Dad's ammo growing up and he had plenty to spare.

Now that it's my own money I've been thinking about reloading. I will be studying and adding comments to this so thank you so much for taking the time to put so much detail for us beginners on here.

[1911 .45]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dillon-XL-650-on...item27bbbb6f19

Is this a good deal on a Dillon 650 and would it be close to everything I need to get started....?

Thanks guys.

[Low-Pressure]

Originally Posted by 1911 .45

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dillon-XL-650-on...item27bbbb6f19

Is this a good deal on a Dillon 650 and would it be close to everything I need to get started....?

Thanks guys.

Looks like its the going price. At that price I would buy it from a store with great customer service.
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog...ategoryId/599?
http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/con...catid/1/XL_650

[1911 .45]

Originally Posted by Low-Pressure

Looks like its the going price. At that price I would buy it from a store with great customer service.
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog...ategoryId/599?
http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/con...catid/1/XL_650

Thank you for the great answer! Can't wait to get into it.

[Asmodeous]

Great thread. Looks like the Dillon 650 is at the top of my price range but if I buy a reloading machine I would want it to be able to do all my hand gun and long gun stuff too.

That being said, what about shot gun ammo ? I take it I will need a different reloader for that ? Is there a rig out there that will do shot gun ammo too or is it simply too different and it needs its own seperate rig ?

I usually shoot 150-200+ rounds of pistol when I go out and I usually shoot between 75-125+ rounds of 12ga in a day (sporting clay is so damn fun !).

[wtkaiser]

Hi all!

I've been reloading since the 70s (that's 1970s, not 1870s) and I think the suggestion of starting with a progressive press is bad, bad, bad. I haven't read all the threads, but ANY suggestion like this will get this reaction from me. If you are just starting out, why get something that needs SO MUCH attention to detail? I have 2 presses for rifle/handgun. They're both Lees and one's a progressive and one is a turret. I use the turret 10 times as much as the progressive, easily. Why?

A progressive is set up for one cartridge, period. Yes, they can be changed, but it's an awkward and painful change. A turret press can be changed easily either by unscrewing dies and screwing new ones in, or getting a batch of turrets, screwing one set per turret and forgetting about it after that. Seems like a no-brainer to this old man.

A progessive needs WAY more attention paid to it than a turret press. Even with my Lee, which is a pretty simple progressive, I have had primers turn upside down, primers dropped, powder charges NOT dropped, partial powder charges and case mouths mashed by bullets seating. Now, it is true that most of those would be cause by the additional attention a progressive demands. But if you're a newbie, your apprehensive enough without having to sweat the details. Yes, you still have to pay attention, but because of the manual nature of a turret press (which, incidentally, I use mostly as a single-stage), you are going to catch more hiccups in the process before they become REAL problems. You'd be amazed, for example, how much powder can get spread around by a missed primer. That itty-bitty hole will pass a bunch of powder around, gumming up your press and sparking volleys of words your partner maybe doesn't want you to use. And that's if you catch it when it happens!

'nuff said. Unless you have an overpowering need for hundreds of rounds every week, stick with a single-stage or a turret. You'll spend a bit less time with the significant other/family, but shooting ammunition that you trust because you KNOW BEYOND DOUBT that it was done right is a really good feeling.

Wow - like Sebastian Cabot said to JW in Big Jake "that's more words I've said since I've knowed ya".

[foxdog]

Originally Posted by wtkaiser

Hi all!

I've been reloading since the 70s (that's 1970s, not 1870s) and I think the suggestion of starting with a progressive press is bad, bad, bad. I haven't read all the threads, but ANY suggestion like this will get this reaction from me. If you are just starting out, why get something that needs SO MUCH attention to detail? I have 2 presses for rifle/handgun. They're both Lees and one's a progressive and one is a turret. I use the turret 10 times as much as the progressive, easily. Why?

A progressive is set up for one cartridge, period. Yes, they can be changed, but it's an awkward and painful change. A turret press can be changed easily either by unscrewing dies and screwing new ones in, or getting a batch of turrets, screwing one set per turret and forgetting about it after that. Seems like a no-brainer to this old man.

A progessive needs WAY more attention paid to it than a turret press. Even with my Lee, which is a pretty simple progressive, I have had primers turn upside down, primers dropped, powder charges NOT dropped, partial powder charges and case mouths mashed by bullets seating. Now, it is true that most of those would be cause by the additional attention a progressive demands. But if you're a newbie, your apprehensive enough without having to sweat the details. Yes, you still have to pay attention, but because of the manual nature of a turret press (which, incidentally, I use mostly as a single-stage), you are going to catch more hiccups in the process before they become REAL problems. You'd be amazed, for example, how much powder can get spread around by a missed primer. That itty-bitty hole will pass a bunch of powder around, gumming up your press and sparking volleys of words your partner maybe doesn't want you to use. And that's if you catch it when it happens!

'nuff said. Unless you have an overpowering need for hundreds of rounds every week, stick with a single-stage or a turret. You'll spend a bit less time with the significant other/family, but shooting ammunition that you trust because you KNOW BEYOND DOUBT that it was done right is a really good feeling.

Wow - like Sebastian Cabot said to JW in Big Jake "that's more words I've said since I've knowed ya".

I've been doing a lot of reserch on reloading and agree with the above. I'm new to all this and have yet to load my first round, but feel the need to keep things as simple as possible. Untill I develope a true confort for reloading, a single stage should be all I need. Not to say I won't be buying a turrent or progressive in the future, but for now "SLOW N SHO". Old Men don't grow old by being fools. I will listen to someone with 40+ yrs reloading experience

[erik_26]

What would be a realistic estimate one could expect to spend buying all the initial reloading equipment?


Let’s say the foundation would be a Turret style (Dillon brand?) press. .223 reloading.


With a turret press, how easy is it to retool (switch from .223 to .44 mag to 9mm to 45....etc)?

[Chief-7700]

Since when did Dillon start making a Turret style press?

[Chief-7700]

My question was not meant to be smart. Just a question that all.

[Onetyme]

Very helpful post. I'm just getting started myself. Thanks

[Silverone858]

Thank you for this great post and I would love to start loading on a Dillon press but from every thing I have read I think maybe a turret press may be a better idea seems like the best pace vs output.

[slo5oh]

Originally Posted by erik_26

Let’s say the foundation would be a Turret style (Dillon brand?) press. .223 reloading.
With a turret press, how easy is it to retool (switch from .223 to .44 mag to 9mm to 45....etc)?

Originally Posted by Chief-7700

Since when did Dillon start making a Turret style press?

Originally Posted by Chief-7700

My question was not meant to be smart. Just a question that all.

I think the point there is that Dillon does not make a turret, they only make progressive?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Veteran reloaders help me out here please
I've read this entire thread 3 or 4 times through and my summary is:
1) Everyone seems to love all their different loaders, so not much help for us noobs there...
2) Nearly everyone that buys an inexpensive loader eventually buys a more expensive one (yep, I see that)
3) Several people think it's BEST to start with one of the inexpensive kits. (I can't argue against that)
4) Some think it's better to start with the biggest baddest progressive unit (buy once cry once theory?)

What I have NOT read anywhere in here is "I bought XYZ cheap kit and HATED IT", instead I do see several "I started with XYZ cheap kit and I still use it today even though I own and use several others"

I liked what WTKAISER wrote a few messages above and I see great value what he said. While I was leaning toward a Dillon for many different reasons, I'm now leaning away from it for a starter unit for a couple good reasons. #1 it's a progressive and I'm new to this. #2 it only does handgun rounds and I'd like to reload a couple different handgun and a couple different rifle rounds.
That being said I'm now leaning toward either a Lee Turret or the 50th Anniversary Breech Lock with a heavy sway toward the Turret already. That said, there seems to be 2 Turret kits listed on the Lee website ,the Classic and the Value. Cabela's has the Classic for $220 right now and also lists a "Deluxe Turret Press Kit" for $114... I'm guessing more comes with the Classic than the Deluxe? Cabela's website doesn't exactly list everything so think some more googling is in order.
*Answered one of my own questions*
The interweb is telling me that the Classic is a better design in 2 obvious ways. #1 it drops the primers through a tube instead of on the bench/table and #2 it's cast iron where the Deluxe is cast aluminum.

[bikr4jc]

Tag to referance!! Got to read this and learn this. Thanks for having this topic!!

[marklyftogt]

Natchez Shooting supplies has better prices than any of the others and great service.

[chiz_65]

Originally Posted by erik_26

What would be a realistic estimate one could expect to spend buying all the initial reloading equipment?


Let’s say the foundation would be a Turret style (Dillon brand?) press. .223 reloading.


With a turret press, how easy is it to retool (switch from .223 to .44 mag to 9mm to 45....etc)?

+1 ^^^ ...What kind of initial start-up costs?

[SB30]

Good stuff

[MrElectric03]

I know I wont be starting reloading anytime soon, will probably be a year or so until I can have everything to get started. I am however very interested in it and would like to get a good starters manual to read through so I can see the differences and everything that goes into reloading. Everything on here says to start by getting a manual but can someone reccomend a good starting manual? They cant all be the same im sure.

[Fyathyrio]

ABCs of Reloading is very good, breaks it down into many different sections. It's entirely devoted to various aspects of reloading. Reloading manuals are roughly 10% information and step-by-step procedures, with the remainder dedicated to various caliber load recipes. If you are leaning towards a particular press manufacturer, then thier book would make a nice compliment to the ABCs.

[Chrisazelaya]

I want to start reloading but i don't know where to begin or what to buy. any help will be greatly appreciated.

[ar15barrels]

Originally Posted by Chrisazelaya

I want to start reloading but i don't know where to begin or what to buy. any help will be greatly appreciated.

Buy the latest Lyman reloading manual.
Read through it.
It will give you a real good idea of what you need to buy, though all reloading manuals tend to read like advertisements for the manufacturer publishing the manual...

[paintballsurfer]

I appreciate you having the info. up here! I am interested and starting up this new hobby/endeavor with a friend. Single stage Hornady.

[1911 Shooter]

Nice read. I'm new to reloading, which press do you suggest for 9 mm, 45 ACP, 38 special, & 223/556?
Are classes available in So Cal, Inland Empire?
Thanks!

[1911 Shooter]

Nice read. I'm new to reloading, which press do you suggest for 9 mm, 45 ACP, 38 special, & 223/556?
Are classes available in So Cal, Inland Empire?
Thanks!

[ar15barrels]

Originally Posted by 1911 Shooter

I'm new to reloading, which press do you suggest for 9 mm, 45 ACP, 38 special, & 223/556?

Read my stickied thread "handgun ammo is too expensive" for some equipment lists at different budget levels.