Wanting to get into reloading. Need advice and help.

[w_wood]

I want to start reloading and I have no clue on where to start. I have looked at presses, but I don't know what would be a good beginners press. I have also looked into casting projectiles and wanted to know if that is too much for a beginner?

Any and all info would be greatly appreciated.


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[1HitaQuita]

A good place to start is with something like a Lee Turret press or the Hornady LNL. However if you're willing to educate yourself first, you can start just about anywhere. Knowledge (or lack of) is what sets your limitations. Good luck! Reloading is so much fun & relaxing

[GILMORE619]

Figure out a budget and what calibers you want to handload. How much space do you have? You can start out on the cheap or you can spend some serious coin. Buy Lyman's 49th edition reloading manual and read about the steps to handloading.

[w_wood]

Figure out a budget and what calibers you want to handload. How much space do you have? You can start out on the cheap or you can spend some serious coin. Buy Lyman's 49th edition reloading manual and read about the steps to handloading.

I would like to start out with a lower end set up to see if I like it. And I only want to reload 9mm for right now. I have plenty of space for just about anything.

[w_wood]

A good place to start is with something like a Lee Turret press or the Hornady LNL. However if you're willing to educate yourself first, you can start just about anywhere. Knowledge (or lack of) is what sets your limitations. Good luck! Reloading is so much fun & relaxing

I was doing some searching and saw that I can get a lee progressive press for cheaper than the turret. Would that be a better way to go or should I start out with the turret style?

[BigBronco]

Lee progressive presses are known to be slightly finicky. Unless you are completely familiar with reloading I would recommend a single station press. Learn to walk before trying to run.

[jameshenry]

Start with attending one of the reloading clinics in your area. They are listed at the beginning of this forum. I started reloading metallic 4 years ago with a Dillon 650. I had very few problems.

[GILMORE619]

You can buy a Lee turret press and take off the indexing rod and run it single stage with your dies all set up. Lee products sometimes are hit and miss but there cast turret is good to go. I would stay away from the Lee load master as a first press. The Lee auto disk powder measure with the powder thru expanding die is good way to charge your cases but you still need to check your powder charge now and then. A good single stage press is always good to have. Especially when you start reloading rifle

[_Nick_]

I get a Lee single stage and knew absolutely zero about reloading. I started with 9mm and learned from a combination of forums, Youtube videos and talking with guys at the local gun stores. I asked a guy to come to my house and ensure I knew what I was doing after making a few rounds with no powder. He came over and helped me figure our my work flow. All I really experienced education on was how much (or little) to flare and crimp.

It's easy to start with pistol brass. I don't even own a reloading manual (yet). I understand rifle brass is another whole topic and much more complicated.

I love reloading. I love my reloads. I'll never go back to factory ammo.

[ihasacookie]

I recommend the Classic Turret if you're just starting out, its a good "in between" press. Easy to set up, but definitely buy some extra of those black square nylon ratchets; I've stripped a few starting off. Priming system is a pain to get right but once its dialed in its smooth as butter. Of course you can go all out and buy a Dillon but for a functional beginner press at a fraction of the cost, go with the LCT. Figure out how much you plan to shoot per month and choose your press accordingly. Also you can change calibers with the LCT within a few seconds.

[w_wood]

Thank you everyone this is some good info.


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[GILMORE619]

Thank you everyone this is some good info.


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The Calguns handloading community has some great people and good advice. FS section is good also to find used equipment.

[kcheung2]

I would suggest you reconsider your choice of 9mm for reloading, especially if your goal is only plinking ammo. Buying components now, the cost to duplicate 115 grain fmj vs just buying a 1000 round box of factory ammo, you might save $30-$50. However if your goal is 124 grain jhp or 147 grain, then the numbers make a lot more sense.

If you were to go into other pistol calibers such as .45 or .357 then yes the savings are there. And that's even more so for rifle calibers.

[desertjosh]

I would suggest you reconsider your choice of 9mm for reloading, especially if your goal is only plinking ammo. Buying components now, the cost to duplicate 115 grain fmj vs just buying a 1000 round box of factory ammo, you might save $30-$50. However if your goal is 124 grain jhp or 147 grain, then the numbers make a lot more sense.

If you were to go into other pistol calibers such as .45 or .357 then yes the savings are there. And that's even more so for rifle calibers.

Well, if you are patient and buy components on sale, you can reload 9mm for cheap. I load mine for just under .07/Rd

[Chewy65]

I am in the same boat with you, as far as only wanting to reload 9 mm for now, but with a couple of differences. I am on my second shot shell reloader, after having started with a used single station MEC that I replaced with a new MEC progressive, and having done so I have found that I find reloading relaxing.

Enjoying reloading is important, since any cost savings from reloading 9 mm is modest. We figured that you have to load 285 50 rd boxes to recover the cost of a high end press, the Dillon XL 650 and assorted equipment. That is figuring that retail runs $13 a box. This is with buying supplies in bulk.

Consequently, the cost of reloading 9 mm may not be worth it, depending on how much you shoot. Where you really start to save $$ is if you reload heavier calibers such as .357 and .45.

Another factor is age. A young guy can use good equipment for 30 years and will recover capital costs many times over.