how to reload

[stevosmith]

you guys all gave me wealth of knowledge to get on the right track. I will start with the below before i buy

Lyman Reloading Manual
Johnny's reloading bench
Ultimate reloader
Bolt action reloading
http://reloadoc.com/ <-- i called this guy and he is awesome
http://www.sanfranciscoliberalwithagun.com (reloading info w/ videos)
http://www.liberalsguncorner.com (podcast)

http://www.youtube.com/sfliberal

[baranski]

Field trip to Orange County : http://reloadoc.com/

This is solid advice, Brain is a wealth of knowledge and can set you up right there.

[hundy]

I started with a single stage RCBS Rockchucker back in 1994. As stated here I read the RCBS book and Lyman book multiple times. There was no Youtube at that time. I did not get a Progressive Turret until 2014, I went with the Dillon 650.
I feel by starting with a single stage you gain a lot of insight on what to look for when you transfer to a progressive.
I currently use my Dillon for all my pistol and 223 reloads and still use the RCBS Rockchuker for my C&R and match loads.

Good luck and enjoy,

Jay

[bhilliker@comcast.net]

First thing you is find a good mentor! Don't try and reinvent the wheel!!!!

[JoyfulJoker]

I started with a Dillon 750. I used it as a single stage , now I crank out pistol rounds. I’ve loaded about 15,000 rounds. I just started loading rifle loads a few months ago . I’m using my 750 as a single stage for that and working my loads slowly. Once I feel comfortable enough , I’ll crank those out too.

There is nothing wrong with using a progressive as a single stage Until you get the hang of it.

You learn to check the machine as the same things go wrong… I’ve had a part break and crack already. Replaced for free with Dillons lifetime warrantee .

The guys at my club said this is where you are going to end going up so get it now. They were right. I read the Lyman and Hornady books .

[TomReloaded]

Almost every single reloader I know started on a 750 or 1050. It's a common and viable way to start. It's *really* not as hard as people make it out to be.

Some due care is necessary. You're making explosions that go off in front of your face, if you treat it with the necessary care and information, you'll be fine.

Plenty of people load up their bubba's pissing hot handloads on a single stage and blow their guns up too. It's the carelessness that gets you, not the press. It's definitely nice having the capacity to make a lot of ammo quickly.

I learned how to run my progressive by running just one case at a time. It's pretty much identical to running a ss press, just without spending time pulling dies out over and over.

[bruce381]

I did this too. The Lyman book is great for basics including safety.

I started with a single stage and moved up to an ?auto leader? progressive.

What i saw from other people is that their learning curve was much steeper when they started with a progressive. Some didnt improve much even after a couple of years.

I found that starting with a single stage, I gained a lot of insight into each phase of reloading which made dealing with adjustments and issues with progressive easier. Ive seen guys produce 200 bad rounds before finding ouy something was wrong.

I moved from a single stage to a progressive in 3 months. I still dont regret buying my single stage and still find many uses for it.

Hope that helps.

100% plus 1

[rhodesengr]

Everyone finds their own path but starting with a high end machine like a 750 or 1100 seems like it would be overwhelming for someone on their own. Maybe if they have a local mentor. They are expensive. They are large. They are pretty heavy. Even my SDB is pretty big and with two calibers and accessories it was around $1000. I think you'd have to be pretty confident you were going to stick with it to just start with that. My transition was easy after working with a single stage for over a year. YMMV.

[hambam105]

After I'm certain that the new reloader is:

(1) committed with good attitude
(2) mechanically inclined
(3) patient
(4) has lots of money upfront
(5) has a clean well lighted secure work area
(6) time to devote to the hobby
(7) already purchased quality reading material
(8) has intelligent question about the material he has just read..
(9) and has a healthy respect for strict adherence to common sense shop safety rules

Then I might recommend a progressive before a traditional single stage, but I wouldn't count on it.

[JoyfulJoker]

Shut off the computer . Join a gun club if you haven’t already . Meet fellow reloaders and serious shooters. Ask them what they do. Emulate someone whose skill set you would like to have. In this way you avoid a lot of hassle and can see with your own eyes who you are taking advice from and how good they shoot. If you are in the Bay Area, the Richmond Rod and Gun Club is a great place for Action Pistol , Trap , 3 Gun. You meet great shooters who are great reloaders. I’m sure there are other communities like this . It’s so much better than the internet or Calguns in general. You will see a vast difference between real world experience and Internet forum conventional wisdom.

[TAS]

I was fortunate to learn the basics from an older brother. Even though he and several other family members primarily used a Dillon XL 650, I chose to go the single stage route and picked up an RCBS. I picked up a few reloading books and then really learned on the single stage before investing in the Dillon. To this day, I still use the single stage quite often and even picked up a second (Redding). The Dillon is used for volume, where as the single stage presses are used for small batches, working up loads, or just other various tasks.

No regrets and would still recommend a SS before getting a progressive. It’s less of an investment up front and it’ll still get used down the road should you get a progressive. As others have suggested, try to make connections with a club or other reloaders.

[MuayThaiJJ]

I started loading during the pandemic when I had all this time on my hands, never thought I?d do it I remember hours of helping my uncle load on a single stage and never wanted to do it when I got older. But now I love reloading and I?ve loaded 30,000 rounds in three years, I started on a Lee progressive press unlike many others. I recommend loading one round at a time on a progressive so you can see how each station fulfills their duty, once you know what to look for and you can load around successfully one at a time. Then try adding another and another and tell you are using a Progressive at its full capacity. I can load 100 rounds in approx five minutes now

https://youtu.be/Ra5Z29CSa7k

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bigbossman]

Everyone finds their own path but starting with a high end machine like a 750 or 1100 seems like it would be overwhelming for someone on their own.

Not only that, but that's a huge capitol expenditure for a hobby that you might find you don't wish to pursue.

Start slow, buy a used single stage, and find out if you are interested enough to continue.

[bigbossman]

I started on a Lee progressive press unlike many others. I recommend loading one round at a time on a progressive so you can see how each station fulfills their duty, once you know what to look for and you can load around successfully one at a time.

Exactly this.

When I started reloading back in the mid 90's, a Lee 1000, set up to load .45acp, cost $104 delivered from Midway. I went the inexpensive route, because I wasn't sure I'd stick with it. I used your method above - started using it as a single stage until I got the rhythmdown, and the started loading progressive. It's not rocket science. I figured that if I decided to devote the time and effort, I could always buy a Dillon after I wore out the Lee.... as all the Dillon folks assured me I would.

Almost 30 years and probably 100k rounds later, that Lee is still running fine.

[captn-tin]

The most important thing to do before learning to reload is to......RETIRE. Then you have all the time you need to learn your new hobby. HA...Just kidden.