Interested in reloading

[Fjold]

My first press was a Lee turret purchased in 1981 and it has many, many, 10s of thousands of rounds through it without a problem. It's currently set up to load 458 Win Mag and 45.70 and I'm not worried about it going kaboom. I also have a Dillon 450B purchased around 1984 that has been trouble free and I have a Lyman turret press that I bought used that is older than both of them.

I've been loading for 31 years and have yet to break anything on my presses other than decapping pins.

[giantsfan]

Geez folks, thanks so much for the awesome advice. My goal is to visit the range a couple times per month and I'd like to go more than that as long as it isn't cost prohibitive. Seems reloading is my way to make it work.

I agree, start small with something I can get some good quality rounds with to see if it's for me...honestly that's the part that I'm least worried about rather blowing up my firearm concerns me more.

Whats the recommendation as far as purchasing a setup new or used? Does it really matter? What should I look out for if purchasing used?

Thanks for all of your suggestions so far...greatly appreciated.

[skibuff]

I started with a Lee Challenger single stage and a Lee Pro 1000 about 20+ years ago. I still have those same presses without any issues. I now also have 4 Dillon 550's. I love my Dillons, but I have had more warranty work done on the Dillon and absolutely none on the Lee (in or out of warranty).

I don't know what you are doing with your Lee to have one blow up? I seriously would like to know.

So as we say in the IT world......"The problem exist between the keyboard and chair."

New Lee presses are way cheaper made than 20+ year ago lee presses. I would buy a 15 year old Lee no problem.
Lee dies you break a decapping rod add $5. RCBS Free and no shipping, you break a RCBS part on a 20 year old rock chucker moving to a new house RCBS sends out new one free.

Rockchucker -- you get addicted to reloading add a piggyback and now your 5 stage progressive.

[Whiterabbit]

I like my LEE press better than my RCBS. But to be fair, the RCBS is very old and throws spent primers everywhere. The LEE is new, deposits primers neatly into a tube in the hollow ram, and can load 50 BMG if I choose

I DO like every last one of my RCBS dies more than my LEE dies, though.

[bassboss]

Where are you at? If you're near South San Jose, you're more than welcome to come over and I'll show you what I know (and I happen to load .40s also). But bring beer. I don't work without beer

[lpspinner]

Where are you at? If you're near South San Jose, you're more than welcome to come over and I'll show you what I know (and I happen to load .40s also). But bring beer. I don't work without beer

I hope the beer is for afterwards? Like shooting, there should be no booze while you are reloading.

[Darklyte27]

Reloading does not save you money, it allows you to shoot more.

single stage press is good if you want to load 50-100 rds or so.
Progressive auto indexing press, crank out 500-1200 rds an hour.

reloading is the art of reusing brass casings. saving you the cost of buying new ammo.
you will have to buy primers, powder and bullets besides the press and dies. other accessories such as powder measuring dispenser such as RCBS chargemaster combo helps you reload faster and accurately.
many other accessories are nice to have but not needed, remind you your powder is running low, primers running low, powder in your brass, auto shell loader, auto bullet loader.

Other tools measuring the total length of your completed reloaded round can help accuracy, trimming brass, etc etc.

Books on reloading different calibers tell you what powder and how much to use with what bullet will give you X FPS.

[Whiterabbit]

I think a single stage would be better for those of us who have 15 minutes here, 15 minutes there to reload. I don't have a good solid 3 hours I can sit down and reload. But I can spend some time cranking on a batch of brass to pull primers, or sort and trim, or press primers, or sit down with a big batch of sized cleaned primed brass and charge and seat.

I can't just pull on the lever of a progressive for 15 minutes then walk away, can I? Too much cleanup to put the primers and powder away just to do it when I have another 15 minutes. I'm not leaving powder and primers out, that's for sure!

50-100 rounds nothing, I've done thousands on my single stage, on 15 minutes a day.

[skyscraper]

3 months ago I was in your exact same position...never even seen a reloader in person. Now I have a 650 and reload 45 acp regularly with no problems. Like others have said, youtube and lymans is a great help.

[lpspinner]

I can't just pull on the lever of a progressive for 15 minutes then walk away, can I? Too much cleanup to put the primers and powder away just to do it when I have another 15 minutes. I'm not leaving powder and primers out, that's for sure!

Why not? I leave mine sit sometimes for a week or two. When I come back, I just do a few verifications, then start cranking.

The key with a single stage to loading in batches is to have enough loading blocks.

[Sputnik]

I, too, just started reloading about six months ago; mainly for CAS. How else can you tailor the round for the purpose and maintain an adequate supply of ammo without breaking the bank? I found the Lee classic cast turret to be the best compromise on cost, speed and ease for my needs. It even comes in a package deal if you like. Its a very solid durable feeling hunk of metal.
I'd also like to recommend Cowboy T's instructional videos and thank him for putting them out there for the benefit of us noobs.

[johnny1290]

I leave my progressive setup to load while I'm cooking dinner.

I just leave a bullet on top of the round that's ready to be seated, then come back and pull the lever.

Works for me.

[sjg1966]

+1 for Youtube....

Youtube is your friend, or take a look at some of Randall's older stickies on this forum.

OP: I did the Youtube thing, and it made it easy to get started once I had my gear all delivered. I read the Lyman 49th at work as well.

As for Lee, if there equipment was really that bad, why is it sold out or low in stock on some of the sites I've shopped lately? Or for that matter, why are they still in business? Seem like lots of folks here use Lee too......just my .02

Start with a manual, OP....and go from there....

Steve

[giantsfan]

Where are you at? If you're near South San Jose, you're more than welcome to come over and I'll show you what I know (and I happen to load .40s also). But bring beer. I don't work without beer

I'm in Rocklin east of Sacramento. Thanks much for the invite and I'd bring you some beer while you taught me, the sober one, to reload! lol

Reloading does not save you money, it allows you to shoot more.

single stage press is good if you want to load 50-100 rds or so.
Progressive auto indexing press, crank out 500-1200 rds an hour.

reloading is the art of reusing brass casings. saving you the cost of buying new ammo.
you will have to buy primers, powder and bullets besides the press and dies. other accessories such as powder measuring dispenser such as RCBS chargemaster combo helps you reload faster and accurately.
many other accessories are nice to have but not needed, remind you your powder is running low, primers running low, powder in your brass, auto shell loader, auto bullet loader.

Other tools measuring the total length of your completed reloaded round can help accuracy, trimming brass, etc etc.

Books on reloading different calibers tell you what powder and how much to use with what bullet will give you X FPS.

If it's not really cost effective and more expensive, other than controlling your of powder charge, what's the benefit?

After equipment is purchased it seems the per round cost is less than buying factory ammo correct??

I think a single stage would be better for those of us who have 15 minutes here, 15 minutes there to reload. I don't have a good solid 3 hours I can sit down and reload. But I can spend some time cranking on a batch of brass to pull primers, or sort and trim, or press primers, or sit down with a big batch of sized cleaned primed brass and charge and seat.

I can't just pull on the lever of a progressive for 15 minutes then walk away, can I? Too much cleanup to put the primers and powder away just to do it when I have another 15 minutes. I'm not leaving powder and primers out, that's for sure!

50-100 rounds nothing, I've done thousands on my single stage, on 15 minutes a day.

I was thinking a turret or progressive. Probably turret to get started. While I've never reloaded, single stage looks really laborious.

3 months ago I was in your exact same position...never even seen a reloader in person. Now I have a 650 and reload 45 acp regularly with no problems. Like others have said, youtube and lymans is a great help.

YouTube has been awesome. I went to Sportsman's Warehouse to ask for some advice yesterday. There is a lot to this!

OP: I did the Youtube thing, and it made it easy to get started once I had my gear all delivered. I read the Lyman 49th at work as well.

As for Lee, if there equipment was really that bad, why is it sold out or low in stock on some of the sites I've shopped lately? Or for that matter, why are they still in business? Seem like lots of folks here use Lee too......just my .02

Start with a manual, OP....and go from there....

Steve

The manual seems like the best way to start! Thanks!

[Darklyte27]

In the first sentence, it allows you to shoot more. Plus reloaded ammo if done right is more accurate. Consistency is the key.