Interested in buying reload equipment for first time, please help!

[JNunez23]

Hello,

Sorry if this has been asked/posted, I could not find anything that could answer my questions. Anyway, thinking about reloading more and more with the cost of ammo, scarcity, ect..

So my question is, what am I looking at in terms of cost for a good quality (buy once) set up??

Also, if someone has a link or list of EVERYTHING needed to get started, I would greatly appreciate it..

Edit: reloading 9mm mostly, maybe some .223 down the line. But NOW, all or mostly 9mm.

Thanks gentlemen,

JN

[ns3v3n]

I guess the main question is what kind of ammo are you reloading for, rifle? Pistol? and Volume. Small volume you can use a single press and/or turret press and high volume progressive. All depends on your kind of reloading, give us a little more background so we can steer you into the right direction. Lee precision is an affordable brand that can produce quality ammo with low start up costs.

[Cowboy T]

There are a few "sticky" posts at the top of the Ammo and Reloading forum. There is some guidance there.

The simplest suggestion I have for you, since you're starting out, is to start with an inexpensive single-stage press. Resist the temptation to run right out and get a progressive press. Seriously; this is for your safety. Brand really doesn't matter, because all the major manufacturers make good stuff.

Seriously, check out the stickies, and then ask away. We're glad to help.

[JNunez23]

Okay, I'll check the stickies out and ask from that point forward.

Thanks guys.

[Divernhunter]

Buy and read the Lyman #49 reloading manual. It will answer most questions most people have. It is great for loads etc after you start reloading also.

[lpspinner]

OK, so you want a shopping list ready to go? Well here you are, bear in mind I didn't go with the kits, cause you won't use/replace the stuff in there anyway, so why buy twice.

Because I'm selecting better equipment, it's going to cost more the a kit, but less then paying for the kit and rebuying the new stuff.

I am old school and a firm believer that you should learn the craft first. Learn to crawl before you walk so to say. Yes, I know that a Turret is just a little more in price, but you won't learn the same way. I know some of you eager folks will want to jump right in with a Turret or a Progressive, but you don't develop the same appreciate for the hobby as you would if you knew how it all worked from scratch.

So yes, my scratch made mash potatoes taste better then the Betty Crocker mix.

You may be able to shop around and find better prices, this is meant as a simple list for convenience.

Everything listed is from Graf & Sons, except for the Caliper from Harbor Freight.

Powder, primers, brass and bullets are not listed.

The Lee Balance scale is inexpensive and accurate, but very slow and not easy for a beginner to set up. A good Balance Beam scale cost more then the digital I selected, so that's why I choice the digital one.


To load 9mm...

Lee - Modern Reloading Book ..................................$18.99
Lyman 49th Ed, Reloading Manual - Softcover .............21.89

Lee Breech Lock Challenger Press..............................65.99
Lee Auto Prime XR Hand Priming Tool .........................19.99
Lee Auto Prime 9mm Shell Holder ................................2.79
Lee Breech Lock Quick Change Bushings 2-pk (qty 2).....8.59 x2
Lee 9mm Deluxe 4 Die set ........................................42.99
Lee Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure .............................38.99
Lee Adjustable Charge Bar .........................................8.59
Lee Powder Funnel .................................................. .3.29
Lee Universal Decapping Die ......................................11.69

MTM Loading Trays (qty 4).........................................6.59 x4

Hornady Lock n Load Digital Scale ..............................88.99
Frankford Arsenal Quick-N-EZ Case Tumbler kit .............80.99
Dillon 9mm Case Gage ..............................................17.7 9

Harbor Freight Digital Caliper .....................................19.99

I highly recommend wear safety glasses while priming. You can select your own.

Later on when you're ready to load .223, you just need to buy the dies and case prep tools.

[JNunez23]

Thanks for the info fellas

[stilly]

REALLY? 9mm? Okay. You are gonna have to spend a LOT of money to save money here. Well, compared to what you would have to spend on larger calibers anyways...

The BIGGEST most important factor here though would be my choice of press and I would say that for 9mm I would purchase NOTHING less than a turret press. a Lee Classic Turret press to be exact and I would consider a Hornady lock n load Progressive later on down the line.

My first loads were 9mm on my press and then I went straight to 44 mag after about 150 loads.

Some folks will tell you to start with a single stage and see if you even like it and THEN jump in and splurge a few more dollars. I say that if you want to test you should have a good FAST setup so nothing less then a turret press with auto indexing preferred. (Lee classic turret with auto index for about $120)

Hopper wise I would check out the Hornady LOCK N LOAD Powder measure with case activated powder dropper. + you get 100 free bullets for buying one from a retailer like midway usa or anyone else with a receipt.

I personally think that reloading 9mm on a single stage is WAY too slow. After hooking up my press and trying to use the Lee dippers and stuff for the 9mm we decided that we would attach the Lee Perfect Powder Measure Pro and we did and it was fun until I realized that I had purchased RELOADER #7 and not AA#7. There is a lil bit of a difference...

Also, the Lee Classic Turret press has a cool safety priming device and I REALLY like. You can smash the **** outta primers and they will usually not be damaged while some folks use those hand primers and can jack things up by not being able to feel their way in.

Once you are ready to start buying in large quantities then get in on group buys with powder valley inc and you can really save some money.

If you wanna clean your brass it is up to you. I MUST have CLEANED and SHINY brass so I use a Thumler Tumbler with the high speed motor and stainless steel pins. I will never switch to a vibrating one EVEN though they are cool to put finished rounds in and make them all nice and mirror finished like...

As far as primers are concerned. I have found that from here on out I am only going to be purchasing Small Rifle Primers instead of small pistol primers
because they fit and you can use them for both aplications. Of course there are many folks that ADHERE to the rules that the religions have published and they will NOT stray and put a rifle primer into a pistol case... Yeah whatever.

The books are like religions so My reccomendation to you is to stay AWAY from the Book of Lee because they are like the Catholics and there is a lot of things that the BoLee will have you do because THAT was the way that they did it back in the day and what they say IS the absolute truth.

Personally speaking, the Book of Lee has a SUPERIOR load table. They really do have a LOT of data to start playing with but Lyman and others have accurate data also and their books are a bit easier to read.

Book of Lee summed up in 1 sentence: This is us; this is our stuff; this is why you should buy our stuff; here is how my daddy reloaded...

I actually summed it up better in another post but I am in a hurry now.

Look for a Sierra or Hornady or Lyman book to LEARN how to reload on.

Good luck and come back with other questions.

Hello,

Sorry if this has been asked/posted, I could not find anything that could answer my questions. Anyway, thinking about reloading more and more with the cost of ammo, scarcity, ect..

So my question is, what am I looking at in terms of cost for a good quality (buy once) set up??

Also, if someone has a link or list of EVERYTHING needed to get started, I would greatly appreciate it..

Edit: reloading 9mm mostly, maybe some .223 down the line. But NOW, all or mostly 9mm.

Thanks gentlemen,

JN

[stilly]

OK, so you want a shopping list ready to go? Well here you are, bear in mind I didn't go with the kits, cause you won't use/replace the stuff in there anyway, so why buy twice.

Because I'm selecting better equipment, it's going to cost more the a kit, but less then paying for the kit and rebuying the new stuff.

I am old school and a firm believer that you should learn the craft first. Learn to crawl before you walk so to say. Yes, I know that a Turret is just a little more in price, but you won't learn the same way. I know some of you eager folks will want to jump right in with a Turret or a Progressive, but you don't develop the same appreciate for the hobby as you would if you knew how it all worked from scratch.

So yes, my scratch made mash potatoes taste better then the Betty Crocker mix.

You may be able to shop around and find better prices, this is meant as a simple list for convenience.

Everything listed is from Graf & Sons, except for the Caliper from Harbor Freight.

Powder, primers, brass and bullets are not listed.

The Lee Balance scale is inexpensive and accurate, but very slow and not easy for a beginner to set up. A good Balance Beam scale cost more then the digital I selected, so that's why I choice the digital one.


To load 9mm...

Lee - Modern Reloading Book ..................................$18.99
Lyman 49th Ed, Reloading Manual - Softcover .............21.89

Lee Breech Lock Challenger Press..............................65.99
Lee Auto Prime XR Hand Priming Tool .........................19.99
Lee Auto Prime 9mm Shell Holder ................................2.79
Lee Breech Lock Quick Change Bushings 2-pk (qty 2).....8.59 x2
Lee 9mm Deluxe 4 Die set ........................................42.99
Lee Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure .............................38.99
Lee Adjustable Charge Bar .........................................8.59
Lee Powder Funnel .................................................. .3.29
Lee Universal Decapping Die ......................................11.69

MTM Loading Trays (qty 4).........................................6.59 x4

Hornady Lock n Load Digital Scale ..............................88.99
Frankford Arsenal Quick-N-EZ Case Tumbler kit .............80.99
Dillon 9mm Case Gage ..............................................17.7 9

Harbor Freight Digital Caliper .....................................19.99

I highly recommend wear safety glasses while priming. You can select your own.

Later on when you're ready to load .223, you just need to buy the dies and case prep tools.

I would look for a Gemini Digital Scale and save yourself a LOT of money compared to the Hornady scale.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-001g-x-30g-AMW-Gemini-Digital-Milligram-Gram-Scale-Digital-Scale-/261039118279?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc724d7c7

I bought mine for $20.50 and it was the Gemini 20gram but it is ACCURATE to .001 G and it shows .01gn when you are weighing powders.

20 grams goes to about 308 grains. The 30 gram looks nice and I THINK American Weigh offers like a 5 year or something like that warranty on their scales.

I have this one and I LOVE it so far:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-20g-x-0-001g-AMW-Gemini-Digital-Milligram-Gram-Pocket-Scale-Balance-Weight-/251058240976?pt=US_Pocket_Digital_Scales&hash=item3a743cbdd0

[NorCal Einstein]

OK, so you want a shopping list ready to go? Well here you are, bear in mind I didn't go with the kits, cause you won't use/replace the stuff in there anyway, so why buy twice.

Because I'm selecting better equipment, it's going to cost more the a kit, but less then paying for the kit and rebuying the new stuff.

I am old school and a firm believer that you should learn the craft first. Learn to crawl before you walk so to say. Yes, I know that a Turret is just a little more in price, but you won't learn the same way. I know some of you eager folks will want to jump right in with a Turret or a Progressive, but you don't develop the same appreciate for the hobby as you would if you knew how it all worked from scratch.

So yes, my scratch made mash potatoes taste better then the Betty Crocker mix.

You may be able to shop around and find better prices, this is meant as a simple list for convenience.

Everything listed is from Graf & Sons, except for the Caliper from Harbor Freight.

Powder, primers, brass and bullets are not listed.

The Lee Balance scale is inexpensive and accurate, but very slow and not easy for a beginner to set up. A good Balance Beam scale cost more then the digital I selected, so that's why I choice the digital one.


To load 9mm...

Lee - Modern Reloading Book ..................................$18.99
Lyman 49th Ed, Reloading Manual - Softcover .............21.89

Lee Breech Lock Challenger Press..............................65.99
Lee Auto Prime XR Hand Priming Tool .........................19.99
Lee Auto Prime 9mm Shell Holder ................................2.79
Lee Breech Lock Quick Change Bushings 2-pk (qty 2).....8.59 x2
Lee 9mm Deluxe 4 Die set ........................................42.99
Lee Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure .............................38.99
Lee Adjustable Charge Bar .........................................8.59
Lee Powder Funnel .................................................. .3.29
Lee Universal Decapping Die ......................................11.69

MTM Loading Trays (qty 4).........................................6.59 x4

Hornady Lock n Load Digital Scale ..............................88.99
Frankford Arsenal Quick-N-EZ Case Tumbler kit .............80.99
Dillon 9mm Case Gage ..............................................17.7 9

Harbor Freight Digital Caliper .....................................19.99

I highly recommend wear safety glasses while priming. You can select your own.

Later on when you're ready to load .223, you just need to buy the dies and case prep tools.

Thank you for this comprehensive list! I'm in the same boat as the OP and am looking to get started with reloading (9mm).

The only thing I would say is: If at all possible, don't pay the $20 for the Harbor Freight calipers! There are coupons fairly often for the 6" digital calipers for $10. I snagged one awhile back at that price, and it was as good as my other digital calipers that I paid much more for. I get HF coupon mailers all the time, I'll keep a look out for one.

[JNunez23]

^^^^^^ Exactly the reason why I want to reload myself, don't want to wait forever or have to chase people down with a 100 phone calls to buy reloads..over it!

I plan to start with 9mm, and eventually work my way to other calibers as the needs arise. On my way to check out some reloading equipment now, sooooo excited!!!

One last thing, in a hypothetical situation where somewhere down the road wants to sell their own reloads to buddys/other shooters, how does one go about that?? Is it even possible to get a 06 FFL if you're a regular guy. (NO business front)

Thanks everyone for your input.

[lpspinner]

One last thing, in a hypothetical situation where somewhere down the road wants to sell their own reloads to buddys/other shooters, how does one go about that?? Is it even possible to get a 06 FFL if you're a regular guy. (NO business front)

Thanks everyone for your input.

Read these...

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=569689

especially this...

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=314780

[JNunez23]

Any thoughts on the Lee Loadmaster 9mm set up???

http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Load-Master-Progressive-Press-90936/dp/B000N8HVYW/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1339366460&sr=1-3&keywords=lEE+loadmaster

[stilly]

Whoa. I am done reading, what was the original question?

[stilly]

Any thoughts on the Lee Loadmaster 9mm set up???

http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Load-Maste...lEE+loadmaster

I have 0 experience with the Lee progressives but from what I have read online the Hornady lock n loads are really good for the money. Plus, I do not think that Lee offers 500 free jhp bullets with a press purchase right now...