some advice on reloading

[drews0311]

good morning

like everyone i am on the quest for cheap ammo, but i am strongly considering reloading 223. i can get the brass for free but still need to buy the equipment and materials.

can anyone tell me how much it will cost to get a very small set up going. i will be needing to buy every thing but the brass.

thank you in advance for your advice

joe

[PistolPete75]

dillon 550. look for a used one on ebay.

[pklin1297]

Hi drews0311, how serious do you think you'll get with reloading? I once thought I was serious and started buying equipment that were way beyond my knowledge base and production needs, and ended up selling them before I loaded one round. I was lucky enough to get an AP Hornady press and enough equipment to load 1000 rounds of 10 different calibers as a long term "you can keep it" type of loan from a friend so I am reloading now, but I still don't have urge to reload every chance I get because it is a very involved process. I usually only load the weekend, or week nights before the weekend I go shooting...

With that said, I would suggest not to tie up a large sum of funds right off the bat on separate pieces of equipment, but maybe start with a Lee Precision press kit like http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.co...sku=0000690030. All you will need in addition to this kit will be the dies, primers, bullets, powder, and a good reloading manual or two (Sierra and Lyman) and you're good to start loading, so maybe $150 - $200 tops depending on what you get with the rest. From this, you can start looking into what processes you would like to shave time from then look into better equipment for those processes. The idea is to start minimal so IF you decide not to continue to reload, you are not out so much money you'd have to worry about selling equipment to recoop. Reloading equipment in general are like cars when it comes to retaining value, with exceptions like Dillon and a few RCBS...

Midsouthshooterssupply and MidwayUSA are a couple of good places to start looking for Kits. Lee kits will be cheapest, or for a bit more you can look into Hornady or RCBS kits. I just like the fast interchangeability of the breech lock (Lee), and Lock-n-Load (Hornady) systems.

Good luck.

[Fjold]

Buy a reloading manual for $20-30, single stage price for $50-100, a beam balance scale for $30-60, a powder trickler, a loading tray $5, a set of dies for $25, a shell holder for $3 and learn the basics of reloading and see how you like it.

If you want to step up to a turret press or progressive press later you can use everything there (except the press that you can re-sell or use for another caliber that your progressve isn't set up for or precision seating, etc.

You don't need to jump right into it for $500 or anything when you're just starting out.

[Jicko]

Buy a reloading manual for $20-30, single stage price for $50-100, a beam balance scale for $30-60, a powder trickler, a loading tray $5, a set of dies for $25, a shell holder for $3 and learn the basics of reloading and see how you like it.

If you want to step up to a turret press or progressive press later you can use everything there (except the press that you can re-sell or use for another caliber that your progressve isn't set up for or precision seating, etc.

You don't need to jump right into it for $500 or anything when you're just starting out.

No trumbler? And no case trimmer? HOW is he gonna to clean and trim the cases?

Getting free brass is just a super tiny step.

[rksimple]

A very basic Lee kit would be a good place to start, especially if you find you don't like reloading. Look for people in your area to help you out and show you the ropes.

[pklin1297]

The Lee kit I mentioned above has case trimmer included, all you would need is the case length gauge from Lee to use, and get another length gauge with each different caliber. Plenty useful when starting out.

Cases can be wiped down with brass polishing/cleaning cloth sold on Midway or Sinclair Int'l. The Lee kit also includes primer pocket brush and deburring and chamfering tool for the case neck.