Considering reloading, need advice and help

[Irish Gunner]

To make my inner mechanic happy, I built an AR. To make my inner scientist happy I am thinking of getting into reloading. My primary interest would be in reloading 30-06, .223, .40 S&W and 9mm.

Three of those would be considered "high volume" rounds and I was thinking that a progressive set up would be the way to go. Any advice on a noob going straight to progressive press or not?

That gets me to my next question. Most advice is to resize then do any needed case trimming, which seem to be contrary to the progressive setup. Can you correlate pre-sizing length to post sizing length? At least that way I could remove the ones that need to be trimmed before loading. I hope that makes sense.

Second, there is nothing like seeing the reloading operation in person. If there is someone in the east bay (Concord, Pittsburg) area that is reloading (single stage or progressive) and wouldn't mind sharing the knowledge please PM me.

[b.faust]

I bought some books (actually I was given some books as a gift) before I bought any equipment. The "ABC's of Reloading" was one of them.

Sounds like you're a project guy, it's a good way to start out the 'plan'
I eventually decided on a single press.
I do .223, 300BLK, .308 and 45 ACP.

I did about 2000 .223 over the course of two months with the single stage.
Again, single stage, no progressive. Not knocking it, just saying.

As far as watching someone, I was feeling the exact same way, but eventually just dove into it and had great success right out of the gate.
Follow the directions, take your time and ask if you need clarification and you'll be fine.

B.

[Irish Gunner]

I have reviewed, but not bought the ABC book. I was going to get the Hornady load guide. If I can crank out a 200-300 rounds in a week of any given caliber (say 10-12 hours) with a single-stage I would be well ahead of my pace of shooting. Is that a reasonable rate? The 9mm and 40 are usually 100 rounds minimum per range trip.

[ExtremeX]

Resize before trim, even when loading on a progressive. Its split into two steps regardless of what type of press you use. Case Prep and Reloading for rifle cartridges.

My first press was a progressive, but only few months after getting it I ended up getting a single stage press anyways…. Not completely out of necessity, but because it added convenience and utility for other things that can be done on the reloading bench.

If this is something you will enjoy doing, chances are you will end up with both anyways.

If you only want one, a turret press from RCBS or Redding is also an awesome option… and with the volume you speak of, it would be pretty easy to achieve.

My learning process began with just spending a lot of time reading, and watching videos on youtube.

[CS Sports]

Start with a single stage press. It will allow you to learn the fundamentals before you dip your toe into progressive loading.

Further, you will want to do load work up on a single stage, as there is no point in loading trial loads in bulk.

RCBS makes a good kit that includes everything you need with the exception of dies. I personally like RCBS presses and Redding dies for single stage loading.

300 cases a week is a piece of cake on a single stage.

[Sac-AR15]

I started reloading last year. I first bought the Lyman's manual. Skipped the single stage because I Didnt want to buy another press in 2 months. But I started loading for pistols. After 5k rounds I've been doing ok. Now I'm doing rifle rounds with the same press. Using Hornady LnL AP. Just pay close attention to what you're doing and ask knowledgeable folks on Calguns. Very friendly folks that can help out.

[RandyD]

I have been reloading for decades. There are a lot of good books available, and YouTube has some excellent videos on various stages of reloading. I learn from watching some YouTube videos.

As far a trimming cases and using a progressive reloader, you have to realize that trimming is not mandatory unless the case is too long. You could measure the cases prior to sizing to determine if they need trimming, or you could trim all of your cases, making them uniform, and then run them through a progressive reloading machine.

Good luck

[Cheap Shot]

I got the sierra book because I was going to use their bullets mostly. I now have the ABC's of reloading also. I will be adding the Hornady book next. I like the variety and each book has some overlap and some the other books don't have.

I reload with a single stage press at a rate of about 100 rounds of 9mm per hour and about 25 rounds of .30-06 per hour (I weigh each round of powder in .30-06).

[BigBronco]

I have been reloading for decades. There are a lot of good books available, and YouTube has some excellent videos on various stages of reloading. I learn from watching some YouTube videos.

As far a trimming cases and using a progressive reloader, you have to realize that trimming is not mandatory unless the case is too long. You could measure the cases prior to sizing to determine if they need trimming, or you could trim all of your cases, making them uniform, and then run them through a progressive reloading machine.

Good luck

Not always the case. I/we have measured as much as a twelve thousandths of of an inch case length increase from resizing. You see as the ball sizer draws back through the neck it can stretch the brass, possibly making it too long to chamber properly. Lee makes a Colet sizing die that does not stretch brass. However if shooting through a semi auto one must full length size.

[Fyathyrio]

Between online reading and videos, and the ABCs of Reloading plus Hornady's manual, I taught myself to reload using a progressive press. I evaluated the time I had available and my own mechanical ability and ability to follow instructions. You can run a progressive press as a single, doing one round at a time while learning, but you will not be able to run the single stage progressively. Pistol is much easier to do overall, so start with that and then move up to the rifle.

Best bet is what you asked, for somebody to show you the ropes...and go from there. I also have gotten a single stage, it's easier to set up for a small batch when working up a new load then the progressive is.

[___M|9||___]

single stage first, that way you can learn a bit faster than being overwhelmed on what you got yourself into when you get a progressive type loader, also when you DO upgrade to a progressive you will be happy you did because then you will have two types of machines and you will be able to use the single stage for sizing depriming, and or bullet pulling and or priming. Just my 2 pesos. I have a turret and a progressive and im happy i started out the way i did. Good luck in which ever you decide to go with first because it probably aint going to be your last.

[b.faust]

I have reviewed, but not bought the ABC book. I was going to get the Hornady load guide. If I can crank out a 200-300 rounds in a week of any given caliber (say 10-12 hours) with a single-stage I would be well ahead of my pace of shooting. Is that a reasonable rate? The 9mm and 40 are usually 100 rounds minimum per range trip.

Once my brass is prepped and primed, I can crank out 300 in about 2-3 hours.

That being said, I bought a RCBS Charge Master/Scale.
I press a button, it spits out my charge. Sometimes it'll throw a grain or two (or three) high, so I just pour a few out and get it back to my exact charge and next, next, next.

It sped me up quite a bit.

For me, brass prep takes the most amount of time, but I debur the inside of the flash holes, and swag the primer pockets on any new range brass. I'm probably overly picky about my brass, but whatever I like doing it.
Same with my charges, I could probably let the grain slide by +/- 1 and be fine, but I'm going for accuracy not volume.

When I first started I was REALLY slow. Learning, double checking, taking my time, etc. I'm quick now, but I still try and slow myself down to make sure I'm not making dumb/dangerous mistakes.
But short answer, yeah, 300 a week with a single stage press and basic equipment is totally possible with a few hours a night spent.

[bootcamp]

Start with a single stage press. It will allow you to learn the fundamentals before you dip your toe into progressive loading.

Further, you will want to do load work up on a single stage, as there is no point in loading trial loads in bulk.

RCBS makes a good kit that includes everything you need with the exception of dies. I personally like RCBS presses and Redding dies for single stage loading.

300 cases a week is a piece of cake on a single stage.

Although i'm a fan of the progressive. I highly recommend learning the fundamentals on a single stage. With a manual index (even auto index) you can easily overlook a missed powder charge and squib and/or kaboom to follow.

I'm a "buy (the best) once" type of guy, but single stage loading is an exception.