Reloading 101

[Fyathyrio]

I'm definitely not an expert as I've been doing this for only a year with a deployment in there, but if you want to come see the toys in action I have some .38, .357, and .45 to load up progressive style. I also have everything needed for 7.62 and 5.56, just havent gotten to doing rifle yet. I'm almost, but not quite in east county.

[droptoptrk]

Another link I would add Powder Valley. I thought their prices and selection were excellent.

http://www.powdervalleyinc.com/

[smitty8812]

.410 bore

I have been thinking of starting to reload .410 rounds, but not clue where to start. equipment, supplies ect... would welcome any help a begginers kit would be nice.

[DefJeff]

Great thread. About to pull the trigger on the Rock Chucker. Great info here!

[Mr_Dunev]

Looks awesome, a lot of fun, and a little complicated.

I need to go buy a reloading book, and learn what i can, hope everything will fit in my one-bedroom apartment.

[1911 .45]

I use RCBS! I still use a RCBS Single Stage "Pardner Press" I prefer the hobbiest approach. I prep cases up to the last step (powder, bullet). I work one caliber @ a time when I prep. I've done this since 1989 I do 100-200 a night, (wife stays away), she won't come near to "Gun stuff",
I now have over 2000 rounds of ready to go ammo in six pistol calibers, .223. and 30 Carbine. That's over 2000 rnds of EACH caliber all done on my RCBS press with RCBS dies, never had a problem.

I was more than happy to stumble across this. I always shot my Dad's ammo growing up and he had plenty to spare.

Now that it's my own money I've been thinking about reloading. I will be studying and adding comments to this so thank you so much for taking the time to put so much detail for us beginners on here.

[1911 .45]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dillon-XL-650-one-Conversion-Kit-/170653347609?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27bbbb6f19

Is this a good deal on a Dillon 650 and would it be close to everything I need to get started....?

Thanks guys.

[Low-Pressure]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dillon-XL-650-on...item27bbbb6f19

Is this a good deal on a Dillon 650 and would it be close to everything I need to get started....?

Thanks guys.

Looks like its the going price. At that price I would buy it from a store with great customer service.

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/599?

http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/23803/catid/1/XL_650

[1911 .45]

Looks like its the going price. At that price I would buy it from a store with great customer service.

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/599?

http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/con...catid/1/XL_650

Thank you for the great answer! Can't wait to get into it.

[Asmodeous]

Great thread. Looks like the Dillon 650 is at the top of my price range but if I buy a reloading machine I would want it to be able to do all my hand gun and long gun stuff too.

That being said, what about shot gun ammo ? I take it I will need a different reloader for that ? Is there a rig out there that will do shot gun ammo too or is it simply too different and it needs its own seperate rig ?

I usually shoot 150-200+ rounds of pistol when I go out and I usually shoot between 75-125+ rounds of 12ga in a day (sporting clay is so damn fun !).

[wtkaiser]

Hi all!

I've been reloading since the 70s (that's 1970s, not 1870s) and I think the suggestion of starting with a progressive press is bad, bad, bad. I haven't read all the threads, but ANY suggestion like this will get this reaction from me. If you are just starting out, why get something that needs SO MUCH attention to detail? I have 2 presses for rifle/handgun. They're both Lees and one's a progressive and one is a turret. I use the turret 10 times as much as the progressive, easily. Why?

A progressive is set up for one cartridge, period. Yes, they can be changed, but it's an awkward and painful change. A turret press can be changed easily either by unscrewing dies and screwing new ones in, or getting a batch of turrets, screwing one set per turret and forgetting about it after that. Seems like a no-brainer to this old man.

A progessive needs WAY more attention paid to it than a turret press. Even with my Lee, which is a pretty simple progressive, I have had primers turn upside down, primers dropped, powder charges NOT dropped, partial powder charges and case mouths mashed by bullets seating. Now, it is true that most of those would be cause by the additional attention a progressive demands. But if you're a newbie, your apprehensive enough without having to sweat the details. Yes, you still have to pay attention, but because of the manual nature of a turret press (which, incidentally, I use mostly as a single-stage), you are going to catch more hiccups in the process before they become REAL problems. You'd be amazed, for example, how much powder can get spread around by a missed primer. That itty-bitty hole will pass a bunch of powder around, gumming up your press and sparking volleys of words your partner maybe doesn't want you to use. And that's if you catch it when it happens!

'nuff said. Unless you have an overpowering need for hundreds of rounds every week, stick with a single-stage or a turret. You'll spend a bit less time with the significant other/family, but shooting ammunition that you trust because you KNOW BEYOND DOUBT that it was done right is a really good feeling.

Wow - like Sebastian Cabot said to JW in Big Jake "that's more words I've said since I've knowed ya".

[foxdog]

Decided on a single stage

Hi all!

I've been reloading since the 70s (that's 1970s, not 1870s) and I think the suggestion of starting with a progressive press is bad, bad, bad. I haven't read all the threads, but ANY suggestion like this will get this reaction from me. If you are just starting out, why get something that needs SO MUCH attention to detail? I have 2 presses for rifle/handgun. They're both Lees and one's a progressive and one is a turret. I use the turret 10 times as much as the progressive, easily. Why?

A progressive is set up for one cartridge, period. Yes, they can be changed, but it's an awkward and painful change. A turret press can be changed easily either by unscrewing dies and screwing new ones in, or getting a batch of turrets, screwing one set per turret and forgetting about it after that. Seems like a no-brainer to this old man.

A progessive needs WAY more attention paid to it than a turret press. Even with my Lee, which is a pretty simple progressive, I have had primers turn upside down, primers dropped, powder charges NOT dropped, partial powder charges and case mouths mashed by bullets seating. Now, it is true that most of those would be cause by the additional attention a progressive demands. But if you're a newbie, your apprehensive enough without having to sweat the details. Yes, you still have to pay attention, but because of the manual nature of a turret press (which, incidentally, I use mostly as a single-stage), you are going to catch more hiccups in the process before they become REAL problems. You'd be amazed, for example, how much powder can get spread around by a missed primer. That itty-bitty hole will pass a bunch of powder around, gumming up your press and sparking volleys of words your partner maybe doesn't want you to use. And that's if you catch it when it happens!

'nuff said. Unless you have an overpowering need for hundreds of rounds every week, stick with a single-stage or a turret. You'll spend a bit less time with the significant other/family, but shooting ammunition that you trust because you KNOW BEYOND DOUBT that it was done right is a really good feeling.

Wow - like Sebastian Cabot said to JW in Big Jake "that's more words I've said since I've knowed ya".

I've been doing a lot of reserch on reloading and agree with the above. I'm new to all this and have yet to load my first round, but feel the need to keep things as simple as possible. Untill I develope a true confort for reloading, a single stage should be all I need. Not to say I won't be buying a turrent or progressive in the future, but for now "SLOW N SHO". Old Men don't grow old by being fools. I will listen to someone with 40+ yrs reloading experience

[erik_26]

[Chief-7700]

Since when did Dillon start making a Turret style press?

[Chief-7700]

My question was not meant to be smart. Just a question that all.