Posted: 5/3/2011 11:18:47 PM EDT
| a buddy and i want to split the cost of a quality reloading setup for 5.56/223,9mm and 45acp can anyone suggest to me some kits and some good books as well? neither of us have reloaded before and don't know where to start. any advice will be much appreciated. |
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For those just starting out I recommend the Lee Anniversary kit. It's got most of what you'll need (check out the tacked threads in the reloading forum before you go buying stuff, READ A LOT). Lee's not the best, But it is the cheapest. And ANY modern press is easily capable of making very fine, accurate ammo. The problem with reloading is spending a ton of cash upfront, then finding out a month or 6 later that it's not your cup of tea. I would buy the minimum needed to get started, then if you decide it's up your alley, go big. I followed this path and never regretted it, I now have a Hornady progressive, but still use my Lee single stage press all the time with no complaints. I've loaded many thousands of rounds on the Lee kit without a hitch. It's a great, inexpensive way to learn the hobby. (ETA: and at a quarter the price of the Rockchucker) |
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Dillon 1050. Get all the bells and whistles, dies, alarms, trays, case feeder, etc. Then call me when you are done with it...... LOL...
Seriously, I bought a Dillon 550, and gave it to a friend to do my reloading. He's having a ball, and I've got (as we speak) over 4,000 of half priced ammo. Cranks out around 350 per hour, and he's the meticulous kind. Doing the math, for what I have invested thus far, I need around 17,000 rounds of ammo produced to make the break even point, versus commercial ammo. I think I can do it, too. Also, if you plan on doing ANY amount of military .223/5.56 brass, I'd strongly suggest ponying up for the 1050 with the swager built in. We found that, even with Dillon's separate swager, it adds a huge amount of time (on a relative scale), and an unncesesary step to the process. In the end, your time and aggravation saved will be worth the extra money. As a previous poster said, used stuff is good, but if you buy new Dillon stuff, you can expect to sell it for not a whole lot less than what you paid for it. Check the market on that, you'll see....the compare it to the cost of Lee's sued prices. I admit, I use Lee's Master dies (at least that's what I buy my buddy to use... ) and he says they perform very well, at roughly half the cost of Dillon dies. But other than that, you can do this, save some money on your ammo, and still have a decent exit plan if you buy good stuff. A bitter pill to swallow up front, but there's benefits at the end if need be. Just my .02 cents. |