Posted: 2/20/2012 4:42:38 AM EDT
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How much would it cost me to get completely set up for a few calibers...5.56, 7.62, 22-250 and 300 win mag? I have none of the components at all. I'd be willing to work into it a little bit, but I don't want to buy anything that would later have to be replaced. I've spent about a grand in the last 3 weeks on ammo and it's getting a little ridiculous.
What all would I need and what would it cost me? |
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There's a reloading forum in the Armory section of this site. Go there and ask that question, plus, go here and go to the reloading section and maybe ask this sort of question in the "Dillon Reloading......." section.
http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?act=idx I bought a "Top Notch" progressive Dillon 550B package from Brian Enos.com recently with two cartridge and quick change powder set ups initially for around $1,450 including shipping. Adding two more calibers, with the quick change powder set up would amount to another $450-$500 IIRC. I ordered two more quick change kits with caliber dies in pistol calibers and it came to $430 shipped. But one is for .38/.357 and I already had a shellplate for it and that brought the price down about $40 IIRC. So look at roughly $2,000 for a good set up for all your calibers. (I went the "total" package type of purchase and it did cost some more money though. If you don't go that total package and quick change package route, it would be a few hundred cheaper at least IMHO.) But you are looking for rifle calibers and you will need some trimming equipment that would add more to the cost. However, that stuff isn't cost prohibitive. |
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Quoted: How much would it cost me to get completely set up for a few calibers...5.56, 7.62, 22-250 and 300 win mag? I have none of the components at all. I'd be willing to work into it a little bit, but I don't want to buy anything that would later have to be replaced. I've spent about a grand in the last 3 weeks on ammo and it's getting a little ridiculous. What all would I need and what would it cost me? You can get up and running pretty good for a grand. |
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Quoted:
How much would it cost me to get completely set up for a few calibers...5.56, 7.62, 22-250 and 300 win mag? I have none of the components at all. I'd be willing to work into it a little bit, but I don't want to buy anything that would later have to be replaced. I've spent about a grand in the last 3 weeks on ammo and it's getting a little ridiculous. What all would I need and what would it cost me? you can uselly buy a kit from LEE for around $200-300 that will have just about everything you need. then you need to uy the dies for each round you want to load for at between $30-100 ea depending on how nice you want them to be. the cheaper one arnt going to break or anything, but the more expencive ones will be a bit smoother inside and have more featurs. then you need to buy a load book for around $40, this will have just about all the info you need to get started reloading. from there all you need is components. powder, primers, brass an bullets. you need the book before you buy any of these. be sure to pick up your brass (and anyone elses) at the range. |
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Quoted:
How much would it cost me to get completely set up for a few calibers...5.56, 7.62, 22-250 and 300 win mag? I have none of the components at all. I'd be willing to work into it a little bit, but I don't want to buy anything that would later have to be replaced. I've spent about a grand in the last 3 weeks on ammo and it's getting a little ridiculous. What all would I need and what would it cost me? Looking at the same thing myself, one thing you need to realize (i didn't at first) is that reloading "plinking ammo" isn't gonna save you much (relatively speaking) but if you are into precision/competition/long distance shooting, it will save you bunches because there is much more "markup" for those sorts of factoryloadings |
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In my opinion:
Start with a Dillon 550B. Thats where I started, and you can go as slow nas you need as you are starting out to learn it. I dont see the need to start on a single stage press. Call this $500 with the accesories and stuff you need Get a decent powder scale. $100 Get a loading manual $30 Dies and conversion parts for each caliber. Call it $150 per caliber Tumbler for brass. $50 Calipers. You really need these. $40 If you do much military crimped primer brass, youll need to swage or ream that out. Reamers are pretty inexpensive, but I went with the Dillon Super Swage and have no complaints about it. I dont have a case trimmer, I dont do more that 1 or 2 loads in my rifle brass ( I usually lose it by that point). But you may need one eventually. I intend to get one some day. Now, components vary a lot. For 5.56 and 7.62, you can find military pull down components at a good price. I dont know what to tell you on 22-250 or the .300 Check Wideners and some of the other reloading places for components. Ive had good dealings with wideners. Alll these costs are estimates, and may be high. But that should get you a decent start into loading. Im sure there are several things I forgot, but someone will be along to help me. |
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Quoted:
In my opinion: Start with a Dillon 550B. Thats where I started, and you can go as slow nas you need as you are starting out to learn it. I dont see the need to start on a single stage press. Call this $500 with the accesories and stuff you need Get a decent powder scale. $100 Get a loading manual $30 Dies and conversion parts for each caliber. Call it $150 per caliber Tumbler for brass. $50 Calipers. You really need these. $40 If you do much military crimped primer brass, youll need to swage or ream that out. Reamers are pretty inexpensive, but I went with the Dillon Super Swage and have no complaints about it. I dont have a case trimmer, I dont do more that 1 or 2 loads in my rifle brass ( I usually lose it by that point). But you may need one eventually. I intend to get one some day. Now, components vary a lot. For 5.56 and 7.62, you can find military pull down components at a good price. I dont know what to tell you on 22-250 or the .300 Check Wideners and some of the other reloading places for components. Ive had good dealings with wideners. Alll these costs are estimates, and may be high. But that should get you a decent start into loading. Im sure there are several things I forgot, but someone will be along to help me. Thanks for the info. I'm leaning pretty hard towards the Hornady LnL. It's made here in NE, so I should support them. |
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This article lays out exactly what you'll need: http://www.ar15.com/content/page.html?id=486
This section is about equipment: http://www.ar15.com/content/page.html?id=400 Read through the Gateway thread: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/258520_A_Gateway_to_Interesting_and_Useful_Threads_in_the_Reloading_Forum.html You'll also find FAQ's, Tutorials, and References at the top of the forum. |
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Depends on you setup.
You can go cheap (if you have alot of time on your hands because you will load slooooow and don't worry about accuracy) and buy Lyman. You can go real expensive (and load fast) by buying a Dillion Press set up. You can go accurate (add more money here) by adding an accurate powder measure (Harrel, Redding 3BR, .... etc). |
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Quoted: Quoted: In my opinion: Start with a Dillon 550B. Thats where I started, and you can go as slow nas you need as you are starting out to learn it. I dont see the need to start on a single stage press. Call this $500 with the accesories and stuff you need Get a decent powder scale. $100 Get a loading manual $30 Dies and conversion parts for each caliber. Call it $150 per caliber Tumbler for brass. $50 Calipers. You really need these. $40 If you do much military crimped primer brass, youll need to swage or ream that out. Reamers are pretty inexpensive, but I went with the Dillon Super Swage and have no complaints about it. I dont have a case trimmer, I dont do more that 1 or 2 loads in my rifle brass ( I usually lose it by that point). But you may need one eventually. I intend to get one some day. Now, components vary a lot. For 5.56 and 7.62, you can find military pull down components at a good price. I dont know what to tell you on 22-250 or the .300 Check Wideners and some of the other reloading places for components. Ive had good dealings with wideners. Alll these costs are estimates, and may be high. But that should get you a decent start into loading. Im sure there are several things I forgot, but someone will be along to help me. Thanks for the info. I'm leaning pretty hard towards the Hornady LnL. It's made here in NE, so I should support them. I have the LnL Progressive. I can crank out a few hundred 9mm in an hour or two. |
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Quoted:
This article lays out exactly what you'll need: http://www.ar15.com/content/page.html?id=486 This section is about equipment: http://www.ar15.com/content/page.html?id=400 Read through the Gateway thread: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/258520_A_Gateway_to_Interesting_and_Useful_Threads_in_the_Reloading_Forum.html You'll also find FAQ's, Tutorials, and References at the top of the forum. Thanks....I've been in the reloading forum pretty heavy the last 4-5 days. Tons of great info. I learned more in a few hours than I thought I would ever learn. The threads you linked are well worth someone's time. |
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Quoted: Just make sure you buy the right tool for the job. My single stage is great for loading match .308, but loading .45 is a bitch... Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile This! I dislike reloading, but it has both precision and economic (if you have the hardware) benefits. I only reload big/low volume calibers, as I've only got a single stage press and pretty much everything is done by hand. Fine for .300WM, but not useful for high volume shooting. The guys that have the ability to crank out ammo by the hundreds have spent a bunch on equipment. |
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Reloading bottle neck cases won't save you much in terms of cost because they involve more work than the regular straight walled cases.
Bottle neck cases usually generate higher pressures than straight walled cases, and so they need to be trimmed and chamfered, otherwise you will have headspace problems, the number firing between trimmings depends on how hot the load. Straight walled cases you never have to trim, you just clean/tumble and reload. |
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Quoted: Quoted: In my opinion: Start with a Dillon 550B. Thats where I started, and you can go as slow nas you need as you are starting out to learn it. I dont see the need to start on a single stage press. Call this $500 with the accesories and stuff you need Get a decent powder scale. $100 Get a loading manual $30 Dies and conversion parts for each caliber. Call it $150 per caliber Tumbler for brass. $50 Calipers. You really need these. $40 If you do much military crimped primer brass, youll need to swage or ream that out. Reamers are pretty inexpensive, but I went with the Dillon Super Swage and have no complaints about it. I dont have a case trimmer, I dont do more that 1 or 2 loads in my rifle brass ( I usually lose it by that point). But you may need one eventually. I intend to get one some day. Now, components vary a lot. For 5.56 and 7.62, you can find military pull down components at a good price. I dont know what to tell you on 22-250 or the .300 Check Wideners and some of the other reloading places for components. Ive had good dealings with wideners. Alll these costs are estimates, and may be high. But that should get you a decent start into loading. Im sure there are several things I forgot, but someone will be along to help me. Thanks for the info. I'm leaning pretty hard towards the Hornady LnL. It's made here in NE, so I should support them. This is good advice for starting out. The LnL is also a great reloader, I just prefer Dillon |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
In my opinion: Start with a Dillon 550B. Thats where I started, and you can go as slow nas you need as you are starting out to learn it. I dont see the need to start on a single stage press. Call this $500 with the accesories and stuff you need Get a decent powder scale. $100 Get a loading manual $30 Dies and conversion parts for each caliber. Call it $150 per caliber Tumbler for brass. $50 Calipers. You really need these. $40 If you do much military crimped primer brass, youll need to swage or ream that out. Reamers are pretty inexpensive, but I went with the Dillon Super Swage and have no complaints about it. I dont have a case trimmer, I dont do more that 1 or 2 loads in my rifle brass ( I usually lose it by that point). But you may need one eventually. I intend to get one some day. Now, components vary a lot. For 5.56 and 7.62, you can find military pull down components at a good price. I dont know what to tell you on 22-250 or the .300 Check Wideners and some of the other reloading places for components. Ive had good dealings with wideners. Alll these costs are estimates, and may be high. But that should get you a decent start into loading. Im sure there are several things I forgot, but someone will be along to help me. Thanks for the info. I'm leaning pretty hard towards the Hornady LnL. It's made here in NE, so I should support them. This is good advice for starting out. The LnL is also a great reloader, I just prefer Dillon I went all around with Hornady and RCBS but wound up with the exact Dillon system listed here. This is very good advice. Dillon is considered one of the best for a reason. The reason they have the no bs gaurantee is because it is very rarely needed. Look at them before you buy the Hornady. They are made in America. Just sayin. |
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You probably don't need a progressive press for what you will likely be loading. I can load about 80% as fast and far more accurately with a single stage press anyway. $700 will have you loading top notch ammo very quickly: Press..$100; I use a RCBS, but a Lee or Hornady would work just as well. Powder scale..$170; Gempro 250 very fast and very accurate digital scale. Powder thrower..$25; Lee perfect powder measure, don't be fooled by it's low cost, it does a plenty good job. Powder trickler..$70; Dandy Products Omega Trickler. Spending some real money here on a trickler, but it is worth every penny. Dies..$40 each ($160); You can spend a lot more, or a little less. I use Forster and Redding dies and they cost a little more. Misc. Shell holders, case deburrers, brushes, etc..$75 Primer Tool..$65; RCBS Universal priming tool, best tool I own There are a couple of other tools you may need including a case trimmer and a tumbler. Also, for that 300WM there is a collet die that works to tighten the brass in front of the belt. If you are only going to get a few loadings out of your brass, you won't need a trimmer. A tumbler is really a luxury item to make your brass look pretty. |