[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Recommend a reloading setup. (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 3/28/2012 12:24:58 PM EDT
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Between recent purchasing decisions and the political climate, I think it's about time to get started reloading. I don't have any equipment or experience, and I only have a little bit of brass stashed. I don't want to spend 10 minutes per round with hand tools, but I don't need some crazy mass production machine that can crank out hundreds of rounds an hour, either. I'm looking for a good blend of quality, convenience, and value. Good bang for buck, as they say. I plan to start with .357mag because I've heard that's a good caliber to start on, but I will be reloading .30-06 pretty soon, too. I may get into .45acp, 9mm, and .223 if it proves to be worth my time. ETA: My tentative order list: Starting kit- Lee 4 hole turret press deluxe kit. Calipers- Frankford Arsenal digital Case Tumbler and Media Separator- Frankford Arsenal .357 Dies- Lee carbide 4 die set .30-06 Dies- Lee Pacesetter 3 die set Shell Holder- Lee Universal Shellholder package of 11 I think these are included with the dies. Case Trimmer- Lee Case Trimmer Cutter and Lock Stud .30-06 length gage- Lee Case Length Gage and Shell Holder Subtotal- $394.41 |
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RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master kit.
Midway has a great sale on them right now. .357Mag is easy as pie, as are any other straight-walled pistol cases. Watch for case stretch, though - you'll want to get a trimmer if you're going to reload cases more than once or twice. .30-06 has a lot of surface area and drags quite a bit. You will certainly learn to lubricate your cases... or else. Buy Lee carbide dies for the pistol cases. Buy Lee or Redding dies for the rifle cases. Read the manual, then read it again. Have fun. |
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Lee if that is only what your budget can afford. I've done very well with Lee presses and dies. RCBS if your budget can afford more. RCBS is pretty nice and very heavy duty. There are not a lot of mistakes you can make really. Most brands will get the job done fine. Sure...some dies and presses are nicer than others, but all will load good quality ammo if you know what you are doing.
If you get the urge to go progressive...I think Dillon is about the only answer. |
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Start SIMPLE. A single stage Lee/RCBS/Hornady.
You'll get the basics down, you'll start accumulating the dies you need, and you'll figure out what ammo your firearms like. It is a good buy to have a single stage around when you upgrade, it helps with some of the lame brass processing tasks that the progressives don't particularly fast. Then once you decide you want to do some bulk ammo, go spend the money on a one of these: 
Until then, bulk ammo with a single stage can be done, but it is truly not worth the time vs money. Where reloading TRULY shines is in scary fucking accurate rifle loads. |
| If you are gonna load a lot of pistol ammo get a progressive press like a Dillon. If you plan on loading a lot it saves some serious time. I have a RCBS rock crusher, then again the only thing I use it for is to load long range ammo for 5.56, 6.8, and .308. With the charge master scale/powder dispenser. It takes about 1 min per round. That's not including all the case prep, and primering that would add about another min or so per round. |
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As far as dies, I am really liking the Hornady new dimension stuff. Some innovations there
That said most of my dies are RCBS. I have a few Lee dies, but I'm not really a fan I have dies, brass, etc. for something over 30 calibers and have been reloading for over 41 years now |
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OP
Might want to check out the Reloading Forum here http://www.ar15.com/forums/f_6/42_Reloading.html. These guys know almost all there is about reloading and they're great about answering questions. My recommendation between, price, quality and volume is the Lee Classic turret setup. |
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With a single stage press, you can probably load at least 1 box of pistol ammo an hour. If you add a hand primer to that, you can prime off press while watching TV. The biggest time killer is setting up your dies - so a turret press addresses that issue (you have a turret for each caliber - with all your dies already attached. I could do probably 300 rounds/hr on my lea load master. Anything faster than that, you problem want something large and blue. |
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Quoted:
Start SIMPLE. A single stage Lee/RCBS/Hornady. You'll get the basics down, you'll start accumulating the dies you need, and you'll figure out what ammo your firearms like. It is a good buy to have a single stage around when you upgrade, it helps with some of the lame brass processing tasks that the progressives don't particularly fast. Then once you decide you want to do some bulk ammo, go spend the money on a one of these:
http://www.dillonprecision.com/uimages//RL_550_cat_shot_m.jpg Until then, bulk ammo with a single stage can be done, but it is truly not worth the time vs money. Where reloading TRULY shines is in scary fucking accurate rifle loads. +1. Dillon 550 for what you want to do. My go-to press is generally a 650 but I've been doing it for 25 years. I also load 5-10k at a whack.....avoid the set up delays. Rock chucked is my unique rifle press but just by default. It's the first press that I bought.. |
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Your set-up depends on how much reloading you want to do. If you want to turn out 100s of rounds in a short time then get a progessive press. You will pay more for a progressive. The Dillon line is nice but not cheap.
If you are content to turn out a smaller amount of loaded rounds over a longer time , then a single stage is what you need. RCBS will last you forever. But quality dies. The main problem these days is that getting into reloading is not cheap . Especially to start . |
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I've had good luck with Lee dies and presses. good quality and good prices. This. I have used dillion, rcbs, and the hornady press and even if the lee was more I would prefer it. I finally got mine set back up after being in storage and even though its been over 3 years since I have used it, everything was still in adjustment and it didnt take long till I was cranking out pistol ammo. |
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Lee if that is only what your budget can afford. I've done very well with Lee presses and dies. RCBS if your budget can afford more. RCBS is pretty nice and very heavy duty. There are not a lot of mistakes you can make really. Most brands will get the job done fine. Sure...some dies and presses are nicer than others, but all will load good quality ammo if you know what you are doing. If you get the urge to go progressive...I think Dillon is about the only answer. Not to argue, but have you ever broken a decapping pin with your RCBS dies? I have plenty of times. Never with a Lee. If you run into a berdan primer or a little pebble in the case, the stem the decapping pin is one piece with on the lee just comes loose and all it takes is two wrenches to fix and your back in business. Even a lot of people that think Lee presses are junk like the Lee dies. |
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Green RCBS single stage press to start with.
Blue Dillion 550b or 650 once you figure out what you are doing. If you are really going balls deep in this, get a Giruard Power trimmer with settings for each of your center fire rifle calibers. Think electric pencil sharpener Vs hand crank. |
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Most of the companies offer a starting kit. Lee, Lyman, etal. Pick which ever one fits your budget. Start slow, learn the basics. Yes, you can start on a Dillon, I have friends that did. But I don't recommend it.
I've owned stuff from most of the reloading companies. I honestly haven't noticed a huge difference. It's mature technology, most of the companies have it down pat. |
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OP I can highly recommend this press http://www.midwayusa.com/product/814175/lee-classic-4-hole-turret-press
I have two of the 3 hole turrent presses and have loaded tens of thousands of rounds on the one, the other I have not used yet. Much easier to use than either a single stage press or a progressive. Think of it as a semi-progressive press. You install your dies into the turrent ( extra turrents cost $8 ), adjust them and you can change calibers in a second without having to readjust anything. I am teaching my brother in law how to reload and he is liking the setup so far. |
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RCBS has the best customer service on the planet. I bought a used reloading setup that was missing a few pieces. I priced the pieces on midway, they ended up costing around $130! I called RCBS, they sent me the pieces for free. They earned a lifelong customer. If you are buying on customer service, there is no better customer service in any industry than how Mike Dillion stands behind his products. I like Lee stuff, but frankly their warranty blows. As far as RCBS goes, I have not had much luck with them either but Dillion stands behind their stuff second to none. |
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http://www.ar15.com/forums/f_6/42_.html Pay a visit to the Reloading Forum, I hang out there some. Under the Armory tab, scroll down about 2/3 of the way down the page to find the Reloading Forum. When you get there, read the FAQ's and Tutorials. Reloading Tools and Equipment will have lists of needed tools to start reloading. This is a common question, so read the tacked info first and then ask questions on what you don't understand. You will get more/better answers this way. |
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My advice is this:
1. Be sure you really want to do this. 2. Buy as much reloader as you can afford. A. Don't forget that the press is just part of the investment. Tumblers, media separators, case gauges, scales, calipers, etc. are a huge part of the cost. I bought a used Dillon XL650 right out of the gate and I got dies and conversions for 4 calibers with it. I also got a scale, a chrono and a bunch of other stuff with it. After working up my 9mm load, I was able to pump out almost 800 rounds in a night. It's super easy when you deprime/resize, prime/powder charge, powder check, seat and crimp with every pull of the handle. I shoot enough that it was worth it for me. |
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OP I can highly recommend this press http://www.midwayusa.com/product/814175/lee-classic-4-hole-turret-press I have two of the 3 hole turrent presses and have loaded tens of thousands of rounds on the one, the other I have not used yet. Much easier to use than either a single stage press or a progressive. Think of it as a semi-progressive press. You install your dies into the turrent ( extra turrents cost $8 ), adjust them and you can change calibers in a second without having to readjust anything. I am teaching my brother in law how to reload and he is liking the setup so far. I was about to metion the Lee turret also. You can use it like a single stage also by simply removing the indexer. It's a very robust and overbuilt press (you'd have to work hard at destroying it) and you won't spend a fortune on it. You'll have it for life. After you get into it, you may decide to go with a progressive for speed, but you'll be amazed how many rounds you can turn out on a Saturday afternoon just on a turret. |
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OP I can highly recommend this press http://www.midwayusa.com/product/814175/lee-classic-4-hole-turret-press I have two of the 3 hole turrent presses and have loaded tens of thousands of rounds on the one, the other I have not used yet. Much easier to use than either a single stage press or a progressive. Think of it as a semi-progressive press. You install your dies into the turrent ( extra turrents cost $8 ), adjust them and you can change calibers in a second without having to readjust anything. I am teaching my brother in law how to reload and he is liking the setup so far. I was about to metion the Lee turret also. You can use it like a single stage also by simply removing the indexer. It's a very robust and overbuilt press (you'd have to work hard at destroying it) and you won't spend a fortune on it. You'll have it for life. After you get into it, you may decide to go with a progressive for speed, but you'll be amazed how many rounds you can turn out on a Saturday afternoon just on a turret. I bought a Lee Breechlock Challenger kit for all the accessories and a 4-hole turret press. I have added a few things like an electronic scale and some additional bits and bobs. I use the single-stage Challenger to do case prep. I have a universal decapper die so I can pop out primers before cleaning my brass and I have a RCBS primer pocket swager to get the crimp out of my 5.56 brass. I use the turret press for production. It goes really quick once you have worked up your loads. Switching calibers takes a couple of minutes, mostly changing the powder feed between turrets. The turrets themselves swap out in seconds. |
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Here's what I suggest. Start with a good single stage and learn to to prep and load rifle brass. Also, develop a good method for tracking everything. If you are an organized type person, you will enjoy reloading. If you are not an organized type person, I suggest that you just buy your ammo.
Once you have a good understanding of how it all works, move to a good progressive press for pistol and maybe even plinking rifle ammo. Pistol is easy compared to building precision rifle rounds. I personally went all Hornady because It's a bit cheaper and I can buy most of the stuff locally(Bass Pro and Cabellas). Plus, I like the Hornady Lock N Load system. They also have an excellent, no questions ask warranty just like Dillon. I'm not knocking Dillon equipment at all. I just decided to go with Hornady. Oh....a RCBS Chargemaster is a must have for load development. |
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I used a Lee Turret press without the indexer for a couple years, no issues and caliber changes are nice and cheap, just a new turret and most die sets come with a shell holder. I use Lee dies as well. I now use a Dillon 550 with Lee dies, but for pistols I would have no issue using that turret press. It worked fine.
These days, if you plan to reload a fair bit of ammo and don't want to do reloading as a hobby, a 550 or 650 is the way to go. If you want to milk every bit of precision you can out of each round and load in smaller amounts, a good single stage is where it's at. The whole, "learn on a single stage" thing never made much sense to me unless the person can't manage a little self control. I regularly use my 550 to load single rounds, one stage at a time, checking it each step of the way. Even while reloading in volume I eyeball the powder each time which also lets me check for any split case mouths caused by the expander. It's a bit harder to eyeball 45acp powder with the powders I use, but it's not bad. I'm just as mindful of unfilled as double filled, since a squib round means a stuck bullet to deal with. I've never had that happen on my reloads but I've encountered it on factory ammo and range bought reloads. The key to safety is like with any other mechanical process, don't go any faster than you can do the process safely. The FIRST thing you should buy is the Speer/CCI reloading manual, then one of the others. Reloading 9mm isn't worthwhile in my opinion, not unless you're using a very high volume machine and cranking it out. 30-06 will be your highest savings per round, by far, but you'll probably save more overall with the 45 and 223. The key to not spending a lot of time fiddling with it is to suck it up and buy the equipment to setup each caliber independently. On the dillon, that doesn't mean needing multiple powder measures, but multiple slides to put IN the powder measure can save you a lot of hassle. Then just plan out by primer type. Small primers and large primers use different plungers, so if you plan to reload 45, 223 and 30-06 over the weekend do 45 and 30-06 one after the other with 223 before or after. The before or after being determined by which primer setup was in the machine to start with. |
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Do not reload for 9 mm ( and .5.56 ) stock up on ammo! And do not forget: reloading is for shooting. Factory made ammo is for storing. Hermann Yeah what he said,, who the heck likes shooting 9mm at $40/K or .223 at $122/K  , paid for my equipment long ago now it's just time and components.
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RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master kit. Midway has a great sale on them right now. .357Mag is easy as pie, as are any other straight-walled pistol cases. Watch for case stretch, though - you'll want to get a trimmer if you're going to reload cases more than once or twice. .30-06 has a lot of surface area and drags quite a bit. You will certainly learn to lubricate your cases... or else. Buy Lee carbide dies for the pistol cases. Buy Lee or Redding dies for the rifle cases. Read the manual, then read it again. Have fun. All great advice. Of you're loading a lot of ball powders then a thrower will work great for even rifle ball powders (tac in 223 and 308). I've had very poor luck with stick/extruded and throwers, so I'd reccomend an RCbs Chargemaster to speed that up while keeping charge weights consistent. Another great tool is the possum hollow case trimmers. They are very inexpensive and work great when used with the drill chuck adapter. This is for rifle only though. As far as case lube, on rifle cartridges I've been using plain aresol canola oil (generic pam cooking spray). I fold a paper towel into a square pad and spray a couple of shots of oil on it, roll the cartridge on pad, and fl size. Make sure to tumble after though as it will get sticky if left to dry (as will all spray lubes like one shot). |
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While the press you choose is important ,the case prep is where the time is really spent and not a step to be lax with if you don't want kaboom's.
RCBS Trim Mate case prep station is a great asset if you cant afford all the bells and whistles of a Dillion setup.http://www.midwayusa.com/product/565099/rcbs-trim-mate-case-prep-center-110-volt Edit - A power case trimmer is also a great time saver and you can go big bucks for one or get something like I have, a Lyman trimmer powered with a drill ,not as nice as a Girard trimmer but it gets the job done. |
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While the press you choose is important ,the case prep is where the time is really spent and not a step to be lax with if you don't want kaboom's. RCBS Trim Mate case prep station is a great asset if you cant afford all the bells and whistles of a Dillion setup.http://www.midwayusa.com/product/565099/rcbs-trim-mate-case-prep-center-110-volt Edit - A power case trimmer is also a great time saver and you can go big bucks for one or get something like I have, a Lyman trimmer powered with a drill ,not as nice as a Girard trimmer but it gets the job done. I have a giraud trimmer and leave it setup for 308. Everything else I load I use the possum hollow trimmers and a RCbs universal deburr/chamfer tool. The giraud is nice but resetting it up (even using the lock run trick) is more time consuming then just hand deburring. |
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I'm beginning to think the Lee turret press recommended above is probably going to be the best fit. The question is, which kit is the better option- The "Deluxe" kit that includes more stuff from the get go: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/785993/lee-4-hole-turret-press-with-auto-index-deluxe-kit or The "Value" kit which is a little over $100 cheaper, and would allow me to put that cash towards specific equipment and accessories: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/622290/lee-4-hole-turret-press-with-auto-index-value-kit What do you guys think?
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I would get the deluxe kit because it has the primer trays you need unless you buy an alternative primer system other wise you will have to buy them anyway.
Also they make a powder measure doubling kit that makes it so you can adjust your measure easier ,especially if your loading rifle rounds. That kit has most things you need to get started but you will have to get a dial caliper if you don't have one to measure cases. |
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Go for one step up to the Lee CLassic Turret Press..much beefier than the regular turret press. It'll load everything and simple to set up.
Lee Classic |
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Quoted: Go for one step up to the Lee CLassic Turret Press..much beefier than the regular turret press. It'll load everything and simple to set up. Lee Classic Hmmm... It appears that the value kit has a steel and cast aluminum press, but the deluxe kit has a steel and cast iron press like the one you posted. I didn't notice that before.
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Between recent purchasing decisions and the political climate, I think it's about time to get started reloading. I don't have any equipment or experience, and I only have a little bit of brass stashed. I don't want to spend 10 minutes per round with hand tools, but I don't need some crazy mass production machine that can crank out hundreds of rounds an hour, either. I'm looking for a good blend of quality, convenience, and value. Good bang for buck, as they say. I plan to start with .357mag because I've heard that's a good caliber to start on, but I will be reloading .30-06 pretty soon, too. I may get into .45acp, 9mm, and .223 if it proves to be worth my time. Dillion 550 Supports lots of calibers Can switch between different caliber setups quickly Can produce a decent amount of reloads in a short time Dillon stands behind their products. might want to look here for more info: http://www.brianenos.com/index.html |
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if your new to loading. start with a single stage press! You may not crank out volume but you will understand the process.
any old hands around here still crank out the most accurate loads the old way.Speeding up brass prep for me saved the most time on rifle loads. kinda pick your poisen. progressive it's pretty much Blue! |