I was wondering if anyone out there could help me? I'm looking to start reloading my own ammo and I need help finding the equipment for me. I need something easy to use for around $200-$300. I'd like for it to be universal for handgun and rifle ammo. A friend showed me where I could get a Lee 1000 with plate, press; casing, powder, and primer dispenser for around $230. If anyone knows of another brand that's good that falls into what I'm looking for I'd appreciate any help or suggestions. Thanks for any tips you have.

Single stage the RCBS Rockchucker is hard to beat.  Dillon 500's are the rage in multistage presses but out of your price range by $100 or so for everything you need.  You can get the RCBS kit for about $300 IIRC.  Everything you need except dies to reload pistol or rifle.

Don't buy anything but a Dillon, you'll be sorry. Been there, done that. Now I have a Dillon 550B and I can get something done for a change. Save your money until you can afford it, basic press is $325 plus your dies.

Couldnt have said it beter.

I have a sqaure deal for 15 years. I dont reload rifle its pistol only.

The 550 is what you want

Midsouth has always been good to me, heres their link.

[url]http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/deptsearch1x.asp?dept=%52%45%4C%4F%41%44%49%4E%47[/url]

I have to respectfully disagree. My Forster Co-Ax has been a great press. It'll do everything from large to small rifle calibers, and easily handles pistol calibers. It's all I use, and I'm very happy with it. The real question you want to ask yourself is 'How many rounds do I want to reload at one time?' That will greatly influence your decision.

I have a single stage RCBS, and it may be a rock chucker.

Reloading not economical unless you shoot A HELL OF A LOT, and with expensive calibers at that.  But it's a catch 22, if you shoot that much, you need excellent multi stage equipment.

This being said, reloading is excellent for those tinkering with loads, in which case the fun of it outweights any extra cost and hassle.  I load for .300 WM and .303 British.  In each case, ultimate precision and consistency are the ultimate goals, so a single stage works fine.  I compete in C&R matches with .303. Each round takes some time, but that's ok as you don't really go through that many in a given shoot.

If you have illusions of reactivating a pile of .223 brass cheaply with a cheap setup, you'll be disappointed.  Either that, or you have no life, as you'll spend every waking hour doing each step for each round.

For plinking in standard calibers, buy surplus!

You can disagree all you want, but the fact remains:  Go Dillon or your probably going to regret it.

Go to the Reloading forum and do a search on Dillon and any other maker.  See what the owners say.  Dillon owners consistently love their machines, others are all over the map.  Ditto on Dillon service.

I've got the RL-550 since around 1988 and I wouldn't trade it for any other machine (except for another Dillon, of course!).

Like someone said, save your money and buy a Dillon.  Its far cheaper in the long run.

Also, don't buy into that crap "you should buy a single stage first, progressive reloaders are too hard to use, complicated etc. etc. etc.  Its BS.  If you can drive, you can reload on a progressive virtually right out of the box.  

My .02.

Merlin

As a designated ammo r&d technician, I use nothing but RCBS presses and Redding dies. The RCBS ammomaster, unlike any of the dillons, has the capability to load .50bmg.

I asked the same question about 2 years ago...a lot of folks suggested RCBS or Redding for single stage presses, and Dillon for progressive.  Most of the old timers that had a Dillon recommended starting out with a single stage press.  Against my inherent tendencies to ignore good advice, and spend lots of money, I ended up with a Redding Boss press, which is probably comparable to a Rockchucker.  

The Redding is a really good press, and I've never had a single issue with it.  I've used RCBS and Redding dies, and even have a Hornady set for 8mm.  I prefer the Redding and Hornady dies over the RCBS, but that's just me.  Their all good.  

After reloading for a year and a half, I finally broke down and got the Dillon 550B.  I'm actually very happy that I did it that way...I'm pretty sure I would have been totally overwhelmed by the Dillon and everything it does had I never tried reloading in a single stage press.  And, even though I have the Dillon, I still use the single stage to decap everything, and bang out 20 to 50 rounds of stuff for the old bolt guns, like .303, 7.7Swiss, and 8mm.  It comes in handy for the small jobs.  

Also, with the Dillon, there's gonna be a LOT of stuff you want...extra tool heads, stands, powder measures, the roller handle etc...all of that adds up, and the caliber conversion kits, which have the shellplates and shellholder buttons for each caliber are $35 a pop...you need one for each caliber you're gonna load, PLUS the dies.  

You may end up hating reloading, too...it can be tedious and time consuming, that's for sure, which is another reason for a single stage...get in for as little up front as possible, then see how you like it.  

If you do decide to go single stage, I'm sure you can find a RCBS or Redding kit for under $300, which will have all the stuff you need to get started, minus the dies.  I have no experience with Lee, so I can't give you any insight to how their stuff works.  

I *think* that Dillon has a version of the 550B that is single stage, but upgradeable....I don't see it on the website, but I could swear I saw it in the catalog.  If I didn't hallucinate, that may be something worth exploring for you.  

Good luck with whatever you choose...you'll at least end up with a larger quantity of better ammo for your $$.  

go here: [url]http://search.cartserver.com/search/search.cgi?cartid=a-7002&category=Reloading&maxhits=20&keywords=RC09357[/url]

$249 for a Rockchucker starter kit.  

Thanks for all the info. At least now I got somewhere to start as far as finding what I need. Appreciate it.

I have only ever used a dillon 550 and a MEC for my SG shells.

The Dillon is bulletproof. The one thing I WISH it had was an auto-indexing feature. Sure, it is advanced to the next stage easy enough with my thumb, but it would be nice to have a machine that would do it itself for me.

I won't plug Dillon, for I have 0 experience w/ other loaders. Just wanted to mention auto indexing would be a great feature to have...

RCBS Rockchucker is a great starting press.  Probably any of the basic name-brand presses will do quite well.

Get the new dillion 500 at starter kit, all the stuff you need to start (sans many books and your dies) and you can upgrade to a true progressive.

Anyone use those reloading presses that do everything on their own? Forget the exact name, they hold 6 casings at once, prime, load on their own. You just have to feed it, and turn a lever.

I wouldn't say ONLY buy Dillon, but I've had my XL650 since '93 and it's still the best one I've ever owned.  I will warn you away from the Pro 1000.  I had one and the cheap aluminum parts stripped out and I had to retap every damn hole.  And the primer system sucks.  Run away from the Pro1000.   If you're new to reloading, get a single stage first.  There's a lot to learn.

Most of the presses they are reffering to do this, they are called progressive presses. Dillon, Lee, Redding, and RCBS all make progressive presses. Some, such as Dillon, make what is essentially a single stage press that you can upgrade to a progressive.

Ok, I'll bite... who you work for?