[Sig88]

I am slowly building up my reloading needs. I just ordered 2 Lee "C" presses (figured I could use two for depriming) for use of handgun reloading and going to start with 9mm and 38spl). Being cheap I decided to go with this rather than the "O" frame and I wanted the single stage so I would pay more attention to each step.

I have the powder, 38spl bullets, primers, Lee Carbide Dies for 9mm(2) and 38spl, tumbler for corn media, lee primer pocket cleaner and a bunch of brass.

What I need:
scale (digital or balance)- I would prefer digital but suggestions?
hand priming tool (would prefer doing it this way)
calipers
bullet puller
9mm bullets (mastercast, better bullets, others?)
another manual (have the abc of reloading)


What else should I get and what are your suggestions for what I need? For the scale, should I save up $300 for one of those dispenser/scale combos?

Thanks

[Steve Koski]

Sig,

www.midwayusa.com has a Frankford Arsenal digital scale that is $37 regularly but goes on sale for $20 pretty often. I have one. It works great.

Midway/frankford arsenal calipers

Midway/frankford arsenal bullet puller

Lee's Modern Reloading second edition manual is a great bang for the buck.

I've never hand primed, so I can't help you there.

Bullets are often purchased cheapest locally.

Take care,

Koski

[TxAg]

I use a Lee C press as a depriming station and also as a powder measure stand when I'm loading and it works just fine.

I like the RCBS balance scale, the Lee scale seemed cheap.

I would suggest you get a powder measure. I use a RCBS Uniflow and it does a good job. When I bought it I went ahead and got the micrometer and the powder baffle. I hear a lot of people saying to get the small bolt instead of the large bolt for smaller powder throws, but I have the large bolt and it measures 6 gr throws of unique very accurately.

Powder Trickler

Loading with the single stage I would suggest getting some loading trays to hold your shells.

Good Luck and Have Fun,
J

[Sediment]

You ordered 2 presses? Why? You don't need a dedicated "depriming" press just yet since you're only doing 2 calibers. But hey it's your money.

What I need:
scale (digital or balance)- I would prefer digital but suggestions?
hand priming tool (would prefer doing it this way)
calipers
bullet puller
9mm bullets (mastercast, better bullets, others?)
another manual (have the abc of reloading)


I have both scales and honestly I use the digital one more. I bought the RCBS Chargemaster Combo from Midsouth and saved about $100 over the price at my LGS. Just remember that with digital you get what you pay for, and ensure you have a way to calibrate and validate the scale is accurate EVERY TIME you use it. That includes whenever you power it off, even for a few minutes.

I prime on the press so I can't vouch for a hand primer. However I have heard good things about the Lee hand prime.

Just about any caliper you are comfortable using is fine as long as it reads at least 0.0001".

For a puller you can snag an inertia puller, looks like a plastic hammer, from darn near anywhere for a low price. It's low tech, but very effective.

An easy way to same some bucks is to find the same brand of bullets that are easily obtainable and affordable for both calibers you are reloading. That way you can also get the manual for that brand and cover both without buying more than you need. Are you after ONLY lead bullets or are you ok with using jacketed as well?

If you plan on loading and shooting the same brass for as long as it will survive I would suggest getting a case trimmer to bring them within tolerance after the case stretching from firing makes them too long. You might want to look into getting a powder measure/thrower of some sort. The Chargemaster is a scale / measure combo and VERY handy but also pricey. Otherwise websites like Natchez, Midway, Midsouth, CTD and others sell powder measures. The dies you have come with a dipper and some load data so at least you have something to measure powder with while you decide on a thrower.

Also READ READ READ!! Gleam over the questions others have asked on this forum and read up on mistakes made and lessons learned. As well as tips and tricks to make the experience safer, economical, more fluid and a heck of a lot of fun!

[nambu1]

The new Lee hand prime tool is great. I go for the better of the tool I want, that way I do not buy it later and have to try to sell the one I bought first.

[Funshooter45]

I would echo most of the previous suggestions. Here are my experiences as well as comments that I have heard from other credible sources. As long as you are only doing pistol loading, you can get away with a lot of things.

I also don't understand the logic of 2 C presses, but hey, they are a great bargain and they work great for pistols.

Like you, I prefer the digital scales. I bought a $30 Hornady and didn't like it at all. It only measured +/- 0.2 gr and I was constantly having to recalibrate it. Not good. I now have a RCBS Chargemaster 1500. Fantastic scale and I love it. But it costs $180 and that might be hard to justify. I have heard pretty good things about the RCBS 750 Rangemaster though and it only costs $110. But I have heard even better things about the PACT BBK2 and it's even cheaper at around $80 and the Lyman 1000 XP for about $100 is worth looking at. I have heard some real good things about the Frankford Arsenal DS-750 but I have to admit that I am still a bit skeptical about a scale for less than $50.

I have an RCBS hand priming tool and it works really good. But the Lee hand priming tool is half the cost and is probably the one I would pick today.

Those cheapo electronic calipers work great! Just as good as the higher priced ones. I think mine cost $20 and I can't fault it. Make sure you go right out and buy a set of 3 replacement batteries though. The ones that come with the unit don't last long. Even the better new batteries will fail too, right when you need them most.

Since you already have the ABCs manual, I would suggest the Lyman manual next.

[rfwobbly]

The largest part of reloading safety is accurate knowledge. Therefore you need...

• A great loading manual (such as Lyman #49)
• A great 6" caliper (multiple sources)
• A scale that is accurate over your load range for years. Not just one that claims to be, seems to be, or wants to be.

[kingmt]

"What else should I get and what are your suggestions for what I need? For the scale, should I save up $300 for one of those dispenser/scale combos?"

I think a powder drop type measure would be better for hand gun. If you are working up loads for a rifle I love my scale/dispenser.

[Sig88]

Okay here for some more suggestions. I'd like to save a bit of money but I have narrowed a few options. I'm looking at the RCBS Chargemaster Combo but it is $300 plus shipping or the RCBS 750 scale w/ RCBS Little Dandy for about $150.

Then for the priming tool I'm looking at the Lee tool ($18) or RCBS Universal ($50) but I haven't really seen great reviews on either.

What do you guys think? Are these good choices to at least start on? I'd like to go the cheaper route and am leaning towards the RCBS 750 and Little Dandy for that reason. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[gamestalker]

A good scale is worth it's weight in blown up guns. Also pick up a stainless steel dial caliper. Harbor Frieght has them cheap and they are as acurate as any of the $80 one's in my opinion. But the one thing I don't understand is the "C" press. I would personally skip the two "C" press idea and instead buy one "O" press. RCBS has a good deal on their Rock Chhucker which comes with a bunch of other good stuff. Lee probably makes a decent "O" press also but I would avoid their "C" press. My Brother in law had one and it would flex a bunch when resizing bottle neck cases. After a couple of years of use it started to stutter, kind of jamming in mid stroke, because it was flexing so much. I use a very old RCBS 10-10 scale because I think accurate powder charging is a must. I also have a digital scale, but I prefer my old balance beam over that one any day. Electornics can fail, but gravity is constant and doesn't ever lie to ya! I'm just saying.

[codefour]

I just thought I would chime in with my $0.02 worth. I bought the RCBS 750 and it is a good scale. My reloading buddy has the RCBS 1500 and it is better. The 1500 seems to hold zero longer and does not have a warm up period. The 750 works good once it is warmed up. I plug it in first thing when I start reloading. a good 20 to 30 minute period and it is as accurate as the 1500..

Make sure your powder pan is clean too. sometimes I find a granule or two of powder from the previous weighing. I also zero my scale every time I weigh every 10 or 20 rounds depending on the powder I am using.

The Uniflow powder measure works great too. Just use the same motion wihen activating the powder drop and it is very accurate.

[Lost Sheep]

If you can cancel the order, I would substitute the Lee Classic Turret for the two single stage presses.

Unless there are two of you working at the same time, having a Lee Turret is equivalent to having four single-stage presses, as there are four die stations in the turret disk. Plus, you can switch turrets in seconds.

I loaded for 30 years (9mm, 38/357, 45 ACP 44 Mag) without benefit of calipers. All the bullets I bought were properly sized and straight-walled cases (handgun brass) generally does not require trimming. I also did not have a bullet puller for the first 10 years of reloading and it was another 15 years before I ever used it.

The ABC's of reloading is an excellent book (all editions of it), but it contains no load recipes. You should get a couple of good loading manuals (Lyman's and Lee's would be my recommendations). Also consider the "One Caliber - One Book series. About $10.00, it has load recipes from many different sources, so you can compare.

Loading manuals all have different recommendations for even the same combinations of powder/primer/bullet. It's a fact. Different testing labs get different results. Get used to it. It is unavoidable.

If you are short of cash, get a Lee's powder funnel. It fits right in the collar on their case-mouth belling die and allows charging the case right through the hollow die. Use a set of Lee's dippers. Dirt cheap and very accurate if you dip the same way every time. Get a powder measure (or two) when you can afford them.

Get a mechanical scale to check your powder charges, whether you use a powder measure or dippers. Electronic scales simply are not as reliable, even the expensive ones. The cheap ones are subject to stray electronic influences (poor electronic shielding) and the expensive ones are not completely immune, either. With a mechanical scale, you can pretty much tell if something is not right just by looking at how it swings. Not so with an electronic, so most loaders who have an electronic scale have a balance beam scale to back up and cross-check their electronic scale. Gravity is pretty constant. Batteries and electronics are not quite as reliable as gravity.

You can assemble a cartridge that will go "Boom" and send a bullet out the right end of the barrel with only 3 things.

Press, dies and a way to mete powder

You can do so safely by following the recipes in a good manual or three.

Everything else just enhances

Safety, speed and convenience.

Good Luck. Always wear safety glasses, especially when working with primers and don't pinch your fingers in your press.

Lost Sheep

p.s. I have used a few different hand priming devices, and prefer priming on the press. I find the "feel" of seating the primer to be perfectly adequate on the press or in the dedicated tools, but the press to be more convenient, (and the way I do it, faster). My personal style. I don't fault anyone for priming separately.